What is Zionism?

The word Zionism has become a controversial subject. Wikipedia describes it as an “ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in 19th-century Europe to establish a Jewish homeland through colonization in Palestine.”

When the Jews returned to their ancestral homeland in the region of Palestine, the Arabs claimed that it was their land. Even today they still call the Jews settlers and claim their land is occupied.

The fact is that Israel’s history stretches back thousands of years. Over centuries of conquest, persecution, and war, the Jewish people were repeatedly forced from their homeland, resulting in a global diaspora. The Romans sought to erase the association between the Land of Israel and the Jewish people and applied the term “Palestine” to the Land of Israel. The word “Palestine” is not Arab or Middle Eastern in origin. It dates back 1,900 years and is derived from a people who were not native to the region — the Philistines, a people from the Aegean Sea who were closely related to the ancient Greeks. An Arab state called Palestine never existed.

The word Zion itself derives from Mount Zion, which is a hill in Jerusalem and a term used in the Hebrew Bible. The word “Zionism” was coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum.

The Hebrew word Tzion (ציון) likely derives from a root meaning “fortress” or “citadel,” reflecting its ancient role as a stronghold. It appears at least 157 times in the Bible.

Originally, Zion was the Jebusite fortress that King David conquered around the 10th century BC. After David took the fortress, Scripture records: “Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.” (2 Samuel 5:7).

The fortress became the political and spiritual base of the Davidic kingdom. Over time, Solomon’s Temple on Mount Moriah also came to be identified with Zion.

The prophets often used the term “Mount Zion” to represent the presence of God among His people. Psalm 48:2 extols it: “Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain… “), showing the Temple mount as a divine beacon for the nations.

Zion refers to a significant location in Scripture associated with God’s presence and His people. Jerusalem holds a special place as God’s chosen city. It is a symbol of His presence and promises. “I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.” (2 Chronicles 6:6)

In the Torah, the pilgrimage feasts called worshipers to ascend to Zion (Psalm 122).

The Psalms and Prophets refer to Zion repeatedly. Prophets like Isaiah tie the future deliverance and hope of God’s people to Zion: “And a redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 59:20). This means God’s saving plan is centered on this divinely chosen location.

Zion symbolizes the covenant relationship between God and Israel. When the Israelites are faithful, Zion is blessed and secure; when they stray, Zion experiences devastation as part of God’s corrective judgment (e.g., Lamentations and portions of Jeremiah).

Zion’s ultimate significance lies not merely in geography but in representing the site of God’s presence-both historically in the Temple and spiritually in the hearts of believers.

Zion embodies the bond between God and believers. It represents a place of atonement, sacrifice, and ongoing fellowship with God. When the Ark of the Covenant resided there, it underscored God’s nearness.

Zionism is rooted in the Jewish yearning to return to Jerusalem, as expressed in Psalm 137:1. The movement sought to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel, fulfilling Biblical prophecies such as Ezekiel 36:24 and Isaiah 2:3.

Critics continue to label Zionism as an illegitimate colonial project, but its supporters know it is tied to God’s promises for Israel. Embracing Zionism means standing with these biblical promises.

Zionism isn’t just a good thing; it’s a God thing.

Was Jesus a Palestinian

Was Jesus a Palestinian?

Jesus was a Jew, born to Jewish parents, raised in a Jewish culture, and executed under Roman occupation for claims of being the Jewish Messiah – a fact documented in the New Testament and affirmed by all leading scholars of the historical Jesus.

At the time of his birth (circa 4 BCE), the region was known as Judea, a Roman province named after the Jewish people. Jesus lived in Nazareth, a small Jewish village in Galilee. He preached in Jewish synagogues, observed the Jewish Sabbath, quoted the Hebrew Scriptures, and celebrated Jewish festivals like Passover.

He was circumcised on the eighth day according to Jewish law;was called Rabbi by his followers; and taught using the Tanach. He claimed continuity with Moses, Isaiah, and David; and was crucified under Roman authority for being the “King of the Jews” (a phrase recorded in all four Gospels).

