Home > Prophecies > Middle East > Israel
The Knesset
Garden of Gethsemane
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Rabbi Herzl Shaubi
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Israel
Capital: Jerusalem
Population: 7,821,850 (July 2014 est.) - Note: approximately 341,400 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank (2012); approximately 18,900 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2012); approximately 196,400 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2011) Ethnic groups: Jewish 75.1% (of which Israel-born 73.6%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 17.9%, Africa-born 5.2%, Asia-born 3.2%), non-Jewish 24.9% (mostly Arab) (2012 est.) Religions: Jewish 75.1%, Muslim 17.4%, Christian 2%, Druze 1.6%, other 3.9% (2012 est.) |
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On March 25, 2010 at 0110hrs., Dr. Jonathan Hansen received this word for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-12 (KJV) "Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree...Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant." Dear Mr. Prime Minister as God sent Men of God (Prophets) in the Torah to give a Word from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so God on May 24, 2010 spoke this to you: Do not let Obama nor other nations cause you to divide Jerusalem for Peace. This Peace is a lie! You will be plotted, conspired against both as the Prime Minister and as a Nation. The ultimate goal is to destroy Israel. To wipe the people of Israel off the face of the earth because they represent God's (Jehovah's) claim and right of the land and the right to rule! Mr. Prime Minister, if you refuse to buckle under the pressures of this evil peace treaty, I the Lord God of Israel will deliver you and your family from torment, disease and death regardless of what the rest of the Israeli leadership forces on you. If my people Israel will reject the pressures of the world's spirit to divide Jerusalem, I the Lord will fight for them and they will see many supernatural manifestations as your fathers did recorded in the Torah. If not everything prophesied in Zachariah will come to pass? Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-12 (NIV) "This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree." And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant- these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." The Sovereign LORD declares--he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered." Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest! Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. "Come," each one cries, "let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better." Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-12 (NASB) "Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed. "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, "Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered." All you beasts of the field, All you beasts in the forest, Come to eat. His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one. "Come," they say, "let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so." Israel in Bible Prophecy:
Genesis 15:17-18 "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 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" Ezekiel 36:1-8 "Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, "Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:" Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come." Ezekiel 37:21-23 "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God." Zechariah 1:14-15 "So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction." Zechariah 2:8 "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." Zechariah 8:2-8 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. Zechariah 12:2-10 "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 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. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. 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 LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 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. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." History of Israel:
Biblical historians date the kingdom from 1020 B.C. to 930 B.C. In around 1020 B.C., the tribes united to form the first united Kingdom of Israel. Samuel anointed Saul from the tribe of Benjamin as the first king, but it was David who created a strong unified Israelite monarchy. David established Jerusalem as its national capital. Before then, Hebron had been the capital of Judah. Before that, Gibeah had been the capital under Saul. Under Solomon, Israel experienced peace and prosperity. Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon's successor, Rehoboam, dealt tactlessly with complaints of the northern tribes leading to the united Kingdom of Israel splitting into two kingdoms: the northern Kingdom of Israel, which included Shechem and Samaria, and the southern Kingdom of Judah, which contained Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Israel existed as an independent state until 722 B.C. when it was conquered by the Assyrian Empire. The Kingdom of Judah existed as an independent state until 586 B.C. when it was conquered by Babylon and the First Temple was destroyed. Jerusalem was restored to Hebrew rule by Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, in the 6th century B.C. The Temple was rebuilt (538-515 B.C.) by Zerubbabel, governor of Jerusalem, under the Persians. After a brief halt due to opposition, work building the temple resumed in 521 B.C. under the Persian king Darius. The Second Temple was completed during the sixth year of Darius' reign. The temple dedication took place the following year. Syrian ruler, Antiochus IV, profaned the Temple by dedicating it to the Greek god Zeus in 167 B.C. and began religious persecution. Judas Maccabeus defeated an expedition sent from Syria to destroy him and re-consecrated the Temple in 165 B.C. The feast of Hanukkah celebrates this event. After Jerusalem had been taken for the Romans by Pompey, it became the capital of the Herod dynasty. Herod the Great renovated the Temple around 19 B.C., which became known as Herod's Temple. The Roman emperor Titus destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D. After the revolt of Bar Kokba (132-35 A.D.), Hadrian rebuilt the city as a pagan shrine called Aelia Capitolina. Jews were forbidden to live in Jerusalem at that time. Palestine became a center of Christian pilgrimage after the "conversion" of emperor Constantine. Constantine's mother, Helena, sponsored much building in the early 4th century. The Arabs took Palestine from the Byzantine empire in 634-640. In the 11th century, the Fatimids began to hinder Christian pilgrims. They destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Crusades followed. Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099 and for most of the 12th century was the capital of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1187, Muslims under Saladin recaptured Jerusalem. Muslims ruled Palestine until the 20th century. Jews began settling in Palestine as early as 1820. The effort to establish a Jewish homeland received British approval in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. During World War I, British forces defeated the Turks and governed the area under a League of Nations mandate from 1923. During the 1930s, Jews persecuted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis poured into Palestine. The British mandate to govern Palestine ended after World War II. In 1947, the UN voted to partition Palestine. When the British withdrew on May 14, 1948, the Jewish National Council proclaimed the State of Israel. On May 15, 1948, Arab forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded Israel. Israel had increased its territory by 50% through a cease-fire agreement on January 7, 1949, taking western Galilee, a corridor through central Palestine, and part of modern Jerusalem. Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion became Israel's first president and prime minister. The new government was admitted to the United Nations on May 11, 1949. Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956 and barred Israeli shipping. Coordinating with an Anglo-French force, Israeli troops seized the Gaza Strip and drove through the Sinai to the east bank of the Suez Canal, but withdrew under U.S. and UN pressure. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel made simultaneous air attacks against Syrian, Jordanian, and Egyptian air bases. At the cease-fire, Israel held the Golan Heights, the West Bank, Jerusalem's Old City, all of the Sinai, and the east bank of the Suez Canal. The fourth Arab-Israeli war erupted on October 6, 1973, with a surprise Egyptian and Syrian assault on Yom Kippur. On November 9, 1977, Egypt's president Anwar Sadat declared his willingness to talk about reconciliation. On November 15, Prime Minister Menachem Begin invited President Sadat to address the Knesset. On March 14, 1979, the Knesset approved a final peace treaty. Begin and Sadat signed the document together with President Jimmy Carter in a White House ceremony. Israel withdrew its last settlers from the Sinai in April 1982. On June 9, 1982, Israel launched an assault on southern Lebanon where the Palestinian Liberation Organization was entrenched. The PLO had plagued Israelis with acts of terrorism. Israel destroyed PLO strongholds in Tyre and Sidon and reached the suburbs of Beirut on June 10. A U.S.-mediated accord was signed on May 17, 1983. Israel withdrew its troops from Beirut. Lebanon, under pressure from Syria, canceled the accord in March 1984. Palestinians living on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip fomented riots begun in 1987, known as the Intifada. In 1988, the leader of the PLO, Yasir Arafat, acknowledged Israel's right to exist. Arafat stated his willingness to enter negotiations to create a Palestinian political entity that would coexist with the Israeli state. In 1991, Israel was struck by Iraqi missiles during the Persian Gulf War. In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became prime minister. Rabin halted Israeli settlement of the occupied territories. Secret talks in Norway resulted in the Oslo Accord between the PLO and Israel in 1993. The accord stipulated