Even the Qur'an admits that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews

It's true!

 I've checked in two different translations of that tendentious book.  The seventh Sura(h), also called 'Al Araf', in verse137 promises the land to the East and West of the River to Israel. The Surah is mostly a précis of Exodus with other bits. From the context, the river must be Jordan. This is also confirmed in Surah 5:21/23 depending on the translation. This much I have checked and verified for myself.

I understand that there are other Surahs on similar lines.

Israel Today has published an article on the subject.

The Koran promises the Land to the children of Israel because they suffered in Egypt, according to Nissim Dana, an Israeli expert on Islam who spoke with Israel Today reporter Olga Zenkova.

It is behind a subscription wall but I have read the article in the printed magazine. Some Muslims try to wriggle out of these verses but others are more open. Sadly, the article does not list all the verses.

Many Muslims are completely unaware of these verses as they do not read the Qur'an. They are told that translations are not accurate and that they need to learn Arabic. Even the Arab Muslims do not read the Qur'an.

All of which begs the question, "What are they fighting Israel for?" The answer is that they want to keep what they have conquered in the past and that they want the world for Islam.

Arab sheik receiving a Jewish visitor.

 

More on Boko Haram - it isn't just the girls.

Prominent Anglican blogger Cranmer has two powerful posts on Boko Haram's war in Nigeria.

Firstly, this one where lays out his point in words. Then he posted this one where his pictures speak for themselves.



As I said in my previous post, the war between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria has been going on for years.

Australian cleric, the Rev. Dr. Mark Durie has posted an interview in which he exposes the ancient Islamic roots of Boko Haram. You can listen to the interview below or read his additional; material by following the previous link to his blog.

He is not alone in declaing this information. Over at The Omega Letter, J.L. Robb has posted an article doing much the same thing but also enumerating the effects of Sharia law on women. Here is a sample of that list.

• Adultery is a capital crime, punishable by whipping and then death, often by stoning.
• Apostasy (saying or thinking something uncomplimentary about Islam or Muhammad) is a capital crime to be punished by death. Apostates are to be “killed wherever they may be found.”
• Female genital mutilation to make sure sex isn’t too enjoyable for the women.
• Women are considered inferior to men. Court testimony by a woman only counts for half of the testimony by a man. Women receive only half the inheritance that a man receives. A woman’s vote, if she is allowed to vote, counts one-half of a man’s vote.

It carries on in the same vein.

The excellent 'Barnabas Fund' has been involved in the campaign in the US to get Boko Haram registered as a terrorist organisation. The following is part of the article on their website.

"Our honorary director in the US, Bishop Julian Dobbs, worked with others to petition the State Department and other government agencies to designate Boko Haram as an FTO. On one occasion Bishop Dobbs was assisted by the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, Primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria who made the case in the corridors of power on behalf of suffering Nigerian Christians. 
Bishop Dobbs, who is an Anglican missionary bishop of the Church of Nigeria, said the FTO designation was significant for three reasons:

Firstly, it shows that the US government has realised that it’s a serious situation and is concerned about it. Secondly, the FTO label enables certain US resources, such as military and intelligence, to be involved in circumstances like we are seeing now with the kidnapped girls. And thirdly, it helps us to heighten awareness about our brothers and sisters in Nigeria suffering at the hands of what we can now call a terrorist organisation.

He said that the US government continues to dismiss the religious motivation of Boko Haram, insisting that it is an ethnic and social issue:

The next step is to get all Western governments to recognise the clear religious motivation of Boko Haram, which wants to impose sharia across all of Nigeria and rid the country of any Christian presence. Our brothers and sisters in the North continue to suffer on a daily basis as a result of the group’s atrocities."

According to  UK national newspaper 'The Daily Mail', Boko Haram have links to the Nigerian Army, which could well explain why this is all taking so long, see here.

Britain and the US have both sent teams and equipment to Nigeria.

