Every year, on third day of Jewish month of Tishrei, a fast takes place, commemorating assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judean Kingdom.

Editors note about the word, GedaliahFYI:
•The simple truth is that the Jews are back in their land celebrating this day.
• This celebration in the land points the nations to the scripture, inserted by ITD, below.
• The dates stated in this article are about 160+ years short of the true dates.
• The article states that the First Temple was destroyed in 422 BC, when in fact it was right around 586 BC.
• Some Bible scholars believe the years were taken away in the late 1st century or the early 2nd to by the unbelieving Jewish Rabbi’s to thwart the fulfillment of Daniels prophecy’s in chapter 9.
• At the time of this date change, the unbeliever saw that the Second Temple had been destroyed, and the Messiah hadn’t come.
• It was easy to stop the inquiries by simply changing the date at the higher levels of the religion.
• Thus Seder Olam, which is mentioned at the end of the article, was written.
• The Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136) came soon after this changing of the dates.
• Bar Kokhba claimed to be the Messiah and for a short time was victorious over the Romans.
• However, the Roman Army prevailed killing this false Messiah.
• The remnant of the Jews were driven from Tiberius and the land until present time.

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Israel in the Last Days

“And he shall set up an ensign •Strongs 5251: nace; from 5264; a flag; also a sail; by implication, a flagstaff; generally a signal; figuratively, a token:—banner, pole, sail, (en-)sign, standard.
•Strongs 5264: naw-sas´; a primitive root; to gleam from afar, i.e. to be conspicuous as a signal; or rather perhaps a denominative from 5251 (and identical with 5263, through the idea of a flag as fluttering in the wind); to raise a beacon:—lift up as an ensign. for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
—Isaiah 11:12

Every year, on the third day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, a fast takes place, commemorating the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of the Judean Kingdom (the southern half of present day Israel). What happened on that day 25 centuries ago, tragic as it was, has affected the Jewish people until this day.

In the 6th century BC, Sanherib, ruler of the Assyrian empire (in the north of present day Iraq), conquered the Israel Kingdom (the northern part of present day Israel) along with its capital, Samaria. Sanherib subsequently exiled a large percentage of the Jewish People, and thus the “Ten Tribes” were lost. However, his attempt to conquer the Judean Kingdom failed.

Almost a century later, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (southern part of present day Iraq), conquered both kingdoms and installed the 21-year-old Zedekiah as king. Although the land was conquered, Jews were allowed to remain, and Solomon’s Temple was spared, for the time being.

A few years later, Egypt attacked Babylon, and against the advice of the Prophet Jeremy, Zedekiah sided with Egypt. As a result, Nebuchadnezzar quashed the rebellion by destroying Jerusalem. The first Temple, which had stood for 410 years, was demolished on the 9th of Av, 422 BC (3338 Jewish calendar). Zedekiah, who had tried to escape, was captured, and his fate, as foretold by Jeremy, was tragic. Zedekiah’s family was killed before his eyes, which were then torn out. The Babylonian king captured the Jewish intellectual elite and wealthy, among them Daniel who was but a young boy, and took them to Babylon; and so began the first exile.

However, Nebuchadnezzar allowed the peasants and the poor to remain in the Judean Kingdom, and Gedaliah son of Ahikam was designated as Governor of Judea. After hearing of the appointment, Jews which had fled to surrounding provinces returned to Mizpah, where Gedaliah was established. The governor encouraged them to develop the agriculture and rebuild the economy.

This period of relative calm was soon to be disturbed. East of the Jordan River, Baalis, king of Amon (present day Jordan) was carefully watching the rebirth of Judea. Wishing its downfall, he tasked Ismael son of Netania with the assassination of Gedaliah.

Some six years after the Temple had been destroyed, Ismael, who was of royal descent, arrived with ten men in Mizpah, to celebrate Rosh Hashana with Gedaliah. The governor had been warned of Ismael’s intentions by Jonathan son of Kareah. The warning fell on deaf ears as Gedaliah was trusting and therefore refused Jonathan’s offer to quietly kill Ismael.

Just as planned, Ismael and his men feasted with Gedaliah and then killed everyone present, including a delegation of Babylonians. The murderers captured the remaining population of Mizpah and took them to Amon’s Kingdom, however Jonathan and his men pursued Ismael and finally caught up to him. As a result, the prisoners turned against Ismael and returned once more to Judea with Jonathan.

The small group of survivors, fearing retribution from Nebuchadnezzar for what would most certainly have been seen as a rebellion, implored Jeremy for advice. The prophet had been spared by the Babylonian king and was allowed to stay with Gedaliah. Jeremy, on God’s instruction, warned the Jews not to flee to Egypt but rather to stand their ground, promising them that they would be safe. However he vowed that if they left, what remained of Judea would be destroyed.

Once again, the prophet’s warning was ignored and as predicted, the Babylonians marched on Jerusalem. The Jews that had fled to Egypt were either killed or died from starvation.

For the next fifty years or so, there was no Jewish presence in all of Judea whatsoever, until Ezra. Under his leadership, part of the exiled Jews returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, where he built the second Temple in 350 BC (3408 Jewish calendar).

Every year on the fast of Gedaliah, Jews pray to learn from previous mistakes and for the speedy construction of the third Temple.

All dates mentioned in the article are based on Seder Olam by Rabbi Yosse ben Halafta, written in the 2nd century CE. It should be noted, however, that some historians have found a discrepancy of some 160 years between their findings and that of Jewish tradition.

Event organizers grilled by U.S. government over connection to holy site

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The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

JERUSALEM – A member of the U.S. government met with organizers of Tuesday’s “International Temple Mount Awareness Day” to pepper the activists about their intentions regarding Jewish ascent to the holy site.

“It was obvious,” one of the planners told WND, “the individual who met with us from the Obama government was concerned about the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and what is being done to deepen it.”

The organizer talked on condition of anonymity and also on condition that WND kept confidential the name of the U.S. official who met with the Temple event planners.

The International Temple Mount Awareness Day is being planned by a coalition of Jewish groups, including The Temple Institute, the Organization for the Renewal of the Temple (ORT), Women in Green, the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and Israel National Radio.

“We call on Jews and Gentiles around the world to mark March 16th as a day of solidarity with the Temple Mount and the prophetic vision of ‘a house of prayer for all nations,’” reads a statement from the organizers of the event.

Is Israel already done for? Aaron Klein’s “The Late Great State of Israel” brings you unvarnished truth straight from the front lines

In coordination with the Waqf, the Mount’s Islamic custodians, police here ban all non-Muslims from praying on the Mount despite an Israeli Supreme Court decision requiring police to offer an arrangement that will enable public Jewish prayer on the site.

The Israeli police cite security concerns for their Jewish prayer restrictions, explaining they fear the outbreak of Muslim violence if non-Muslim prayer is allowed.

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The planners of Tuesday’s Temple awareness day are asking Israelis to arrive at the Mugrabi Gate, the entrance to the Mount, at 7:15 in the morning local time in accordance with directions posted on the institute’s site. Institute leaders stressed they are seeking a peaceful public demonstration of solidarity with the Mount.

Those outside Israel are being asked to “make known their dissatisfaction with the ongoing injustice to the Prime Minister of Israel, by telephone, by fax and by e-mail.”

Organizers of the event, including the Temple Institute, list a suggested protest letter text and contact information (link:) for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on its site.

The Temple Institute is a group that works to restore a Jewish presence to the Mount, where the Israeli police bar Jews from ascending during most hours of the day, while Muslims are granted nearly 24-hour access.

Organizers are also calling for those living abroad to “assemble in prayer and discussion, spreading the word and raising awareness about the injustices being committed on the Temple Mount.”

“We suggest holding prayer vigils outside Israeli consulates and the embassies,” stated the Temple Institute.

The Institute points out that according to the Hebrew calendar, tomorrow marks the anniversary of the dedication of the Tabernacle and the first day of the divine service.

No prayer zone

The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area.

Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians.

The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered “sensitive” by the Waqf.

During “open” days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any “holy objects” to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.

Rebuilding the Third Temple

Besides advocating for non-Muslim rights on the mount, the Temple Institute also focuses on preparation for the rebuilding of the Third Temple. The group has been preparing ritual objects suitable for Temple use. Many of the more than 90 ritual items to be used in the Temple have been re-made to the highest standards.

