The Bible is clear: God loves the people of Israel, as well as their neighbors. He has a wonderful plan for their lives, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give them a future and a hope. Jesus offers those who choose to follow Him true peace that cannot be found anywhere else. He promises to protect His people. He promises them an abundant life here, and in the hereafter. He promises to answer their prayers when they pray for His will to be done and pray in His Name. What’s more, He commands His followers to love their neighbors and their enemies. He commands them to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, and care for the suffering. Should we not draw near to Him and follow Him wholeheartedly at this critical time?

“I have loved you with an everlasting love,” the Lord says in Jeremiah 31:3. “Therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (I John 4:8)

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” says the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I came that they might have life and have it abundantly,” said Jesus in John 10:10.

“Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper….The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 121:4,5,7,8)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” said Jesus in John 14:27. “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also….I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me….Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:1-3,12-14)

“If you love me,” Jesus said in John 14:15, “you will obey what I command.”

Last night, I received a report by email from an evangelical friend in the Israeli town of Sderot, located on the southern border with Gaza. “Yesterday was a day full of explosions on both sides [of the border],” he wrote. “I have temporarily moved out of my apartments [and] am staying with a friend with a bomb shelter maybe 30 feet away….I realize more and more that I am not in control of my life and I am thankful that G-d is. Between tank fire and jets flying overhead it is a bit nerve-wracking, but again I know who holds my life in His hand and I know I need to be about my Father’s business….We have been told that the worst is yet to come and we should plan on having enough food on hand until the end of March….Just as He has always been to His children in the past, I know once again He will be faithful — that’s who He is, the Faithful One.”

On Saturday, I received an email from a Jewish friend who also lives in Sderot.  “I just finished reading the Flash Traffic you’ve sent today,” he wrote. “Being held here in Sderot since this morning under marshal law, it was one of the good things that I enjoyed today and your report was excellent. I also join you in prayer tha the leaders here will have the wisdom and courage to destroy terrorists…in Hamastan-ruled-Gaza….We are under fire, but we know that He will protect us.”

The Joshua Fund is doing everything we can to stand with these and other friends and to let them know that they are not alone. We are mobilizing evangelical Christians all over the world to pray for peace on the Israel-Gaza border and to show unconditional love and unwavering support. We are asking you and others to continue praying for wisdom and courage for Israel’s leaders as they seek to decimate the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and reacquire the deterrence factor lost during the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Please pray for the half million Israelis living within rocket and missile range of Gaza. They and their children have no idea what today and tomorrow hold.  Pray for the Lord to comfort and calm their hearts. Please pray for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom find themselves trapped in the crossfire of a war that Hamas started but that they as individuals and families don’t want. Please pray for the wounded on both sides, and the families who have lost loved ones. Please also lift up the believers in Jesus in Israel and Gaza who are seeking the Lord’s strength to help them love their neighbors and their enemies in real and practical ways in the name of Jesus. Pray that the believers can be lights in the darkness, bringing good news and hope to those who feel hopeless and alone. Finally, please pray that the Lord would be gracious to provide our Joshua Fund leadership team

Hamas is committed to wiping Jewish Israelis off the map forever.

with wisdom to know how best to help those who are now victims of war and terrorism, and sufficient financial resources to meet those needs quickly and wisely.

Hamas terrorists have shown no signs of surrendering their vicious, evil war against the Jews of Israel. As of 4pm Israel time (9am eastern) on Monday, at least 50 rockets and missiles had been fired from Gaza at the Israeli towns of Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod. Israeli military forces, meanwhile, continue to pummel Hamas headquarters, rocket launching pads, and other military infrastructure. The deputy chief of staff of the IDF is warning Israeli that, “We are just at the beginning of the battle, this will not be hasty. The worst is not behind us – it is still ahead of us, and we should be prepared for this. Our resilience will be determine by the functioning of the authority and the way the civilians are protected.”

I’m soon boarding a plane back to D.C.  Will update you more as I can. God bless you.

