And The Rapture Didn’t Happen

Once again, the date setters for the Rapture told us that it would happen on either October 6th or 7th and once again it didn’t happen. Now there are rumors that it is being moved until October 15th to the 17th, but I couldn’t confirm them although I did see some videos explaining the reasoning for the extra 9 days until the trumpet blows in a jubilee year. It really doesn’t matter since all date setting for the Rapture past present and even future ones are all unbiblical. Jesus warned that no one knows the day nor the hour and we can certainly see why He said that. The issue now is that social media is a massive platform for ridicule and most of the critics are dismissing the notion of the Rapture rather than correcting the errors. Unfortunately these date setters are giving them all the examples they need and more. I’m not going to take a deep dive into this but I just wanted to note it because it is in the news as current events, but sadly the real Biblical perspective is being lost in the milieu of critics and wrong scriptural interpretation. Both are wrong and not helping sincere, intellectually honest people to get the truth. People are naturally curious about the future and their personal future which should create the environment for witnessing. I pray that many of us will do our best to get the truth out there to counter the din of false views of the Blessed Hope.

IAW Day 733

News that the terrorists Hamas wants in return for the remaining hostages given to Israel may be signs of an overall agreement on the 20 or 21 point Trump plan surfaced. Also the terrorists are adding demands to the supposed take it or leave it deal the US president put on the table. Am I surprised by this? Not at all since Hamas saw the offer as the starting point for a deal. It is like when I went into the Old Jerusalem market on my trip to the Holy Land and I wanted to buy something. I was told that all prices are just suggestions and that I was expected to barter until we agreed to a price. Hamas is doing that right now by framing these talks as bargaining points to get what they want. The problem is that the offer wasn’t meant to change the points but to work on the technical progress to their implementation. Does Trump see this as a business deal where bartering it on the table? I certainly hope not because if he does then this will go sideways really fast if it already hasn’t happened. As for me, I see Hamas making the exact same demands they have in the past and trying to get them in another round of talks. But this time they are pushing the envelope to get even more terrorists currently in Israeli prisons, hardened criminals that Israel stated in the past were off the table. Don’t be fooled. Hamas is very skilled in manipulating the proceedings to get what they want in spite of the actual deal proposed. We need to pray that behind all the smoke and mirrors these terrorists are using, Trump and Netanyahu will see what is really going on and push back. If you want to read more on this read this article from the Jewish News Syndicate or the fuller article found on Israel Hayom here.

Deja Vue All Over Again

If you know history you might be one of the few people who see that this Trump peace deal isn’t new at all as we read in an article from the Jewish News Syndicate:

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 20-point Mideast peace plan, based in large part on his “Peace to Prosperity” plan issued during his first administration, lays out conditions that on the surface seem like common sense. Palestinians must stop incitement. They must stop raising their children to hate Jews. They must form a vetted police force to maintain order, accept international supervision, rebuild their society and create a moderate self-governing authority.

These sound like reasonable benchmarks. But the problem is simple: Every single one of these measures has already been tried. They were called the Oslo Accords. And they failed miserably.

The Oslo Accords were supposed to do what Trump wants now. Israel did what they agreed to do, but the other side didn’t:

Oslo was supposed to be the framework for peace between Palestinians and Jews, built on reciprocity and mutual trust. Israel handed over land and authority in exchange for Palestinian commitments to renounce violence, end incitement and create the foundations of responsible self-government. Through it all, Israel kept its side of the deal. It withdrew from territory, dismantled checkpoints, and allowed weapons for Palestinian Authority security forces and police. And the Palestinians violated every one of their obligations.

History shows us exactly how this turned out in spite of the expected peace:

Far from being a stabilizing institution, the Palestinian police force became a terrorist army in uniform. During the Second Intifada in Israel during the years 2000 to 2005, members of this very force turned their guns on Israeli civilians. The international supervisors, for their part, were either powerless or complicit. Rather than insist on Palestinian compliance, they excused terror, condemned Israel’s self-defense and effectively enabled further violence.

It would have worked if the players were actually in favor of peace which they weren’t:

And the Palestinian government itself was a corrupt, authoritarian regime that supported terrorism outright. From PLO chief Yasser Arafat to P.A. head Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leadership has consistently rejected the very idea of Israel’s right to exist.

If this all sounds familiar it’s because it is. And the response from the world was the same, too:

The result was nearly 1,100 Israeli deaths from increased Palestinian terrorism. Israel endured bus bombings, suicide bombings in restaurants, stabbing attacks, car-rammings. And when Israelis pointed out that the Palestinians were violating 100% of their obligations, the response from the “peace process” industry was always the same: Stop complaining. Give the Palestinians more time to learn how to govern. Make more “sacrifices for peace.”

In practice, this meant additional unilateral Israeli concessions while Palestinian society grew more radicalized.

Yet More Fables

Fast forward to today and the current peace deal is wanting the same thing:

Now comes Trump’s plan, which, despite the new branding, demands that Israel once again believe in the fairy tale of Palestinian moderation. But why should it? What evidence exists, after nearly 30 years since Oslo, that Palestinian society is ready to abandon its culture of death?

Indeed. The facts suggest more of the same:

The opposite is true: Surveys consistently show overwhelming support for terrorism, rejection of Israel’s legitimacy and admiration for the Hamas-led atrocities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. And not just Hamas— thousands of Palestinian Arabs from Gaza joined in the massacre that day.

The article points the finger at the real issue:

The hard truth is this: The problem is not Hamas alone, or the P.A., or even bad leadership. The problem is a culture steeped in antisemitism and rejectionism, reinforced by religious dogma that any land once under Muslim control must remain so forever.

So you see Hamas agrees with Israel. Neither wants a two-state solution. The problem is that no one seems to realize this. At least they aren’t acting like they do:

Oslo proves that conditional peace frameworks that depend on Palestinian goodwill and compliance are illusions. Trump’s plan is Oslo 2.0, dressed up in sharper suits and PowerPoint slides. To believe that it will succeed requires an act of willful blindness.

The article ends with an illustration all of who liked the Peanuts cartoon series:

Israel cannot afford to keep playing Charlie Brown to the world’s Lucy. The football isn’t there. It never was.

But I might add that this hatred of Israel is a spiritual one as well. The biggest antisemite in all of history will be the Antichrist who will desecrate the third Jewish temple half way through the Tribulation. For those last three and half years all Jews and those who support them will be hunted down incessantly with no one to stand in their way. As much as I want this deal to work if only that it gets the hostages back I just don’t see it working out that way. Israel may just need to rescue the hostages and finish this war Netanyahu’s way.