Defining Palestinian/Islamic Terms
©February 13, 2011 by Asher Intrater

When asked how I feel about the Palestinian conflict, I have often found it helpful to distinguish between several terms. Here are a few brief definitions:

1. Palestinians – The Palestinians, or Arabs in general, are an ethnic group like any other. They have good points and bad points. They need to be respected for their culture, enjoy basic civil rights, and be loved as a people. They need the gospel as anyone else. Despite the conflict between Arabs and Jews, we are actually close to one another ethnically; we often refer to them as our "cousins" in the Middle East.
   
   
2. Palestinian Christians – There are Palestinian Arabs who are true born-again, Spirit-filled Christians. They are a very special group of believers who are dear to our hearts. Many share their faith courageously in an atmosphere filled with Islamic extremism and terrorism. Their lives are at risk on a daily basis. We see a parallel between them and the Messianic Jews in Israel. Our ministry (Revive Israel) considers partnership with Palestinian Christians who share the gospel with Muslims as a top priority. They are spiritual heroes and we stand with them in prayer, fellowship, and finances.
   
   
3. Islam – Islam is a religion. Not all Palestinians are Muslim, but the large majority are. Islam is a false religion. It is false in historical fact (claiming that Abraham "offered" Ishmael instead of Isaac, for instance). It is false in its description of the nature of God, in its treatment of people, in its encouragement of violence, and its pagan origins (the "Black Stone of Kaaba," for instance). Yet it is not a crime to be a Muslim. Issues of faith should be addressed with clear teaching, with intelligent confrontation, and with words of love and truth.
   
4. Jihad – Jihad, the principle of violent world takeover, is the goal of Islamic extremism. Islam has three levels: A.) prayers and rituals, B.) works of community service, C.) jihad.  New Muslims who have entered only into level A or B are considered "moderate" by the West. However, Islam eventually leads to level C, the violent stage. Therefore, "moderate" Muslims will never be able to control the extremists. Jihad and terrorism are a crime. Jihad is more than a crime; it is crime and war joined together. International law does not currently have the correct measures to stop both the criminal and military aspects of Jihad. The violent aspects of Jihad must be stopped by force, both judicially and militarily. All people groups are entitled to civil rights. However, Jihad is a "war-crime" that disqualifies the rights of those who promote it. A person who explodes a bomb in a public train station has lost his civil rights.
   
5. "Beast" Spirit – There is another level to this conflict that has to do with the Second Coming of Yeshua (Jesus). He is returning soon to establish the kingdom of God on earth from Jerusalem (Revelation 19, Zechariah 14, Isaiah 2, etc). When He returns, He will defeat demonic forces and bind the devil for a thousand years (Revelation 20). Therefore the focus of those satanic forces is to stop the gospel and destroy Israel. These are the ultimate issues of spiritual warfare, and only those who understand spiritual warfare can discern them.

A Visit to Amsterdam
By Betty Intrater

This winter Asher and I visited Amsterdam for a short vacation. We enjoyed the network of canals that flow through the city, the colorful, narrow row houses, and the over population of bicycles. We also enjoyed visiting a few of the city’s museums.

I was particularly interested in the Anne Frank house, after being so familiar with her story as a child. The house, where Anne and her family hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, has been preserved as a museum.

It is eerie to walk through this building and its hidden rooms, imagining the horror of the inhabitants, Jews hiding from the Nazis, and their petrifying fear of being caught.

After the war Anne’s father and the only survivor from the family, Otto Frank, was active in preserving this house as a museum. He also devoted his life to standing up for human rights and against racism and prejudice.

Asher and I were a little surprised upon finishing the tour to find ourselves in an educational room with short films and materials promoting these values.

Unfortunately, the materials inaccurately drew a thread between the inhumane acts of the Nazi regime and the treatment by Dutch police of illegal immigrants in Holland. As though expelling illegal immigrants is on par with singling out and brutally murdering an entire ethnic group!

We were equally surprised as we left the building and waited for transportation at the canal, to find ourselves standing in front of the “Homomonument.” The homomonument was designed to ‘inspire and support lesbians and gays in their struggle against denial, oppression and discrimination’ and directly identifies with the nearby Anne Frank house in their ‘struggle.’

The Bible warns against calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

In these days, when humanism is replacing godly values and the lines of good and evil are becoming dim, let us pray to have God’s discernment, that we may stand in His righteous values and not confuse them with those of the world.

Far East Prayer Update
By Ariel Blumenthal

Our team (Asher, Ariel, Ami, Amir (Pakistan/Thailand), Matthew (Hong Kong), and Abraham & Grace (Korea) are presently ministering in Seoul, Korea.  We are continuing in our Acts 1 vision to preach the Gospel from Jerusalem all the way to the ends of the earth.   We believe that the Gospel of the Kingdom needs to be preached to all the nations before the Lord’s return (Mt 24:14).   Please pray for anointing on our meetings here; for the developing of key covenantal partners in the Far East—particularly in Mainland China.  

Israel TV

Continue to pray fervently for the upcoming television documentary on Messianic Judaism, which includes interviews with several members of our congregation and ministry team.