The abductions have triggered a worldwide social media campaign under the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, and prompted the U.S., Britain, France and Israel to offer help or send experts to Nigeria.
The U.S. has already sent military, law-enforcement and development specialists.
Two U.S. officials said on Tuesday a mix of manned and unmanned American surveillance aircraft were being used to aid the search for the missing girls.

One U.S. official identified the drone as a Global Hawk, which is a high-altitude, unmanned spy plane manufactured by Northrop Grumman.

Britain has also offered Nigeria a surveillance plane and a military team to help with the search for the missing schoolgirls, Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
'Today I can announce we have offered Nigeria further assistance in terms of surveillance aircraft, a military team to embed with the Nigerian army in their HQ and a team to work with U.S. experts to analyse information on the girls' location,' he told parliament.
The Ministry of Defence clarified that one Sentinel plane would be sent.
The new offer of help comes after Britain Britain last week sent a team of experts to Nigeria including officials from the ministry of defence.
Mr Cameron's spokesman said on Monday they had met Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.
Britain's minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, is also travelling to the Nigerian capital today for talks on further assistance, the Foreign Office in London said.

I don't know what the French are doing, but 'Israel Today' has reported that Israeli security forces have joined the effort to free the girls, see here.

Boko Haram are not some crazy African terrorist gang, but part of a back-to-basics Islamic reformation that takes its example from Islam's founder, see here and here. 

Rev. Doctor Mark Durie's video: 

 

If you wait, they'll tell you...

If you wait long enough and listen carefully, most people will tell you all you want to know about themselves and their plans. The enemies of Israel and Christianity are no exception. In fact, they seem positively eager to spill the beans. 

It's just that the useful idiots, such as the mainstream media and other liberals, take a long time  catching on.

Israel Today carries two such stories. From Iran  comes this one;

Speaking on Syrian News TV on December 11, former presidential advisor Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini suggested that the main motivator behind the recent Iran nuclear deal was US President Barack Obama’s desire to forestall the destruction of Israel.

“Obama had to make a great retreat,” said Al-Hosseini in an interview translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). “[Obama] was forced to accept a handshake from President Rouhani…so that the day would not come when he would be forced to kiss the hands of Hassan Nasrallah and [Ayatollah] Khamenei, so that they would hold their fire in the great war that was prepared to annihilate Israel.”

And from Egypt comes this one:

Dr. Ashraf Ramelah, an Egyptian Christian activist and founder of Voice of the Copts, said in a recent interview with Arab media that the new constitution being discussed in Egypt is further evidence that the so-called “Arab Spring” was nothing more than a front for a revitalization of the Islamic agenda.

Ramelah told The Arab Daily News that Christians in the Middle East are far worse off today than prior to the Arab Spring. Proof of that can be found in the fact that it is necessary to consider special clauses pertaining to Christians in the new Egyptian constitution.
“Copts (native Egyptian Christians) are citizens of Egypt. They do not need to have special rights. In a democratic country all citizens are equal under the law,” noted Ramelah.

Finally, from the Telegraph, the Royal and well -meaning useful idiot is beginning to catch on...

Yes, HRH Prince Charles can't understand why all his work to build bridges with Islam is being destroyed. Someone needs to tell him that they were never serious in the first place. It was just a strategy to get Islam accepted until they were strong enough to do what they were always going to do.

Prince Charles accompanied by Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad of Jordan (2nd right) during the visit, celebrating Christian communities from the Middle-East in Britain. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

And the Prince, a long-standing advocate of dialogue between religions, voiced personal dismay at seeing his work over the last 20 years to “build bridges and dispel ignorance” being deliberately destroyed by those attempting to exploit the Arab Spring for their own ends. 

Twenty wasted years.

Rosh Hashshana, Yom Kippur and Israeli victory.