The First Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The temple was the center of religious worship for ancient Israelites. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God’s presence dwelt. All biblical holidays centered on worship at the temple. The temples served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and were the main gathering place for Israelites.

According to the Talmud, the world was created from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount. It’s believed to be the biblical Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham fulfilled God’s test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.

The Temple Mount has remained a focal point for Jewish services for thousands of years. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed in about A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark what Muslims came to believe was the place at which Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible 656 times.

Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night on a horse from “a sacred mosque” – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to “the farthest mosque” and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque became associated with Jerusalem about 120 years ago.

According to research by Israeli Author Shmuel Berkovits, Islam historically disregarded Jerusalem as being holy. Berkovits points out in his new book, “How Dreadful Is this Place!” that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for. He wrote that Muhammad made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of God.

As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings influenced the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites are to be found only in the Arabian Peninsula and that “in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron.”

A guide to the Temple Mount by the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem published in 1925 listed the Mount as Jewish and as the site of Solomon’s Temple. The Temple Institute acquired a copy of the official 1925 “Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” which states on page 4, “Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which ‘David built there an altar unto the Lord.’”

Forbidding companies from forcing employees to have microchips implanted in their bodies isn’t just about protecting personal freedom; it might ward off the biblical “mark of the beast,” according to a lawmaker who’s pushing for such a ban in Virginia.

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The Mark

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark•Strongs 5480: charagma, khar´-ag-mah; from the same as 5482; a scratch or etching, i.e. stamp (as a badge of servitude), or scupltured figure (statue):—graven, mark. , or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
—Revelation 13:17

The state House overwhelmingly approved Del. Mark Cole’s bill Wednesday. Several other states already have similar laws or are considering them.

Cole said the right to privacy was the main reason he sponsored the bill. “I just think you should have the right to control your own body,” Cole told The Washington Post. Some liberal bloggers were struck by such a pro-choice sentiment coming from a Virginia Republican. But what really got attention around the blogosphere was the other concern he expressed.

“My understanding — I’m not a theologian — but there’s a prophecy in the Bible that says you’ll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times,” Cole explained to the Post. “Some people think these computer chips might be that mark.”

The Book of Revelation describes the rise of an antichrist figure called “the beast” as the end of the world approaches and will require everyone to “receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.”

Cole isn’t alone. In Tennessee, Rep. Susan Lynn, who’s sponsoring a similar bill, acknowledged the religious aspect of the debate.

“In the Christian religion, and I’m a Christian, in the book of Revelation, there was a reference to, you know, the Mark of the Beast. Some people interpret that to be one of these microchips,” the Republican lawmaker told the Nashville Scene blog. “Other people think it could be some type of tattoo.”

Georgia’s Senate approved a ban on forced implants last week. That legislation was sponsored by two aptly named lawmakers: Sens. Chip Rogers and Chip Pearson.

The microchips — which are about the size of a grain of rice and are also known as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags — have been used for more than a decade, primarily in pets and livestock, but also some humans.They can be used to store personal ID or medical records.

Although California, North Dakota and Wisconsin already have laws on the books, chip implant ban skeptics such as Virginia Del. Bob Brink don’t see the need. The Democrat called Cole’s bill “a solution in search of a problem.”

“If Virginia is starting to use California as our legislative role model, it’s a sign that our legislative apocalypse has arrived,” Brink added.

Here we go again. As Jews celebrate in their tens of thousands the festival of Booths, Succot, religious extremists like Sheikh Raed Salah incite Palestinian masses to recapture Jerusalem with “blood and fire.” Not to be outdone, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah rushed in to pour fuel on the fire as it protests a “plan by Jews to perform religious rituals” on the Temple Mount,’ and called on the international community to “force Israel to put off its attempts to take over Jerusalem.”

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The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

Israel in the Last Days

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling •Strongs 7478: rah´-al; from 7477; a reeling (from intoxication):—trembling.
•Strongs 7477: raw-al´; a primitive root; to reel, i.e. (figuratively) to brandish:—terribly shake. unto all the people•Strongs 5971: am; from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:—folk, men, nation, people.
•Strongs 6004: aw-mam´; a primitive root; to associate; by implication, to overshadow (by huddling together):—become dim, hide. round about, when they shall be in the seige•Strongs 4692: matsowr, maw-tsore´; or mDxw…rmatsuwr, maw-tsoor´; from 6696; something hemming in, i.e. (objectively) a mound (of besiegers), (abstractly) a siege, (figuratively) distress; or (subjectively) a fastness:—besieged, bulwark, defence, fenced, fortress, siege, strong (hold), tower.
•Strongs 6696: tsuwr, tsoor; a primitive root; to cramp, i.e. confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile):—adversary, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), cast, distress, fashion, fortify, inclose, lay siege, put up in bags. both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”
— Zechariah 12:2

So as Israel struggles to stop the stone throwers’ verbal assaults, and the next spate of resolutions, it’s worth reminding the world that ever since the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem, millions of people have safely streamed to the Western Wall to offer their prayers and insert hand written supplications to the Almighty. While most visitors shedding their tears adjacent to Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount – are Jews, not all pilgrims are. Witness Pope John Paul II inserting his own kvittel (written prayer) within the Wall’s cracks; pilgrims from Africa, tourists from Indonesia, Swamis from India, Evangelicals from the Americas, Buddhists from across Asia – all come and go to the Wall.

The only price of admission: donning a cardboard yarmulke or scarf. Presidents and prime ministers flock to the Western Wall as well, armed with the latest great hope for peace in the Holy Land. From the Oslo Accords to the Quartet Middle East road map for peace, every official, regardless of religious denomination, or lack of one, finds a welcome private moment of silent prayer or reflection at the Western Wall.

AND YET earlier this week, in the midst of the Jewish High Holy Days, French tourists on the Temple Mount were pelted by irate Palestinian worshipers who “mistook” them for Jews. And the stones, and orchestrated crescendo of violence have continued unabated. During this seemingly annual exercise, has any diplomat, foreign minister, religious icon, or political pundit asked himself, or better yet the Palestinians, one simple question – why? Why can we all pray in peace at the Western Wall, but the very notion of a Jew praying on the site of Solomon’s Temple begets only violence, denial and threats?

The centrality of Jerusalem to the Jewish people was never lost on friend or foe.

Two thousand years ago the Romans, after destroying the Temple, plowed under its remains and banned Jews from returning. Emperor Hadrian tried to bury the very name of City of Peace, renaming Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina. Later, Christians, for theological reasons, extended that painful ban and it was only conquering Muslim leaders who recognized the right of Jews to “return” to live in this small area of land.

Indeed, the Christian patriarchs unsuccessfully lobbied conquering Caliph Omar in the seventh century, and again when Saladin drove out the Crusaders in the twelfth, to prevent Jews from living in or returning to Jerusalem after the Christians had expelled them from the city. Such efforts by Christians were to be repeated and denied by various Muslim authorities for hundreds of years.

How to explain Muslim attitudes over the centuries? Because the Koran itself recognized Solomon’s Temple as a “Great place of prayer,” and Muslim leaders saw no theological problem with Jews praying adjacent to the Dome of the Rock and the nearby Al Aqsa Mosque. Indeed, in its 1924 guide to Al-Haram Al- Sharif (the Temple Mount) the Supreme Muslim Council wrote “It’s identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute,” adding this quote from the Book of Samuel: “This, too, is the spot according to the universal belief on which David built there an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.” That language would remain until the 1950s.

So why are things so dramatically different in 2009?

Simply put, generations of Palestinians, “educated” by Yasser Arafat and company, have been taught not believe there ever was a Solomon’s Temple. Textbooks and Palestinian media all repeat the self-delusionary canard denying any historic Jewish continuity or legitimacy in the Holy Land. Indeed, president Bill Clinton was reportedly shocked when Arafat called the Western Wall – the Jewish people’s holiest place – “a Muslim shrine” and the Palestinian leader’s chief negotiator at the make-or-break Camp David peace talks denied the ruins of Solomon’s temple lay beneath the Dome of the Rock.

TRAGICALLY, EVER since Israel magnanimously turned over religious control of the Temple Mount to the Muslim Wakf in June 1967, successive generations have been taught that Israelis are Nazi-like invaders, illegitimate neighbors and enemies.

