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The Bible in the News
British Captives Return Home from Iran.
Israeli Captives held by Iran's Proxy Hezbollah, Don't Receive the same Treatment.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
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The Iranians have succeeded in making Great Britain look weak, parading their apologetic soldiers on television. Aside from draining every ounce of propaganda from the incident the Iranians may have received much more. The Telegraph in the UK reported that: "It is not yet clear what conditions, if any, were attached to the release of the sailors, though Mr Ahmadinejad said that he had received assurances from the British that there would be no further incursions into Iranian territory." If this is true it will leave the British marines in the According to the latest reports the British Captives are being freed. Persian Gulf in a precarious predicament trying to carry out their mandate. There will always be fear of straying into Iranian waters and if it does happen we could expect Iran to be more resolute in their stand. However, there could be further implications if the United States and Britain decided to do something about Iran's nuclear program. It doesn't leave Britain in a good position if they have "promised" not to enter Iranian waters. When all is said and done one cannot claim that "Britannia ruled the waves" in this incident, it was definitely Iran that called the shots.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the "Falkland Crisis" when the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, sent the British Navy half way around the world to take back the Falkland Islands from Argentina--and take them back they did. Today Britain seems much weaker, which is what we would expect from Bible Prophecy. In Ezekiel chapter 38 when Gog invades the land of Israel, the Tarshish merchant powers do little besides protest with the words: "Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" We can be sure that Britannia will not be ruling the waves at that moment, it will be the king of the north with his "many ships" that will be ruling the waves (Daniel 11:40).

We can be certain that the Britain of today would not be the first nation to enthusiastically take part in a new project to bring more Jews to the land of Israel. However, Bible prophecy predicts that they will play this role. In Isaiah 60:9 the prophet says: "Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee." So it could be that Britain will have to be humbled considerably more before they will turn back to God and help build his nation.

Now while Britain has managed to get her boys home, another nation is in a very different predicament and that nation is Israel. You may recall that the cause behind the Lebanon war last summer was the taking captive of some Israeli soldiers; Gilead Shalit in Gaza, Ehud Goldwasser and Ehud Regev on the northern border by Hezbollah. Now where does Hezbollah get their arms, training and financial support from? Why, Iran of course. In 1986 Israel lost another one of its boys when Ron Arad bailed out over Lebanon. He was reportedly sold to Iran years later and has not been heard of since, leaving family in mental anguish for years.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ramallah this week and met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. She has been accused of "offending the Palestinians' feelings" and being biased toward Israel. Why? Well she met with the families of the Israeli soldiers who haven't come home but wouldn't meet with the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. (I would imagine, that the reason would be that the "Palestinian prisoners" are terrorists.) So is Merkel pro-Israel? I'm not convinced. In my view any head of state that meets with the head of the PLO in Ramallah, thus acknowledging his government--a government that includes the terrorist organization Hamas--can hardly be called pro-Israel.

Britain may be able to get support from the United Nations security council--minus Russia, the European Union gave them full backing, and as well, of course the United States; meanwhile Israel couldn't hope for near this kind of support. So while Britain gets her lads back, Israel's stay in captivity, without signs of life, maybe never to be seen again. If the nations of the world put their weight behind Israel, she would have her men back just like Britain--in no time.

The nations of the world may now look upon Zion and despise her as we read in Micah 4:11-12: "Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor." The nations will be gathered as sheaves to the floor to be threshed, echoing the meaning of Armageddon. They do not understand the counsel of the LORD. They think that they can remove all the Jews from the West Bank. What they fail to understand is that they are there because God has put them there as a fulfillment of the words of his prophets. Nothing man does will frustrate God's purpose, ultimately Israel will "blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." (Isaiah 27:6)

Those that despise Israel will come and bow themselves as we read in Isaiah 60:12-14: "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel."

May it be that the redeemer will soon come to Zion!

This has been Dave Billington with the Bible in the News: www.bibleinthenews.com!



Printed:  Wednesday, April 04, 2007

 

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