By Charles Gardner
At a time of great turbulence, when all around is sinking sand, Christians believe there is a rock of perfect security on which to stand. His name is Jesus. And those who fail to honour him will stumble. (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:33)
In the world of politics, too, there is an “immovable rock” that will injure those nations wishing to move it. (Zechariah 12:3) Could this mean that all who attack Jerusalem – “the city of the Great King” (Matthew 5:35) – will themselves be terrorised?
Best-selling novelist Jack Engelhard seems to think so, saying that the dreadful terror attacks enacted by Islamic fanatics in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and Nice all began in Israel. He said the nations kept telling Israel not to answer with force, but to make peace with their enemies. Yet every such gesture was met with more demands and more terror; and the world refused to figure it out – that it had nothing to do with Israel.
The Jewish state was merely a laboratory for radical Islam who had murdered thousands of Israeli civilians with guns, knives, suicide belts, and now the automobile – reminding us that cars have been used to ram innocent pedestrians to death in Israel on a regular basis since last autumn. And referring to the summit called by French President Hollande to impose peace in Israel, Engelhard asks: “Is he calling for a peace summit with whoever came to Nice to mow down hundreds of celebrants?”1
Also asking questions is evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy, who says terrorists continue to attack because the US government refuses to recognise the danger of Islam.2 Even in England, Muslim converts to Christianity require special protection in the face of threats and persecution from their own families.
Yes, the grim spectre of violence stalks the earth like a big black cloud – surely a sign of the imminent return of our Messiah, Jesus. (Luke 17:26f, Matthew 24:29f) I believe the Lord was speaking of these days when he said: “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory.” (Haggai 2:6f)
And this theme is repeated in the New Testament when, in warning against godlessness and sexual immorality (Heb 12.16) – an apt summary of today’s Britain – the writer to the Hebrews reminds us of what happened at the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai when the mountain shook in a terrifying spectacle accompanied by fire. This would happen again, though on a bigger scale, at the end of the age so that what cannot be shaken would remain.
Hold on tight, for we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let’s not buckle under the pressure of worldly wisdom, but press on as we look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Heb 12.2) May I encourage you to “strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees” (Heb 12.12), a verse I have taken literally, as a result of which it has become a constant source of testimony to the power of God. If I had listened to worldly wisdom, I would have given up running when my knees got painful but instead, inspired by this scripture, I trusted God to heal them. It’s interesting that the very next verse says: “Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”
Now I am able to continue running with perseverance the race marked out for me (Heb 12.1), both physically as well as spiritually.
Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24.35) He also said that “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7.24)
Notes
1Jack Engelhard, Nice Terror: First they came for the Jews, Arutz Sheva, July 15 2016
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/19192
2www.charismanews.com July 7 2016
Darwinian research preserves dwarfs
A new book chronicles how a famous family of dwarfs survived the Auschwitz concentration camp because they were being preserved for ongoing study into eugenics.
In Giants: The Dwarfs of Auschwitz, Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev tell how the Lilliput Troupe of singers dazzled audiences with their unique vaudeville performances during the 1930s and 40s.
But with the rise of Nazism, the entertainers were declared a genetic error. Yet after getting off the cattle train at Auschwitz, the Ovitz family, seven of whom were dwarfs, were separated from other Jewish victims on the orders of Dr Joseph Mengele, who argued that since they were all doomed to die anyway, it would be a waste for science not to use them in order to better understand evolution.
The authors conclude that “the biggest crime in history was carried out under the direction of leading scientists and distinguished institutions” who, as Jerry Bergman points out in a review in the latest Journal of Creation, were under the spell of Darwinian eugenics. (Source: Creation Ministries International)
Black attack on Israel
Black Lives Matter, set up in the wake of alleged discrimination by American police, has widened its remit by declaring war on Israel with accusations of genocide and apartheid while ignoring the murderous actions of Syria, Iran, Hamas and others.
Our misinformed black brethren would do well to refer to the views on this matter of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, who said: “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews; you are talking anti-Semitism.”
He also stated that “the whole world must see that Israel must exist and has the right to exist, and is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world.”1
1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvr2Cxuh2Wk
Arabs identify as Zionists
A new Facebook page for Arab supporters of Israel has attracted some 20,000 followers.
In 2014 Muhammad Zoabi posted a video demanding that Hamas release three Israeli teens who had been kidnapped. Tragically, they were killed and the incident sparked a war in Gaza.
Forced into hiding by death threats, Muhammad had followed the example of his mother Sarah who introduced herself on the popular national TV program ‘Master Chef’ as an Arab Muslim Israeli and proud Zionist, and said: “I believe in the right of the Jewish people to have their own country…and I want to say to all the Arabs of Israel – wake up! Compared to other Arab countries, we live in paradise.” (Arutz-7, JNN)