Tag Archives: Israel

Israel

Al-Aqsa Flood and the red heifer

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Update about the rumors 2024: There is no ceremony on April 22nd, which is Passover Eve, when Jews will all concentrate on the Passover lamb, not on a burned red cow. There is no altar anywhere in Jerusalem. There is no prophecy of a red heifer whatsoever.

The “Al-Aqsa Flood” is what Hamas named the October 7th invasion and massacre. This is not a new thing. The attempt to create a pan Islamic unity in the fight to eliminate Israel is leading them always to talk about the Temple Mount. “Al-Aqsa is in danger” (Arabic: الأقصى في خطر) is a popular political slogan used to oppose efforts by Jewish hardliners to take over the Temple Mount. The annual “Al-Aqsa in Danger Festival” was in some years (1996-2015) the most-attended Islamic festival in Israel.

The rise in numbers of Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount to over 50,000 in the past couple of years made Islamic fanatics worry and get angry.

However, the red heifer wasn’t specified as the reason for the October attack when it was announced on that horrific Saturday morning. What has been mentioned was the constant “invasion” of Jews to the Al Aqsa holy site.

It wasn’t until 100 days into the war that Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubeidah mentioned the words “red cows” in his speech. Why? Continue reading Al-Aqsa Flood and the red heifer →

Bible

The daily bread

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The manna that travelled with the people of Israel when they left Egypt has a deep meaning.

The manna that kept the people of God alive is a perfect illustration of Jesus, the gift of true life. Manna is a symbol for the daily mysterious care of God through Jesus in all eternity.

Jesus says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6:11: ” Give us this day our daily bread“.

We need our bread every day. This means that we allow ourselves to be inspired and fascinated by God daily. Faith lives from the daily encounter with God.

What is also interesting is, that the manna could not be carried over from one day to the next, except on Friday for Saturday. This indicates that it was not simply a desert phenomenon but a daily miracle. This can also be seen from the fact that the manna began on exactly one day and ended on a specific day and accompanied the Israelites on their journey.

Bible

sometimes an unexpected extraordinary path

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God does not always act as we expect, but in ways that increase our trust in God. One such story is the Exodus from Egypt.

There is a direct route from Egypt into the land where milk and honey flow. The way to Gaza. But the Philistines were a strong war nation. They came from Crete and had tried to conquer the Egyptians. Since Pharaoh managed to stop them, he made a deal with them. They defended the north flank for him and he gave them wheat in return.

This is how we can understand Exodus 13:17: “God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”

This was the risen God let Israel take a detour. God knows what he can lay at us. That is why he sometimes lets us take an unexpected, extraordinary path.

Bible

Why a sacrifice? Isn’t belief in a forgiving God enough?

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The image of the Passover lamb in Exodus 11 is a preview of the cross of Jesus.

In order to understand the picture, we have to look back to the first sacrifice. When human beings wanted to decide for himself what should be good for him, he lost the familiar relationship with God and hid from him. He realized that he had nothing to offer God and stood before God without anything. Mankind tried to cover himself, but it was only fig leaves.

God took an animal, slaughtered it, and gave them the skin for clothing. Only through a skin could man continue to exist before God. Man experienced the result of turning away from God’s orders. Someone had to die because of their disobedience. They were made aware of the consequences of turning away from God. Death is the result of missing the aim – of sin.

The Passover sacrifice adds a deeper aspect. The Lamb appointed by God protects from judgment. The point is to trust and do God’s instructions.

In Jesus we now have a place to put our sins away. At the same time, it is a place where the victim experiences reparation. God does not simply ask us to forget, but he carries our burden in Jesus. In this way he understands us even in our need because he has suffered through it himself. God is not a distant God, but a God who helps us. He is close to us.

At Passover, Jesus uses the bread of the Exodus and the cup of redemption as a sign of renewed faith. The Lord’s Supper is an expression of the belief that Jesus died for me on the cross as the Passover lamb and rose again at Easter and that I have a part in his resurrection power. Death does not have the last word in my life.

Death and resurrection of Jesus is an offer of reconciliation that we can step into. It is not about religious accomplishment and not about a fig leaf, but about trust in God. We don’t create a path to God, we take up His offer of salvation.

Bible

The beginning of a free life

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The tenth plague of Egypt (Exodus 12) leads to Passover, the first festival in the biblical calendar. Israel celebrates with Passover or Pesach, the beginning of a free life with the opportunity to build up their faith in God. The key to this story is in the first and perfect sacrifice.

God does not save because of ethnicity, but because of practiced faith. Faith is not about developing our ideas about God, but about listening to what He says.

The point is that the Egyptians trusted in other gods and despised the God of Israel. The attempts to wipe out Israel now hit them themselves.

Some think why should an animal be slaughtered, and the blood painted on the doorpost?

There are things in faith that we cannot explain as human beings because they come from a divine order, because they are important to God.

