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Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

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  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Thanks for the update HSB. What great news that the one man changed his mind about Israel once he was there.

    That was probably a fairly close call when you tried to retun the back pack. Many of us wouldn't have thought twice to try to return it..life is so different there

    I agree with you..many of the places you visited will not be open much longer. You are blessed to be able to see them. I'm going to have to wait until I'm in my glorified body before I visit Israel. Which all in all is not a bad deal

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  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    well we're back! our little group of 22 had a wonderful time in Israel. We had 3 days in jerusalem, 2 full days in Judea and Samaria,then down into the desert for a crosscountry 4X4 trek to har Karcom from the Ramon crater in the Negev, Elath (did you know there is a big masonic pyramid there near the Egyptian border?) up the Arabah to masada, Ein gedi, Qumrum, Bet Shean, Springs of Harrod (Gideon fame), Sea of Galilee cruise, Christian sites, Golan Heights with tanks on maneuvers, a wonderful Christian arab living history site at Nazereth Village, then Megiddo and finally the coast around Caesarea. We hiked around Jerusalem on foot, had communion service in the Garden area at Garden tomb, had a "protected bus" for Judea and samaria (got up top at Elon Morea, into downtown Hebron) then 7 little cars with walkie talkies for the last 8 days of the trip..we logged over 1600 kms in them! I love that little country!!
    I can share some little stories..like the Texan man and his wife that run the mini-golf in Ariel and make great hamburgers..Homer and Ruby by name. They bottle water from the springs of Mount of Blessing (Gerizim) that feed into Jacob's well, and distribute them widely in special little blessing bags. Or the man in Ariel who owns the hotel we stayed at. he got a national award for intercepting a suicide bomber on his way to kill soldiers at the bus stop there.

    Every school bus field trip has an armed guard. When we were at the springs of Harrod where Gideon selected his 300 men for the night attack against the Midianites, my wife found a backpack that a school boy had accidentally left near our spot. I ran across the field to catch the bus before it left. I decided to stop running and simply hold up the bag. It occured to me that a stranger with a backpack running up to a bus loaded with children was not a smart thing to do. I would hope that the guard would have at least yelled in Hebrew before shooting me down on the spot...but I would have certainly fired if I was in his situation. What a sad thing that kids need to be guarded at all times with guns!!

    I took along a former work colleague and his wife. They attend a liberal church. Mike has a PhD in Physics..he is certainly a smart man. he told me after 3 days in Israel that he had COMPLETELY changed his mind about the situation over there and become a big booster of Israel. It amazed him that the media could portray things so completely different from reality on the ground.

    Or the man in Ariel who told us "If we give up the Land what is the point in being over here at all??" He went on to say that a flower cut from its roots can sit in a bowl of water anywhere in the world..New York, Russia etc. But to live it needs its root and that would mean Israel.

    When we were at Baneas (ancient Greek site Paneas but arabs cannot say P- so they say Nablus instead of Naples) there was a picture showing where the pagan temples stood near the Gates of hell (this was caesarea Philippi in the New testament times) One of our group asked how they trained the goats to dance at the pagan temple there..as described in the brochure. I told her that like the wild west days you simply fire a few shots into the dirt and say "dance you old goat!!" works every time

    When leaving ancient site of Shilo in the west bank we picked up a man with his backpack near the gate of the community. He thought our bus was the regular bus running south to Jerusalem. The bus driver was fine with the pickup and asked me if I was OK. I concurred. One of our group leaned across the aisle and asked me "Can this man say Naples?" My wife asked what the question was...I couldn't answer her because I was laughing so much I was crying.... you see I knew he was safe to have on board because he was packing a pistol, something only Jewish settlers are authorized to carry. But imagine living in a world where everyone you see with a backpack may be a serious threat to your health.

    We stood in the reconstructed synagogue at Nazereth Village as the guide uttered the famous lines of Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." I mentioned to the group we should thank God that Jesus stopped halfway through the verse anouncing the Year of the Lord's favor, stopping short of announcing a Day of vengeance of our God!! That will come soon enough! I chatted with an off duty US soldier (who did confirm massive secret US deployment of equipment in Israel..nothing new there) He outlined to me that the Hebrew word "shabar" for "brokenhearted" means "shattered" not simply broken into a few pieces. More like what happens to a clay jar when you take a sledge hammer to it and destroy it, not simply drop and break it. Jesus is saying that he can bind up lives that are totally shattered. Amen to that!!!

