Shalom Partner and Friend of Israel,

One Century ago, Israel was a dream - Half a Century ago, Israel became a reality - today, Israel is a miracle!

There is much about the Arabs in Bible prophecy, but the Bible is relatively silent about Islam, that is because it never existed until the 7^th Century AD. Jerusalem is surrounded by a hostile Islamic war machine on every side; Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. These Islamic nations, that border the tiny nation of Israel, are currently experiencing unprecedented instability and upheaval. While we all witnessed the lies of the once so-called ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011, which was brought on and supported by the previous US president Obama and his administration today has failed to produce democratic reforms. Violence against Jews and Christians with hatred toward Israel and the West has only increased. The radical Islamic group ISIS was formed during Obama’s presidency and so-called Islamic Caliphate in Syria, and today Iraq, Syria and Libya are in chaos - overtaken by Islamists and Sharia law. A bloody war between Muslim sects persists in Syria, while Hamas fires rockets into Israel from Gaza and Hezbollah menaces Israel from Southern Lebanon, Iran is fiercely building nuclear weapons to “wipe Israel off the map!” It is very evident that a major war is being kindled between Israel and her Muslim adversaries. Simply speaking Obama had left chaos in the Middle East!

What is a 5^th Column…? A fifth column is a group of people who act traitorously and subversively out of a secret sympathy with an enemy of their country or any group of people who undermine a larger group …such as a nation or a besieged city - from within - usually in favour of an enemy group or nation. The activities of a 5^th column can be “overt” or “clandestine.” Forces gathered in secret can mobilize openly to assist an external attack. This term is also extended to organized actions by military personnel. Also “clandestine fifth column” activities can involve acts of sabotage, dis-information, or espionage executed within defence lines by secret sympathizers with an external force.

The methods the 5^th Column applies in its activities include infiltration into the fabric of society, especially the political class, and the spreading of dis-information, rumours and lies to demoralize society. An example to this history recalls Franco sympathizers in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War: so, called in allusion to a statement in 1930’s that the insurgents had 4 columns marching on Madrid and a 5^th column of sympathizers in the city ready to rise and betray it. These were people willing to cooperate with an aggressor from within against their own country. As the Spanish Civil War was coming to a close, in 1939, General Mola was making his final plans to attack Madrid. Someone asked him which of his 4 columns would be the first to enter the city. He responded with the now famous words that “the 5^th C olumn” would be first. General Mola’s hopes were pinned on the help of rebel sympathizers living among the population inside the city of Madrid. They were already at work behind loyalist lines, aiding his cause and preparing for the overthrow of Madrid. Since this time, the phrase “the 5^th Column” has been used worldwide to describe traitors who assist the enemy from within.

As this term “5^th Column,” became popular during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939… four columns of insurgent forces approached Madrid, while a ‘fifth column’ of supporters was inside the city, seeking to undermine the Republican government from within! Another word for this would-be treason. The term was also used especially during World War II, referring to those partisan supporters of the Nazis or Japanese who lived within Allied nations. Thus, the 5^th Column (shadow government) refers to those who are working to subvert a nation from within by means of treason, espionage and sabotage, while armed forces seek to conquer it from without.

The 5^th Column – Liberalism… We have been thinking a lot lately of the events that have taken place in America and Europe. “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The Biblical term for “the 5^th Column” is “Apostate.” An apostate is someone who masquerades for a while within the body of believers - but eventually reveals his false belief. This is the one who says they know Christ and comes to church, but, at some point, announces they do not believe the Bible anymore …or everything that the Bible teaches us, leaves the church, and denies Christ for the rest of their lives …or simply continues to live a lie believing that by supporting abortion, homosexuality, adultery, the pagan religion of Islam etc. is okay with God …but these are things that God says He hates;  Proverbs 6:16-19; 12:22; 15:8-26; 17:15; Psalm 11:5; Leviticus 18:22-23; Malachi 1:-3; 2:14-16; Romans 9:13; Revelation 2:6, 15 ...and today we have a perfect example in what liberalism believe in and this “godless” compromising evil is on a rise in our time as never before!

Just as Satan will seek to counterfeit God the Father, the antichrist will attempt to counterfeit God the Son and the false prophet will attempt to counterfeit the Holy Spirit. In Genesis, we discover the original sin and mankind’s spiritual death through disobedience – no longer connected to God. However, we see God’s initiative in taking the lives of innocent animals and clothing Adam and Eve in their skins – a picture of sacrificial atonement that will be culminated in the final sacrifice, promised to Adam and Eve, the seed of the woman, the suffering Messiah who will crush the serpent’s head in final victory. In Genesis, we see the world was judged through a flood, and those left out of the ark are destroyed! By this flood, in one day – except for 8 people the rest of the world was destroyed! This sounds a lot like being “left behind” and just like this place our world soon is going to be judged, too! When we go back to Genesis, we have Satan, sin, atonement, grace, a promise, and a coming Messiah. The most important right now for all of us is to work fervently at our relationship with Yeshua (Jesus) today!

For the "Christian" to lean politically to the left means that they must blow off huge chunks of the Bible and replace Scripture with the make-believe notions of our Lord Yeshua (Jesus Christ). Only after torturing Scripture can a Christian then fit current liberalism into his supposed relationship with God. Modern liberalism tosses out Scripture on several different levels. How a true believer in Christ defined by Scripture can buy into what Yeshua (Jesus), the prophets and apostles said …and also give credence to what these secular liberals say is beyond us? Thus, today the Christian is between a rock and a hard place: He can either be a Christian or a liberal …but he cannot be both!

Liberalism and all of its flavours provide the necessary workings for the Biblical End Time events spoken of in the Bible to take place: 1 John 2:18-19 says; "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." The scripture speaks about those who had started in the faith but then veered to other teachings, not remaining true to the message that Christ had given for us to believe. Now many see one concept of the antichrist, which is a person who will rise up and lead many into following the devil. That would be an easy thing for many to look out for because his actions will be evident when he arrives. What has been taking place, however, since the time that the church began, is the mindset and spirit of the antichrist. All things that oppose the message of the Bible and its teachings about Christ are anti-Christ. Today liberalism have transformed from a viewpoint where man has been created with certain rights by God to one where man, should be completely separated from the authority of God, and the government will now fulfil the role of God. But it is a detour that had to be taken in order for the things of the end to take place!

Revelation speaks of a time when all the powers of the earth will fall prey to the rule of an institution of immorality - Liberalism embraces immorality in many forms; Abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and welfare are policies of liberalism that pits itself in direct opposition of Biblical teachings. There are those who profess to be Christian, yet at the same time support anti-Christian ideologies such as these. How easily it will be for these to accept the "mark" of the anti-Christ, as they have accepted the mind and the spirit of the anti-Christ. The saddest thing about this is that many Christians are not even aware that they have accepted anti-Christian beliefs. Liberalism and self-rule has convinced many to believe that it’s fashionable to reject, what it considers "out-of-date" ideologies of the Bibles. For the Christian that has not been bamboozled by liberalism the Bible is still the final word! Yeshua (Jesus) and His Apostles warned us of this time when the spirit of anti-Christian sentiments would be upon us and as we look at the world their prophecies are vividly coming to pass!

It is at this crucial time in the history of Biblical events that we must take heed to the things we embrace and believe for the spirit of the antichrist is at work in the world: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Daniel 7: 24-25; Revelation 13:3; 1 John 2-18-22; Revelation 13:5. "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world," 1 John 4:2-3.

Sadly, we in the church have failed to remind our generation that while God is love - but, He also has the capacity to hate. God hates sin, and He will judge it with the fierceness of His wrath. This generation is schooled in the teaching about an indulgent, soft-hearted God whose judgments are uncertain and who cuddles those who break His commandments and so they find it difficult to believe that God hates sin. God hates sin just as a father hates a rattlesnake that threatens the safety and life of his child. God loathes evil and diabolic forces that would pull people down to a "godless eternity" just as a mother hates a venomous spider that is found playing on the soft, warm flesh of her little baby. It is God’s love for man, His compassion for the human race, that prompts Him to hate sin with such a vengeance. He gave Heaven’s finest that we might have the best; and He loathes with a holy abhorrence anything that would hinder our being reconciled to Him. We are living in a day when men and women’s imaginations are evil in the sight of God. The Bible says that He hates this. No person with an evil imagination can inherit the Kingdom of God. God hates evil imaginations. They lead to habits, habits lead to bondage, and bondage leads to death: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

Many liberal politicians have become outright apologists for Islam and call for people to stop using even the term "radical Islam" because it is "offensive" to Muslims. They don’t want the word Islam attached to any act of terror and literally say Islam has nothing to do with it! How ridiculous! Liberalism treats Christianity as a hostile force while it cradles radical Islam against its bosom and whispers sweet lullabies in its ear. Liberals worry about the dreaded "Islamophobia" and supposed "anti-Muslim" hatred rampant in the west …but will shut down any mention of the hatred rampant in the Muslim religion. And there’s a lot of that sort of hatred to go around. 

The "traitor" from within...

"For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.…" Psalm 11:3-4.

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11 was written by King David when he was trying to be over thrown by his own son Absalom. You can find the story of Absalom in 2 Samuel chapters 13 -20. Treasonous betrayal comes like a "5^th Column" usually from within your closest circles. (Remember too that Yeshua (Jesus) was betrayed by Judas Iscariot who was in the Lord’s close circle) 2 Samuel 14:25, "But in all Israel, there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him." He used his good looks and charm to politically rise up against his father, David - to replace him as king. Absalom had many follow him out of the land of Judah …and they were ready to kill King David and to see him take the throne. David and his followers left Jerusalem when he got the word what his son Absalom intended to do …because, David didn’t want to have a battle there as he knew it would ruin the city that he loved so much. So, his advisors told him to flee to a mountainous region east of the Jordan River called Gilead. David wasn’t in the habit of running from anything or anybody …but, in order to regroup and keep from destroying Jerusalem, he did what they advised. In those days, Kings and leaders would have advisers and spy’s just as countries do today. When Absalom and his followers entered Jerusalem, everyone was gone except a few servants that David left to keep things clean. David had gotten word that Absalom had entered the city and David could see the corruption that would happen if his son got to be King. That’s why David said in Psalm 11:3, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

We can learn from this too and fight for our faith as believers in Christ! Because, there were enough followers of David’s son Absalom that they did crown him king while in Jerusalem …or so they thought - God is still on the throne! There was a great battle but, David won. David didn’t want his son killed! He stated that in 2 Samuel - but one of David’s captains killed his son Absalom and David grieved because of his death.

As Christians, we also remember Our Lord’s - Parable about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) recounting how the outwardly religious clerics (the priest and the Levite) passed the injured man in the road …but how the Samaritan proved to "be his neighbour" and care for him. The Lord rebukes the outwardly religious hypocrites and commends the Good Samaritan. When it comes to the current Syrian refugee crises, none of us want to be the hypocrite who turns his steps to the opposite side of road to avoid caring for an injured victim. However, we are NOT required by Christ to take victims that oppose our faith and our way of life and make them into our political heirs. We are NOT required to take them into our homes as the Good Samaritan also didn’t. When it comes to the Samaritan, he rightfully cares for the victim. But, when it comes to our nation and the threat of terrorism, false religious laws, and the danger to our children, military, and civic peace, we (like the Maccabees) are politically obliged to resist, protect, and expel…for the common good.

We all know children are the future of the world and the next generation. Sadly, most Muslim children are being taught hate and violence from an early age. Most people think Muslim children are only being taught this ideology in Gaza, "so-called Westbank" and throughout the Middle East. The vast majority of mosques in America, England, Europe and in fact most Western countries, teach hate and violence. There are several references in the Quran that inform Muslims to never take Christians and Jews as protectors and friends. The Sunni manual "Tafsir Ibn Kathir" is an excellent reference to what children are being taught in Islamic schools. Islamic leaders claim that Muslims who practice ‘Pure Islam’ have what is called ‘Black Hearts.’ These radical Muslims had no conscience, feelings, emotions, love or caring about anything or anyone aside from their god - Allah. Essentially, they have no souls. They have an empty heart. These people have NO feelings for even their own children; and willingly sacrifice them as suicide bombers and for Allah …and needless to say, they have no feelings for children who are not theirs either. It is just as easy for them to behead a neighbour child as it would be to behead even their own children. Children are simply a tool for them to use to achieve their ultimate goal of an Islamic Ummah (nation) under Shariah law.

Muslims worldwide read the same Quran and support violence, murder and hatred against Israel and the West and Shariah law. Even surveys meant to show a drop-in support for terrorism among Muslims still reveal vast percentages of inhabitants in every Muslim country who favour suicide bombings. Indonesia is often cited as the most moderate Muslim nation, but 10 percent of its citizens justify the act of blowing yourself up to kill innocent people for Allah. Can you imagine if 10 percent of Christians in any given country thought it appropriate to strap explosives to their chests and murder civilians? Liberals would NOT hesitate to pin such a problem on Christianity itself!

Then how can it be explained? Why does the left tolerate radical Islam while waging such a sustained assault on Christianity, despite the fact that radical Muslims are far more dangerous than Jews or Christians? What’s the driving force behind this? Shouldn’t liberalism hate Islam at least as much as it hates Christianity? Shouldn’t they treat Islam with at least as much scepticism? Shouldn’t they be at least as vocal in its protests? At least as vicious in their denouncements and in their mockery of the West? Yes, it should, but it isn’t! Why? Liberalism is, then, nothing more than a protest against Christianity. It hates what is Christian and embraces or tolerates whatever is not. With this in mind, it makes sense that the modern liberal attacks Christianity while justifying Islam. First of all, attacking Christianity is literally the sole purpose of liberals to begin with. Second, on a deeper and probably subconscious level, liberals find kinship in any enemy of the one true faith.

Radical Muslims and radical liberals are both radically hostile to the truth of Christ …and in that sense, they have almost everything in common. The radical Muslim may choose to wage an assault on that truth by killing those who profess it …and the radical liberal may choose only to mock and belittle them, but fundamentally they have the same impossible goal; the destruction and dissolution of Jews and Christians! Radical liberals are mostly; Atheists, anti-Israel, anti-Christ, anti-Bible, anti-Evangelicals …but they support the Islamic Muslim cause, Homosexuality, abortions, and are against anyone wanting to live their lives according to Godly Biblical principles. Just as ISIS and Radical Muslims destroy monuments or anything Biblical or relating to past history by Jew or Christian so too we see radical liberals removing historical or Biblical monuments, and are trying to change history to suite their agenda! Sadly, many American Jews are liberals who don’t support Israel as true Bible Believing Evangelical Christians do!

The attempt by Islam to work as a 5^th Column to win over the West… There are violent Jihadists who are doing their best to destroy the West by suicide bombings and acts of terror. But, there are also 5^th Columnists actively at work, seeking to subvert a free West from within! These 5^th Columnists also come in the form of so-called “moderate” Muslims, those who seek to argue that Islam is really a religion of peace, and that Muhammad was really quiet a nice sort of person, and all Muslims are quite happy to live and let live with Christians and other ‘infidels.’ Now it is true that there are some Muslims who abhor religious violence and who want nothing to do with the radical Islamists …but, there are also many radical Muslims who are quite happy to assume the posture of so-called “moderate” Muslims in order to win over a gullible and naïve West. Remember both these groups read the same Quran and this is all part of a deliberate strategy. Indeed, many Muslims are quite adept at exploiting Western weaknesses, by seeking to present Islam as just another benign religion, with no hostile intent or imperialistic aims. Part and parcel of the 5^th Column strategy is the practice of “taqiyya.” The Arabic word for “taqiyya” means; deception, dissimilation or concealment. Both in their Quran and their Hadith (Islamic teachings), the term refers to lying to, and deceiving, the enemies of Islam.

