I came across an interesting article yesterday online. In September last year in a report in the Jerusalem Post it stated that the Palestinian text books were full of incitement to violence and that according to a survey done by IMPACT-se (a research institute based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) all textbooks in social studies, history, Arabic and national education for grades 2–12, contain problematic content.
According to the report last year it found that Palestinian school children had been exposed to a dramatic amount of incitement and intolerance against Jews and Israel. The report came after the PA restructured its curriculum for the first time since 2000, following the Oslo Accords. Previously, school children in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were taught the Jordanian curriculum, while students in Gaza used Egyptian textbooks.
All 2019–2020 textbooks for the first semester were analysed. The findings conveyed a horrific reality, where violent acts, hatred and even “martyrdom” were not only justified but encouraged. The study found that all textbooks in social studies, history, Arabic and national education for grades two to 12 contained problematic content, defined by IMPACT-se as “violence or incitement to violence; hatred of the other; and radical, inappropriate or disturbing content.”
President Trump’s Peace Plan for Israel and its immediate Islamic neighbours will not work for several reasons. Firstly, God takes issue with nations that seek to divide up His Land Israel (Joel 3:1-2). Secondly, God gave the Jewish people the Land of Israel to be their “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:7-8). God calls the land Israel, the whole Bible itself, the Hebrew prophets, the Lord Jesus Himself and the apostles all called the land Israel.
The name ‘Palestine’ was an invention by the Romans, deriving its name from the word “Philistine.” Historically and Biblically the Philistines were Israel’s sworn enemies and they lived in Gaza (Now called the Gaza Strip). The Bible defines the borders of the Promised Land as being from the River of Egypt (the Nile) to the great river Euphrates. This means that all of modern day Israel including Judea, Samaria and Gaza, the lower half of Lebanon and Syria, all of Jordan and half of Iraq is included in the covenant promise (Genesis 15:18).
When King David reigned in Israel his kingdom occupied most of the territory that GOD promised to Abraham. Thirdly, Abbas himself and his henchmen, Hamas, Hezbollah, Turkey, Iran and the Arab League will never accept the plan. Fourthly, young Arab children are being ‘groomed’ to become remorseless killers for Allah. A whole generation of young children are being trained and groomed to hate Israel, to hate America and to hate anything and everything that does not conform to Islamic ideology and adhere to Sharia law. In the end the Peace Plan may not turn out to be the Deal of the Century after all but rather the Disastrous Deal of the Century because it goes against the Word of God concerning Israel’s birthright to the whole Land of Israel and that, to the descendants through Isaac and not through Ishmael (Genesis 17:21).
Today there are many Jihad training camps for young boys in Islamic countries and Israel is their sworn enemy. Now God’s Word encourages us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). This peace is not one that man can bring about but only the Prince of Peace Himself the Messiah our Lord Jesus (Isaiah 9:6). In praying for peace we should be praying for those who are in Jerusalem preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to bring in as many Israelis, and Arabs for that matter, into God’s Kingdom before the Time of Jacob’s Trouble descends upon Israel and the whole world.
Only when the peace of God that transcends all human understanding governs the minds and hearts of both Israelis and Arabs and their children will there be any chance of peace in Jerusalem and in Israel. This peace of course can only come about through the New Spiritual rebirth from above resulting in the love of God being shed abroad in the human heart by the Holy Spirit producing the fruit of the Spirit (John 3:3) (Romans 5:5) (Galatians 5:22-25).
Any other attempts to produce ‘peace’ will ultimately fail. Only when the Messiah our Lord Jesus the Prince of Peace co-reigns from Jerusalem with His saints, both redeemed Jews and Gentiles as one flock under one shepherd, will there be a true and lasting peace on earth and goodwill towards men. (John 10:16)
This present world is on a collision course with God’s judgement and on a downward spiral towards annihilating itself and only the return of the Messiah our Lord Jesus will save the day! As the Lord Jesus Himself said, “For then there will be great tribulation (thlipsis, not thumos), such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short” (Matthew 24:21-22).
This generation will be confronted by the armies of Islam and many will be very young soldiers. It will be an army that swarm like locusts across the earth but especially swarm into the land of Israel and Joel describes this great Army (Joel 1:1-11). It is God’s army but only in the sense that He has raised it up to bring about a repentance and return of His people to Himself in the same way He used the Assyrians in 722 BC, the Babylonians in 586 BC and the Romans in 70 AD to achieve the same end for His people.
Once He has finished with this Islamic army, that has invaded His land and oppressed His people and the Jews as a nation have turned to the Messiah our Lord Jesus, God, being jealous for His Land and having pity of His beleaguered people, will get rid of it and that big time!. He will drive this Islamic led Northern Islamic far from His people, pushing it into a parched and barren land with its front columns going into the Dead Sea and those in the rear into the Mediterranean Sea and its stench will go up; its smell will rise (Joel 2:18-20).
At the end of these portentous events Joel writes; “Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon.” The LORD dwells in Zion!” (Joel 3:21). In the end God will have His way with the nations, with Israel and with all of His people and also with you and me.
As He Himself says; “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose” (Isaiah 46:10). With these things in view we should all pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
