With 300,000 reservists called up, and tanks positioned along the border with Gaza, it seems it will be just a matter of time before Israeli forces enter Gaza to seek to rescue the many hostages taken, and to try to finally eradicate the evil that is Hamas. The Hamas Charter specifically states that it exists to destroy Israel. No nation can live with such murderous thugs so close.
The massacres of civilians on the weekend was proudly done by Hamas and its Iranian backers. What we witnessed was not just horrific war crimes, but crimes pure and simple. Israel of course has no choice but to go after Hamas, no matter how difficult it will be.
Hamas specialises in embedding itself in civilian populations, using hospitals, schools and residential areas as their base of operations and munitions manufacturing – it is their hiding place. Sadly therefore there will be civilian casualties in any Israeli incursion – which is exactly what Hamas wants. They do not care one iota about the people there, they only exist to see Israel fully driven into the sea. And if they can get the brainless media to focus exclusively on collateral damage, the more the better.
Why am I supporting Israel here?
There is plenty of confusion to be found here – including among Christians. Of course, with any controversial issue such as this, there are many levels at which we must consider things: historical, geopolitical, ethical, theological, biblical and military. Things can get complex, but as I so often state, we must reject a foolish and dangerous moral equivalence here: the idea that Israel is no better than Hamas terrorists. I have written on this and related matters often, eg., https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/06/03/christians-and-israel/
Let me first state why I do NOT support the modern state of Israel in this and other instances. I do not do it because it is full of godly Yahweh-loving Jews who worship and serve God and seek to keep the covenant conditions they agreed to way back in the Pentateuch.
While there are some orthodox Jews in Israel, the majority of the population is sadly much more secular, even with plenty of atheistic Jews. And it is a progressive country, fully allowing things like homosexuality and other immoral behaviours fully condemned in the Hebrew Scriptures.
The people of Israel need to repent and turn back to God. More crucially, they need to recognise their real Messiah who came to them 2000 years ago but was for the most part rejected.
So let me state why I DO support Israel. I do so for these reasons:
-It is a bastion of freedom in one of the darkest and most repressive parts of the world.
-It is the only country in the region that is a working democracy, that adheres to the rule of law, that is pluralistic, that has free elections, that has a free press, and so on.
-It is surrounded by Muslim-majority nations that have vowed to see it wiped off the map. These nations ruled by a political ideology which knows almost nothing of democratic freedoms and liberties.
-Unlike Hamas and the other diabolical terrorists, Israel seeks to abide by the principles of international law when it engages in armed conflict. Thus it does not routinely take civilians as hostages, use human shields, decapitate babies, rape and torture women, and kill grandmothers – all of which and more Hamas has done and is doing.
-The Abraham Accord started by Trump and continued by Biden sought to normalise relations between Israel and some of the neighbouring nations, hopefully resulting in more peace and stability in the region. And Saudi Arabia was the latest attempt being made. But Iran of course hates both countries so they sought to stop this – which is why the terrorist attack took place when it did.
-Not one Islamic leader has thus far condemned the diabolical terror attack on Israel. That tells us all we need to know about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.
For these and other reasons I certainly support Israel in this conflict. It is not a perfect country – no nation is. It has done things wrong and it is not morally pure. But when you have a tiny nation like Israel surrounded by hostile nations bent on destroying it, things are just not so easy.
The Australian situation
It did not take long for Muslim leaders and loony lefties to show their true colours when it comes to the massacres of Israeli men, women and children. “I’m smiling and I’m happy…” screamed Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun in Lakemba soon after the bloody attack by the terrorists. “It’s a day of courage. It’s a day of pride. It’s a day of victory. This is the day we’ve been waiting for!”
Also in the Labor-led state of NSW we shockingly heard this: “Gas the Jews” and “F**k the Jews”. That was chanted by Muslim and leftist protesters in Sydney Monday night at the Opera House, Australia’s most iconic image, while police stood by and did nothing.
We already have laws on the books about things like incitement to violence and the like – even laws about setting off flares in public places. And we now know the rally did not have police approval to go ahead. Yet on the same day a Jewish man with an Israeli flag was arrested and dragged away by five police! Indeed, Jews were told by the government to stay away – for their safety! Is this Nazi Germany?
The protest was fully backed by the NSW Greens and fully allowed by the police. Yet while police seemed to target at least one Jew there, they did nothing to stop the hate rallies which were spreading incitement to violence. And the whole world has seen what has happened there.