Israel Today has published a commentary which argues that the Jews are not properly observing the Law over the High Holidays. As a result, Israel is not enjoying God's blessing as it should. Israel Today is published by Jewish believers in Jesus/Yeshua as The Christ/Ha Moshiach. In essence, it argues that it is the sighting of the New Moon in Jerusalem that governs the start of Yom Teruah and not the astronomical calculation of when it should be. It also argues that the rules that applied when Israel was not in the Land no longer apply today and should be abandoned. The also argue that failure to obey the Law has resulted in a lack of complete and swift victory over all Israel's enemies.

Are they right? I did some simple research. Make of it what you will.

According to this website the New Moon was 2.37 PM on the 5th of September. It would have been almost impossible to see it. It is this sort of calculation that was used to set the date.

However, TorahCalendar.com has a different calculation. They reckon it was Saturday Sept 7th. If you look at the data below then prophecy students will gasp at the year that they claim has just started.

Saturday, 7 Sep 2013 C.E.
15:55:25.33 UT
5:55 PM IST Local Time

Sunset ending Shabbat
& beginning Yom Rishon
Starting Day 1 of Month 7
Creation Year 5999   (my emphasis).
Creation Day 2,190,728

Torah Calendar also publish a date for the Birth of the Messiah, but it is based on an astrological reading of verses in Revelation and, in my opinion, they are completely wrong. Daniel is where they need to go for their data and  I believe that the Torah forbids all forms of divination which would include astrology (but not astronomy). 

They argue for Wednesday 7th Sept 3BC which would have been Yom Teruah. I think it was Friday/Saturday 14th Sept. 5BC, which was Tabernacles. I will post more on this in the near future.

See also here for Yom Teruah as Sept 8. 2013  also this:

 http://whenisthenewmoon.com/feast-date-calendar/

Truly, no man knows the day or the hour.  

New Moon 6/10/2013

New moon sighted from Jerusalem by Yoel Halevi at 7:43pm

 

Picture from Hebrew in Israel on Facebook.

Lots of lies in the Middle East

But there are some people who are telling the truth and asking the right questions.

Our good friend of this blog, Daphne Anson has this recent post: A former muslim on intolerance of Israel It includes a video.

There are two excellent articles over at Cranmer. The one is asking the right questions about Assad's alleged gassing of a suburb of Damascus. William Hague believes it was Assad, but if you read the article linked to carefully he has no real evidence. The Telegraph also links to an article about Syrian refugees but does not distinguish who these refugees might be except to mention the Kurds. What about the Assyrian Orthodox Christians who are not part of the rebel movement so beloved of Obama and Hague? They are refugees from their own country.

We might also consider previous experience in Egypt. At Israel Today there is an open letter from Dr Ashraf Rameleh, director of Voice of the Copts. He states that Obama is, effectively, supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

WND has a possible explanation for Obama's apparent support of terrorism. His half-brother is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood!  Read it here and judge for yourself.

There is another excellent article in Cranmer about Anti-Israel propaganda at what used to be the evangelical flagship festival, Greenbelt. Cranmer's post includes a superb summary of the history and legitimacy of Israel which is well worth studying. It is by Fran Waddams of Anglican Friends of Israel.

It includes this telling picture.

In the interests of fairness and balance this is the official Greenbelt position on the debate here. 

Buried in the comments on the second Cranmer article is this analysis by one Carl Jacobs

The actual logic in play is this:

1. The root of the problem is oppression caused by Israeli power.

2. To achieve peace the Israelis must make themselves vulnerable.

3. Eventually the Arabs will stop feeling threatened and everyone will live in peace and harmony.

4. The Israelis as the stronger power (and unstated) because their oppressive behavior is the proximate cause of the problem, should endure the residual death inflicted upon them until the Palestinians come around.

The Middle East conflict is a lab experiment for Left wing non-violent conflict resolution. Their world view is tied into the success of their efforts. They want it to succeed because their world view tells them it must succeed. That's why they would be shocked at the slaughter attendant to Arab victory. Their world view won't allow them to predict it.

carl

23 August 2013 13:14

I think he's right about the general mass of Left-wing/Liberal opinion. I'm not so sure about some of the leaders.

