Jerusalem 2018 Is Here: The Opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem And Clashes With Hamas

Today marks the 70th anniversary of Israel's rebirth and U.S. President Donald Trump chose this

symbolic day to open new embassy of that country in Jerusalem after recognizing it as the capital of Israel to the dismay of Palestinians, U.N. and the European Union.

Hamas staged wider than ever "protests" along the security fence separating Gaza from Israel. There are also demonstrations happening in the Palestinian controlled West Bank as well as in Jerusalem itself, and it could get very violent as Hamas is a terrorist organization that does not accept Israel's right to existence  as stated in their own charter: "There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity. Whatever has befallen the land of Palestine in terms of occupation, settlement building, Judaization or changes to its features or falsification of facts is illegitimate. Rights never lapse. Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded (that includes entire Israel, not just so called occupied territories), irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. However, without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus."

To the Palestinians all lands belonging to Israel right now are "Palestine"( not just the occupied territories) and need to be "liberated", it further states that armed struggle against Israel, which it calls a "Zionist Entity" is a duty of  not only every Palestinian, but every Muslim: "The liberation of Palestine is the duty of the Palestinian people in particular and the duty of the Arab and Islamic Ummah in general. ( Ummah is  a worldwide Islamic community)Resisting the occupation with all means and methods is a legitimate right guaranteed by divine laws and by international norms and laws. At the heart of these lies armed resistance, which is regarded as the strategic choice for protecting the principles and the rights of the Palestinian people.
 Hamas rejects any attempt to undermine the resistance and its arms. It also affirms the right of our people to develop the means and mechanisms of resistance. Managing resistance, in terms of escalation or de-escalation, or in terms of diversifying the means and methods, is an integral part of the process of managing the conflict and should not be at the expense of the principle of resistance."

The above statement means that Palestinians and all Muslims are encouraged to attack Israel with any means and methods they choose, including the attacks on civilian population as in the wave of knife attacks and bombings in the past, not just Israeli soldiers. Anyone  watching or discussing this conflict must be aware of these facts and see both Palestinian and Israeli actions in its context. Below is the link to Hamas' website where  you all can read it for yourselves.

http://hamas.ps/en/post/678/a-document-of-general-principles-and-policies

Could it be the very historic event  that we have been anticipating since May 2008 when I first published The Countdown to Jerusalem 2018? I very much think so. I think that what happened today sets in motion a chain of events leading to fulfillment of all prophecies regarding Israel and Jerusalem. In addition to rising violence from the Palestinians against Israel, we have rising tensions between Iran and Israel over Iran's involvement in Syria and its establishment of military bases there from which it can attack Israel.  Iranian Islamic regime is crumbling from within and it might want to provoke war with Israel in order to distract the Iranian people from their resistance. It might even use the pretext of wanting to defend Palestinians for their attack. We must watch and pray for all parties involved.

One thing is sure. The prophetic Biblical pattern of 70 holds.

The Looming Global Financial disaster:We Have Four Years To Set Financial House In Order

Normally, I write about different global events and issue warnings from biblical and prophetic

perspective. This warning, however, comes based simply on demographic facts and common sense.

For number of years now, my husband and I have had a conviction to set our financial house in order. We began to live not only within, but also way below our financial means. We also paid off all our debts and have been living debt free for the past four years. We have no mortgage or credit card debt and as a matter of fact, credit card company that we use is paying us for using their card, and we have no other types of loans, while our savings have been growing.

Due to the current housing bubble in our country, we decided not to buy a house at this time, and now we fully understand why. Last summer, we read a very interesting book about geopolitics where author, Peter Zeihan, mentioned a very simple demographic fact that will have a huge impact on global economy. This impact will be of such magnitude that there will not be a single person untouched by what is coming.

 According to Peter Zeihan, beginning in the year 2022, the largest portion of the biggest demographic boom in history is going to retire. They are called "the baby boomers."  They are the generation born shortly after the horrors of the Second World War. As they have gone through various stages of their lives, because of their sheer numbers, they have driven the global economy for decades. They are behind the latest and the longest economical boom in the world history. Most of that generation is residing in developed well to do countries and is very well off too. As they began nearing the retirement age, they started pouring trillions of dollars into world economy in the form of high interest retirement investments, thus creating a tsunami wave of money flooding the  economy, making cheap credit available for everyone, and keeping the normal economical busts mostly at bay.

But as majority of them retire between 2022 and 2026, and  not only stop contributing all these money, but begin withdrawing it, it will create a reverse effect.  This receding tsunami wave will begin to cause the collapse of that artificial  global financial bubble. Interest rates will begin to rise and financially ruin those who have unsustainably high levels of debts, so if you don't want to be one of those people, you must do anything possible to pay off your debts and stop living above your means. Life is about to get hard for those who did not prepare. There will be chaos.