And “friends of peace,” far from urging Palestinians to deal with reality, help feed the delusion of denial. Witness the World Council of Churches, the largest umbrella group of Protestants, which recently launched the so-called Bern Initiative at its “Promised Land” conference in Switzerland. Its answer to Israel’s alleged “apartheid situation” in the Holy Land is to reinterpret the Bible by differentiating between “biblical history and biblical stories . . . as well to distinguish between the Israel of the Bible and the modern State of Israel.”

The current violence and rabble rousing by the Palestinians won’t make it any easier for US President Barack Obama, but the first thing he must do is not stop illegal nursery and bathroom add-ons in east Jerusalem but admonish the Palestinian leadership to stop denying the legitimacy of the Jewish people.

Simply put: There can be no peace in the Holy Land without the Arab and Muslim world acknowledging what their Holy Book and ancestors recognized as the historic link of the Jewish people to its land and its Holy sites. Unless and until that happens, there will be no peace in our time.

Marvin Hier is the founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Abraham Cooper is the associate dean of the center.

Jewish Sanhedrin rabbis unite with Turk on common cause

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

ith the Middle East still in chaos and rumors of war in the air, the idea of rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple on a foundation occupied and administered by Islamic militants might seem fanciful – even preposterous.

But the author of a new book, “The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast,” returned from Turkey recently with news that a prominent Islamic teacher and best-selling author and Jewish Sanhedrin rabbis are conspiring to do just that.

In a column penned in WND today, author Joel Richardson reveals the historically unprecedented development.

Adnan Oktar, who uses the pen name of Harun Yahya, is a controversial but highly influential Muslim intellectual and author with more than 65 million of his books in circulation worldwide. Oktar recently met with three representatives from the re-established Jewish Sanhedrin, a group of 71 Orthodox rabbis and scholars from Israel, to discuss how religious Muslims, Jews and Christians can work together on the project.

“The objectives of the alliance include waging a joint intellectual and spiritual battle against the worldwide growing tide of irreligiousness, unbelief and immorality,” explains Richardson, who met in Turkey with Oktar. “But even more unusual is their agreement with regard to the need to rebuild the Jewish Temple, a structure that Mr. Oktar refers to as the ‘Masjid (Mosque)’ or the ‘Palace of Solomon.’”

An official statement about the meeting has been published on the Sanhedrin’s website. Concluding the statement is the following call:
“Out of a sense of collective responsibility for world peace and for all humanity we have found it timely to call to the World and exclaim that there is a way out for all peoples. It is etched in a call to all humanity: We are all the sons of one father, the descendants of Adam, and all humanity is but a single family. Peace among Nations will be achieved through building the House of G-d, where all peoples will serve as foreseen by King Solomon in his prayers at the dedication of the First Holy Temple. Come let us love and respect one another, and love and honor and hold our heavenly Father in awe. Let us establish a house of prayer in His name in order to worship and serve Him together, for the sake of His great compassion. He surely does not want the blood of His creations spilled, but prefers love and peace among all mankind. We pray to the Almighty Creator, that you harken to our Call. Together – each according to his or her ability – we shall work towards the building of the House of Prayer for All Nations on the Temple Mount in peace and mutual understanding.”
Oktar explained his vision for the rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple to Richardson:
“The Palace of Solomon is a historically important palace and rebuilding it would be a very wonderful thing. It is something that any Jew, a Christian or a Muslim should welcome with enthusiasm. Every Muslim, every believer will want to return to those days, to experience those days again and, albeit partially, to bring the beauty of those days back to life.”

Oktar added that the Temple of Solomon “will be rebuilt and all believers will worship there in tranquility.” During his meeting with the Sanhedrin Rabbis, Oktar expressed his belief that the Temple could be rebuilt in one year:
“It could be done in a year at most. It could be built to the same perfection and beauty. The Torah says it was built in 13 years, if I remember correctly. It could be rebuilt in a year in its perfect form.”
Richardson later met with Rabbi Abrahamson and Rabbi Hollander, two of the Sanhedrin representatives who conferred with Oktar. Regarding the rebuilding of the Temple, Rabbi Hollander explained, “The building of the Temple is one of the stages in the Messianic process.” But another possibility that has been presented is that the Dome of the Rock that sits so prominently on the Temple Mount be used as “a place prayer for all nations.”

Do you prefer reading e-books? “The Islamic Antichrist” is also available in electronic form at reduced price through Scribd.

“This should be fairly simple,” explained Rabbi Hollander. “It is said that the structure of the Dome in Haram E-Sharrif (the Temple Mount) was originally meant by (Caliph) Omar to be a House of Prayer for Jews, and the Al-Aqsa for Muslims.”

However, he also explained that religious Jews would not be able to enter the Dome of the Rock unless it had first been ritually cleansed according to Jewish halakhic regulations.

This is not the only similar call to rebuild the Jewish Temple, points out Richardson. Yoav Frankel is an Orthodox Jew who has been deeply involved in interfaith dialogue with Muslims and also envisions a shared Temple Mount. The Interfaith Encounter Association is working on a project called “God’s Holy Mountain.” It sees the day when the rebuilt Jewish Temple will exist side by side with the Dome of the Rock.

Richardson sees such plans tying in to Barack Obama’s calls for internationalizing the city of Jerusalem.

A recent poll showed nearly two-thirds of Israelis back the idea of rebuilding the Temple.

“Meanwhile, the work of the Temple Institute, a group that has openly dedicated itself for years to rebuilding the Jewish Temple goes on,” writes Richardson.

It has already created many of the most significant priestly utensils and pieces of furniture necessary for the Temple once it is ready.

“The suggestion of rebuilding the Jewish Temple is deeply significant to Christians, particularly those who are students of Bible prophecy,” explains Richardson. “According to the Bible, an impostor messiah known as the Antichrist will someday invade the land of Israel and ‘set himself up’ in the ‘God’s Temple.’”

Richardson’s book focuses on the striking parallels between the Bible’s prophecies about the coming messiah and Islam’s traditions regarding the one called “the Mahdi” – Islam’s primary messiah figure, who will one day invade the land of Israel and establish his seat of authority on the Temple Mount.

Richardson’s book stands in stark contrast to most other popular prophecy books of the last 40 years.

The student of Islam and the Middle East says that after decades of reading popular prophecy books and even best-selling fiction like the “Left Behind” series, millions of evangelical Christians around the world are expecting the Antichrist to emerge from a revived Roman Empire, which many have assumed is associated with the Roman Catholic Church and the European Union.

Not so, argues Richardson. His book makes the case that the biblical Antichrist is one and the same as the Quran’s Muslim Mahdi.

“The Islamic Antichrist” is almost certain to be greeted in the Muslim world with the same enthusiasm as Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.” The author, Joel Richardson, is prepared. He has written the book under a pseudonym to protect himself and his family.

“The Bible abounds with proofs that the Antichrist’s empire will consist only of nations that are, today, Islamic,” says Richardson. “Despite the numerous prevailing arguments for the emergence of a revived European Roman empire as the Antichrist’s power base, the specific nations the Bible identifies as comprising his empire are today all Muslim.”

Richardson believes the key error of many previous prophecy scholars involves the misinterpretation of a prediction by Daniel to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel describes the rise and fall of empires of the future, leading to the endtimes. Western Christians have viewed one of those empires as Rome, when, claims Richardson, Rome never actually conquered Babylon and was thus disqualified as a possibility.

It had to be another empire that rose and fell and rose again that would lead to the rule by this “man of sin,” described in the Bible. That empire, he says, is the Islamic Empire, which did conquer Babylon and, in fact, rules over it even today.

Many evangelical Christians believe the Bible predicts a charismatic ruler, the Antichrist, will arise in the last days, before the return of Jesus. The Quran also predicts that a man, called the Mahdi, will rise up to lead the nations, pledging to usher in an era of peace. Richardson makes the case these two men are, in fact, one in the same.

His book was an instant best-seller on the Amazon charts when it debuted Tuesday. It remains No. 1 in two religion categories.

“Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
—Eze 36:6-10

Please read Eze 36 and 37. These prophecy’s have come to pass. Afterwards, read Eze 38 for it will also soon come to pass.

