Reviews by Hubie Goode: Ignoring Israel Part 9

Ignoring Israel


Part 9: Israel and Land

It’s nothing new to tell of the controversy surrounding the land of Israel. The conflict over this is a major sticking point in every political center on Earth. Which, if you consider it, says something about the place Israel takes world wide; is there any nation like this, anywhere? People like Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists have made a point of keeping the struggle for land in the public eye in a way that doesn’t exist on the national stage in any other area of the world. According to the Bible, the land we’re talking about  begins at the river of Egypt and goes all the way to the Euphrates. This is the land promised the seed of Abraham. It was reaffirmed time and again with Isaac, then Jacob and his twelve sons, the patriarchs of Israel.

However, if you don’t have any respect for the Bible, if you don’t take it to be the Word of God, then for you this isn’t the case. There are a great many people all over the world who want to see the spiritual situation solved with political moves. The Muslim world believes that Israel is an occupier of their land. “Occupier” being used here in the sense that Hitler “occupied” France and Poland.

Their position is that ever since 1948, their land has been given to those with whom they have struggled for centuries, by a “cow towing” and sympathetic western world. Extremists make sure that the world is aware of the Temple Mount, Jerusalem and Israel in a way that goes contrary to much of everything else in the world. If you are not a person who watches the world news, you would know little of much of the politics of inland China, or perhaps what goes on in the every day streets of Australia, and certainly the Polynesian world of island people don’t come up until there is a destructive storm or some such thing. But EVERYONE knows about the middle east and the struggles that go on there.

In most Muslim mosques around the world, and there are increasing numbers if you pay attention to the world news, it is common to speak of Israel as enemy occupiers of Arab lands. And not just any Muslim lands, but HOLY lands. Israel is an invader who is squatting in the lap of the almighty as far as they are concerned. Quite the situation when one considers that it is the western world’s involvement with Israel that helps to maintain this situation and yet it is the Arab world that feeds the fuel supplies of the western world with it’s over dependence on oil from the UAE.

But here’s the thing, even in the Koran there are verses that teach that the Jews would come back into their land, and that they are also entitled to it.

Sura 5:20-21

"‘O my people, call in remembrance the favor of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the people. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and then turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.”

According to the Koran, the speaker here is Moses.

If the Koran is inspired by Allah, then why ignore Israel? Why look past what is in their own book? Could it be that they don’t even read their own book? Could it be that they instead listen to the selective preachings in their own mosques at the risk of being mislead by their own radical leaders? It would seem that if the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock were not in Jerusalem, this little slip of land would be of little interest to the comparatively huge land of the oil rich Arab world. So how did this happen?

In 638 A.D., the Islamic caliph, Omar, entered Jerusalem on a white camel in order to accept the surrender of Aelia, the name it had at this time. His chief magistrate, Sophronius, read from the prophecy of Christ, “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel....”. Omar cleared the area and built a modest mosque on the Temple Mount. He did, however, build this on the southern part of the mount, over what he believed to be a Christian church foundation. Until this day that mosque still stands.

The golden Dome of the Rock was built in 691 A. D. , and was copied from the plans of a 4th century Christian shrine that stood on the Mount of Olives. It is believed that the Dome sits upon the Foundation Stone, where the Temple of God once stood. And yet it is still taught in the Muslim world that the Jews NEVER had control of the mount and the temple never existed. The name of Jerusalem is never even mentioned in the Koran, but the story of Muhammad’s night journey to the farthest mosque on his winged horse, Barak, (who left an impression in the mosque from one of his hooves) guided by the angel Gabriel, is always included in teachings.

