Verse of the Day
Isaiah 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Commentary
The verse from Isaiah speaks about the day when the Lord Jesus is ruling from Jerusalem after His Second Coming. Until that time, there are going to be wars which continually get worse until the battle of Armageddon. At this battle, the Lord Jesus will destroy all the armies of the world with His glory and His spoken word.
Iran is now on the front burner. The talk of war is nonstop. Israel is getting ready for the war. Obama says he is not going to allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon. Iran is now very close. Israel says it will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon, while Iran is full speed ahead to build it. Israel is not bluffing as its very existence depends on Iran not obtaining this weapon. This year could see the beginning of the war.
One issue that could trigger the war are the sanctions on Iran that are about to be imposed. The sanctions would cripple Iran’s economy. Obama signed the law January 1 which will take effect 60 days later. This would mean the first week of March is the time frame for the sanctions to start. Iran said the sanctions are an act of war, and the nation would move to close the Strait of Hormuz. The US Navy said it would keep the straight open. Look for real tension to build as March approaches. This Spring could be very tense with the possibility of war in the Persian Gulf.
“US President Barack Obama Saturday signed into law measures penalizing foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran’s central bank, Bank Markazi – the toughest sanctions imposed yet over Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon. In recent weeks Tehran has repeatedly warned that it would deem the signing of this measure an act of war and respond with drastic steps including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The bill targeting anyone dealing with Iran’s central bank seeks to force other countries to choose between buying oil from Iran or being shut out of transactions with US financial institutions and banks. The new sanctions will begin taking effect in 60 days – the toughest not for at least six months, giving Tehran some space to cooperate with international demands to call off its nuclear weapon program.”
“Iran will not repeat its warning … the enemy’s carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf,” Salehi told IRNA “I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once,”
The war clouds are gathering very rapidly. Something is going to break and start the war. Use the remaining time, which might not be too much, to grow in grace and faith. Keep your spiritual eyes glued on the Lord Jesus as everything is going to be shaken. If you are not anchored in Him, the fear and anxiety in the world could grab hold of you. There is no fear when you are anchored in the Lord Jesus.
May the LORD God of Israel bless and protect you.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Israel and Middle East War
Iran test-fires missiles in Gulf exercise 01/02/12
“Iran said on Monday it had successfully test-fired what it described as two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its
nuclear program.”
IDF predicts missile attacks on J’lem in future war 01/02/12 The coming war is going to be all-out, and fight to the finish between the Israeli and the Palestinians. Most likely Jerusalem is going to see intense fighting. In the end, there will be no Palestinians left and the Jews will be free t
o rebuild their temple. This temple needs to be rebuilt to fulfill the end-time prophetic word of God. “For years, the defense establishment widely assumed that Israel’s enemies – primarily Hezbollah and Syria – would avoid targeting Jerusalem due to the relatively large Arab population in the city, and the fear that Muslim holy sites such as the Aksa Mosque would accidentally be hit.” “That is no longer the case,” a senior IDF officer told The Jerusalem Post. “We now believe that in a future war, there’s a possibility that Jerusalem will also come under missile fire even from the Gaza Strip.”Abbas warns of Quartet failure on peace talks 01/01/12 “If the Quartet can’t get the Israeli and Palestinian sides to the table by January 26, it means they have failed and the Palestinian leadership will study its position and act accordingly,” he told Palestine TV.”
‘Peace process must involve Hamas as a player’ 01/01/12 Hamas has sworn to destroy Israel. How can it then be part of the “peace process” although this process is to destroy Israel.Palestinians Warn of ‘New Measures’ If Talks Fail 01/03/12 They have set up the talks to fail. These talks are a dead issue. Israel will not go back to the pre -1967 borders. And, Israel will not divide Jerusalem.
“The Palestinians say Israel must freeze settlement construction and agree to return to its pre-1967 lines for peace talks to resume. The Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank,
east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — areas that were captured in the 1967 Mideast war.”
“The diplomatic offensive the Palestinians are planning to launch later this month could include pushing the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning settlement construction and urging the International Criminal Court to try Israel for war crimes related to its 2008-2009 incursion into the Gaza Strip. 2012 “will be the start of an unprecedented diplomatic campaign on the part of the Palestinian leadership, and it will be a year of pressure on Israel that will put it under a real international siege,” said Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha’ath, according to an Israeli Foreign Ministry document. “The campaign will be similar to the one waged against apartheid in South Africa.”
Hebrews 13:20,21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.