IT’S ONE OF THOSE CALENDAR YEARS!

I recently received the following message desiring my comments concerning the matter. What I went to do is make comments as I proceed through this brother’s reasonings.

  Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Messiah Yahshua,

 Because of some conversations Sabbath in regard to when to start the calendar for this year, I feel I must give you my views on the subject.

 Do I,  or any of you have the right,  to pick and choose which New Moon to start the year?  I do not!  I still believe the Almighty Yahweh is the only one that has that right.

 So, again I am faced with opposition from some that think they have that right.

This year some will be choosing the early New Moon before the Vernal Equinox to start the calendar.

Some say, the VE does not mean anything!  Is that true?

 The Torah teaches the sun is to govern "their appointed days" and the moon, the season. Gen.1:14 says the two great lights mark the appointed times (mo'ed). These are astronomical events not agricultural seasons.

COMMENT: While these are astronomical events, they also have to do with agricultural seasons. The Torah says that the sun rules the day and the moon and stars rule the night. Nowhere do I find that the Torah says that the sun governs "their appointed days." The Torah says "Let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years." Of course, he made the two great lights, the sun and the moon, but the stars in their constellations have a part in it also.

  But we know that agricultural seasons are tied directly to the motion of the sun. And we also know that the Holy Day plan of  Yahweh is based on the harvest in Israel. Even the journey to keep the Festivals (mo'ed) was financed by tithing the crops and herds. To say that there is "no implication of a direct connection to any agricultural season" is to ignore Scripture from the Old and New Testaments. We even refer to Passover and Unleavened Bread as "Spring Holy Days"!

COMMENT: Yes, we do know that this is true, but when Yahshua came, the holy days have to be tied more closely with Him and how the plan of salvation is completed in Him. You see, both Israel and Judah were cast out of the land. This effectively took the control of the holy day season out of the land of Canaan.

 Who appointed those times in  Leviticus 23:4  which says "These are the feasts (mo'ed) of the Almighty, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons". It is Yahweh who appoints the Festivals. Yahweh, not the Jews appoints the times. We are to proclaim them -- not decide when to celebrate them. Yahweh has chosen the sun and moon, not any man, to regulate what days are Holy to Him. Our responsibility is merely to proclaim those days, not appoint them. No man has any authority to postpone or otherwise manipulate the Calendar to alter when these Festivals occur. Man has no more authority to alter the days on which we celebrate the Holy Days than we do to alter the day we keep as the weekly Sabbath.

 The truth of it is, Israel (before the Second Temple)  nor the Jews in the Second temple never used a New Moon before the VE,  until Hillel II wrote the Jewish Calendar in 355 AD.  Why then, did Hillel  use the New Moon closest to the VE?

COMMENT: How do you know this? The records that may have been kept in Jerusalem were all destroyed. Do you have the records to prove this?

 Between the years of 472BC and 400BC there were Jews living in Elephantine Egypt and they wrote letters to the Jews living in Jerusalem and many contracts such as wills and deeds, etc. ... have been preserved in Elephantine. These letters are double dated with the dates of the Egyptian calendar as well as the Jewish calendar date.

Never once in this seventy-two year period history did the Jews in Elephantine start the sacred year before the vernal equinox. 472BC-400BC was during the time that Ezra and Nehemiah were in Jerusalem.

COMMENT: I can show you in the Scriptures where the Jews who were abiding in Egypt were not pleasing Yahweh at all, nor were obedient to Him. He commanded them NOT TO GO TO EGYPT. So why are you so careful to scrutinize and trust their records?

 There is much more history about the above, so why did Hillel II change to the closest to the VE?

 Clearly, it had a lot to do with the Catholic church.  Read this below.

 The emperor Julian the Apostate was gracious to Hillel, whom he honored on a number of occasions. In an autograph letter to him, Julian assured him of his friendship and promised to ameliorate further the condition of the Jews. Before setting out for the war with Persia, Julian addressed to the Jewish congregations a circular letter in which he informed them that he had "committed the Jewish tax-rolls to the flames," and that, "desiring to show them still greater favors, he has advised his brother, the venerable patriarch Julos, to abolish what was called the 'send-tax'".

 But what is that to do with his Jewish Calendar?  Here is part....

 For Years the Roman Catholic church looked to the Calendar of the Jews to determine when Easter should be.   However from the time after the temple was destroyed, the Jews changed their calendar many times.  So, Julian appointed a Jew, Hillel II to work out a calendar they could depend on.