The journey from Mecca to the mosque is said to have brought Mohammed in touch with Moses, Jesus and other prophets before his return to Mecca. Despite his dying in 632 A.D., and the Al-Aqsa mosque being built in 638 A.D., this is held as truth. Of course, the interpretation is bantered about by those who scholar such things. Did the “farthest mosque” really mean the one built on the site in Jerusalem? Scholars say the mosque being mentioned is near the city of Medina, in the time of Muhammad, of course. But if that is true, then Jerusalem is NOT the third holiest site in all of Islam. Neither is Israel,  Islamic land. Why is their still an argument over all of this? Perhaps it has more to do with deep generational family feuding, more so than anyone realizes.

In the Biblical record, King David purchased the mountain from Araunah the Jebusite, making payment in Gold and Silver. Solomon later built the First Temple on the mountain, with complete descriptions in the Bible record of the measurements and how it was built and how much it cost to build it. Some nine hundred years later Jesus was at the site with his Jewish apostles and even the historian Josephus describes the building and its destruction by the Romans.

Muslim authorities to this date refuse to allow excavations that would prove the existence of the temple on this site. It would seem that when they took care of excavations themselves, they were very careful to remove any evidence found. This, despite photos that were taken of remnants of the temple in 1967.

Was there a Jewish Temple or was it all a lie? With all this conflict it is obvious that the Muslim world is worried that the Jews will seize the Mountain once again and rebuilt their Temple over the site where the Muslim mosque now stands. Considering the turmoil in the Muslim world in just this year alone, with all the rebellion and dismounting of the leadership throughout the region, it’s hard to see how things won’t develop in the direction of a single leadership in the Arab world. Once that single leadership is established, it will be easy to surround Jerusalem  with the combined might of the Muslim military, and what would motivate them to attack in this way? This is, of course, conjecture at this point, but that concept of Israel being surrounded is directly related in prophecy.

Since the destruction of the Temple, Mount Moriah has become a hot spot for warring factions. The Romans ran rough shod over it twice, and the Byzantines built churches there, then the Muslims, the Crusaders, and so on and so forth over and over again. Muslims under the Ottoman Turks ruled the area for 400 years or so until World War I when the British pushed them out, and they began three decades of British rule. 

Today there is even a publicized planning for an attempt to rebuilt the Temple of Solomon. If you do an internet search, you can see the plans coming to realization, even with designs of the clothing and such. This has the Muslim world worried, and big time. Though many don’t want Jews in Jerusalem, or even in Israel, the Muslim world may have to live with the fact. But a Jewish temple built on the “noble sanctuary” is out of the question for the majority. Scripture,  however, says something quite different about the third Temple, and its future place directly in the spot of the last two temples. Considering that Islam would never permit its mosques to be removed, or that a Jewish presence would be allowed to take root there... how would another temple be built on this spot? How indeed.

More to come on this, unless you are a schlemiel. ;-)  

http://islamic-intelligence.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html

Reviews by Hubie Goode: Ignoring Israel Part 8

Ignoring Israel


Part 8: Israel and America

There is a fence, a large concrete fence, that runs along the 1948 boundaries between the Israeli peoples and the Palestinians. It has caused an uproar around the world. It is there because of the many terrorist attacks and acts of violence that come from the West Bank and Gaza. Since the inception of Israel as a state, most American Presidents have been supportive of Israel, but they have all, in one way or another urged Israel not to build any kind of wall that would inhibit Palestinian traffic.

Many members of the American government and also some Israeli citizens, have taken offense at the Israeli action of inhibiting Palestinian traffic in and out of the country. Palestinian Authority flags were obvious in the many protests filmed by the news media during the wall’s construction. Their claim, as was also the claim of their supporters, was that they have a right to be able to come in and out of the country to find work and support for their own families and communities.

Many Israeli companies have no problem with the egress of Palestinians, as they are known to be hard workers, and often fill necessary jobs that Israeli citizens refuse to take. The problem, as is all too often the case, is that enemies of the state often use the same reasoning for entrance into Israel in order to launch terror attacks upon the citizenry.