    Please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem! I am concerned that the West Bank will be declared "off limits" within the next year..just like happened in Gaza. I am not certain we will ever get to visit in the future many of the sites we did this time.

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  • wendyj
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    HSB _its Saturday and you may have left already. "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news..." Bring good news to our Jewish brothers . Wherever you go tell them we love them and pray for them. Tell them to hold fast and look to the LORD their God. Pray that they will read the Book of Daniel---Kay Arthur has an excellent study on it---and its secrets are unlocking even now for them.

    More than anything tell them they are loved. It seemed to me that when I visited Israel last year, there was such surprize when I told them how much they were loved by God and by us who follow Jesus and love God. They didn't believe me and wanted reassurance. They told others what I had said and the others asked me about this. "Everyone hates us, " they said. These people need to be loved, and to see love by the followers of Yeshua. "They will know we are Christ's ones by our love." There is so much confusion as to who Christians are over there. At these last few hours in our time --they need to know their Messiah or at least know that they are loved by the followers of Yeshua.

    My heart is in Israel. I didnt mean to lose it there---I just wanted to go and see the historical places and artifacts---but my heart is there. I love those people and I love THEIR land. Keep well and may you be used by God in the last hours.

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  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Thanks all. Israel is actually safer than any city in USA or Canada, strange as that may sound. There is almost none of the muggings, drugs, breakins, homicides etc that plague our cities, even the so called safe ones. Having said that, we need to constantly trust God, for safety is of the Lord. A senior official in israel told me once that at the height of the terrorist strikes, an Israeli citizen was over 200 times more likely to be injured in an auto accident than in any terrorist activity. For tourists the odds are much higher than that!So I am praying for safety on the roads!! Also that higher altitude issues like Iranian nuclear determent does not turn into a hot war. My major concern on this trip is the health of the participants. They are in as good condition as most Americans and Canadians...poor to lousy. Don't get me wrong. These are folks who are keen to hike around the sites etc. But what is abundantly clear is how "out of shape" we all are compared to biblical times. People then hiked up and down the hills more than we hike up and down the stairs at home. Pacing will be important or else we will lose people to the hospital care system for exhaustion etc. I hope to share some insights from Israel with you all when we return May 13th. Shalom!

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  • Sandylion
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Originally posted by JudyAnn
    Thank you for the update and itinerary, HSB!

    Will definitely be praying for a hedge of protection around you and your group!

    Yes.....I strongly believe we will be seeing what you wrote in the previous post.....we are sooooo close!
    My sentiments as well, HSB. It sounds like an exciting trip, but I'm afraid I would be terribly nervous being there right now.

    All the best and may God keep you safe and bring you home again.

    Leave a comment:


  • JudyAnn
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Thank you for the update and itinerary, HSB!

    Will definitely be praying for a hedge of protection around you and your group!

    Yes.....I strongly believe we will be seeing what you wrote in the previous post.....we are sooooo close!

    Leave a comment:


  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Last year in May my wife and I drove through all the Gaza settlements, saw the greenhouses in action, chatted with folks, ate meals etc. Shortly after that the government erected gates with a pass system preventing outsiders from visiting, and soon after that the evacuation was completed and the buildings destroyed by summer. This all happened in a few short months. I suspect the same thing will happen in the West Bank. Our tour group will visit all these places in May but perhaps within a year there will be gates erected.....

    Regarding the EU budget etc, IMHO the Jews will not leave the West Bank..but they better hold on tight. I see a major international effort to support/police/facilitate, what ever you want to call it, to assist in the removal of Jews from the settlements. The arrival of this large military force will usher in a direct response from God by way of major earthquake felt around the world...you can read the earlier posts on this thread for further comments. The 40 years of divine patience after God gave the Land back to the Jews is about up...1967 to 2007. Let's see what happens within the next year as Kadima proceeds ahead with its disengagement exercise!! It is possible that a year from now we might just be nicely into the 70th week of Daniel (and most will not even know it!!!) Wait til the horses start to ride..they are all saddled up and "feeling their oats" (that's for you SandyL), first the white, then the red....