 "The commonly stated rule, that Easter Day is the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs next after the vernal equinox, is somewhat misleading because it is not a precise statement of the actual ecclesiastical rules. The actual conditions to determine the date for Easter are (1) Easter must be on a Sunday; (2) this Sunday must follow the 14th day of the paschal moon; (3) the paschal moon is that of which the 14th day (full moon) falls on or next follows the day of the vernal equinox;* and (4) the equinox is fixed in the calendar as March 21. Easter can never occur before March 22 or later than April 25." *

 The Catholic church....  Notice…

The church based in Rome changed from determining the Passover from the first Holy Day of Unleavened Bread as succeeding the equinox to the time frame where Easter was the first Sunday following the Paschal Moon (i.e. the Full Moon of 15 Nisan). The New Moon could occur before the equinox, but the Full Moon could not fall before the equinox. Thus, 14 Nisan might fall on the equinox but 15 Nisan could not fall on the equinox.

 So, Hillel II wrote his calendar that brings that to pass, by selecting the New Moon closest to the VE, not before.   That assures the Catholic church of having their Easter when they wanted. He was rewarded by  “committing  the Jewish tax-rolls to the flames”.

 The Hebrew term is mo'ed (Strong's 4150). According to Strong's the meaning is "properly an appointment i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically a festival... by implication an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose)..." It is translated as "congregation" 149 times, as "time appointed" 9 times, as "solemn feast" 9 times, as "set time" 6 times, "set feast" 5 times, "feast" 6 times, "appointed season" 4 times. There is no implication of a direct connection to any agricultural "season" such as Spring or Autumn.

 "Let the people of Israel keep the passover at its "appointed time". So where are the scriptures that demand that the Passover be observed in what we call the "season" of Spring? The only use in the Bible of the word "spring" is with regard to "springs of water" and so on -- there is no "Spring" season mentioned anywhere. The only agricultural seasons mentioned are Summer and Winter, and there is no Biblical definition as to when Winter ends and Summer begins.

 So, why do we accept Gen 1.14?

The word "equinox" does not appear in the Bible. One writer, commenting on the vital importance of the equinox, states that "equinox" is the 'correct" translation of the Hebrew tequwphah (Strong's 8622) as used in Ex 34:22. However, the actual meaning given in Strong's is "a revolution, i.e. (of the sun) course, (of time) lapse". It is used only 4 times in the Old Testament, being translated (in the KJV) as "circuit" (2), "end" (1), "come about" (1).

COMMENT: Here is what the Scriptures say about the sun's circuit, if you can bear the truth of it, "The heavens declare the glory of El; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit (tequwfah) unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." Psa. 19:1-6.

  The sun's circuit is from the end of the heaven unto the ends of it. Here is what this means; The sun, as we know, rises in the east. That is the beginning of its circuit. That is the end that these Scriptures are speaking of. The Hebrew is somewhat different than the English and when translated, sometimes it doesn't really make sense, but the other end of the sun't circuit is, of course, the west. When the Hebrew declares one end, the word is singular, the other end (the west) makes the second end or plural.

   Now notice that it says their line is gone through all the earth. What line is it speaking of here? The only line that I can think of is a horizontal line. For the 24 hour day, the line would be the horizontal line, but for the year the line would be the equinoxes. But here is the kicker. Go out on a clear day before sunrise (while it is still dark) and watch the sun rise. You will find that before the sun crosses the horizon, that it is already ruling the day. Do the same thing at evening. You will find that even after it crosses the horizon, it is still ruling and will be for around 15 - 20 minutes. The sun rules the day, the moon and stars rule the night.

  On an annual basis, the equinoxes are equivalent to the horizon. But even before the sun reaches the equinox, it is already ruling, spring is already evident. In the fall the same thing applies. The trees, other vegetation, hibernating animals, etc. do not begin to go to sleep until after the equinox.

  The next thing to ponder is the moon that Yahweh declared to be the first moon of the year. That moon/month is named Abib. It is the first month and the only month that Yahweh really ever gave a name to, just as the Sabbath is the only day named by Him. Abib means "green ears." When the green ears begin to appear, not just the barley, but leaves, grass, the greening of the earth, that is Abib. If you want to go by Scripture, then this is the scenario. Thus, the new moon of Abib can occur before, during or just after the equinox.

