Jerusalem Update #3
By Dr. Gary Collett
August 13, 2001
Thanks to those who caught the unchanged date on the last
letter! And the Lord has definitely been touching the healing of my rib. Thanks
for your prayers!
This week has been traumatic. Not long after taking Randy, our houseguest to the
airport we heard the news of a terrorist attack in the very center of Jerusalem
on the corner of Jaffa Street and King George. Fifteen people were reported dead
and over a hundred injured from a pedestrian terrorist who walked into a
restaurant and detonated himself. It was reported that this resulted in public
mass expressions of joy in Palestinian controlled cities when the news of the
injuries and deaths became known. Arabs danced, sang in the streets, passed out
candy, fired guns in the air and praised Hamas and the Islamic Jihad for killing
Jews. Candy and sweet cakes were passed out to offset sadness for the death of
the suicide bomber. The father of the suicide bomber is said to have told
reporters that he and his wife are proud of their son's action.
Israel’s retaliation was to strike an empty Palestinian office building and
forcibly evacuate the Palestinian Liberation Organization from their office
building in East Jerusalem, from where it is believed attacks were planned.
Notice the difference between the attacks of Palestinians verses Israel. Israel
avoids civilian casualties while the Palestinians target such Jewish areas. The
security Cabinet of Israel is in the process of re-evaluating the degree of its
responses.
Each and every one of us, we are sure, are increasingly tired of the conflicts
and evidences of coming war and hearing about them. And we are sure that the conflict
over Jerusalem will become more intense. If we do not look at the whole
scenario in the light of Biblical promises …then faith may not survive …but
if we keep our eyes on the One who made the promises then we shall more than
just survive!
It is reported that the US and Britain have again made bombing raids against
Iraq. Is this due to the 800 or so troops reported to have entered Jordan on
their way to infiltration of Israel? As the USA and others pressure Israel NOT
to make retaliatory raids against the Palestinians, Israel’s leaders state
that Israel has as much right as those bombing Iraq. Certainly the Scriptures
are true in stating, "wars and rumors of wars".
It is reported, "scores of Palestinian women have responded to a religious
decree issued by the High Islamic Council urging them to become suicide bombers.
And Palestinian women have responded by shouting, "Make a bomb of me,
please!" The first woman has been caught in an attempted attack on the
central bus station in Tel Aviv. The woman, in her twenties, was arrested after
"a powerful explosive device" was discovered in her bag. It is also
reported that Arab intellectuals are calling on Palestinian women to join the
war against Israel as "biological weapons" by producing more babies in
order to increase the Arab birth rate over the Jewish population birth rate.
We have stated before that the Jewish/Arab conflict is based on religious tenets
stemming from the arguments of inheritance from Isaac and Ishmael as possession
of the "Land" is believed to be the evidence of God’s inheritance.
Here is an example recently broadcast from a Friday’s sermon on official
Palestinian Authority TV. "Allah shall make the Moslem rule over the Jew,
we will blow them up in Hadera, we will blow them up in Tel-Aviv and in Netanya
in the righteousness of Allah against this riff-raff, we will fight against them
and rule over them until the Jew will hide behind the trees and stones and the
tree and stone will say: 'Moslem! Servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me,
kill him!" "We will enter Jerusalem as conquerors, and Jaffa as
conquerors, and Haifa as conquerors and Ashkelon as conquerors, we are certain
that the victory is quickly coming, as we bless anyone who rises against a
soldier, we bless all those who educate their children to Jihad and to
Martyrdom, blessings to he who shot a bullet into the head of a Jew... "I
heard a youth say, 'Oh, Sheikh, I am now 14 years old. I have 4 more years and
then I will go to blow myself up among Allah's enemies, I will blow myself up
among the Jews.'" "I said to him, "Allah should let you merit
Martyrdom and let me merit Martyrdom"... "All weapons must be aimed at
the Jews, at the enemies of Allah, the cursed nation in the Koran, whom the
Koran describes as monkeys and pigs, worshippers of the calf and idol
worshippers."
From the above it should not be a wonder then that Isaiah Chapter 17 breaks the
back of Islam in the Mid-East through the destruction of whole nations!
It is reported that Turkey has warned Ariel Sharon of a threat to relations
between their two countries if the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians
continues and talks are not resumed. This is interesting as there are those who
believe Isaiah Chapter 17 may push the boundaries of Israel, as given by God to
Abraham, into Turkey when the war occurs!
IT IS GONE! The day before our houseguest flew back to the states, he asked if
we could go back to the site where we had verified the "So-Called
Cornerstone" was "stored" (when attempts were not in progress by
the organization to take the stone up to the Temple Mount and place it there) in
order to take photographs. The stone was gone! Evidences suggested that it had
been forcibly taken! When the stone was used to make the attempts for access to
the Temple Mount, a truck with a crane was used. Such a method leaves no marks
on surrounding pavement or surfaces. When we went to take photos there were
marks on the curbing and road, which showed the six-ton stone had been forcibly
pushed over and slid across the road until catching on the opposite curb.
Catching on the curb is a method of using a tractor with a bucket, as the curb
would hold the stone while the tractor pushed it into the bucket. A tractor has
not been the method used before; therefore we concluded that if the stone was to
be given a new home it would seem reasonable that it would have been moved the
morning of its rededication for the Temple Mount. The evidence of the scraped
pavement and curbing then leads to the conclusion that others than the owners
removed stone. This would not be surprising, as there is no, absolutely no,
security or supervision for the stone where it stood in a traffic circle in Arab
East Jerusalem!
This Fall and the "Feasts of the Lord" will be motivating timings!
Food for thought!
For those interested in our visiting your area, during our speaking tour this
coming spring in the USA, please contact us! And please pray and consider
financially helping this ministry on a monthly basis. We are a Faith Ministry
with non-profit status. All contributions should be sent to *JMI, PO Box 2623,
Stanwood, Wa. 98292
Thank you!
Blessings, --Gary and Debra
(Dr. GR Collett)
gcollett@netvision.net.il
*Hebraic Roots Learning Center
PO Box 11388, Jerusalem 91113, Israel
*Jerusalem Ministries International
USA: 235 Quincy, Wa, 98848
*USA and Israeli non-profit organizations
Any contributions sent in the USA, to the JMI address, are tax deductible, in
the USA.
Any contributions specifically to help needy families should be noted as such.
JMI Website:
http://jerusalemministriesint.com/main/jerusalemministriesint/
http://www.888webtoday.com