Between a Rock and War / September 2001

Between a Rock and War

The decision that Israel soon must make.

Israel is between a rock and a hard place (war). Eleven months have passed since the rock throwing began in Israel. Blame for the latest intifada is put at Ariel Sharon's feet for having the audacity to go up on the temple mount in September of 2000 demonstrating that Jews have the right to go there. His visit was of course coordinated with the Muslim authorities and with the press. It was done to demonstrate that many Jews hold the temple mount to be sacred. His visit was for the most part uneventful until it was completed. Then a handful of Palestinians scuffled with police for the benefit of the cameras. This was what Arafat was looking for - an excuse to return to violence. Arafat wants a war.

The Middle East Peace Accord had just completed a seven year peace process. With the leadership of Bill Clinton and the cooperation of Ehud Barak (then Prime Minister of Israel), Arafat had been offered what he wanted. But to everyone's surprise, Arafat refused to accept it. It became obvious that Arafat never intended to negotiate anything with Israel. He had been playing along to get as much ground and concession as possible before opening up a new violent offensive and move toward war.

Yasser Arafat has one very simple objective concerning Israel - to see Israel's demise. He doesn't want a Palestinian state that will co-exist in the world with Israel. He wants Palestine to stamp out the memory and existence of the Jewish People. Even during the years of the Middle East Peace Accord (1993 - 2000), Arafat never spoke of peace with Israel to the Palestinians. When asked what he was doing with Israel, he would recount a story about Mohammed from the Koran. In the story, Mohammed attacked a city but was unsuccessful. So, he made a temporary truce (peace) with it and remained on a mountain near the city. Thereafter, Mohammed came off the mountain and captured the city, destroying the inhabitants. Arafat always refers to himself as making peace as Mohammed did and waiting on the mountains. As a result of the rejection of Barak's final peace offer and Sharon's visit to the temple mount, Arafat has decided it is time to come off the mountain.

Arafat has given the "green light" to his competing factions such as the Islamic Jihad (holy war) and Hamas (destruction) to attack Jews with bombs and snipers. He has also directed his own security forces of Fatah and Force 17 to carry out attacks. Jihad and Hamas has directed suicide bombers who blow themselves up in crowded areas of Israel such as buses, shopping areas, and restaurants/discos. Arafat's own security forces have carried out mortar attacks and sniping of Jewish residents. Part of the irony in all this is that the American CIA trained the snipers during the so-called 7-year peace process.

For the past eleven months more than 100 Israelis have died while more than 600 Palestinians have perished. To add complete insult to injury in this process, Israel also held a new election during this period and Ariel Sharon became the Prime Minister, who was resurrected from the political graveyard. Since last April, rumors and disturbing events have led many to believe that a regional war in the Middle East is brewing. Let's review the evidence that seems to suggest that.

1. Arafat at every opportunity calls upon the Ara- League and the surrounding nations to attack Israel for the defense of the Mosque in Jerusalem and the Palestinian people. Every death among the Palestinians is heralded as a murder by Israelis. Every death of an Israeli is justified as what Israel deserves for existing. To say that Palestinians just hate Israel and Jews is to lessen the meaning of the word "hate." Their hatred is religiously based and is a reflection of their faith in the Muslim god, Allah. It is more than an emotion; it is their religion. Arafat has called upon every Muslim to join him in killing Israel.

2. Arafat has welcomed and conferred with Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Assad of Syria to form a military alliance against Israel. Arafat wants these nations to attack Israel militarily. Syria and Iraq have in the last year signed a military agreement with the hopes of destroying Israel. Damascus now has Iraqi military leadership working jointly with the Syrians. Six Iraqi armored divisions of the famed Republican Guard are poised on the Jordanian and Syrian border ready to move across Syria or Jordan to hit Israel.

3. Syria has also opened itself logistically to allow Iranian missile units into Lebanon. Syria has for many years supported Iranian backed units (Hezbollah) to attack Israel at its northern border. Israeli units withdrew from Lebanon facing off with Hezbollah in the last two years only to have the Hezbollah units move closer to Israel to press the attack. The latest Iranian missile units now have the range to strike deep into northern Israel.