And then we have folks like Tony Burke, the Labor MP from the electorate where the hate preacher told the shouting Muslims that we should celebrate the slaughter of the Israelis: he has not said one word about this. Labor has long wooed Muslims in Sydney’s west. They prefer politics over principle it seems.
One can however note one brave Christian: Mark Leach, an Anglican minister, whose mum was a Jewish Holocaust survivor. He went to the protest in Sydney but was hounded out as he waved the Australian flag for just one minute. He was chased by the thugs there. He cannot understand how a Jew has to go through this in 2023 Australia.
Once, again, the whole world is watching. And yes, while these fools may be in the minority, they are seldom reined in and called out either by Muslim leaders or leftist politicians. It seems that Islam, not Judaism, is the preferred religion of the progressives. Certainly it seems that the terrorists, not innocent women and children, are the proffered favourites of the progressives.
Let us be clear about what is going on here. 5000 rockets fired into Israel so far. And Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has 10,000 rockets that it can lob into Israel. Already we have reports of Syria launching attacks. All out war has been declared against Israel. This is genocidal mayhem. This is Nazism 2.0. Israel has every right to defend itself.
Praying about the current situation in Israel today. the Lord revealed to me that for Israel to win and be at peace, they need to accept MY SON YASHUA HA MASHIH AS THEIR KING.
When Jesus is called “King of kings and Lord of lords,” it means that, in the end, all other rulers will be conquered or abolished, and He alone will reign supreme as King and Lord of all the earth. There is no power, no king, and no lord who can oppose Him and win. There are myriad references to this absolute rule of Jesus and His preeminence over other rulers throughout Scripture. To mention just a few, Isaiah 40:23–24 says that the Lord brings “princes to nothing” and makes earth’s rulers “emptiness.” The mere breath of the Lord will “carry them off like stubble.” Daniel’s vision of the son of man in Daniel 7:13–14 is of one whom he calls “the Ancient of Days” whose everlasting dominion is over all people, nations and languages. The writer of Hebrews speaks of the Lord Jesus: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). The next verse speaks of Jesus being “much superior” to the angels. Clearly, His rule over creation is absolute.
COME LORD JESUS
It is sad that the news of the Opera House incident has been reported in the US and drew criticism from US politicians (Josh Hawley I believe). At first reading (scan really) I thought it was yet another anti-semitical out burst by their loonie left at the NY protest.
What a shameful thing.
Me too!! I stand with Israel.
Near the end of the book of Romans, Paul mentions his trip to Jerusalem to deliver the Gentiles’ offering to the poor Jewish believers. In 15:27 he says, “They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”
Twice in this passage, Paul says the Gentiles “owe it to them” – the Jews – because they have received their spiritual blessings. A few chapters earlier, he said, “Theirs (are) … the covenants … and the promises” (9:4). Apart from the one with Noah, God made every covenant in the Bible with the people of Israel. This even includes the new covenant: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” (Jer 31:31, Heb 8:8).
In Ephesians, Paul said that we Gentiles “were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise” (2:12). In other words, we were lost! But through Jesus’ death, “you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v13). So now, we can become “fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (v19).
Recently, I read through Paul’s letter to Philemon, where Paul asks him to send his servant Onesimum to help Paul while he’s in prison. It seems that Philemon was saved through Paul, as he says in v19, “you owe me your very self”.
We have received our salvation and eternal life through the Jews. As Jesus said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). We owe them our support!
HAMAS are evil and deserve to be wiped out and will be wiped out. I stand with Israel and I support Israel and I support the Israeli’s and I support the Jews. God bless Israel God bless the Israeli’s and God bless the Jews. God’s chosen land and God’s chosen people.
Loving this from Israel’s PM…
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu Speech
Mr. Netanyahu said: Only 70 years ago! The Jews were taken to slaughter like sheep.
60 years ago! no country. No Army.
Seven Arab countries declared war on the small Jewish state, only
a few hours after its creation!
we were 650,000 Jews against the many millions in the Arab
world!
There was no strong IDF(Israel Defense Forces).
No powerful air force to save us but only brave Jewish people
with nowhere else to go.
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia all
attacked at the same time.
the country that the United Nations gave us was a 65 %
desert.
35 years ago! We fought the three most Powerful armies in
the middle east, and we swept them in six days.
We fought against various coalitions of Arab countries, which had
modern armies and many Soviet weapons, and we have always
beaten them!
Today we have:
a State (Country)
an Army,
a Powerful Air Force,
A State-of-the-Art Economy with exports worth billions of
dollars.
