Israel Watch

Jun 17, 2013

A Settlement

Traveling through Israel is always a delight. I especially love seeing gleaming Jewish homes in the very heartland. I love this for various reasons.

The famous Ma’ale Adumim, on the eastern edge of Jerusalem, is beautiful. Pretty buildings, immaculate streets, no trash. It is one more example of Israeli ingenuity and accomplishment.

Would that the rest of the world felt the same way.

For decades, loathing of Israeli settlement of the Disputed Territories has steadily increased, and the issues are quite obvious. However, one tactic of the left is to muddy the waters. What do I mean by this?

It is a documented fact that the Arab countries of the Middle East have cultivated the plight of those who fled Israel after the establishment of the state, and after the Six Day War. Without question, Israel has literally been threatened with annihilation by its neighbors for now 65 years. Added to this reality is the fact that Israeli ingenuity has not only benefitted the entire world, it has provided countless jobs and a better way of life for Palestinians.

Conversely, whenever the Palestinians have been provided opportunities to better themselves and show the world they can contribute to society, they fail in spectacular fashion.

But here is how international voices muddy the waters: they don’t care about Israeli contributions and Palestinian failures because they are infected with Jew-hatred that causes them to rage at the Jewish state and pat the hand of the Palestinians.

Witness this week the comments from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (from the Jerusalem Post):

“United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon remains ‘deeply concerned’ over plans to construct hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, his spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

"’These are unhelpful decisions that undermine progress towards the two-state solution,’ the statement reads. ‘They constitute a deeply worrisome trend at a moment of ongoing efforts to re-launch peace negotiations.’”

The statement specifically refers to the Israeli community of Itamar (where Palestinian savages slaughtered the Fogel family two years ago—little comment followed from the international community, with so far as I know total silence from the Christian Palestinianists in the U.S.), “deep into the West Bank.”

The truth is, it doesn’t matter how much good Israel does, or how much fiendish behavior emanates from the Palestinian community. I have come to believe that no amount of mendacity from the Palestinians towards the Jews will reach the moral sensibilities of the West.

As I have stated on the “Israel Watch” radio program, I spoke to liberal Christian Shane Claiborne—a fixture in the Christian Palestinianist community—about his bizarre statement in the book Red-Letter Revolution that each Jewish “settler” has three bodyguards.

That makes almost one million bodyguards in a country of a little less than eight million people. It is a ridiculous assertion that Thomas Nelson publishers should never have allowed into one of their books.

Claiborne told me that “someone in Hebron” told him those figures. Of course they did. The PLO spoons-out propaganda just like the Soviets did.

Yet—yet—no one seems to care. Not only is their zero defense of Israel at the national U.S. Christian leadership level over such issues, but they actually contribute to the cause.

When Donald Miller, in a November 19, 2012 blog post, accused IDF troops of cold-blooded murder of Palestinian women, no one said a thing in rebuttal. He also accused Israel of controlling the caloric intake of Gazans, another whopper that is breathtaking in its scope.

I have asked Miller’s assistant (Miller himself cannot be reached) repeatedly to document these war-crimes charges.

They now don’t answer at all. Total silence. The mendacity that permeates this community is such that the tactic of not answering actually advances their cause. So long as they are not held accountable, the implicit message is that all Israel is fair game. This is how the Christian Palestinianists are helping the secular international community demonize and marginalize Israel.

This is why the views of Ban Ki-moon are identical to those of American evangelical leaders, on this subject.

Let me say it clearly: deep, very deep, within the American evangelical leadership is a hatred of Israel and her Christian Zionist supporters. You have no idea.

This is why prayer is so vital, and vigilance and perseverance in genuine support of Israel is so needed.

I have settled for supporting Israel come what may.

I can feel the hot breath of Israel’s enemy on my neck.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Jun 10, 2013

(Be sure and read Jim's new article on Bible prophecy in this month's issue of Charisma magazine: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/prophecy/17715-can-prophecy-be-saved)

Speaking Truth to Power

As usual, the validity of Bible prophecy is constantly questioned and mocked—increasingly, in the evangelical church—but it continues to project as the only reality of these “latter times.”

What I mean this week is that we see two interesting developments with regard to Israel…that line-up with details given in Scripture.

First, Russia’s Vladimir Putin “offered” to deploy troops to the Golan Heights! The Russians of course have been flirting with the region for decades, but one wonders if news of Israel’s new, gigantic gas fields has heightened Uncle Vladimir’s interest in the Jewish state.

The Austrian peacekeeper force now in place will pull out due to fighting on the Syrian border.

According to a Reuters report:

“Given the complicated situation in the Golan Heights, we could replace the leaving Austrian contingent in this region on the border between Israeli troops and the Syrian army,” Putin said at a televised meeting with Russian military officers.

“But this will happen, of course, only if the regional powers show interest, and if the UN secretary general asks us to do so,” he said.

The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss the offer.

Additionally, a very intriguing headline appeared at Frontpage magazine this week:

“Obama to Appoint Samantha ‘Invade Israel’ Power as UN Ambassador”

Power is part of Obama’s middle-finger strategy for answering his growing legion of critics:

A White House official says President Barack Obama will name former aide Samantha Power as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Power will replace Susan Rice, who will take over as Obama’s national security adviser.

Get a load of Power’s worldview regarding Israel:

“The chair of President Obama’s new Atrocities Prevention Board once called for the United States to force troops into Israeli-controlled territory in order to end abuses she said were being committed by both sides in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“Having placed Israel’s leader on par with Yasser Arafat, she called for massive military intervention on behalf of the Palestinians, to impose a solution in defiance of Israel and its American supporters. Billions of dollars would be shifted from Israel’s security to the upkeep of a ‘mammoth protection force’ and a Palestinian state—all in the name of our ‘principles.’”

So, we have Putin asserting Russia’s intentions in the region (Ezekiel 38 & 39), and Samantha Power as an advocate of invading Israel (Zechariah).

As I keep reporting, American Christian leadership is making every effort to marginalize the teaching of Bible prophecy, at precisely the moment it is proving itself astonishingly accurate.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Jun 3, 2013

Turkey on Rye; Hold Everything

If life teaches us anything, it’s that events and circumstances are temporary and even unpredictable. Take Turkey, for example. Now squeezed in a sandwich of Middle East turmoil, the large Muslim country that stands between Europe and the Arab World is forced to deal with its own problems and saber rattling from others.

This after a state of belligerence between Ankara and Jerusalem has existed for a few years because of the bellicose nature of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Many Israel watchers in the church have speculated that the famed Gog-Magog War, outlined in Ezekiel 38-39, is about to erupt. Email exchanges between Bible prophecy teachers and students have been burnin’ it up in recent weeks, and now comes word that Turkey herself has some tough issues to deal with. That’s a nice change of pace, frankly, since the Turks/Erdogan have been posturing like Mussolini whenever they look south to the Jewish state.

Now, a whole raft of anti-government protests are rocking Turkey and, perhaps even more interestingly, the same types of protests are happening across the Middle East. Groups this week called for the resignation of Jordan’s King Abdullah, and of course, the now two-year bloodbath in Syria rolls on as the world watches.

Yet notice: what do Muslim regimes do when the locals start asking too many questions of the dictators?

Blame Israel.

A “global march to Jerusalem” is planned for June 7, by the GMJ (Global March to Jerusalem). Various Jordanian trade unions have announced they will participate, and the event—such as it might be—will take place near Suweima, in the Jordan Valley.

No doubt Abdullah loves these kinds of things, since it takes focus off his own corrupt regime.

Look for the Turks, too, to create some problem with Israel. The Syrians are certainly doing it. As Bashar Assad continues slaughtering his own people, the dictator has been using his proxy terrorist forces in Lebanon to threaten the Golan (and beyond). Recent reports are that Hezbollah’s rockets can reach anywhere in Israel.

Yet what do the Israelis do? They are as humanitarian in nature as their neighbors are sociopathic.

This past week, Benjamin Netanyahu told the IDF to extend the fishing area of Palestinians in Gaza. Rocket fire had restricted the area to three miles, but the Israelis will now extend it to six miles.