As a person who lives in Southern California, this issue is all too real, and fascinatingly congruent. America also finds herself embroiled in debates about immigration, notably in relation to the building of fences and barriers along the Mexican border. Once again, this is a problem due to the millions of Mexicans who have crossed over into America illegally. They too take jobs many Americans would rather let them have, and many take them, but they also take the non taxed wages earned and send much of it back to their home countries. Many worry that this too increases the crime rate in America, and leaves a big hole of entry for those who would terrorize the nation. 

There are now such things as “Minuet Men” who patrol the border looking to capture and haul back across the border the illegal immigrants who attempt to cross over. It is estimated that there are about 12-14 million illegal immigrants living and working here in America, they were not born here and they take American money and jobs from citizens. With a homeless populace of approximately 300 million Americans, it is not hard to see how such an argument reaches beyond just the constitutional legalities. Also, as had happened in Israel, local Mexicalis could be seen protesting in the streets with large crowds waving the Mexican flag. 

These are only a few instances, as I had also mentioned in the last post, which illustrate what happens when America forgets who Israel is, and pressures her to act in ways that go against the plan of God. I seriously don’t know what more evidence someone could give for recognizing the many points of reality that are being displayed upon the world stage. What happens to  Israel, happens to America, and when it is America that places Israel at risk, she herself is visited by the same consequences Israel endures.

Only a country steeped in atheist education could ignore Israel and the results that come from attempting to manipulate her position. I worry a lot about the current administration and its attempts to have Israel give back land gained in the war of 1967. The Israeli Prime Minister answered in much the fashion as I myself predicted he would. “That simply isn’t going to happen”. It’s a hot topic I do hope that Mr. Obama abandons, but if he doesn’t, watch out folks!

There are those out there who have as their prime directive, the complete destruction of Israel, in fact they want to wipe them off the map. They want Israeli men, women and children slaughtered like cattle. Is it any wonder America suffered 9/11? Now America shares in the targeting by those who want our destruction. Is it because in the past we have supported Israel? Or would it have come anyway due to our capitalist society that is considered the “Great  Satan” of the world? This is hard to say specifically, but the facts of what is our reality due to terrorism, and that which we share with the nation of Israel, are far from merely being open to interpretation.

There are those who feel that the War with Iraq was the blowing of one of the prophetic trumpets of Revelation. This being due to the way the sky was blotted out when Sadam Hussein set fire to 17,000 oil wells in Kuwait. In the Bible, there is a telling of events in Kings that relates heavily to the story of the Gulf War. There is a man named Ben-Hadad who also comes against Israel, and his name means “fierce”. Saddam Hussein’s name actually means “destroyer”, his mother so calling him that, it is reported because of the difficult time she had giving him birth. It is said that there are many similarities between the two events of the Ben-Hadad war with Israel and also America’s war with Iraq. But the thing we need to keep in mind for our day and time is that Iraq is present day Babylon, and the histories of Israel, America and Babylon/Iraq continue to this day to be entwined in events that effect the world.

Yassir Arafat, a leader of the PLO, once met with American President William Jefferson Clinton in the early 1990’s to assuage Muslim forces that assisted in the first Gulf War. Several years later the government used tactics on Israel that it would not employ itself if the positions were reversed and forced Israel to sign a peace treaty with someone they considered a known terrorist. The Madrid Conference of 1991, coerced Israel into peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Despite his involvement in the Olympics terrorism that saw Israeli athletes snipered to death, America still sought to have Israel make peace with a man who had become an underground gun runner seeking Israeli destruction, and also a supporter of Saddam Hussein during the first War with Iraq. No need to spell out the history of the “Decade from Hell” that has befallen America from 2000 to 2011, and still seems to be continuing today. Arafat himself threw up and died in a Paris hospital in the early part of the decade. The cause of his death is still considered unknown. 