Muslims cannot and will not assimilate into Western Judeo Christian countries… Why? Because, Muslims explicitly affirm that Muhammad is the last Prophet of God. Muslims explicitly affirm that our Lord, Yeshua (Jesus) is certainly not the Son of God. These two Muslim affirmations place all Muslims in theological contradiction with Christians who profess Yeshua as the Son of God and consequently conclude that Allah is a “False god” and Muhammad was a “false prophet!” For the majority of global Muslims, the mandate to erect Shariah law in every human government is a doctrine of Islam and Muslims must in accord with their conscience pursue this theological belief that Shariah law must be proclaimed in Western societies (Europe, USA, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand - etc.)! Muslims are bound by conscience to erect Shariah law in our and your nation. This is a bad thing for Christians and Jews at best it means being taxed at a higher rate (the Muslim “Jizya tax” on infidels). At worse it means death!

While Islam, Judaism and Christianity claim belief in one God… the God of the Bible and Allah of the Quran are NOT one and the same! "Islam begins and ends with the concept that there is no god but Allah. Whilst the Arabic word "Allah" means "God," the fact that Allah is pictured in the Quran as so distant, abstract and transcendent as to be unknowable helps to show that Allah is NOT just another name for our God in the Bible as some mistakenly believe. Our Creator, Yahweh – God, has revealed His personhood and merciful, compassionate nature in His Word. In contrast to the Muslim view of Allah …the God of the Bible is knowable! In Jeremiah 9:24; "But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, said the LORD!" Here God says, "But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me." Yeshua (Jesus Christ) said in His prayer to the Father not long before His suffering and death on behalf of mankind, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent, And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent," John 17:3

Not only are Islamic radical fundamentalist actively working to destroy the West …but today we face Western political and cultural leaders and movements actually working as a 5^th Column to these foreign influences that would destroy Western civilization. By choosing "political correctness" over "Biblical correctness" and facing the hard facts of reality - we are willingly participating in our own downfall and simply don't want to confront Islam and the moral cancers that are primarily responsible for our current moral and cultural decline.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that refusing to take in Muslim migrants is a "danger for Europe." Merkel as usual had it backward. It’s her program of taking in Muslim migrants that represents the gravest threat to the freedom and future of Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union. Frantically trying to shift the burden she has caused Germany she rebuked Eastern European countries for their nationalism and failing to learn from history …even though as a former Communist and a German leader, she represents the two political forces that historically did the most to deprive these nations of their national rights and their independence. Merkel invokes the Berlin Wall to claim that fences don’t work. But the Berlin Wall kept people from leaving! The fences that Hungary has built are constructed in self-defence, not to keep Hungarians in, but to keep invading Muslims out. It’s Merkel whose EU totalitarianism represents a new Berlin Wall that mandates open borders for Muslim migrants while preventing countries from leaving the EU!

