The Truth About the Palestinian Cause And Israel

A Covenant God And A Covenant Land

History is littered with the ashes of the men, empires and nations who have cursed Israel and the Jewish people, from Pharaoh of Egypt, to Assyria, Babylon, Haman the Persian, the Greeks, and even the once invincible Roman Empire. All rest today in the ash heap of history. Hitler’s Germany is a more modern example of what happens to a nation who seeks to reach out its hand to harm God’s chosen people. The great Spanish Empire, the Ottoman Empire, even the British Empire, that once controlled Egypt, Suez, Hong Kong, and India, are mere shadows of their former glory. Hitler’s Third Reich ended with the complete destruction of the nation of Germany. Even the former Soviet Union, which once possessed the world’s second-most military capability, fell without a shot being fired – because it would not permit its Jewish citizens to return to their land, land that has been in COVENANT with God since the time of Abraham. From the moment these Gentile empires persecuted, oppressed, uprooted or sought the destruction of the Jewish people, or sought to divide their covenant promised land, they themselves became the ones who would be cursed and destroyed by the God of Israel. The Arab world would do well to listen and heed history in this current land issue with Israel. Islam will never be at peace with Israel because it will never recognize any COVENANT outside that of its own religion. America's continued pressure puts this nation on a path with a head on confrontation with God unless we repent.

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: Joel 3:1-3 - For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, [2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. [3] And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Zech. 12:8-9
In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. [9] And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 35:1-5
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, [3] And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. [4] I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. [5] Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:

The land of Israel and especially Jerusalem are literally the focus of world attention on a daily basis. In previous lessons, we’ve seen a small picture of past historical events that have had prophetic implications on the Land of Israel. Much is spoken of today about a plan to bring peace to the Middle East. In Lesson 6, we asked a simple question as to why there is no peace today in the region known as the “land of the Bible?”

The peace plan in the Middle East today involves Israel giving back land won in previous wars to the Palestinians for peace. This plan was initiated in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush and has continued through the efforts of his son, George W. Bush. The “disputed” land is called the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights, a region we’ve shown in previous lessons to be what scripture calls “the mountains of Israel.” This peace plan involves Israel also giving East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as their capital. The ruins of the ancient Jewish Temple are located in East Jerusalem.

Not to state something a million times but the reader needs to get this thought in their head and heart. The land in question of this study was PROMISED and made in COVENANT with Abraham, father of the Jews and the nation of Israel. God first directed Abraham to the land of Canaan long ago and promised him this land would be given to his lineage through ISAAC, not ISHMAEL. (We will deal with the ancient hatred in a separate study both in lesson form here and a future full study on Islam later).

Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: [2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: [3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 15:18
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Genesis 17:7
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Those words, “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you,” are words that come from a prophecy in Scripture that has been confirmed as many times as any such utterance from the Word of God in the history of man! Think of that. Without exception, every nation that has sought to destroy, oppress, uproot, persecute the Jewish people, and to appropriate the land of Israel as their own possession, have themselves been destroyed by the mighty hand of the God of Israel. Why? Because of God’s eternal prophecy of COVENANT concerning blessings and curses.

History is littered with the ashes of the men, empires and nations who have cursed Israel and the Jewish people, from Pharaoh of Egypt, to Assyria, Babylon, Haman the Persian, the Greeks, and even the once invincible Roman Empire. All rest today in the ash heap of history. Hitler’s Germany is a more modern example of what happens to a nation who seeks to reach out its hand to harm God’s chosen people. The great Spanish Empire, the Ottoman Empire, even the British Empire, that once controlled Egypt, Suez, Hong Kong, and India, are mere shadows of their former glory. Hitler’s Third Reich ended with the complete destruction of the nation of Germany. Even the former Soviet Union, which once possessed the world’s second-most military capability, fell without a shot being fired – because it would not permit its Jewish citizens to return to their land, land that has been in COVENANT with God since the time of Abraham.

From the moment these Gentile empires persecuted, oppressed, uprooted or sought the destruction of the Jewish people, or sought to divide their covenant promised land, they themselves became the ones who would be cursed and destroyed by the God of Israel. There are no exceptions to this prophecy that comes straight from the mouth of God.

The Bible tells Israel (as well as America too) to be forever mindful of God’s COVENANT with Abraham.

1 Chron. 16:13-18
O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. [14] He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. [15] Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; [16] Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; [17] And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, [18] Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

Yet, the leaders of the nations that surround Israel right now have no fear of the Living God. The leaders of the nations that comprise the “Quartet,” namely the United States, European Union, The United Nations, and Russia seek to divide the land of Israel and give it to the people of a foreign god – Allah! The Palestinians are Muslim who worship Islam and embrace nothing but deep rooted hatred and murder for all those who are of Isaac’s seed.

Many in Israel’s government showed how little they feared God last August when they purposed to remove the Jewish people from their inheritance in Gaza. Before we get into the repercussions of such events that happened last summer, I feel it necessary to take a look at the Palestinians themselves and how their cause is at the root of this conflict. This cause is not by accident. Satan has used this people group to inflict great pain and suffering on the Jewish race.

As stated, one of the major issues facing Israel at this very moment is giving away some of her covenant land for peace. The Palestinians claim they don’t want all of the land, but they really do. This land would include part of Jerusalem, which contains the section that includes the site of the Ancient Temple. In reality, Israel has been forced to give up “land for peace,” since 1917 even though America upped the pressure and rhetoric in 1991 under former President Bush 41.

According to the Palestinians, the real issue, at least what they tell the media, is their desire for a homeland, a state, in what is now Israel. They want control over sites they consider “holy,” in East Jerusalem. They say they want to have the land back that was supposedly taken from them in the Six-Day War of 1967. This certainly has sounded reasonable to many in the Israeli government through the years and many in America because most peace agreements made through the years have included these articles in them.

What the Palestinians want however, is not a state, but the complete extermination of Israel and control of ALL the land we know today AS Israel. When the Palestinian people elected the terror group HAMAS to head its government in January 2006, that was really the true color of the hearts of the Palestinian people. Much has been made, even in church circles, about the “plight” and “suffering” of the “people,” in the West Bank. Friend, the “PEOPLE,” elected a TERROR GROUP TO GOVERN THEM. In my book, and I believe in the heart of God, if the PEOPLE want a terrorist group over them, it makes pretty good sense they themselves embrace what that terror group stands for! Hamas has refused to recognize Israel as a state and vowed her destruction through the years. They only mirror and portray what is in the heart of the Palestinian! The reason this is so is the religion of Islam that controls the Palestinians, as it does most, if not ALL, Arabs.

The hatred, anger, and violence against Jewish citizens expose the true objective of the Palestinian “cause.” Just to clear the air and make it crystal clear: ISRAEL DID NOT TAKE THE LAND FROM THE PALESTINIANS IN 1967. No one mentions it, but Jordan, Syria, and Egypt controlled the land gained by Israel through military victory. And not to sound coy, but Israel did not attack these nations first – they attacked her! It would be like a robber breaking into my house and in the struggle to protect my home land I secure $50,000 in cash from the robber’s person. The robber then gets away losing his money and cries and screams I am to give that money back. I don’t think so! He was trying to bring harm to my family and in self-defense he suffered the loss, not me. By his actions, he lost all rights to whatever he “lost,” in the struggle!

That is the same principle that operates today in this struggle in the Middle East. The Arab world screams and screams about the “disputed” land, yet the Arab world hopes no one remembers it was THEM, not Israel who attacked first. Because of God’s intervention, Israel regained Jerusalem for the first time since A.D. 70 in the Six Day War of 1967 along with what we know as the West Bank. That land belongs to Israel PERIOD, plain and simple. Even if there were not Biblical principles and prophetic implications involved, historically, she would STILL own the land!

The Palestinians were NEVER in control of this disputed territory; NEVER! If the land were to given back, technically it should be returned to Jordan, Syria and Egypt. To show you Israel’s good will after the Six Day War, they did give control and stewardship of the Temple Mount area over to the Muslims – a decision the nation has regretted to this day! General Moshe Dayan was not forgiven till the day he died by many Israelis for this act of wishful peaceful diplomacy. You can’t negotiate with terrorism and the devil! You always lose in the end and Israel as always lost when it comes to negotiations with the Palestinians.

