The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated by you; they will go out against you one way and will flee at your presence seven ways. - Deuteronomy 28:7
What great goodness arises out of all He has done! And what great goodness follows those who love and revere Him! He has shown the blessed that their name is written in the book of Life and given them a new heart and a new mind!
Since there now is so much attention on Iran and Israel, and though war is a consequence of mankind's detestable predilection for evil, perhaps one of the central questions for some today is:
Does Israel have a right to exist? Do the Jews have a right to exist? Does Israel have a right to fight its enemies who are attacking it on 7 different fronts?
It is astonishing but accurate to say that the Jews have been hated in the Diaspora, scattered throughout the world, for being Jews. But now that there is a nation of Israel, they are hated both for being Jews as well as for inaccurately and hypothetically not being Jews, -- as contradictory and unbelievable as that may sound.
There are some who accuse us of not being "the real Jews." And the nation is hated for not being perfect, as some mistakenly imagine it must be for it to even exist.
My people were massacred in various places and various times for thousands of years, because they stayed separate, kept their own religious practices and faith and ways, and for the most part did not intermarry and assimilate. They were "other" than the peoples within whose societies they were scattered by God.
If the Jews are truly "the Jews," do they have a right to the land? Do they have a right to defend themselves from being attacked every day, month after month, and year after year after 1948, when the nation of Israel was created?
Christian writer and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza has written a very clear explanation proving Israel's right to exist on the same basis as every other nation on Earth, currently or historically, and even more so. It is an undeniable fact, even if one hates the Jews or the nation.
It is strange, but predicted, that other nations that do horrific evil and subject their citizens to the harshest and most inhumane conditions are not condemned as Israel and the Jews are. Such a tiny plot of land and such a tiny percentage of the world's population!
What are the bases for any nation's existence? ... historical ties and ancestry, conquest, treaties and negotiation or legal bases, and Biblical. Israel has all four bases for existence.
The United States, for example, has only conquest and treaties/negotiation as its basis for its creation and continued existence. So am I and my people fake Jews and the land of Israel unjustly exist, as some assert?
And, if Israel has a right to exist on all four bases, it certainly has a right to defend itself from relentless terrorist attacks on its people from all sides and from within:
We must understand its Islamic (as well as Leftist enemies):
Islam is a system of conquest: ending with a theocratic Islamic Caliphate dictatorship. Whether by the "sword" or by settlement jihad, the goal has and always will be conquest and domination of all peoples and lands.
Also, after the Jews were scattered throughout the nations by God in the Diaspora, Islamists ruled most of the Middle East for centuries. The Ottoman Empire ruled these areas from the 1300s through 1922, when it ceased to exist.
For Muslims, any land that was once conquered and ruled by Muslims is forever considered "their land." So, they resent and rage at those who now dwell in these lands and will never give up the idea of taking the land back from the Jews or any other non-Islamic peoples.
Since the election of New York City Mayor Mamdani, New York City, for example, is now considered "conquered" by many Muslims. That may sound shocking but Times Square has periodically been completely shut down by thousands of Muslims praying right in the middle of the street.
And the Islamic call to prayer echoes through the city, even though the city's noise regulations are being violated with "guidance" from the Muslim mayor, Mamdani, who refuses to condemn the horrific Hamas Oct 7th attacks that butchered and burnt alive innocent men, women, children, and infant Israelis. https://factually.co/fact-checks/society/nyc-noise-ordinance-change-call-to-prayer-muslims-51d604
Time will tell what happens next. Other American cities are completely dominated: Dearborn and Hamtramck, Michigan, and "Little Pakistan" -- formerly known by some as Paterson, New Jersey. https://rairfoundation.com/new-jerseys-first-islamic-city-muslim-politicians-seize/
This is conquest in the eyes of the Islamists whose goal never changes: the advance of Islam and the Islamic State.
Socialism also is a system of conquest: ending in an atheistic, secular, communist dictatorship. And,
Technocracy is a system of conquest: ending in a secular technocratic total surveillance state/dictatorship.
Whether through violent revolution, war, or peaceful means, combinations of any of the above all result in dictatorship.
There is no forgiveness within the hearts of those who are zealots dedicated to achieving any of the above. Captured by an ideology, they hate any who question or oppose them. Zealots seek their goals by any means, because they believe the "ends justify the means," -- however evil the means may be.
They have convinced themselves of their own righteousness and virtuosity and believe that they are working to usher in a utopia of their own making. They protest. They tear down, destroy, and eventually kill since their hearts run cold with hatred.
In every case throughout history, they have only achieved ruthless oppression and misery.
In all of these as well as former communist nations: the former Soviet Union and all its satellite nations, former communist Cambodia, and several other former communist nations. These nations are and were open prisons.
In the officially Islamic States of Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Mauritania, and Yemen. These nations are open prisons.
And in the 57 Muslim-majority religion states, authentic freedom does not exist as we know it.
In every case, speak out against the ruling State, and you will end up arrested, imprisoned, or killed for defying the authority of the State.
The real radical -- not a zealot at all -- was the dear Lord Jesus who brought something demanding a change of the heart only possible through God's grace. Though he recognized that nations will continue to war and rise and fall, He stated, echoing the Proverbs above, that individuals must repent:
You have heard that it was said,
"You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you.... - Matthew 5:43-44
This will upset those who have supported President Trump, but we must look with open eyes at all realities, both the good and the bad. No man is purely good:
Where has the greatest reform of humanity's cruelty to humanity come from? Is it not from God who gave us the Ten Commandments, from Judaism and Christianity? Aren't these the origins of the pro-life mission? Don't the Jews toast "To Life" and value life above all material things? And don't the Christians teach forgiveness and also work to save lives?
So many have lost their way. Please pray that the lost find their way again.
Pray for His peace!
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God. - Matthew 5:9
As it has been before, the leaders of the nations determine what happens to the people unless the people themselves act to make a difference that matters. That is possible, but it will take great efforts and dedication and our humble and fervent prayers for His mercy.
Please pray for our nation and the people of the world!
Ron Panzer