Eze 38

Editor

Many of the claims staked out in Google Earth present misinformation, and sites known to be ruins in 1946 are claimed to be villages destroyed in 1948. Arab villages which still exist today are listed as sites of destruction. The Google Earth initiative is not only creating a virtual Palestine, it is creating a falsification of history.
The concept of “replacement geography” replaces the historical connection of one people to the land with a connection between another people and the land. The inclusion of virtual Palestine, superimposed on Israel in the core layer of Google Earth, is an example of replacement geography advanced by technology.
Those wishing to explore Israel in Google Earth are immediately taken to a politically motivated narrative unrelated to their quest. Google should remove the narrative and treat Israel as it treats every other country on the globe. The core layer of Google Earth should be ideology free and not serve as a platform for indoctrination or a campaign to wipe Israel off the virtual map.

The influence of the Internet on our lives is increasing. News, advertising, employment, education, and networking are being affected. Israel’s security is especially vulnerable to the manipulation of geography. The online world allows the creation of a virtual reality that at times bears only passing resemblance to facts on the ground. The gap between reality and virtual reality is further exploited by political activists promoting what we term “replacement geography,” a means of controlling the virtual representation of land in place of controlling the land itself. In an information age, control on the common map may be worth more in negotiations than control on the ground.

Google Earth

With a user base of 400 million,1 Google Earth uses satellite imagery combined with maps, terrain, and 3D buildings to present the earth at various levels of magnification. Key features (geography, place details, pictures, etc.) are included with the download of Google Earth in what is known as a “core layer.” Users can also download “custom layers” created by other users, which provide educational, historical, or special interest information to be accessed by those wishing to take the Google Earth experience further.

The Google Earth website was the 8th most searched for website in the UK at the start of 2006.2 The user base in June 2007 was 200 million,3 up 100 percent from reports10 months earlier.4 The application has broad appeal, with almost a quarter of the visitors to Google Earth over the age of 55.5 Google Earth has been used by campaign groups to raise public awareness; examples include grass roots environmental campaigns that created a layer with information against deforestation; a WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) layer showing large-scale environmental and socioeconomic shifts; and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which created a layer with information on the crisis in Darfur. These projects were custom layers which users could add to Google Earth.6

Virtual Reality

Virtual Israel, as represented by Google Earth, is littered with dozens of orange dots. Orange dots represent contributions from the user community, and those appearing by default have been accepted into the core layout by Google Earth. In the case of Israel, most of these dots claim to represent “one of the Palestinian localities evacuated and destroyed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.” For example, Ramat Aviv, the site of Tel Aviv University, appears as Al Shaykh Muwannis. While generally Google Earth does not erase Israeli towns and kibbutzim, it has heavily integrated a politically motivated Palestinian narrative into the map of Israel. As a result, Israel is depicted as a state born out of colonial conquest rather than the return of a people from exile. Each orange dot links to the “Palestine Remembered” site, where custom layers which further advance this narrative can be obtained.

Early press reports portrayed the virtual Palestine initiative as documentation of fact and included Israeli comments that it was “biased but legitimate.”7 Later research showed that many of the claims staked out in Google Earth were presenting misinformation. Kiryat Yam was wrongly claimed to be built on the Palestinian village of Ghawarina. Many sites known to be ruins in 1946 are claimed to be villages destroyed in 1948. Arab villages which still exist today are listed as sites of destruction.8 The Google Earth initiative is not only creating a virtual Palestine, it is creating a falsification of history.

Google Earth’s core information also includes other problems. Previously, areas beyond the “green line” were labelled as “Occupied Territories,” a phraseology which is sometimes used to justify terrorism, rather than “disputed territories.”9 The area listed as “occupied” also included the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.10 Google Earth places Mt. Scopus and its Hebrew University campusin Jerusalem within Jordanian territory prior to 1967, even though it was an area where Israel exercised control during that period, according to the 1949 Armistice Agreement.

In March 2008 the Gaza Strip was still listed as “Israeli-occupied,” despite Israel’s full withdrawal in 2005 and the military takeover of the Strip by Hamas in mid-2007. By May 2008 (after press coverage), the label was changed to read “Gaza Strip.” A note states: “Many sources still regard the Gaza Strip as ‘Israeli-occupied’ despite formal Israeli withdrawal in September 2005.”11 There is still no mention of Hamas’ control.

Politically-Loaded Geography

“Replacement geography” builds on the concept of “replacement theology,” a position that spurred anti-Semitism within the church and which, starting with Vatican II, has been removed from Christian doctrine. Indeed, it has been stated that recognition of the State of Israel by the Vatican completed this process.12 Replacement theology stated that Christians had inherited the covenant and replaced the Jews as the chosen people. The concept of replacement geography similarly replaces the historical connection of one people to the land with a connection between another people and the land.

This was famously applied by the Romans when they renamed Judea to Palaestinia, and Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina in 135 CE in an effort to destroy the Jewish people after the Bar Kokhba revolt. In more recent times, replacement geography has resulted in the destruction of Jewish artifacts at the Temple Mount.13

The inclusion of virtual Palestine, superimposed on Israel in the core layer of Google Earth, is an example of replacement geography advanced by technology. Those wishing to find directions, explore the cities of Israel, or randomly wander across this small piece of land are immediately taken to a politically motivated narrative unrelated to their quest. This is the sort of replacement the ancient Romans tried and failed to achieve. The promotion of a replacement narrative works against a compromise solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, inspiring absolutist positions rather than a negotiated settlement.

Main Implications

Generally, Google allows all kinds of organizations or individuals to create overlays with their own information on its map. These overlays are only available to those who specifically request them, but they are not automatically incorporated into the core map of Google Earth that every user entering its website can see. Disturbingly, Google has incorporated the Palestinians’ overlays and their accompanying narrative into its core maps of Israel. As Google maintains editorial control over its core layer, it has responsibility for its content, which it clearly has not adequately exercised.

Google Earth presents a tremendous challenge by allowing historical revisionism. Maps of the world have changed with evolving historical circumstances everywhere. Yet theoretically, with this tool, organizations seeking to make a claim for Mexican sovereignty over territories incorporated into the U.S. in the nineteenth century could raise such arguments by revising the map of Texas or California. Rather than serving as an educational resource, Google Earth could simply evolve into a website for political warfare.

For those who do not physically visit Israel, the “facts” on this virtual ground are real. It is to be expected that people will form their opinion on issues such as borders, land rights, and historic connection based on sources like Google Earth. The social propagation of a narrative of Israeli aggression and ethnic cleansing – an aspect of “Anti-Semitism 2.0″14 – is spread through Google Earth.

Without a response that includes new information about the historical connection of the Jewish people to Israel throughout the ages, as well as modern Israeli history and the Israel of today, the world’s opinion of Israel can only grow dimmer. An increase in content – assuming Google will eventually add it to the core layer, something that is far from certain – would address the vast imbalance, yet do little for the user experience.

A far better solution would be for Google to remove the narrative and treat Israel as it treats every other country on the globe. Both the Palestinian narrative and promotion of Israel can have their place, but this should be in optional layers. The core layer of Google Earth should be ideology free and not serve as a platform for indoctrination or a campaign to wipe Israel off the virtual map.

“Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for [that which] doth not profit.”
—Jeremiah 2:11

“Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.”
Isaiah 59:15

“A little leaven leaventh the whole lump.”
- Galatians 5:9

The Shack is being described as a “Christian” novel and is currently ranked number one on the New York Times bestseller list for paperback fiction. Many believers are buying multiple copies and giving them to friends and family. The Shack reads as a true story, but is obviously allegorical fiction. The book conveys postmodern spiritual ideas and teachings that challenge biblical Christianity – all in the name of “God” and “Jesus” and the “Holy Spirit.” Author William P. Young’s alternative presentation of traditional Christianity has both inspired and outraged his many readers. All the while his book continues to fly off the shelves of local bookstores.

Much like New Age author James Redfield’s book The Celestine Prophecy, The Shack is a fictional vehicle for upending certain religious concepts and presenting contrary spiritual scenarios. Allegorical novels can be a clever way to present truth. They can also be used to present things that seem to be true but really are not. Some books like The Shack do both.