What will Hamas do, however, in response? Spin this gesture by Jerusalem and again blame Israel for the misery of the Gazans.

These are all typical responses and tactics of Middle East warlords, but so far, Jerusalem has expertly navigated the turmoil going on around the Middle East.

We all know, however, that one day, her enemies will manage to put aside their own Hatfield and McCoys feuds, and turn their attention fully to Jerusalem.

Until then, we must continue to advocate for the only sane country in the region, and our permanent friend.

jim@prophecymatters.com

May 27, 2013

Project Yoni

Having watched the PLO propaganda pieces “Little Town of Bethlehem” and “With God on Our Side” (which, by the way, one Christian Palestinianist privately told me he no longer recommends because of its one-sided nature—thank you at least for that admission), I have often thought that Israel needs its own presentation of narrative.

If the Palestinians are making hay with their gauzy, David Lean-type narrative…why can’t the Israelis tell their true story in much more dramatic fashion?

Well, they can, as it turns out.

I’ve written before about the modern Israeli/Israelite warrior-legend Jonathan Netanyahu. The oldest brother of the current prime minister, “Yoni” served for 13 years in the IDF, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He planned the assault of Entebbe Airport, in remote Uganda, in the summer of 1976, as head of the elite counter-terrorism unit, Sayeret Matkal.

But he didn’t have to lead it. At his rank, Yoni could have sat back in Israel, or at best kept abreast of the operation from a command center near one of the rescue planes.

Yet there he was, literally out front of his men, urging them on, when a bullet struck him in the chest, just after midnight, July 4, 1976.

The raid itself was a colossal success, with almost all the 105 hostages rescued and taken back to safety in Israel. The strike force lost only one member (after Rabin’s cabinet calculated they would take 20 percent casualties, or around 40 troops):

Jonathan Netanyahu.

There were films, such as the one starring Charles Bronson. There were books, including my all-time favorite, Entebbe, written by the youngest Netanyahu brother, Iddo.

Audiences have been overwhelmed by the film’s power. With interviews of such subjects as Yoni’s wife, the remaining brothers, his father, and, perhaps most compelling, the men who went with him to Entebbe…well, I can tell you from personal experience that “Follow Me” is a game-changer.

Aside from presenting Jews and Israelis as moral and noble, the film also captures the heart and essence of a warrior who very much seems to be carried along by the mists and winds of history. That Yoni felt a kinship with Joshua and his mates there can be no doubt.

What kind of man would plan and execute an acutely dangerous rescue mission, then put himself at the tip of the spear?

I’ve spoken with two of those commandos, and the years have not dimmed their memories of that night, nor their affection for their fallen leader.

Now there is a film that tells the story of that remarkable night. It also tells Yoni’s story.

Well there’s more, this past month the Israeli Consulate General’s Office have reached out to the producers of the film and my good friend Thomas Sharp of Balfour Books & the Balfour Post for a nationwide push to screen the film in churches. We need your help!

If you would like to participate in the Project Yoni campaign and book a screening in your church or community venue; please email me at the email below. You won’t be sorry.

In fact, you’ll be thrilled.

jim@balfourpost.com

May 20, 2013

Student Body Right, Student Body Left

My spirits are greatly lifted these past two weeks; Israel’s enemies are not as strong as I thought they were.

First, the extraordinary response by the leadership of Calvary Chapel—unequivocally rejecting a presentation by Christian Palestinianists at a California church—shows what happens when the Palestinian (PLO/PN) narrative gets punched in the mouth.

It goes down.

When the World Vision-sponsored “Hope for the Holy Land” tour scheduled a stop at North Coast Calvary Chapel, pro Israel activists, and representatives from CC’s Costa Mesa-based headquarters made it clear that attacks on Israel—however subtle—would not be tolerated. Reports are that only about 50 people showed up for the event, which featured Sami Awad, Lynne Hybels, and Mae Cannon. Several pro Israel attendees challenged the speakers, and I believe the strategy of the Christian Palestinianists to infiltrate CC has failed.

An illustration from the sports world is appropriate here, I think. Often, when a football team’s offense begins to gain momentum, an offensive lineman will actually tell his opponent where the next play is coming from. This usually unnerves the defense, and sure enough, the next running play sees a tailback charge through a whole blown open by the big grunts upfront.

So, the CC fallout is similar. The Palestinian narrative has an Achilles’ heel, and that weakness is the challenge to the narrative itself. In this battle, truth very much does matter, and when pro Israel activists ask questions that can’t be answered, Israel wins.

I won’t tell the other side all the issues we will challenge—though there are many!—but I will tell them this:

The next play, and the play after that and the play after that are coming over your side. Israel’s defenders are coming into your gap, so stop them if you can. And this will happen for the duration, I can assure you.

I received in the past two weeks so many impassioned declarations for Israel, from Calvary Chapel pastors, that I now believe the other side is losing. Before, I said they were winning. The Calvary Chapel response is a model of what pushback does.

Just like USC’s “Student Body Right, Student Body Left” approach to offense (running waves of tailbacks behind a big, mobile, and mean offensive line) wore down opponents, so too will pro Israel activism pulverize the Palestinian narrative.

The other thing that buoyed my spirits recently was a trip to visit with David Brog, executive director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI). I’ve known David for several years, and have somewhat followed CUFI’s agenda.

Now I’m keeping a cooler of CUFI KoolAid nearby at all times. I cannot emphasize how impressed I am by their operation. They are a Heisman Trophy type tailback, a franchise player, running at the opposition.

I encourage you to check out their website—www.cufi.org—and see how you could be involved in advocating for Israel. I’ll have more to say about CUFI in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, just know that effective strategies for combatting the Palestinian narrative are coming.

And they are coming in waves.

jim@prophecymatters.com

May 13, 2013

When Good Men Do Something

Most of us are familiar with Edmund Burke’s famous quote:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

The norm today seems to be today that this circumstance is all-too-common. Principled men and women at least seem to be in short supply, for both big and small issues.

That was not the case last week within the Calvary Chapel family.

In this space last week, I discussed the World Vision-sponsored “Hope for the Holy Land” event held at North Coast Calvary Chapel, in California. The headline for last week’s “Israel Watch” was:

“Calvary Chapel Breached”

Happily, though the event took place as schedule, many people were aware of it and the attempt to infiltrate the Calvary Chapel movement has, so far as I know, been squashed. I will have a full report this week on the events that transpired on Friday evening, and the days leading up to it.

As background, World Vision brought together activists Sami Awad, Lynne Hybels, and Mae Cannon to discuss their perspectives on the Arab-Israel conflict.

I knew Israel would be blamed for the conflict, because that’s what the left does. I’d heard these presentations before. What made the story potentially explosive was the fact that apparently for the first time, “a” Calvary Chapel was hosting such a symposium.

And you know that no Likudnik or Christian Zionist would be invited to speak and take part in the discussion. The point of groups like “Hope for the Holy Land” is that they present the Palestinian narrative. This gigantic story has been going on for some time, but it seems that just now, many pro Israel supporters are becoming aware of it.

That’s good.

What’s better is that the Calvary Chapel leadership stepped up to confront this agenda, and I’m not aware of this kind of bold leadership from any other denomination, association, or whatever you want to call it. Chuck Smith publicly denounced it, and others made it clear that Homey Don’t Play That, at least in Calvary Chapel circles.

Some took me to task for the wording of the headline. I understand the point, although from my perspective, the wording was precise. It is exactly because the Christian Palestinianists have sought to burrow-into conservative circles that the North Coast decision was so newsworthy. That’s the agenda: infiltrate the traditionally strong groups of pro Israel support, among them to varying degrees CC, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Assemblies of God. At the risk of confusing or angering some, I believe the latter two are going to eventually swallow the Palestinian line. There are reasons to believe that’s already taking place.

Calvary Chapel won’t be, however.

I heard from many people in the Calvary Chapel movement who assured me that CC is staunchly pro Israel. I already knew that and in fact that has always been a “distinctive” if you will of CC. I was aware that the event at North Coast was an anomaly; that’s why the story was big.