The Israeli West Bank barrier wall, when finished, will run for more than 640 km (400 miles) and will consist of trenches, security roads, electronic fences, and concrete walls. Its main goal is to stop terrorists from detonating themselves in restaurants and cafes and buses in the cities and towns of central Israel. The Israeli fence is very efficient as the number of fatalities from terror attacks within Israel dropped to 90%. Certainly, the West can learn from Israel! When Merkel states; “The refugees won’t be stopped if we just build fences; “That I’m deeply convinced of, and I’ve lived behind a fence for long enough.” She is not only deliberately mangling the moral difference between a fence that keeps invaders out and a fence that keeps people in, …but her own complicity in these fences. East Germany needed a fence because people wanted to flee its totalitarian regime. The European Union needs political fences to keep countries from escaping its political regime. The choice isn’t between open borders and the Berlin Wall, …but rather the open borders that Merkel advocates are another form of the Berlin Wall. Communist countries don’t make immigration difficult, they make emigration impossible. Free countries make immigration difficult, but emigration easy. That’s how democracy is supposed to work. It allows the people of a nation to decide who can enter while allowing anyone to leave. Merkel’s EU brings back the USSR’s ‘Prison of Nations’ where everyone can enter, but no one can leave! Merkel warns European countries that refusing Muslim immigrants is “not negotiable.” This is the type of language that totalitarian regimes use. Europeans are told that they will lose their credibility if they don’t take in Muslims. “Who are we to defend Christians around the world if we say we won’t accept a Muslim or a mosque in our country?” Merkel asks and says; “That won’t do!” But, taking in Muslims has prevented Germans from defending Christians even in their own country, not only in the Middle East! Merkel may have already doomed Germany. Merkel’s allies claim that she deserves the Nobel Prize – maybe she does just like Hitler and Stalin were both nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has done more damage to Germany and Europe than any leader since these two before her had.

Though the historical contexts of these two events are centuries apart from one another… we can’t help but ask what lessons the Hanukkah story might bring to bear on the sorrows of Syria today. Syrian government forces after brutal long years of battle with so-called rebel groups and the carnage in a war that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and has created millions of refugees into the West and internally displaced the Syrians.

The beginning of the war can be traced back to the Obama Administration’s "so-called Arab Spring" of 2011, when protests erupted in southern Syria. Government security forces opened fire, killing several protesters. Soon there were nationwide protests demanding President Assad’s resignation. By July 2011, hundreds of thousands were taking to the streets across the country and as the violence escalated, the country descended into a civil war. Rebel groups were formed to battle Syrian government forces for control of Damascus, cities, towns and the countryside. While many committed to the fall of the Assad regime continue to view this war as a revolution against an oppressive ruler, others characterize it as a sectarian civil war between forces that serve as proxies of larger world powers — i.e., Russia and Iran on the side of the Assad regime and the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in support of certain rebel forces. The crisis is further complicated by the presence of jihadi elements in various rebel groups. ISIS had now "suddenly" appeared on the scene as the new Al-Qaeda (who according to Obama ISIS only a Junior Varsity team and al-Qeada was no more) …and now Syria has a 5^th Column of radical Islam takeover forming their "so-called" Islamic Caliphate.

So how did al-Qaeda surge back as ISIS? Al-Qaeda in Iraq grew in strength in 2006 so that it controlled much of the massive Anbar province in western Iraq. At the beginning of 2007, Bush authorized a surge of new troops and brought in a new commander, David Petraeus. Allied with a movement of Sunni tribesmen angered by al-Qaeda known as "the Awakening," U.S. troops had largely destroyed al-Qaeda from Iraq by 2008. Elements of what would become ISIS travelled from Iraq into Syria to fight against Assad. Those forces gained strength in Syria, which they drew upon when they re-entered Iraq as a reinvigorated force in 2013, seizing much of Anbar a year later as well as Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. The world now was a more dangerous place and Europe infiltration of Muslim refugees with ISIS sympathisers seeking to destroy and conquer the West!