Intel – Microsoft – ibm & many high-tech companies develop
cutting edge products in Israel
our doctors receive awards for medical research.
we make the desert bloom, and sell oranges, flowers and
vegetables all over the world.
Israel has sent its own satellites into space!
three satellites at the same time!
We are proud to be at the same rank as:
The United States, which has 250 million inhabitants,
Russia, which has 200 million inhabitants,
China, which has 1.3 billion inhabitants;
Europeans – France, Great Britain, Germany – with 350 million
inhabitants.
the only countries in the world to send objects into space!
and say that only 60 years ago,
we were led, ashamed and hopeless, to slaughter!
we have experienced the smoking ruins of Europe,
we have won our wars here in Israel with less than nothing
we built our little “Empire” from nothing.
Who’s Hamas to scare me?
to terrify me? you make me laugh! Passover was celebrated;
Let’s not forget what Passover is: we survived Pharaoh,
we survived the Greeks, we survived the Romans, we survived the inquisition in Spain, we have the pogroms in Russia, we survived Hitler, we survived the Germans,
we survived the Holocaust, we survived the armies of seven Arab countries, we survived Saddam. we will survive the enemies present
Think of any time in human history
Think about it, for us, the Jewish people,
the situation has never been better!
then let’s face the world,
Let us remember:
all nations, empires or cultures
who once tried to destroy us,
no longer exist today – while we still live!
Egypt?
Babylon?
the Greeks?
Alexander of Macedonia?
The Romans? (does anyone still speak Latin these days? )
The Third Reich?
And look at us
The slaves of Egypt,
The People of Moses
The Nation of the Bible,
We are still here,
And Hebrew is still the official language of the State of Israel
today:
from the time of the Bible and now!
Arabs don’t know yet,
but they will learn that there is a God.
as long as we keep our identity, we are forever.
So forgive us for not worrying,
not to cry,
not to be afraid.
things are fine here.
they could certainly get better,
However:
Don’t believe the media,
they don’t tell you alot of good things about Israel
celebrations continue to take place in Israel,
people continue to live,
people keep coming out,
people continue to see friends.
Some claim our morale is low.
so what?
Only because we mourn our deaths while our enemies rejoice in
the blood shed & war.
that is why we will win, in the end.
The God of Israel created the Heaven’s and the Earth.
The Guardian of Israel never slumbers or sleep! The God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Forward this speech to the whole community,
and to people around the world.
they are part of our strength
Share this Post with your family, friends and colleagues
Share this Post with your family, friends and colleagues ?????????????????
God bless you!
??????????????????
Some good points have been made in this article but on reading the comments and checking my Bible I was left wondering where one of the commenters above got their version of Rom 15:27 from, as I couldn’t find that rendering (with the word “Jews’”) in any of the versions in my Bible software. It didn’t take long to find that it was the NIV, which I generally don’t have anything against. But here I must take exception because I think it has led to a wrong application.
Many other versions e.g. ESV, KJV, NET and others seem more faithful or literal to the original Greek by using the word “their” which causes one to read the immediate context in verses 25 & 26 which refer to the saints & the saints at Jerusalem. I hope this distinction is not offensive to any who read this, but I think we must rightly read the scriptures in context. So the Gentiles were indebted to the first century saints at Jerusalem for the spiritual blessings in Christ which flowed initially from there.
Thanks David. I see the NIV renders verses 25-29 this way:
Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
So even if the word “Jew” is not in the Greek, the context IS about the poor in Jerusalem (who would mainly have been Jews) so supplying that word may not be really amiss.
Amen Bill!
In reply to David’s comment, during Paul’s testimony before Felix in Acts 24, he clearly said whom the offering was for: “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor” (v17).
And as for whom he meant by “my people”, see Romans 9:3-4: “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel”.
Did Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu really deliver the speech that Melinda Jane Rau-Wig (above) attributes to him?
I have serious doubts about its authenticity.
When and where is Mr Netanyahu supposed to have delivered these words?
It certainly wasn’t in response to the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
How do I know this? The exact same “speech” has been circulating, with no verification whatsoever, on the Internet for at least six years.
Another observation I’d make is that this alleged speech is very unprofessionally drafted.
The grammar is execrable. The author frequently fails to capitalise the first letter of the first word in a sentence and, conversely, sometimes capitalises the first letter of a common noun as if it was a proper noun.
Surely the Israeli PM has qualified staff to proof-read and correct the wording of important communications before they are made public.
What makes me particularly suspicious about the speech’s origins is the message tacked onto the end (and found in both the 2017 and Melinda Jane Rau-Wig’s 2023 versions):
“Forward this speech to the whole community,
and to people around the world.
