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Prophe-Zine Issue 028
Prophe-Zine # 28
Oct. 18, 1996
Ray Gano ...Welcome To PZ #28
N.W. Hutchings ...Mark and Number of the Beast-How and Why?
Tess West.... A Reason for the Hope
Jim Bramlett.... A Startling Encounter with a Rabbi In Jerusalem
madmac@europa.com ...Ezekiel 39 Decoded
Alan Yusko ... The Coming Great Delision!
Prophe-Zine News Bites
Lee Underwood....F.Y.I. - Israel in the News
Raymond Clarke....And Time Was No More
Beastly funny humor
Ray Gano ....Clinton Gets an "F" for American History
Ray Gano...The Most Common Infections Are Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Jim Bramlett...Follow-up To The Rabbi Story
Rabbi Zalman B. Melamed...BASIC TRUTHS ON THE MIDEAST CONFLICT
Am.Liberties Fellowship.... Court to review Religious Freedom law
RBroderick@aol.com...New Debit, credit cards
MIKDASH-BUILD... SPECIAL REPORT/THE BATTLE FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT
**************
Welcome to Issue # 28
Hello all,
Thanks for waiting for this issue. It has been exciting these last couple
of days that is because of the following articles
From: Arutz Sheva News Service
Monday, October 14, 1996 / Cheshvan 1, 5757
SYNAGOGUE ON TEMPLE MOUNT?
A program to build a synagogue on the Temple Mount was presented today by
MK Rabbi Benny Elon and Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, head of the Temple Institute
in Jerusalem. They said that archaeologists and historians claim that there
once was a synagogue situated on the site.
From: SNS International 08.45 Hrs
October 15, 1996.. 2 Marcheshvan 5757.. Volume II, Number 439/40/41
Update from Israel.
A Temple On the Temple Mount
(SNS News Service - Shomron-Israel) The Head of the Temple Institute, Rabbi
Yisrael Ariel, and MK (Moledet) Rabbi Benny Elon, will submit plans this
afternoon for the construction of a Synagogue on the TempleMount of the Old
City in Jerusalem. (Channel 7 Radio News.. 10/14 ..2:00pm).
When I saw these articles I was really excited. I also sent email to
everyone out there letting you know that PZ will be late and about this
pretty hot event.
Well here is what I found out. First of all I wrote just about anyone and
everyone. I wrote to Jerusalem Post, Arutz-7, Israeli Consulate, Prophecy
Teachers, everyone. I guess that I wanted to cover all the bases.
I found out quite a bit of information. I have not heard anything eles in
regards to the Synagogue on the Temple Mount, but I have found out some
real interesting items in regards to the Synagogue.
I would like to share some of the letters written to me.
The following Letter is from Leiah and Jason Elbaum ..elbaum@dircon.co.uk.
They run the IRIS www site. Very good site to visit by the way. They deal
mainly with issues in regards to Israeli Security.
==============
Dear Ray,
Thanks for your note. We have seen the report you refer to, though it's
not clear what "insights" you're looking for. Just a few comments:
1. The headline is misleading. In traditional Jewish terminology, a
synagogue is not a "temple." A synagogue is a place of prayer, whereas the
ancient Jewish Temple was devoted to divine service through sacrificial
offerings. Jews who pray daily for the restoration of the Temple and its
practices would not view a synagogue the same way.
2. Since Israel recaptured the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, it has
acquiesced to the authority of the Islamic Waqf in administering the Temple
Mount (to the deep sorrow of many Jews). The Waqf considers the Mount to
be an Islamic holy place, and as such Jews are barred from praying on the
Mount. There is a small group of Jewish activists who campaign for the
right to pray on the Mount, and from time to time they enter as tourists
and then start praying, whereupon they are expelled by the Israeli security
forces. The group behind the synagogue proposal is affiliated with these
activists, to the best of our knowledge.
3. Most religious Jews consider most, if not all, of the Temple Mount as
retaining the ancient sanctity which it bore as the site of the Temple. As
such, most believe that it is forbidden for Jews to walk on much of the
Mount without extensive ritual preparation. The mainstream religious
Jewish groups would therefore likely oppose the founding of a synagogue of
any sort on the Mount, for fear of trespassing on its sanctity.
4. Finally, any act which promotes Jewish rights to the Temple Mount would
surely be taken by the Arabs and the Islamic world as a "provocation"
justifying tremendous violence, probably war.
5. Given all of the above, no Israeli government would support such a
proposal, and there would be minimal support for it among Israeli Jews.
Such are the facts, disappointing as they may sometimes seem. If you have
any more specific questions, please feel free to ask.
Leiah and Jason Elbaum
IRIS
================
A good friend of mine and the former editor of Morning Star Magezine Toby
Trudel states
" According to a friend of mind, that proposal has been raised before. In a
sense it's old news -- unless there is a clause to level the Mosque
...haha."
=================
Also As First Reported by the Associated Press
ISRAELI WANTS SYNAGOGUE AT DISPUTED SITE
An Israeli lawmaker toured the outer walls of a holy shrine Monday to find
a site to build a synagogue, in response to plans to open a mosque there.
Benny Elon's right-wing Moledet or"Homeland" party has only two seats in
the 120-member parliament, but his action is likely to be seen by Muslims
as an Israeli attempt to infringe on their rights.
The walls surround the site worshiped by Jews as the Temple Mount, and by
Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The spot has often been the scene of
Muslim-Jewish clashes.
Israel opened a second entrace to a tourist tunnel near the shrine last
month, triggering violence that killed 79 people in the West bank and Gaza
Strip.
Now many Jews are angry that Muslims have been allowed to turn the vault
beneath the site - known as Solomon's Stables - into a mosque.....
===============
All of this has been very exciting in deed.
Conculsion:
I do not see that this will be the rebuilding of the temple in itself but I
do see a "domino effect" possibly here. If the Jews are allowed a site for
prayer, then that gives them a foothold to then possibly rebuild the
Temple. I also see that this can cause war with the Muslims. The domino
effect I see is a possible war or start there of BUT all of a sudden a man
comes to the for front and proposes a great peace deal. It is this man who
will allow the jews to rebuild the temple and give the Jews a 3 1/2 year
peace. Then he (the Antichrist) will go into the Temple and defile it and
demand everyone to worship him.
Now on with the issue. In this issue I want to welcome on board Dr.
Hutchings of Southwest Radio Church. I also want to welcome a VERY special
guest, Tess West. She is the wife of my very best friend Tim West. In
fact,here is a special request from Tim....
Howdy Ray,
I know that this is pretty petty to ask while the whole world is going to
hell in a hand basket. I was wondering if you could post this to the many
Christian subscribers through out the world to see if any one had a copy
of Daniel Amos' self titled CD "Daniel Amos" I am also looking for their
CDs called "Fearful Symetry" and Darn Floor Big Bite". ALSO...The Swirling
Eddies "Outdoor Elvis". I would buy, trade or give blood for any of the
above.
I have come across some pretty rare stuff through someone at work that I am
willing to trade with or sell. I have a couple copies of Daniel Amos
"Shotgun Angel", Sweet Comfort's "1st Project" and I also got a copy of
Mustard Seed "Faith Sail on Sailor".
see ya Tim........Remember: Jesus is coming!! Look Busy!!!!!
So if anyone out there can help my friend to find these rare Christian CD's
Please write him at..
tntnt@telelink.net. I know that you would make his day. By the way, it was
Tim who whopped me up the head with a spiritual 2x4 and helped me back on
the right path in serving our Lord. So if you like reading PZ..it is all
Tim's fault...grin. You can also get hold of Tess at this address if you
would liketo contact her about her article in this issue.
Well I guess that is all for right now. Enjoy this issue of Prophe-Zine.
Remember that I need ORIGINAL or put in your own words News Byte Articles.
There is a lot happening out there and I need you to report on it.
One last thing to. For all the US readers, PLEASE get out and Vote. If you
don't vote, you are throwing away your voice. Also remember that we are to
be stewards over what the Lord has given us. The US is in bad shape right
now and it is not because we have bad presidents or Congress. It is because
we as Christian have not been good stewards and have let the country go
down the tubes. A great quote for everyone out there...."For evil to
prevail, all a good man has to do is nothing."
We as Christians have been doing enough of nothing, we need to now get
involved and vote. I will not tell you who to vote for I just want to let
you know that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the
problem. So Vote and be a good steward (Matt 24-25)
In His service,
Ray
Sr. Editor
Prophe-Zine
PS..Dole/Kemp in 96
**************
Mark and Number of the Beast-How and Why?
By: N.W. Hutchings
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or
the number of his name" (Rev. 13: 16-17).
Many have wondered down through the past two thousand years just how a mark
and/or a number could be forced upon every person in the world (especially
employers), and why this mark and/ or number would be connected with
working, buying, and selling. From the apostle John's time in history, 96
A.D, there on the remote island of Patmos when he received this revelation,
this made no sense at all. Only in the timeframe of the present generation
have theologians and prophetic scholars been able to make the connection.
In 1935 1 received my Social Security number. No one since that time can
be employed without this number. Although we were assured by the FDR
administration that this number was only for social insurance purposes,
today I cannot get a driver's license, a bank account, a loan, mortgage,
credit card, etc., without this number I was assigned in 1935.
In 1943 on the French island off new Caldonia in the South Pacific, I was
told to connect a cable running from my radar unit to a piece of equipment
that was about the size of a piano. This piece of equipment, I was
informed, was a computer that would take the data from my radar and convert
it to firing data that would enable our 16-gun 90nim antiaircraft battalion
to do a better job of shooting down Japanese planes.
Since 1943 every facet of our daily lives have been plugged into the
computer. Utilities are controlled by computers. If every computer in the
world suddenly went dead, your car would not start; banks would not open;
clocks would stop; planes would not fly; all working, buying, and selling
would stop; we could not tum on the lights or get water out of the faucets.
As we have previously reported, hand-imaging systems are being developed
for passport and airport clearance. The state of Califomia has issued a
directive that those on welfare must submit to hand-imaging. The EU is
developing a cashless system where the housewife can use her hand image
instead of cash or checks.
The Hebrew word translated into English for "picture" appears three times
in the Old Testament and means a "type" or something similar, like the
Tabernacle in the wilderness was a picture of the Tabernacle in Heaven.
There is no word for "picture" in the Greek language, so the word "image"
is used in its place. Jesus said of the signs of His return, "When you see
these things!" For the first time this generation, worldwide, we can see
these things happening by seeing images, or pictures, on television.
The piano-size computer I worked with in 1943 can now be reduced to the
size of a grain of salt. The June 12, 1996, edition of The European
reported on the latest computer evolution: "Captain Kirk of the Ship
Enterprise had nothing like this. Science fact has again leapt at warp
speed ahead of fiction, as U.S. electronics fin-n Texas Instruments
revealed that it has the capacity to build a thumbnail-sized computer chip
with the processing power of 20 of today's personal computers.... Hundreds
of science fiction gadgets, including wristwatches that respond to speech
and computers that recognize facts, will be cheap and simple enough to
become consumer toys, even if intergalactic travel is still some time away.
TI's Timeline technology makes it possible to build smaller semiconductor
chips because the basic computering elementstransistors-are only 0. 1 8
microns in size, or 600 times thinner than a human hair."
A transponder chip can be inserted into a person's body without it even
being felt. Ronald Kane, vice-president of Cubic Corp., an automatic
revenue collection organization, stated, as reported in Popular Science,
"If we had our way, we'd implant a chip behind everyone's ear in the
maternity ward."
The Philadelphia Inquirer of January 21, 1996, predicted: "Thirty years
from now, chips will be implanted in our bodies encoded with credit card,
passport, driver's license and other personal information. We'd no longer
have to worry about leaving home without it.
English will become ubiquitous, squashing thousands of languages and
cultures along the way. Children will play electronic games on computers
mounted cribside, leaming to read, perhaps, before age three. Cash will be
shunned at businesses in favor of electronic transactions.... Thanks to
globalized media, the famous will become even more so, adulated by an
increasing number of the masses-creating what Cornish calls 'a world of
gods and clods."'