I was drawn into the New Age Movement years ago by books and lectures containing parabolic stories that were not unlike The Shack. They felt spiritually uplifting as they tackled tough issues and talked about God’s love and forgiveness. They seemed to provide me with what I spiritually needed as they gave me much needed hope and promise. Building on the credibility they achieved through their inspirational and emotive writings, my New Age authors and teachers would then go on to tell me that “God” was “in” everyone and everything.

I discovered that author William P. Young does exactly the same thing in The Shack. He moves through his very engaging and emotional story to eventually present this same New Age teaching that God is “in” everything.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first provide some background material concerning this key New Age doctrine that “God is in everything.” A good place to start is with Eugene Peterson, the author of the controversial Bible paraphrase The Message. After all, Peterson’s enthusiastic endorsement of The Shack is featured right under the author’s name on the front cover.

Ironically, it was Peterson’s endorsement that caused me to be immediately suspicious of this high-profile, bestselling “Christian” book. Through his questionable paraphrasing of the Bible, Peterson had already aligned himself in a number of areas with New Age/New Spirituality teachings. One obvious example was where he translated a key verse in the Lord’s Prayer to read “as above, so below” rather than “in earth, as it is in heaven.” “As above, so below” was a term that I was very familiar with from my previous involvement in the New Age Movement. This esoteric saying has been an occult centerpiece for nearly five thousand years. It is alleged by New Age metaphysicians to be the key to all magic and all mysteries. It means that God is not only transcendent — “out there”— but He is also immanent — “in” everyone and everything.

But, as I found out just before abandoning the deceptive teachings of the New Age for the Truth of biblical Christianity, God is not “in” everyone and everything. The Bible makes it clear that man is not divine and that man is not God (Ezekiel 28:2, Hosea 11:9, John 2:24-25, etc.) In Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church, I quoted the editors of the New Age Journal as they defined “as above, so below” in their book, As Above, So Below:

“’As above, so below, as below, so above.’ This maxim implies that the transcendent God beyond the physical universe and the immanent God within ourselves are one.” (p. 32)

My concern about Peterson’s undiscerning use of “as above, so below” in the Lord’s Prayer was underscored when the 2006 bestseller, The Secret, showcased this same occult/New Age phrase. In fact, it was the introductory quote at the very beginning of the book. By immediately featuring “as above, so below” the author Rhonda Byrne was telling her readers in definite New Age language that “God is in everyone and everything.” Towards the end of the book, The Secret puts into more practical words what the author initially meant by introducing the immanent concept of “as above, so below.” On page 164 The Secret tells its readers—“You are God in a physical body.”

Most significantly, in his book The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, New Age leader Benjamin Crème reveals that a New World Religion will be based on this foundational “as above, so below” teaching of immanence — this idea that God is “in” everyone and everything:

“But eventually a new world religion will be inaugurated which will be a fusion and synthesis of the approach of the East and the approach of the West. The Christ will bring together, not simply Christianity and Buddhism, but the concept of God transcendent — outside of His creation — and also the concept of God immanent in all creation — in man and all creation.” (p. 88)

New Age matriarch Alice Bailey, in her book The Reappearance of the Christ, wrote:

“…a fresh orientation to divinity and to the acceptance of the fact of God Transcendent and God Immanent within every form of life. “These are foundational truths upon which the world religion of the future will rest.” (p. 88) [link added]

In a November 9, 2003 Hour of Power sermon – just two months before he was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals – Crystal Cathedral minister Robert Schuller unabashedly aligned himself with this same New Age/New World Religion teaching. The man who claims to have mentored thousands of pastors, including Bill Hybels and Rick Warren, stated:

“You know in theology — pardon me for using a couple of big words — but in theology the God we believe in, this God of Abraham, is a transcendent God. But He is also an immanent God. Transcendent means up there, out there, above us all. But God is also an immanent God — immanence of God and the transcendence of God — but then you have a balanced perspective of God. The immanence of God means here, in me, around me, in society, in the world, this God here, in the humanities, in the science, in the arts, sociology, in politics — the immanence of God…. Yes, God is alive and He is in every single human being!”

But God is not in every single human being. God is not in everything. One of the many reasons I wrote Deceived on Purpose was because Rick Warren presented his readers with this same “God in everything” teaching. Quoting an obviously flawed New Century Bible translation of Ephesians 4:6, Rick Warren — whether he meant to or not — was teaching his millions of readers the foundational doctrine of the New World Religion. Describing God in his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, he wrote:

“He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.” (p. 88)

Compounding the matter further, “immanence” has been taught as part of the Foundations class at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. An ill-defined reference to immanence on page 46 of the Saddleback Foundations Participants Guide plays right into the hands of the New Spirituality/New World Religion by stating:

“The fact that God stands above and beyond his creation does not mean he stands outside his creation. He is both transcendent (above and beyond his creation) and immanent (within and throughout his creation).”

All of this discussion about “God in everything” immanence is to explain why The Shack is such a deceptive book. It teaches this same heresy. This book ostensibly attempts to deal with the deeply sensitive issues surrounding the murder of a young child. Because of the author’s intensely personal story line, most readers become engaged with the book on a deep emotional level. However, the author’s use of poetic license to convey his highly subjective, and often unbiblical, spiritual views becomes increasingly problematic as the story line develops. This is most apparent when he uses the person of “Jesus” to suddenly introduce the foundational teaching of the New Spirituality/New World Religion — God is “in” everything. Using the New Age term “ground of being” to describe “God,” the “Jesus” of The Shack states:

“God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things….” (p. 112)

This false teaching about a “God” who “dwells in, around, and through all things” is the kind of New Age leaven that left unchallenged could leaven the church into the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. And while many people have expressed a great deal of emotional attachment to The Shack and its characters — this leaven alone contaminates the whole book.

Clearly, the “Jesus” of The Shack is not Jesus Christ of the Bible. The apostle Paul chided the Corinthians and warned them that they were vulnerable and extremely susceptible to “another Jesus” and “another gospel” and “another spirit” that were not from God (2 Corinthians 2:11). In the Bible, the real Jesus Christ warned that spiritual deception would be a sign before His return. He further warned that there would be those who would even come in His name, pretending to be Him (Matthew 24:3-5;24).

Without ascribing any ill motive to William Young and his book The Shack, the author’s use of spiritual creativity seems to give a “Christian” assent to the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. His mixing of truth and error can become very confusing to readers, and God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33).

Dr. Harry Ironside, pastor of Chicago’s Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948, emphasizes the fact that truth mixed with error results in “all error” — a direct refutation of the Emergent Church teaching to find “truth” wherever it may be found — including books like The Shack. Ironside wrote:

“Error is like leaven, of which we read, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’ Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.” (quoted in The Berean Call, April 2008)

The Shack has touched the hearts and emotions of many people. While there are many other examples of the author’s unbiblical liberality, introducing the heretical New Age teaching that “God dwells in, and around, and through all things” is in and by itself enough to completely undermine any value the book might otherwise have for faithful believers. To allow yourself to get carried away by this story, while disregarding the book’s New Age/New Spirituality leaven, is to fall prey to the “truth-and-error” mixture that pervades The Shack. And as Dr. Ironside warned—“God hates such a mixture.”

Before Christians buy one more copy of this book, they need to come to terms with what this author is ultimately teaching and what it is they are passing along to their friends and fellow believers.

The Truth:

“And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (1 Timothy 4:4)

Warren Smith is the author of numerous articles and books on the topic of the New Age/New Spirituality and how it is entering the evangelical church.

Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church
Purchase Warren Smith’s Book “Deceived On Purpose”
Purchase Warren Smith’s Book “The Light that was Dark”

The Light that was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace
Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel

posted by Discernment Research Group @ 6/21/2008 08:53:00 AM

False Prophets

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
—Mat 7:15

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
2Cr 11:3

Recently meetings have been taking place in Lakeland Florida by a new name breaking forth on the on the Signs and wonders scene: Todd Bentley of “Fresh Fire ministries International: Apostolic Network.” Maybe you have never heard of him but he is fast becoming a “household name” in the church. Bentley is called a Canadian evangelist from Abbotsford, BC, Canada. He and his team have been traveling all over the world holding healing/miracle meetings for years.

Since the beginning of April Bentley has been conducting “healing meetings” in Lakeland at the sanctuary of host pastor Stephen Strader’s Ignited Church. Steven Strader is the son of Karl Strader, former pastor of Carpenter’s Home Church that launched Rodney Howard Browne’s ministry of passing fire and contagious laughter as the anointing. TBN broadcasted its services, and the church was introduced to this kind of preaching and behavior as revival.

