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FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS PARTICULAR LETTER AS WIDELY AS YOU WISH!
March 30, 2006 1 Nissan, 5766 Dear Praying Friends,
The hall was quite large and filled with all manner of ornate statues and extravagant creations. It was grand, cold, and devoid of life. Though others were present at the meeting...at the meetings, the fate and destiny of nations were in the hands of two men. Each one was set and determined. The distance between them could not have been greater. During the course of their interactions, on occasion, one appeared to move towards the other only to retreat again and again ever more deeply into his place. The air was charged. The degree to which life and death hung in the balance was not realized by the two. They were players in a drama that would change the world.
Each time they met, the repercussions of their words were felt in the land. What must it have been like for the common people, who were mostly ignorant of what was going on? Was it fair that so much and so many would be so affected by words passing through human lips? In the end, one nation would be born and the other decimated.
Every household was touched. Thousands went to their graves. Do we say that what happened to the inhabitants of Egypt was unfair? Was it unjust that they should suffer just for being born in Egypt? What did they have to do with Pharaoh and Moses? The people go where the leaders lead them. When King David sinned, eighty thousand died. Adam’s appetite has given us six thousand years of tribulation and horror.
Has God changed? His Word endures forever and His covenant promises to a thousand generations. He will not be mocked. Not one jot or tittle of the law will pass away...to Israel first and also to the nations. The timing of the Exodus, the birth of the nation of Israel, and God’s judgment on the Canaanites were released when the iniquity of the Amorites reached full measure according to His word in Genesis 15:16.
The sons of Ishmael living in Judea and Samaria have thrown in their lot with the spirit of death. It is the opinion of many, us included, that the PA election results were a good thing, in that now there is no difference in what the Palestinian leadership is saying in English and what they are saying in Arabic. In seeking the destruction of Israel they have sealed their own fate. Pray for them. Pray fervently. Pray that salvation will break out in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. When has a nation or people so set itself against the purposes of God and not met His wrath? But let us take heed. When the day of the Lord arrives, may we not be caught up in human emotion.
The coming visitation of the Lord may not be as anyone would expect. Bird flu has come to Gaza and some Palestinians have refused to cull their poultry due to the resulting loss of income. One way or the other, God will arise...again, and again, and again.
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King David prayed and mourned while Bathsheba’s child still lived. When the answer of the Lord came and the child died, David arose and worshiped. We prayed and cried out for righteousness. God has answered.
Is it by chance that the day after the Israeli elections, the Middle East experienced a solar eclipse? The heavenly bodies are signs for the earth. On March 29, 2006 the sun was darkened and the moon did not give its light. It was also Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of a new month. The planets are aligned. It is the first day of the month of Nisan, the first month of the year. It is when Israel was delivered out of bondage in Egypt.
So the election results are in and Kadima received significantly fewer seats than predicted. Only once in history, in 1999, has a smaller party (26 seats) formed a government, and it lasted only 18 months. The lineup is as follows: Kadima – 28; Labor – 20; Shas – 13; Yisrael Beiteinu – 12; Likud – 11; Arab Parties – 10; National Union/National Religious Party – 9; Pensioner – 7; United Torah Judaism – 6; and Meretz – 6. Situations like this require so much compromise and maneuvering to form a coalition. The fact that Kadima came in first and Ehud Olmert is to be the Prime Minister doesn’t necessarily indicate what will happen in this next period. If he cannot keep a government together, he will not be able to move ahead with his plans. So there is yet much room to change things through prayer.
Who or what has been elected to govern Israel? In a speech in New York in June 2005 to the American Israel Policy Forum, our PM-elect Ehud Olmert said, "We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies." His party Kadima boasts of having no ideology. They themselves declare they are looking only to the future. This means that they are cut off from the past. They deny any connection with the purposes of God for Israel. They are humanists. They boast in the strength of our army and declare that Hamas poses no threat. (We know that Hamas poses no threat to the existence of Israel, but their covenant with death has cost and will cost many Israeli lives). So it was with the common people in Egypt. In our opinion, the way Mr. Olmert dealt with the evacuation of the settlers reveals that he doesn’t have a heart for the people but is vision-driven. He declares that he will set the borders of Israel. Ariel Sharon also said that he would set the borders of Israel. He was wrong and so is Ehud Olmert. Not since the days of the prophets has Israel been covered by such blindness.
Is the government leading the people or is it reflecting the state of the nation? The region has never been more unstable. Hamas controls the land on the other side of the fence and will sacrifice any number of their people to drive us out. Iran is committed to a world without Israel. So how is it that in the face of all this, voter turnout was the lowest ever...62%? 1.8 million people did not vote. The people are tired, apathetic, hopeless, and overwhelmed, and have the perception of being powerless. So multitudes have just tuned out. We find this fact more significant than the election results. How different from the early days when we were fighting to establish the nation. In a way, we are sitting ducks for the enemy. But this too is part of God’s plan. How asleep are we? Perhaps more importantly, the big question is, what will it take to wake us up?
Be neither confused nor distressed. This government is His doing. We have prayed for fire and we shall have it. Israel and her enemies have taken sides together against the Lord. He has set the stage and laid down a clear line. This is not a day for the fainthearted. The spirit of death has been voted into office. Both Israel and the Palestinians have called for the Israel of God to be no more. The former builds a tower to the heavens and the latter digs a mass grave. The response of the Lord will be the same to both…NO!
Is there more to come before the cup of iniquity reaches full measure? Perhaps not.
In 1948 the Nation of Israel rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. As it was in the natural, so it will be in the spiritual. The Israel of God is about to come forth. It will be, as with every birth, in the midst of labor, groanings, and blood.
We must work while some daylight remains.
May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants… For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit |