Post by Daniel on Dec 29, 2015 11:02:02 GMT -5
Turn Your Attention To Israel
Belle Ringer
December 28, 2015
We've had a couple of days in which we could legitimately turn our focus away from the world and its events in order to concentrate on our faith and families. But it is a testament to the times in which we live that less than 24 hours after Christmas Day, the leader of ISIS declares that the Holy Land of Israel will become a graveyard to the Jews.
In a video released on Saturday, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi directly threatened the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, saying, "The Jews thought we forgot Palestine and that they had distracted us from it ... Not at all, Jews. We did not forget Palestine for a moment. With the help of Allah, we will not forget it … The pioneers of the jihadist fighters will surround you on a day that you think is distant and we know is close. We are getting closer every day."
His message is in response to increased opposition from the US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab rebel groups, and other coalition forces. Russia has also stepped up its bombing of ISIS infrastructure and positions from its Khmeimim airbase in Latakia since late Fall, at the request of the Syrian authorities. Yet it is difficult for us here in the US and the West to understand the complexities of this battle in the Middle East against Evil.
An article on The Guardian website puts it all in perspective: "The fundamental issue is that ISIS is an enemy of the enemies of many Arabs – Iran and Assad, whom Tehran has backed to the hilt since the Syrian crisis began in 2011. So far the Saudis still fear Iran in the long term more than they fear Daesh (the Arab term for ISIS)... Everyone says they are against ISIS, but it is no one’s top priority. It is not yet the organizing principle of politics in this region."
And so, al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, feels safe in boasting "that God will grant victory to those who worship him, and hear the good news that our state is doing well. The more intense the war against it, the purer it becomes and the tougher it gets." He also feels confident in calling on Saudi citizens - the second biggest contributor to ISIS ranks - to "rise up" against their government as he dimissed the kingdom's newly formed Muslim coalition against the caliphate. "If the Islamic coalition against ISIS were truly Islamic, it would declare that it was cutting ties with its Jewish and crusader masters and that its goal was to kill the Jews and liberate Palestine," he said on the released tape.
To be honest with you, it is difficult for me to understand -- or even to believe -- what we are told through various sources. Who is on which side? Are the coalition forces really working together, or are they each trying to benefit their own political agendas? How do the various factions of the Islamic faith play out in relationship to ISIS and their goals? Is any nation in the Middle East really concerned about stopping ISIS's aggression against the West? I think we all have these questions, and more, and nothing seems to be getting solved; ISIS seems to be getting more aggressive and the involvement of nations like Russia, Syria, Iran, and Turkey have clear Biblical implications -- for those of us to whom that matters.
continue reading
www.salvationandsurvival.com/2015/12/turn-your-attention-to-israel.html
Belle Ringer
December 28, 2015
We've had a couple of days in which we could legitimately turn our focus away from the world and its events in order to concentrate on our faith and families. But it is a testament to the times in which we live that less than 24 hours after Christmas Day, the leader of ISIS declares that the Holy Land of Israel will become a graveyard to the Jews.
In a video released on Saturday, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi directly threatened the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, saying, "The Jews thought we forgot Palestine and that they had distracted us from it ... Not at all, Jews. We did not forget Palestine for a moment. With the help of Allah, we will not forget it … The pioneers of the jihadist fighters will surround you on a day that you think is distant and we know is close. We are getting closer every day."
His message is in response to increased opposition from the US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab rebel groups, and other coalition forces. Russia has also stepped up its bombing of ISIS infrastructure and positions from its Khmeimim airbase in Latakia since late Fall, at the request of the Syrian authorities. Yet it is difficult for us here in the US and the West to understand the complexities of this battle in the Middle East against Evil.
An article on The Guardian website puts it all in perspective: "The fundamental issue is that ISIS is an enemy of the enemies of many Arabs – Iran and Assad, whom Tehran has backed to the hilt since the Syrian crisis began in 2011. So far the Saudis still fear Iran in the long term more than they fear Daesh (the Arab term for ISIS)... Everyone says they are against ISIS, but it is no one’s top priority. It is not yet the organizing principle of politics in this region."
And so, al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, feels safe in boasting "that God will grant victory to those who worship him, and hear the good news that our state is doing well. The more intense the war against it, the purer it becomes and the tougher it gets." He also feels confident in calling on Saudi citizens - the second biggest contributor to ISIS ranks - to "rise up" against their government as he dimissed the kingdom's newly formed Muslim coalition against the caliphate. "If the Islamic coalition against ISIS were truly Islamic, it would declare that it was cutting ties with its Jewish and crusader masters and that its goal was to kill the Jews and liberate Palestine," he said on the released tape.
To be honest with you, it is difficult for me to understand -- or even to believe -- what we are told through various sources. Who is on which side? Are the coalition forces really working together, or are they each trying to benefit their own political agendas? How do the various factions of the Islamic faith play out in relationship to ISIS and their goals? Is any nation in the Middle East really concerned about stopping ISIS's aggression against the West? I think we all have these questions, and more, and nothing seems to be getting solved; ISIS seems to be getting more aggressive and the involvement of nations like Russia, Syria, Iran, and Turkey have clear Biblical implications -- for those of us to whom that matters.
continue reading
www.salvationandsurvival.com/2015/12/turn-your-attention-to-israel.html