** If you would be willing to help The Joshua Fund help the suffering people of Israel and Gaza with relief aid at this critical moment, you can make a tax-deductible contribution on-line or by mail. Please click here for details, and thank you so much for your love and generous support. **

Hamas rocket hits Israeli house

Israeli children huddle in a bomb shelter in town of Sderot

Fires in Gaza from Israeli air attacks against Hamas rocket launchers

Israeli bombs hit Hamas missile launchers

UPDATED: Latest headlines

• Israel continues to pound Gaza as Hamas fires 150 rockets at Israel in last 48 hours
• In response to Gaza raids, Hamas threatens to assassinate Livni, Barak
• Russia asks Israel to end Gaza attacks, let in aid
• Israelis target Hamas smuggling tunnels
• Israeli Cabinet approves call up of reserves
• Nasrallah: Israel could take this opportunity to attack Lebanon
• Israelis in the North prepare for possible attacks from Hezbollah
• Ahmadinejad Urges Muslim States To Punish Israel Over Gaza
• Iran orders all Muslims to defend Palestinians against Israeli raids in Gaza
• Analysis: Don’t forget the Iranian connection
• Fear of rockets sends Israeli hospital underground (this is a story about the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon that The Joshua Fund has been assisting in purchasing much-needed medical equipment)

KEEP AN EYE ON RUSSIA:

• Russian stock markets down 65-70%
• Russian Finance Minister: 2009 will be the worst for the Russian economy since the World War-II
• Russia eyes trade rise with Iran in 2009: “Russia is planning to sign new agreements with Iran to boost the two-way trade in 2009, Russian Economy Ministry Trade Negotiations Department Director Maxim Medvedkov stated on Thursday.”
• Russia is bracing for further unrest as the rouble on Friday slid to a new low against the euro after a succession of moves to devalue its currency: Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, warned Russia faced “unprecedentedly difficult and dangerous circumstances” and could be “heading into a black hole”. “It is not clear what the fate of our rouble will be or if society has sufficient financial and moral resources,” he said.

Israeli warplanes hit Hamas targets in Gaza overnight

UPDATE, 12/27: Over the past three days — amidst Christmas week in the Holy Land — radical Islamic terrorists in Gaza have fired more than 100 rockets, missiles and mortars at Israeli Jews living in the southern border towns of Sderot, Ashdod and Ashkelon. Since December 19th, nearly 200 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza. By God’s grace, Israeli casualties have been minimal, despite the barrage. Only one Israeli has been killed in the attacks so far. But two Palestinian children — sisters aged 5 and 13 — were killed when a Hamas rocket landed on a house in Gaza rather than Israel.

Overnight, the IDF launched a series of aistrikes at Hamas targets to try to stop the missile and rocket onslaught. One report indicates that Israeli warplanes fired upwards of 30 missiles at Hamas targets. Israel’s Channel 2, however, reported that “60 planes were involved in the attack, and nearly 100 targets were hit.” Hamas leaders say at least 150 Palestinians were killed in the airstrikes, and some 300 were wounded. Those casualty figures have not, however, been verified as of 10am eastern time Saturday. Hamas leaders declared, “This is war!” Other Hamas leaders are vowing to “unleash Hell” on Jewish Israelis.

[Click here for world reactions.]

Israeli officials are threatening a full ground invasion of Gaza if the rocket attacks from Hamas don’t end. A new poll finds that 60% of Israelis support an invasion to stop the rocket attacks.

“Is it the spirit of Islam to kill innocent children?” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday morning. ” To shoot rockets at kindergartens and at civilians?  I do not think that this is the spirit of Islam.  Hamas, which does this against the spirit of Islam, is the main reason for your suffering – for all of ours. I say to you in a last-minute call, stop it.  Stop it.  You the citizens of Gaza, you can stop it. I know how much you want to get up in the morning to quiet, to take your children to kindergarten or school, the way we do….Hamas must be stopped – and so it will be.  I will not hesitate to use Israel’s strength to strike at Hamas and Islamic Jihad.  How?  I do not wish to go into details here.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni — currently running for Prime Minister in the Feb. 10th elections — said in Cairo: “Enough is enough. When there’s shooting, there’s a response. Any state would react that way.” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak — also running for Prime Minister — also sounded tough, saying, “whoever harms the citizens and soldiers of Israel will pay a heavy price.”

Are these threats of a full ground war for real? If so, casualties on both sides could mount quickly and a humanitarian crisis could explode. But full scale war is not a foregone conclusion. Olmert, Livni, and Barak have been threatening to invade Gaza for the last several years, as more than 6,000 rockets, missiles and mortars have rained down on some half a million Israelis living near the Gaza border. Yet they have never followed through on their threats.