In the mid 90’s when the laughter was at its peak through Rodney Howard Browne, my pastor then said that it would die out like all trends or fads. I had studied the Latter Rain movement, since the end of the 80’s it was growing. I identified this as the resurgence of that movement. My response was that it would not fade but continue to grow and spread. Indeed it has, and it is here to stay. The laughter movement has not gone away, it continues abroad, though diminished in contrast to newer manifestations. The movement has had a metamorphosis, going to Toronto, to Brownsville, and now, all the elements that were found in these former revival meetings, and more, are found in Bentleys services at Lakeland.

This why our ministry has spent the last several weeks in an intensive scrutiny of what is taking place, watching the videos which are numerous in number, reading the reports, reading his sermons and looking at the blogs. What is being claimed is staggering, from people being raised from the dead to seeing through glass eyes.

Bentley is about “blasting” you with the Holy Ghost! And his favorite word is “bam.” When they get “it,” they shake, convulse, stutter and fall. It is doubtful this can be the Holy Spirit who is called the comforter for the believer. Bentley shakes as he waves his arms over the audience and shouts ‘Fire, Fire, Fire’ just as they did at Pensacola, and Toronto. Then people start roaring, groaning, shaking, jerking, experiencing burning sensations in the body, laughing and falling to the ground, some with their eyes rolled in the back of their heads as the spirit is passed on to them.

As Jacob Prasch pointed out-Many people who have come to know Jesus from a New Age or occult background see obvious connections between this kind of behaviour to what they were into before they became a Christian. These effects have always been found in the occult – the most extreme form being the kundalini yoga. Awakening the kundalini energy gives the same sensations and euphoria people are experiencing.

Bentley’s supernatural stories and angelic visitations go far beyond the nonsense that has characterized the Toronto Blessing, Brownsville and other counterfeit revivals. He is also connected to the prophetic movement; the “Elijah list,’ a website of numerous false prophets prophecies. A number of the new apostolic prophets have thrown their mantle of approval on what Bentley is doing, prophesying success unlike any revival before him.

On New Year’s Eve, for 2008, God told Bob Jones that “the third wave was coming.” Todd asked Bob what the third wave was. He said that Toronto was wave #1, Pensacola was wave #2, and the third wave is the “Winds of Change”–this move of God. This move will be a global move, traveling with signs and wonders all over the world! The third wave is here!”

Prophet Bob Jones stated at one meeting: “The Third Wave is Here!’ 12 Places for Healing and Revival to Start are Mentioned–but THIS TIME IT’S GLOBAL.”

They believe this revival cannot be stopped. That’s what many pronounced for the previous ones (David Yonggi Cho said the Pensacola will continue until Jesus comes).

One pastor from Hawaii who went there said: “The Lord spoke to me while in Lakeland Florida and said, “‘This is My Holy Spirit ‘Bird Flu.’” A divine virus that is now aire borne and highly contagious and highly infectious. He said, This one is incurable! This one will spread throughout the whole world!”

Besides how rediculous this is, this is so obviously wrong. God does not call any move of his spirit as associated with being deadly. As one exercises discernment the meaning of the description’s bring serious concern.

Many who were involved in the previous revivals are rank and file in this one, except for those who were rescued out of them.

Bentley ministry constantly has angels visiting him with new revelation (even a female angel of which the Bible says nothing about) and claims that his miracles are accomplished with the help of angels. He has angels follow him and speak to him nearly everywhere he goes. “Recently, I had several daily visitations of angels which lasted for weeks. Since the beginning of this year I’ve also sensed an increase in the presence of angels in our meetings” (Todd Bentley, “Opening Our Eyes to the Angelic Realm.”) He has endorsed the healing rooms of John Lake and has a strong connection to the Later Rain healer of the 40’s -60’s William Branham. An angel told him, “I was with William Branham” (the Voice of Healing movement), the angel said. “I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world.” This is nearly identical to what Branham was offered by “the Angel” that worked in his ministry.

There are only a few accounts in the New Testament of angels interacting with man. Contrary to the promoters of angelic appearances these creatures mostly work behind the scene fulfilling God’s divine will, not revealing themselves to us. Bentley and others are teaching how we can summon angels to appear and release angels which is not a biblical teaching. It is a teaching found in the New Age Movement and is similar to the apparitions of Mary.

Bob Jones, formerly with the Kansas city prophet movement that was accepted into the Vineyard church by John Wimber, he is considered a senior prophet by Bentley, and he sought an impartation from him. After Bob Jones convinced Bentley that he could visit heaven at any time, (he claims to go there daily), Bentley had escalating encounters with angels and visits to heaven. Trips to heaven are promoted as commonplace in Bentley’s life and he is teaching others how to go to heaven anytime they want. No apostle ever taught the church how to go into a trance and be transported away to heaven- but this is found in the new age movements –its called astral travel.

Bob Jones 10 years ago said ” And now my government is in place, and in a time of great stress I shall bring forth my next step, for Toronto was a step, Brownsville was another step; My next step will be my glory, and signs like you have never seen before…” (The Remnant Seed”, a prophecy by Bob Jones at Hamilton, Ontario, March 1998). Does this mean he is a prophet? Hardly, these dysfunctional spiritualists are always trying to propagate a movement like this ever since they entered the vineyard church and brought chaos to it.

This revival has all the elements of all the other false revivals combined and is very powerful in its influence. The revival in Florida is powered by supernatural stories and testimonies and experiences. The stories increasingly stretch ones incredulity – incredible healings, with claims of 20 people already being raised from the dead. Reports of people seeing angels, angels filling teeth with gold, sending down feathers into meetings, gold dust, diamonds appearing, etc.

Bentley ministry constantly has angels visiting him with new revelation (even a female angel of which the Bible says nothing about) and claims that his miracles are accomplished with the help of angels. He has angels follow him and speak to him nearly everywhere he goes. “Recently, I had several daily visitations of angels which lasted for weeks. Since the beginning of this year I’ve also sensed an increase in the presence of angels in our meetings” (Todd Bentley, “Opening Our Eyes to the Angelic Realm.”) He has endorsed the healing rooms of John Lake and has a strong connection to the Later Rain healer of the 40’s -60’s William Branham. An angel told him, “I was with William Branham” (the Voice of Healing movement), the angel said. “I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world.” This is nearly identical to what Branham was offered by “the Angel” that worked in his ministry.

Instead of people getting saved they are getting people lost- by listening to a mans experiences of the supernatural that are both unbiblical and untrue. Extra biblical and even anti biblical revelation, are a constant theme in his ministry.

Bentley’s ministry focus is on [false] revelatory visions and visitations from angels and personal visits from the Lord. His ministry encourages others to do the same by teaching his own experiences of contact – called an “open heaven.” This is a dangerous precedent, offering his (counterfeit) experiences to others as being what the Bible teaches. The reason we can say they are counterfeit is because Biblically they are foreign to how Scripture describes interaction with the Lord and these beings. Because this is not a biblical teaching, it actually puts people in the unfortunate position of being visited by angels of light. Fallen angels or another Jesus who comes to deliver new revelation and deceive by experience.

One video account has Bentley telling a story of going to heaven via a pillar of fire through the church roof and then having the pillar of fire visit his room later. As he went to heaven through a portal, an open heaven, he crashed onto an operating table and was operated on by angels in white coats. God tells him to go back to the hotel room where he takes several friends, everyone is caught up in the same vision, the pillar of fire angel visits them and he describes himself as burning on fire. The next day the rooms above are literally burned down in the hotel. This story of Bentley’s experience has not been told only once but numerous times. Each story seems to have some different details that alter it and even contradict each other. Question any validity to this we investigated the story and found no fire like he described at a hotel on the day it took place. We have written his ministry and the others involved and are being stalled in getting some straight honest answers. The story of the hotel fire that took place because the angel visited their room has no factual proof of taking place and this is important fact to understand how these men start their stories which spread like fire.

His stories like these are numerous and people are believing his supernatural experiences as if they are the gospel truth.