4. Syria has equipped themselves with the latest SCUD missile technology. It is reported that they have more than 200 mobile launchers. Syria has had a number of skirmishes with Israel both in words and deeds. Israel has knocked out some radar sites belonging to Syria each time Hezbollah attacks Israel. It is clear that Syria is using the Lebanese units as surrogate raiders.

5. Jordan and Egypt have peace treaties with Israel. However, Jordan also works cooperatively with Iraq and Syria. Egypt knows a war is coming in the region. Egypt must somehow honor the peace treaty and yet maintain their leadership role in the Ara- world. It is now reported that Egypt is preparing to send the Egyptian third armored division into the Sinai Peninsula. This is a very disturbing development as it ties down Israeli units and prohibits their reinforcement against a northern attack.

6. Analysts from various nations in the world all project a regional war soon. How soon varies in opinion from anytime to six months. Israel's military has expressed concern for 2002. The Russians think it will be soon. Everyone agrees that war is unlikely unless Egypt and Jordan agree to such a war. At worst they would join in the effort, but more likely they will take a neutral public position and secretly support the effort.

7. The United States meanwhile calls for an end to violence on the Palestinian side and "restraint" on the Israeli side. While the United States has attempted to establish some kind of understanding in the region, it has compounded the frustration and exasperation of everyone involved. The Western media, with distorted sense of right and wrong, continues to try and balance everything out. By balance, I mean the media tries to portray the events in Israel as Israel's fault. It is Israel's fault that Palestinians kill Jews. When Jews defend themselves, they are treated as illegal acts of an oppressive and illegal entity. Most recently, the U.S. position has moved to "maintaining balance in the region." The U.S. fears that another Arab/Israeli war will draw them in on the Israeli side and damage their long-term position with the Ara- world. Therefore, the U.S. is systematically backing away from true support of Israel. As evidence of this, the U.S. has just given the okay for Egypt's purchase of 100 M1A1 main battle tanks to be manufactured in Egypt.

8. Europe has shown themselves in the Middle East crisis by financially supporting Arafat, condemning Israel and threatening to arrest and charge Ariel Sharon as a war criminal. A move is afoot to declare the state of Israel as an illegal entity and deny their existence as a nation for the past 50+ years. Increasingly, Europe is siding with the Palestinians against Israel.

9. Israel has been carrying out a series of measured attacks on the Palestinians to cur- the bom- attacks. Essentially this has been accomplished by tracking the Palestinian leaders who sponsor and the lead the bombing attack. Whenever these leaders move by car or go to a known location, Israel dispatches a helo gun ship or a trained hit team to take them out. To Israel's success, Jihad, Hamas, and Arafat have been losing their lieutenants at a very alarming rate. Israel has also threatened to send troops into Palestinian areas to root out the attackers and their weapons. Houses have been bull-dozed, if they were used by snipers or for mortar attacks. In recent days, the Israelis seized the "Orient House" in Jerusalem. This building has served as the unofficial headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem. Israel's strategy has had some limited success. Palestinian terrorists scurrying about trying to stay alive don't have much time to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians.

10. The average Israeli is fed up with Arafat and the Palestinians. Even the Israelis who helped and supported the peace process are at their wits end. That frustration is even growing toward Ariel Sharon. They want Sharon to protect Israel from the Palestinians by taking aggressive action. One suggestion circulating these days is a forced eviction of the Palestinians. Those Palestinians that would continue to attack Israel would be arrested and taken to the Jordanian border. This suggestion dates back to the war of Independence in 1948 and the battle for Jerusalem in 1967. Why didn't they do it then? Israel believed the world would "love" them when they showed themselves as a democratic government and willing to live with the Palestinians. (That was an obvious mistake.)

So what is the solution? What is the solution to the problem in the Middle East? Depending on where you are coming from the answer differs. Let's answer the question from the Ara- point of view first.

If you look at the map of the Middle East including the northern regions all the way down into Africa, the Muslim world appears to be in the shape of a crescent moon wrapped around the Mediterranean Sea. The crescent moon is the symbol of Islam, just as the cross is to Christianity and the Star of David to Israel. Right in the middle of this crescent moon, almost like a pimple on the tip of the nose, is Israel. The Jewish state is right in the face of the Muslim world. Arafat and the Ara- nations believe the only solution to this "in their face" injustice is the complete and utter removal of Israel. In their mind there is no way for Israel to co-exist or remain anywhere in the region. So their solution is to kill every Jew at every opportunity and force Israel into leaving.