  Now, another thing we need to consider is the term "equinox" because you can't find that term in the Scriptures. It simply means "equal night" or in other words, we have equal time for the night time and the daylight. In our area, the so-called equal time of day and night occurs on about the 16th or 17 of March, not the traditional Mar. 21st. This is because the sunrise-sunset times are exactly 12 hours apart. Therefore, the new moon of March occurs after our equinox anyway, so the argument of those who are going with the later feasts is moot.

  You can try to be very careful to utilize records concerning the Catholic Church and also the Caesars, but the truth of the matter is that man is the one who set March 21st as the day of the equinox. Have you never read about Pope Gregory who deleted ten days from the calendar in order to bring it back into line with March 21st?

 The Jews who regulate the Calendar also recognize "tequwphah" as being the equinox.

COMMENT: In accordance with the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Jews consider both equinoxes as well as solstices to be tequwphahs. But in accordance with Psa. 19 (already quoted) the tequwphah (circuit is from the end (east) to the ends (west) for a day. On an annual day, this would be typified by about equinox to equinox. (But remember that the sun begins its rule a little before the equinox and relinquishes its rule a little after the equinox.

It is true that a number of writers identify one of the possible meanings of tequwphah as "equinox" - but others stand by its basic meaning of "revolution" or "end", meaning, for example, "the end of the growing season" or "the end of the year's activities". In Ex 34:22 we read, "Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end".

 Ex 34:22 says we are to keep the Feast of Ingathering "at the year's end" (Hebrew, tequwphah).

 For Calendar purposes, the significant equinox is the spring equinox. It determines which New Moon marks the beginning of the year. All months are counted from the first month.  The Feast of Tabernacles occurs in the seventh month. That is the seventh month after the Spring equinox. It is not counted from the Fall equinox.

 Yahweh begins the year in the Spring, not in the Winter like our society based on the Roman Calendar.

COMMENT: This is so true, but is man’s appointed time of March 21st the true time for the equinox and spring? Which is in accordance with the Roman calendar that you are speaking against. Equinox means “equal night.” If we want the true time for “equal night” what should we go by? Would it be sunrise to sunset at the equator? That is what the Roman Catholic Church with its Roman calendar has deemed that we should observe, but the problem is that sunrise to sunset at the equator or even where we live does not give us the TRUE EQUINOX (equal night)! There is a period of twilight before the sun rises and after it sets during which the sun still rules. This period of twilight is approximately 15-18 minutes.

  Remember that the sun rules the day and the moon and stars the night (Gen. 1:14). When light of the sun overpowers the light of the moon and stars it is daytime, its rule has begun. The rule as to when the equinox occurs can be computed fairly closely, not as closely as necessarily declaring a day such as the 21st of March, but within five or six days, by going to the U.S. Naval Observatory, obtain the time for sunrise-sunset for our area, and then obtain the time for civil twilight, compute the average between the two and we will obtain a time very, very close to “equinox.”

  Computations this year reveal that the true equinox would have taken place around Mar. 4th-5th.

  Even if one wanted to go by the sunrise-sunset tables, the sunrise-sunset times for our area that gives a perfect twelve hours between the two is Mar. 16th-17th, not Mar. 21st.

  As much as you have defamed the Roman calendar, you still are going by its own appointment for equinox, which has caused you, and others, to err.

 Since the Feast of Tabernacles is a Fall festival, and is financed by tithes of the crops and herds of the people, it is important that the people have time to get their herds and crops in before going to the Feast. This would not be possible in some years in the past when the Feast occurred in early September according to the Calculated Jewish Calendar or as some who just want to have an early feast without command. 

COMMENT: You make it sound like there can be no harvest until after the fall equinox. The fact of the matter, as you know, is that harvesting is going on year round. If we waited for everything to be harvested we would never go to the feast. I have seen grain fields, especially corn, un-harvested even as late as November and December.

 Assume this a year in which a new moon falls 13 days before the spring equinox.

COMMENT: Do you base your calendar on what really takes place (truth) or assumption? This is ridiculous reasoning. You say that you have no right to determine the feast times, yet go about doing just that, setting them yourself.

 As noted above, from the first new moon to the seventh new moon equals 177 days. Since 6 lunar months is 9 days shorter than the 186 days between the spring and fall equinoxes, then it is a mistake to reckon the first of the year from a new moon which is seen (as indicated above) 13 days before the spring equinox. True, Passover will fall on or after the spring equinox, but what happens at the fall festivals?

COMMENT: They will be taking place in accordance with the command of Ex. 34:22 AT THE TEQUWPHAH!

