Weekly Prophecy Review

News from around the world...

• The practice of polygamy in Utah quietly persists, even though it is against state law. This was brought to light recently when a Utah man was hauled into court for child abuse. It seems he had spanked his 16 year-old daughter because she had protested an arranged marriage to an uncle who already had 14 other wives.

• Deja vu all over again: Talks between Iraq and U.N. arms inspectors have broken down.

• The Party of Bill Clinton has chosen to run Dr. Jack Kevorkian's lawyer as its candidate for Governor of Michigan.

• United Methodist Church officials will decide the "crucial question" of homosexual marriages this week. One Methodist pastor, Mike Walker, was fearful that the church would find a way to cling to its 2,000 year tradition of condemning homosexual marriages.

• A minor league baseball club in Maryland is facing a charge of discrimination which carries a fine of $500. It seems the Hagerstown Suns held a promotion in which families could receive discounts on tickets by bringing a church bulletin to the game.

News from Israel...

• The number of people immigrating to Israel is higher this year than in previous years.

• Two young Israelis were murdered by terrorists while they were on patrol in their West Bank settlement. Shortly before the attack, Israeli officials had confiscated the firearm of one of the victims.

• Yassar Arafat's long-awaited reshuffling of his cabinet was jeered by members of the Palestinian parliament. Of the Cabinet Ministers who resigned last year over charges of rampant corruption, all but one was reappointed. The BBC reported one of Arafat's own ministers complained the Palestinian leader was running "a school for corruption."

• The Association of Palestinian Journalists has called on its members to cut off all contacts with its Israeli colleagues. Those who refuse may be blacklisted, meaning they will be refused access to Palestinian news sources.

Issues actually having something to do with prophecy...

The Palestinians: A people consumed with envy and hatred

Polls in Israel show that the Israeli people are very uneasy with their partners in the so-called "peace process." And why shouldn't they be? There is not a single indicator that the Palestinians want to live in peace. Instead, there is incontrovertible evidence of programs orchestrated to foment violence and hatred toward the Jewish people. Consider, for example, the indoctrination of children in various summer camps run by the Palestinian Authority.

One such camp advertised as its theme, "50 years of occupation." The slogan for the camp is—"We will not forget and we will not forgive." Scheduled activities do not include horse-back riding and swimming. Rather, they involve planned visits to villages which have been destroyed in the Jerusalem region. They also teach young boys about rifles and how to use them.

Another summer camp ran television ads proclaiming military training and political education for children. According to the camp spokesman, "Jihad [religious war] is the principle belief which will never end regardless of how many fall." As part of the ad one happy young camper sings, "I came to you with my sword in hand, we will oust them [Israel] out to sea. Your day is coming, conqueror, then we will settle accounts. Our accounts are unending in stones and bullets."

Finally, another television commercial boasts of a camp that is staffed by National Security men, military personnel and National Political Direction figures. During the month of July, three of their commercials featured children screaming the word "commando" while jumping through a burning ring.

The 35th Chapter of Ezekiel predicts that, in the last days, Israel will be besieged by a people consumed with envy and hatred. They are the very people who will deliver the sons of Israel to the sword "at the time of their calamity, at the time of the punishment of the end" (verse 5). There can be little doubt that the Palestinians are an exact fulfillment of that prophecy.

Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to stem the activities of these malevolent and treacherous people. Clearly, they will not live in peace with the Jews no matter what concessions Israel makes. Scripture tells us they will be a thorn in Israel's side until the very end—when God will deal with them Himself (presumably at the time of the Lord's return). In fact, it is through the very act of dealing with these Palestinian usurpers that the Lord will cause His people, Israel, to know Him.

"Therefore, as I live," declares the Lord, "I will deal with you [Palestinians] according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them [the sons of Israel]; so I will make Myself known among them when I judge you" (Ezekiel 35:11).

"As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel [speaking of the land] because it was desolate, so I will do to you. You will be a desolation, O Mount Seir, and all Edom [modern Jordan], all of it. Then they [sons of Israel] will know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 35:15).

The very presence of such a people as the Palestinians—hateful and envious and bent on possessing the land of Israel—is one of the strongest Biblical indications that the last days may soon be upon us.

Till He returns...