In a recent Jerusalem Post interview, Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister who offered Arafat everything was quoted as saying, "Arafat does not accept the moral right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state." Barak has come to that conclusion because Arafat is the clear aggressor in this conflict. He does not regard this second intifada as sporadic and spontaneous; it is a planned and executed war against Israel. Arafat's forces do not attack Israeli soldiers; instead, they are planned attacks against civilians, people driving to work or home, people shopping in Jewish cities, or people going to a restaurant or disco. Each attack requires more than twenty different persons to plan the type of attack, train the person who will attack, arm the attacker, move the attacker in, escape from the attack scene, and hide the attacker. There is nothing spontaneous about a sniping attack or a suicide bomber.

In a recent poll, the Palestinians, by a clear majority, want a war with Israel. They want revenge for Israel becoming a state in 1948, which they call the "catastrophe." They want to prove to the Jews that they are superior to them. From childhood, every Palestinian has been taught in school and by the community to hate and to kill Jews. Can you imagine your child going to school and each day they sing songs, do their math, reading, and recess time with one theme - to kill Jews? What kind of people are the Palestinians that they rejoice and dance in glee when a suicide bom- kills Israeli children? The only solution they can see is the death of Israel.

The Palestinian solution is described in the Bible. It can be found in Psalm 83.

(A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.) O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For, behold, thine enemies make an uproar; and those who hate thee have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Thy people, and conspire together against Thy treasured ones. They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more." For they have conspired together with one mind; against Thee do they make a covenant: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagrites; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.

Psalms 83:1-8

The ancient names from Edom to Assyria cover the same area of today's Middle East conflict. However, at no time in history has this specific prophecy in the Psalms been fulfilled. It obviously is speaking of our day.

Israel on the other hand sees their destiny in the land of the Bible. They believe they have the right to defend themselves just like anyone else in the world. They want to find some kind of accommodation that allows them to grow and prosper in the land. Shimon Peres, mistakenly believes that economic prosperity is the answer to the problem - If everyone is making money, nobody will have time to fight each other. The Labor party has operated under the mistaken belief that Aland for peace" would work. Israel would give them some land and gain peace. The problem is that the Palestinians want all of the land. Israel believes that enough strategic friendships will hold everything in check. Therefore, Israel maintains its friendship with the United States with great cost. Israel has a peace treaty with Jordan and Egypt. Israel is willing to negotiate the Golan Heights with Syria. However, the United States has their own interests: maintaining the flow of Ara- oil. Egypt and Jordan will go Ara- when push comes to shove. Willingness to negotiate simply means "weakness" to the Ara- mentality.

Israel also holds some serious military cards that can be played. However, playing these cards will cost them American support. Israel really has no solution. They can't maintain the status quo, the Arabs will eventually attack fully, any serious defensive move on their part will cost them American support (which they believe they need).

So, what is the real solution? Where is the relief that Israel and the world need for the situation in the Middle East? The answer is ancient and in the Bible. The only problem is that it honors God. That is the reason why the world won't like it when it finally comes. The Psalmist describes the solution to the Middle East problem.

O my God, make them like the whirling dust; like chaff before the wind. Like fire that burns the forest, and like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Thy tempest, and terrify them with Thy storm. Fill their faces with dishonor, that they may seek Thy name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever; and let them be humiliated and perish, that they may know that Thou alone, whose name is the Lord, art the Most High over all the earth.

Psalms 83:13-18

The prophet Joel prophesied about the end of the age in the period leading up to the coming of the King and the Day of the Lord. He talks about how the tribulation, the last three and half years, will begin. He talks about the darkness before the Day of the Lord. He talks about judgments listed in Revelation. He talks about deliverance. Joel also talks about a northern army plaguing Israel that will be destroyed and preparatory steps to final restoration.

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and will have pity on His people. And the Lord will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; and I will never again make you a reproach among the nations. But I will remove the northern army far from you, and I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, and its vanguard into the eastern sea, and its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, for it has done great things.

