Jeremiah 18:14  Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?
15  Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
16  To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
17  I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

Isaiah 35:1  The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2  It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

The land of Israel is an object lesson that God has chosen since the time of Abram (Abraham). God promised the nation of Israel that He would bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. When the spies were sent into the land of Canaan, they found a land flowing with milk and honey. It took two of those men to carry one bundle of grapes! God kept His promise and Israel prospered in the land of Canaan for many years. It was when Israel insisted on rejecting God and chose to adopt idolatry, that God removed His hand of blessing from that land.
Prior to 1948, the land of Israel was desolate. There were Arabs living in that land and they could not make the land flourish. God promised that land to Abram (Abraham). God made that land prosper. God can make any land prosper, or be desolate. If you travel to the land of Israel, you will find that there are areas of that land that are still rather desolate. There are other parts of Israel that are blooming like a rose. Prior to God bringing Israel back into that land in 1948, those parts of the land were desolate. It is God that makes the difference.
About a week ago a Jewish politician in B.C. made a truthful statement regarding the Middle East. She gave a truthful statement regarding the conditions in the land of Israel, prior to 1948. She chose some unneeded, vulgar language to make her statement. While the Arabs were occupying that land, they did not make anything productive of that land. It is important to note that God will not bless that land when His enemies occupy it.
It is true that Israel is not living in the fear of the Lord at this time. The nation of Israel has not chosen to honour God since He brought them back into that land in 1948. However, God made a promise to Abram (Abraham) and God keeps His promises. Israel is not a peaceful nation at this time. They have to spend far too much money and time to try to keep their enemies at bay. They are in a very volatile period of time right now. This problem is the direct result of their rejection of the true God.
Having said that, it does not mean that anyone should be cheering on the Arabs and others to attack Israel. God is well able to take care of things. He warned the world, in the days of Abram, that He would go after any people who would curse Israel.
One thing that many people fail to recognize is the hypocrisy in the Middle East situation. A sovereign nation should be able to govern itself. The world powers, in particular the U.S. as part of NATO, have caused the problem in Ukraine. Then, after interfering in that land, in part to try to cover up the covert efforts to fund labs that were used for gain of function research, the world governments are now pouring billions of dollars into a situation that was completely unnecessary.
Now the U.S. and Canada in particular are sticking their noses into the affairs of the nation of Israel. The “Palestinians” do not need a nation. They are not a nation without a homeland. Those people that make up the current “Palestinians” have a home. They can go back to Jordan and others Arab countries and settle down there. However, the Arabs chose a group of people that they intended to settle in the land of Israel, after they had plans to drive the Jews out; a plan that has backfired several times. When that plan did not work, and never will work, the Arab countries decided to make the current “Palestinians” refugees. The goal was to gain the sympathy of the world governments for these “poor, displaced, people that just want a homeland where they can live in peace.”
Anyone that has been paying attention to the situation in the Middle East since 1948 knows that every time Israel has made concessions to the Arabs, the Arabs have used that to move their rocket launchers closer to the land of Israel. Hamas has publicly stated that it does not want a peace agreement with Israel. It wants Israel destroyed and they want that land.
Back to this politician in B.C. that spoke the truth about the land of Israel prior to 1948, she has been forced to resign from her cabinet position. I want to be clear that I am not a supporter of any NDP government. I would never support them. It is sad to see that any Jews would be a part of that corrupt organization. They are certainly blinded by their rebellion against God.
We are again being shown that unless you tow the ‘party line’, you are not allowed to speak. You will be pushed and prodded until you either leave public life, or they will find some way to arrest you on trumped up charges. The goal of the ungodly is to silence any opposition to their predetermined position.
Society is not interested in ‘respectful public discourse’. The apostles lived in a similar environment. Jesus Christ lived in a similar environment prior to that. When people reject the true God, history repeats itself. We are living in a not so subtle dictatorship that will get worse before it gets better. Some people have their heads in the sand and do not want to admit to this fact.
As I look at the world and at our country, the saving grace in all of this is God. He is still in charge and He is not going to allow the corrupt majority to steamroll over the Godly minority. The Godly minority needs to wake up and stop aligning themselves with an ungodly group of people in the hope of getting some changes. The Godly minority needs to get on the side of the God Who saved them and we need to speak the truth plainly and boldly.
One day soon, the Lord Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and remove the true saints out of this world. Then, God will unleash His wrath against the ungodly Jews as never before. The antichrist will be the most vile man who ever ruled on this earth. There will be no born again Christians on earth at the beginning of the Tribulation. God will raise up the 144,000 Jewish men who will proclaim the truth during that time. He will also have His two witnesses in Jerusalem who will proclaim the truth. Further to that, He will have His angel flying across the heavens with the everlasting Gospel. All the while, the antichrist will be seeking to develop his plan of a world that will worship only him. He will not succeed and he will be destroyed at the end of the 7 year Tribulation time.
During the following 1,000 years the land of Israel will blossom as a rose. Jesus Christ will rule and no unsaved person will enter into the Millennium (1,000 year reign). Children will be born and as in every age, they will be born as lost sinners. By the end of that 1,000 years, there will be many lost people living on this earth. The devil will be loosed from his prison, and he will convince the majority of mankind to side with him. He will lead in a final attack against the Lord Jesus Christ. He and all his followers will lose. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire immediately and then the resurrection of the lost will take place and they will be judged at the great white throne judgment. Their wickedness will be revealed and they will then be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.
The day of God’s salvation is today. As we observe what is happening in the Middle East, it is important to look at that in the light of God’s Word. Israel is still God’s chosen nation. Many Jews will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Jews do not automatically go to heaven because they are Jews. However, Israel is still God’s chosen land and God’s chosen nation. He is still showing Himself strong through the events that are taking place in that land. Israel could save themselves much suffering if they would acknowledge the true God as their God. In spite of their rebellion, God is going to keep that land as their possession. Jerusalem will be trampled under the feet of Gentiles until the end of the 7 year Tribulation. However, they will not be destroyed.
That politician in B.C. needs to be saved and understand God’s will and plan. God is showing her that she does not belong in the NDP government. No born again Christian can be a part of that ungodly party. No Jews should be supporting that party. God is causing unrest against the Jews across the world, because He is drawing them back to their homeland. This fact does not mean that the ungodly will get away with their hatred of Israel. That hatred is a symptom of their hatred for God. No person can truly love God and hate the Jews.
The Bible commands those who are saved to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Psalm 122:6  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

To those who are saved, let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That peace will only come when the Jews turn to God and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah and King.
By application, God’s peace can only rest upon those people, Jew or Gentile, who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah and King. He is the only Saviour.
Pastor Bartel