It was not until 135 CE — a full century after the crucifixion — that the Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed Judea to “Syria Palaestina” following the Bar Kokhba Revolt, a Jewish uprising against Roman rule. The renaming was not benign. It was a deliberate Roman punishment, meant to sever Jewish ties to their ancestral land and humiliate the rebellious Jews by naming the region after the Philistines, ancient enemies of Israel.

The term “Palestine” did not exist as a political or cultural designation during Jesus’ lifetime. It only emerged during the mid-to-late 20th century, notably from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  Yasser Arafat regularly called Jesus “the first Palestinian martyr.”1 Mahmoud Abbas has echoed similar sentiments, calling Jesus “a Palestinian messenger.”1 These statements are not off-the-cuff errors; they are part of a systematic strategy of historical deception. The modern campaign to rebrand Jesus as Palestinian is about delegitimizing Jewish history and dismantling Israel’s claim to its homeland.

The Jewish people are indigenous to the Land of Israel. Their language, faith, customs, and ancient texts are rooted in that soil. Jesus was one of them.

To erase his Jewishness and repackage him as something else is not just a mistake. It is an act of historical theft and ideological aggression.

Jesus was a Jew. He was born in Bethlehem of Judea, lived in Nazareth of Galilee, and died in Jerusalem — all cities with Jewish histories stretching back centuries before his birth.

The Root of the Conflict

The Middle East conflict started when Abraham’s wife, Sarah, did not follow God’s will. God had promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation (Genesis 12:2; 15:18). Since Abraham and Sarah had no children at that time, Sarah suggested that Abraham have a child by her handmaid, Hagar (Genesis 16:1-2). The custom of their times was that if a woman was barren, her husband could have children through one of her maid servants. So, Sarah was “helping God out.” She had her own idea as to how Abraham could become the father of a great nation.

As a result, trouble followed. Abraham and Hagar had a child. Sarah became jealous of Hagar and Hagar fled. The Lord had more compassion than Sarah.

The angel of Adonai found Hagar in the desert and said to her: “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority. I will greatly increase your descendants so that they shall be too many to count.” The angel of the Lord said to her further: “Look, you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son; you are to call him Ishmael because Adonai has paid attention to your misery. “And he will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; living his life at odds with his kinsmen.” Genesis 16:10-12

Notice, the Lord stated that conflict would follow. The conflict would be between Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael’s hand would be against everyone, and consequently, everyone would react against him and his descendants.

Also, God promised to make great nations of both Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac would be the father of Israel and Ishmael the father of the Arabs.

“And as for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” Genesis (17:20-21)

Sometime after Isaac was born, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away. They went into the desert to live.

The Middle East conflict was prophesied in Genesis. The conflict is between family members, the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael. It is the result of Sarah trying to accomplish the Lord’s will in her own way.

When Islam emerged in the 7th century under the prophet Muhammad, it self-consciously positioned itself as a “correction” to the Judeo-Christian tradition. Muhammad traced his lineage through Ishmael and proclaimed Islam as the true continuation of Abrahamic faith.

The Ottomans retained religious significance as the custodians of the Islamic caliphate, a title granting them spiritual leadership over Muslims worldwide. The prospect of a European-dominated world order, with Christian empires ruling over Muslim populations, stirred ancient resentments.

World War One thus presented an opportunity for the Muslim world, led by the Ottoman Empire, to reassert itself against the Judeo-Christian West. The call to jihad in 1914 was a spiritual echo of Ishmael’s hand being “against everyone,” reigniting the ancient hostility prophesied in Genesis.

The clash between Islam and Judeo-Christianity during World War One was not a new phenomenon; rather, it was a continuation of an ancient conflict that began thousands of years earlier, with the rivalry between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael.

The conclusion of World War One didn’t bring peace between Islam, Jews and Christians.