Joel 2:18-20

Joel's prophecy has never been fulfilled before. I believe we are living the days spoken of by Joel and watching the events of his words. The northern army is Syria, Iraq, and Iranian backed Hezbollah, in confederation with the Palestinians.

Ezekiel also speaks of a northern army that comes to battle in the mountains of Israel. This battle comes at the end of Israel's exile into all nations.

And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, "Thus says the Lord God, >Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I shall turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. And I shall strike your bow from your left hand, and dash down your arrows from your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you; I shall give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken,= declares the Lord God. And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord."

Ezekiel 39:1-6

The northern army is described as Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. This is not the Soviet Union as other popular prophecy writers have said. It is reference to the ancient Assyrians and their neighbors (that would be Syria, Iraq, and Iran). Gog is an invader element (the ancient Philistines). The Palestinians are the ancient Philistines. According to the prophet Ezekiel, God will bring the army into the mountain of Israel. Those mountains are the Samarian and Judean mountains (what is commonly called the West Bank regions of Israel). The Palestinians are already there and they are trying their level best to get the other forces to join them. God's judgment will be to send fire upon those mountains and upon the cities (coastlands) of the army. The fire in question is probably nuclear. Israel has those weapons. Can you imagine a war in the Middle East that results in the northern army of Syria, Iraq, and Hezbollah being destroyed on the mountains of Israel along with the Palestinians by nuclear attack? Even further, can you imagine the attack taking out Damascus and the supporting cities of Jordan and possibly Bagdad? It would be a solution to the Middle East crisis, but would the world like it? I don't think so. It would be proof of a God in Israel which is what God is manifesting.

"And My holy name I shall make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I shall not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is coming and it shall be done," declares the Lord God. "That is the day of which I have spoken."

Ezekiel 39:7-8

The world will reel in shock when the real solution to the Middle East crisis comes. The prophet goes on to say that Israel will spend seven months cleaning the mess up.

"And it will come about on that day that I shall give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block off the passers-by. So they will bury Gog there with all his multitude, and they will call it the valley of Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. Even all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I glorify Myself," declares the Lord God. And they will set apart men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, even those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land.

Ezekiel 39:11-16

The prophet continues to say that this war and its outcome concern the final return of Israel from its exile among the nations, the very days we live in.

And I shall set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward. And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.

Ezekiel 39:21-24

Ezekiel's most significant words about this war concern its aftermath. The prophet says that God will begin the work of restoration (restoring the fortunes of Jacob). He says that God will no longer hide His face from us. Instead, He will pour out His Spirit on the house of Israel.

Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Now I shall restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I shall be jealous for My holy name. And they shall forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 39:25-29

The prophet Joel goes even further to describe this restoration and outpouring of God's Spirit. He says His Spirit will be poured out on all His people (all of us) in the world.

Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, for the tree has borne its fruit, the fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. So rejoice, O sons of Zion, and be glad in the Lord your God; for He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, the early and latter rain as before. And the threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. And you shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame. Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is no other; and My people will never be put to shame. And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Joel 2:21-29

The real solution to the Middle East is in the Lord. He has said through the prophets what He intends to do with the people and the land of Israel in these last days. But what will Israel do? Israel is between a rock and war. What will the leaders of Israel choose? Will they continue to play along with the U.S. and be restrained from defending themselves properly? Will they continue to be blown up and shot at by the Palestinians? Will they continue to be weakened until they are completely disheartened by their leaders? They are already doing all this now.

But the Scripture says, the God of Israel will arise and show Himself in the midst of Israel. My hope is that Israel would turn to the Rock of Israel. My prayer is that the Rock would bring forth living waters for those who thirst for righteousness.

YAVOH - He is Coming is a monthly newsletter published as an outreach ministry of Lion and Lamb Ministries.
The ministry is a non-profit organization with an end time prophetic message in a Messianic Jewish context.
Subscription to YAVOH - He is Coming is without cost and supported only by donation.

Permission is granted to reprint any article in YAVOH - He is Coming with attribution given to YAVOH - He is Coming.

Editor - Monte Judah
Electronic Editor - Ephraim Judah

Lion and Lamb Ministries
PO Box 720968
Norman, OK 73070
Phone: (405) 447 4429
Fax: (405) 447 3775
E-mail: info@lionlamb.net
Web: lionlamb.net