This past month I received a copy of a confidential report from an IBM
affiliate regarding testing of implanted computer chips in prisoners
without their knowledge. It could be determined where they went, with whom
they talked, details of their conversations, how long they slept how much
they exercised, etc. The only problem encountered was that the prisoners
experienced nose bleeds, and the comment was that this problem would have
to be solved before wider experimentation could be engaged.
Population growth, communications, travel, television, news media
explosion, global trade-all these are "causing" the entire world to demand
faster means of doing business. In this supersonic business age, where
counterfeiting, crime, and terrorism, are troublesome factors,
identification and verification become overriding necessities. A credit
card, driver's license, Social Security number, and a $20 bill will not
suffice any longer. This generation is rapidly, like a flood, being
"caused," or pushed, toward voluntary acceptance of the mark and number of
the "beast system" of Revelation 13. There are at least 101 reasons why
the "mark of the beast" is the only possible secular solution to the
complexities of internalism that will face mankind beyond 2000.
Although I know that the translation of Christians to meet the Lord in the
air will take place before the "mark of the beast" arrives, we, ourselves,
along with everyone else, are being prepared for it. Besides Social
Security numbers, credit cards, debit cards, the Internet, television,
etc., we cite two more examples:
EXAMPLE NUMBER ONE: (The original article shows a typical addressed
envelope to the authors. Lower portion contains barcoded material. -PZ
Ed.) [Above is] the standard form of our business reply envelope. The
mark (or marks) below our address identifies that Southwest Radio Church
has P.O. Box 1144 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at 73101-9976. The address
is superfluous. If there were no address on the envelope at all, this
piece of mail would be retumed to P.O. Box 1144, OklahomaCity. However,
now, in order to get a first class permit No. 1660, and send this return
envelope to our mailing list we must have our own identifying code mark.
The name and address is a person on our mailing list. In order to send
each person a Prophetic Observer at the first of each month, along with my
letter, as a bulk mailer ornonprofit mailer, we must have a computer mark
(bar code) on every letter. Each letter has a different bar code, which
means that each contributor to Southwest Radio Church has their own
identifying code mark in our computer files, which also means the U.S. mail
service can identify each person getting our publications by that code
mark. Scary, huh?
This past month I received a letter from Media Spotlight, which stated in
part: "We were originally informed that new postal sorting regulations
would not apply to nonprofit organizations until October. We did not
immediately purchase sorting software and go through the laborious task of
converting our old mailing list database to download into it. Just before
we were ready to go to print we leamed that we had been misinformed and
that the new regulations had to be complied with immediately. On top of
that we purchased sorting software that we thought could do the job only to
find out that it will not sort for our specific requirements. More time
lost. As a result, we had to sort the entire mailing list by hand before
being able to apply the labels to the magazine. Finally, we did get the
mailing out on July 30, and you should be receiving your copy soon."
One reason Southwest Radio Church has had financial problems this summer
has been our delay in attempting to comply with new postal computerized
regulations. We must maintain hardware and equipment needed to comply,
plus software services. Every three months the software has to be updated,
and if there is a problem with either the hardware or the software, we
can't mail. Often we have been so late that coordinating direct mail with
programming has presented a serious obstacle. Most businesses employ some
form of bulk mailing, but if they do not comply with new postal
regulations, their business operations will be seriously hampered, if not
stopped altogether. In other words, they will not be able to work, buy, or
sell. Again we notice the wording of Revelation 13:16: "And he causeth all
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark. . .
." When the time comes for the mark of the beast, will people be aware that
it is the mark of the beast? Will the business world, which touches the
lives of everyone, cut its own throat and refuse to comply?
EXAMPLE NUMBER TWO: Reproduced on page 4 (of the original article) is a
copy of a directive to Southwest Radio Church from the Department of the
Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, dated July, 1996. Now what does this
directive tell us?
1. This directive informs us that we have no option . . . you MUST enroll
...NAFTA mandates ... The Internal Revenue Code requires you to use the
Electronic Federal Tax Payment. The only option we have in not complying is
to take a I 0 percent penalty, but it seems evident that this option will
only be temporary.
2. Beginning January 1, 1997, according to this directive, we have to
electronically remit taxes withheld from employees to the IRS. The
government will not accept cash, check, or credit cards. This is another
step toward a total cashless society, a society where every business
transaction can be checked at a Federal Reserve Bank.
3. This is not just an IRS, a Treasury Department, or a federal
bureaucratic directive. This is a NAFTA "mandate." This authority given to
NAFTA was evidently hidden within the hundreds of pages of the agreement by
the Clinton Administration. Why should NAFTA be telling Southwest Radio
Church to do anything, much less how to send employee taxes to the IRS? Why
have we given this authority to NAFTA? NAFTA will soon be under the
umbrella, if not already, of the WTO (World Trade Organization). Will we
soon have a world tax? We are told to make our enrollment immediately,
doubtless to receive our EFT account number and code mark. Will these
enrollment identifications be issued by the IRS or the WTO?
4. This is a NAFTA "mandate." What is a mandate? The New Webster's
Dictionary says of a mandate: "An instruction, or authorization given or
conferred... an order by a court or legal officer to an inferior court or
officer." In this case, NAFTA becomes the highest authority, not even
subject to any local, state, or federal court, including the Supreme Court.
Why did the Treasury Department choose the word mandate? It should be
fairly obvious. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, a mandate was
peculiar to Roman law. Caesar Augustus would have mandated that all the
world be taxed. Have we come full circle? Is the New World Order trying
to succeed where Augustus failed?
Subsequent news regarding the EFT of withholding taxes appeared on page 15
of the August 15, 1996, edition of the Daily Oklahoman: "Business in
Oklahomaandnationwidemaygetasix-month reprieve from a new Intemal Revenue
Service mandate that employment taxes be paid by electronic transfer.
Although the White House couldn't confirm it, President Clinton is expected
to sign legislation, delaying until July 1, mandatory employment tax
deposit s by electronic fund transfer .... The requirement would affect
business with more than $50,000 in employment taxes.... Electronic fund
transfer begins in 1999 for businesses with tax obligations under
$50,000...."
Evidently, in order to follow the policy of divide and conquer, this
mandate will initially affect only about half of the employers. If all
were affected at once, the opposition might be so great the mandate would
be difficult to enforce. The decision to delay six months the initial part
of the mandate could be due to presidential reelection qualms; therefore,
the order will be delayed until after the November presidential election.
What if an employer refused to follow the NAFTA mandate? Would he be
forced out of business? Would he be able to work, employ, buy, or sell
goods? Chances are that any business who refuses will indeed be caused by
the government to close the door on working, buying, or selling.
People are affaid of terrorism, crime, and violence. Our citizens are
tired of being taxed to support illegal immigration. We have been
conditioned to follow governmental and bureaucratic directives and
mandates. The mark of the beast will be very easy for the coming
Antichrist to enforce upon all the world. In fact, most will rush to get
their own mark and number.
Is this the mark of the beast? No, not yet, but it is very close
"Seeing then that all things shall I be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness... Nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness" (2 Pet. 3:11,13).
N.W. Hutchings
Copyright 1996 by Southwest Radio Church, used by permission.
The Prophetic Observer may be obtained from:
Southwest Radio Church
P.O. Box 1144
Oklahoma City, OK 73101
(800) 652-1144
***************
A Reason for the Hope
By Tess West
I have been a Christian for 16 years now, and through most of that time,
though I believed with all my heart that the bible was the inspired Word of
God, I had no proof. I had no facts on which to base my belief. I never
took the time to study where the scriptures came from our how our modern
translations come into being. But it never bothered me. I told myself that
one had to come to God by faith and therefore I didn't need any more proof
that the scriptures were from Him. I just had to have faith.
But, I found problems with my assumption. Although my faith was enough for
me, it wasn't enough to share with others. Often, when sharing with someone
a scripture, I would hear something like "Well, the Bible's been translated
and retranslated so much that it's full of errors. You can't trust it to be
accurate. The translators changed the meaning to fit their beliefs. etc..."
Interestingly enough, it was usually the parts of the scripture dealing
with a particular sin in the person's life that was suspect. "Surely God
wouldn't say "this" was wrong; this is just the way I am!" At this point, I
found myself with no recourse. I knew what I believed, but the other person
didn't share my belief. What solid ground did I have tostand on, if my
basic assumption was not a mutually shared foundation? And I had nothing to
back up my belief that this book was the inspired Word of God and therefore
could be trusted.I would walk away, knowing that there was more I should
have done. If I had a basis in fact for my belief, I could have truly
helped the person. Instead, I found myself frustrated and yearning to be a
real help to people in their time of need. Not to just spout lofty words,
but to share the truth of the words with conviction.
You see, after hearing so often that the Bible was riddled with error and
unreliable, I found the same thoughts creeping into my own thinking. The
strength of my love for God was not diminished, but the strength of my
faith in the infallability of the scriptures was. What I did not realize
was that this weakening undermined my entire Christian life, for God's
Word is the very foundation of our faith. If it is in error, we can know
nothing of God for sure. The enemy of our souls is so subtle. Often he does
not come with a full frontal attack, but instead he chips away at our
foundation with a small seed of a lie. If we do not uproot it immediately,
it grows -up to crack the very cement of our beliefs.
The only way to combat a lie is to know the truth. In these last days, the
lies flow around us in waves. They come from every side to overturn our
faith. Sadly, most Christians do not have the Truth that combats the lie.
We do not know why we believe or sometimes even what we believe. But we
cannot any longer have the luxury of "easy believism"; basing our faith on
shaky assumptions. We need to know the Word and know that it truly is the
inspired Word of God. The world will not accept our testimony if we cannot
give them a reason for our faith. We must wake up to the fact that we are
no longer dealing with a society that accepts the Bible as the Word of
God. In fact, most people today believe that it definitely is not. They
have been taught , through science and evolution, that there is no Creator.
If there is no Creator-God, there can be no Word of God, just a book
written by men. (and obsolete narrow-minded men at that, they would say) We
must be able to answer them with an intelligent argument about the proof of
scriptures.
I will not attempt to go into proof of the scriptures here. There are many
that have examined it much more diligently than I have; and have done
archeological and linguistic research that I could never dream of
accomplishing. The wonderful thing is that they have put these years of
research into terms that anyone can understand. Two books I would recommend
are "Evidence that demands a verdict" by Josh McDowell and "The Signature
of God" by Grant Jeffries. I'm sure there are countless others, but just
these two will go a long way toward strengthening the roots of your faith
in the scriptures.
Once you know the truth about how the scriptures came to be and their
accuracy which is demonstrated in science, history and archeology, you have
a foundation for your convictions.Then, it comes down to being firmly
rooted in the Word. For when we are grounded in the truth, it becomes not
just something we believe, but who we are. "you shall know the truth and
the truth shall set you free." John 8:32 When you know the truth of God
(and accept the truth, for Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the
life" John 14:6), you are free from the law of sin. You are free to live
the truth, not just talk about it.
Something I would like you to consider: If this country were to enter into
a time when we are persecuted for our faith, if your bible and any books
about the bible were taken away so that you could not study any longer,
would what you know now carry you through? Are you grounded enough in the
Word to suffer persecution and stand firm? Before you answer yes without
thinking consider this. Do you ever tell a "little white lie" when it makes
life more comfortable? You know, just to cover up something stupid you've
done? It doesn't really hurt anyone, right? Well, if we will lie just to
get out of looking silly in someone else's eyes, do you really think we
will stand up for the truth if it means our life or our freedom? Especially
if our belief does not grow out of the strong roots of the truth. I used to
think that in a situation that important "where it really counted", I
would have the courage to stand for God even if in the "little things" now
I would sometimes compromise for comfort . But the Lord has convicted me
that if I fail Him now in these simple tests, there is no chance I will
triumph in great trials. Without deep roots, my faith would wilt under the
intense heat of persecution.