Several wrote as soon as last week’s “Israel Watch” was posted that I surely was wrong about the location, that it just couldn’t be a CC congregation, and some questioned whether the event itself was some sort of mirage. It might interest you to know the following:

If I hadn’t seen Sami Awad’s itinerary posted on Facebook (via Twitter), I’d never have known about the event. A person at North Coast Calvary Chapel then confirmed to me that the event was taking place at their location.

That’s how I became aware that “Calvary Chapel” had been breached. Some thought I meant that the whole movement was somehow infected, or had been moving in this direction. Again, I’ll be precise:

One of the hallmarks of Calvary Chapel is its staunch support of Israel. If we know that when Bill Clinton once famously said that if necessary (alert: Clinton clause immediately in your rear-view mirror), he’d get in a ditch and fight and die for Israel—and that’s obviously false—Calvary Chapel pastors really would.

Guys like Jack Hibbs would not compromise principles, and that’s one reason the attempt by the Christian Palestinianists to infiltrate CC was stopped at the doors of North Coast Calvary Chapel.

The Calvary Chapel’s leadership is a huge story nationally, because one would be hard-pressed to find like-minded leadership in other evangelical circles. By rebuffing the alleged peacemaking and “non-violent” approach of the Christian Palestininiasts, CC sent a message that there is no beachhead for Sami Awad.

By the way, readers should know that I credit British scholar Paul Wilkinson with coining the phrase “Christian Palestinianists. Others like Walid Shoebat and Dexter Van Zile have been writing about this issue. I heard Paul speak about this subject a few years ago and began my own investigations. It is a story that his huge in its implications, and as I’ve been saying, I predict that Awad, Hybels, Cannon & Friends will continue to make inroads.

They just won’t be at a Calvary Chapel.

jim@prophecymatters.com

May 6, 2013

Calvary Chapel Breached

Near the summit at Masada, one can see the place where the Romans breached the defenses of the 1,000 Jewish men, women, and children who’d fled after the destruction of Jerusalem some two years earlier. It is on the western side and serves as a stark reminder that since forever, enemies of the Jews have sought to do them harm.

Masada ended badly for those Jews, and while they are not always threatened first physically, they are always threatened.

This week, Sami Awad, a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem (and director of the Holy Land Trust), announced on Facebook that he will be speaking at several churches on the West Coast this month. The May 10^th date caught my eye and leaves me dismayed.

May 10 San Diego, CA. North Coast Calvary Church. 7-9 p.m.

In a two-week stretch, from Seattle to San Diego, Awad will speak at more than two-dozen churches. Most of them will be churches friendly to his pro Palestinian message.

That’s why the May 10^th engagement is so stunning, and so dismaying.

For 40 years, Calvary Chapels have been a stronghold of biblical thought. The verse-by-verse teaching style from the pulpits is a blessing to the American Church, now awash in false teachings and outrageous personalities.

It was a matter of time before leftist thought was mainstream enough to contemplate infiltrating Calvary Chapel.

That’s now happened.

Awad, whose family is well-known in certain circles, has been partnering with American evangelical friends Lynne Hybels, Todd Deatherage, and now Gabe Lyons to promote what he describes as a “non-violent” approach to peacemaking. In brief, Awad and his friends portray Israel as a lamentable occupier of Palestinian land and the usual narrative also includes discussion of the big “open-air prison” forced on the downtrodden Palestinians by Israel’s “apartheid wall” (security fence to realists).

I get concerned when I hear information that is skewed. For example, the so-called Christian Palestinianists allege that the fence completely encircles Bethlehem.

That is a lie.

For some time, a full campaign—well-financed, organized, and choreographed—has been underway to marginalize Israel to evangelical audiences. Typically, the approach of Sami Awad has been to portray Israel as a harsh occupier in need of tough love. End the occupation, allow the right of return, and establish a Palestinian state.

Who is Sami Awad? A March 15, 2008 article in the British paper The Guardian gives us a clue:

“Outside Betlehem's Nativity Church, Christians yesterday queued not to celebrate the birth they believe happened here but to mourn a death - that of a Palestinian militant with close links to neighbouring Lebanon's Islamic militia, Hizbollah.

“Mohammed Shehadeh was one of four Palestinians shot in an Israeli undercover ambush here last week, killings that have fuelled support for Hizbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, among Christians and Muslims alike.

“School principals, teachers and students from the Bethlehem School, the Catholic School and the Greek Orthodox School paraded to the mourning tent outside the church chanting and waving placards praising the Palestinian 'martyr'.

“'People admired Shehadeh's ability to stand up to the Israelis,' said Sami Awad, Christian executive director of the Holy Land Trust, dedicated to promoting non-violent action against Israel's occupation. 'There's a lot of admiration for the charisma that Nasrallah has and the way he speaks and presents his views in public.'”

Unfortunately, later in the article, Awad’s view doesn’t sound any better:

“'The reason he was popular was because he presented a symbol of those individuals who were engaging in resistance,' Awad said. 'People are seeing that Hizbollah has done what others have failed to do either by military operations or negotiations. If Fatah had been able to achieve real steps through negotiations, people would be following that [process] and be feeling more proud of it and more supportive of it.’”

I frankly wouldn’t trust anyone who wouldn’t unequivocally denounce anything Hezbollah stood for, past or present. Let’s not forget their murder of American Marines in Beirut in 1983.

Whether it’s Fatah, Hezbollah, Hamas or any other murderous organization, the view that Israel is at fault is false.

Occupation. Land-for-peace. Right-of-return. Carving-up tiny Israel.

Interestingly, this “cure” for the Arab-Israeli conflict is the same as that of the PA/PLO. When one hears a presentation from Awad & Friends, as I have, one is struck by the extreme one-sidedness.

This is what North Coast Calvary Chapel will be treated to on May 10. Awad will be joined by Lynne Hybels and Mae Cannon (of World Vision).

World Vision!

The basic MO of these presentations is that Israel took Palestinian land in aggressive wars. Cleverly, in fine-tuning their presentations, these influential speakers are now talking in terms of being “Pro Israel, Pro Palestinian, Pro Peace, and Pro Jesus.”

Who could argue with that?

Again, it’s a cleverly worded attempt to sound even-handed, tolerant, and peace-loving. I think it’s anything but.

By the way, anyone who thinks peace can be achieved by caving-in to Palestinian demands is either uninformed, deluded, or malicious.

“Pro Israel and Pro Palestinian,” in the context of Sami Awad & Friends, is grossly naïve. Every single thing we know about the Palestinians in the last two decades since Oslo underscores a compelling case that a Palestinian state would be a lethal threat to Israel.

So we can’t have our peace cake and eat it, too.

Although there are people involved in these activities who are genuinely looking for peaceful solutions, many are not. When one considers that the basic story line is that Israel is at fault—and when Palestinian terrorism and murder of Jews is rarely if ever discussed—one can legitimately wonder whether this whole endeavor springs from efforts at peacemaking or…malice.

jim@prophecymatters.com

April 29, 2013

And It Drones On

The Israeli Air Force this week shot down a Hezbollah drone off the coast of Haifa. Added to the drama was the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s helicopter (in the north to visit a Druze village) had to put down when the drone was discovered.

The most interesting feature of the Hezbolla drone strike, though, is the realization that terrorists have a global reach. A drone means an escalation of technology and innovation. And when one considers that the Europeans now believe Hezbollah was behind a 2012 bombing in Bulgaria, we can see that Israel deals with a dizzying array of security issues each second of each day.

From a Jerusalem Post report:

“The Bulgarian probe led to renewed calls for the European Union to join the United States, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in classifying Hezbollah as a terrorist group. According to various insider accounts, some EU countries including Germany and France are reluctant to take this step because it may harm their relations with Lebanon, where Hezbollah is part of the government.”

This reluctance from too many at the leadership to stand up to terrorists presents a very troubling outlook. The Israelis seem almost unruffled by it all, even as they deal with drone and terrorist strikes, and a hostile American government.