During the entire period of recorded history, which is more than 5,000 years, Palestinian Arabs NEVER ruled Palestine. The fact is the only constant presence in the land has been a JEWISH presence SINCE THE BIRTH OF ISAAC! The numbers of Jews may have been minute at times, but they have remained, regardless. In addition to the Jews, there have been the soldiers of the occupying forces and their slaves.

Only the Jewish presence has remained consistent as the SOLE SURVIVORS in the land, and they alone have maintained an uninterrupted national link SINCE Abraham and Isaac. In the current “discussion,” about the land of Israel, no one seems to mention the fact that the Jewish claim goes back 4,000 years! For 3,000 years Jerusalem was the capital of the HEBREW nation, not some abstract Palestinian one in the wicked imaginations of sinful reporters and media leaders.

The historical and Biblical evidence is IRREFUTABLE! King David legally purchased the 35-acre area known today as the Temple Mount, currently said to be the center of the dispute from Araunah the Jebusite.

2 Samuel 24:21-24
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. [22] And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. [23] All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. [24] And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

This very piece of ground became the site of both the FIRST and SECOND Temples in Israel; the center of Jewish life and identity 1700 years before anyone ever heard of the “Dome of the Rock,” or the “Al Aska Mosque.” (Note: Dome of the Rock was an Islamic term birthed in the heart of the demented followers of Islam in 687-691 AD)

Zechariah, as he unfolds the prophetic scenario of God’s great deliverance of Israel at the end of the age said this:

Zech. 12:6
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

The last phrase in the original Hebrew text simply says, “Jerusalem shall dwell where Jerusalem ALWAYS was.” To state it again, there was NEVER a nation called “Palestine,” ruled by local peoples. The question is then asked by scores, “who then are the real Palestinians?” History records that ALL in the inhabitants of the land came to be known as Palestinians since this was the name of the territory and even the Jews were called “Palestinians” until 1948. In 1948, all became Israeli citizens, both Jews and Arabs, who the ancestors of the current Palestinians living the area known as the West Bank currently.

Being a Palestinian prior to 1948 had no bearing regarding one’s nationality, religion or ethnic background. It merely pointed to a geographical location of one’s residence and NOTHING MORE. The current Palestinians are the descendants of Arabs who arrived in Palestine, for the most part, only in the last 200 years of so. Why did they come from the Arab regions? That question was answered in part in the previous lesson we did on the desolation of the land when Israel was removed from it in AD 70. The Arabs flooded into Palestine seeking jobs provided by Jewish commercial developments, which began in the late 1800s.

The “MYTH” of a national Arab Palestine that goes back generations is fantasy and a myth, as well as an OUTRIGHT LIE. There are NO HISTORICAL FACTS to document this claim. Palestine was NEVER an established Arab nation taken away by the Jewish “Zionists.” That term “Zionist,” is a slap in the face of the Israeli people used today quite often by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who calls Israel the “Zionist Entity and Regime.” He says that to make clear the Arab world looks at Israel as a “thief,” having taken land the Arabs think belongs to them.

Most Arab families who came to work in the land in the years prior to 1948 never felt political ties to the land because they had always existed under the occupation of some foreign power. It was for this reason, both the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and the League of Nations Mandate following WWII, charged the Jewish population in Palestine with guaranteeing the civil and religious rights of minorities in the land. These statements alone recognized the only national claim to the land was that of the JEWISH POPULATION, not the Arab one!

For the most part historical records show a cordial acceptance by most Arabs of the land being home to the Jews. Correspondence dating back to 1919 shows letters between Arab leaders of that day and Dr. Chaim Weitzman, head of the World Zionist Organization, promising “good will and understanding,” between the two groups. Wow, what happened since then that has brought us to the place we find ourselves in less than 100 years later in 2006? More on the answer to that in future lessons/messages in this series.