Former President Jimmy Carter met with leaders of Hamas, a known terrorist organization, in the spring of 2008; a year known for its close call re-enactment of the “Great Depression” here in America. The very existence of Hamas is geared toward eradicating the people of Israel from Palestine. Their Prime directive is to “liberate” Jerusalem from its occupiers, an area known to them as al Quds. Jerusalem is the planned site for the capitol of the new Palestinian state.

When Carter was there, an earthquake hit West Salem, Illinois that shook the middle of the country. No need to point out the name Salem, and the name Jerusalem.

But are these events of America’s actions in dealing with Israel and Israel’s enemies truly a cause and effect or are they just events that happen randomly and can be place together by “linking the dots” on the time line grid? It does, of course, make a difference from what perspective you are coming from when considering the events of history.

But the trail of American and Israeli involvement goes back in history like no other. There are those who speculate that the Japan tsunami may have had something to do with Japan insisting on the rebuilding on the West Bank. Japan doesn’t have that historical link, so I am not a believer in any direct cause and effect in this case. The whole Earth is increasing in disasters of this type due to the end times we live in, and I think that this is a better explanation.

But I will say this, that Israel is more and more a burden to America, and the future of her will be intrinsically tied to how the United States deals with Israel in relation to her own Biblical history.

more to come, but not much more ;-)

Reviews by Hubie Goode: Ignoring Israel Part 7

Mount of Olives

Ignoring Israel


Part 7: Israel and Water

There is a natural four hundred meter drop between the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the lowest spot on Earth which the Dead Sea occupies. There are those who have suggested the exploitation of this natural drop for the creation of hydroelectric power. If these two bodies of water were connected, say for instance by construction, then this power would not only supply the area with electricity but it would also provide added water for overwhelming the salt and dry sand of the area. The idea is a beneficial one, but not necessarily in line with Ezekial’s vision of the healing of the area.

If one remembers the Dead Sea scrolls, the ancient parchments that were discovered in a cave after centuries of untouched solitude, these documents were found in an area called the Qumran. The Essenes lived here prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 A. D. by the Romans, a point we have already covered here. This is the area where a huge underground water source was found, it is about three miles around and has millions of cubit meters of water. Small pools of fresh water run all along the northern edges of the Dead Sea, apparently they originate from this underground water source. But that’s not all prophecy referred to....

Zechariah refers to a third water source that is to appear during the return of Christ.

Zechariah 14:4

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem in the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

When Christ ascended into heaven over 1,900 years ago, he led his followers out to Bethany, a small town on the back side of this mountain. In Acts 1:11 the apostles saw two men dressed in white who told them that, as they had seen him leave, he would also return. His leaving happened from the Mount of Olives and he will also return to the Mount of Olives. The mountain will split in half and a hidden water source from under the ground will erupt, half of it heading toward the Mediterranean and half toward the Dead Sea. (Zechariah 14:8)

Though the term “living waters” is used, there are two facts that make this prophecy a literal moment and not just a spiritual one. There has been discovered a fault line that runs from the surrounding areas of Jerusalem and includes the Mount of Olives. There are places in the land where no buildings can be erected due to the inevitable destruction should an earthquake occur.

These fault lines also run through what we know as the Valley of Armageddon. This two hundred mile site is to be a battle field during the final war of mankind. The entire Dead Sea region was also formed long ago by earthquake activity. Long fault lines run parallel to the length of the sea on both sides, the Jordanian and the Israeli sides. With all this fault line potential, it is not hard to see how waters could literally flow all over the land if the ground were broken and divided up over the top of underground waters.

According to Zechariah, at the return of Christ with the armies of heaven, which will land on the Mount of Olives, a great valley will be created by the splitting of the mountain. With the Dead Sea being 1,300 feet below sea level, the waters that will gush forth will run rapidly toward the Dead Sea and overflow the northern section of the sea with waters that may go back to the time of creation. There could be so much water due to all this shifting land mass, that the Dead Sea will be engulfed and obliterated by a much, much larger water source that can  contain “Pacific Rim” quantities of sea life.