John Kerry has asked Israel to release terrorist prisoners, and Barack Obama’s empty “promise” to deal with Syria should Bashar Assad use chemical weapons—he called the bluff—has left a new threat on Israel’s northern border.

As we’ve said before in this space, the Iranian threat will be neutralized in some way, and we look for something unusual. Bottom line: Israel will win and Iran will lose.

A perhaps greater concern is the entrance of accelerated technology (drones) to invade a very tiny country. Certainly, Hezbollah’s missile arsenals are also troublesome. Not to mention the fellows on the southern border.

I remember a friend told me 20 years ago that Hosni Mubarak would one day break the treaty with Israel and invade. That was obviously a failed prediction, as Mubarak’s own comforts and ultimate survival were more important than bringing a new caliphate to Jerusalem.

However, the Muslim Brotherhood will have no such restrictions and will surely at some point seek to do battle with the Israelis once again. The old, old struggle with Egypt is still a reality for Israel.

There are other threats that drone on, as well. This week (April 22), on her blog, Lynne Hybels recommended a new book by Dale Hanson Bourke, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, that will no doubt be another leftist view of said conflict. As I’ve said for some time, I consider the propaganda war over Israel, raging in the American Church, to be a very serious threat not only to Israel, but to her supporters.

At the upcoming Catalyst conference in Dallas, among the speakers will be Mark Driscoll and Lynne Hybels. Although Driscoll usually doesn’t address the Israel issue (but is Reformed theology tells me where he lands on it), he recently blogged about the critics of Rick Warren, even calling discernment ministries “extremist.”

That kind of outrageous, hateful, and unacceptable language I mention because it is representative of the tone used to defame and marginalize Bible-believing Christians, many of whom love and defend Israel.

This is the culture being cultivated at Catalyst, a mainstream evangelical leadership think-tank and network. There are leftist views of Israel within this kind of community that is identical to the Europeans who can’t muster up the moral courage to recognize Hezbollah for what it is.

Israel’s enemies drone on.

jim@prophecymatters.com

April 22, 2013

Unraveling

Well, in the wake of the Boston jihad, it seems we are all locked-in to a period of extreme danger. Societal structure is coming apart faster than a Bill Clinton intern story.

Which brings me to a background story that explains much of what we are experiencing today.

When tiny Israel defended herself in June, 1967, a newspaper editorial put it this way:

“If that [moderation from the radicalized Arab states] happens the way could be cleared for a political settlement that eventually could bring peace to the Middle East and a greater measure of security for the world.”

We were naïve then, too.

Few can argue that the jihadists’ top two targets are the Jewish state and her friend, the U.S. Whether jihadists are motivated by political power or religious fervor, the fact remains that when a cold-blooded killer looks at a child he’s about to blow up, we are faced with an existential threat the likes of which the world has rarely if ever known.

And the media spin and Muslim apologists have kicked in to high gear. We will hear a lot in the coming weeks about the “why” along with soul-searching as we try to “understand” why Muslims hate us. As Frank Gaffney said recently (I’m paraphrasing), if so many rank-and-file Muslims don’t support terrorism…where are they? The silence is deafening, and the jihadists are also helped immeasurably by dupes in the West.

I am struck by the fact that two Southern Baptist presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, were among the worst offenders in refusing to see Islam for what it is. They threw Israel under the bus and endangered the rest of us in the process. Clinton knew what Yasser Arafat was (serial killer/mass murderer) yet invited him to the White House 13 times and empowered the PLO.

Before the Boy from Hope, though, we had the Man from Plains. In his odious 2006 book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, the mendacious Carter makes the following startling statement:

“The PLO was out of diplomatic bounds for me, still officially classified by the United States as a terrorist organization. Despite this restraint, I sought through unofficial channels to induce Arafat to accept the key U.N. resolutions so that the PLO could join in peace efforts, but he refused.”

A page later, Carter—astoundingly—discusses the threats to Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, who determined for pragmatic reasons to engage the Israelis in peace negotiations:

“High officials in Damascus, Baghdad, Tripoli, and the PLO called for Sadat’s assassination.”

You see, don’t you?

Carter’s new best friend Arafat was trying to kill the only Muslim leader in the world willing to sit down with the Israelis. And Carter hugged Arafat until the day he died.

Does this strike anyone as outrageous? Do you see how dangerous Carter’s worldview was and is? He still thinks Israel is the bad guy and his personal dislike of Jews is almost unfathomable, given his Christian upbringing.

However…

For some time, I’ve been investigating at the leadership level the worldview regarding both Israel and the Arab world. I can say unequivocally that American evangelical leadership is mainstreaming some of the world’s most dangerous people.

Almost as an aside, I can assure you that the vast majority of the “New Evangelicals” do not remotely have a biblical view of Israel and the Jews. That is a key element in the unfolding drama.

No sooner had the child-killer from Boston been nabbed by authorities than evangelical leaders began a social media campaign to advocate for Islam. Kirsten Powers, a FOX news analyst and friend to Millennial evangelical leaders (like Jonathan Merritt) tweeted this week:

“Just b/c the bombing suspects were Muslim, that doesn’t make it ‘terrorism’ any more than a crazy abortion clinic bomber is a terrorist.’”

As a matter of fact, Kirsten, yes it does.

I want you to think about this, in light of what Powers’ tweet stated: the bombing suspects are Muslim, and they committed an act of terror. This makes it terrorism.

What we have here is a dangerous debate of the obvious. In the world inhabited by Kirsten Powers, if I say, “The sky is blue,” she might respond that no, it isn’t blue and in fact, we can’t be sure that’s the sky.

This mindset, in the context of the global jihad war, is problematic.

And when you couple this with the fact that evangelical leadership is being flooded with leftist thinkers, I must settle on warning those who have ears to hear.

While authorities were combing Boston for a jihadist child killer, Bob Roberts Jr. tweeted the following:

“Google MUSLIMS CONDEMN BOSTON BOMBINGS – 15 pages & counting – couldn’t be more clear than that”

That was followed by:

“You are building an impression of what a Jesus follower is to Arabs, Muslims, immigrants right now - be driven by his love & not your fear”

Now, not surprisingly, Ed Stetzer (lead pastor of Grace Church in Hendersonville, TN, and President of the SBC’s LifeWay Research) tweeted:

“Saddened by anti-Muslim hate spewed by some self-identified Xians online. Jesus told us NOT to respond like the world.”

A friend of Roberts is John Esposito, professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. This particular Middle East studies program, like most, is funded by the Saudis. Esposito will be a headline speaker at Roberts’ Global Faith Forum in November. If you care to check out the lineup of speakers Roberts has invited (www.globalfaithforum.com), prepare to be scared.

But then, of course, Roberts and his friend Stetzer claim that many of us are motivated by fear, right?

When one considers that a dangerously myopic view about jihad now lies at the very heart of evangelicalism in America, one can see how many gains the jihadists have made. For example, Roberts touts that “Muslims condemn” bombings. Yet he seems clueless that the Koran (and the Muslim Brotherhood uses this tactic, along with an insidious plan to “build bridges” through interfaith dialogue, wishing only to capture new converts) actively encourages Muslims to lie when it serves a tactical purpose.

It might interest you to know, too, that both Roberts and Stetzer (along with Rick Warren) have blocked me from their Twitter accounts. I suppose because I ask questions they don’t want to answer. So much for tolerance from these tie-dyed peaceniks. I’ve discovered that they are very friendly to anyone who isn’t a conservative Christian who questions their various initiatives.

Now, one more thing that is relevant to this discussion.

Growing up in the SBC, I assumed the denomination was largely “pro Israel.” Certainly, even now, there are many local congregations and pastors who are just that, genuinely.

However, the gatekeepers at all levels of the (still) largest Protestant denomination are not that.

For example, a trip to any LifeWay Christian bookstore reveals a diverse stew of authors and themes. From a map of “Palestine in the time of Jesus” (even though “Palestine” didn’t exist in the first century), to books by change agents like Margaret Feinberg and, yes, Jimmy Carter, you can be crystal clear that a genuine, biblical (and otherwise) understanding of Israel will be missing.