I want to challenge you to study the Word of God, to find out how it came
to be and to fully understand just how accurate and dependable it is. Don't
base your faith on some vague assumptions. Study so that you can "be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope
that is in you." 1 Peter 3:15
A day may come when the hope within us is tested by fire. If it does, I
pray that in your life and mine these words from scripture will be true of
us: "that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is
perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: and though you have
not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe
in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." 1Peter
1:7-9
And maybe even more important than that future test is the testing in our
lives right now, today and tomorrow. When you are confronted with a world
that does not believe, may your faith be strong and your convictions deeply
rooted in the truth of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word of God.
"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved
(tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly
analyzing and accurately dividing [rightfully handling and skillfully
teaching] the Word of Truth." II Tim 2:15 (amplified version)
***************
A STARTLING ENCOUNTER WITH A RABBI IN JERUSALEM
by Jim Bramlett
Barbara Richmond has kept this amazing incident very private but now feels
led to share her miraculous experience in Jerusalem in 1995 involving a
group of rabbis.
There is no doubt that Barbara is a totally reliable witness. She is the
Director of Women's Ministries at a solid Central Florida church with which
I am familiar. I know her pastor. She is a popular Bible teacher, speaker,
seminar leader, author and radio host.
In September 1995, Barbara led a group on a tour of Israel, as she
frequently does. On their free day, with no scheduled activities, she went
with several of her group for shopping into the Old City of Jerusalem. Her
friends were in some shops and Barbara was waiting for them outside on one
of the narrow old streets. She says, "It was a beautiful afternoon and I
was leaning against one of the old stone walls, just kind of praying in the
Spirit, and enjoying where I was."
Suddenly, over her left shoulder, she heard a man's voice call, "Barbara."
She turned to look, but didn't see anyone she recognized. The only male on
that little street was a man she described as "in full black attire, big
beard, curls on the side" -- an Orthodox rabbi. She thought to herself that
he could not have been the one to say her name because they do not even
speak to women in public. In fact, she avoided eye contact as she knew this
sometimes offended them. She turned back, thinking maybe she had been
mistaken.
A few seconds later, she again heard the voice say, "Barbara -- isn't that
your name?" She looked again, and discovered the rabbi was looking right at
her. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Come here." She moved toward him. He told
Barbara his first name and said, "I live here in (the name of his
neighborhood). I wanted to tell you that I am a believer that Yeshua is the
Messiah. As a matter of fact, there are 40 of us rabbis in the community to
whom, as we have been studying the Torah, the Ruach ha 'kodesh (the Holy
Spirit) has shown that Yeshua is the Messiah."
Barbara's heart was so moved by this unusual work of the Holy Spirit that
she broke into tears. The rabbi added, "At present we are secret believers,
not because we are afraid, but because the Lord, the Holy Spirit, has not
told us to speak out our testimony yet. The Lord has told us to pray for
our brethren, so we are meeting at midnight, and we are praying."
Barbara asked the obvious question, "But how did you know me? Why are you
telling me this?"
The rabbi chuckled, and replied, "I don't know you. But last night we were
praying, and one of the other rabbis came over to me. He put his hand on my
shoulder, and said to me, 'Tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock, you go to (name
of street she was on), and you will see there an American woman with black
hair. Her name is Barbara. Give her this message.'"
The rabbi then gave Barbara the message. He said, "The Lord wants you to
know that what was spoken over you 26 years ago, He is about to bring to
pass."
Barbara was stunned, and overwhelmed with emotion. Only her husband knew
that exactly 26 years ago, in 1969, as a new believer of only three months,
she had gone to a Full Gospel Businessmen's meeting in New York City where
Kathryn Kuhlman, the evangelist with a powerful healing ministry, was one
of the main speakers. Barbara had only a momentary personal encounter with
her, but Kuhlman pointed her long finger directly at Barbara, as she often
did with people, and spoke these prophetic words: "The Lord is going to
take you to the nations and is going to do miracles at your hands, but you
are going to have to wait a few years to see it come to pass." Barbara had
never forgotten this.
He added, "The other thing that the Holy Spirit told this brother is that
when you get home from this trip, you will have a letter from Africa
waiting for you, inviting you to minister there, and you should go. It is
the Lord who is opening this door, and it will be a turning point in your
life."
Before they departed, the rabbi asked, "What do you do?" Barbara explained
that she was a Bible teacher. He replied, "Oh, would you be interested in
just some simple notes that I have accumulated since I have come to see
Yeshua?" She said yes, of course, and he later had delivered to Barbara's
hotel a collection of handwritten notes of Hebrew and cultural insights
into the New Testament, unique insights not evident in the English or Greek
words themselves. Barbara considers these notes a treasure, and is sharing
them (see below *).
Upon leaving, the rabbi told her, "When our testimony becomes public, I am
sure we will see each other again."
When Barbara got back home to the U.S., a letter from Africa was waiting
for her! It was an invitation to speak, which she obviously accepted. She
reports that miracles did, indeed, take place there, and that it was
definitely a turning point in her life. Barbara says there are people who
know nothing about her Jerusalem experience who have come up to her and
said, "Something really changed in Africa. We enjoyed your teaching before,
but this is just a totally different plane."
Barbara has been to Israel since, but has not seen the rabbi, nor has she
revealed his name, honoring his request.
I was most touched by Barbara's closing thoughts: "My prayer is that (this
testimony) will cause people to realize the lateness of the hour. When God
moves sovereignly like that among the Jewish people (revealing the Messiah
and manifesting gifts of the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament) --
and among the most religious of them -- the coming of Jesus is getting
close! I pray that everybody who hears this will be taken up with the
urgency of the hour."
(Comment: One wonders to how many more rabbis than the 40 had the Ruach ha
'kodesh, the Holy Spirit, revealed the Messiah by 1995, and how many more
since then. Only He knows, but He has greatly privileged us to be aware of
at least this much about what He is doing.)
* Barbara has included the information from the rabbi's notes in her book,
Jewish Insights Into the New Testament. A copy can be obtained for $8.00
(postage paid) by contacting her: Barbara Richmond, For Your Glory, Inc.,
P.O. Box 3152, Titusville, FL 32781; telephone (407) 383-9229; fax (407)
383-1336. She can also be contacted at her e-mail address ruth311@juno.com
Readers are permitted and encouraged to copy and freely share this article
with others. E-Mail comments or questions to Jim Bramlett aka
bramlett@magicnet.net
http://home.cwnet.com:80/crm/
***************
EZEKIEL 38 DECODED
madmac@europa.com
Ezekiel, tell Gog of the former Soviet Union that God thinks the leader of
Russia is a fool.
Ezekiel, tell Gog leader of Russia from Moscow to Siberia that God despises
him. Ezekiel, Prophet of the living God, send a message to Gog. Tell Gog
that I, the living God, will cause an economic depression so severe in the
Commonwealth of Independent States it will make you despair. Your army will
live in tents and plot coups; your young women will become prostitutes to
earn money.
Verse 4- You will deploy your entire military-your mechanized infantry and
Cossack horsemen armed to the teeth; and a great horde of soldiers in T-80
tanks and military vehicles, HIND helicopters and MIG aircraft, with all
your men waving their AK-47's and cursing God and the Jews. Iran, Iraq,
Afghanistan with the ex-Soviet Muslim Republics, Sudan with the Horn of
Africa; also Muslim North and West Africa will be with your horde. They
will all be well supplied with modern military weapons. Germany and Eastern
Europe, Ukraine with Minsk and St. Petersburg from the far north-this is
the Islamic Confederacy commanded by Gog.
Verse 7- Go to Red Alert; Be Combat Ready, Gog commander of the Islamic
Confederacy. You will be summoned at the right time to fulfill prophecy. In
the last days you will invade an Israel which has recovered from 2000 years
of desolation and war. Israel now lives unafraid of another Holocaust in a
prosperous garden of irrigated desert. But you Gog, with your Islamic
Confederacy, will blitzkrieg Israel, advancing like Hurricane Hugo over the
land.
Verse 10- This is what the living God says: In the last days Gog will
listen to Satan's hissing and will cunningly plan a murderous deception, a
new Holocaust, for the Jews. Gog will say, "I will invade these
unsuspecting Jews living in condos and apartments. I will despoil them of
their property and use the plunder to bribe my own people. Islam will also
pay me well for slaughtering the Jews."
Verse 13- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf States, ripe fruit waiting for
you to pluck it, will be terrified of your horde advancing on them. The
U.N., N.A.T.O., the E.C., the entire global community-the New World Order-
will say to you in amazement. "Why are you behaving in so politically
incorrect a manner? Haven't we given you billions of dollars in IMF and
World Bank loans and credits; forgiven billions more in debt to save your
economy? What about all the arms reductions treaties, SALT and all the
rest? Why did you deceive us Gog of the smooth smile? Why did you lead us
to believe peace and safety was at hand for us? Why did you lie to us and
tell us the Cold War was over? We must call an emergency session of the
United Nations and start a round of crisis diplomacy."
Verse14- Therefore, Ezekiel speak plainly to Gog and FAX him my message.
From God to Gog: When Israel is a nation again with the Jews living secure
and unafraid, will you not notice it? You will reveal yourself as the "man
of iron" with the charming smile from a God and Jew hating nation. A nation
with a bloody history-the Grizzly Bear of the far north. You will roar
forth from your cave: you and your Islamic Confederacy. They will be a
great horde, a mighty army, all of them mechanized and using the horsepower
of the internal combustion engine for mobility and speed. A blitzkrieg
involving tens of thousands of military vehicles; creating a dust cloud
covering the land.
Oh Gog, seductive and charming schemer of evil thoughts and bloody hands,
know that I, the living God, will bring you against my chosen people and
land at the proper time. I will allow you to fulfill your violent destiny
so the New World Order may realize Jesus is my name. I Jesus will reveal my
authority as God when I show myself holy by crushing you before their
stunned eyes. I Jesus, will crush your sin on CNN, live at five.
Verse 17- I've been watching your schemes since eternity Oh Gog. I've sent
my prophets and they've prophesied for years about you and your end time
invasion. So listen up Gog, and I Jesus will tell you how your invasion
will play out, how it will all go down.
When your insolence bears fruit and you start your invasion, I will take
notice and become violently angry. My wrath and anger, IRIS DEI, will
express itself as the greatest earthquake in the earth's history-off the
Richter's scale-in the land of Israel. The shaking will be so intense and
last for so many minutes every beast in the field and walking around will
stampede in fear. The intensity will be so great birds will fly around in
circles unable to land anywhere. The seismic waves will cause a great tidal
wave, making fish swim in terror. Men will die of heart attacks as
landslides and volcanic disturbances shake the walls and foundations of all
commericial and residential buildings worldwide. The infrastructure of
modern society: roads, bridges, communication systems, water, sewage, and
power plants will all be damaged. Broken natural gas lines will burn
unchecked in a world without electricity.
Verse 21- In the global chaos and anarachy, it will be every person for
themselves. All people will seek to live at any cost. Mobs of looters and
criminals will surge through every city in the world, the Los Angeles riots
repeated on a global scale. Your own army will kill itself in terror.
Verse 22- As for you Gog, your judgment has been summoned; it awaits only
my order to release it. Your army will be killed by plague and bloodshed; I
will drown you in torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur. You Gog,
along with your entire Islamic Confederacy, will die in your invasion
attempt.
Verse 23- This will show my greatness and holiness, making the power and
name of Jesus known to all mankind. There will be none on earth who do not
realize that Jesus is Yahweh-I AM THAT I AM.
Hope you don't think this somewhat creative interpretation is too off base.
I'm not claiming divine inspiration or anything. I think of it more like
the Phillip's Paraphrase bible I had many years ago. Well, let me know what
you think. Thanks Qualis Fiam talis iam fio- "What I am to be, I am now
becoming"
***************
THE COMING GREAT DELUSION!
by Alan Yusko
(http://www.io.org/~sower
BBS 416-498-5259/5962)
After the rapture God will permit a huge deception to come upon the world.