They are part of our strength.”
This sounds too much like the countless unattributable memes that are passed around the Internet.
Thanks John. Yes I did a quick look into this, and found it to have been around online for at least 7-8 years. Who actually said it, if it is one actual speech, is not so clear.
I know it is a bit twee and ultimately out of context but the quote fits: “Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run…”,
The covert and overt indoctrination of students worldwide will be more deadly in the long run.
Praying about the current situation in Israel today. the Lord revealed to me that for Israel to win and be at peace, they need to accept MY SON YASHUA HA MASHIH AS THEIR KING.
When Jesus is called “King of kings and Lord of lords,” it means that, in the end, all other rulers will be conquered or abolished, and He alone will reign supreme as King and Lord of all the earth. There is no power, no king, and no lord who can oppose Him and win. There are myriad references to this absolute rule of Jesus and His preeminence over other rulers throughout Scripture. To mention just a few, Isaiah 40:23–24 says that the Lord brings “princes to nothing” and makes earth’s rulers “emptiness.” The mere breath of the Lord will “carry them off like stubble.” Daniel’s vision of the son of man in Daniel 7:13–14 is of one whom he calls “the Ancient of Days” whose everlasting dominion is over all people, nations and languages. The writer of Hebrews speaks of the Lord Jesus: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). The next verse speaks of Jesus being “much superior” to the angels. Clearly, His rule over creation is absolute.
COME LORD JESUS
It is sad that the news of the Opera House incident has been reported in the US and drew criticism from US politicians (Josh Hawley I believe). At first reading (scan really) I thought it was yet another anti-semitical out burst by their loonie left at the NY protest.
What a shameful thing.
Me too!! I stand with Israel.
Near the end of the book of Romans, Paul mentions his trip to Jerusalem to deliver the Gentiles’ offering to the poor Jewish believers. In 15:27 he says, “They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”
Twice in this passage, Paul says the Gentiles “owe it to them” – the Jews – because they have received their spiritual blessings. A few chapters earlier, he said, “Theirs (are) … the covenants … and the promises” (9:4). Apart from the one with Noah, God made every covenant in the Bible with the people of Israel. This even includes the new covenant: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” (Jer 31:31, Heb 8:8).
In Ephesians, Paul said that we Gentiles “were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise” (2:12). In other words, we were lost! But through Jesus’ death, “you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v13). So now, we can become “fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (v19).
Recently, I read through Paul’s letter to Philemon, where Paul asks him to send his servant Onesimum to help Paul while he’s in prison. It seems that Philemon was saved through Paul, as he says in v19, “you owe me your very self”.
We have received our salvation and eternal life through the Jews. As Jesus said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). We owe them our support!
HAMAS are evil and deserve to be wiped out and will be wiped out. I stand with Israel and I support Israel and I support the Israeli’s and I support the Jews. God bless Israel God bless the Israeli’s and God bless the Jews. God’s chosen land and God’s chosen people.
Loving this from Israel’s PM…
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu Speech
Mr. Netanyahu said: Only 70 years ago! The Jews were taken to slaughter like sheep.
60 years ago! no country. No Army.
Seven Arab countries declared war on the small Jewish state, only
a few hours after its creation!
we were 650,000 Jews against the many millions in the Arab
world!
There was no strong IDF(Israel Defense Forces).
No powerful air force to save us but only brave Jewish people
with nowhere else to go.
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia all
attacked at the same time.
the country that the United Nations gave us was a 65 %
desert.
35 years ago! We fought the three most Powerful armies in
the middle east, and we swept them in six days.
We fought against various coalitions of Arab countries, which had
modern armies and many Soviet weapons, and we have always
beaten them!
Today we have:
a State (Country)
an Army,
a Powerful Air Force,
A State-of-the-Art Economy with exports worth billions of
dollars.
Intel – Microsoft – ibm & many high-tech companies develop
cutting edge products in Israel
our doctors receive awards for medical research.
we make the desert bloom, and sell oranges, flowers and
vegetables all over the world.
Israel has sent its own satellites into space!
three satellites at the same time!
We are proud to be at the same rank as:
The United States, which has 250 million inhabitants,
Russia, which has 200 million inhabitants,
China, which has 1.3 billion inhabitants;
Europeans – France, Great Britain, Germany – with 350 million
inhabitants.
the only countries in the world to send objects into space!
and say that only 60 years ago,
we were led, ashamed and hopeless, to slaughter!
we have experienced the smoking ruins of Europe,
we have won our wars here in Israel with less than nothing
we built our little “Empire” from nothing.