1947 – Key Year and the Lie of the Palestinian Refugee Issue

In 1947 the Arabs were offered their own state alongside the area being granted to Israel. The answer from the Muslim world was, they would never live in peace with the Jews and “drive them all into the Mediterranean.” As we stated in the previous lesson, on May 15, 1948, just one day after Israel’s Declaration of Independence, five Arab nations attacked the infant state. Bear in mind there were only 675,000 Jews in Israel versus close to 50 million Muslims! The Muslim nations called for the Arab residents of the area to “get out,” of the way in light of the coming invasion, promising a quick defeat of the Jews and an opportunity to plunder Jewish property and homes following their victory.

However, the Muslim world forgot one very essential element – they were not fighting just the Jewish state – they were fighting GOD! God was in the process of keeping His Word spoken through prophets long ago that promised Israel would return to the Land. After eight months of fighting, a cease-fire was established and the Arabs who fled could now longer return to their willfully vacated property. Some were driven off by the Jews during the fighting. This was the beginning of the Palestinian refugee problem or the “Plight of the Palestinian” as so-called by the media.

Following the War of Independence, Jordan took control over the region of Judea and Samaria on the West Bank of the Jordan River, which extends to Jerusalem. Egypt likewise controlled the Gaza Strip region as well as the Sinai Peninsula.

The Palestinian Arab population, many living in their own villages and some in U.N. constructed refugee camps, were under the authority of neighboring friendly Arab Muslims countries. The irony of it was they were now in the very territory allotted to them as their state by U.N. resolution Number 181 of 1947, which had apportioned them a state next to the Jewish state. This was the very territory they had declined, preferring to have it all. It was not too late! At that time they could still have clamored for their own state but they did not. The question is why? Why did they not lay claim to their state?

Islam is a non-tolerant religion that controls this region of the world. It cannot peacefully coexist with any other religion. Therefore, rather than live alongside a Jewish state in peace the Muslim nations chose to use the Palestinian people as pawns for sympathy, political manipulation and economic gain.

The neighboring Muslim countries elected to keep these people locked in a prison of dirty politics and abuse giving them no change for economic gain, education, or a future with real hope. The Muslims DID THIS TO THEIR OWN PEOPLE! Instead of using them to deceive the world and pressure Israel into compromises, the Arab world could have alleviated the suffering of their own people had they desired but they have not! The Palestinian leadership is to blame for 99% of the problems their people currently face and have faced throughout the decades prior to 2006!!

More Insight on the War of 1967 And The Myth of the Palestinian State

In June of 1967, Israel, learning of a certain attack upon her by her enemies, went to war after 19 years of continued skirmishes and acts of terrorism perpetrated against her by the Muslims. The result of the Six-Day War was Israel’s gaining control of the Jordan Valley and the West Bank, the Old City of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and the Sinai. Israel increased her land mass from 8,000 square miles to 26,000 square miles. During the war, the refugees in the Jordan Valley fled across the Jordan Rier into Jordan and those in the Golan fled into Syria, with most in the Gaza Strip fleeing to Egypt.

Sad as it was, they were not welcomed and rather than being accepted became the lowest class among the people. Palestinian Arabs have actually been fed a steady diet of hatred, anger, and vengeance. They have been told the Jews are responsible for their every problem similarly as many blacks have been told the whites are responsible for theirs! The answer in the mind of the Muslim world today is to kill as many Jews as they can at all cost. The Muslim world operates on the same system as many historical revisionists in America today, and that is, if you tell a lie often enough it becomes true!

The world is clamoring today for a Palestinian State. What is incredible is that this myth has been and is being spread by people who should know better, including MANY in the church world! Because the church has stuck its head in the sand and been willfully ignorant of the information this study seeks to share it’s no wonder that a mythical state has already been recognized by the U.N. and given observer status.

Amazingly this mythical state had a recognized president in the late Yasser Arafat and currently boasts of one today who leads the world’s foremost terrorist organization – Hamas. Arafat was never elected. New Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was. Arafat was awarded ambassadorial status in several nations who pledged millions of dollars of financial support to the Palestinian people. That support never found its way to the true needs of the people but lined Arafat’s pockets prior to his death over many years.