We need to ask some simple questions.

1. Who is killing Christians and other dissidents from Islamism?

2. Who is protecting Christians and other dissidents from Islamism?

3. Who has a history of faking massacres for Western consumption? See here or search for 'Pallywood'.

4. What happened after our other efforts to liberate Islamic countries? 

Then there is Goodson's Law.

And finally, the acid test as proposed by the Lord Jesus, 'By their fruits...

It isn't really that difficult to work out who the liars are.

Jerusalem Patriarch silences Arab Christian Priest while other Arabs form new Christian Party

Father Gabriel Nadaf, the Christian voice of Arab Christian Israeli integration has been silenced by his religious 'superior' the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Christian support for this brave man is one of almost deafening silence. Some Israeli politicians have spoken out for him, including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, but far too many people are failing to stand with him.

You can read more about our hero here in Israel Today .

And in Israel Hayom, you can read about the formation of a Israeli Christian Arab political party.

For clarification Israel Today and Israel Hayom are not the same paper. They have different remits and staff. Hayom is based in Tel-Aviv and Today is in Jerusalem.

Bashara Shlayan: "Israel's first demand, which I support -- and which needs to be understood -- is that Israel is the home of the Jewish people."
Photo credit: Gil Eliyahu/JINI

From today, the Arab Christian party will be named Habrit Hahadashah (The New Alliance -- the word "brit," which also means covenant, references the New Testament).

They want to be recognised as loyal citizens of the State of Israel. An Israel which is the home of the Jewish people.

Good news from the Arab world

Israel Today have published a story which is heartening when most of the news from the Arab world is either bad or worse. They have picked this up from Ma'ariv. For those, like me, who wonder what Ma'ariv is. It is a Hebrew language evening paper, which is why I am not linking to their site! 

It seems that young Israeli Arab Christians are joining the IDF and are proud of it. The centre of this recruitment is Nazareth!

They see Israel as a bastion of freedom for Christians in the Middle East and one potential recruit has reminded the readers of Ma'ariv that Jesus and His disciples are Jewish. There are many Christians in the West who need to hear this, some, like me, to be encouraged and others who need to be ashamed and repent of their attitude to Israel.

These bold Christians have shamed their elders and so-called superiors in the Eastern Orthodox Church and earned the wrath of non-Christian Arab MKs (Members of the Knesset - equivalent to MPs).

You can read the full article here. 
It's worth reading and it's worth sharing.

Anti-Zionism IS Anti-Semitism so says a Muslim Zionist!? In Britain!?

He's the one with the posh British accent. The one with heavy accent is the Egyptian Christian Rev. Both these men are taking risks with their lives.

Israel Today picked this one up from Arutz Sheva.

Watch and learn. It's not all bad news.

The Muslim is clearly very British and assimilated, if his accent is anything to go by. The Egyptian lacks a beard so is probably Protestant rather than Coptic.

In my previous post,"do-we-need-islamic-reformation." I observed that a back-to-basics approach ( fundamentalism) produced a very different answer depending on the basics and the founder. 

Here, we need to observe that a liberal approach can have an unexpected benefit. Liberalism, in theology, ignores the bits of the relevant holy book that the liberal doesn't like. In Judeo-Christianity this is a bad thing as it takes us away from Moses and the Messiah  (Reminder, this is a Christian blog that loves Israel.). In Islam, liberalism takes us away from - well you know what I mean.  

What is bad for Judeo-Christianity is good for Islam and vice-versa, which tells you all you need to know about Islam. Think about it!

The oldest complete Torah Scroll

For lovers of books, scrolls and the Word of God, this is interesting. My source for the story was Israel Today. You can also find more detail at The Raw Story. Israel Today explain the significance of the scroll.

I understand this is the Professor (far left), with some of his colleagues, studying the scroll. It is, amongst other things, a further testimony to the accuracy of the copying process used by our forebears. Contrary to the 'Chinese Whispers' myth great care was taken to ensure highly accurate copies. Scrolls such as these help to disprove the myths of unreliability.

Nazis in Israel.

We're all used to the claim that Israel has taken over the function of the Nazis in oppressing the poor down-trodden Palestinian but Israel Today has the pictorial proof of Nazis in Israel! Well, sort of...

The picture below was taken in Israel and south of Jerusalem.

 

It was taken in the Arab town of Beit Omar between Jerusalem and Hebron having been placed there by the residents. Israeli troops later removed it.

More apartheid behaviour from racist Israel! Not.

IDF engineers have been active in the fields around Bethlehem. The birthplace of Jesus is now considered to be part of Arab Palestinian territory so what are Israeli troops doing deploying military equipment and troops so close to a civilian area and causing explosions? Israel Today has the answer.

It seems the IDF is finding and destroying Jordanian landmines with the object of clearing useful farmland and returning land to its rightful owners for the use of the village.

Is this a fiendishly clever and diabolical ruse to keep Israeli troops in the West Bank? Or could it be yet another example of Israel's desire to live in peace and harmony with its Arab neighbours?

You decide.

The prophet Ezekiel foresaw today's situation and wrote:

Ezekiel 47:21-23

²¹ “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. ²² You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²³ In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.



English Standard Version (ESV)

Muslim Arabs in the Isaeli Army.

Yet another article proving that Israel is not an apartheid state. This one was picked up by Israel Today from a surprising source - Al Arabiya! It features a Lt. Col. in the Israeli army who is a Bedouin Arab.

It proves that the Arabs know that the accusation of apartheid is a propaganda lie. But you won't read about this in western mainstream media, so blog it, share it, tweet it, Google+ it, tell the world what is really happening.

And this is Apartheid?

One of Daphne's themes is refuting the Big Lie that Israel is an apartheid state. Here is another example from 'Israel Today' as well a link to one of Daphne's posts.


This gentlemen is an Arab. 

He has just been appointed as head of  Jerusalem's top emergency room. There is a full interview at the Jerusalem Post as well as the article in Israel Today.

Daphne has posted on an Israeli Christian Arab who has just won their version of 'The Voice'. It's worth a listen!

Another marvellous poster-style image from the ElderOfZiyon .

I think they should be printed and posted all over the country, and especially in churches.

A curriculum for war. What UNWRA is teaching arab children.

Israel Today carries an article about the the role of UNWRA in indoctrinating Arab children to hate Jews. It includes a link to a most interesting site which has produced the video shown below, amongst many others. It is shocking, but to those of us who are, or have been,  schoolteachers, it is appalling and heart-breaking.

'Behind the news in Israel' is the website. The copyright is as follows:

Articles and Special Reports on IsraelBehindTheNews.com are copyrighted. Readers should feel free to reprint, distribute and use the material herein, with citation and appropriate reference to Israel Resource News Agency. Copyright 2013 © All rights reserved.

Giving 'hasbara' a boost.

Israel Today has a brief piece about the possible start of an independent Israeli global news channel. Let us pray this is done properly and works. It will give 'hasbara' a much needed boost.

To stay informed, it is possible to register for email updates here: http://www.i24news.tv/

For those who haven't come across the term 'hasbara', and I needed to check it out, it's to Israel what 'Apologia' is to Christianity; to wit, an explanation of your beliefs, deeds, actions etc. It is not necessarily propaganda, although some will call it such. Like the word 'apologia' does not mean 'sorry', so 'hasbara' does not mean making excuses.

It is to be hoped that  i24news will have good, well-briefed English language presenters and reporters. Too often Israel has fielded heavily-accented spokespeople struggling with English and slow to respond to biased questioning.

I would like to see people of the calibre of Binyamin Netanyahu, when he did this sort of thing, and Danny Ayalon in more recent years.