All those who have heard and rejected the Gospel will believe this
deception with all their hearts. We will look at the events described in
Second Thessalonians that lead up to the great deception.
2 Thessalonians 2
1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and [by] our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit,
nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand.
Second Thessalonians begins with an admonition to the Christians of Paul's
day not to be troubled that the day of Christ has already happened. Paul
goes on to describe some of the events that will occur during that time
period:
3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come],
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition;
First there will be a great falling away from sound Biblical truth. There
will be a famine in the land... a famine toward the Word of God. That is
certainly true today. We have a famine in the land and few are even
interested in learning about the Bible and the ways of God. Next Paul
mentions that along with a great apostasy - or falling away from Biblical
doctrine - the antichrist will rise to power. He is described as the 'son
of perdition'. He is a loser in the highest degree. Paul goes on to
describe the antichrist:
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
Midway in the 70th week of Daniels prophecy the antichrist will commit the
abomination of desolation mentioned in Daniel and Matthew. Here the
antichrist will enter into the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem and there
proclaim himself to be God. He will actually sit in the Temple and claim to
be God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
Paul goes on to tell the Thessalonians that there is something withholding
the revealing of the man of sin, the son of perdition. He will certainly be
revealed to the world but only in the time allowed so by God Almighty.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
[will let], until he be taken out of the way.
Here Paul is describing the restrainer that is holding back the evil in
this world. He describes it as the 'mystery of iniquity'... the evil works
of the devil. He mentions that it is a person restraining this evil
(letteth - to restrain). That person is the Holy Spirit which is now
residing inside the Church! However He that restrains (letteth) will one
day be taken out of the way. Now how can the Holy Spirit be taken out or
removed? Well He can't! The Holy Spirit is omni-present meaning He is
present everywhere at all times. However the Church can be removed and this
will happen at the rapture. At this point the Holy Spirit restraining evil
from within the Church will be removed. The restraining influence of a Holy
Spirit filled, praying, interceding Church will be removed. What happens
when this happens??? Look at the next verse:
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming:
Once the restrainer is removed the antichrist will be free to rise to power
for his 'short' time here on earth. When the Lord Jesus returns to earth at
the climax of the battle of Armageddon, the antichrist and his kingdom will
be destroyed!
9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders,
When the antichrist comes to power he will do so by the power of the devil
himself. During that time there will be all kinds of evil satanic miracles
and lying wonders to deceive the lost.
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
For those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ they will be totally
deceived. Since they rejected the love of the truth (the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ) they will be deceived. Their end result will be to perish in
the lake of fire -- forever.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie:
Now we have come to the topic of this tract. God is going to allow a strong
delusion to come upon the world after the rapture. We saw above that the
antichrist will be allowed to come to power after the restrainer is removed
or taken away. At the rapture of the Church the restrainer of the wicked
one is removed. The devil will be free to bring his antichrist to power to
rule and reign on planet earth. Along with all the deceptions and satanic
miracles, God will send a strong delusion so that the lost will believe a
lie. Why does God want those who have rejected the truth to believe a lie?
See verse 12 below:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.
The purpose of the GREAT DELUSION that will come upon the world will be to
allow the lost to be deceived and perish. Since the lost have rejected the
truth they will be given a lie to believe with all their hearts.
That is a warning to everyone who is reading this tract. If you have heard
the Gospel and still rejected it, one day soon the Lord God will send a
delusion that you will believe with all your heart. The end result will be
eternity in the lake of fire - hell.
Now who will believe this great delusion - or lie? It will be all the
people who have heard the Gospel and rejected it. It is a very serious
thing to hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation He
freely offers ... and to reject it. One day soon it will be too late as God
will send that delusion to the Christ rejectors of this world. This does
not mean that there will be no one saved during the 70th week of Daniel's
prophecy. Many in this world have not heard and understood the Gospel. They
will also be given a chance to believe. However it will be too late for
those who have heard the Gospel and yet have rejected it!
WHAT IS THE GREAT DELUSION?
The Bible doesn't tell us in detail what exactly this deception is. However
I have a good guess as to what it may be related to.
We know that before the return of the Lord Jesus at the consummation of
this age there will be a manifestation of the powers of darkness on earth.
Satan and his demons will perform 'signs and lying wonders' with the goal
of deceiving mankind.
There is a great deception coming into the world. All who reject the truth
of the Gospel of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will believe
this lie. Could UFO's and contact with alien beings be a part of this
deception? I think it is! The following are the major beliefs or Theology
of UFO'ology:
1) God is not a personal being. God is an impersonal force 2) The Bible is
not God's only revelation to man 3) The Lord Jesus Christ is not the only
Saviour 4) There is no eternal punishment or hell 5) There is no
resurrection from the dead 6) Man himself can evolve from planet to planet
to perfection by reincarnation
7) Mankind evolved and was not created by a 'God'.
The world has been setup to receive this lie of UFOs and beings from other
worlds. By the foundations of atheism and evolution God has been removed
from the scene by most in academic land. Next TV and movies have
popularized space themes and contact with other races who are also
'evolving' as the human race is (supposedly). The sad thing is that many
take things meant for fiction too literally.
One day, after the rapture, the antichrist will come to power. There will
be open contact with extra-dimensional beings (demons). They will make many
godless claims and have the false miracles and (technology) to back them
up. All those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will totally accept this
deception of the devil.
There will be all kinds of evidence... like proof of some kind that there
is life in space... or whatever... to give some credibility to the great
deception coming on the world. Many will accept this lie and they will then
have their excuse to totally reject the Bible and God (unto the perishing
of their souls).
Another interesting point about UFO's and contact with 'aliens' can also be
seen in that the world of the occult (psychics, mediums, etc.) has embraced
UFO's and contact with 'alien beings'. The occultists frequently speak
about our 'friendly' space brothers who wish to help mankind with their
superior knowledge and technology. Channeling (spiritism) is one way to get
in contact with these 'space beings' (demons in disguise).
The Bible warns: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils" (1 Tim. 4:1). The coming deception will literally
be doctrines of devils openly presented to the world. Again I repeat that
ALL who have heard the Gospel and rejected it will accept and believe this
great deception. Since they rejected the truth God will allow them to
believe a lie with all their hearts. The end result will be that the lost
will perish forever in the lake of fire -- separated from God. It is not a
light thing to hear the Gospel and then to reject it. The Bible clearly
says:
2 Corinthians 6
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of
salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time;
behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)
Today, today, today is the day of salvation. There is no promise for
tomorrow. If you hear the Gospel today and reject it then there is no
promise for tomorrow. Tomorrow may come or it may not. Tomorrow may hold
the great deception and it will be too late for you! Your own eternal soul
is not something to be considered lightly.
YOU MUST MAKE A CHOICE!
"...choose you this day whom ye will serve;...but as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).
TOMORROW MAY BE.......TOO LATE!!!!
DON'T "PUT OFF" ACCEPTING THE LORD JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOUR AND LORD BECAUSE
TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE
2 Corinthians 6:2
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of
salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time;
behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)
Proverbs 27:1
1. Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth.
Proverbs 29:1
1. He, that being often reproved hardeneth [his] neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy.
THE FOLLOWING ILLUSTRATES THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE:
Luke 12:16
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich
man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have
no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build
greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many
years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry.
20 But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided?
21 So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
THE END OF THE AGE AND THE RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS WILL BE A SURPRISE TO
MANY PEOPLE.
Matthew 24:37
37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered
into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh
upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
2 Peter 3:3
3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the
creation.
2 Peter 3:10
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be
burned up.
Mark 8:36
36 FOR WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN, IF HE SHALL GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND
LOSE HIS OWN SOUL?
THE BIBLE SAYS
ALL HAVE SINNED:
Romans 3
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
SIN HAS A PENALTY:
Ezekiel 18
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity
of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon him.
Luke 13
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
THE LORD JESUS PAID THE PENALTY:
Isaiah 53
4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.
YOU MUST RECEIVE THE LORD JESUS:
John 1
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
Revelation 3
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
me.
"NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER: FOR THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME
UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED" (Acts 4:12).
SINNERS PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. I ask you to come into my life to
forgive and save me. I now receive You as my Saviour (trusting in You ALONE
to save me) and my Lord (making You my Master and committing my life to
You).
***************
Prophe-Zine News Bytes
F.Y.I. - Israel In the News
Week Ending: October 12, 1996/Tishri 29, 5757
"Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; declare among the peoples
His deeds. For He who requires blood remembers them; He does not forget the
cry of the afflicted." Psalm 9.11-12
EREZ PIECE TALKS: Palestinian officials Wednesday were criticizing Israel's
positions in the current round of piece talks. The Palestinians want Israel
to understand the need to implement the agreement that the previous Israeli
government signed, particularly as it applies to an Israeli withdrawal from
Hevron. After one week of unproductive talks, the Palestinian Authority
(PA) has called on the US to pressure Israel to implement the redeployment
in Hevron. The PA says Israel is demanding changes in the Hevron
redeployment agreement itself and not merely changes in its practical
implementation, which was the basis for the current talks. The talks resume
in Eilat and Taba Sunday, with the continued participation of US piece
talks coordinator Dennis Ross.
Dennis Ross, the US mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian piece talks,
traveled to the autonomous town of Shechem Saturday to meet with PA leader
Yasser Arafat as part of preparations for the second week of the talks.
After meeting with Arafat, Ross said there are still obvious gaps between
the Israeli and Palestinian positions and that great efforts are being made
to bridge those gaps. Arafat and the PA in Shechem Saturday and authorized
the piece talks to succeed, but on Friday his security chief said he was
100 per cent sure there would be an agreement on the key issue -- an
Israeli withdrawal from Hevron.
It is being reported that US Secretary of State Christopher has announced
he can do little else to act as a buffer between Israel and European
nations. According to the report from "sources" in Jerusalem, Christopher
stated he can do very little to protect Israel or come to her defense. The
government must now move from the talking stage to one of actions regarding
the piece negotiations with the PA. He added that the talks between the two
sides must be completed as quickly as possible and the implementation of
agreements must begin. (VOA, Jerusalem Post, Channel 2 Radio News/SNS)
ARAFAT PLAYED KEY ROLE IN RECENT VIOLENCE: Civil Administration Head
Maj.-Gen. Oren Shachor told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee Tuesday that Yassir Arafat was personally responsible for the
spilling of blood at the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem and that it was Arafat
who instigated the riots throughout Judea, Samaria, and Gaza two weeks ago.
Maj.-Gen. Shachor further told the Knesset committee that confrontations
between Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers and PLO paramilitary police
could erupt again on any given day for "different and strange reasons."
Associated Press reports that, according to Yediot Aharonot, the PA had
made advance preparations to fight Israeli soldiers and had placed
sharpshooters in key locations in anticipation of last month's fighting.
Snipers were located, among other places, at the main Israel-Gaza crossing
point, where PA police covered them during four hours of clashes there.
"The sharpshooters' firing was pre-planned, and done with orders from
above," said the report, citing unnamed military sources. Yediot Aharonot's
defense correspondent Alex Fishman wrote that "These were actions that were
well planned and were prepared even before the violence broke out." Israeli
television commentator Amnon Abramovitz said that, according to
investigations by the Israeli army, Arafat's government had advance plans
for a gunfight with Israeli troops. Some of the Palestinians firing on
Israeli positions were sharpshooters with telescopic sites, he said, who
"were shooting with the intent to kill." On Thursday, Arafat participated
in a meeting of the Palestinian Autonomous Council, and said, "We are ready
for a confrontation along the entire area from Rafiah [Gaza] to Jenin
[south of Afula]. I know that my words are being broadcast live, and I say
in the clearest manner, we are not afraid." PM Netanyahu spoke at the
Economic Club in Tel Aviv and said, "I will not accept the scare tactics of
the Arabs, and I will not conduct negotiations under pressure and
violence." Wednesday, Arafat had told an Egyptian newspaper, "I will not be
able to prevent another intifada . . . The explosion between Israel and the
Palestinian autonomy is approaching." Arafat, in an interview with the
Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz on October 1st, said that PM Netanyahu is
"still a baby in the issues of diplomacy, and he will need more experience
and more brains before he will
be able to bargain with the Palestinians
about their own lands." He emphasized, "We will clarify to Netanyahu that
despite his efforts to have us fulfill all of our obligations, we will not
hesitate to tear up those same agreements and throw them in their faces in
response to their aggression." President Weizmann, who met in his Caesaria
home with Arafat earlier this week, expressed "distress" at those remarks,
saying that they contradict what Arafat told him during their meeting.