Man made fish ponds are already in the area selling “Dead Sea fish”. These ponds come from water bleeding out of the underground lake. The future of the healing of the Dead Sea is already coming to pass as we see these types of things become more and more prevalent. People in Israel know about this underground spring, and they already benefit from it. But how much does the world at large realize the prophecy that is unfolding? How much of this is revealed in any other source of so called future predictions? In the mid 1980’s, this area was desolate with hardly any vegetation. It had been that way for thousands of years. We now have a springing forth of oasis areas in the desert where just 25 years ago, there was only barren land.

This is exactly what the prophets of the Bible said would happen before the arrival of the Messiah.

The Puritans

The American Water

In Zechariah the word of God promises that Israel will become an unavoidable irritation to the entire world, and that those who come against her in order to remove this irritation, will be broken to pieces as a result. (Zechariah 12:2-3)

Few realize, as the founding fathers of America did, that there is a unique connection between America and the nation of Israel. As her future final supporter, this fact will become painfully clear as time in the near future rolls by. Many around the world call America prudish, especially the Europeans, and this reference leads back to those who were called the Puritans. The Puritans felt that they themselves were fellow Jewish travellers. Their departure from England to start a new life in the area we know of as New England, as being akin to the Exodus from Egypt, which says a lot about the soul of Europe and where it has headed into our own day. The federal seal of the United States would in fact become the image of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. Descendants of those Puritans fired the shot heard round the world that lead to the establishment of America and the original 13 states.

Ben Frankin's Seal

God instructed Israel that there was to be but ONE LAW for the people, just as the Mayflower compact settled the issue and held that there be one law for the people. That law was based on what Moses had written down in the Torah. John Endicott, a Puritan founder, wanted to make the Law of Moses the official law of Massachusetts.

Many of these Puritan leaders were fluent in the Hebrew language, not only in the Kings English. Many early universities taught Hebrew as a regular course, and the school insignias had much Hebrew imagery. People of the time hated Britain so much that they considered making Hebrew the national language. Wouldn’t that be something if that were the case today?

Primary components of a nation are law, language and land. Few people know that the boundaries and shape of the original 13 states resemble the nation of Israel. Early America had a major river to the East and an Ocean to the West, Israel had an ocean to the west and a major river to the East. Both nations came out of other nations. Both crossed the water into a new land. Both ran over the natives who lived there. National documents and morals are both based on scripture. Both were divided north and south during national conflict. In Israel the wars were usually won by the south and not the north. Both have and have had problems with Babylon and Iraq.

There are many more examples, but it is clear that America and Israel have a spiritual link. Few realize how this connection plays out in real life. For instance, there are two events that parallel in an interesting manner: Hurricane Katrina and the destruction of New Orleans, and also incidents of the Gaza strip.

The 9th of the month of AV is a date synonymous with destruction and defeat. This date, like many amazing dates that correspond to historical events in the Jewish calendar, is the anniversary of many events that Israelis keep an historic eye on. On this date: the scouts sent by Moses returned with an unfavorable report; Israel was sentenced to forty years of wandering; the first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians; the second temple was destroyed by the Romans; Jews were expelled by Spain in 1492. Other Jewish calendar dates are just like this, though others may be of victory, events of victory and joy can be spread out over hundreds of years and yet happen all on the same date. Do you know of any other nation on the Earth that has that kind of undeniable evidence of speciality? I mean, come on, both Temples destroyed on the same date hundreds of year apart?

The 9th of Av is thought to be the worst of these kinds of dates. The 17th of Tammuz is the second worst, and shares the same weird historical happenings. On this date, Moses broke the tablets of the law; the Romans breached the walls of the second Temple. With such strong traditional record keeping from generation to generation, how can there be argument as to the calendar length of our world as we know it? Europe, with its lost soul, has tried for a long time now to educate us as to there being millions of years of our world, despite the presence of a nation like Israel. They, too, in their striving to be intellectually superior, ignore Israel at their own peril.

The Gregorian calendar date of July 4th, 1776, was the date of America’s Declaration of Independence. This is considered a bright spot on this historic day on the Jewish calendar, and the 9th of Av also has a corresponding bright spot. It is the day that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue to find the New World. Israel and America appear to be joined at the hip. Whatever happens to Israel also happens to America.

When Israeli settlers were forced from their homes and out into the streets in an attempt to clear the Gaza strip during America’s pressuring of the Israeli government to make way for others to occupy the land, many of those deposed were simply left with nothing and nowhere to go. It was Israeli forces themselves that removed these people from their homes and land, at the urgence of America and it occurred on the 9th of Av.

New Orleans flooded with Katrina waters

At the same time, Hurricane Katrina was forming in the Gulf Coast. The rest is history as the poorly built levies failed to keep the waters of Lake Pontchartrain from devastating the entire area. An area, by the way which yours truly grew up in, and an area which still to this day, some six years later, has yet to be re-seeded and re-built. It is still a disaster area. Many citizens were disposed from their homes with no idea where they were going to live or work, in much the same way as those in the Gaza strip.

The Day the Music Died

Many of the police in the area simply walked out of the debacle and several are on trail right at this moment for having been going around neighborhoods shooting innocent hurricane victims without provocation. The police, like the Israeli forces, assaulted their own. (allegedly at this point)  How many of us here in America lost faith in our government and its ability to serve the populace, much as many in Israel took umbrage at the government for disposing them. And don’t get me started on the FEMA camps that have been built around America, standing silent and empty as they await SOMETHING, surrounded by barbed wire.

Want more? Gaza and New Orleans are on the coast, Gaza and New Orleans are linked to ports, Gaza and New Orleans people lost their homes and work, Gaza and New Orleans people evacuated to their roofs, Gaza and New Orleans people were taken out in buses, Gaza and New Orleans people fought troops and police, Gaza and New Orleans people were relocated, Gaza and New Orleans people were refugees, Gaza and New Orleans buildings were torn down or destroyed, Gaza and New Orleans people were removed from cemeteries.

more on this next time

Reviews by Hubie Goode: Ignoring Israel Part 6

Aravah in Flood Stage Aug 2011

Ignoring Israel

Part 6: Israel Rebirth

The blossoming of Aravah is not the only thing that has happened in the barren desert that was once the promised land. Isaiah also saw a great pool of water surrounded by reeds and rushes and breaking out in the desert as a spring of water. Today this great pool is called “Sapphire”. Out in the desert of Aravah, as I type this post, the desert is in flood stage. Yes, FLOOD stage.

Isaiah also told of the glory of Carmel and how this would be given to the area. The leading packing company in Israel that sends food out to the world is known as the Carmel Packing Company. This prediction of agricultural blessing to the world is also contained in Isaiah:

Isaiah 27:6

He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

(Hey! That rhymes!)

Isaiah saw the people of Israel returning from all over the world, where their ancestors had been dispersed, and striking the soil. They would take root, as it were, and the land would be blessed, then the people would bless the world with the fruit of their labors. Israel, once surrounded by desert and desolate herself, has become a major exporter of food to the world. The Hebrew word, “turnavah” means “crops”, and the major export company of Israel is called: “Kunavah”. Isaiah predicted this in the Word of God over 2,600 years ago and the fruit of the land blessing the Earth not only applies to the physical food being exported, but also to the fruit of God’s Word being confirmed.

In Zechariah, he speaks of the nations left on the Earth that shall come every year to Israel to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and pay their good homage to the Lord of Hosts. (Zechariah 14:16) While Isaiah points out that there will be a  road that passes through this area, Zechariah defines the reasons that the road will exist. There is already a great road that passes by the area of the Gulf of Aqaba, a resort area that Israel, Jordan and Egypt share. When you head north, it takes you directly to the Dead sea. This pilgrimage to the Holy City that many will take, will be surrounded by every good and best food that the desert is now producing, in the area once known as the promised land, a land filled with milk and honey. A land once a desert full of nothing but sand and brush.