 Subtract the 13 days "spent" before the spring equinox from the 177 days comprising the six lunar months (177 days - 13 days = 164 days), then subtract the quotient (164 days) from the 186 days the circuit of the sun from spring equinox to the fall equinox. This brings us to a time which is 21 or 22 days before the autumnal equinox, placing most of the Feast of Tabernacles before the "turn of the year" (before tekufah).*

COMMENT: If you take the new moon of Apr. 19th, then you will be keeping the feast days long, long after the turn of the year, not AT THE TURN OF THE YEAR.

 If we accept a new moon nearest but 13 days before the spring equinox as the 1st day of Abib, then the 177 days (which make up six lunar months) causes the 1st day of the 7th month to fall 21 or 22 days before the autumnal equinox, thus placing most of the eight days of Tabernacles into the summer season instead of the autumn, as a harvest festival (Lev. 23:39).

I have just given you a part of why I accept Yahweh’s command.   It would be easy for me to say, I would like an early feast, but who am I to change Yahweh’s commands.   Sorry, I cannot do that. 

COMMENT: So what you are saying is that no matter what can be proven from the Scriptures, which you truly haven’t utilized, you simply can't go along. But I thought that you would only allow Yahweh to declare His appointed times to you. What you are doing is making Yahweh to fit your own image and mold. Too bad.

 Yahweh does not design anything with errors. If the Calendar is out of sync with the "two great lights" it is the Calendar that is wrong, not the sun and moon.

COMMENT: The calendar is out of sync with the “two great lights.” The problem is that man is the one who makes the errors as you have in your dissertation.

 The Almighty tells, or rather shows us by His great miracles of when Winter ends and Spring begins. He does it by the sun and moon.

COMMENT: Yes, and by what we see going on around us, because even when the man-declared equinox was not here yet, spring was bursting out all over the place where we live. You are allowing a date for the equinox, set by man, to influence you, rather than the Scriptures and what is obvious around us.

 The equinox occurs because of the action of the sun. The earth, which is tilted 23.5 degrees, (who did that, certainly not mankind, but the Almighty Himself) circles the sun, creating our seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter). The equinox occurs when the sun "crosses" the equator. The Hebrew word is tekufah, and refers to the solstices as well as to the equinoxes.

 Look to the first new moon after the spring equinox and start the year. This will always keep Passover in spring and Tabernacles in fall. Since the festivals generally are harvest festivals how could it be any other way?"

 The sun establishes the equinox, and these with the moon establish the day, the month, the year, and the festivals (Gen. 1:14-16).

 But did the pagans create the equinox? No.  The Mighty Yahweh made it, evidently when he tilted the earth to its present 23.5 degrees.

COMMENT: The equinox shifts throughout the constellations. Man is the one who sets a date for it and then forces that date to be observed whether or not the equinox has or is taking place. As stated, our equinox this year takes place around Mar. 4th-5th. The equal time for sunrise and sunset takes place on the 16th-17th of Mar. This is before the new moon, which occurred on the evening of Mar. 19th.

 The month of Abib should always start in the spring, never in winter. When does spring begin? At the equinox, when the sun (apparently) crosses the equator, never earlier than that. Is it reasonable to sometimes begin the year in spring but at other times in winter? Scriptures indicate the first month should always start in the same season of the year - spring.

COMMENT: I have already demonstrated to you that the sun begins to rule the day BEFORE it crosses the horizon and it also begins its annual rule before the equinox. As stated, spring is already evident here where we live.

 This year, some will pick an early NM because it is only a day or so before the VE.  Very tempting, right?

However, can we set aside the commands one year, because it looks right in our eyes, or follow Yahweh?

 I will try to follow Yahweh.   I pray you do also.

COMMENT: Brother, I know that you are very sincere and dedicated in your service to Yahweh, and we do appreciate that very, very much. But what you have utilized for your authority IS NOT SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE! You have only presented records from the Catholic Church, the Caesars, Elephantine Egypt, etc.

  We have given you the Scriptural and physical evidence. If you truly are sincere and dedicated in your service to Yahweh, you might reconsider your calendar as it now stands.

 Much love to you all in Yahshua’s Name,

 Jim

DITTO,

Jerry Healan

P. S. Green ears of barley were found in Israel in time for the new moon of the 19th of March, as this author knew such would be the case. May you all have a wondrous year in your service to and worship of Yahweh and His dear Son Yahshua the Messiah!