(Arutz Sheva, SNS)
ISRAEL EASES CLOSURE: The Karnei Checkpoint in Gaza is open and running,
once again. The commercial crossing is used to bring goods and merchandise
to and from PA-controlled Gaza. As agreed upon in the ongoing piece talks
between Israel and the PA, Israeli and PA security troops at the border
crossings will be armed with handguns only in place of the automatic
weapons issued prior to the recent Arab rioting. It is estimated that
approximately 10,000 Arab residents of PA-controlled Gaza entered into
"Israel proper" Wednesday to work. On Sunday, additional measures will go
into effect to ease-up on the restrictions placed on PA-controlled areas by
Israel. A total of 35,000 Arab workers from Judea, Samaria and Gaza will be
permitted to enter into "Israel proper" beginning Sunday morning. In
addition, all of the internal closures imposed on PA-controlled area by
Israel will be removed with the exception of Shechem. (Channel 2 Radio
News/SNS)
TEMPLE MOUNT UPDATE: Three Supreme Court Justices - Tal, Heshin, and Bach -
rejected late Friday morning an urgent petition on the part of the Temple
Mount Faithful organization against the opening of the mosque in the
Solomon's Stables area of the Mount. The appellants claimed that the
construction of the mosque by the Waqf was carried out in blatant violation
of the law, in total disregard of a court order, and was severely harmful
to archaeological findings. The Temple Mount Faithful will hold a protest
against the recent Temple Mount developments at 4:30 pm on Sunday, opposite
the Mashbir in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Islamic officials stated Friday that the mosque will not open
this coming Sunday, as originally planned, as "the continuation of the
renovations will take up to a week." Head of Religious Affairs in the PA
Hasan Tahboub said, "There will be massacres if there is any attempt to
stop the opening of the mosque."
Internal Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani stated on Wednesday, "The Wakf
received permission to . . . renovate last year, because the rains during
Ramadan created a need for a dry place to pray. The permission granted then
remains in effect," and the government will likely make it permanent. Wakf
Director Adnan Husseini reiterated the Wakf's position, that there was no
Hasmonean Tunnel-Solomon's Stables deal. "They can continue to say what
they want, but the fact is there was no deal," he said. . Solomon's Stables
(the Marawani prayer area, as the Moslems call the new mosque) is a series
of underground halls approximately 12.5 meters (approximately 14 yards)
below the south-eastern corner of the Temple Mount and covers about four
dunams (1 acre) in the eastern side of Al-Aksa Mosque. Pillars from the
time of Herod support the ceiling; the area was renovated during the period
of the Crusaders, at which time it was the dwelling of the infamous Knights
Templar.
It has been alleged that orders were given to Jerusalem Municipality
Building Inspectors to lower the profile regarding the illegal Arab
construction on the Temple Mount. It is now being alleged that inspectors
were pressured to "look the other way." Reports state that senior
governmental officials have been exerting pressure on key Jerusalem
Municipality figures to prevent them from taking actions against the
illegal construction on the Temple Mount, being carried out by the Moslem
Wakf. According to one portion of a Jerusalem Municipality report, the
building may be considered an extension or renovation of an existing
structure and need not be considered an illegal new structure. Government
officials rejected this viewpoint, stating the Moslem Wakf construction was
indeed a new structure and it violates the Court orders banning the
construction. Gideon Avni, Chief Archaeologist of the Jerusalem Region,
stated there has been irreversible damage done to the antiquities on the
Mount, due to the illegal building.
An undisclosed number of Jews, identifying with the Chai Vekaiyam
Organization, were arrested Wednesday as they attempted to pray on the
Temple Mount.
In a related story, Ha'Aretz reports the PA is now claiming that Rachel's
Tomb in Bethlehem is the traditional tomb of the Cushite servant of
Mohammed and that, therefore, Moslems have the right to pray in the Tomb as
they wish. This "tradition" is not recorded anywhere. (Arutz Sheva, SNS,
Channel 2 Radio News, The Voice in the Field News Service, IMRA)
HEVRON DISPATCH: In meetings at the Erez checkpoint this week with the PA,
Israeli delegation head Lt.-Gen. (Res.) Dan Shomron said that the
Palestinian police in Hevron will not be permitted to bear automatic-fire
weapons, such as Kalachnikov rifles, but only pistols. He also said that
although the previous agreement remains in force, this does not apply to
the specific details of its implementation. This statement aroused great
objections on the Palestinian side. Palestinian delegation head Saeb Erekat
said, "If you have security problems with the Jews in Hevron, have them
leave." Brig.-Gen. David Agmon responded with a short lecture on the
3,000-year history of Jews in Hevron. The discussion became very tense, and
Shomron recommended the establishment of sub-committees to deal with each
dispute as it arises, in order to avoid a situation whereby every
disagreement endangers the entire negotiations. The Palestinians accepted
this proposal, and both sides hoped that this would calm the atmosphere.
Galei Tzahal reports Israel is weighing a PA suggestion for the
establishment of a joint Israeli-PA force that would be entrusted to
monitor and enforce the security in Hevron, following an IDF redeployment
from the area. This special unit would include patrol vehicles and
stationary outposts inside Hevron. The suggestion for the new unit was made
by Yassir Arafat during his meeting with President Ezer Weizman. Israel now
reports that security officials are discussing the idea.
The Associated Press reports Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs toured
Hevron together Friday to get a closer look at the problems standing in the
way of an Israeli troop withdrawal. PM Netanyahu wants to conclude a deal
on Hevron as quickly as possible, said his spokesman, David Bar- Illan.
Ha'Aretz said Israel hoped to reach a deal before the US elections in
November, but Bar-Illan denied the US vote was a factor.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Burns, spokesman for the US State Department, said that
no one disputes the right of Jews to live in Hevron. In a press briefing
Tuesday night, he said the Jews have been living in Hevron for thousands of
years. Representatives of the Hevron Jewish community were gratified at the
surprising Washington announcement. Independent media analyst Dr. Aaron
Lerner (IMRA) asked Nabil Aburodeina, spokesman for Yassir Arafat, about
the statement from Washington Tuesday that Jews have lived in Hevron for
thousands of years. Aburodeina responded, "There is an agreement that the
Jews living there now shall remain there during the interim period and
abide by Palestinian law. The question of the Jews in Hevron will be
negotiated in the negotiations over the final arrangement. So far there is
no problem with them staying in Hevron under our protection, just like
there are Jews who stay in Joseph's Tomb in Nablus [Shechem] under
Palestinian protection."
In another story, hundreds of residents from Kiryat Arba, Hevron and the
Gush Etzion areas attended a demonstration Saturday night at the entrance
to Kiryat Arba. The demonstrators called on the Netanyahu-led government
"not to concede to demands made by the terrorist, Arafat," and not to
abandon the security needs of the residents of the Hevron and Kiryat Arba
communities.
Peace Now spokesman Musi Raz admitted to Arutz Sheva that he and several of
his colleagues in the Peace Now movement broke through the IDF barrier at
the entrance to Hevron. They were part of a delegation of left-wing writers
who visited the city last Saturday in what they called a "mission of
peace." Raz said, "We simply moved the barrier aside and progressed on
foot." Mr. Raz's admission confirmed the testimony of a reserve IDF soldier
who was stationed at the time adjacent to the barrier in question.
According to Raz, he and his friends decided not to follow the orders of
the IDF soldiers at the checkpoint because they felt that the military
orders closing the area were forged. In addition, Mr. Raz said that he and
those with him felt that the IDF soldiers on duty there belonged to the
extreme right-wing. The IDF will apparently be filing a formal complaint
with the police against the men. (Arutz Sheva, SNS, The Voice in the Field
News Service)
EARTHQUAKE ROCKS MIDDLE EAST: A strong Mediterranean earthquake rattled
much of the Middle East on Wednesday, killing an Egyptian whose house
collapsed on top of her and injuring 21 Cypriots. The magnitude-6.8 quake
also was felt across Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, western Turkey and the
Greek islands of Rhodes and Crete. The US Geological Survey said the 3:10
pm earthquake occurred in the Mediterranean Sea about 20 miles southwest of
the Cypriot port of Paphos and some 80 miles from Nicosia. Wednesday's
quake was felt for more than two minutes. More than 150 aftershocks
continued, ranging in magnitude from 2 to 4.8 -- most of them barely
detectable. (AP)
EGYPT LEADS ANTI-ISRAEL SENTIMENT: Egypt, exhorted by its leader, Hosni
Mubarak, has become the focus of Arab invective against Israel. Cairo has
done all in its power to foment the Arab world, coordinating positions with
the most radical states, including Iraq and Iran. All of Egypt's official
newspapers labeled the Washington conference a failure, as they emphasized
Mubarak's declaration that the next "explosion" between Israel and the
Palestinians will be much worse than an exploding bus. Editorials and
op-eds generously praised the Egyptian leader for refusing to participate
in the summit, a stance which served to fan the flames of resentment
against Arafat in the territories. In Cairo, the media reported that
popular sentiment against Israel had reached a fever pitch; student
organizations and labor unions were planning a series of demonstrations
against Israel and the US during the coming week. Egypt's campaign of
incitement against Israel found an echo in Lebanon and Syria; Hizb'Allah
and the Palestinian "Rejectionist Front" groups called on the Palestinians
in the territories to commence a holy war against Israel, parallel to
planned attacks from Lebanon on Israel's northernmost villages.
Last week, Mubarak -- with the help of former Israeli prime minister Shimon
Peres -- has attempted to coordinate with France and Italy a diplomatic
move in which the European Community would send a delegation to participate
in the talks between Israel and the PA. This step, which the US sees as
detrimental for the piece process, was torpedoed when Germany (with
American support) succeeded in removing the proposal from the EC's agenda.
Commentators considered that this effort by Mubarak was meant to restore
his pride, tarnished by his non-participation in the Washington conference,
and to unnerve the American administration, which opposed the
re-appointment of former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Butrus Ghali as
UN Secretary-General. On this matter there were harsh attacks on the US in
the Egyptian press. The government-controlled Al-Aharam declared that the
US had ceased to be a fair mediator between Israel and the Arabs; the Arab
world must now turn to Europe.
The Egyptian weekly Ruz Al-Yusuf reported a secret agreement between Egypt
and the Arab League states to create political pressure that would force
Netanyahu's removal from office. The newspaper claimed that the campaign,
discussed behind closed doors during an emergency meeting of the Arab
League in Cairo two weeks ago, was meant to preserve the gains made by the
Arabs in Israel over the last four years. (Arutz Sheva)
ON THE NORTHERN FRONT: Reuters reports that Israeli jets attacked
Hizb'Allah guerrilla targets in south Lebanon Saturday hours after a South
Lebanese Army (SLA) patrol was ambushed, security sources said. The was no
report of casualties in the air attack, which came hours after guerrillas
ambushed a patrol of the SLA militia in Markaba in the zone. In a separate
incident on Friday night, IDF troops killed two gunmen from the Amal
movement and wounded a third. Hizb'Allah guerrillas Thursday attacked SLA
militia within the southern Lebanese border zone, triggering a retaliatory
shelling by Israel, Lebanese security sources said. Hizb'Allah fired
mortars and machine guns at a militia post in Beit Yahun. Israeli and SLA
artillery then retaliated by shelling targets in Lebanon outside the buffer
zone, the sources said. (Lebanon Newswire)
SYRIAN THREAT LOWERED: During an extensive tour of IDF positions on the
Golan Heights, Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai said there has been a
substantial decrease in tension with Syria. Mordechai listened to a
briefing by IDF OC Northern Command Maj.- Gen. Amiram Levin on the security
situation along the Israeli-Syrian border, and on the recent reinforcements
and movements of Syrian troops in Lebanon. Mordechai issued a personal
invitation to Syrian President Hafez el-Assad to visit Jerusalem and talk
with Israeli leaders. However, Mordechai emphasized that the IDF is still
monitoring developments on the other side of the border and remains
prepared for any eventuality. Meanwhile, the IDF is conducting large
military exercises in the north. Mordechai stated the government of Syria
sees the exercises and is well aware of the might of the IDF and what it
would be up against should it decide to launch an offensive. "The IDF will
always be ready for whatever may come its way," stated Mordechai. On
Sunday, Syria is scheduled to begin large- scale military maneuvers. Israel
stated it will be following the Syrian activity very carefully.