Isaiah 19:23-24

In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land. 

The King's Highway

Israel is currently drilling through mountains and building super highways that will link them with all the surrounding nations. These prophesies of Isaiah and Zechariah speak of a time when the Messiah will rule from his throne. Rule the whole Earth, that is. And yet, we are seeing the land prepared even in our day.

The implication of the multitude of floods, and fruit production, and highway production in the once desolate area, while meaning perhaps not as much in any other area of the world, speaks volumes of shouts to those who are awaiting the return of the Messiah, whom we all know a Jesus Christ. The ongoing development if Isaiah chapter 35 is a joy to those who know what to look for, those who keep their “lamps burning”, and a dire warning to those who  just won’t see how these developments mean everything when they happen to Israel.

But why is it important that this highway head up into the Dead sea? What could possibly be in the Dead sea, once the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, now cursed with ground ruining salt. You’ll remember that when the Romans destroyed the second temple, they also plowed the land with salt. The idea being to make sure that the land was worthless and not suitable for returning to by the lost inhabitants. So what could possibly come out of the Dead sea?

“Dead Sea” in Hebrew is Yam Ha-Melach, or sea of salt. It is actually a large lake formed by the waters of the Jordan river flowing into it from the north. The south has no outlet. It is 38 miles long and 11 miles wide. It lies between Israel and Jordan. It has so much mineral wealth that it is easily worth about two trillion dollars in minerals, those minerals being the likes of magnesium, calcium chloride, bromide and many others.

It is also the lowest spot on the planet. At about 1,378 feet below sea level it sits in a rift that stretches from Turkey to South Africa. The whole rift stretches about 3,700 miles. It used to be known in Biblical times as Sodom, Gomorrah,  Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar. More than likely, geologist say, the destruction of the area was due to volcanic eruption. In Genesis 19:24, Abraham describes the destruction of these cities as being due to fire and brimstone.

Mineral laden in its makeup, no sea life can exist there. Ezekiel, however, predicted that in the time of the Messiah, men would spread nets and catch fresh fish there. Before 1985, if one had looked out onto the landscape of this sea, they would have wondered how anyone could ever catch fish in such an moribund area.  (Ezekiel 47:8-12)

According to end time prophecy of the Bible, when Christ returns, a Temple will be built in Jerusalem. Fresh water will flow out from under the altar of this temple. It will head out toward the Dead sea and eventually become so deep you could launch boats in it. This fresh water will empty into this salty dead lake, and transform it into fresh water teaming with fish. For some time now, the water level in the Dead sea has been dropping. In the meantime satellite photos have confirmed the existence of TWO bodies of water contained within the Dead sea region. The Dead sea has now divided and is comprised of a northern and southern half. 

The north is bluish and clear, while it is the south part that remains choked with salt. According to Ezekiel, this southern half will not be healed, in fact as time goes by the south sea will become even saltier as the combination of hot weather and lack of an inlet literally evaporate the sea away to nothing. It is the northern half that will be miraculously transformed. Winter rains accumulate in the higher elevations of the mountains and river beds channel this fresh water into the Dead sea after a trip through the surrounding land. From 2,500 feet above sea level, this lowest point is provided with a steady amount of purified water from the sky. 

What has been happening for the last twenty years, of course, is that the waters have been not only evaporating, but they have also been tapped in an effort to sublimate the irrigation of the surrounding land while developing the area of Aravah benefitting from underground springs. But is the addition of the rain water and the runoff of the Jordan enough to do the job described in Ezekiel of transforming the land and the sea? Could it be that the high to low elevation of the land itself can be used for assisting in this transformation?


more on this next time 

The King's Highway thru Jordan