 According to Statistics Canada,  as of 2017 only 19,663,000 were employed and thus paying taxes for healthcare and other services that the Canadian government provides for Canadians. That is roughly 54% of Canadians working and supporting the other 46% of Canadian population. As the boomers retire on mass over the next few years, there will be fewer Canadians working and paying taxes than those who do not because they are children, unemployed, retired, or on a disability. That means many of those government services that we take for granted today will be cut, and we will have to either pay for them from our own pockets or go without...

Most of the other developed countries face the same problem. Things will only get progressively more and more difficult. We will need a lot of wisdom to navigate those times.We need to use what we have now to prepare for that.

Iran Protests: Powerful Symbolism of The White Scarf And Its Connection to Legendary Hero Kaveh

When the anti-government protests erupted in Iran in late December of 2017, one image really resonated with  Iranians at home and abroad. A woman standing tall and proud with her jet black hair flowing on her shoulders waving a white scarf on a long stick. 

The photo of her quickly made rounds around the Internet and became a symbol of what many are now calling the White Revolution, but many do not talk about why it resonated so much with Iranian people and why it became such a powerful symbol.

One reason  for it is the very courage of this woman who dared to remove from her head the symbol of the oppression, a scarf that Iranian women are being forced to wear since 1979 at the pain of harassment, imprisonment, and beatings from the religious police. One woman who was  taken to the police station and beaten for her husband's alleged anti-government comments told me that she saw a pregnant woman beaten as well because she wore "too much make-up." The women of Iran carry a disproportionate burden of oppression under the current Islamic Republic. Therefore it is the women of Iran who find the most courage to stand up for their rights.

But it wasn't only her courage that lent such deep meaning to her act. it was also because it evoked an image of a very well known Persian hero of pre-Islamic history named Kaveh. His story can be found in "Shahnameh" , the longest epic poem in the world describing the history of Persia, its Kings and heroes both historical and legendary.

Kaveh was a blacksmith who led a revolution against a foreign King who became a tyrant over Persia. He put his apron on a lance, which became a symbol of his revolution, of common people rising up against foreign oppression and marching together as one to the palace. The parallels are unmistakable. I don't know if this woman consciously evoked the imagery of Kaveh when she chose to visually represent the resistance of common people, especially the women, who are the most oppressed in Iran against Islamic rule, which is foreign, to the people of Iran most of whom hold on to their long 5000 years old Persian history and culture that predates Islam.

That is why the white scarf on a stick became such powerful symbol and will continue to be. The woman who created this symbol, a young mother, was found out by the government and arrested, but other women carry on that same symbol. Each Wednesday they pose  for a picture or video with a white scarf on a stick.

So, the White Revolution continues and will continue until the yoke of Islam is broken off the Iranians' shoulders. Let us continue to support the Iranian people, especially the women of Iran in their struggle for freedom and for a better future.

2018 : The Year of Hope And Anticipation

At the end of each year, we usually have a foretaste of what the New Year will bring. Last year, I felt

that the year will be filled with many changes and challenges. It was so, both in my personal life and in the world affairs.

What I sense for this New Year 2018 is hope and anticipation of what the Lord will bring about. It looks like the new wave of protests taking place in Iran right now will eventually finally bring down the oppressive regime that is holding Iranian people hostage for nearly four decades now, which will also bring an end to many terrorist activities around the world that this regime is funding, including Hamas.

I look forward to see if the biblical pattern of 70s for Israel will hold and what type of restoration will take place there as well. In the Church also there is a sense of renewed energy and joyful expectation as the movement of prayer and cooperation between different churches continues, there will be pouring out of God's blessings upon His people worldwide.

Last year, we saw how the materialist and postmodern philosophy that pushed people towards increased ungodliness began to crumble and an interest in the Bible began to grow in unexpected places. It does not cease to amaze me how a secular liberal Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, is able to draw hundreds of thousands into listening of his series of lectures on the Bible stories and they cannot get enough of it. The spiritual hunger among the people, especially the young people is growing. There are therefore many reasons to hope.

It is often easy to focus on all the bad that is happening in the world, but we have to remember that God is always on the move and way ahead of the enemy and that where the darkness gets deeper, His light can shine the brighter. So, determine to notice all those good things and understand what The Lord is doing, and be encouraged by it. God bless everyone and have a blessed New Year 2018!

Iran Protests: Writing On the Wall for The Islamic Republic

It is a 4th day of wide spread anti-government protests in Iran, which main stream media is either

ignoring or like CNN, reluctantly covering because of being shamed into it by the social media and their own President, who issued a public statement of support for the people of Iran almost as soon as the protests broke out.

This is the largest form of unrest in Iran since 2009 Green Revolution, but it is very different in many ways. This time, the people are not just opposing a single issue such as the economy or their displeasure with one politician, or one faction of their government, but with the entire current political system.