In a related story, Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas Sunday warned that
there was a real threat to the region's stability because of PM Netanyahu's
hardline policies. Speaking at the anniversary of the 1973 Middle East war,
Tlas accused Israel of blocking the piece process and urged Arab states to
halt all forms of normalization with Israel. "Netanyahu has been beating
the drums of war . . . and what is happening in the region warns of a real
threat to the piece process and stability in the region," Tlas told the
ruling party newspaper al-Baath. The Syrian Defense Minister said war broke
outin 1973 with Israel because the situation between the Jewish states and
its Arab neighbors was unclear. "The October war was a necessary and
correct option after the situation of 'no war, no peace' which the Zionist
enemy tried to impose on Arabs," Tlas said. (Israel Line, Channel 2 TV
News, Reuter)
TERRORISTS STOPPED IN TRACKS: Security forces arrested on Monday night a
group of terrorists who were en route to carrying out an attack in Tel
Aviv, Ma'ariv reported. Wide searches are being conducted to locate a
terrorist who succeeded in escaping after the cell was caught. An
investigation of the terrorists has revealed that the cell is connected
with Hamas. Members of the group were carrying a leaflet with the names of
the Palestinians killed during riots that took place in the territories two
weeks ago. Ha'Aretz reported that the IDF has tightened security checks at
crossings between the territories and Israel out of the concern that Hamas
or the Islamic Jihad will attempt to carry out an attack inside of Israel.
Security forces have initiated activities intended to prevent attacks. Such
activity has already lead to the recent arrest of Islamic Jihad and Hamas
activists in areas of the territories under Israeli security control.
(Israel Line)
JORDAN COOLS RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL: "In the current situation, if we do not
stride strongly forward to achieve peace, everything imaginable can happen,
including a revival of 1991 when Netanyahu wore his gas mask on
television," Hussein said in an interview published in the Arabic daily
Asharq al-Awsat. Jordan's King Hussein and PM Netanyahu have not talked to
each other in the last 10 days. The silence comes amid recent warnings from
the Jordanian ambassador here that relations between the two countries have
deteriorated. Though Netanyahu and Hussein are not talking, lower-level
contacts are taking place. The prime minister's foreign policy aide Dore
Gold and Jordan's Ambassador to Israel Omar Rifai met last week. There are
also contacts between officials in Jerusalem and Hussein's aides in Amman.
However, signs of a worsening of ties are evident. It took Israel's
ambassador Shimon Shamir many days to convince Jordanian Prime Minister
Abdul Karim Kabariti to meet him. Moreover, Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan
has yet to reschedule a canceled trip to Israel planned for earlier this
month. Jordanian officials have said that ties between the two countries
cannot be mended until after the IDF redeploys in Hevron. However, Hussein
telephoned President Ezer Weizman on Thursday evening to invite him to
visit Jordan. Weizman responded that he would be happy to come to Amman
after coordinating the visit with Netanyahu. His spokeswoman Batya Keinan
confirmed the conversation. (Jerusalem Post, SNS)
AND THE TERROR CONTINUES . . .: A Molotov cocktail was thrown Wednesday
morning at an IDF patrol jeep, between Jerusalem and its northern neighbor,
the Kalandia refugee camp. The bottle hit the jeep, but no injuries or
damage were reported. The IDF troops opened fire in the direction from
which the bottle was thrown, and in a search of the area, found another
ready-for-action Molotov bottle.
Rocks and bottles are being thrown at Jewish vehicles traveling past the
Arab village of Abud (Shomron) Wednesday evening. No injuries were been
reported.
The Judea-Samaria Police District has been waging a widespread campaign
over the past few days against the increase in rock-throwing that has been
registered throughout the region. The officers of the Kadum police station
raided the Arab village of Kfar Azzun in Samaria two days, arrested several
people suspected of throwing stones, and confiscated tens of Molotov
cocktails and much home-made ammunition. In Al-Jib, north of Jerusalem, the
police arrested a 20-year old who admitted having thrown stones "hundreds
of times" and having burnt the car of a soldier who abandoned it after he
was attacked by stone- throwing Arabs.
On Saturday, two firebombs were thrown at a Jewish vehicle traveling on the
Beit Lechem (Bethlehem,) Bypass Road. No injuries or damage was reported.
(Arutz Sheva, SNS, Galei Tzahal)
Send comments to Lee Underwood at: mbi@digital.net Archives located at:
http://www.inet-images.com/fellowship/fyi.htm Note: The word "peace" is not
misspelled in this document. When used in conjunction with the Middle East
process, it is correctly spelled "piece"-ed.
==============================================================
Lee Underwood mbi@digital.net
"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will
not keep quiet" Isaiah 62:1
==============================================================
+++++++++++++
And Time Was No More
by Raymond Clarke
It is beginning to look as if President Clinton might be re-elected,
although there are still a few weeks to go prior to the election. I am
having a real problem understanding why the American people are so blinded
on this matter or so it would appear. However, I had trouble understanding
how he ever got elected the first time. We were just coming out of
President Bush's first term where only a few months earlier his popularity
was running extremely high following the Gulf War. Many believed that there
was no use to even challenge President Bush in the presidential race. He
was a pro-life president and made every attempt to appoint conservatives to
the Supreme Court. Prior to his presidency we had a very popular,
conservative president in Ronald Reagan. With the conservative mood of the
nation, how was it possible that such a liberal as Bill Clinton could ever
be elected president?
He stood for everything that the conservative Christian abhorred, yet many
of them voted for him. He told us that he would give support to the gay and
lesbian community. He told us that he would support a pro-death agenda
although he called it pro-choice. He told us that he would support fetal
tissue research or the use of aborted babies for human experimentation. He
also told us that he would give us a tax cut and that was about the only
thing which he promised that he did not do . He attempted to give to
America socialized medicine but America rejected that. He made certain that
late term babies could be legally and brutally slaughtered and even a few
liberal senators gave support to him on this issue and denied the desires
of some eighty percent of the people. He has just about sold us down the
river with strong support for a one world government. He has downsized the
military and weakened our national defense. He has attempted to take credit
for much of what the Republican congress has accomplished. He was even
claiming credit for the rapidly recovering economy soon after he took
office when his policies could not possibly have had any effect. He
promised a balanced budget but has made every effort to block a balanced
budget by vetoing it twice. This list could go on endlessly but if this is
not enough to repulse you then this is probably written for your benefit.
A few months ago I saw no way this man could be re-elected to the
Presidency of the United States. Now, he comes back proclaiming a
conservative agenda in an effort to deceive the electorate and we are
actually buying into his rhetoric or so it would appear. It is beyond my
ability to comprehend. It appears that America is going to vote him back
into office. Of course Bob Dole does not help matters as he has compromised
the abortion issue into oblivion as far as this election is concerned. It
defies my ability to understand what is happening to America.
Never-the-less, this man, Bill Clinton, is leading America down the "prim
rose" path to destruction and few Americans comprehend what is happening to
us.
As I thought about this situation and meditated upon it following his
election four years ago it came to me that here we Christians had been
depending upon Presidents Reagan and Bush to keep abortion in check and
hold the front on other moral issues. We put our dependency upon the
presidency rather than upon God and just maybe God allowed Bill Clinton to
win the presidency to let us know who is actually in charge. We were
placing our faith in the presidency rather than in Almighty God and that
was perhaps a mistake. No doubt it was a mistake!
Now, here we are four years later and hopefully better informed about this
man but "lo and behold" we are about to put him back into office again. Can
you believe it? I told several of my friends that if Bill Clinton wins
re-election we had better start looking up for the time has to be short.
Almighty God must have a higher plan in mind than we can comprehend. Is it
possible that, as we near the end and the prophetic calendar ticks down as
prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes, He must have someone in
the office of Presidency who lacks the moral courage to stand up for
American. Could it be that He actually wants someone in the White House who
will indeed sell the very soul of America to the New World Order. No nation
can continue to stand when its moral character is destroyed and with a
President who lacks moral character and an electorate who will give support
to him, this nation shall not stand as a bastion of freedom as it has stood
in the past. This tells me that our time on this earth is not long. There
is going to soon be a "snatching away" and these people of the world will
finally get the desires of their heart, a world without the Christian
influence, but it shall indeed be a chaotic time and short lived.
I know and understand that not everyone shares my views or beliefs and that
I am not being very sensitive to everyone else's viewpoint. But you know,
what you or I might believe makes absolutely no difference because God's
Word is going to stand no matter what you or I think. His Word has clearly
told us how the end will come or rather the new beginning and your
disbelief is not going to change one single thing. About the only thing
your unbelief is going to do for you is lead you into eternal damnation
because God's word is absolute and unchanging. It shall indeed stand
eternally and nothing you can say or do will change it. Your only hope is
to accept God's plan of salvation which provides each of you a pardon. It
is yours for the taking and it is found in His word (Romans 10) if you care
enough to look it up.
What does this say for us today. Do we continue to fight within the
political system to change things? To be sure we do not give up and hand it
over to Satan and his crowd but we had better get into God's word and
follow his instructions. He has told us to use the spiritual weapons which
are available to us (namely prayer). The carnal weapons we employ will
never get the job done. We are involved in spiritual warfare and if we
continue to depend upon our own strength we shall lose this battle. We had
better begin to depend upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ and place our every
thought in Him. Oh, I understand that " Separation of Church and State" is
politically correct. I know! As a recently retired public school
administrator, I have heard that garbage about enough. When Jesus Christ
returns to rule over this earth do you believe that spiritual values shall
be separated from government. No way! I do not know what some of you
"liberal Christians (if there is any such thing) are going to do about
that.
Do you believe that He is going to sanction abortion? Is He going to give
support homosexuality and contend that it is but an alternate lifestyle?.
Get real! Is he going to be broadminded enough to accept every religion
ever devised by man? Hardly! We had better remember that this world system
includes everything which is not of Christ. It includes all governments,
social and political systems, economic systems, public education etc. Wake
up America! Repent! Join the only team which can win, though it may seem
like defeat for a while we cannot lose.
In conclusion the presidency shall not stand. Bill Clinton is of no
consequences and should be of little concern to the Christian for we know
that he is being used to fulfill Bible prophecy. We must rise to a higher
level and depend upon Jesus Christ, the only real authority in the world
today. We should continue to sand unmoved for the Christian principles as
presented in the Bible but we should never worry about the Bill Clinton's
of this world for they are but a vapor upon the screen of time soon to pass
into oblivion to be remembered no more unless, of course, they indeed
humble themselves before the mighty hand of God and repent. To be sure He
is faithful and just to forgive and forget. As long as you remain in this
physical body there is time to repent before time shall cease to exist and
be no more. But once you move out of time into eternity your eternal
destination shall be forever sealed and no amount of remorse will change
your eternal destiny. What then are the Bill Clintons going to do? I
realize that I have been hard on President Clinton but I do and we should
pray for him. He is blinded by Satan as are all non Christians and as all
Christians have been in the past but then all have sinned and come short of
the Glory of God. May God bless you and keep you until He returns and if
Bill Clinton is re-elected just remember "Look Up"! Time shall soon be no
more! ( I think.)