Going back to 1947, we know from history that Britain had made two sets of territorial promises during World War I; one promise to the Jews and one promise to the Muslims. The British sought to keep their promise to the Muslims while repeatedly violating the ones made to the Jews. It was clear to everyone the Arabs were being favored as nearly 20 new Arab states were carved out of the former Turkish Empire while at the same time the land mass promised to the Jews was being reduced dramatically.

Of the land originally promised to Israel, only one-fifth was actually given, while the other 78 percent was given to what is now JORDAN. Yet, in spite of this obvious retraction of both Britain’s promise and that of the League of Nations, the Israelis accepted this. Yet, in spite of Israel’s willingness to accept this small portion, peace did not come and Muslims attacked!

Why did Britain retract and betray Israel in 1947? Because during the 1930s, as Adolph Hitler was coming into power in Germany, nearly 100,000 German Jews fled to what was then Palestine. The Muslim population did not like this large influx of Jews and began murderous anti-Jewish campaigns lasting some three years. The British, anxious to gain the support of the Muslim population against the Nazis, stopped the Jewish immigration through the now infamous “British White Paper,” and condemned 6 million Jews to their deaths in Hitler’s gas chambers. Europe was killing them, America would take them in a very very limited number, and now Palestine closed to them as well. The Jewish leadership clamored for an end to this blockade into Palestine.

Due to the fact that over six million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis (a historical truth denied to this day by the Muslim world), the Jewish leaders demanded the end of the British Mandate and their own state. The Muslims likewise wanted the British out but instead demanded the entire area of Palestine to be one nation with an Arab majority. This matter was hotly debated in the newly formed United Nations and the vote was in favor of the Jewish state. God had used a horrible tragedy in 1938-1945 to bring about the will of the nations to find the Jewish people a home.

However, there were numerous problems with the proposed territory since it comprised only 22% of the originally promised land. In addition, it was ten partitioned into two states – one Jewish and one Arab – somewhat similar to what is there today some 58 years later.

The area to be Jewish was made up of three disconnected regions largely desert with over 600 miles of indefensible frontier. Biblical Judea, Samara, Gaza and much of the Galilee region were taken away. The Old City of Jerusalem was itself to become an international city within the Palestinian state. As heartbreaking as this was to the Jewish people, the leadership accepted this U.N. plan and on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence of the new State of Israel. This compromise again, an incredible concession on Israel’s part, STILL DID NOT BRING the desired peace!

The Arabs rejected the Partition Plan, demanding all the land. Therefore, on May 15 the armies of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, along with contingents of several other Muslim countries, attacked the one-day-old state. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Yasser Arafat’s uncle, was quoted as announcing, “I declare a Jihad (holy war), my Muslim brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all!” This same Grand Mufti is known to have met with Hitler many times during the Holocaust a few years prior giving the German madman as much information possible to assist Germany in its genocidal vision for European Jewry.

History reveals this attempt by evil to annihilate the Jews failed once again. God had promised a return to the land and because of this God was and is going to preserve the Jews in the land till Jesus comes! After nearly a year the war ended but without recognition on the part of the Muslim world of Israel’s right to be in the land! Jordan moved to annex Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem on its own.

The obvious result would be years of hatred with these areas becoming breeding grounds from which to launch terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. The irony of this was that now instead of the Palestinians having their own state, the Jordanians and the Egyptians occupied and controlled the land that had been offered to them. The Palestinians were isolated in refugee camps and kept as a subjugated people by their very own relatives!

The Land For Peace Failure

Isaiah 57:21
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

The “land for peace” formula has NEVER WORKED and WILL NEVER WORK! The true motivation behind the quest for a modern Palestinian state is the extermination of the Jews. If this were not true then answer this, “Why must the Muslims have this tiny piece of land, when there are 32 Muslim nations with a land mass of more tan 672 times the size of Israel with unlimited oil reserves?”

