We've Moved

We recently opened up a new blog, the Return of Benjamin. This new blog will combine discussions about the Messianic movement with teachings about Biblical prophecy and news items that happen to catch our attention. All of the posts from this site have been exported there for the sake of keeping it all together. We hope that you will join us there.

Shalom b'Shem Yeshua

The New Broken Branches

From FrontPage Magazine:

Among the latest exploits of the United Methodist Women’s Division is a children’s book intended to instill anti-Israel themes among Methodist younsters. Innocuously called, “From Palestine to Seattle; Becoming Neighbors and Friends,” the booklet portrays Israel as an oppressor of Palestinians while omitting all mention of terrorism. It was written by Mary Davis, a former United Methodist missionary in “Palestine,” where she led “study tours,” whose political content no doubt was predictable.

One of the things this booklet tells teachers to ask their students is, “How would you feel if you were not allowed to visit a certain place?” Gee, I dunno, probably about the same as the millions of Jews who are denied access to the Temple Mount, our holiest site?

One of the discussions that Rabbi Gavriel and I have had frequently lately is the matter of the Christian Church (and here I'm using "Church" to refer to the whole cultural institution, not the Ekklesia of true followers of Messiah) being broken off from the Olive Tree:

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. (Rom. 11:17-21)

As I watch Christian groups like the UMC or the PCUSA divest themselves of and attack Israel, I note that it is the spiritually dead denominations that are the first to attack not only the broken branches, but the very root of the tree that they have been grafted into. Or perhaps I should say, that they at one time were grafted into. They have already given up Messiah in all but name (I think that quite a few will be among those who protest, "Lord, Lord, didn't we do all this stuff in Your Name?"), and the attacks on Israel are the symptom, not the cause, of a deep-rooted apostasy from the Scriptures.

Shalom

"Hey! Get That Ugly Thing Off My Mountain!"

From Arutz Sheva:

An earthquake shook Israel at 12:37 PM Friday. The only damage reported in Israel was on the Temple Mount and near Shechem (Nablus).

The earthquake measured 5.3 on the Richter scale; its epicenter was located in northeastern Lebanon. Earlier last week an earthquake measuring 4.1 was felt in northern Israel, also originating from Lebanon, near its northern city of Tyre.

A large hole opened up on the Temple Mount during Friday's earthquake, which was soon covered by officials from the Wakf Islamic Authority that administers the mosques built atop Judaism’s holiest site.

The only other reported damage in the Holy Land was incurred between Palestinian Authority-controlled Shechem (Nablus) and Jenin, where an old home collapsed, blocking the main road to the village of Khufin. The village is not far from the site of the Biblical Joseph’s Tomb, which was set ablaze by Muslim vandals last week.

The My Right Word blog has the pictures. It's interesting that the PA is trying to blame Israel for the undermining, when they've been the ones undermining the Dome of the Rock for years while trying to remove all evidence of the Temples. I've been suspecting for years that sooner or later they'd accidentally bring the Dome down on themselves, and that naturally they'd blame Israel for it. Perhaps the Holy One is moving things along for us?

Shalom.

Updates to Hebrew Root

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've posted another update to HebrewRoot. I've gotten caught up on the Parashah readings I've missed; I'll hopefully have another update to get current on Tuesday.

Shalom!

The Fallacy of Grievance-based Terrorism

The linked article is a must-read! The conclusion quoted below doesn't do justice to the amount of information (all carefully documented) that the article contains:

It is not, as Thomas Friedman argues in The World Is Flat, that the fruits of the American experiment—free markets, property rights, tolerance, democracy, and the rule of law—have left Islam behind. On the contrary, it is Islam that has opted out of progress by allowing, promoting, and embracing centuries of reactionary and retrospective reforms that rejected the idea that humans can indeed improve their condition through reason and rationality. Muslim clerics and leaders within the impoverished nations of the Islamic world need to understand that they are responsible for the condition and grief of their people. It is Islamism's rejection of religious tolerance, democracy, and the rule of law, in conjunction with its embrace of anti-Semitism, theocracy, and sectarian strongmen exempt from law and privileged by the authority they have usurped, that is the real enemy in the Islamic world's centuries-long interaction with the United States. While Islamists skillfully manipulate the Western mass media to enunciate an à la carte menu of grievances, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century interactions show these are not the root cause of jihadi terror. Indeed, a U.S. intelligence assessment, published two years before Israel's independence and any subsequent jihadi grievance, already highlighted Islamist terrorism as a long-term threat. So long as Western officials adopt a nearsighted, grievance-based view of the roots of Islamist terror, they will embolden jihadis through appeasement. . . .

Finally, the history of U.S. interaction with Muslim polities shows that "diplomacy backed by force" is the only effective approach to relations with them. Diplomacy is essential to ensure intentions are understood. Consistent diplomacy is essential to build the trust that majority Muslim countries need to support U.S. aims to advance Enlightenment ideals. Military weakness and the inability to project U.S. power have consistently led jihadis and Muslim kleptocrats to launch attacks against U.S. interests.

In other words, Islamic terrorism is nothing new, and it ultimately has nothing to do with Israel, other than making the Land a convenient scapegoat for Islam's violence and agenda of domination.

Shalom!

The Poster Awaiting Pres. Bush

*chuckle* Happy New Year, everyone. I thought I'd start off the New Year by posting something humorous. From Israelnationalnews.com:

In the upcoming days, billboards all over Jerusalem will be plastered with a new poster on the eve of U.S. President Bush’s visit to Israel. Pictured in the poster is a gigantic Bible, towering over the walls of the Old City.

That kinda says it all, doesn't it.

Shalom!

Angels on the Head of a Pin

JERUSALEM - Israeli scientists have inscribed the entire Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible onto a space less than half the size of a grain of sugar.

The nanotechnology experts at the Technion institute in Haifa say the text measures less than 0.01 square inch surface. They chose the Jewish Bible to highlight how vast quantities of information can be stored in minimum amounts of space.

I guess we'll finally be able to answer the age-old question. Just how many angels appear in the Tanakh, anyway?

Shalom!