War is Coming

                War is coming to the Middle East soon! A casual observer would reply “What’s new?” In a way he would be correct.  War is the rule not the exception in that part of the world.  However, this is a completely different war, and we need to be ready for it.

                On the night of May 7-8, 2012, Prime Minister Netanyahu forged a national unity government when he managed to bring Kadima, the main opposition party, into his ruling coalition.  This was completely unexpected because hours before the Knesset had been discussing a bill calling for early elections that Netanyahu was sure to win.  Instead, he called off the elections and announced the new coalition that gave his administration an unprecedented 78% of the seats in the Knesset.  Including Kadima in the coalition meant that Netanyahu had compromised in some points such as the law that exempts ultra-orthodox Jews from military service.  Why did he do this, rather than wait until September and win by a comfortable margin?

                May 1967 was the only other time in the short history of the Jewish state when a national unity government was formed. Egypt had kicked the U.N. peacekeepers out of the Sinai, blockaded the Straits of Tiran, and signed a pact with Jordan.  Syria was aiming for the destruction of Israel.  Israel launched a preemptive strike on the Egyptian air force on June 5.  The war that followed, the Six Day War, was brief and ended with an Israeli victory.  Furthermore, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

                The formation of yet another national unity government very strongly suggests that Israel is seriously preparing for war.  Everybody expects an attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, followed by either a direct attack from Iran or through its proxies, Syria and Hezbollah.  The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be glad to help.

                Can war be averted?  A quick look at some Old Testament prophecies suggest that this war has been appointed and cannot, or will not, be avoided.  I am talking about Isaiah 10, Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38. 

                Isaiah 10 is a prophecy about the Lord’s judgment of Assyria.   At its peak, Assyria included modern eastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, western Iran, Kuwait and Egypt.  In other words, it is Israel versus Israel’s modern day foes. 

                Psalm 83 speaks of an upcoming war in which the nations that immediately surround Israel will form a confederacy with the intention of “cutting them off from being a nation that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” As a result, Israel will gain sovereignty over much of the Middle East and become one of the wealthiest nations of the world.

                Finally, the peace and prosperity that Israel will enjoy following the Psalm 83 war will lead to the war of Gog and Magog, as described in Ezekiel 38.  Most scholars believe that it will be an attempted invasion of Israel lead by Russia accompanied by a number of Muslim nations.  It will have an Apocalyptic ending with the Lord raining down great hailstones, fire and brimstone on the forces attacking Israel.

                It is obvious that Ezekiel 38 must follow Psalm 83, but it is not so clear which war will come first. Regardless, it is my belief that Israel’s preparations for war are just part of the events appointed in the prophetic calendar.  War will come, because to the best of my knowledge, the Lord says that it will!

                As a side comment, there are other signs that P.M. Netahyahu is in the center of God’s will.   Last November President of France Nicolas Sarkozy was heard over an open microphone saying about P.M. Netanyahu, "I can't stand to see him anymore, he's a liar." Where is Sarkozy today?

Mr. Netanyahu Goes to Washington

       In the 1939 classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, James Stewart played the role of Jefferson Smith, a naive and idealistic young man who was picked as the replacement for a recently deceased U.S. Senator.  Once he arrived in Washington, he got involved with a bill authorizing the Federal Government to buy land for a national boys camp.  In a similar fashion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Washington to discuss some “land issues”, but he was neither naive nor idealistic.  His service as a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit made sure that he was grounded in reality.

       During his visit, Mr. Netanyahu gave President Obama “the whole megillah”.  Now, what is that?  Giving someone “the whole megillah” is the English translation of a Yiddish expression for telling a story with all details, nothing omitted, which Mr. Netanyahu did.  But he also gave the President an actual Megillah, an intricately ornated scroll holder containing the book of Esther.  He also referred to Esther in his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  Ostensibly, he did so because of the Jewish holiday of Purim that was going to be celebrated a couple of days later.  Purim is celebrated in remembrance of the attempt by the government of Persia (modern day Iran) to kill all the Jews living in that land.  There were obvious correlations between the Purim story and today’s intentions of Iran to develop a nuclear weapon to “erase Israel from the face of the earth”.  But there’s more to the present than this obvious correlation.

       First, P.M. Netanyahu indicated that he was well aware of his special position and the responsibilities that come with it.  Just like Queen Esther who was told that “who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14), it seems like Mr. Netanyahu was well aware that he just might be in his position for such a time as this present one.  He acknowledged that much when he declared that “I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation” and that “Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat”. These are non-negotiable issues and he stood up for his people.

   What really struck me was the symbolism of Queen Esther going to speak to King Ahasuerus.  Going in unsummoned was penalized with death.  She had a choice between a seemingly "suicidal" mission and the murder of all the Persian Jews.  So, what did she do?  After asking for prayers from the Jews, she agreed to go to the king saying "if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16).  Similarly, Mr. Netanyahu had a choice between attacking Iran, an action deemed "suicidal" by many experts, and the annihilation of the Jews in Israel.  He never said it in so many words, but his references to Queen Esther and his gift of the book of Esther to the U.S. President suggested to me that he was ready to attack and, if it comes down to it, perish for his people.  That was probably the message his mostly Jewish audience got.

       How realistic is an Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities?  Let me refer the reader to Jeremiah 49:35-36.  “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the foremost of their might,  Against Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and scatter them toward all those winds; there shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.”   It is interesting to notice that Elam was located in southwest modern day Iran and that several nuclear facilities are located in that region, for example the Bushehr reactor which the Russians loaded with fuel rods in the summer of 2010.  A sudden attack on Bushehr, and the subsequent nuclear fallout, could account for the “scattering” of the people of Elam.

       We are certainly living in interesting times!