They are shouting: "Down with the Dictator," and "We don't want Islamic Republic." This time they are demanding the regime change altogether and they are literally risking their own lives by doing that. Reportedly more than 50 people were already arrested ( who will be tortured and killed in prison) and 2 were shot dead. The government is blocking cell phone communications with the Iran and limiting the Internet in hopes of keeping the reports of the protesters from getting outside the country, but they are failing.

It is Writing of the Wall for this Regime. The protests will continue to grow and even if the government manages to shut them down somehow, the people will regroup and come again with greater force.

The fall of this Islamic regime will be a blessing since it will cut off the funding to Islamic terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and will stop fueling violence even in countries such as Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and that is the grievance that the people of Iran have with their government, that all the national wealth is going to funding of terrorism and the pockets of the clerics while the money for basic social services for Iranian people such as public schools and pensions are being shut down. Now even the generation that brought in this government in an Islamic Revolution of 1979 says that they regret doing this. They hoped for a more just society, but what they got is oppression, poverty, and corruption, so the old, young, men, and women are marching together in these protests and will not stop until this regime is gone.

We must pray that they will succeed and we must pressure our politicians to support them, and to put more pressure on the Iranian regime to resign and open the country to truly free elections and transition to a democratic system that the people of Iran want.

This coming year 2018 will mark 40 years since the beginnings of the Islamic Revolution, perhaps it will mark the end of the desert experience the people of Iran had under this government and will usher in the promises of God for them. The promises of freedom and return of those who have been exiled to all countries around the world.

'But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,' says the LORD." ( Jeremiah 49:39) Amen.

The Question of Jerusalem

"Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it."( Zechariah 12:2-3)       

As President Trump announces today that the United States officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Jerusalem is being brought once gain into the center of the international attention.

For those who might not know there is a long running contention between Palestinians and Israelis about who Jerusalem should belong to. The Palestinians claim that Jewish people have no historical roots there and that because of the Al-Aksa Masque the Temple Mount and the Eastern Jerusalem should be their capital. They also claim against the historical evidence that the Jewish Temples never stood there and forbid any archeological work there in fear that they would be proved wrong, which shows that they really know the truth, but choose to deny it.

The move by the White House today clearly favours the Israeli claim, so we could soon expect a new wave of violence against both Israeli and American targets from Islamic terrorists in the Palestinian territories and around the world. This could even lead to a new Arab-Israeli war, which clearly would fit with the prophetic scenario I quoted above and with historic events that my husband and I were predicting would happen around the time of 70-th anniversary of Israel's rebirth. This time is coming in May of 2018, hence the name of this blog "Jerusalem 2018."

In addition this announcement comes a few days after the 70-th anniversary of UN recognizing Israel as a state, how sad that now they will not even recognize the historical capital of Israel, Jerusalem, as their present day capital.

From the point of view of the Bible though, Jerusalem is the only city in the world that God claimed for Himself, so it does not belong to Palestinians or any other people except Israel to whom He decided to give it to.

"Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”( Zechariah 1: 13-17)

The God of Israel promised multiple times through His prophets that in the last days he will restore Israel and Jerusalem to be once again the possession of His people and He is not very pleased with the nations or organizations that want to stop that from happening, but there is a blessing promised to all those who line up with God's own plans and act accordingly like United States under Donald Trump just did, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

We will see what will actually happen, but it looks like the pattern that we noticed in Scripture back in 2008 will actually hold.  and if the war happens, the enemies of Israel will once against lose it and the nations who act to stop God's work of restoring Jerusalem will face the same things that Israel id facing in the form of even more Islamic terrorism.We are living in truly prophetic times.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you." ( Psalm 122:6)

Rumours of Wars : Press Warns of The Looming War In the Middle East

Yesterday, I read a headline of a CBC news article that said:

Ominous signs that the next war in the Middle East is coming, and it won't be pretty

It's likely to directly or indirectly involve Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and even Russia        

                                                                    

 

So, six months before May 2018 ( the 70-th anniversary of its rebirth),  and as predicted the attention shifts back to the Middle East, Israel, her neighbours and other powers involved in their affairs. The list of nations mentioned in the article above is awfully close to the list provided us thousands of years ago by Hebrew prophet Ezekiel in his description of what is known as "Gog and Magog War."

 

Except he insinuates that it will be Israel starting it while the Scripture tells us that it will be attacked from the North by the alliance of these nations and that their true motive will be enriching themselves, and well Israel is now becoming a natural gas  exporter and behind the scenes working with Saudi Arabia whose oil is coveted by both Iran and Russia.

 

Perhaps all the signs in heavens  and on earth we have been seeing in recent few years all point to that very war.

 

It will be very interesting to see how it all will unfold. It will most likely also involve Turkey which will position itself on Iran and Russia's side of course. We must pray for God's protection over Israel and for wisdom for the leaders of our countries that they will not curse themselves by standing against His people as history is being made.