So, Friday is the end of the World?

Taken from Messianic Bible's e-mail:

Denmark: Jews Warned to Hide Their Identity

“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling.” (Psalm 27:5)

Hostility toward Jews in Denmark intensified after Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense, which ended an intensive campaign of Palestinian rockets fired at the Jewish state.

    
Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark

Increased anti-Semitism has prompted the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen, along with Jewish officials and rabbis, to advise Jews who live in or visit Denmark to not wear religious symbols such as a kippah (head covering typically worn by observant Jewish men), in order to avoid drawing attention to their Jewish identity.

“We advise Israelis who come to Denmark and want to go to the synagogue to wait to don their skull caps until they enter the building and not to wear them in the street, irrespective of whether the areas they are visiting are seen as being safe,” said Arthur Avnon, Israel’s ambassador to Denmark. (Tribune)

Avnon also advised people not to “speak Hebrew loudly” or visibly wear the Star of David.

Michael Gelvan, chairman of the Nordic Jewish Security Council said, “Sadly, this has been our recommendation for a long time now and we back the ambassador in what he said.”

The recommendation came a few weeks after the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen was attacked by about 20 demonstrators. No one was hurt, but stones and fireworks were hurled at the embassy building – and the word “childkillers” was smeared on an entrance wall.

These advisories are commonplace, especially in Copenhagen. At a September diversity festival, city officials even asked the Israel exhibitors not to display the Israel flag because it could incite violence against them. (CNS News)

Jewish men pray at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem. The man in
the foreground is wearing a kippah, which is a typical head covering for
observant Jewish men. The ultra-Orthodox men behind him are also
wearing kippahs under their shtreimels (traditional fur hat) and fedoras.

    

Hamas Culture of Violence Continues to Grow

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

Since being granted "observer state" status, the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank, appear to be moving away from working toward peace with Israel.

Instead of living up to pledges to stop incitement against Israel, Fatah seems to be reconciling with its long-time rival Hamas (the ruling party in Gaza), whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel.

Several West Bank Fatah political leaders have recently made statements that praise Hamas and violence against Israel.

After Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense to stop the incessant bombing of Israeli civilians by Hamas, Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, said his feelings towards Hamas have softened.

“I salute them… May Allah bless Islamic Jihad, may Allah bless Hamas…. I’m in favor of a Palestinian victory in Gaza, Hamas’ and [Islamic] Jihad’s victory. Nothing matters to me now except Israel’s defeat,” Zaki said.

Jamal Muhaisen, who is also a Central Committee member, praised Hamas violence, as well:

“We, of course, praise our people’s resolve in Gaza. We praise and salute every hand that launched a rocket at Israel from Gaza, and every hand that threw a stone at the Israeli side in the West Bank,” he said.

During Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal's recent historic visit to the Gaza Strip,
he called for unity between the rival political factions of Hamas and Fatah,
desiring all Palestinians to rally around armed resistance to Israel.

Meanwhile, the culture of violence and hate continues to grow unchecked in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas TV recently aired a speech made by a Muslim cleric who provoked the listeners with hateful rhetoric against the Jews.

“Our mantle is death to the Jews and to America,” he said.

The cleric also said that judgment day would not come “until you fight the Jews.”

Gaza’s leaders seem to have no regrets about promoting violence.

Khaled Meshaal, chairman of the Hamas political bureau, even blesses it.

“How wonderful was your shelling of Tel Aviv. May your hands be blessed. May your hands be blessed. We are proud of what you have done,” Meshaal said.

Meshaal emphasized that he would be satisfied with nothing less than conquering the entire land of Israel, which he said would happen through liberation and not negotiations.

“Anyone who wishes to take the path of diplomacy must take a missile along with him,” he said.

Tellingly, Azzam al-Ahmad, the Palestinian Authority deputy prime minister, was present for Meshaal’s speech – and described his words as “very positive.”

Sadly, the world has ignored such comments from the political leadership of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Hurricane Sandy was responsible for the flooding and fire that destroyed
many homes in Breezy Point, a coastal community in New York City. The
hurricane, which hit New York on October 29, caused such devastation
that countless people are still picking up the pieces of their lives.

    

Young Israel Leaders Cited as Hurricane Sandy Heroes

“And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3)

The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty has formally recognized two men as “heroes” for humanitarian assistance they provided in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record before it slammed New York, New Jersey and Long Island, where an estimated three million Jewish people live, including 350,000 Israeli Jews.

Hillel Adelman and Chaim Leibtag of the National Council of Young Israel, a coordinating agency for nearly 150 US and Canadian Orthodox synagogues, were acknowledged as having impacted the lives of people whose communities were shattered by the storm.

“We are especially proud that the Met Council chose to recognize two important members of our Young Israel family, Hillel Adelman and Chaim Leibtag, for their extraordinary efforts in a time of darkness and despair for so many people,” NCYI president Farley Weiss said. (Arutz Sheva)

Adelman set up a soup kitchen and a shelter for women and children. He also collected generators and arranged gasoline distribution. Leibtag worked with Congregation Knesseth Israel in Far Rockaway, New York to give vital assistance to those the hurricane left in dire circumstances.