Muslims saw the carving up of the Ottoman Empire by Britain and France, through agreements like Sykes-Picot and declarations like the Balfour Declaration, as a betrayal. Western powers imposed new borders and installed regimes friendly to their own interests, disregarding indigenous people and their needs.

Particularly inflammatory was the British promise of a Jewish homeland in Palestine — a move that rekindled Muslim fears of Jewish and Christian domination in lands they considered to be their own.

The tensions that surfaced during World War One, continue to resonate today. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the rise of Islamic extremism, and the broader struggle between Islamic and Western civilizations are all echoes of the ancient rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael.

In the more than 45 years since the Middle East war of June 1967, there have been many peace plans and negotiations. So far they all have failed.

Only God himself will bring lasting peace.

Israel Is Not to Be Divided

There is much confusion and disagreement today as to whether the Jews have a claim to the land they now possess, and to some they do not currently possess. The Muslims claim that they have the right to the land since they are sons of Abraham through his son Ishmael. The following scriptures in the Torah show clearly to whom God has given the land.

In (Genesis 12) the Lord said to Abram, “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.”

So, Abram went as Adonai had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing–all the land of Canaan–as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:8) 

Then God said, (Genesis 17:19) “Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” Ninety-year-old Sarah had remained childless for so long that she doubted God’s promise. She thought she should help God out and asked Abraham to have a child with her maidservant, Hagar; – but Isaac was the promised son born to Abraham by Sarah.

And as for Ishmael, God also blessed him. He made him fruitful and gave him land and great wealth. But the Lord established His covenant with Isaac, who was born by Sarah.

Now let’s examine who owns the land. In (Leviticus 25:23) God said: “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.” God owns the land. He leased it to the Jewish people.

Canaan was bigger than the land Israel has today. It included Palestine, Lebanon, western of Jordan and parts of Syria. I mentioned this in my previous article, Israel’s Promised Borders – Standing with Israel. Israel today owns only about one third of it.

The term of the lease is not up to the Palestinians or Hamas. (Psalm 105) reminds us that “He remembers his covenant forever, the word He commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Avraham, the oath He swore to Isaac, and established as a law for Jacob, for Israel as an everlasting covenant; to you I will give the land of Canaan as your allotted heritage.” It is a one-state solution, and nobody has the right to change it to a two-state solution. God requires a one-state solution. He never said that Isaac and Jacob had to share it with their cousins.

Today Israel experiences terror on every side! The enemies conspire against her and plot to take her life. But Israel must trust in the Lord. He preserves those who are true to him, but the enemies He pays back in full.

(Genesis 12:3) says God will bless them who bless you and curse those who curse you; –  that’s Israel and the Jewish people. In the seed of Abraham all families of the earth are blessed. That is why America needs to support a one-state solution.

Just recently the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that his kingdom would not recognize Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. Will the Trump administration join the demands of the Muslims in the Abraham Alliance?  – Today America’s future hangs in the balance!!

The Bible warns what will happen to nations that try to divide the land. (Joel 3:2) “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.”

The World’s Oldest Hatred

The World’s Oldest Hatred

The Bible reveals the spiritual war behind it. Hatred towards the Jewish people is a recurring theme throughout the holy scriptures, manifesting in various forms and through numerous adversaries. The different books provide numerous accounts of nations and individuals who harbored animosity towards the Jews, often resulting in conflict, persecution, and attempts to thwart God’s plans for His people. In modern times it is called anti-Semitism. The term antisemitism was coined by Wilhelm Marr, who was looking for a scientific sounding term to replace the word “Judenhass”, or Jew hatred in German. The word describes hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group.

 

In the Bible, Semites refer to the descendants of Shem, one of Noah’s sons, included in the genealogies outlined in the book of Genesis. It narrates that everyone on earth drowned except for Noah and his family and that all mankind descended from his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The idea widely adopted by Christians, and to a lesser extent by Muslims and Jews is, that the three sons of Noah represented the ancestors of three major racial or linguistic groups. According to this interpretation, Ham was the ancestor of the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Shem of the Hebrews and people with similar languages, and Japheth the ancestor of the Medes, Persians, Greeks, and other peoples who, many centuries later, came to be known as Aryans.