 MISSIONARY TRIPS

Pastor John Robinson of the First Assembly of Yahvah in Emory, Texas, will be traveling to the Philippines on April 23 for a two week missionary trip.

Pastor John will be flying directly to the island of Cebu where he will spend a couple of days visiting with brethren there before continuing to Malalog, Mindanao.

A one week youth camp with be held in Malalog which will be the primary focus of his trip, but he will also be able to visit with brethren from the surrounding area.

Please pray for John’s safety in his travel to a from the Island nation. Please also pray for a successful trip for the esteem of our Heavenly Father and His Son. We hope that he will send us a full report of his trip upon his return.

Elder Jerry Healan also hopes to be able to travel to the Philippines sometime in January-February 2008, Yahweh willing.

Elder Jacob C. Meyer is planning a three week missionary trip to Kenya, Africa in September-October of this year. There will be other brethren in accompaniment with him including Elder Jerry Healan.

The trip is being planned so that its last few days will coincide with the first half of the Feast of Tabernacles, and to return to the states and Rocheport, Missouri, for the last half of the feast.

While there, there are possibilities of side trips to the Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Benin and Ghana. We certainly ask you to pray for the success of this trip so that believing brethren in other parts of the world will be encouraged and their faith bolstered.

Elder Jerry Healan is making plans to travel to India sometime in November-December to visit with so many of the brethren there who have been in contact with the assemblies for a good while.

He also hopes to be able to meet and fellowship with Brother Tony Suckla who has been doing a work for Yahweh and Yahshua there for several years.

Please also remember these plans and keep them in your prayers for their ultimate success for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.

We would like to ask if there are any brethren, or elders, or leaders of assemblies here in the U.S. who would be interested in also embarking on one or more of these trips.

Please contact us at YEA, P. O. Box 31, Atlanta, Texas 75551 or call 903-796-7420.

If anyone is planning a missionary trip to another country, please contact us and let us know so we can post your plans in the newsletter. We will solicit prayers of success from the brethren on your behalf. We would also appreciate any missionary reports that any would feel is noteworthy for Yahweh’s work.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT!

We are happy to announce the arrival of little Sam Paña into the world. Sam is the son of Elder George and wife Gemma Paña of Maramag, Bukidnon Province, Mindanao Philippines. He weighed 10.4 pounds at birth, which caused him to have to be born via caesarian operation. While most American babies average about 7 pounds, the majority of Philippine babies weigh in around 5—6 pounds.

Proud papa must have been excited because he didn’t send the birth date in his letter. Welcome Sam.

PENTECOST OBSERVANCE

  Yahweh’s Evangelical Assembly will be teaming up with New Covenant Fellowship of Emory, Texas for Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) observance. The Feast of Weeks is scheduled to be observed on May 27th.

  New Covenant Fellowship is in the process of enlarging their meeting hall so that it will accommodate in the neighborhood of 150—160 people. The expansion process should be completed at that time.

  We would like to take the opportunity to invite you to plan on spending the regular Sabbath as well as Pentecost with us. The Emory congregation holds a service at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening (erev Shabbat). Services on the regular Sabbath begin at 11:00 a.m. with a communal meal afterward.

  We are planning on a Bible study or services during the evening between the Sabbath and Pentecost. Most evening activities begin around 7:00 p.m.

  Services for Pentecost will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a communal meal afterward.

  The New Covenant Fellowship Hall is located on FM 3299 in Emory. Emory is located at the intersection of Texas Highway 19 and U. S. Highway 69. Highway 19 runs from north to south between Sulfur Springs, Texas in the north (on Interstate 30) and Canton, Texas in the south (on Interstate 20). U. S. Highway 69 runs from Greenville, Texas in the north (on Interstate 30) to Lindale, Texas in the south (on Interstate 20).

  FM 3299 is just north of the intersection of Highways 19 and 69 in Emory. If you are traveling from downtown Emory, take U. S. Highway 69 north to FM 3299. Take a left on FM 3299 and proceed to the meeting hall.

  If you are traveling from Greenville on U.S. 69 South, look for FM 3299 (to the right) before reaching Emory proper and the intersection at Highway 19.

  We look forward to seeing as many of you there as can be.

 BAPTISMS

We are happy to be able to report at least three baptisms that have recently taken place. On Sabbath, Feb. 24th Sister Pat Kirk was baptized at New Covenant Fellowship in Emory, Texas. Pat is the wife of Arvil Kirk. They reside in Trinity, Texas. Tony Clawson and Jerry Healan performed the baptism.