Bentley says, “In one service I saw heaven open, it was like a hole tore open in the air and I saw a glory light like a pillar come out of this portal. Then I saw a 14-20 foot angel in the pulpit by the name of healing revival. At that time God spoke to me that this Angel was like the Angel (John 5: 1-4) that came down at a certain season to stir the waters of the pool of Bethesda.” (Todd Bentley Ministering Under An Open Heaven, Sep. 23, 2002 “http://www.etpv.org/2002/aohe.html).

Like in Gnosticism, the angel is named after its activity, angel of healing angel of miracles etc. Rodney Brown also was involved in Gnosticism by the words said over and over that were sounds similar to summon angels in gnosticism.

In John 5:4-9: “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” V.6-9: “When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.”

This did not have any human interaction, the angel came and stirred the water and left, he did not speak to anyone. Jesus’ healing has absolutely nothing to do with the pool or the angel. He does not help the man into the pool but offers him healing directly. He sees he is desperate and has lost hope. He appeals to his apathetic will offering him the solution. We should take notice, not everyone was healed, this one man is the only one healed and it was not by an angel. We can see Bentley has completed missed the meaning of the passage and put the emphasis on angels that heal instead of Jesus that heals. Jesus did not endorse the pool healings but instead offered to heal the man himself. Contrary to what Bentley claims, it is not the Lord that is saying this is the same angel at Bethseda, or that He is going to release angels to heal or send angels of healing revival (as stated elsewhere). This is certainly another Jesus saying this to Bentley.

Bentley’s point is clear as he has connected this revival with Toronto and Pensacola and the Healing Rooms. Todd Bentley has a view of the supernatural that has crippled him from understanding the simple truth of the word. He has replaced it with his own revelations and supernatural experiences that exceed even the apostles. Teaching people that we can do all and more that the apostles did is a heresy found in the Latter Rain movement that was rejected by Pentecostals in the late 40’s.

In an advertisement of a new school by Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire Ministries- he teaches instruction on how to engage the revelatory realm of Heaven. … Todd will teach and impart prophetic gifting to each student in faith that takes this course.” ” Todd shares many of his prophetic experiences and teaches how to activate spiritual senses. …Saints, get ready to fly like an eagle into the supernatural realm! “The School of the Supernatural Realms of Heaven” will help launch you there!

This is about taking dominion of the spiritual realm, angels and powers, this is not what the Bible teaches us.

Numerous examples of people going to heaven are cited, Elijah and Enoch and Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus. We are told these should all be commonplace because what happened with Jesus and Paul later, he can make appearances today.

But all of the examples used are unique one time events, never to be repeated again to anyone. So why should we expect it to take place again today?

Bentley teaches that people can visit heaven anytime they want- by faith, which is completely and utterly false. It was God who brought John and Paul to heaven, we cannot initiate this on our own. The Bible teaches us that only the apostles were communicated a revelation of heaven, not regular Christians. The reason it was given to them is because they were the ones commissioned to teach the church doctrine and write the word for us today.

What Bentley is teaching is not new – much of it can be found in the Latter Rain teachings that went through the late 40’s, 50. There are an increasing number in the church who think everything from Moses to Paul, whatever the apostles have done we can do, and more- the church is now being empowered to do more than any apostle or prophet ever did- we will be doing healings and miracles unlike any other time period. Bentley has posted 20 resurrections have been accomplished – some by viewing his service at least one at a funeral. But the details and names are withheld.

What we are supposedly witnessing is Acts 2 Pentecost- the Latter Rain. Welcome the Latter Rain movement of our day, a complete fabrication of what will take place in the Tribulation period. Bentley is following the Latter Rain blueprint as he preaches on his supernatural experiences. Hardly what Peter preached recorded in Acts 2. Bentley’s messages are how God has visited him, angels have visited and how he is able to go to heaven whenever he wants. This he said he learned from Bob Jones. Jones has taught that prophets do not have 100% accuracy in prophecy. This is because it would be too pure and the church was not ready for this, we are immature. So some of the prophets are near 10% accurate and possibly as high as 85-95% in their accuracy.

What about the Old Testament prophets, did they not have 100% accuracy in prophecy all the time? And when these modern prophets miss it (even 10%, its far more then should be credited) his excuse is that it’s God’s fault, not ours. This means we cannot trust God’s word to be absolutely accurate. Make no mistake about this- it is a spiritual attack on the word of God that is eternal and will endure forever. The reason they may have a low percentage is not a hearing problem but an understanding one, for they are more like fortune tellers and channelers of the new age movement than Biblical prophets. As if this is not bad enough we also find Bentley as part of “Elijah’s List,” a loose group of false prophets (nearly all) who have intentionally divorced themselves from the word of God in their interpretation and operation of spiritual gifts. They now have an influential internet forum to sell their books, DVD’S and post their prophetic promptings. Answering an affirmative to the Question: Do psychics have a prophetic gift from God? This is attributed to gifts given to everyone who is born.

This is how active their Bible training and discernment is-flat lining. They just do not understand the very basics that we hold differ from the world.

Bentley is also trying to pick up where William Branham left off. William Branham stood out as “the healer and prophet” of The Pentecostal Healing Movement. It was transformed by a number of new teachings he introduced. We now know it as the Latter-Rain, which began in Canada from Branham who laid hands on the leaders. The similarities to Branham are all there. They even believe it is Branham’s angel working among them. An angel told Bentley, “I was with William Branham” (the Voice of Healing movement), the angel said. “I am a healing angel . . .

From the beginning Branham had unusual manifestations which he attributed to his angel. “The power invested me by my commission given by Almighty God and ministered to me by an Angel, a Pillar of Light” (The Revelation of the Seven Seals p.112-113). Branham spoke of the angel as a pillar of light, similar to Todd Bentley’s experiences with angels and light. The angel that William Branham had was actually a powerful angel of light- a demonic entity that masqueraded as the angel of the Lord and the Holy Spirit of God. This entity appeared throughout Branham’s life from early childhood and eventually led him into all kinds of “serious error.” Bentley is laying claim-renewing the call of William Branham. Bentley’s acknowledgement of his angel as Branham’s angel.

Bentley says “Angels have a purpose in God’s plan. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to the Body of Christ that an angel, called the “Winds of Change” should usher in a new move of God.”

Bentley describes what is taking place “So there’s something about angelic sound being released in these meetings. There’s something about the sound that comes out of the realm of angels. And that sound has light and it’s creative and things are being created. And they’re coming out of light and they’re coming out of sound, and little seedlings are growing into mighty trees, and so get ready to receive that.”

“The Bible says God speaks the word and the angels do His word. That was the creative…it wasn’t just any old angels. The angelic realm that I saw was the realm that “does the word.” Decree a thing and it will be established. The angels that do the word, God’s amplifying their voice. They’re being heard by the saints. The saints can join in with the angelic sound and decree what Heaven is saying so it can be manifest on earth. You hear what I’m saying? (TODD BENTLEY: “The Bowls of Heaven Are Full with the Altar of God’s Fire and being Cast Back Down to Earth”)

This is by far the most serious of deceptions I have seen in all my years in ministry- truly we are experiencing the last days deception Jesus spoke of by many false prophets. There are numerous false movements converging.

These are dangerous spiritual statements and practices through Freshfire ministries and at Lakeland that cannot be upheld in the Bible. To be involved in this type of angelic activity is right out of New Age seminars. Bentley is preaching experiences via angels, things that no one has ever heard of. We can know everything we need by what God has revealed through His Word and by His Spirit. Jn.14:20- the Holy Spirit will us direct us to the words of Jesus. He does not need angels to discover anything new by experience or find ways to enter the spirit realm, a place that we are not told to seek.

The apostle Paul told Timothy and us to pay attention to doctrine and to teach it in the church, for if it is not upheld we can be removed from the faith. I Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” He also says ‘The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables’ (2 Timothy 4.3-4).

This certainly is the time period we live in. Few seem to ask how much of this is really authentic and assume it is from God, or how much is in the imagination of the people giving the stories – this is what fables consist of. It does not matter for the end result is the same if they do not pay attention to the words of Paul who continually asserted “That you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3). “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16). In 2 Timothy we are told to: Hold to sound doctrine (1:13), Teach sound doctrine (2:2), Abide in sound doctrine (3:14), Preach sound doctrine (4:1-2).

Paul states: “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of good doctrine which you have carefully followed” (1 Timothy 4:6). We are in need of nourishment, not unproven supernatural stories.