Who’s Hamas to scare me?
to terrify me? you make me laugh! Passover was celebrated;
Let’s not forget what Passover is: we survived Pharaoh,
we survived the Greeks, we survived the Romans, we survived the inquisition in Spain, we have the pogroms in Russia, we survived Hitler, we survived the Germans,
we survived the Holocaust, we survived the armies of seven Arab countries, we survived Saddam. we will survive the enemies present
Think of any time in human history
Think about it, for us, the Jewish people,
the situation has never been better!
then let’s face the world,
Let us remember:
all nations, empires or cultures
who once tried to destroy us,
no longer exist today – while we still live!
Egypt?
Babylon?
the Greeks?
Alexander of Macedonia?
The Romans? (does anyone still speak Latin these days? )
The Third Reich?
And look at us
The slaves of Egypt,
The People of Moses
The Nation of the Bible,
We are still here,
And Hebrew is still the official language of the State of Israel
today:
from the time of the Bible and now!
Arabs don’t know yet,
but they will learn that there is a God.
as long as we keep our identity, we are forever.
So forgive us for not worrying,
not to cry,
not to be afraid.
things are fine here.
they could certainly get better,
However:
Don’t believe the media,
they don’t tell you alot of good things about Israel
celebrations continue to take place in Israel,
people continue to live,
people keep coming out,
people continue to see friends.
Some claim our morale is low.
so what?
Only because we mourn our deaths while our enemies rejoice in
the blood shed & war.
that is why we will win, in the end.
The God of Israel created the Heaven’s and the Earth.
The Guardian of Israel never slumbers or sleep! The God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Forward this speech to the whole community,
and to people around the world.
they are part of our strength
Share this Post with your family, friends and colleagues
Share this Post with your family, friends and colleagues ?????????????????
God bless you!
??????????????????
Some good points have been made in this article but on reading the comments and checking my Bible I was left wondering where one of the commenters above got their version of Rom 15:27 from, as I couldn’t find that rendering (with the word “Jews’”) in any of the versions in my Bible software. It didn’t take long to find that it was the NIV, which I generally don’t have anything against. But here I must take exception because I think it has led to a wrong application.
Many other versions e.g. ESV, KJV, NET and others seem more faithful or literal to the original Greek by using the word “their” which causes one to read the immediate context in verses 25 & 26 which refer to the saints & the saints at Jerusalem. I hope this distinction is not offensive to any who read this, but I think we must rightly read the scriptures in context. So the Gentiles were indebted to the first century saints at Jerusalem for the spiritual blessings in Christ which flowed initially from there.
Thanks David. I see the NIV renders verses 25-29 this way:
So even if the word “Jew” is not in the Greek, the context IS about the poor in Jerusalem (who would mainly have been Jews) so supplying that word may not be really amiss.
Amen Bill!
In reply to David’s comment, during Paul’s testimony before Felix in Acts 24, he clearly said whom the offering was for: “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor” (v17).
And as for whom he meant by “my people”, see Romans 9:3-4: “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel”.
Did Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu really deliver the speech that Melinda Jane Rau-Wig (above) attributes to him?
I have serious doubts about its authenticity.
When and where is Mr Netanyahu supposed to have delivered these words?
It certainly wasn’t in response to the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
How do I know this? The exact same “speech” has been circulating, with no verification whatsoever, on the Internet for at least six years.
For instance, see one version, dated October 21, 2017 (and posted by “Anonymous”) at: https://PatriotsForumIndia.com/?p=9444
No source or date is ever given for the speech.
Another observation I’d make is that this alleged speech is very unprofessionally drafted.
The grammar is execrable. The author frequently fails to capitalise the first letter of the first word in a sentence and, conversely, sometimes capitalises the first letter of a common noun as if it was a proper noun.
Surely the Israeli PM has qualified staff to proof-read and correct the wording of important communications before they are made public.
What makes me particularly suspicious about the speech’s origins is the message tacked onto the end (and found in both the 2017 and Melinda Jane Rau-Wig’s 2023 versions):
“Forward this speech to the whole community,
and to people around the world.
They are part of our strength.”
This sounds too much like the countless unattributable memes that are passed around the Internet.
Thanks John. Yes I did a quick look into this, and found it to have been around online for at least 7-8 years. Who actually said it, if it is one actual speech, is not so clear.
I know it is a bit twee and ultimately out of context but the quote fits: “Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run…”,
The covert and overt indoctrination of students worldwide will be more deadly in the long run.