On Sabbath, Apr. 7th Brother Louis Green was baptized in the saving name of Yahshua at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas by Jerry Healan.

On Monday Dec. 4th, 2006 Brother Nigel Hunter was baptized by Yohance Branch in the Dallas, Texas area.

We thank and praise our Heavenly Father Yahweh for calling these brethren out of this world to receive the truths of the soon coming kingdom of heaven.HalleluYah!!!

Please pray for them as we know that Pharaoh of Egypt let Israel go and then chased after them in order to re-enslave them. We find, time after time, that once a person is baptized, the true Pharaoh of this world, Satan, usually pulls out many of his tricks in order to recover that which he has lost to Yahshua. We praise Yahshua that He promises that none can take them out of His hand, but Satan still makes the attempts to do so.

READER’S COMMENTS

Thank you all so much for the help you are giving me through your Bible studies and other publications. I have been incarcerated since April of 2002 and I go home in April of 2007, just 3 days short of 5 years. I knew when I was arrested that this was serious and I wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon, so the way that got me through 7 months in the county jail was to do little else besides read the Bible – mostly the New Testament – over and over again.

As I studied I saw many inconsistencies between Scripture and what I had been taught growing up in the periphery of the "Church of Christ." By the time I reached the correctional center I was convinced that my idea of salvation was completely off-base, and I was sincerely searching for the truth. I am still searching 4 years later and I have covered a lot of ground.

While still in the center’s receiving, I found a "Good News" magazine put out by the United Church of God. This eventually led me to the "Living" and "Philadelphia" Churches of God, and the works of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. I have done in-depth studies of all these groups and am currently aligned with the Living Church of God, and I have been baptized by one of their ministers.

Since the "Sacred Names" movement has been brought to my attention, I am in another quandary; what you all say makes sense and I no longer feel comfortable using the title "God" of calling the Messiah "J.C."! I need help sorting this all out in the 10-1/2 months that I have left before I get home and time is at a premium.

SE/IL

COMMENT: Stay tuned to this ministry and others like us. We at YEA also were once a part of the WWCG and offshoots, but had to face the truth and change our understanding. Ask Yahweh to help you keep your heart set on the truth and to lead you with the Spirit of Truth. JH

GET SOME GUTS !!!

This article was sent to us by Elder Frank McKinley of Uvalde, Texas. It was posted on FrontPageMagazine.com. It confirms the articles that appeared in the Nov.-Dec. issue of Yahshua’s Witness Magazine written by Elder Brick Parrish and Elder Jerry Healan concerning Islam and its true purposes and intentions as revealed Scripturally.

  The weakness shown by the West over the latest hostage taking of the Brits and Pelosi's demonstration of the split government in the US, must give encouragement to the Islamic world.

The Coming War with Islam. By Solly Ganor FrontPageMagazine.com | March 15, 2007 (Solly Ganor is a survivor of Dachau).

             Five years ago, I had a conversation with a young Palestinian student who in short precise terms explained how Islam will defeat the West. The conversation opened my eyes to a much larger picture in which Israel plays only a minor role in the Islamic game of conquest. Since then I tried to speak to some Arabs who come to pray at the Mosque, but they were not as outspoken as the student.

             Last week, I had another conversation with an Israeli Arab construction boss by the unlikely name of Francis who was in charge of building a villa near our house in Herzelia. He told me that his family was Christian, and his name was given to him in honor of the Franciscan monks. Our conversation was as interesting as the first conversation I had with the Arab student five years ago and I would like to share it with you. Francis frequently parked his car near our house and we would exchange polite
greetings.

             About a week ago, the water was shut off for repairs in the house he was building, and Francis asked me if I could give him some hot water for his coffee. He was a tall man of about forty, with reddish hair and blue eyes. He spoke a perfect Hebrew, and I naturally became curious about him. I felt that he may be the right person to exchange some views with. By his looks, I assumed that he was either a Druze or from the Syrian region. He looked more like a teacher than a construction worker and, as I later found out, he was actually a teacher by profession. Since my conversation with the student five years ago, I was always curious to hear their side of the story; therefore, I decided to invite him for a cup of coffee to our house. I saw him hesitate for a moment; then he smiled and thanked me for my hospitality.