a five-year plan in which Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip would gradually become self-governing. Arafat became president of the Palestinian Authority. On November 4, 1995, Prime Minister Rabin was slain by Yigal Amir, a Zionist who opposed Rabin's peace initiative. Shimon Peres succeeded him. In May 1996 elections, Benjamin Netanyahu became the prime minister. Terrorism erupted in 1997 when Hamas suicide bombers killed more than 20 Israeli civilians. Netanyahu and Arafat settled several interim issues at an October 1998 summit at Wye Mills, MD. The peace agreement began unraveling almost immediately. By the end of April 1999, Israel made 41 air raids on Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Labor Party leader Ehud Barak won the 1999 election and announced that he planned to pursue peace with the Palestinians, establish relations with Syria, and end the war in Lebanon with Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli-Syrian talks broke down by January 2000 over Syria's demand for the return of the Golan Heights. In February, Hezbollah attacks on Israeli troops in Lebanon led to Israel's retaliatory bombing and Barak's decision to pull out of Lebanon. Israeli troops pulled out of Lebanon on May 24, 2000. Peace talks in July 2000 at Camp David between Barak and Arafat ended unsuccessfully despite the efforts of President Bill Clinton. In September, Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. The visit set off the worst bloodshed in years, with the deaths of around 400 people. The violence and growing concerns about Israeli security paved the way for Sharon's landslide victory over Barak in February 2001. In 2003, attempting to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Israel and the United States resolved to circumvent Arafat. In April, under international pressure, Arafat appointed Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister to replace him in negotiations. On May 1, the "Quartet" (U.S., UN, EU, and Russia) unfurled the "road map" for peace. In May 2004, the UN Security Council condemned Israel's attack on the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. In July, in response to a ruling by Israel's supreme court about the construction of the West Bank barrier, Israel revised the route so that it did not cut into Palestinian land. On August 15, 2005, the withdrawal of 8,000 Israeli settlers began. The evacuation involved 21 Gaza settlements as well as four of the more isolated of the West Bank's 120 settlements. In late November 2005, Israel's political parties shifted. The Labor Party elected Amir Peretz as their leader. Prime Minister Sharon quit the Likud Party and formed the Kadima ("Forward") Party. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the leader of Likud. In January 2006, Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke that left him in a coma and unable to govern. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert became acting prime minister. In general elections on March 28, Olmert's Kadima Party won the largest number of seats. In May, Olmert formed a coalition between the Kadima, Labor, Shas, and Pensioners parties. In April 2006, Hamas fired rockets into Israeli territory. After Hamas militants killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped another, Israel launched air strikes and sent ground troops into Gaza. Fighting continued over the summer, with Hamas firing rockets into Israel, and Israeli troops reoccupying Gaza. On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah fighters entered Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel launched a military attack, bombing the Lebanese airport and other infrastructures. Hezbollah, led by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, retaliated by launching hundreds of rockets and missiles into Israel. Although much of the international community demanded a cease-fire, the United States supported Israel's plan to continue fighting until Hezbollah was drained of its military power. An UN-negotiated cease-fire went into effect on August 14. A commission that investigated the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon released a scathing report in April 2007, saying Prime Minister Olmert was responsible for "a severe failure in exercising judgment, responsibility, and prudence." Defense Minister Amir Peretz and former army chief Dan Halutz were also rebuked in the report. Olmert resisted calls for his resignation and survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. In June 2007, former prime minister Ehud Barak was elected head of the Labour Party, defeating Knesset member Ami Ayalon. Shimon Peres, of the Kadima Party, was elected president. Israeli jets fired on targets deep inside Syria in September 2007. American and Israeli intelligence analysts said Israel attacked a partially built nuclear reactor. Syria denied that any such facilities exist and protested to the U.N. At a Middle East peace conference in November 2007 hosted by the U.S. in Annapolis, MD, Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas agreed to work together to broker a peace treaty. In January 2008, the Winograd Commission