Quote: "The opening credits also show a particularly monstrous image of Israeli soldiers, as snapshots of explosions, tanks wreaking havoc, soldiers beating civilians and dead bodies everywhere light up the screen. One of the shots also depicts a group of Palestinians facing an IDF firing squad. According to the show's website, it "brings to life the bleeding wound of Palestine. The show depicts all sides of the generations-long tragedy... This season focuses on the women and children and the Palestinian story, as well as the notion that the ultimate solution is love, compassion and world peace."

This week the Turkish Prime Minister sent a delegation to Syria to discuss strengthening military co-operation between the two countries. So it seems that rather than being a mediator for peace in the Middle East, Turkey is now being drawn into an unholy alliance with Israel's enemies. The Magog war, as depicted in Ezekiel 38-39, seems to mention Turkey as being one of those nations which is to invade Israel during the later days.

Ezekiel 38:4-6
And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

Persia is of course now known as Iran. Ethiopia, or Cush as it was known in the Old Testament, once occupied much of the territory now called Sudan. Gomer was the progenitor of the Cimmerians, who once inhabited the region north of the Black Sea, in modern day Russia and Ukraine. And Togarmah, who was a son of Gomer (Genesis 10:3), settled in what is now known as eastern Turkey. It's easy to see how all these countries could form an alliance against Israel in the last days. Most of these nations are now dominated by a religion which calls for the extermination of the Jewish people. And those that aren't dominated by Islam, such as Russia, have strong economic and military ties to states that do. It's hard to believe that these military alliances were described for us in the Scriptures over 2500 years ago. That's over 1000 years before the religion of Islam even existed. The predictions have proved to be 100% accurate, because it is the Word of a God who knows the end from the beginning. And He wrote these things for us, not for evil, but for our own good. He has told us these things because He loves us, and He has a plan for this world, and for your life too. He has told us these things so that we would know He is God, and that His Word is true.

John 13:19
Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? Have you trusted in Him for the forgiveness of your sins? He gave His life on the cross so that you might be forgiven, and might live forever with Him. Turn away from your sins, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today. He will not turn you away.

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Source Islam Online, YNet News, YNet News, Arutz 7

Quote: "The president, who plans to make his announcement flanked by Netanyahu and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas – plus the leaders of as many Arab states as he can muster – hopes that a final peace agreement can be negotiated within two years, a timetable viewed as unrealistic by Middle East analysts. Obama had hoped to unveil his plans before the start of Ramadan last weekend but failed to complete the deal with the Israelis or the Arab states in time. As well as a tougher US approach to Iran, which the Israelis see as their top priority, the deal would see Israel offering a temporary and partial moratorium on the expansion of settlements on the West Bank in return for moves by Arab states towards normalisation of relations. This would allow Obama to announce talks on the bigger Israeli-Palestinian issues – borders, the future of Jerusalem and the future of Palestinian refugees – with the US sitting in as a mediator.

Obama hopes that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians could be realized within two years, a timeframe that has also been adopted by the Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced yesterday that he would seek to establishment of a de facto Palestinian state within two years time, despite the breakdown of peace talks with the Israelis. Fayyad hopes that by establishing governmental institutions in the 'West Bank', and by training security forces and developing the region, the Palestinian people will become a force to be reckoned with.    

Quote: ""We call upon all our people to work together on the basis of full partnership in the process of completing and building the institutions of a free, democratic and stable state of Palestine," the plan states. "The world should hear the clear and united position from all walks of Palestinian society ... that the Israeli occupation is the only obstacle that hinders the stability, prosperity and the progress of our people and their right to freedom, independence and a decent life." 

But Hamas has ridiculed the plans, which seem to make no mention of them or the Gaza Strip. The document is also unlikely to find much support among the Arab states either, which are reluctant to get actively involved in the peace process and hold Israel solely responsible for redressing the Palestinian issue.

It's hard to know what will happen. On the one hand I feel we are getting very close to the time of the end, and I wonder how many more peace plans there can be before we get to the one the Antichrist will enforce. I don't know whether I am subconsciously thinking about this 2012 theory, and wondering how much more time there can be, or whether there is anything more to it than that. On the other hand I can't really see Obama making much headway on Middle East peace. Perhaps it is possible that the next prophecy to be fulfilled will be a war between Israel and the Gog alliance. If that is the case then we can expect the situation with Iran to worsen. Perhaps the US and international community will cripple Iran economically, and that will be what drives the Islamic nations to invade Israel? In any case we can be certain that it will happen exactly the way the Bible says it will. What if it were September 2011? What if we only had two years left before the tribulation would begin? How would that affect your priorities in life? What will you live for? For the present, which will only last a fleeting moment? Or for eternity, which will last forever? Will you live for yourself, or will you live for Jesus Christ? That is what it comes down to. To me there is no comparison. But you must make that decision for yourself.

Matthew 16:25-26
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Source Guardian, Atlantic, Jerusalem Post, Haaretz

Quote: "The report, which could not be independently confirmed, quoted a senior Iranian ports authority official who said the drill was aimed at preventing pollution and improving search and rescue operations coordination between the two nations. However, the maneuver, involving some 30 vessels, is seen by some analysts as a way to join forces against the U.S., which the Asia Times referred to as "the intrusive Western superpower." Entitled "Regional Collaboration for a Secure and Clean Caspian," the two-day drill quietly combines military objectives with environmental goals. A 1921 Iran-Russia friendship agreement was the legal foundation for the present naval cooperation between the two countries, according to political analyst Kaveh L. Afrasiabi.