             While we drank our coffee, he told me that he was from a small village in the Galilee called Jish, near the present Kibbutz Sassa. I remembered the village very well as I was one of the soldiers who captured the village while serving in the 7th Armored brigade during the War of Independence in 1948. I decided not to tell him about it because at the time we encountered some stiff resistance at that village and quite a few of the inhabitants were killed.

             He went on to tell me a little about himself. "For a while I was a teacher and I loved teaching, but I couldn't make a living at it and I decided to join my father in law who is in the construction business."
Judging by the large Honda he was driving, I figured that he didn't do too badly changing his profession.

             Our conversation soon turned to the present situation in the Middle East, about Hamas winning the elections, the situation of the Israeli Arabs, and the last Lebanese war against Hezbollah. "As Christians we are in a difficult situation here in Israel Unfortunately, the Moslems and especially the extreme Islamist section, are giving the tone here. My family who lived in Bethlehem probably since the Crusaders, had to flee for their life. The Moslems have been forcing us out, by threats and even murder.
Bethlehem that was once predominantly Christian is now predominantly Moslem. Very little is written about it even in the Israeli press."

             He sipped his coffee and gave me a long look. He seemed like someone who wasn't quite sure whether to say what he was about to say. I gave him an encouraging nod.

             "I have to tell you something which very few of you seem to comprehend." He continued, "Your bungling war against a few thousand Hezbollah fighters which you should have crushed no matter what, considering the importance of the outcome, has created a completely new situation, not only for this area, but globally. Your inept leadership totally misunderstood the importance of winning this war."

             "As a matter of fact, the whole Moslem world, not only the Arabs, simply couldn't believe that the mighty Israeli Army that defeated the combined Arab forces in six days in 1967, and almost captured Cairo and Damascus in 1973, couldn't defeat a small army of Hezbollah men. As usual the Moslems see things the way they want to see things. Most think that the present generation of Israelis have gone soft and can be defeated."

             "The American bungling of the war in Iraq only added to their conviction that victory not only over Israel but also over the West is not only possible, but certain. The ramifications of these two bungling wars may bring an Islamic bloody Tsunami all over the West, not only in Israel. The sharks smell blood and these two wars gave them the green light to attack sooner than they had in mind. Your problem is that you are on the defensive and they have the option to choose the time and the places when and where to attack and there is nothing much you can do about it. When will you Westerners realize that half measures don't work with people who are willing to die by the thousands for Allah to achieve their goal? In their eyes the Western World is simply an abomination on earth that has to be wiped out."

             He spoke quietly and I could just picture him in the school giving his students a lecture. I poured him another cup of coffee and encouraged him to continue.

             "The Americans, the Europeans, and even you Israelis really don't know what it is all about, do you? During the last generation hundreds of thousands of children have been taught all over the Moslem world in Madrass schools to become martyrs for Allah in order to kill the infidels. These youngsters not only are ready to do it, but are actually in the process of doing it. Bombs are going off all over the world killing and maiming thousands of people, not only on 9/11 in the US, in London, Madrid, and Bali, but in Africa, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and many other places. The first signs of the Islamic Tsunami is already here, but the West doesn't understand, or doesn't want to understand what is coming."

             "The Americans, instead of realizing that this is as bad as World War Two, or even worse, are going to pull out of Iraq, handing it over to Iran on a silver platter. Next may come the Saudis and the rest of the Gulf states. When dirty bombs go off all over Western towns, who is going to stop the Iranians?"

             "Now is the time to stop them, not only because they are developing nuclear bombs, but because Iran has become the base for all Islamic terrorist. They supply, money, men, and weapons to Islamic terrorist around the world, quite often through their diplomatic mail. Billions of petro-dollars that are pouring into Iran are being funneled into terrorist organizations world-wide. They believe, and perhaps rightly so, that the West will do nothing to stop them in achieving their goals. Is history repeating itself? Are the Iranians making the same mistake that Hitler made when he attacked Poland? Is the situation similar?"

             "As a history teacher who studied the subject thoroughly I can tell you that Western victory in World War Two was not all certain. Hitler could have won the war if he would have gone ahead with the atomic bomb development before the Americans. The Germans began working on it in the thirties, and it was Hitler's decision to prefer building more conventional arms, as he considered atomic weapons sheer fantasy. Hitler made the wrong decision, but had he made the right decision the world would have been a different type of world today, wouldn't it? The West won the war against Hitler by sheer chance. Very few people seem to realize that."