 

A Semite refers to a member of any group speaking a Semitic language, mainly Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. These form a linguistic family that connects their cultures. When taking the linguistic approach, Arabs can’t be anti-Semites.

 

However, the Oxford English Dictionary defines anti-Semitism more narrowly as “prejudice, hostility, or discrimination towards Jewish people on religious, cultural, or ethnic grounds.” That is what is understood today, in simple terms – it is Jew-hatred.

 

But it was already there in ancient times. One of the earliest and most significant examples of hatred towards the Jews is found in the account of the Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt. The Pharaoh, fearing the growing number of Israelites, subjected them to harsh labor and attempted to suppress their population.

 

The Amalekites are another notable enemy of the Jews, known for their unprovoked attack on the Israelites shortly after the Exodus. 

 

In the Book of Esther, Haman, an official in the Persian Empire, epitomizes the deep-seated hatred towards the Jews.

 

In medieval times, the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple.

 

Arab leaders have repeatedly made clear their animosity toward Jews and Judaism. When Hitler introduced the Nuremberg racial laws in 1935, he received telegrams of congratulation from all corners of the Arab world. Later, during the war, one of his most ardent supporters was the Mufti of Jerusalem. During the Holocaust six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others were killed by Nazi Germany.

Ever since God brought the Jewish people into the world to fulfill His purposes, the devil tries to destroy God’s purposes.

 

America is still the greatest friend of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel in modern times. But that seems to be changing. When crowds chanted, “Death to Israel”, and “from the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free”, the demonstrations were not limited to Islamic lands or even to Europe. They could be found all over the United States. For the first time, hatred for Israel was being mainstreamed in American culture.

 

This has been illustrated in the Democratic Party. In 2017, Democrats constituted a pro-Israel party. But now, just 8 years later, the Democrats constitute a pro-Palestinian party.

 

Yet it’s not only on the left, but on the right as well. The far extreme has become increasingly brazen in its anti-Israel, anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic rhetoric. Even conservative circles are joining in. Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens are blaming the Jews and Zionism for the world’s evils. The world’s oldest hatred continues even today.

 

Though it is a stunning development, it should not shock us – as the Bible foretells that in the last days all nations will come against Israel.

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Rosh Hashanah 5786

Those who have Jewish friends know that they just celebrated their New Year’s Day, called Rosh Hashanah. The New Year season lasts through Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Rosh Hashanah marks the birthday of the universe, the day G‑d created Adam and Eve, which this year took place 5786 years ago.

In the beginning, calendars were lunar-based because moon phases were easy to measure. The Hebrew calendar, also known as the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar. It consists of 12 months, with an extra month added every few years to align with the solar year. The dates of God’s appointed feasts are recorded on that calendar. The Bible calls these the Moadim – the Lord’s Appointed Times (see Leviticus 23). They are not just historical festivals, but divine appointments on His calendar.

Most of the world today uses the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. It is a solar calendar that consists of 12 months and includes a leap year every four years, with specific exceptions for centennial years. It starts with the birth of Christ, 2025 years ago.

Rosh Hashana this year began at sundown on September 22 which started a period of reflection and repentance -also known as the Days of Awe – which will end on Yom Kippur at sundown on October 2. These days are marked by the sounding of the shofar, proclaiming God‘s Kingship.

Is there a special meaning for the year 5786?

Hebrew numbers are represented using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, where each letter has a specific numeric value.5786 is written Tav–Shin–Peh–Vav(תשפ״ו). Each letter carries a meaning: Tav is covenant and completion. Shin is fire and refining. Peh is the mouth and proclamation. Vav is the nail or hook that connects (Source: Hebrew Dictionary). Put together, they point to a year of truth spoken boldly, promises fulfilled, and heaven and earth joined by God’s hand. This is the year of a divine hook that connects heaven with earth.