Yours In Christ,
Raymond Clarke
+++++++++++++++
Editors NOTE: If you have no sence of humor, then I advise you to skip the
following. This was sent ot me from a very good friend of mine who goes to
my church. Some of you have seen this already if you are on my daily mail.
For those of you who do not know, I have a pretty warped sence of humor and
the following was right up my alley. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Ray-PZ
Beastly funny humor
Author Unknown
The NUMBERs of the beast
666 - Number of the beast
668 - Neighbor of the beast
660 - Approximate number of the Beast
DCLXVI - Roman numeral of the Beast
666.0000 - Number of the High Precision Beast
0.666 - Number of the Millibeast
1/666 - Common Denominator of the Beast
666[-/(-1)] - Imaginary number of the Beast
1010011010 - Binary of the Beast
29A - Hexidecimal of the Beast
1-666 - Area code of the Beast
00666 - Zip code of the Beast
1-900-666-0666: Live Beasts! One-on-one pacts! Call Now! Only
$6.66/minute. Over 18 only please.
$665.95 - Retail price of the Beast
$699.25 - Price of the Beast plus 5% state sales tax
$769.95 - Price of the Beast with all accessories and
replacement soul
$656.66 - Wal*Mart price of the Beast
$646.66 - Next week's Wal*Mart price of the Beast
Phillips 666 - Gasoline of the Beast
Route 666 - Way of the Beast
666 F - Oven temperature for roast Beast
666k - Retirement plan of the Beast
666 mg - Recommended Minimum Daily Requirement of Beast
6.66% - 5 year CD interest rate at First Beast of Hell
National Bank, $666 minimum deposit.
DSM-666 (revised) - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Beast
Lotus 6-6-6 - Spreadsheet of the Beast
Word 6.66 - Word Processor of the Beast
i66686 - CPU of the Beast
666i - BMW of the Beast
666-66-6666 - Social Securuity Number of the Beast
6, uh... what was that number again? - Number of the Blonde Beast
And to add one of my own...
656-6666 Internet SOULution providers...where I work. Our PH#. (My wife
came up with this...grin)
Ray -PZ
++++++++++++++
Clinton Gets an "F" for American History
Ray Gano
ray673@best.com
While President Clinton was on the campain trail in CA, he mixed up his
history...again, by quoting a famous line in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
but crediting it to the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of
Independence.
Clinton stated "Our friends on the other side, they complain about
government all the
time," Clinton said of Republicans during an outdoor rally Thursday. "They
set it up as the enemy, it's government versus the people."
"The last time I checked, the Constitution said, 'of the people, by the
people and for the people.' That's what the Declaration of Independence
says," Clinton declared.
The famous words were spoken by Lincoln during his speech dedicating the
National Cemetery at the Civil War battlegrounds in Pennsylvania.
I really wonder when was the last time he took the time to read either of them.
+++++++++++++
The Most Common Infections Are Sexually Transmitted Diseases
By: Ray Gano
The nation's most commonly reported infections in 1995 were sexually
transmitted and a disease that often has no symptoms topped the list, the
government said.
Chlamydia, tracked for the first time last year, was the No. 1 most
reported infectious disease, with 477,638 cases. Gonorrhea and AIDS were
second and third, according to an annual report released Thursday by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is very intersting that this is coming about. Once again we see Bible
Prophecy coming to pass.
Mat 42: 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in
divers places.
2 Tim 3: 1-7
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such
turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive
silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I n the 2 Tim verse we see that that they will be led away with divers
lusts. Also in the Luke and Mat verses we see a rise in pestilences.
+++++++++++++
Follow-up To The Rabbi Story
Jim Bramlett
bramlett@magicnet.net (Jim Bramlett)
By the way, a friend just got back from Israel the other day, spending most
of her time with some very spiritually discerning and seasoned believers,
both Jew and Gentile. She reports an overwhelming sense among them that
Messiah's return will be "very soon," as well as tribulation. Some are
already preparing for escape into Petra.
Even many non-believers in Yeshua expect Messiah to come soon (they will be
surprised at the nailprints in His hands).
She confirmed that there are secret Messianic believers among the Orthodox
rabbis, as Barbara Richmond recently reported. She met and talked with
one. Yesterday I discovered a Web site by Greg Killian who has recently
updated his comprehensive celestial report on biblical signs in the heavens
that I previously, plus he has a lot of other stuff.
His site is at http://members.aol.com/gkilli/home/index.html (see his first
report).
In reviewing his material, I had forgotten that another (the 4th) red moon
lunar eclipse on a Jewish feast day is due to be seen in Jerusalem March
23, 1997, he says the very same day that Comet Hale-Bopp is closest to the
earth), and another six months later on "Repentance Day."
An e-mail to me yesterday also pointed out that rabbis have historically
said that the next time a comet passes through Orion it will signifify "the
end of the Earth," and that Hale-Bopp will begin its pass through Orion on
April 23, 1997 (the day after Passover) and will complete its run through
Orion on June 11, 1997, the Feast of Weeks. Maybe nothing to it, but
interesting in view of everything else, huh?
++++++++++++++
BASIC TRUTHS ON THE MIDEAST CONFLICT
by Rabbi Zalman B. Melamed
Aired on Arutz-7 Israel Public Radio
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996 / Cheshvan 3, 5757
In this article:
1. THE INHERITANCE OF OUR FOREFATHERS
2. THROUGHOUT THE GENERATIONS
3. NO NATION CONCEDES ITS HOMELAND
4. RETAINING OUR POSITION OF STRENGTH
5. ARAB HOSTILITIES
6. OUR RIGHT AND OBLIGATION
1. THE INHERITANCE OF OUR FOREFATHERS
It appears that we have no choice other than to reiterate to ourselves,
again and again, the simple basic truths. We did not "capture lands of
others" during the Six-Day War, but we rather returned to the inheritance
of our forefathers. We freed Judea and Samaria from foreign dominion, and
we returned the Land to its true owners - the Nation of Israel. All of the
Biblical Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People; there is no such
thing as Arab territories within Israel.
2. THROUGHOUT THE GENERATIONS
True, "because of our sins we were exiled from our Land," and foreigners
came to dwell here without our consent and against our will. But we never
surrendered our claim to the Land. We have no right to do so, we had no
desire to do so, and the Land will always remain ours. This was our belief
throughout the generations, and we never ceased anticipating and dreaming
of returning to our homeland of Eretz (The Land of ) Yisrael. How much more
so now, at the height of the process of our national return to the Land, is
it unthinkable that our historic desire to come home would decrease. On the
contrary, now that our dreams are coming true before our very eyes, and we
are experiencing a resurrection of the "dry bones;" now that G-d is leading
us in the awesome miracle of our national revival and our redemption from
the exile, and as He leads us "upright to our Land" [from the Grace After
Meals] - certainly our confidence that G-d will speedily complete all of
our national aspirations has intensified.
3. NO NATION CONCEDES ITS HOMELAND
Therefore, we insist that Hevron, City of the Patriarchs, remain in our
hands, not only for reasons of national and personal safety, but because
Hevron - just as the rest of the Land - is, very simply, ours. If this
sounds too simplistic or unacceptable, then we must repeat it again and
again until the whole world realizes that we are determined to stick to our
positions. All of the plans concerning our relations with the neighboring
nations in the region must be adapted to conform with this basic position.
For we have returned to our Land, and no nation ever concedes its homeland,
especially not the People of Israel, who received this Land from the G-d of
Israel, Creator of heaven and earth.
4. RETAINING OUR POSITION OF STRENGTH
Let not our enemies threaten us with terror and war, for we will not budge
from these simple truths. In fact, the threats merely strengthen our
resolve. For it is preferable for us to fight terror and war now, from a
position of strength, than to do so after we have already given over more
areas of Eretz Yisrael, thus weakening us and strengthening our enemies.
5. ARAB HOSTILITIES
Their behavior during the recent weeks proves that they do not seek peace.
Any time that we do not agree to give in to their demands, they will again
resort to terror and violence. If it doesn't happen now, it will happen
during the talks over Jerusalem, and over their demand for a State, with
all that that implies - an army, open borders, etc.
6. OUR RIGHT AND OBLIGATION
Therefore, as their threats will not move us, we must stand on our rights -
which are also our obligations: to guard carefully and lovingly every divot
of earth of our homeland, and certainly of Hevron, the City of our
Forefathers, which with the help of G-d will be rebuilt, with a large
Jewish community, speedily in our times.
* * * * * *
Rabbi Melamed is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Arutz-7, and Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) of the Bet-El Yeshiva Center.
____________________________________________________________
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++++++++++++++
Court to review Religious Freedom law
By: Am.Liberties Fellowship
alf@TheCyberChannel.com
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AT STAKE: SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW LAW WHICH LIMITS
GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE
The U.S. supreme Court has agreed to review a 1993 law (Religious Freedom
Restoration Act) designed to limit governmental interference in the
spiritual lives of Americans. The ruling, expected this July, could
clarify the boundaries between legitimate government restrictions and undue
infringement on religious freedom.
The 1993 law was enacted partially in response to a 1990 supreme Court
decision which held that laws otherwise neutral toward religion are not
unconstitutional just because they may infringe on some people's religious
beliefs. The decision came out of an Oregon case about American Indian
rituals - in which the Court said there was no constitutional right to take
the hallucinogenic drug peyote as religious practice.
However, many religious and civil rights groups contended that the Court's
rationale showed the Court had turned its back on vigorously protecting
religious rights.
Congress agreed and passed the 1993 legislation. It requires that any
federal, state or local law imposing a "substantial burden" on someone's
religious beliefs must serve a "compelling" government interest in the
least intrusive way.
Some cities and states called the law "federal social policy engineering"
and claimed it violated the 10th Amendment by forcing them to allow more
protection for religious beliefs than the Constitution requires.
Furthermore, they claimed it violated the separation of powers by forcing
federal courts to impose a more exacting standard than the supreme Court
said was necessary in its 1990 ruling. Sixteen states joined in a
friend-of-the-court brief supporting the city of Boerne, Texas which has
challenged the law.
American Liberties Fellowship
3220 North Arnoult, Ste. 126
Metairie, Louisiana 70002
ALF@TheCyberChannel.com
++++++++++++++
Smart Card Update
New Debit, credit cards
From: RBroderick@aol.com
REVEIVED THIS AT WORK YESTERDAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 10, 1996
Contact: Lawrence J. Haas
(202) 395-7254
NEW DEBIT, CREDIT CARDS TO PRODUCE "SMARTER GOVERNMENT," WHITE HOUSE
OFFICIAL SAYS
By re-competing three of its contracts by next May, the Federal
Government will enable agencies to use a new generation of debit and
credit cards for commercial travel, small purchases, fleet management,
and other potential business services, a White House official says.
"'Smart cards' will lead to 'smarter government'," said G. Edward
DeSeve, Controller of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office
of Federal Financial Management. "By the year 2000, we plan to use
commercial electronic commerce for 95 percent of Government buys of under
S100,000."
DeSeve, who spoke at the General Services Administration Industry Forum at
the GSA building in downtown Washington, was referring to today's
announcement by the General Services Administration that it will re-compete
three of the Government's card services contracts.
This effort is part of the Administration's `smart card'
initiative,detailed in the new Federal Financial Management Status Report &
Five-Year Plan which was written jointly by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and CFO Council and released today. The effort alsobuilds on
an initiative -- spearheaded by Vice President Gore -- to deliver
Government assistance through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) using bank
cards.
Along with the Government's plans for smart cards, the report describes
the past year's accomplishments in government-wide efforts to reform
financial management as well as plans forthe future.
Some of the accomplishments that the report describes include:
Electronic Payments. Congress enacted a law requiring the phase-in of
electronic funds transfer (EFT) by 1999 for wage, salary, and retirement
benefits, vendor payments, expense reimbursement, and benefits payments.