Feinberg, a rapidly rising star among authors, wrote a piece for Catalyst Space, in which she followed the leftist line about Israel (http://juicyecumenism.com/2013/02/18/evangelical-left-voices-and-israel/).

(By the way, after I reported this story, which appeared on the Catalyst website, the Feinberg piece disappeared. Perhaps it is still there, but the website has undergone a facelift.)

The thing is, the radicalized Arab states are not going to become moderate. Yet our leftist thinkers in the Evangelical world—who have already permanently hijacked the movement—think accommodation can be made with Muslims. They also think the Arab-Israeli conflict is Israel’s fault.

Before we leave this topic, I also need to alert you to the sad news that the Assemblies of God also has this same strain of Israelphobia, coupled with a disturbing form of leftist ideology that would make a 60s prof at Berkeley clap and blush.

A few days ago, Jeff Walton of the Institute on Religion & Democracy (www.ird.org) broke a huge story, detailing remarks by Dr. Paul Alexander (out-going president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies) at a meeting at Seattle Pacific University.

You can read the account here (http://juicyecumenism.com/2013/04/08/race-sex-and-liberation-pentecostal-studies-president-steers-society-in-new-direction/) and please notice the photo used with the story; it shows Alexander at some sort of pro Palestinian demonstration, and he is flanked by Israeli soldiers. Alexander is a leading Palestinian apologist among those who identify as evangelicals. The above-mentioned story covers much more than his pro Palestinian activism, and represents a shocking shift in ideology, deep within the AG.

I will be reporting much more on that story in the coming weeks.

Suffice to say that if our current religious leaders are taking left turns this extreme, it remains for the rank-and-file to educate themselves and resolve to tough-it-out in a shifting religious-culture climate.

I urge readers to avail themselves of the following information and button-up as the Church unravels.

jim@prophecymatters.com

www.frontpagemag.com

www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org

April 15, 2013

The Muslim Brotherhood in America

This week, I want to highlight the work of Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy. I had the opportunity two nights ago to hear Gaffney speak at Fairview Baptist Church, in Edmond, Oklahoma. Gaffney’s work highlights a huge problem for America, one that Israel has been battling for decades:

The Muslim Brotherhood.

First, though, a word about Fairview’s pastor, Paul Blair. Paul is a former NFL offensive lineman, and he brings that fearlessness to his position as a leader among conservative, Bible-believing pastors. Paul and his church stand against the evil infiltrating our society, including the agenda of the jihadists. Check out more information at www.paulkblair.com.

It was remarkable that on a Thursday night in the Midwest, a packed auditorium was the venue for a man who worked in the Defense Department under President Reagan. Gaffney is at the front of the frontline in the defense against jihad. His 50-minute presentation was sobering, challenging, and chilling.

If you remember nothing else of this week’s “Israel Watch,” take note of this:

www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org

Go there, often, and consider contributing to their work, including making others aware. This is important, folks.

Gaffney has worked, along with others like Robert Spencer, Pam Geller, Steve Emerson, and Sarah Stern, to expose the diabolical plots that the Muslim Brotherhood has in store for the West.

As Paul said when he introduced Gaffney, “There can only be one rule of law,” referring to efforts by Muslims to promote sharia law. Much of Gaffney’s talk was about this rule of law that aims to do away with our own Constitution.

Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Gaffney’s presentation was the infiltration that’s taken place in the White House, even since 9/11.

“Many Muslims do not practice their faith in accordance with sharia and are not the problem,” said Gaffney. “The ones who do are.” He went on to explain exactly what sharia is about:

“Sharia is a supremacist doctrine. It is fundamentally about power, not faith.”

I will have a more detailed report on Gaffney’s appearance in Oklahoma at www.prophecymatters.com.

I know how many people read “Israel Watch” each week and if readers will make themselves aware of the important work of Frank Gaffney and the Center for Security Policy, we will all be safer.

The Muslim Brotherhood is here, and they want to steal our way of life. We are standing against secularists, political forces, the entertainment industry, the media, and sadly, many influential members of the Christian community.

Educate yourself about this fiendish plot to impose Islam on the United States of America.

jim@prophecymatters.com

April 8, 2013

Nothing to Worry About

The view from the sloping hill, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, is—of course—breathtaking. The flowers, trees, grasses…all a carpet for the slope that ends at the waters of the Sea of Galilee…look exactly like a postcard.

When one takes in this scene, it is afterwards a bit jarring to look north and see the Golan Heights, where before 1967 Syrian shells rained-down on Israeli farms. Over the years, the Assad crime syndicate of Syria has demanded a return of the Golan—down to the shores of the Gailee(!)—in return for recognition of Israel and “peace.”

Imagine if the Israelis had reached an agreement with the Assad regime, which will eventually give way to the jihadists.

I was reminded of all this today, while reading a report that Mahmoud Abbas has “demanded” a map from Benjamin Netanyahu. A map that would delineate the borders of a Palestinian state.

At the same time, Hamas “deputy foreign minister” Ghazi Hamad (almost) comically stated that while the terrorist group will agree to a state within the 1967 borders, “some” members of Hamas do not accept the framework of a final status agreement (a Palestinian state, Jerusalem as the capitol, a return of refugees), yet “all factions in the movement agree to this and are prepared to accept it.”

Hamad went on to say that Hamas still does not accept Israel.

Huh?

Against the backdrop of this loathsome muddle, a hallmark of Arab “negotiating” style, some are under the delusion that Barack Obama has modified his stance on Israel. His recent trip to the country saw Israeli young people cheer his speeches, and some polls indicate the Israeli public feels better about Obama.

And against the backdrop of the muddled thinking from Foggy Bottom comes word that the EU is once again reluctant to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

As usual, folks write to me and ask what is going to happen to Israel, amid all this terror and python-like pressure. My answer is always the same.

Israel is going to win.

While at the Mid-America Prophecy Conference in Tulsa, we learned that Dave Hunt has passed into eternity. This on the heels of Jack Kinsella’s sudden passing, and that of Ron Graham. There were many RaptureReady folks in Tulsa, and we lamented the deaths of these prophecy teaching giants. And yet…

Listening to “new” speakers like Paul Wilkinson, and gifted and godly speakers like Al Gist, one was reminded again of the great biblical truths, which should allow all of us to clearly understand that while the word dithers about terrorists, God is watching and in control.

Through the consistent preservation of the Jewish people, a miracle each and every day, we should know that the nefarious plans of the Arabs will come to nothing.

I enjoyed being in Tulsa, seeing old friends like Todd Strandberg and Terry James, and my friend Thomas Sharp, who publishes prophecy and pro Israel books at a time when most publishers are cowards and compromisers.

A growing number of Christian leaders do not understand the threat of the jihadists, and they do not understand the specialness of the Jewish people and Israel.

But the rest of us should be happy and content knowing that the Bible is true, and while men and kingdoms in history come against the people of God, they do not last.

jim@prophecymatters.com

April 1, 2013

He is Risen

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (Matthew 28:5,6)

Mar 25, 2013

Are U.S. Churches Pro Israel?

Recently, a friend of mine with some influence in the pro Israel community contacted another friend of mine at a huge church in the Bible Belt. When I say huge, I mean one of the very largest congregations in the country.

Friend A asked Friend B to help set up an Israel event at the church. A couple weeks later, the latter sadly reported that the leadership wasn’t onboard, and beyond that, he could only get about two dozen people interested in showing up for the event!

This little story leaves me dismayed, because I suspect it’s not really “little,” but signals a big change in the landscape. A generation ago, thousands would have shown up for such an event.

Twenty-four people?

Look, I believe in being realistic, and also being upfront about this issue. That it leaves our ideological opponents in the church giddy does not deter me from reporting on the fact. I can accept lack of results we hope for; I cannot accept lack of effort to understand and combat this reality.