The Talmud describes how, on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, three books are opened before God: one for the righteous, one for the wicked, and one for the intermediate. The righteous, the Talmud goes on to explain, are inscribed in “the book of life.” Man however cannot be righteous, without his sins being forgiven.

The Lord is calling His people to prepare, to awaken, and to align with this divine connection in 5786.

The Greatest Lie Ever Told

The Greatest Lie Ever Told

Today, many young people believe that “Palestine” was a country that belonged to Arab Muslims. Most of the media supports that claim. They think that the Jews came from Europe in 1948 and occupied or stole their land.

That –, of course is a lie. Universities, influenced by Qatari money and liberal antisemitic professors are brainwashing the youth to believe this lie.

They do not know or believe the true history.

The Hebrew Bible offers a narrative of Israel’s origin. According to the text, Israel’s origins can be traced back to Abraham, the father of Judaism (through his son Isaac). Abraham’s descendants were enslaved by the Egyptians for hundreds of years before settling in Canaan, which is approximately the region of modern-day Israel. The land was explicitly promised to Abraham and his descendants in (Genesis 15:18-21): “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.'” This promise is reiterated to Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15).

The word Israel comes from Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” by the Hebrew God in the Bible. Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Judah, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan …) and they inhabited the land God gave them.

The biblical history of Israel is dramatic. After the glorious Davidic Kingdom around 1,000 BC the tribes of Israel gradually fell away from their God and because of their disobedience the land came under different rulers. For 2000 years, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans ruled over the region.

After the crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews rebelled against the Romans in the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Subsequently, the Roman emperor Hadrian destroyed Jerusalem and murdered about a million Jews. He burned down the Temple and changed the name of Israel into “Syria Palestina” to insult the Jews and disconnect them from the land.

Later the Ottoman Turks ruled over the region before the British called it “the mandate of Palestine”. Thirty years later they issued the Balfour declaration to establish a Jewish state in „Syria Palestina”.

Even though many Jews were dispersed from the land for years, there has always been a remnant of Jews-living in the land. Finally, after 2000 years, after Jews were massacred in Europe, with God’s help, the Jews were able to return to their homeland. In 1948, Israel became a State in the Promised Land.

Recently I listened to a U-tuber, showing the Palestinian section of Hebron and lamenting how the poor Arabs had to suffer under the Israeli occupation. She didn’t bother to visit the cave of the Patriarchs, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are buried.When I reminded her that Hebron was the capital of Israel prior to Jerusalem becoming the eternal capital, and that during the first seven years of his reign, King David ruled from Hebron, she replied: “That was a long time ago.”

I told her, that for years, the small community of 800 Jews in the ancient city of Hebron lived in peace with their Arab neighbors. But, on the night of August 23, 1929, Hebron turned into a city of terror and murder as the Arab residents led a rampaging massacre against the bewildered and helpless Jewish community. By the time the massacre ended, 67 Jews lay dead – their homes and synagogues destroyed – and a few hundred survivors were relocated to Jerusalem. The aftermath left Hebron barren of Jews for the first time in hundreds of years.

How could this happen if there were no Jews living in Israel before 1948? No answer. Her Arab friends didn’t tell her about that.

But as if that were not enough, to this day, the antisemites have not left the Jews alone. They want to murder them in their own land and kill them around the world.

The “Palestine and Palestinian” movement is nothing but a fraud and distortion of hand. It is a weapon and excuse by the same antisemites to murder innocent Jews. According to Palestinian historian Muhammad Y. Muslih, during the entire 400-year period of Ottoman rule (1517-1918), before the British set up the 30-year-long Palestine Mandate, “There was no political unit known as Palestine.” The deliberate creation of the “Palestinian people” as a discrete entity in 1967, and the political group known as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964 was for the sole purpose of destroying a sovereign and legally mandated Jewish state. Historically, the Palestinian “desire for statehood” and “need for liberation” was invented in large part by the Soviet Union. It is no coincidence that the blueprint for the PLO Charter was drafted in Moscow in 1964.  – Palestinians are an invented people.