released its final report on Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. It called the operation a "large and serious" failure and criticized the country's leadership for failing to have an exit strategy in place before the invasion began. Israel and Hamas signed a cease-fire in June 2008. Olmert resigned in September after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was elected head of Kadima. Lebanon and Israel exchanged prisoners in July 2008. Israel released five Lebanese prisoners, including Samir Kuntar, who killed an Israeli policeman, a man, and his young daughter in 1979. Lebanon returned the bodies of two soldiers to Israel who were captured in a cross-border raid. In September 2008, Richard Goldstone, a South African jurist, released a UN-backed report on the conflict in Gaza. The report accused both the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters of war crimes, alleging that both targeted civilians. Goldstone reserved much of his criticism for Israel. Israel denounced the report as "deeply flawed, one-sided and prejudiced." The United States also said it was "unbalanced and biased," and the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution that called the report "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy." In late December 2008, Hamas began launching rocket attacks into Israel, which retaliated with airstrikes. Israel targeted Hamas bases, training camps, and missile storage facilities. After more than a week of airstrikes, Israeli troops crossed the border into Gaza, launching a ground war against Hamas. After several weeks of fighting, more than 1,300 Gazans and about a dozen Israelis had been killed. Parliamentary elections in February 2009 produced inconclusive results. The Kadima party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, won 28 seats in the Knesset. Netanyahu's Likud took 27. Yisrael Beitenu took 15 and the Labor Party got 13 seats. Netanyahu became prime minister in April and formed a coalition government with Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, who was named foreign minister, and the Labor Party led by Ehud Barak, who became defense minister. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Israel in March 2010 to begin indirect negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Soon after Biden arrived, it was announced that 1,600 houses would be built for Jewish settlers on the Eastern tip of Jerusalem. Biden condemned the plan. Two weeks later, Netanyahu traveled to the U.S. to meet with President Barack Obama. Obama was reportedly trying to force Netanyahu into making concessions, specifically to freeze the Jewish settlement-building plan in East Jerusalem. In late May 2010, an activist group, Free Gaza Now, and a Turkish humanitarian organization, Insani Yardim Vakfi, sent a flotilla to Gaza, a violation of a blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed on Gaza. On May 31, Israeli commandos boarded one of the ships. Nine activists were killed. Israel's use of force was widely criticized. Israel eased the blockade in June allowing building materials and other goods to be brought into Gaza. In January 2011, Ehud Barak quit his party to set up a new party called Independence. Four other members of parliament left with him. On May 19, 2011, President Obama declared that the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war should be the basis of a Mideast peace deal between Israel and Palestine. Obama's speech came a day before a scheduled meeting with Netanyahu in Washington. The Israeli government protested immediately, saying that a return to the pre-1967 borders would leave Israel "indefensible". On July 30, 2011, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel's history took place with 150,000 people protesting in streets across the country. Protests started over rising housing costs. On July 31, 2011, the director general of the finance minister resigned over the protests. As protests continued throughout August, Israel announced a plan to build a 1,600-unit apartment complex in Ramat Shlomo, an area of East Jerusalem. The Interior Ministry also said it would approve another 2,700 housing units in Ramat Shlomo. The housing plans angered Palestinians and Israeli groups opposed to housing construction on land conquered in the Arab-Israeli War. Tensions flared between Israel and Egypt in August 2011, when militants attacked the Israeli resort town of Eilat, on the Egypt-Israel border. Eight Israelis were killed and 30 were wounded. Israel responded with several airstrikes on Gaza, killing the Popular Resistance Committees' commanders. Palestinians fired several rockets into Israel from Gaza, killing one civilian and wounding six others. Hamas took credit for the rockets fired into Israel. In September 2011, thousands of protestors attacked the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. Two dozen protestors broke into the offices and threw documents into the street. The Israeli flag was ripped down. When riot police attempted to stop the attack, protesters fought back with Molotov cocktails and stones. At least two protestors died in the attack and at least 1,200 were injured. On