As I’ve been writing for some time, a seismic shift in attitudes about Israel hit our shores sometime back. We are only just now feeling the shockwaves and the high-point of impact is probably still to come. In short, American evangelical support for Israel is slipping.

Shane Claiborne, the leftist leader of the Simple Way, and buddy of long-time Palestinian advocate Tony Campolo, has been tweeting lately rare instances of Jewish violence towards Palestinians (or their duped friends, such as activist Rachel Corrie). Last month he tweeted about the 19^th anniversary of the Baruch Goldstein-led massacre of Arabs in Hebron.

The real context of this story though is the shocking lack of cases of Jewish violence towards Arabs and its reverse: Arab Palestinian violence towards Jews is ubiquitous, gruesome, coordinated, relentless, and fiendish.

And that’s just for starters.

Why, for example, would Claiborne not tweet about the second anniversary of the slaughter of the Fogel family from Itamar? The Fogel’s youngest child was nearly decapitated by two Palestinian murderers.

Shane! Calling Shane Claiborne! I’ve asked via Twitter why he doesn’t send out these anniversary remembrances, but so far…silence.

Claiborne is but one cog in the wheel of the giant propaganda machine that is turning American Christians away from Israel. There are dozens more leaders engaged in this unholy agenda, and many thousands of operatives working behind the scenes.

Last summer I interviewed Eagles’ Wings director Robert Stearns, who has been engaged in pro Israel work for years. His organization works with churches that are pro Israel. He indicated, though, that he is also aware of this slippage in support that I mentioned.

How did this happen? A generation ago, of course, you could toss a rock and hit a pro Israel church. Today, one is virtually threatened with stoning for dreaming of such a scenario.

One of the many problems “our side” has is the lack of coordination and effort. What do I mean by this? Nothing disparaging, I can assure you.

Shane Claiborne and Lynne Hybels and Gabe Lyons and Donald Miller and Cameron Strang and John Ortberg do this for a living. They are part of organizations that have the resources to keep them pushing Palestinian propaganda. Lynne Hybels’ husband, Bill, is head of one of the largest religious organizations in all of history. That’s not hyperbole. Willow Creek Association is gigantic and entrenched.

If Lynne Hybels wants to travel to Israel (and another, mythical place called “Palestine”), she just books the trip, or an assistant does it for her. Same with those other folks. They then absorb whatever the Palestinian Authority/PLO wants them to hear, and they return to America and promote the living daylights out of it.

What are you doing? Raising a family, struggling to pay bills and taxes squeezed out of you by a government forcing you to fund the destruction of the country, and getting up the next day to do it all over again. A vacation for you is a couple nights at the Days Inn in the next county. Every few years. In general—and let me be clear again: I’m generalizing here—Bible-believing folks in the United States are working so hard to earn a living, they don’t have time for advocacy for Israel. Our opponents on the other hand have plenty of time and money.

This is their career.

While you are fighting rush-hour traffic, or taking on an extra job to send tax dollars to the Marxist Palestinian Authority, Shane Claiborne is being flown to the so-called “Christ at the Checkpoint”/Hate Israel palooza in Bethlehem.

When you add to this the fact that seminaries churn-out unbelieving pastors and youth workers, one can begin to see why churches today aren’t interested in Israel and the Jews. (As just one example, Rob Bell graduated from both Wheaton and Fuller, and when Ed Dobson hired him at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Dobson told the board that Bell didn’t know much Bible!)

Get your mind around this: in Christian ministry today in America, there are plenty of Jew-haters. They smile, they talk about Jesus, they “do” church and ministry. And they are as clueless about the specialness of the Jews as a kindergarten teacher or plumber in 1938 Hamburg.

Is your church pro Israel? Is your pastor pro Israel? If so, I’d really like to hear from you (jim@prophecymatters.com). I’d like to get a sense of how many churches out there understand the specialness of the Jews and Israel in history. If you know of a church that is pro Israel, please let me know who they are. Send me contact info.

The silence of Shane Claiborne and Donald Miller and their friends who bash Israel is a coordinated effort to fool evangelicals, until they are clueless about Israel. This is done by promoting Palestinian stories that present Israel as an aggressor, murderer of Arabs, and colonialist power—the latter description laughable to anyone who can read a map.

In order to stem the tide of anti-Israel fervor in our churches, we are going to have to get active. You can do your part. With all the urgency I can muster, please let me hear from you.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Mar 18, 2013

In Arabic, Please

Last week, when I spoke at a conference in the Midwest, including a visit to a Big Ten campus to talk to students, I watched a fascinating exchange between an Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity and a Syrian Muslim.

At issue was what the Koran actually says about the “infidel” (that’s you and me). The Syrian gentleman insisted—upon reading a certain passage on his phone—that the Koran does not sanction the killing of the infidel for not believing in Islam.

But, said the Egyptian, holding up another translation of the Koran, “It does say to kill the infidel…in Arabic.”

That’s the whole point, you see. The Syrian was reading an English translation on his iPhone.

Jihadists, even ones wearing suits, insist to gullible Westerners that Islam is a religion of peace and that even the word “jihad” means something like personal struggle.

It means, slaughter the infidel. This is obvious, as we’ve seen sweeping terror attacks globally since 9/11. That’s what 9/11 was.

I was somewhat surprised to see the Syrian gentleman, in the final analysis, acknowledge the fact that the Koran sanctions murder. Of course, he was saying this from the friendly confines of an American university, but still…

This little exchange came to my mind today as I noted a Twitter photo sent by a member of a “fact-finding” tour of a place called Israel/”Palestine.” Organized by Todd Deatherage’s Telos Group, the pilgrims—no doubt sincere in their efforts to engage in peacemaking—are treated to huge helpings of Palestinian propaganda. One piece of propaganda also involves language.

A poster, purportedly painted by Palestinian children, urges the use of non-violence to achieve “justice.” The photo was tweeted by one of these sincere Americans who just want the Israelis and the Palestinians to get along, darn it.

Sadly, though, the photo itself is a dead giveaway: it’s written in English.

If the sign were written in Arabic, we might be getting somewhere. The fact is, though, Palestinian children in the PA territories are steeped in murderous rhetoric that blossoms into full-scale terror attacks. They’ve been “treated” to this reality for a full two decades, ever since Yasser Arafat first put his blood-soaked hands around a child’s flower bouquet.

If you talk to these American peace activists—and I have and do—you’ll notice their apparent sincerity. But they have their talking points, passed from folks like Naim Ateek and Alex Awad, down to Sami Awad, to Lynne Hybels, Gabe Lyons, etc. That’s how American writers like Donald Miller regurgitate insane claptrap such as the Israelis controlling the diet of Gazans. Yet, recently, for example, Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh was photographed buying Israeli grapes…in Gaza. Regular Gazans know this; why don’t the Americans?

Shane Claiborne can tweet about the 19^th anniversary of a rare act of Palestinian murder at the hands of a lone Israeli Jew. Yet he can’t be bothered by the second anniversary of the slaughter of the Fogel family of Itamar. Three-month-old baby Hadas Fogel was virtually decapitated.

Why doesn’t Shane Claiborne tweet about that?

jim@prophecymatters.com

Mar 11, 2013

Infiltration

It was fascinating watching a bit of the AIPAC speeches earlier this week. The group, dedicated to strengthening relations between the U.S. and Israel, had an eclectic group of speakers, including Vice President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The often-hapless Biden, who never misses an opportunity to tell Jewish audiences that he and Bibi go way back (one half-expects him to claim they raced go carts as youth in Jerusalem’s Talpiot neighborhood), gave a run-of-the-mill stump speech designed to shore-up the base.

The Obama administration, openly hostile to the Jewish state, sounds positively Zionist according to the AIPAC event. AIPAC President Michael Kassen, when introducing Biden, kept a straight face when he said:

“We know we have an administration committed to Israel.”

For his part, the Orator from Delaware whipped himself into a frenzy by referencing the infamous 2001 Durban conference:

“That’s why we rejected anti-Semitic rhetoric from any quarter…” he said, then adding, “You’re going to like Kerry.”

No, Israel won’t like new American secretary of state John Kerry, any more than they’ve liked, well, most of them.