 

Nisan – The Month of Miracles

Nisan is the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar when counting from Tishri, but it is counted as the first month in the Torah. God changed the calendar when he spoke to His servant, Moses, saying:

“This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:2)

In doing so, he gave his people a new beginning, where there was no beginning. And where there was no end, he made an end of what was before .

 The month of Nisan marks a new beginning, specifically the Exodus from Egypt, which is commemorated during Passover (Pesach) on the 15th of Nisan.

Nisan’s themes of miracles and redemption are central to its observance. Passover is celebrated during this month and commemorates the Israelites’ miraculous liberation from Egyptian bondage, serving as a profound reminder of freedom and divine intervention. — You know the story, while the the angel of death killed all the firstborn in Egypt, he passed over the children of Israel, whose doors were marked with the blood of a sacrificial lamb.

The word Nisan shares a root with Nes — miracle. It is the month of Nissim, miracles upon miracles. Passover marks the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, a momentous event portraying God’s redemptive power. The Ten Plagues, the Splitting of the Sea, and the birth of a nation.

Some of the recorded miracles that occurred during the month of Nisan were:

  • The day the floodwaters receded from the earth, after the dove was sent out by Noah and returned with an olive branch, according to (Genesis 8:10).
  • The Israelites crossed the Jordan River into Canaan. (Book of Joshua, 4).
  • Esther appeared before Ahasuerus unsummoned and invited him and Haman to a feast to be held the same day. During the feast she requested that the king and Haman attend a second feast the next day. You know the rest of the story, Haman ended up hanging on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.
  • The walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

In Nisan, the natural world itself mirrors this theme. We witness the blossoming of trees and flowers, the warming of the air—it’s as though creation is declaring: “Renewal is possible.”

Is it therefore reasonable to expect a miracle even in our time? Such as the release of the remaining hostages? Or maybe peace in the Middle East for a season? Freedom for the people in Iran? — Let’s wait and see an impossible situation give way to a new beginning.

I don’t know about you, but I believe in miracles.

Israel’s Promised Borders

Some 3,500 years ago the Canaanites inhabited the land that God promised to give to the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God promised that He would give the land of Israel to the Jewish people as an eternal possession. The promise was unconditional, it could never be annulled.

Forty years after the Exodus from Egypt, God did bring the Israelites into the Promised Land. Israel reached the peak of her power some 500 years later under King Solomon. During his kingdom Israel occupied a large part, but not all, of the territory which God had promised to her. Israel was required to obey the Law of Moses and, when the Jews failed, God thrust them out of the land.

However, God’s promise that they will inherit the land still stands. We see the Jews being brought back to the Promised Land in our day, but as we see, the borders of the modern-day State of Israel are only a fraction of the true biblical borders of the Promised Land.

We expect that God’s word will be fulfilled and that they will enter into their full inheritance. Where exactly are these promised borders?

Let’s begin with Genesis 15:18-21. The Torah tells us: “On that day God made a covenant with Abram and said, To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

From the river of Egypt to the Euprates is a huge territory. This expansive promise outlines a territory that stretches from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River, encompassing a vast area that includes parts of modern-day Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.

More precise geographical borders are given in Exodus 23:31. “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you.”

Notice how the Red Sea and the Euphrates are mentioned to define the southern and eastern borders of the full land promised to the Jews.

The “Red Sea,” corresponding to the Hebrew “Yam Suf,” refers to the body of water known in ancient times as the Erythraean Sea. Erythraean is “red” in Greek, hence the name the “Red Sea.” However, the term “Erythraean Sea” denotes all the waters surrounding Arabia and not merely the waters at the southern port of Israel that are known today as the “Red Sea.” It emerges, therefore, that all of Saudi Arabia may very well be part of the land promised to the Jewish people.

