EVERYBODY STANDS AGAINST ISRAEL

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NewsWatch:
Israel's Covenant Land
Bill Koenig

{Editor’s Note:  The Bible indicates that the final ‘sign’ before the return of Messiah is a ‘localized world war’ in Israel, commonly referred to as Armageddon.  This piece from Bill Koenig makes it seem as though it is indeed ‘you and me against the world.’}

"Elohim said to Moses, 'I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of Elohim Almighty, but by my name Yahweh was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.'" (Exodus 6:3-4, KJV)

"He is the Yahweh our Elohim: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, 'Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:'" (Psalm 105:7-11), KJV

   In a remarkable turn of recent events, the nations of the world, many international organizations, and even Christian church groups have publicly stated their positions, contrary to the Word of God, pertaining to Israel's covenant land. These public statements have all occurred in the last 120-day period.

   Moreover, there is no mention by any of these entities, which acknowledge Israel's right to her covenant land. There is no acknowledgment to the plight of the Jews since statehood in 1948 and over the years at the hands of neighboring Muslim nations. There is no mention whatsoever about the danger which Christian organizations are now facing throughout the world by Muslims.

   Making matters worse, we now have "Christian" church organizations publicly taking totally misguided, misinformed, and apostate positions against Israel, the "apple of God's eye" (Psalm 17:8, "A Prayer of David" KJV).

   There has also been a major increase in the anti-Semitic propaganda being spread by the world's media pertaining to Israel. We sense that the Lord is allowing these nations, organizations, church groups, the media, and various people groups to take their stand publicly as the last statement before the Lord's harsh judgment comes against them.  The following events are great examples of the sign of the times:

· Vatican Backs Palestinians:  On Saturday, May 6, 2001, Pope John Paul II called for lasting peace in the Middle East on his trip to Syria. In the Jerusalem Post, the Pope said he was in Syria to encourage all sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict to change their attitudes and seek lasting peace.

   "My pilgrimage is also an ardent prayer of hope," said the Pope. "It is time to return to the principles of international legality: the banning of acquisition of territory by force, the right of peoples to self-determination, respect for the resolutions of the United Nations, and the Geneva convention."

   Putting the Pope's words into perspective, he not only called for lasting peace, but he also called for the Middle East parties to respect the resolutions. In other words, the Pope is asking Israel to give up their land.

. Bush, Powell Back Land Giveaway: On May 22, 2001, United States President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell publicly endorsed the Mitchell Plan, which calls for settlement (covenant) land to be relinquished in exchange for peace.

· CFR Backs Palestinians: According to Henry Siegman of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), in the International Herald Tribune on Tuesday, July 17, 2001, the Oslo accords failed to produce a permanent status agreement for any reasons, but "primarily and most importantly because Israel never committed itself to the only goal that could have made possible such an agreement-a viable, sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Without such a clearly defined goal, so-called confidence-building measures have no chance whatever of achieving their purpose."

· G-8 Backs Peacekeepers: On July 19-21, 2001, at their Genoa Conference, the Foreign

Ministers of the G-8 industrialized countries (United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, and Russia), in a strongly worded communiqué on the situation in Israel, backed the call for independent observers to be deployed in Israel.

   The G-8 leaders' statement said: "The urgent implementation of the Mitchell Report is the only way forward. The cooling off period must begin as soon as possible. Violence and terrorism must stop. Third party monitoring, accepted by both parties, would serve their interests in implementing the Mitchell Report."

· 18 Churches Back Freezing Settlements and Call Israeli Action a Violation of International Law and UN Resolutions Documentation: Text Of 18 U.S. Church Leaders' June 7, 2001, Letter To U.S. Secretary Of State Colin Powell: "Few things have done more to destroy the hope and pursuit of peace through negotiations than Israel's unrelenting settlement activity. Over these recent years, we have heard from our Palestinian Christian partners, and seen for ourselves, the destructive impact of Israel's settlement policy -- separating village from village, confiscating more and more Palestinian land, creating friction with its military checkpoints.

   "For over twenty years our churches have appealed to the U.S. government to require Israel to cease this transfer of its civilian population into occupied territory, a clear violation of international law and United Nations resolutions. Each administration has spoken in opposition to the settlement activity, only to watch the settlements increase and expand as Israel ignores the advice.

   "It is time for the United States to do what it must to bring Israel's settlement activity to an end. We urge you to make clear to Israel and the Palestinians that the United States is committed to a negotiated end of Israel's military occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem as called for in U.N.S.C. Res. 242, and that an immediate freezing by Israel of its settlement activity including `natural growth' is imperative. It will likely require considerable diplomatic pressure, and possibly economic pressure as well, to convince the government of Israel to recognize that this is a major policy concern of the United States.

Signed,

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church

Bishop Vicken Aykazian, Diocesan Legate and Ecumenical Officer, The Armenian Orthodox Church

Rev. Brother Stephen Michael Glodek, S.M. President Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Mens' Institutes

Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director Church World Service

Bishop Donald J. McCoid, Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod Chair, Conference of Bishops

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Rev. Fr. Alexander Karloutsos for Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, Ecumenical Officer, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Bishop William B. Oden, Immediate Past President, The Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church

The following heads of churches and faith-based organizations joined the delegation in endorsing this expression of concern and appeal to Secretary of State Colin Powell:

Bishop McKinley Young, Presiding Bishop, 10th Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church

The Rev. Dr. Robert H. Roberts, Interim General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA

Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee

Metropolitan PHILIP, Primate Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

The Rev. Dr. Richard L. Hamm, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada

Rev. Judy Mills Reimer, Executive Director, Church of the Brethren General Board

The Rev. H. George Anderson, Presiding Bishop, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Michael E. Livingston, Executive Director, International Council of Community Churches

Rev. Dr. Seung Koo Choi, General Secretary, Korean Presbyterian Church in America

Dr. Ron J. R. Mathies, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee

Rev. R. Burke Johnson, President, Moravian Church - Northern Province

Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (USA)

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America

Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim, Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch for the Eastern USA

John Buehrens, President, Unitarian Universalist Association

The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, Ecumenical Officer, Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church