It was left to Netanyahu to once again inject some reality into the Arab-Israeli conflict. Addressing the AIPAC crowd via satellite:

“We gave up territory. We got terror,” the premier said.

Netanyahu knows what he’s up against in Washington, so all the polite accolades between public friends are so much cotton candy: sweet, very temporary, and ultimately bad for you.

As the world closes-in on Israel, those of us who follow Bible prophecy brace ourselves when thinking of Zechariah. The prophet warned late that in the last days, ALL the nations would gather against Jerusalem.

In the shadow of AIPAC, Palestinian terror chief Mahmoud Abbas said—also with a straight face—that Israel was guilty of “using the ugliest and most dangerous means to implement plans to erase and remove the Arab-Islamic and the Christian character of east Jerusalem.”

This ridiculous charge is actually an inversion of the truth, especially since the Palestinians have hollowed-out the Temple Mount in order to build two underground mosques. They never tire and never cease from efforts to remove Jewish history via archaeological sites, including and especially the Temple Mount.

Abbas made his claims at last week’s Arab League-sponsored Jerusalem International Conference in Doha, Qatar.

Presumably, Joe Biden will reject that anti-Semitic gathering. Won’t he?

According to a report by Arutz Sheva, Abbas is coordinating an effort to “go up to Jerusalem,” and not in a Scriptural way:

“He charged that Israel’s alleged apartheid wall has isolated Arabs from Jerusalem and said that Arabs find it ‘almost impossible’ to enter because of the lack of permits. In fact, thousands of Arabs from Judea and Samaria enter Jerusalem every day.

“Abbas’s call for an Arab march on Jerusalem follows a campaign the past several years of trying to remove artifacts that would show the origins of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, as recorded in the Bible.

“Dozens of Palestinian Authority clerics have denied any Jewish connection to the holy site, and the Muslim custodians at the Temple Mount have used backhoes and tractors tor remove tons of dirt that might contain Jewish artifacts.

“Abbas said, ‘Jerusalem belongs to all of us and no one can stop us from accessing it.’”

This, you see, will be the flashpoint for a final confrontation, one that will be joined by the United States. Quite interestingly, as I’ve been reporting for some months, this effort has moved far beyond the political level.

As I write this, Telos Group founder Todd Deatherage is once again joining friends like Lynne Hybels in a place they call Israel/”Palestine” to advocate for peace.

It is an effort that highlights sincerity and naiveté at the same time.

However, that isn’t the most interesting thing about the latest Telos tour (many are staying at the famed American Colony Hotel, too rich for most evangelicals’ blood). No, what makes this report from Telos, via Twitter and other social media, most significant is that Deatherage & Friends have brought along members of RockHarbor Church.

The Southern California-based megachurch is near Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. I’m getting to the point.

In 2009, CC Costa Mesa invited Mike Erre, former lead teaching pastor at RockHarbor, to address the Movement 2009 event. Erre promotes contemplative spirituality, and cites such writers as Brian McLaren, Marcus Borg, and Rob Bell.

Now, so that I’m clear, I believe Calvary Chapel as a movement is a seawall against the flood of heretical/apostate teaching that has submerged much of the American church. However, that is also the point.

Change agents in the evangelical church will infiltrate any good institution, and there are efforts underway now to compromise the biblically based model of Calvary Chapel. Needless to say, the Arab-Israeli conflict is also part of this mix.

Deatherage—whom I spoke to some months ago and found to be a thoughtful fellow—believes that peacemaking involves engaging the Palestinian leadership. Here I am talking about Palestinian Christian pastor Sami Awad of Bethlehem. I find it fascinating that Awad, ostensibly fronting a movement of spiritual peacemaking, would have the same view as the PLO.

Read again Abbas’s words:

This is exactly the message of Sami Awad. This message will now envelope the folks at RockHarbor. And the relentless efforts to infiltrate Calvary Chapel will find expression there, as well, at some point.

(Only days ago, Rick Warren crashed Chuck Smith’s “Word for Today” radio program party, in an attempt to make it appear the two are close chums. More on this in the coming weeks.)

On the blog of Matt Graza, a member of RockHarbor, we read:

“RockHarbor, my home church, in partnership with The Telos Group (www.telosgroup.org) is equipping me and my team for this trip. We will be the second wave of peace-exploring pilgrims from RockHarbor to travel to the Middle East.”

Deatherage is tweeting updates from the trip now, and the Telos website has posted a picture with the caption:

“A Jewish-Israeli family shares stories and personal perspectives with women on tour with Telos.”

Of course they are sharing stories. That’s the aim. Story. Narrative. Lack of emphasis on facts and Israel’s precarious position. Members of Christian peacemaking teams that return to the U.S. come back imbued with a sense that Israel is a big part of the problem. The classic PLO line is repeated constantly.

Our government was infiltrated by diabolical change agents decades ago.

It’s now the Church’s turn.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Mar 4, 2013

Glocal

Bob Roberts Jr., pastor of NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas, is a man blessed with a big skill-set. Besides pastoring a large church, he is a master networker and his blog, “Glocalnet,” is a clever concept: Christians should be engaged both at the local and global levels.

Roberts certainly is.

One of the more intriguing efforts Roberts engages in is his attempt at rapprochement with Muslims. And not any Muslims. Roberts rubs elbows with jihadists.

Witness his chance (?) meeting in New York City, which he blogged about on September 25, 2012. You can read about it here: http://www.glocal.net/blog/comments/my-meeting-with-president-morsi-of-egypt-last-night/

Deep into the blog, Roberts wrote this:

“I then asked him, ‘Would you be willing to connect and build a relationship between our peoples?’ He said yes. I then asked, ‘so as President, what are you doing to protect the religious freedom of the Copts and others that are Christians?’ He told me there were incidents, but it isn’t like what is portrayed on the news. He once again told me to come and see for myself. He told me being the President requires him to do so and being a good Muslim does as well. He said he wouldn’t be a good President if he didn’t. He seemed passionate in his answer. I thanked him for committing to protect Christians - I asked him how I could help him as well.”

Look, I have no personal beef with Roberts, but I think his approach—sincere as he may be—is dangerous.

Certainly, Morsi wants to build bridges with the American people, particularly young evangelical leaders. It’s a tactic and strategy of war. It is especially a vital link for Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. Keep in mind, the Brotherhood, started in Egypt in 1928, is the ideological forefather of Al Qaida.

The Muslim Brotherhood now controls Egypt. That is a fact. Morsi is but one member of this clever, visibly urbane group that still wants to destroy the West.

No one that I’m aware of questions Bob Roberts’ sincerity. I do question his methods—vigorously—but here is an item I want you to meditate on:

My numerous requests for an interview have been stonewalled by Roberts’ “people.” I have also been blocked from his Twitter account.

We have a right to question when a member of the evangelical community reaches out to men like Morsi and purports to speak for many of us. Of course, Roberts would say that he didn’t speak for others, but we all know that leaders like Morsi recognize very clearly that Christian leaders in America hold sway over, as Roberts likes to say, their “tribe.”

I would not have been invited to meet Morsi in New York City. That is a high-level meeting and not by chance. The question we need to ask is, why was Bob Roberts Jr. invited? I will give you my humble opinion: the Muslim Brotherhood, like the PLO, knows a dupe when they see one.

Roberts would probably answer (I’m admittedly reaching here, but have to speculate because he refuses to clarify his statements) that he doesn’t mind, as a Christian leader, being a fool for Christ. That, however, would not be my point.

My question is why Roberts would reach out to a sworn enemy of the United States? Why are we seeing growing efforts by American Christian leaders to reach out to Muslims and at the same time marginalize Israel?

To date, Mart Green (president of Hobby Lobby), Bob Roberts Jr., and Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz author) have specifically refused a conversation with me. Perhaps some of you can have better luck.

When I shared my concerns about Roberts’ Muslim outreach with a mega-church pastor included in his network, I was politely told to drop dead and stand-down.

