The Air Dubai Attempted Terrorist Attack & the Hatred of God’s People

In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “Yaniv and his hero friends prevented a September 11-like disaster,” referring to Yaniv Hayun, the Israeli plumber who dragged the co-pilot terrorist out of the cockpit and then returned to pull up on the controls in the cockpit thereby levelling out the aircraft.

As if the story could not be more incredible Yaniv had the knowledge to pull up on the stick from watching a TV show called Air Craft Investigation, or Mayday.  The story itself is so incredible it’s fit for a Hollywood blockbuster.

These are the moments where traditionally humanity denounces the horrific actions of the terrorist and applauds the actions of those who averted an enormous tragedy.  However, times have changed, and a story of heroic Israelis successfully acting to subdue a terrorist and save the lives of all on board is not a narrative that the media wants to headline, nor one the people want to hear.

Major news outlets tripped over themselves to avoid describing the actual events.  The Guardian called it “a fight between pilots”, CNN called it “an internal personnel incident between pilots.” The New York Times called it “a clash in the cockpit.” France 24 called it a “cockpit brawl” Reuters headlined it: “A pilot brawl, then a rapid descent: Passengers recount chaos in flydubai flight.”  USA Today’s headline read “Israel-bound jet plummets 17,000 feet before landing in Saudi Arabia after apparent pilot fight.”

As Honest Reporting posted “Journalistic caution is not the problem. But if the evidence changes, so should the headline. Calling it a “brawl” or “fight between pilots” strips away the central fact: the evidence points to an attempted mass-casualty attack targeting Israelis.”

On Thursday France 24 reported “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier alleged the co-pilot believed to have stabbed Machchhar had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”, without providing evidence for the claim.”

Online however the underbelly of society showed itself on sites such as X where people are pretty much free to post at will conspiracy theories and naked anti semitism are flowing like a river in Spring.

Last week Bible in the News covered the events at the UN where world governments lined up to rail against Israel, and this week the media is doing it’s part in covering up Israeli heroism and evil terrorism, and then there is the online crowd.

Remembering the Martyrs

Locally here in Canada at the University of Toronto an event is being organized by an activist group called UofT Occupy Palestine for October the 7th, the date of the worst massacre of Jews since the holocaust.  However, the event is not to remember the victims of horrific terrorism, rather to remember the “Palestinian martyrs”.  And yet, this barely raises an eyebrow.

Antisemitism

There is a terrible sickness in the world and it is spreading being fuelled by politicians, the education institutions, the media, and online influencers.

In his book ‘Why the Jews’ Denis Prager writes the following about anti semitism:

“Hatred of the Jew has been humanity’s greatest hatred.  While hatred of other groups has always existed, no hatred has been as universal, as deep, or as permanent as anti semitism.

The Jews have been objects of hatred in pagan, religious, and secular societies.  Fascists have been accused of being Communists, and Communists have branded them capitalists.  Jews who live in non-Jewish societies have been accused of having dual loyalties, while Jews who live in the Jewish state have been condemned as “racists”.  Poor Jews are bullied, and rich Jews are resented.  Jews have been branded as both rootless cosmopolitans and ethnic chauvinists.  Jews who assimilate have been called “a fifth column,” while those who stay together spark hatred for remaining separate.  Hundreds of millions of people have believed (and in the Arab world many still do) that Jews drink  the blood of non-Jews, that they cause plagues and poison wells, that they secretly plot to conquer the world, and that they murdered God.”

That book was originally written in 1983.  That could have been written today, because antisemitism is not only the worlds greatest hatred, but the oldest.

In Genesis 3:15 we read “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Here are the roots of the greatest, and oldest, hatred in the world.  The Hebrew word for “enmity” there is Strongs number H342 and it is used only four times in scripture.  The first use of the word is there in Genesis 3:15, but when the hatred of the Philistines is described in Ezekiel 25:15 we find the word used again,

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred (or enmity); therefore thus path the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the sea coast.”

Again, when God prophecies against the Edomities in Ezekiel 35 he says in verse 5,

“Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred (or enmity),  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:  therefore as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.”

So here we find the enmity that has always existed against God’s people since the beginning of time showing its ugly head in the ancient Philistines and Edomites.  And God’s response is always the same, he will bring the actions of those acting with enmity back onto their own heads. Therefore in coming against Israel in this way these nations are facing off against the God of Israel.

Today, all the nations surrounding Israel that have come to destroy her or push her into the sea have all found themselves humiliatingly defeated.  And not one has been able to hold back the rise of Zion.  Surely the hand of the Almighty God of Israel and His son the Coming King of Israel cannot be missed in these events.

Where is this Leading?

As the world continues to rise in its hatred of Israel and the Jewish people we are reminded of the great deliverance to come.  It is there in Ezekiel 38:15,16 when the northern invasion takes place,

“And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”

There is it, they come against God’s people and find themselves in a battle against God himself.

This battle is the same as what we read of in Revelation 16:16 where the nations are gathered to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 

Much is made in Hollywood and pop culture of Armageddon, but it’s meaning is quite simple.  It is just three Hebrew words Armah-Gaye-Don (A heap of sheaves in a valley for Judgement).  This also connects to Joel 3:12-14.

In Conclusion

Israel often makes the case that peace with its neighbours is impossible so long as they are being raised on a diet of hatred.  This is absolutely true, however, the whole world is now being fed the same diet. 

Incredibly many of the countries rising up against Israel’s heartland, Judea and Samaria, or the west bank as they call is are the same ones refusing to confront the evils of Islamic terrorism.  And now Israel’s problem is becoming Europe’s problem, Britain’s problem, Canada’s problem and any other nation that has welcomed many of those that are full of the hatred of Israel.  Currently it is Paris that is once again full of protestors and fires burning in many parts of the city.  Even the mayor of Saint-Denis was seen dancing with the protestors.  According to Politico Saint-Denis is “a major northern suburb of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, that features a large and visible Muslim community rooted in decades of immigration from North and Sub-Saharan Africa.”  I can vouch for this having unknowingly stayed there a few years back.

What exactly the next development will be is hard to say, however, those that oppose the rising Kingdom of Israel will be terribly humbled, and those that align with Israel will find a much better path.  Interestingly the Middle East is changing, and in the case of the FlyDubai flight India, the UAE, and even the Saudi’s are all working with Israel on the case of the pilot.  This too is expected from the alliances found in Ezekiel 38:13.

And not all today are taken up by the great hatred.  Some are joking online that now going forward the premium seats on airlines will be those next to Israelis!  While this may be a joke it is actually the spirit that will exist in the Kingdom age, as we read in Zechariah 8:23,

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.How incredible is the Word of God which tells the end from the beginning.”

Come back next week for another edition of the Bible in the News.  This has been John Billington with you.  Take care!