The Muslim nations are more than twice the size in America, while Israel would fit in the peninsula between Orlando and Miami, Florida. Another illustration is that Israel is no longer than the state of New Jersey. In spite of it all, the motivation is DEMONIC and giving more land will not resolve or end the conflict. (By the way, it is hypocritical for America to insist the Jews give up their land, unless Americans are willing to give America back to the Indians)

One of the major stumbling blocks in ANY attempted peace plan will be Jerusalem. We plan to have separate messages on Jerusalem itself but it must be stated here that Jerusalem was NEVER an Arab Muslim or Palestinian capital. Jerusalem has been an occupied city since 63 B.C. Jerusalem was nothing more than a provincial city under foreign control that played practically no economic, social, or political role in the region since its destruction under Titus in AD 70.

Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible and has been at the HEART of the Jewish race for nearly 3,000 years. In contrast to this fact, Jerusalem is not even mentioned in the Koran, the Muslim book of lies men call holy. I repeat it again: JERUSALEM IS NOT MENTIONED EVEN ONCE IN THE KORAN. As to the idea of East Jerusalem being the capital of a Palestinian state, one must remember there as NO East Jerusalem until the Jordanians illegally annexed this area in 1948 and drove all Jews out.

In addition, the Muslims began the process of systematically destroying all of the Jewish and Christian holy sites, attempting to erase the very roots of Jewish history for the last 3,000 years. The Muslims speak often of their holy sites in Jerusalem, but the fact is THERE ARE NONE! How then did Jerusalem become the often stated third most holy city in Islam after Mecca and Medina? In the Koran, Sura 17:1, it speaks of “Al Aska” which according to Alfred Guildaume, a researcher of Islam, translates to, the farthest mosque and does not refer to Jerusalem but to a mosque in al-Girana on the outskirts of Medina.

It should be noted that when this Sura was written there was no mosque in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount named Al Aksa or anything else. Supposedly it was from this distant place Mohammed ascended into heaven on his winged horse, El Baruk. This story comes from the 17th Sura (chapter and verse in Koran) reads, “From the sacred temple to the temple that is remote, whose precinct we have blessed that we might show him our signs.”

As a result of this alleged event, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in particular have become holy to Islam. However, bear in mind there is no more evidence supporting this story than there is that New York City was that place!

The Dome of the Rock, built by Abd-al-Malik between 687 and 691 was built on the location of the Jewish Temple. The Al Aska mosque was built by Caliph Wood, Malik’s son, between 709 and 715, and was built upon the foundation of a Byzantine church and still follows the general lines of a basilica.

The point to all of this is simple: the Muslims have no valid claim to any site in the Jerusalem since both of the places are located in place of ancient Jewish and Christian sites, which PREDATE Islam hundreds of years. In addition it should be noted there is absolutely no historical evidence that Mohammed ever visited Jerusalem before his death in AD 632. A companion study to this series on the Land, “The Ancient Hatred,” will take an in-depth look at Islam’s view of the Jews, the Church, the Land and Jerusalem. But it is extremely important to know here in this study how Jerusalem fits into the scheme of things concerning the Arab world.

The Arabs don’t “care,” about Jerusalem; it is just another ploy and tool to pressure Israel to make concessions so the Arab world can draw closer to its ultimate goal – the destruction of the nation of Israel. Our study, “The Rise of the Islamic Beast,” deals with the Antichrist’s role in the last days pertaining to Israel. The Antichrist is more than likely going to be a MUSLIM who will give the Arab world a point of unity as he will fulfill the Arab world’s dream – conquer Jerusalem and destroy the Jews.

Hamas and Nakba Day – The Palestinian Mourning of Israel’s Existence

New Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who has visited Iran often since Hamas’ election in January, says the current negotiations with Hamas, one of the primary Palestinian obligations under the road map for peace is to affirm Israel’s right to exist in peace and security. The news media has tried its best to paint Hamas in a positive vein hinting the terrorist group is “leaning” toward recognizing Israel and giving up terror. How then does one interpret Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s description (Jerusalem Post, May 15, 2005) of the decision to create a Jewish state in 1948 as a crime?

