Tag: prophecy

PTNews

P r o p h e tic Truth in the N e w s

October 2024

   Published monthly by Mike Wingfield Ministries

All Bible references are from the KJV   

Explosion of Evil and Lawlessness in Israel

“… and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil the sight of the LORD,

to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”

Deuteronomy 31:29

By Mike Wingfield

From a biblical perspective, current events clearly indicate that the nations of the world are marching toward their final conflict with Almighty God. Students of Bible prophecy know that the Tribulation is near.

Turmoil in the Middle East is at a fever pitch, and Israel faces an ever-growing and imminent threat from its enemies. As the danger grows day by day, Israel is a divided nation, much like the United States.

From its inception as an infant nation, Israel has enjoyed unity as a response to the threats they have constantly faced from 1948 until the Yom Kippur war in 1973. Since that time, Israel has garnered the respect of the nations of the Middle East for its military strength and ability to defend itself in another major war. However, because of the current lawlessness and division in Israel, its enemy nations in the Middle East sense that the Jewish nation is vulnerable. They believe Israel is ripe for a major assault that will lead to its annihilation.

For the first time in its modern history, Israel is facing an explosion of evil, lawlessness, and division that is emanating from within its own Jewish population. Since the beginning of this year, tens of thousands of Israeli protestors have demonstrated in major cities. They have shut down major highways in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They have interrupted activity at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Some high-tech entrepreneurs are threatening to move their companies out of Israel. Some Israelis are declaring they will leave Israel. Thousands of Israeli soldiers, even some high-ranking officers, are threatening to stop serving in the army and air force. To clear highway blockades, police are forced to use water cannons to disperse rebellious crowds. Tempers flare and obscene insults are hurled from one Israeli to another. Obviously, this is shaking the very foundations of the nation to the core. Some Israelis are wondering if Israel will survive.

Is this a fulfillment of biblical prophecy? What is this all about? Who is really behind this? Why is this happening now? What will be the ultimate outcome? Let us look at the answers to these important questions.

Most importantly, I believe all these developments are a

part of God’s divine plan to place Israel in a vulnerableposition. As the world watches, God will display His faithfulness and power to the Jewish nation. He wants to destroy Israel’s pride and humble them, bringing them to a place of spiritual surrender to Him. Ultimately, it will open the door of salvation to millions of Israelis. Some reports out of Israel indicate that the current severe conflict is causing Israelis to search their souls for answers. Many are beginning to read the Bible and are showing signs of being drawn closer to the Lord.

God is clearly orchestrating the events in the world, and especially the Middle East, to bring it to His determined end. Long ago, He declared, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Near the end of Israel’s wilderness wandering for 40 years (1400 B.C.), the Lord informed Moses that in the latter days, Israel would be in “tribulation” (Deuteronomy 4:30). Furthermore, the Jewish nation was informed, “evil will befall you in the latter days” (Deuteronomy 31:29).

Amazingly, Moses was told that the evil that would come upon His people in the last days would be partly due to the evil actions of the Jewish people themselves. Like the Jews of Moses’ time, the Jewish people in the last days would be guilty of the same sins. They were rebellious and had “no faith” (Deuteronomy 32:20). Today, most Israelis are secular in their worldview. They do not honor the Law of God and hate those in Israel who do. They are a nation that is “void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end” (Deuteronomy 32:28-29).

The former Israeli prime ministers who represented the liberal, secular Israeli people in recent decades were willing to negotiate with the Palestinian leadership to surrender the “West Bank” (biblical Judea and Samaria), and biblical Jerusalem for a false covenant that promotes peace with Israel. In their eyes, it was not important to view Israel as a Jewish nation and to retain the Promised Land that was given to their forefathers. These liberal leaders do not value the Zionist dream that views the Holy Land as a fulfillment of the biblical prophecies in the last days.

The prophetic Word of God indicates that these liberal and godless leaders of Israel would lead their people into a deadly and false covenant with the Antichrist in the last days (Isaiah 28:14-22). Isaiah calls them “scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 28:14).Later, Isaiah calls these leaders “mockers” (Isaiah 28:22). This means these leaders openly make fun of those who believe the promises of God to Israel. In this passage, God scolds these foolish leaders because they have rejected their own people who believe in the biblical promises of God. At the same time, these leaders openly embrace enemy liars and formulate a covenant with them. God calls their false covenant “a covenant with death” (verse 15), and an “agreement with hell” (verse 18).

God warned His people that when they returned to their land in the last days, they would be plagued with false shepherds and those who were blind watchmen (Isaiah 56:8-11). Until the elections last November, Israel has been dominated by secular politicians. Up until recent years, the Israeli population was ruled by secular Jews who were not followers of the Law of God. However, this is all changing.

Sondra Baras, who is one of the founders and directors of Christian Friends of Israel in Jerusalem, explains how things have changed in Israel since its beginning, “Much of what we are seeing on the streets of Israel today has been brewing for quite some time now. Some would even say, since the State of Israel was established. From the very beginning, the leaders of the [emerging] state decided to avoid creating a constitution in order to bypass divisions between religious and secular views on the nature of the State and its institutions. Rabbis were hesitant to confer ultimate legal authority to a document that was not the Torah, as expressed in Jewish law. Secular Zionists denied the Messianic nature of Israel’s restoration. While people can live together while holding different views, when it comes to creating a foundation for the state, it became easier just to avoid the argument.

“In the early years, religious Jews were a small minority of the population and leadership of the State of Israel. While they had political representation, they tended to restrict their attention to issues concerning religious observance: protecting the rights of Jews not to work on the Sabbath, restricting public transportation on the Sabbath, ensuring that public facilities would observe the dietary laws and that Jewish weddings and divorce would comport to Jewish traditions. These latter issues, in particular, guaranteed that regardless of private religious observance, there was commonality in the public sphere amongst all Jews.

“ Much has changed since those early years. The first change was actually represented by the settlement movement. No longer would religious politicians be content with narrow religious issues. A biblical view of the newly acquired areas of Judea and Samaria demanded Jewish settlement in the area. What began as a grassroots movement became a political position, adopted by religious and traditional politicians, joined by hawkish secular politicians. But the actual movement to settle the land remained religiously motivated from the start.

“This was the first time a religiously-based idea became the basis of public policy that not only affected domestic issues in Israel but changed the way the nations around the world viewed Israel. For years, this issue was the crux of the division between right and left in Israel and for most of that time, there was parity between right and left.

“But in recent years, the population of Israel has shifted. More secular Israelis are identifying as traditional, finding themselves more closely allied with the values and political sentiments of the religious. Religiously oriented families tend to have more children than their secular counterparts with a far smaller tendency to emigrate from Israel to other western countries. The result is that Israel today is the only western country that is more religious today than it was twenty years ago. And that means that the political elite has changed. The religious/traditional/conservative public is now the leadership.

“While demographics is often a catalyst for change, change is often a catalyst for division. The original [authority] does not want to let go. Sometimes, they are simply power-hungry. Sometimes, they are merely afraid of how the change will affect their lives” (www.cfoic. com, March 29, 2023).

As previously stated, Israel does not have a constitution like the United States. From the beginning of the nation in 1948, they knew the ideological differences between the secular and religious Jews would not allow them to reach a consensus to formulate a constitution. Furthermore, the earlier years of the nation were consumed with defending the nation against the radical Islamic nations that surrounded Israel. Therefore, a constitution was never created.

When the secular Jews realized that the religious population was becoming stronger politically, they began to work with the Israeli Supreme Court to ensure that the desires of the religious population would never become law and be imposed upon the liberal elements of Israeli society. In 1995, the Israeli Supreme Court was filled with those who were sympathetic to the secular/liberal cause. This court is not controlled by any other branch of the Israeli government. When a vacancy becomes available on the Israeli Supreme Court, the judges on the court appoint a new replacement. So, the Israeli Supreme Court is a self-appointed body. This packing of the court has guaranteed that any decision made by a future right-wing government would be opposed. In the last few years, the Supreme Court has nullified and opposed decisions made by the right-wing governments of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalitions since 1996.

The liberal elements in Israel hate Netanyahu. When he won the elections in November 2022, all the liberal political parties vowed to never serve with him in a future government. Netanyahu’s only choice was to bring the religious political parties into his government coalition. This was too much for the liberal Israelis to tolerate. Almost immediately, the former liberal politicians who had held prominent positions in earlier Israeli governments, began to organize the current protests of this newly elected government. It has been proven that these organized protests were planned by the political left about 20 years ago.

During the process leading up to the elections in November 2022, Netanyahu promised that if elected he would direct his newly formed government to change the liberal dominant stance of the Israeli Supreme Court. This decision was supported by most Israelis. Therefore, other liberal political parties promised they would also bring about judicial reform if they were elected. However, when Netanyahu and the religious parties democratically won a majority of the votes, the opposing liberals began to use the judicial reform as a tool to falsely accuse the newly elected government of attempting to destroy democracy in Israel.

This current government in Israel has been met with unprecedented opposition. The left-wing activists and media are fanning the flames of division. They continue to accuse the newly elected right-wing government of trying to destroy democracy.

Truthfully, the judicial reform proposed by Netanyahu’s government would correct the overpowering control of the liberals in Israel and make the checks and balances of democracy stronger. Tragically, the liberals’ interpretation of democracy is aimed at their freedom to enjoy their sin and corruption. In their eyes, democracy is freedom from religious law, so that people are free to make dangerous and immoral choices that ultimately threaten the future of the nation.

It is reported that the U.S.’s Biden administration is funding the efforts of the demonstrators against Netanyahu’s government. The Biden administration has allegedly purchased thousands of Israeli flags for protestors to use in rallies, marches, and demonstrations. Some demonstrators are being paid to help offset the costs of their being involved in the marches.

As previously mentioned, the demonstrations have been fomenting a slanderous rebellion for eight months. They are being directed by the former anti-Zionist leaders of Israel. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is openly calling for a civil rebellion against Israel’s newly elected government. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has openly stated that the current Israeli government is the enemy of the State of Israel. A former cabinet minister in several governments, Avigdor Lieberman, is an avowed secularist. He views the religious parties that are currently serving as a threat to Israel. Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is openly calling the Israeli people to oppose their democratically elected officials.

The liberal left in Israel does not accept the Bible as God’s Word, and therefore considers the religious parties in Netanyahu’s government as dangerous. “Many secular Israelis see the Bible as little more than a collection of national folklore no different than that of any long-lived nation.” They fear these religious parties “because they want to govern the modern State of Israel according to biblical precepts, with an eye toward a ‘messianic age’” (Israel Today, June 26, 2023). They fear the current religiously based government because they believe they will lose their freedom to express their immoral, lawless, and godless desires. Many of the demonstrators carry the rainbow flag in support of the LGBT agenda. See the photo on this page.

The sharp division in Israel is so real that some Israelis are calling for the establishment of two Israeli nations. One would be called “New Israel” and the other would be called “Judea.” This is reminiscent of the tragic division that took place in 900 B.C. after the death of Solomon, creating the state of Israel with ten tribes in the north, and Judea, with two tribes in the south. However, today the nation is not politically divided along any geographical lines. This option does not seem feasible.

Another current concern that adds to Israel’s apparent vulnerability is the weakness of its most important ally, the United States. Leaders in the Middle East understand that the U.S. is only a shadow of the powerful nation it used to be. The feeble leadership of President Joe Biden, the weakening of the U.S. military, and the collapsing of the U.S. economy are of more concern to the international community than to many Americans. Furthermore, prior to the administration of President Barack Obama the U.S. was viewed as a defender of the Arabs in the Persian Gulf against the threatening dominance of Iran. However, the nuclear agreements under the Obama administration with Iran, and the current similar policies of the Biden administration, have caused the former allies of the U.S. to view the Americans as traitors. It now appears that the former allies of the U.S. are its enemies, while the former enemies are now its allies. The absence of strong leadership in the Middle East is being filled by China and Russia. This is of grave concern to Middle Eastern and world leaders. Clearly, this does not bode well for the future of our world.

Another major concern has been the failure of the free world to clearly oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a strong and united military force. The U.S. and other nations continue to supply Ukraine with military equipment. However, this is viewed as a very weak response to Russia’s aggression against a member of the United Nations. This is also sending a signal to other aggressive nations, like China, that they can invade countries and not face militarily repercussions from the free world.