             I must say that his last words shook me up quite a bit. Had Hitler made a different decision, I would have died in Dachau, there wouldn't have been a Jewish state called Israel, and most likely there
wouldn't have been any Jews left in the world. The idea that the Western democracies in general and the fate of the Jewish people in particular could have hinged on Hitler's one decision, is a scenario of the worst nightmare.

             He notices that his last words had an effect on me, and he smiled. "I see that my words are not wasted on you," he said dryly. I nodded, and he continued with his lecture. "Coming back to our time, the Iranians rely on the West doing nothing about their development of nuclear bombs. They also rely on their secret weapon: an inexhaustible supply of Islamic suicide bombers, some of them who are already planted all over the Western World. Besides the Islamic countries that supply these suicide bombers, a second front has been opened, and that is the Internet with more than five thousand Islamic web sites, brain washing and urging young Moslems to become martyrs for Allah. They especially target young Moslems who live in Europe and the West in general. The Western intelligence authorities consider these web sites a bigger threat than the Iranian atomic bomb. Al-Qaeda recently issued a television broadcast that promised a devastating attack against its enemies this spring. As we all know, Al-Qaeda doesn't make empty threats."

             "Actually, I don't understand why the Iranians bother to develop atomic bombs and bring the whole world down on them. Every suicide bomber is a potential atomic bomb, or a biological, chemical or dirty bomb that can be no less devastating than an atom bomb. The Americans and Europeans have no defense against this type of war.

             "What can we do against this type warfare?" I asked him. "Well, you Israelis, should better prepare yourself for another round against Hezbollah. It will not be long in coming. It depends on the Iranians to give the word. This time you will have to destroy Hezbollah no matter what the cost may be."

             "Of course, your next round against Hezbollah may involve the Syrians and the Iranians against you. The Iranians declared that they will not allow Hezbollah to be defeated no matter what and may launch their missiles against you. So will the Syrians. What will Israel do? It is unlikely that Israel will accept its destruction and may use their nuclear arsenal if the West will not come to their help. Perhaps our book of Revelation is not so wrong in describing that the end of the world would start at Armageddon, which we know as Har-Megiddo in Israel. The book of Revelations describe the last battle would be fought at Armageddon between the "Forces of good and the forces of evil."

             "And who would you call the forces of good 'Israel or Islam?' I asked looking him straight in the eyes. He gave me a startled look. "If I were a Moslem, I would have no problem to name the forces of good and it wouldn't be Israel. As a Christian, I would probably name Israel, but as a Christian Arab I would prefer not to answer."

             We looked at each other. His answer made it clear where the Israeli Arabs stood, whether they were Moslems or Christians. And why should I be surprised? After all the Israeli Arabs call the establishment of the State of Israel their nakbah (disaster).

             Is there a way to avoid the "Armageddon"?

             "I think there are two ways to avoid it. One can be a major war which the West can win. As in World War Two, had the West attacked the Germans in 1936 the war would have lasted not more than a month with very few casualties. Their procrastination resulted in World War II with all its consequences. Eventually, the West will have to tackle the Iranians, it is better that they do it now to avert a world catastrophe later. With Iran defeated the Islamic onslaught will lose its base, and it may be the turning point in history to defeat the menace of extreme Islam. The majority of the Moslems don't want this confrontation anyway."

             "You are painting a rather dark picture. When do you think we will have the next round against Hezbollah?" I asked. "I think they will attack again as soon as they are fully re-equipped and I think it will be during the summer, while Israel is still in a military and political turmoil."

             For a while, we sat in silence. He finished his second cup of coffee and got up. "I know what I am going to do. I am going to Canada to join my brother. This country is becoming much too dangerous for Christians as well," he said. He thanked me for the coffee and we shook hands.

             "You said there are two ways to avoid Armageddon?" I remembered to ask him.

             "Sure, all the West has to do is follow Putin's ways. He assassinates his enemies without blinking an eye. Assassinate the four or five Mullahs who run the show, Ahmadinejad, and a few more Iranian fanatics, and the War can be avoided. It may be difficult to do, but not impossible. With today's hi- tech technology I am sure that new weapons against individuals are being prepared right now. I think it would be a better way of handling the matter than an all out war against Islam."

             The conversation with Francis was not more encouraging than the one I had with the Palestinian student five years ago. It was becoming clear that Israel may be on the forefront for the coming war of the West against Islam, unless we follow Francis' suggestion to assassinate the heads of the snake, rather than going to war with Islam.

Solly Ganor is a survivor of Dachau and the author of Light One Candle.