While Israelis celebrate the 58th anniversary of their independence this month (2006), Abbas and other Palestinians were mourning the establishment of Israel on what they call Nakba Day. Had the Palestinians and the Arab states accepted the partition resolution in 1947, the State of Palestine would have also been celebrating its birthday, and Palestinians would not be lamenting Al Nakba (“The Catastrophe”).

Palestinians are understandably bitter about their history over these last six decades, but we are often told that what they object to today is the “occupation” of the territories Israel captured in 1967. If that is true, then why isn’t their Nakba Day celebrated each June on the anniversary of the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War?

The reason is that the Palestinians consider the creation of Israel the original sin, and their focus on that event is indicative of a refusal, even today, to reconcile themselves with the Jewish State. Abbas’s comments on the occasion of Israel’s 57th birthday, along with those by then PA Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, who said “our wound is still bleeding 57 years later,” hardly inspires confidence in their willingness to end the conflict with Israel (Jerusalem Post, May 15, 2005).

And Hamas, which now controls the Palestinian legislature, has never left any doubt about its refusal to accept Israel’s existence. Since winning the election, officials and spokesmen have repeatedly expressed their unwavering commitment to the Hamas Covenant’s call for the destruction of Israel. Meshaal just recently formed Hamas’ security forces with nothing but militants over the opposition of America diplomats and Israel negotiators.

Another disturbing aspect of Nakba Day (May 15, 2006) was that traffic stopped and people stood straight and silent as sirens of mourning sounded, intentionally mimicking the Israeli practice on Holocaust Remembrance Day. This was an insidious way to make the odious comparison between the Holocaust and the creation of Israel. The Palestinians elected Hamas and despite the feeling of some that the government does not recognize the feelings of the “people,” this writer reminds them that the people had a choice and ELECTED this group. I submit to you that Hamas totally reflects the feelings of the Palestinian people. On the day after 9-11-2001 it was not the government officials dancing in the streets of the West Bank thanking “allah” for what happened to New York and Washington. It was the PEOPLE! To say it again, there is no doubt in this writer’s mind that the views of Hamas are the views of the people.

America’s Ten Year Peace Process Failure

Joel 3:1-3
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, [2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. [3] And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Zech. 2:8-9
For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye. [9] For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.

America is now experiencing the consequences (curses) of Middle East policies that have ultimately led to the propping up of a terrorist region next door to Israel. If the Palestinians get a state then in this writer’s opinion all of what we did in Iraq will be a total lesson in hypocrisy. Our purpose in Iraq was to remove a dictator who was capable of supporting terrorists and destroying Israel. What do we think a Palestinian state will be like? It will be full of people who will support terrorism and want to destroy Israel.

Ever since the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991, the United States’ participation in Israel’s destiny has been flawed when put in context of God’s Word. The events of 9-11-2001 should have been and were a national wake-up call. However, instead of it waking us up it only has embolden our leaders in Washington to continue pursuing the doomed “Road Map,” for peace and forming what is known as the “Quartet,” in 2003. These issues will be discussed more in detail in the next lesson/message in this sermon series. The Road Map affirms and seeks to facilitate a “land for peace,” approach that we hope this lesson has showed in a small way that has never worked since Israel’s formation in 1948. It will NEVER WORK friend; NEVER.

As I close this message, let me say this to sum up the real issue. Even if the Arab World DID want peace, which it doesn’t, the land is STILL not Israel or America’s to negotiate with or give away through peace negotiations. If we continue to do this, we can expect to experience the further lifting of the Lord’s protective hand in an even greater measure.

Joel 3:2
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

It is a fact that Israel’s very existence is in grave danger because of our nation’s sponsorship of “land for peace” plans which have led Israel not to peace, but to the brink of war. God is warning has warned us time and time again since 1991, and continues to warn us today through warning judgments, that the path America is taking is wrong concerning Israel. Zechariah pre-warned us about this time in history 2,500 years ago:

Zech. 12:3
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Zech. 12:9
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

America needs to listen to the words of God concerning the land; ISRAEL needs to heed the word of the living God concerning the land. We have set before us a blessing or a curse. Which will we choose? Praise God.