In the Administration's EBT initiative, theTreasury Department agreed to
provide EBT services on one card across eight Southern States. Coalitions
of States in the Northeast, Midwest, and West are also working to implement
multi-program EBT projects. By 1999, when all scheduled programs
areimplemented nationwide, EBT will deliver over S100 billion in benefits a
year. In the Administration's Electronic Commerce initiative, Treasury and
the General Services Administration (GSA) have established electronic
payments pilots to assist in the integration of acquisition and finance.
Accounting Standards. For the first time, the Federal Government has
issued a comprehensive set of accounting standards, marking the completion
of the basic accounting and cost accounting standards that the National
Performance Review called for. These standards are aimed at providing
reliable, timely, and useful information on Federal programs what they
do, what they achieve, and what they cost.
Agency Audited Financial Statements. Agencies are making good progress
in improving the accuracy and reliability of their financial information.
As of June 1996, partial data reveal that 65 percent of the entities that
prepared audited financial statements received unqualified opinions, and
56 percent of the entities had no material weaknesses. Audited financial
statements increase the accountability of Federal managers and give them
timely, accurate financial information for decision making.
Governmentwide Consolidated Financial Statement. Preparatory work is
underway to produce the first government-wide financial statement, as the
law requires for fiscal 1997 activities. OMB, Treasury, and the General
Accounting Office established the Governmentwide Audited Financial
Statement Task Force, whose members include CFOs and Inspectors General
from selected departments and agencies.
Streamlined Agency Accountability Reports. Under the Government
Management Reform Act, five agencies issued pilot Accountability Reports
for fiscal 1995 -- the Social Security Administration, GSA, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and
Veterans Affairs Department. The reports consolidated information from
the CFOs Act financial reports with performance information and reviews of
management controls. This effort can reduce the resources needed to
gather and report information, and will link planning, budgeting, and
performance.
Improving Debt Collection. The President signed the Debt Collection
Improvement Act on April 26, culminating a cooperative effort of the major
debt collection agencies, OMB, Treasury, and Congress. The act
significantly enhances the Government's ability to service and collect
debts, particularly from delinquent borrowers who receive Federal
payments. Agencies are now authorized to retain up to five percent of
collections for expenses. Agencies collected S10.9 billion of debt in
1995, compared to S3.2 billion in 1990, by applying such special
collection tools as the Tax Refund Offset Program.
Copies of the report are available from the Government Printing Office
and, on a limited basis, from OMB. An Executive Summary will be issued
shortly.
++++++++++++++++
SPECIAL REPORT/THE BATTLE FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT
From: MIKDASH-BUILD
5 Heshvan 5757
Volume I, Number 7
(Jerusalem Report Cover Story October 3, 1996) by: Yossi Klein Halevi
For nearly 30 years, an uneasy status quo prevailed on the Temple Mount-
Jordan effectively controlling the site, Palestinians aspiring to it, and
most Orthodox Jews considering it too holy to walk upon. Now, though,
Yasser Arafat is doing his best to edge out the Jordanians, and an
increasing number of Jews are asserting their own historical right.
The conflicting claims are threatening to turn what is already the region's
most sensitive ground into a real flash point.
THEY WERE BACK AGAIN ON. Tisha Be'av, the summer fast day commemorating the
destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. As in previous years, a handful of
members of the Temple Mount Faithful fringe group gathered near the Western
Wall plaza to protest Muslim control of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest
site, shouting into TV cameras about Jewish pride and Arab perfidy and
government appeasement. Then, just as predictably, another handful of
zealots from the far-right Hai Vekayam group - whose leader, Yehudah
Etzion, was jailed in the mid 80s for plotting to blow up the Muslim Dome
of the Rock as a prelude to the rebuilding of the Temple - were carried
off by police after trying to illegally pray on the Mount. Both events
received the requisite media coverage, confirming for much of the public
that the demand for a formal Jewish presence on the Temple Mount remains a
marginal issue even within the Orthodox community, championed only by
fanatics and cranks. And yet later that same day - unreported by the
media - a thousand religious Zionists, including rabbis and students from
mainstream yeshivahs, silently gathered in the vaulted, tunnel-like
entrance to the Temple Mount's "Cotton Gate," intending to pray on the
Mount. They were blocked by a tight row of police. And so the mostly young
men and women prayed where they stood, asking God to undo Israel's "shame"
and restore the Temple: "Just as we've seen it in ruins, let us merit
seeing its rebuilding." One man blew into a silver, thin-stemmed sort of
trumpet - a replica of an instrument played in the ancient Temple -
filling the dark tunnel with piercing, brassy sounds.
In the past, the Temple Mount was indeed a marginal, almost untouchable
issue in the religious Zionist community. Preoccupied with
settlement-building, and fearful of violating the rabbinical precept
against treading on the ground that once held the Temple's inner sanctum,
the Holy of Holies, religious Zionists simply avoided the issue, implicitly
leaving the resolution of the Temple Mount conflict to messianic times.
That passivity suited the Mount's Muslim guardians, wh object to all
worshipers from other faiths praying there. BUT NOW THE ORTHODOX JEWish
attitude is beginning to change. Partly it's the result of years of
educational outreach. Tens of thousands of religious Zionists - including
students in state-sponsored religious high schools - have attended
lectures and slide presentations by organizations like the Temple
Institute, a group funded partially by the government whose Jerusalem
museum houses gold and silver replicas of Temple implements (ready for use
in a rebuilt Temple), and which sponsored the Tisha Be'av gathering at the
Cotton Gate.
The Netanyahu victory has raised expectations of a change in the so-called
"status quo" - which grants Jews the right to visit but not pray on the
Mount, and which gives Israeli police authority at its gates but Muslim
officials control within. Netanyahu's government is the first
to include in its coalition guidelines implicit support for Jewish prayer
on the Mount, promising to "guarantee the rights of the Jews to pray in all
the places holy to them." Already under pressure not to exacerbate
tensions with the Palestinians, Netanyahu is unlikely to initiate any
changes on the Mount for now. "The government has no intention of
altering the status quo," promises Jerusalem mayor and Netanyahu confidant
Ehud Olmert. And Temple Mount activists lost a major potential ally in
August when justice minister Yaakov Neeman was forced to resign following
allegations of wrongdoing. Neeman was the first serving minister ever to
participate in prayers on the Mount - joining a small and private
afternoon prayer group this past Tisha Be'av in the Makhkema, a building at
the southern entrance to the Mount that serves as Border Police
headquarters.
But the activists have begun an unprecedented dialogue with the new
government. In mid July, Netanyahu adviser David Bar-Illan told them he
sympathized with their position, on civil liberties grounds. "People used
to smile when they'd mention us," says veteran activist Yisrael Medad. "Now
we're taken seriously, and in some religious Zionist circles, very
seriously."
Activists have presented the government with a list of demands, including
establishing a tourist center overlooking the Mount, which would explain
the site's significance for Jews; turning part of the Makhkema into
asynagogue; and ending the veto power of the waqf, the Muslim Religious
Trust, over Jewish prayer. And though none of those demands is likely to be
met at this stage, Netanyahu is apparently receptive to allowing Jewish
"study groups" onto the Mount, according to Nadav Shragai, a Ha'aretz
reporter and author of a recent book on the Temple Mount
conflict. "But he wants to be sure the study groups don't turn into prayer
groups," says Shragai, adding that Netanyahu intends to include the prayer
issue in final-status talks with the Palestinians.
ANY CHANGE IN THE STATUS QUO could result inviolence. The October 1990
Palestinian riot on the Mount, for example, which resulted in 17
Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers, began with a false rumor that
members of the Temple Mount Faithful were coming up to pray. Muslim
authorities do not recognize Jewish claims. "There's no mention at all in
Islam that this was the original site of the Temple," says Adnan Husseini,
director of the waqf. If Jews were allowed up to pray, warns Hassan Tahbub,
the Palestinian Authority's minister of religion, "of course there'd be
violence."
Since 1967, all Israeli governments have endorsed the status quo -
implemented on June 17, 1967, a mere week after the Six-Day War.
Then-defense minister Moshe Dayan removed his shoes and sat on a prayer rug
in the silver-domed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and told Muslim officials they would
retain control of the Mount. It was, in effect, the first instance of
Palestinian autonomy. By offering exclusive Muslim rights over the Mount,
Dayan hoped to prevent the Arab-Israeli conflict from degenerating into a
Muslim-Jewish holy war over the region's most sensitive ground.
If the political ban has held all these years without being seriously
challenged by Orthodox Jews, that is because it has enjoyed near-total
rabbinic support. The conventional reason for the rabbis' ban on entering
any part of the Mount was that it prevented Jews from accidentally treading
on the Holy of Holies - where the Ark of the Covenant stood and which
only the High Priest was permitted to enter, and only then on Yom Kippur.
But there were other motives for the caution: the sense that all matters
relating to the Temple are the messiah's prerogative; and the fear of
bloodshed if Jews prayed on the Mount.
And yet, just as the political constraint against a Jewish presence there
may be weakening, so too is the rabbinic taboo. There is a growing sense
within the religious Zionist camp that the unqualified ban may be overly
stringent. Rabbinic authorities through the centuries unanimously agreed
that the Holy of Holies would have been located in what is today the Dome
of the Rock - and so, argue activists, walking the parameters of the
Mount, and especially the southern area around Al-Aqsa, is spiritually
"safe." Privately, some of the most respected rabbinic authorities -
including former chief rabbis Mordechai Eliyahu and Avraham Shapira - have
allowed followers to go up to the Mount, provided they do so without
provocation or demonstrations, and avoid the Dome of the Rock. "They've let
it be known to people they consider responsible that they don't want the
Mount to be left without Jews," says Medad. And while the current Ashkenazi
chief rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau won't endorse "going up," he won't condemn it,
and merely cautions against entering forbidden areas - implicitly
acknowledging that some parts of the Mount are halakhically accessible.
Though only a small minority of Orthodox Jews ascend the Mount, to do so is
no longer considered a violation by many mainstream religious Zionists. In
recent months, classes from half-a-dozen hesder, or military, yeshivahs,
led by their rabbis (including Yehudah Amital, religious Zionism's leading
dove), have quietly gone up.
Every Tuesday, a small group led by a 45-year-old hasid named Yosef Elbaum
meets outside the Mughrabi Gate, above the Western Wall plaza. After
submitting identification to Border Police, who check their names against a
list of banned Jewish "troublemakers," they enter the massive,
green-painted wooden doors. They are immediately flanked by an Israeli
policeman and a sulking waqf official, who watches the lips of Elbaum and
his friends to ensure that no illicit prayers slip through. The group -
bent on demonstrating a Jewish presence - traverses the perimeter of the
Mount, attracting stares from picnicking Arab families under pine trees and
boys playing soccer near the Dome of the Rock. A waqf official, recognizing
Elbaum, greets him in Yiddish: "Vos macht ir?" he asks with a smile - How
are you? Says Elbaum: "There doesn't have to be a war over the Mount. If
10,000 Jews go up, the waqf will appoint 10,000 guards to accompany them
and make sure they don't pray. But it will become a part of life."
Winning the right to Jewish prayer is merely the activists' interim goal;
the ultimate goal is a rebuilt Temple. For Orthodox Jews, who pray for its
resurrection three times a day, the Temple embodies Judaism's attempt to
sanctify the material world: Just as Shabbat and the holidays are intended
to create sacred time, so was the Temple meant to create sacred space.
According to tradition, the Temple was the place where God violated His
remoteness and revealed Himself to human beings. "The yearning for the
Temple is a longing for the renewal of the dialogue between God and
Israel," says the NRP's Hanan Porat, who heads the Knesset's Temple Mount
lobby and helped conquer the Mount, as a paratrooper, in 1967. I don't
expect the rabbinic establishment to initiate Temple Mount activity, only
not to interfere," Porat says. "The Jews will return to the Mount through
grass-roots pressure, not through a meeting of rabbis deciding to go up. On
this issue, the rabbis will follow the people."
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