The borders of Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 are the most familiar as they somewhat resemble the borders of the modern State of Israel:

“God said to Moses…When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries: Your southern side will be the Desert of Zin…and the southern end of the Dead Sea…Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea…For the northern border…run a horizontal line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor…For your eastern border…the coastline along the Sea of Galilee…down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”

According to these borders, Beirut, Damascus, and even Southern Turkey (as “Mount Hor” is quite far north) are part of the Land of Israel.

So why does the Torah list different borders in different passages? The answer can be found in Deuteronomy 19:8, where we are told that “God will enlarge your borders…and you will receive all the land that He promised to your fathers.”

To some of us, today’s news updates from the Middle East may be confusing. Too many things are happening all at the same time.

Turkish-backed Sunni terrorists from Syria are attacking Hezbollah in Northern Lebanon, and the Lebanese army is fighting alongside Hezbollah to defend them. These enemies are fighting each other, instead of fighting Israel.

In Southern Syria, the Druze community openly requested that Israel stay to protect them from radical Islamist forces.

Hamas ceasefire talks have ended, and Israel is cleaning up Gaza.

It looks like we are in the process of witnessing the Biblical borders of Israel coming true. We are seriously living through Biblical times.

Some say Israel will get her promised border when the Messiah comes. It looks like this may happen sooner than later.

Satan’s Plan to Destroy Israel

The Devil has tried to wipe out the tiny nation of Israel for thousands of years. He used the most powerful nations against the tiny country, the Pharaohs, Assyria, the Romans, Babylonians, Hitler and the Soviet Union. They were all unsuccessful and no longer exist today.

Since the day of Israel’s rebirth, the forces of hell have been trying to wipe her out. They tried it from day one, and the United Nations never condemned those nations. But they condemned the tiny democracy of Israel more than all the other nations of the earth put together. Other nations who killed many people, condemn only Israel. That is demonic. It is not natural. It makes no sense, but it makes sense spiritually.

The rockets that were fired at Israel by Hamas were financed by Iran. Iran is ancient Persia. The book of Daniel tells us that Persia was ruled by an ancient principality, called “Sar Paras” or “Prince of Persia”. (Daniel 10:20) Ancient Persia was not Islamic, it was a pagan country. Over the course of the country’s history Iran had multiple religions and sects, the main one was Zoroastrianism. During the time of the Shah of Iran, Iran was not against Israel. But it was overthrown by a radical Islamic regime, which is in power to this day. The Bible tells us that there are spirit rulers or principalities that have authority and control. The Islamic terror groups of today are ruled by such demonic principalities.

Today, Iran is Israel’s biggest enemy. The Jewish people have a battle just to stay alive. Why? Because of the purposes of God. The Bible says that the purpose of God comes through Israel. Through Israel comes the Torah and the Messiah. It was foretold that the nation of Israel would come back and usher in the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. When that happens, the enemy will be finished, and God’s purpose will be fulfilled. This is big, all the prophecies will be fulfilled, and darkness knows it. The forces of hell know it, and so does the Prince of Persia. That is why Iran is so desperately trying to wipe Israel off the map.

The center of Israel is Jerusalem. That’s why it is always the center of the conflict. And in Jerusalem there is the Temple Mount. That is where the Messiah is going to reign from. It is where the Temple once stood. If you go to the Temple Mount today, there is the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine, right where the Holy of Holies once stood. With the Muslim shrine you can’t build on there. On the eastern side of the Temple Mount, there is the Golden Gate through which Messiah is going to enter. As soon as the Muslims heard of that they walled it up with bricks and cement. Muslims won’t even allow you to pray on the Temple Mount.

Throughout the Bible, God’s purpose is revealed in His dealings with the nation of Israel. God chose Israel to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), serving as a light to the Gentiles and a means through which His purposes would be accomplished. Despite Israel’s repeated failures, God’s purpose remained unthwarted, as He promised a Messiah who would fulfill His covenant promises and bring salvation to all nations (Isaiah 49:6).

Why is the enemy so sensitive about prayer on the Temple Mount? Because he knows his time is short. He knows the authority of the Messiah who will rule from the Temple in Jerusalem and bring peace to mankind.