And let us not forgot the thousands of volunteers who helped victims of Staten Island and other areas, including our own Bibles For Israel staff’s family members.

Although damage was severe in New York and New Jersey, 24 states in the US were affected by the storm. There are many people still devastated financially and emotionally from the storm, including in places such as Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti, so please keep them in your prayers.

An Iranian military base in Port Sudan would make it
easier for Iran to arm Israel's enemies in the Gaza
Strip with weapons transported through the Red Sea
and Egypt. It would also make it easier to strike Eilat,
which is located at the northern end of the Red Sea.

Sudan to Allow Iran to Establish Red Sea Base

“Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

According to Sudanese opposition groups, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has struck a secret deal with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to establish an Iranian military base on the Sudanese coast of the Red Sea.

The accusations came after two Iranian war ships recently docked in Port Sudan. It was the second such visit in two months.

The first came after Sudan accused Israel of an airstrike on a weapons factory in Khartoum that may have been producing Iranian weapons bound for Gaza.

Following the air strike, al-Bashir denounced Israel as “the Zionist enemy and Israel will remain the enemy.”

Sudan’s army spokesperson Col. Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad said that the arrival of the Iranian navy warships were simply part of a “military exchange” with Iran. (JPost)

The ships were to remain in the harbor and be open to the public for three days, reportedly in an exercise to determine public opinion on an Iranian naval base in the region.

If Iran were able to establish a military presence in Sudan and gain control over part of the Red Sea shipping route, it would more easily and effectively be able to ship weapons to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

That would be a clear and present danger for Israel.

    
Eilat is a busy port and resort town in Israel that is located on the northern
tip of the Red Sea. In 2011, terrorist infiltrated Israel at the Sinai border,
attacking an Israeli civilian bus and car, just a few miles from Eilat.

You can make a difference for Yeshua & Israel

The World is Worrying about Doomsday coming on Friday

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Revelation 21:1)

Around the globe today, many non-Believers are waiting in fearful expectation for the world to end this Friday.

Headlines from around the planet reflect that fear:

• “Mayan apocalypse: panic spreads as December 21 nears” (Daily Telegraph)

• “Mayan Apocalypse? Doomsday? Asteroid? How the world will end” (FoxNews)

• “Chinese ‘Survival Pods’ to help their maker, Liu Qiyuan, ride out Mayan apocalypse” (Huffington Post)

• “French village offers refuge from apocalypse (Spiegel)

This hullabaloo has been caused by the fact that the Mayan “Long Count” calendar, followed by many communities in Mexico and Guatemala, completes a 5,000 year cycle on December 21, 2012.

Followers claim the end of this calendar will be the start of a world apocalyptic event, destroying the Earth as we know it.

However, Bible prophecy is very clear about the End of the Age, and one sign in particular has not yet been fulfilled.

    

Both the Prophet Daniel and John, a disciple of Yeshua (Jesus), predicted that the anti-Christ (anti-Messiah), a powerful world leader, will seemingly bring peace to the Middle East and sign a peace treaty with Israel for a seven-year period. (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 7, Revelation 13)

As of today, no such peace treaty exits.

Since all of Daniel’s other prophecies were fulfilled, we can also be confident that the anti-Christ will appear before Yeshua the Messiah returns.

Here are a few things that Yeshua told His followers to watch for as the End of the Age draws near in Matthew 24:

• Nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom (v. 7)

• Wars and rumors of wars (v. 6)

• Famines and earthquakes in various places (v. 7)

• Persecution of Believers and Jewish people (v. 9)

• Increasing wickedness or lawlessness (v. 12)

• Falling away from faith and betrayal of one another (v. 10)

• Love growing cold (v. 12, see also 2 Timothy 3:1–4)

• The Good News being preached to all nations (v. 14)

• False prophets and messiahs rising (vv. 4–5, 11, 23–27)

Luke 21 also lists revolutions, plagues, terror, fear, and signs in the heavens.

    
The end of the Mayan calendar (background) has caused many to fear
that the world is coming to an end.

Other end-time signs include the following:

• A great outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) (Joel 2:28–29)

• Increasing understanding of end-time Bible prophecy (Daniel 12:4, 8–9)

• The re-establishment of Israel (Ezekiel 37: 21–22)

• Increasing knowledge and travel (Daniel 12:4)

• Hostile neighbors surrounding the re-established nation of Israel threatening to take possession of the Land (Ezekiel 35:1–36:7)

• Escalating international controversy regarding the control of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2–3)

• Building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount (Ezekiel 40–42)

• The abomination of desolation in the Temple (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:11, Mark 13:14)

Still, Scripture does caution us to be ready at all times for the return of Yeshua.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father…. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:36, 42)

Cath, so much of what Yeshua prophesied is now coming to pass.

We have a responsibility as Believers to be personally ready for His soon return and also to help the Jewish People understand the Messianic Prophecies and their fulfillment in Yeshua their Messiah. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Your gifts during this Holiday and Year-End Tax season, will help us fulfill the Great Commission in Israel—our Great Responsibility during these end times.

“Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai - Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.” (Mark 11:9)