I see none of what Paul requests in what Bentley and his ministry is doing at these meetings, for this reason we are sending this alert to pastors in the church that I’m affiliated with to have people be aware of what is taking place and avoid it.

An excerpt of our DVD “the False Revival” is posted on “youtube”- comparing the effects of spiritual influences in other religions and what has been taking place at these revivals inside the church.

Let Us Reason Ministries, 5/20/08 – The Todd Bentley “revival” in Florida. (located on “what’s new” page)
Todd Bentley “Meet the new thing- same as the old thing” “Will We get fooled again?” – Todd Bentley’s pursuit of the supernatural.
pt.2 To be Forewarned is to be Forearmed- How important is it to know the word to test supernatural experiences?
pt.3 Stories of heaven- Examining one of Bentley’s frequent trips to heaven and His experience of a pillar of light.
pt.4 When the Angel came- The Branham connection- Bentley’s claim of the visiting angels, revelation and power.
pt.5 The fire- Fresh Fire-
pt.6 The Fire as an ANOINTING- Experiences of a baptism of fire, the pillar of fire and what the Bible has to say on this.
pt.7 Angels we have heard and seen- Are we to be visited by angels to have heavenly experiences?
pt. 8 An Open Heaven- Bentley’s Highway to Heaven- A closer look at his many visitations and trips to heaven, how they are NOT biblical.
We have been working with Christian Research Service investigating some of the claims of Bentley, especially his story of a pillar of fire appearing at a meeting and him being brought to heaven- please read Todd Bentley or Jesus Christ? by Bud Press, Christian Research Service.

“Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
—Eze 36:6-10

Please read Eze 36 and 37. These prophecy’s have come to pass. Afterwards, read Eze 38 for it will also soon come to pass.

Eze 38

Editor

They weren’t. They aren’t anywhere. Their disappearance into the mists of history since their exile from Israel in 722 B.C. is no mystery. It is the norm, the rule for every ancient people defeated, destroyed, scattered and exiled.

With one exception, a miraculous story of redemption and return, after not a century or two, but 2,000 years. Remarkably, that miracle occurred in our time. This week marks its 60th anniversary: the return and restoration of the remaining two tribes of Israel — Judah and Benjamin, later known as the Jews — to their ancient homeland.

Besides restoring Jewish sovereignty, the establishment of the State of Israel embodied many subsidiary miracles, from the creation of the first Jewish army since Roman times to the only recorded instance of the resurrection of a dead language — Hebrew, now the daily tongue of a vibrant nation of 7 million. As historian Barbara Tuchman once wrote, Israel is “the only nation in the world that is governing itself in the same territory, under the same name, and with the same religion and same language as it did 3,000 years ago.”

During its early years, Israel was often spoken of in such romantic terms. Today, such talk is considered naive, anachronistic, even insensitive, nothing more than Zionist myth designed to hide the true story, i.e., the Palestinian narrative of dispossession.

Not so. Palestinian suffering is, of course, real and heart-wrenching, but what the Arab narrative deliberately distorts is the cause of its own tragedy: the folly of its own fanatical leadership — from Haj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem (Nazi collaborator, who spent World War II in Berlin), to Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser to Yasser Arafat to Hamas of today — that repeatedly chose war rather than compromise and conciliation.

Palestinian dispossession is a direct result of the Arab rejection, then and now, of a Jewish state of any size on any part of the vast lands the Arabs claim as their exclusive patrimony. That was the cause of the war 60 years ago that, in turn, caused the refugee problem. And it remains the cause of war today.

Six months before Israel’s birth, the United Nations had decided by a two-thirds majority that the only just solution to the British departure from Palestine would be the establishment of a Jewish state and an Arab state side by side. The undeniable fact remains: The Jews accepted that compromise; the Arabs rejected it.

With a vengeance. On the day the British pulled down their flag, Israel was invaded by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan and Iraq — 650,000 Jews against 40 million Arabs.

Israel prevailed, another miracle. But at a very high cost — not just to the Palestinians displaced as a result of a war designed to extinguish Israel at birth, but also to the Israelis, whose war losses were staggering: 6,373 dead. One percent of the population. In American terms, it would take 35 Vietnam memorials to encompass such a monumental loss of life.

You rarely hear about Israel’s terrible suffering in that 1948-49 war. You hear only the Palestinian side. Today, in the same vein, you hear that Israeli settlements and checkpoints and occupation are the continuing root causes of terrorism and instability in the region.

But in 1948, there were no “occupied territories.” Nor in 1967 when Egypt, Syria and Jordan joined together in a second war of annihilation against Israel.

Look at Gaza today. No Israeli occupation, no settlements, not a single Jew left. The Palestinian response? Unremitting rocket fire killing and maiming Israeli civilians. The declared casus belli of the Palestinian government in Gaza behind these rockets? The very existence of a Jewish state.

One constantly hears about the disabling complexity of the Arab-Israeli dispute. Complex it is, but the root cause is not. Israel’s crime is not its policies but its insistence on living. On the day the Arabs — and the Palestinians in particular — make a collective decision to accept the Jewish state, there will be peace, as Israel proved with its treaties with Egypt and Jordan. Until that day, there will be nothing but war. And every “peace process,” however cynical or well meaning, will come to nothing.

“And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”
—Amos 9:14-15

Jews had been deprived of their homeland for nearly 2,000 years, ever since the Roman devastation of Judea in the first and second centuries A.D. That upheaval had been cataclysmic. By the time the fighting ended in 135, half of Judea’s population was dead. Of those who survived, hundreds of thousands were sold into slavery or expelled. Not until the Holocaust 18 centuries later would the Jewish people experience a more shattering catastrophe.

Yet through all the generations of dispersion that followed, the Jews never lost their self-awareness as a nation or their connection to the land of Israel. They expressed their longing for it in daily prayer and turned toward it when they worshiped. They collected charity to support the minority of Jews who had never left the land; and over the years others made their way back as well, often in response to Christian or Muslim persecution. By the 1860s, a majority of Jerusalem’s population was Jewish once more. Zionism – an organized movement to renew Jewish independence in the Jewish homeland – was formally launched in 1897. Five decades later, against steep odds and every historical precedent, Israel was reborn.

It was an incredible achievement, made even more incredible by the fact that it occurred in the wake of a genocide that had wiped out one-third of the Jewish people.

Within hours of declaring its independence, the newborn state of Israel, with a population of just 600,000, was invaded by five Arab armies. They were intent, in the words of Azzam Pasha, secretary-general of the Arab League, on waging a “a war of extermination and a momentous massacre.” The ovens of Treblinka and Auschwitz had barely cooled, and Jews were again being threatened with annihilation. Yet the fledgling state survived and thrived, a triumph of life and hope over the forces of hatred and death.

It was more than an astonishment; it was a miracle. For many, the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty after the blackness of the Holocaust thrillingly evoked Ezekiel’s vision in the valley of dry bones. “These bones are the whole house of Israel,” God had told the prophet. “They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off.’ ” But before Ezekiel’s eyes, the bones reassembled and the skeletons came back to life – and so, God said, will the vanquished and exiled Jews: “Behold, I will . . . raise you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.” To millions of Christians and Jews, the creation of modern Israel was nothing less than the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. That is part of the reason that a country so tiny – Israel is smaller than Lake Michigan – seems to loom so large.

Under siege since the day it was born, Israel has never known a day of true peace. It is the only nation in the world whose legitimacy is routinely called into question. It still has enemies who want it wiped off the map. Uniquely, the Jewish state came into being with the imprimatur of both the League of Nations and the United Nations. Yet time and again it is told it has no right to exist. Of course that is fatuous; few nations can present a birth certificate as storied as Israel’s. Nonetheless, Israel’s fundamental right to exist doesn’t derive from UN votes, or promises in the Bible, or its own Declaration of Independence.

For the right of statehood ultimately accrues only to those who can fashion and sustain a nation. “The land of Israel belongs to Israelis,” Yale’s David Gelernter wrote in 2002, “for the same reason America belongs to Americans: Because Israelis conceived and built it – and what you create is yours. If you want a homeland, you must create one. You drain swamps, lay out farms, build houses, schools, roads, hospitals . . .

“That’s how America got its homeland. And that is why Israel belongs to the Israelis.”