We have certainly a fascinating “Glocal” situation regarding how the Church today sees Israel and her history. Included in this is how these change-agent evangelical leaders view Bible prophecy.

(I mention Bible prophecy because—for my secular readers, or those of another faith who find this weird—denigrating the Bible’s predictive prophecy, which is so thoroughly Jewish, helps mightily in prying-away the next generation of evangelical leaders from Israel’s side.)

What I mean by this is, we see international leaders like Desmond Tutu, Stephen Sizer, Ben White and Sami Awad changing perceptions about the Jewish state. When you factor-in a network of American leaders like Gary DeMar, Gary Burge, Richard Mouw, Mart Green, Lynne Hybels and many others…it’s easy to see what the future looks like for pro Israel support.

In conclusion for this week, let me give you one more example of the labyrinthian network set up by the Palestinians to take-down Israel’s evangelical support. Unfortunately, there are almost countless other examples, but here goes:

Brad Lomenick, director of Catalyst (Mr. Lomenick also refused to answer my question about why the organization would invite a leftist like Cornel West to speak), each month selects his list of “Young Influencers.”

For February, Jarrod McKenna made the list.

On his Twitter page, McKenna describes himself as (among other things) an “[eco]evangelist.” While Israel might not be the top thing on McKenna’s list, he is still an influencer among Millennials, and we need to understand the breadth of his network.

For example, McKenna (who could pass for Shane Claiborne’s twin) is endorsed by Brian McLaren and Rob Bell. Those on the left who McKenna follows on Twitter include: Paul Raushenbush (editor, Huffington Post); World Vision Australia; Naomi Klein; Jay Bakker; Sojourners; and Cornel West.

Several of those people are no friends of Israel.

Naomi Klein, on her website, wrote a May 21, 2003 blog post about Rachel Corrie:

“When that Israeli bulldozer driver looked at Corrie's orange jacket and pressed the accelerator, her strategy failed. It turns out that the lives of some US citizens — even beautiful, young, white women — are valued more than others. And nothing demonstrates this more starkly than the opposing responses to Rachel Corrie and Private Jessica Lynch.”

Rachel Corrie of course has become a martyr of the left. She placed herself in danger by standing in front of a bulldozer during a home demolition. Corrie was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

Notice that Klein accuses the bulldozer operator of murder in the first degree. She also has not a shred of evidence for this.

I cite all this to show you the vast network linking overtly hostile anti-Israel leaders with readily acceptable American evangelicals.

While Shane Claiborne and his friends are currently and literally making guns into “plowshares” at the Justice Conference in Philadelphia (I find that level of gullibility breathtaking), Muhammad Morsi and his minions are licking their chops in advance of a frontal assault on America.

Consider yourselves warned.

jim@prophecymatters.com

Feb, 25, 2013

Calling All Pentecostals!

In the drive to transform the Evangelical Church in America into just one more member of the global spirituality crowd, the change agents who work 24/7 are, in the immortal words of Charlie Sheen, “Winning!”

Increasingly, I see it as my duty here at Israel Watch to inform you, the reader, about this breathtaking sea-change taking place—of course in the context of how it all affects Israel. While the overall agenda to change the Church has many legs, a major weight-bearing leg is the view of Israel and Bible prophecy.

I am now fielding phone calls and emails from people who want to know more, so for a time, our reportage here will reflect this growing need.

Recently, this space revealed the drift by Drew Sumrall, grandson of famed Pentecostal preacher Lester E. Sumrall. Not surprisingly, “New Spirituality” guru Brian McLaren alerted his wide readership to young Mr. Sumrall some weeks back. It isn’t the first time McLaren—among other things, the bestselling author never misses an opportunity to criticize Israel and her Christian supporters—has championed a Pentecostal.

It should go without saying (but I’ll do it anyway) that if McLaren greets you “warmly,” you should be very worried…if you care about your own denomination’s orthodoxy, and your own credibility with Bible-believing Christians.

In other words, cultivating relationships with new leadership in conservative Christian circles is a tactic. It is part of a broader agenda to sweep away the last vestiges of biblical thought from the American Church. It is a tactic, pure and simple. It’s similar to Fuller Theological Seminary employing the unorthodox Tony Jones, who has announced that he no longer believes in Original Sin. This fits well with Jones’ other hobbies, such as writing about Biola’s “Queer Underground.”

Stunned yet?

Naturally, among the pet projects of these change agents is a deconstruction of what I’d call Zionist Theology, or a Jewish Theology of History. They seek to isolate Israel politically, culturally, militarily, and especially, religiously. Keeping up with their various initiatives to this end would make an ice skater dizzy. Yet we need to be aware of what they are up to.

In an October 19, 2011 Brian McLaren blog, the Naked Spirituality author noted a blog by his good friend, Samuel Lee, a Pentecostal pastor. But Lee is a “new breed” Pentecostal, and the point I want to make here is that a major effort is underway—as we speak—to hijack pro Israel support among every major American denomination.

I would go so far as to suggest to you that in 10 years’ time, you will no longer recognize the Southern Baptist Convention. As it too strides toward liberal theology and a dance with ecumenism that would cause its founders to spin in their graves, the SBC will also fall in line with the new thinking on Israel, both theologically and geopolitically.

I say this as a member of the SBC.

Obviously, folks associate with those of like-mind, and as we see Millennials, their leadership, and their mentors emphasizing social gospel initiatives, ecumenism, and shifting theology, it follows that whole denominations will fall into line with the New Thinking. We can already see this happening where Israel is concerned.

And McLaren isn’t the only liberal/leftist worming his way into the heart of evangelicalism. Palestinian Christian lecturer and networker Sami Awad is now a mainstay in the WillowCreek Association, and is also becoming friendlier by the week with various Christian leaders in the U.S. Bob Roberts Jr. (notice how many Baptist pastors network with the “Glocal” leader) is now claiming to be “pro Israel,” while at the same time helping to mainstream terrorists like Egypt’s Muhammad Morsi.

Let me be very clear: one cannot be “pro Israel” and at the same time mainstream jihadists. It is common for folks like Lynne Hybels to claim to be pro Israel, pro “Palestine,” pro Jesus, etc. In this arena, one can’t have her cake and eat it, too.

Back to the Pentecostals.

A year ago, in Virginia Beach, the Society for Pentecostal Studies co-sponsored a conference at Regent University, in which Awad spoke and his “Little Town of Bethlehem” film was screened for various Pentecostal leaders, including Assemblies of God General Superintendent George O. Wood. All this is an effort by Mart Green and his friends to mainstream Awad and his Palestinian narrative.

Green is the president of Hobby Lobby and while he shuns the spotlight, he is quite a mover behind-the-scenes, financing the filming of “Little Town of Bethlehem,” a visually impressive achievement that is, however, nothing more than Palestinian propaganda. It could be a training film for the PLO.

Paul Alexander, president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and professor of social ethics and public policy at Eastern University, is also co-founder of Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice. Alexander, among other things, promotes the “With Love from Palestine” documentary. Alexander is an example of the younger, energetic leadership that is transforming support for Israel into support for “Palestine.”

Alexander also serves on the board of Sojourners, the leftist publication headed by Jim Wallis. The latter is another key figure cultivating relationships with evangelical, especially young ones and those in leadership. Wallis’s Sojourners is an opponent of the state of Israel (although they would dispute that, of course). One has only to look through Sojourners to see the leftist tilt and the constant criticism of Israel.

So today what we have is a spiritual stew consisting of traditional enemies of Israel in the mainline churches, and a rapidly growing force among evangelical Millennials.

Sadly, just as evangelical pastoral leadership has failed the country in adequately warning about leftist political forces now in control of our government; they are also largely silent in the face of growing hostility to Israel.

If one looks at the network a typical mega-church pastor enjoys, one will see a plethora of anti-Israel elements. For example, a single pastor might not have Israel on his radar (other than taking the typical Christian tour of the Holy Land), but his friends do. Just as I endorse my friends, many times simply by association, so too do these pastors endorse these infiltrators who are fomenting hostility to Israel.

Much more on this in the coming weeks.

jim@prophecymatters.com