September 23, 2011, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas officially requested a bid for statehood at the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the United Nation's General Assembly after Abbas filed the bid for statehood. Netanyahu disagreed with the Palestinian's proposal for statehood through the UN, urging Abbas to return to negotiating directly with Israel instead. On October 18, 2011, Gilad Shalit, a 25-year-old Israeli soldier, was released after being held for more than five years by Hamas. Shalit was exchanged for one thousand Palestinians who had spent years in Israeli jails. Some of the Palestinians released were convicted planners or perpetrators of deadly terrorist attacks. While both sides celebrated the exchange, Israeli soldiers and Palestinians fought in the West Bank. In January 2012, Iran blamed Israel and the United States for the death of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a nuclear scientist. A bomber on a motorcycle killed Roshan in Tehran. In February, Israeli officials accused Iran of being involved in multiple terrorist attacks. On February 29, 2012, Israeli troops along with officials from Israel's Communications Ministry raided two Palestinian television stations in the West Bank. The troops confiscated documents, hard drives and transmitters. Israel's Communications Ministry released a statement saying that the stations were using frequencies that blocked transmissions in Israel, a violation of Israeli-Palestinian agreements. On May 6, 2012, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for early elections. The official reason for early elections was the expiration of Tal Law, which exempts ultra-Orthodox Jews from Israeli Army service. On May 8, Netanyahu formed a unity government with Shaul Mofaz, the chief of Kadima. Mofaz was made deputy prime minister. More than 1,000 people marched in Tel Aviv to protest the alliance. In July 2012, Kadima left the coalition. Mofaz said his party pulled out due to irreconcilable differences. In July 2012, a suicide bomber attacked a tour bus of Israelis passengers outside a Bulgarian airport. Five Israelis and the Bulgarian driver were killed. Dozens more passengers were injured. Immediately following the attack, Israel blamed Hezbollah, and promised to retaliate. In August 2012, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that while economic sanctions have hurt Iran, they have not slowed progress on the country's nuclear program. The report found that Iran's nuclear program had progressed even faster than anticipated and brought out differences between Israel and the United States about how to deal with Iran. In September 2012, Netanyahu expressed his disapproval with the Obama administration for not setting a timeline to deal with Iran. On October 9, 2012, Netanyahu called for early parliamentary elections again. Netanyahu said early elections were needed because the lack of cooperation with his coalition made it impossible to pass a budget with severe cuts. On November 11, 2012, stray mortar fire from Syrian artillery units hit inside Israel. Israel responded by firing warning shots into Syria. The next day, a mortar shell from Syria hit near an army post in the Golan Heights. Israel responded by firing tank shells at Syrian artillery units. On November 14, 2012, Israel launched an attack on Gaza. One of the targets was Hamas military commander, Ahmed al-Jabari. He was killed while traveling through Gaza in a car. The airstrikes were in response to repeated rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Hamas fired rockets into southern Israel, killing three civilians. Israel's Iron Dome system intercepted several rockets from Gaza. On November 29, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly approved an upgrade from the Palestinian Authority's observer status to a non-member state. Of the 193 nations in the General Assembly, 138 voted in favor of the upgrade. In response to the UN vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would not transfer about $100 million in tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority and would resume plans to build a 3,400-unit settlement in an area that divides the north and south parts of the West Bank. In December 2012, Israel defied opposition from the international community by forging ahead with the building of settlements. With the exception of the United States, every member of the United Nations Security Council condemned the construction. In January 2013, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected to a third term, but the election was not the expected landslide. Netanyahu's Likud-Beiteinu won 31 seats, followed by Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party with 19 seats. The Hatnua party and Meretz each won six seats. In late January 2013, Israel released the $100 million of frozen tax revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. In February 2013, Prime Minister Netanyahu formed a coalition with Yesh Atid, Hatnua, and the Jewish Home party. He appointed Tzipi Livni as justice minister and asked her to lead peace talks with Palestine. On March 18, Netanyahu's appointments were approved by the Knesset. Yair Lapid became finance minister, Gideon Saar, the interior minister, and Moshe Yaalon became defense minister. President Obama visited Israel in March 2013 and helped negotiate a reconciliation with Turkey. Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized to Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the commanodo raid on a flotilla to Gaza. Erdogan accepted Israel's apology and both countries announced that they would reinstate ambassadors and completely restore diplomatic relations. In early May 2013, Israel ordered two airstrikes on Damascus. The first was on May 3 and the second two days later. Israeli officials maintained the strikes focused on military warehouses in an effort to prevent Hezbollah from getting weapons. The Syrian government condemned the air assault. In July 2013, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed to begin peace talks. The initial meeting took place at the State Department in Washington D.C. and was attended by Israel's Justice Minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni and senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat. Livni and Erekat both met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Secretary of State John Kerry. On August 14, 2013, Israelis and Palestinians officially began peace talks in Jerusalem after Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners. On August 26, 2013, Palestinian officials called off peace talks after three protesters were killed by Israeli soldiers. The clash happened after Israeli forces entered the Qalandia refugee camp as part of an arrest raid. Hundreds of Palestinians rushed into the streets throwing rocks, concrete and firebombs at Israeli soldiers. On October 1, 2013, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with President Obama to discuss the situation with Iran. Netanyahu and Obama presented a united front when it came to Iran having nuclear weapons. The next day, Netanyahu gave his annual speech at the UN. He referred to Iranian President Hassan Rowhani as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and warned the international community not to be fooled by Rowhani's overtures. On October 30, 2013, Israel freed another 26 Palestinian prisoners. The day before the prisoner release, militants fired rockets over the border into southern Israel. Israel responded by sending warplanes into the Gaza Strip. Soon after the prisoners were released, Israeli government reported it planned to build 1,500 homes in east Jerusalem. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died on January 11, 2014. On March 12, 2014, Israel's Parliament passed legislation eliminating exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox Israelis. The legislation passed by a 65-1 vote. In May 2014, Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty on charges of bribery when he was the mayor of Jerusalem. On June 10, 2014, Reuven Rivlin defeated Meir Sheetrit in a runoff presidential election. Later in June, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed while hiking in the West Bank. The day after their burial in early July, the burned body of a missing Palestinian teenager was found in a forest near Jerusalem. The incidents increased tension between Israelis and Palestinians, including riots and an exchange of rocket fire. Conflict escalated throughout July 2014. Hundreds of rockets were launched into Israel by militant groups in Gaza reaching areas that previous rocket attacks could not. Many of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome. On July 17, 2014, Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza focusing on tunnels near Gaza's borders that were being used by Hamas to enter Israel. On July 24, an attack on an U.N. elementary school in Gaza killed at least 16 Palestinians and wounded more than 100. Israel denied launching the attack, saying Hamas militants were responsible, missing their target. On August 26, 2014, Israel and Hamas agreed to an open-ended cease-fire. The interim agreement left Hamas in control of Gaza while Israel and Egypt still controlled access to Gaza. On November 18, 2014, two Palestinians armed with knives, meat cleavers, and a handgun, entered a synagogue in Jerusalem during morning prayers and killed five people. The attackers were shot and killed by police. On December 2, 2014, Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi. On January 18, 2015, one Iranian general and six Hezbollah fighters were killed during an Israeli air strike. Ten days later, Hezbollah fired missiles into an Israeli-occupied area along the Lebanon border, killing two Israeli soldiers. Israeli forces responded with strikes on several villages in southern Lebanon. © 2010 World Ministries International The following are some Scriptures that deal with end-time events. All prophecies concerning the nations are leading up to fulfillment of end-time judgments (events).
Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39 Zechariah 13: 8-9 Zechariah 14: 1-16 Daniel chapters 2, 4, 7-12 Matthew 24: 1-51 Mark 13: 1-37 Luke 21: 6-38 The book of Revelation The book of Joel |
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