So now to return to our original point, the story of the Maccabees - what on earth could this present day Syrian crisis have to do with events that took place in the Assyrian Seleucid Empire of 168 BC? Antiochus IV Epiphanies was the eighth in a succession of twenty-six kings who ruled from 175—164 BC over the Syrian section of Alexander’s empire. The ruler of the Syrian kingdom, Antiochus Epiphanies IV, stepped up his campaign to annihilate Judaism, so that all subjects in his vast empire - which included the Land of Israel would share the same culture and worship the same pagan gods. He marched into Jerusalem, vandalized the Temple, erected an idol on the altar, and desecrated its holiness with the blood of swine (pigs). Decreeing that studying Torah – the first five books of Bible (Moses), observing the Sabbath, and circumcising Jewish boys were punishable by death, He sent Syrian overseers and soldiers to villages throughout Judea to enforce the edicts and force Jews to engage in idol worship. When the Syrian soldiers reached Modi’in (about 15 miles or 25km northwest of Jerusalem), they demanded that the local leader, Mattathias the Kohein (a member of the priestly class), be an example to his people by sacrificing a pig on a portable pagan altar. The elder refused and killed not only the Jew who stepped forward to do the Syrian’s bidding, but also the king’s representative. With the rallying cry “Whoever is for God, follow me!” Mattathias and his five sons (Jonathan, Simon, Judah, Eleazar, and Yohanan) fled to the hills and caves of the wooded Judean wilderness. Joined by a ragtag army of others like them, simple farmers dedicated to the Word of God (laws of Moses in the Bible), armed only with spears, bows and arrows, and rocks from the terrain, the Maccabees, as Mattathias’ sons, particularly Judah, came to be known, fought a guerrilla war against the well-trained, well-equipped, seemingly endless forces of the mercenary Syrian army. In three years, the Maccabees cleared the way back to the Temple Mount, which they reclaimed. They cleaned the Temple and dismantled the defiled altar and constructed a new one in its place. Three years to the day after Antiochus’ mad rampage (Kislev 25, 165 BCE), the Maccabees held a “Dedication” – “Hanukkah” of the Temple rekindling of the golden Menorah and eight days of celebration and praise to God. Jewish worship had been re-established in the Temple, Yahweh, the God of the Bible is worshipped ...unlike Syria today where an Islamic jihad is taking place in the name of Muslim pagan god, Allah.

Just as the ancient nation of Israel was freed by the Maccabees from the brutal regime of the Antiochus IV Epiphanies, a type of Old Testament Antichrist - so will the modern nation of Israel will be saved from the atrocious world system of the New Testament Antichrist by our soon coming Saviour and "Deliverer" - YESHUA (Jesus Christ) (Romans 11:26).

There are other parallels in the conquests and atrocities of the Old Testament Antichrist Antiochus IV Epiphanies …and the final Antichrist presented in the New Testament. And as in the days of Israel of old, many men and women across the world today are thinking and doing what is right in their own eyes and choosing wrongly (Judges 17:6) - Biblical standards are first ridiculed and then largely abandoned. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah foresaw this aspect of our tragic human condition today: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness. . ." Isaiah 5:20. Our Creator God makes His own views known through His Word of truth and judgments, which endure forever (Psalm 119:60).

We most sincerely believe that God WILL bless you for your faithfulness and love for His land and His chosen people. God’s Word is true! He IS watching to see how the nations are treating His people. God will have mercy on Israel through Gentile believers acting as mediators towards them… This is one of the most amazing revelations ever given to the church – an opportunity to do something that carries the highest priority in the heart of God. Yet… sadly, so few have seen the potential and the rewards of serving God in this manner - as agents of mercy to Israel and the Jewish people! Israel was and still is despised today… and a despisable nation continually turning away from God but nothing ever altered the purpose of God for that nation. The despised element is always a noticeable element in the purpose of God. When the Saviour of the world came, He came of that despised nation; like Israel… He Himself was "despised and rejected by men," …and there is that despised element, "…things that are despised God has chosen," 1 Corinthians 1:28. Now more than at any time is the time to support Israel and the Jewish people - the Lord’s Brethren! We are witnessing the nations and people turning their backs on Israel. T

hank you for your prayers and generous support!

We hope that you enjoy and become more informed by our work. We serve an awesome God and we are humbled by this opportunity to bring you this information. With Shalom to you and your family always,

Alf & Julie Saunders

01^st July, 2017

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