    I already have 12 people wanting to go to Israel with our little group next year. I don't quite know how to tell them that in all probability there won't be any more trips, or if we plan one it will be on short notice to cancel!!
    PS thanks for your prayers.

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  • wendyj
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    We will pray for your safety. I would love to join you,but not his year as my husband really thinks too much Israel got to my head when I went last year with Kay Arthur. How awesome to go " at such a time as this!"

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  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    JudyAnn, Wendy and other interested WEDGies. Our group flies into Israel this Sunday afternoon, Lord willing. We spend four days in Jerusalem, including Independence day, then tour two days through the West Bank (Hebron, Bethel, Shiloh, Elon Morea, Har Bracha (Mt Gerizim/Blessing)...many of the places scheduled for evacuation. I will try and gauge sentiments of the people we meet along the way. Then we pick up our 7 cars and take off to Har Karkoma in the Negev (after a cross country trek in 4X4s) It may be the actual Mt Sinai. Down to Elath, up the Jordan all the way to Galilee for three days, finally returning along the coast to Caesarea/Tel Aviv. All told 2 weeks. Please pray that we will have a safe trip and have occasion to be a blessing along the way. HSB PS Our guide in the West Bank is a Messianic Jewess!

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  • wendyj
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Just thinking out loud.

    With the leftist government they have now, what could possibly cause Israel to keep her people in Judea /Samaria?

    I mean Netanyahu would not have given away the West Bank to lunatics, but Netanyahu did not win.

    What scenarios would change the present gov's mind about a pullout?

    Also what was the Eu budget period again? Doesn't it start some sort of 7 year cycle Jan 1,2007?

    Nice hear from you again HSB.

    Leave a comment:


  • JudyAnn
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Wow!! That does bring up some interesting questions/thoughts.

    If they never leave the land then we are very close.....so many possibilities!

    Great find, HSB ( as always! )


    On a side note....HSB...are you still planning your trip to Israel in May?

    Leave a comment:


  • Andy
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    WOW, that's some good thinking!

    So - either Israel never leaves Judea or - they come back. Not likely once they've left the land to those thugs they'd ever get it back so apparently, as this author suggests, they're not going to give it up in the first place.

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  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    I have attached a link to a note posted on the Five Doves site today. The author raises a very good question....how can the Jews in Judea flee from the abomination of desolation if there are no Jews left there as a reult of the Kadima evacuation orders???



    http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2006/davidm426.htm

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  • Guest's Avatar
    Guest replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    Here we go folks... interesting thias must occur during the George Bush term in office. Read the first 1000 posts to find out why that is important!

    ..Last update - 23:48 09/04/2006


    Kadima says convergence will begin before November 2008

    By Mazal Mualem and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents

    Kadima does not intend to delay the implementation of the convergence plan, and expects to begin implementing it in 2008, Kadima representatives said on Sunday. The comments were made during coalition negotiations between Kadima and Likud officials.

    Likud representatives quoted the Kadima officials as saying they plan to begin implementing the convergence plan during U.S. President George W. Bush's tenure, or by the end of 2008.

    Kadima representatives also clarified that they do not plan to hold a national referendum on the convergence plan. Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert said recently that the March 28 elections were themselves a referendum on Kadima's diplomatic initiative, and that the nation had decided in favor of the plan.

    Over the weekend, Olmert expressed his determination to implement the convergence plan in the West Bank in his first interviews to the foreign media since the elections, with the Washington Post and Newsweek. Olmert committed to providing territorial contiguity for a future Palestinian state in the West Bank, after removing most isolated settlements and converging them into blocs of settlements that will remain under Israeli control.
    Last edited by HSB; 04-09-2006, 08:28 PM.

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  • Andy
    replied
    Re: Ezekiel 36 and the Mountains of Israel.

    I wonder how long the world will search for our bodies after we disappear. I know Moses actually died (so I'm not trying to make a connection there) but I've wondered how long searches will go on when we disappear.

    I was just musing over the events of the wilderness. The spies, the 2 that were faithful (two witnesses?), etc.

    Thanks, HSB, for pointing out the 40 years. That is REALLY an amazing "coincidence" especially if they really do give up 1/2 of Jerusalem in 2007.

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