Will this lack of strong response against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine send a message to the Islamic nations of the Middle East? Will they be led to believe that no nation will come to the aid of Israel should they choose to invade the Jewish state? This is exactly what the Bible says will happen when the Gog and Magog nations of Russia, Iran, Turkey, and their Islamic allies invade Israel in the last days. In Ezekiel 38:13, only a handful of nations will ask these invading forces if they are coming to plunder Israel for its wealth. It is apparent that no nation will militarily defend Israel when this invasion takes place. Israel, like Ukraine, will be left to defend itself.

Another consideration that is very important is the rapid rise of global anti-Semitism. The newly elected government in Israel has made very bold statements about building many Jewish communities on the “West Bank” (biblical Judea and Samaria). The world does not recognize that true peace with the Palestinians is virtually impossible. The overwhelming majority of the Palestinian leadership, media, education, and religious institutions continue to promote the complete rejection and annihilation of the entire State of Israel. Therefore, a two-state solution that sees a Jewish nation living alongside a Palestinian State is not possible. However, the world refuses to see the reality of what is happening. Their hatred of Israel has blinded them to the truth. Therefore, as the Israeli government proceeds to obey God and occupy the Promised Land, the world’s hatred for the Jewish people is escalating to a new level that is reminiscent of the days of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany a little more than 80 years ago.

It is my opinion that we are entering a time of high probability that the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel is on the immediate horizon. Everything is in place. The Islamic enemy nations that border Israel are viewing the current division in Israel with lustful eyes. It appears they will soon test Israel.

Some of the military and security experts in Israel believe that Iran will attempt to attack Israel by giving its terrorist proxies the green light to simultaneously send thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel from Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen. This would force Israel to respond to threats from multiple fronts. Furthermore, Iran is currently behind the increasing escalation of armed attacks against Jews from terrorist enclaves in the West Bank.

Iran’s terrorist puppet in Lebanon, Hezbollah, has recently threatened to destroy Israel. Israel has reacted by telling them that the Israeli forces will immediately and overwhelmingly respond, sending Lebanon back into the Stone Age. Should this materialize, the world would be united against Israel. It would probably trigger the Gog and Magog invasion as recorded in Ezekiel 38-39.

I t is my opinion that the Lord is orchestrating these elements that seem to be placing Israel in a position of vulnerability. In the past, God has done this so He can demonstrate to His people that the battle belongs to Him (1 Samuel 17:47; 2 Chronicles 20:15). In the days of Israel’s exodus out of Egypt, He purposely led them into a trap so that He could demonstrate His faithfulness and power to His people (Exodus 14:1-12). As they stood on the shores of the Red Sea, with mountains to each side, the Egyptian army was closing in behind them. It appeared they were trapped! It looked like they would be annihilated. Then, at the last possible moment, God stepped in. Moses said to the people, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13-14).

God demonstrated to His people that He is faithful, and He could be trusted with every situation. Once again, Israel is faced with a massive number of enemy forces that want to annihilate them. When Russia and its allies come against Israel as described in Ezekiel 38, they will “come like a storm, … like a cloud to cover the land … and many people with [them](Ezekiel 38:9). Prior to 1990, Russia, like Egypt in the days of Moses, would not answer the pleas to let God’s people go. In 1990, one of the largest Jewish communities in the world was living in Russia. Then, God decimated the Russian economy. Remember what God did to Egypt with destructive and deadly plagues in the days of Moses. Finally, Russia allowed millions of Jews to leave Russia and return to Israel, just like Pharoah did after the plagues. In the 1990s more than two million Jews fled Russia and immigrated to Israel. Eventually, Russia, like Egypt, will seek revenge and invade to kill the Jewish people. Once again, God will supernaturally intervene. The Gog and Magog forces will be destroyed by Him with a massive earthquake and volcanic eruptions on the Golan Heights (Ezekiel 38:18-22). As in days of old, God will glorify Himself in the eyes of His people (Ezekiel 38:23; 39:7, 21-22).As promised by God, then the Lord will return millions of Jews back to their ancient homeland (Ezekiel 39:28).

The Bible promises, “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north [Russia], … and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers” (Jeremiah 16:14-15).

While the world sees Israel’s vulnerability, the Lord has coordinated these events to lure the enemies of Israel to invade His land (Ezekiel 38:4). Then, in the eyes of the entire world, He will destroy Russia and her radical Islamic allies. God has said, “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 38:23).

I am convinced that before the Russian invasion of Israel takes place, we will be raptured into glory. The stage is set! Get ready for the shout that will take us out!