Perhaps it will help us if we remind ourselves that this story leads to the Jewish Passover festival. It was on this feast that Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, died. The death of Jesus is the fulfilment of Passover.

Bible

Despots tend to stick

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Despots seem to tend to stubbornly stick to their plans, even if their people perish in the process. Exodus 10:7 says, “Let the men go… Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”

A power struggle ensues. The Egyptians also had a god for the wind. But now the wind drives innumerable locusts, which also eat the sacred trees. There was also a god named Seraiah who was considered a protector from plagues of locusts. But he was powerless against the God of Israel.

The Pharaoh plays with deception. But you can already see the pitfall in his wording. His admission “Forgive my sin, … and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me” (Exodus 10:7) is only superficial. He does not ask God for deliverance himself, but let’s others pray for him.

Anyone who changes his mind turns by himself to God for mercy.

The locusts consumed whatever was left of the hail. Instead of seeing the light and giving in, Pharaoh’s heart grows dark.

Israel

Middle east

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23.6.22 The remarks made by Israeli Defense Minister Gantz yesterday regarding Lebanon receive particularly widespread coverage in Arab and Lebanese media. Last night, the Israeli Defense Minister was quoted saying: “If necessary, we will march again to Beirut, Sidon, and Tyre…”

According to Arab and Western media: Colonel Vadim Zimin, the former officer in charge of Putin‘s “nuclear briefcase” was found injured his home. According to reports, he was found with a single shot to the head.

22.6.22 The International Atomic Energy Agency: “Iran has announced that it has begun enriching uranium to new levels.”

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum responded to the expected dissolving of the Knesset: “The collapse of the Bennett government is a testament to the fragility and weakness of the Zionist entity and its internal structure. Yet another indication that our people’s steadfastness and the ability of the resistance to embarrass this government, eventually broke its willpower and prevented it from achieving its goals.”

Following the visit of the chairman of the Hamas Politburo to Lebanon, Reuters reports from its sources that Hamas decided to renew its ties with the Assad regime which were severed at the beginning of the Syrian civil war following Hamas’ support of the Syrian rebels.

Pressured by Iran, Hamas has long wanted to renew its relations with Assad, a member of the Shiite-axis, but so far it has been Assad who has turned a cold shoulder on Hamas ever since he expelled their senior officials from Syria about a decade ago.

Hamas’ return to Syrian territory could pose headache for Israel, serving Iran’s interest in the region well.

Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad officially announced that Lebanon has signed an agreement with Egypt to import 650 million cubic meters of natural gas, expected to add about four hours of electricity a day for the people of Lebanon.

The United States has exempted this agreement from the American sanctions imposed on economic activity in Syria under the “Caesar Act”, allowing the transfer of Egyptian (Israeli) gas to Lebanon with the pipeline that runs from Egypt through Jordan and Syria.

Egypt has recently increased its gas purchase from Israel significantly. Egypt has not enough gas for themself.

Islam, Israel

Doubts about Muhammad’s night journey from Jerusalem

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In a talk show on Egyptian television, Ibrahim Issa publicly described the night journey/ascension as a “completely delusional story”. He was heavily criticized for these statements by Islamic theologians in Egypt and also on social media and was then briefly arrested by state authorities.

Mohammed is said to have raced on a mythical creature, the winged white horse al-Buraq with a woman’s head, from Mecca to Jerusalem, from there to heaven and then back again.

The Ascension is not clearly mentioned in the Koran. It is also interesting that at the time of Mohammed there was only the ruins of St. Mary’s Church on the Temple Square.

According to MoroccoWorldNews, Saudi Oussama Yemani claims the real Al-Aqsa Mosque is in al Ji’ranah near Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

read more https://www.obrist-impulse.net/zweifel-an-mohammeds-nachtreise-von-jerusalem

Bible

You reap what you sow

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The Egyptians destroyed the lives of the Israelites. Now, in the sixth plague, the destruction comes back on themselves.

Purity was important to the Egyptians. Those who could had themselves embalmed so that the body remained intact. In Exodus 9:11 we read something important: “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.”

What a fiasco. The Egyptian ceremonies are cancelled. This is also where the magicians are mentioned the last time. The god of medicine, Imhotep, was powerless.

Six times Pharaoh hardened his own heart and resisted the signs of God. Now he is reaping what he has sown. From now on he himself is affected.

Bible

loss of income

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The cattle plague, the fifth in Egypt, results in loss of income. Without healthy animals there is no work.

The trouble for Pharaoh was that God made a distinction between the animals of the Israelites and those of the Egyptians. In Exodus 9:7 we read: “Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”

The Egyptians regarded cattle as sacred, even as incarnations of deities. The deity Hathor, a mother deity, resembled a cow. No wonder it would have been an abomination to them if the Israelites had sacrificed in the land.

Despite the clarity of the message, the pharaoh locked his heart. No matter how clearly God speaks, if man does not want to hear, he shuts himself off to God.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Psalm 95:7-8