There is some debate as to what the next event will be which will come to pass on God's prophetic timetable. It is impossible to know for definite, but as you can see, the political alliances that were detailed in the book of Ezekiel over 2500 years ago are now coming together. Ezekiel prophesied that after the Jewish people are brought back to their land, that the leader of an alliance of nations, which is to include Russia, Iran, Turkey, Sudan and Libya, will mount an invasion of the land of Israel (Ezekiel 38:5-6). Russia's ambition to control the Middle East, along with Iran's aspirations to destroy the Jewish state, may constitute at least some of the "hooks" in Gog's jaw which will bring him up against the land of Israel in the latter days. The Bible predicts that the retaliation for this invasion will be as swift as it is destructive. Mountains will be thrown down, every wall will fall to the ground, and God will rain hail, fire and brimstone upon the invading armies (Ezekiel 38:20). Due to the small size of the Jewish state, defence officials have remarked that Israel would be prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons in response to any threat to the nation's existence. They call it the 'Samson option', and the Bible seems to indicate that it could be used in response to the Magog war. As you can see, the prospect of this war grows closer by the day. Just as God has promised to defend the nation of Israel, so the Lord has promised to defend His people. We don't have a 'Samson option', but we do have something much better. Samson's strength failed him when his hair was shorn. But Jesus Christ has said that no man shall be able to pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28-29). Israel spends billions of dollars maintaining a security that is already guaranteed by God (Zechariah 12:3). But they do not yet know the kind of security that comes through knowing the Messiah as Lord and Saviour (John 14:27). That is eternal security. Jesus Christ loves you. He bore God's punishment for your sins when He died upon the cross. And all who believe on Him for the forgiveness of sins have eternal life. Why don't you turn away from your sins, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Psalm 125:1-2
They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

Source Arutz 7, Tehran Times, Times Online

The Hamas terrorist organization has been waging a guerrilla war with Israel for over two decades now. Over 10000 rockets and mortars have been fired by Palestinian terrorist groups into Israel since the Second Intifada began in 2001. More than 3600 of those were fired since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in August 2007. Over two dozen Israeli civilians have lost their lives in rocket attacks since 2001. Hamas is not interested in land. That has been demonstrated by Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, which rather than reducing the terrorist threat, has actually served to increase it. Indeed Hamas has been forced to step up attacks against Israel precisely because of Israel's disengagement from Gaza, as the organization can only exist so long as Israel is perceived to be the enemy of the Palestinian people. Nor is Hamas interested in making peace with Israel. Hamas is seeking nothing less that the complete destruction of the Jewish state. The Hamas charter declares that "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it". Additionally the charter quotes from the Qur'an in stating that, "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him". Both Hamas and Fatah encourage their children to become shahids or 'martyrs' for the sake of Allah. And Hamas teach their children that by waging holy war they will be able to subjugate not only Israel, but also Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe and America under Islamic rule. So exactly what is it that endears this terrorist organization to the hundreds of thousands of people across the world who have marched in support of them and in protest against Israel's actions in Gaza?

Quote: ""It perhaps doesn't interest the individual citizen, but it definitely interests the elites in these nations, the urban intellectuals: the press, authors, academics," Professor Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former acting foreign minister, told Ynet. "This is less due to the horror an average person feels when witnessing death and gore on television and more because Israel is involved in the matter. I always asked the Palestinians if they truly believe that the world takes an interest in them. After all, when Arabs kill Arabs, it doesn't provoke worldwide protests. If the Egyptians or Jordanians were attacking them, would anyone in the world be up in arms?" "Only when Jews are involved does public interest rise, and this is because there is a deeply entrenched global syndrome regarding Jews," Ben-Ami stated.

I think Professor Shlomo has hit the nail on the head, although I would disagree with the reasoning for his argument. Shlomo believes that the international community feels guilty because of the way the Jewish people have been treated throughout history, and seeks to transfer some of this guilt back to Israel by accusing them of carrying out the same crimes that were committed against them. But I don't agree. Personally I feel that there is one common thread that unites Hamas and the thousands of people who have marched in support of them - an underlying hatred for the Jews. In Hitler's day the Jews were persecuted because they were perceived to be the root cause of all the evil in the world. Ironically, the hatred for the Jews that spawned the holocaust must in turn be denied by these Islamic anti-Semites, because the holocaust is later used as justification for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In modern times the old anti-Semitic hatred has been given a fresh coat of paint. Today anti-Semitism masquerades as the more 'politically correct' anti-Zionism, and the lie that the Jews stole Arab land is continually propagated in order to justify this hatred. The sad fact is, much of the media has bought into this lie. 'It's just a war over land', they say. 'Israel is the occupier and those poor Palestinians are just doing what they can to get by'. Baloney. This is a religious war, and it won't end with Israel withdrawing to pre-1967 borders. It's a fight to the death. And as the Qur'an states, the day of judgement will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews.

The Bible prophesies of a day in which the status of Jerusalem would become a burdensome stone for all people (Zechariah 12:2-3). We are now witnessing this Scripture coming to pass. Praise God that Jesus Christ is coming back. When Israel is completely surrounded by enemies and has nobody else to turn to, then they will look unto the One Whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10). And He will fight for them as when He fought in the day of battle (Zechariah 14:3). There will be no talk of 'disproportionate force' in that day. He is the only One of Whom it can be said, "in righteousness he doth judge and make war", Revelation 19:11. What about you? Will Christ be you Saviour in that day? Or will He be your Judge? Look unto the One Who was pierced for your sins. He died for you so that you might be forgiven. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Source YNet News, Palestinian Media Watch