This is a key message point of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been urging Olmert to launch an invasion and stop the violence immediately rather than merely repeat empty threats.  “I do not know of a country that would be hit by this many missiles and not do anything,” Netanyahu said Wednesday. “We must stop being hit and attack in order to renew our deterrence capability and our national honor.” Netanyahu is currently leading in the polls in his own bid to be Prime Minister, in part because Israelis see him as stronger on defense than Livni and  Barak. But should the current government launch an aggressive and effective assault on the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, this could dramatically help Livni and Barak in the polls and cause Netanyahu to lose ground.

Please be praying for Israel’s current political and military leaders to have the wisdom and courage to the right thing to protect their citizens. Pray, too, that the Lord would raise of up more leaders in the Jewish State who will be like the “sons of Issachar” described in I Chronicles 12:32, men who “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” Pray for the Israeli families who are suffering in many ways due to the relentless barrage of rocket fire from Gaza. Meanwhile, please pray for Palestinian leaders to effectively confront the Hamas radicals and shut down their terrorist operations. Please pray for all the Palestinian families who are victims of both war and terrorism. And please don’t forget to pray faithfully and consistently for evangelical Christians on both sides of the border and around the world to know how best to help Israelis and Palestinians who are caught in the crossfire and suffering as a result. The Joshua Fund is currently providing aid to citizens in the Israeli town of Sderot and will continue to do so, as the Lord provides funding and open doors.

** If you would like to make a year-end contribution to The Joshua Fund’s relief work to bless Israeli and Palestinian victims of war and terrorism, please click here **

Quick update on the Inside The Revolution documentary film: On Friday morning, we were filming at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C., overlooking the White House. In addition to the producer interviewing me on the threat of Radical Islam to U.S. national security, I also had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Ali Aldabbagh, the chief Spokesman for the Government of Iraq. We discussed the battle between Radicals and Reformers in Iraq and throughout the region. We discussed the Iranian threat to Iraq, the future of U.S.-Iraqi relations, and what he believes Iraq will look like ten years from now. We also discussed the plight of some 2.5 million orphans and some 1 million widows in Iraq and how evangelical Christians can be helpful to care for the poor and needy in his country, as well as for these victims of war and terrorism. It was a fascinating interview and I believe will be a critical part of the final film. We should be finished with principal photography by February, and are looking at a possible September 2009 release. I promise to keep you updated as we go.

Thursday, 2:15pm (Eastern) — Joel will be interview on Janet Parschall’s nationally syndicated radio program for 45 minutes

Thursday, 3:05pm (Eastern) — Joel will be on Matt Gerson’s “Person To Person” program heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network (heard in 177 nations) for 30 minutes

———————

UPDATE: On Janet’s show, I gave a little sneak preview of Inside The Revolution and how the God of the Bible is moving so powerfully throughout the Muslim world. We also talked about the mission and projects of The Joshua Fund. In so doing, I noted that “By God’s grace – and with your help – The Joshua Fund this year has been able to feed needy Israeli Holocaust survivors, purchase urgently-needed medical equipment for an Israeli hospital operating on the border of Gaza, provide a shelter for the homeless, help with a soup kitchen for the needy in Tel Aviv, stockpile tons of food in Israel ahead of the next war, provide thousands of backpacks and school supplies to needy children in Israel and hundreds of backpacks and school supplies to needy children in Iraq, provide thousands of vaccinations for at-risk children in Afghanistan and enable staff to pray with and encourage pastors and ministry leaders in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan. “

* If you would like to make a secure, on-line, tax deductible contribution to The Joshua Fund this Christmas season to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, please click here.

Launching March 10, 2009

What does the future hold for the U.S., Israel and the people of the Muslim world? What are the threats we face? How ought followers of Jesus Christ live in light of dramatic and dangerous geopolitical and religious trends?

On Sunday, December 7th –the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 — Lt.-General (ret.) William “Jerry” Boykin and I were honored to speak on such issues at four events in San Diego, including two morning church services at Horizon Christian Fellowship, a luncheon with business and political leaders, and an evening church service where we did an extended question & answer session. Boykin, who has become a dear friend, is a founding member of the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force. He later became the commander of Delta, and then was in charge of training 10,000 special forces at Fort Bragg, before being promoted to Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He is also the author of the must-read memoir, Never Surrender.

The General and I spoke on the threats facing the United States and Israel from Radical Islam and the risk of being blindsided by future attacks. During the morning services, I  focused on what Bible prophecy says about the future of the Middle East and the world. During the evening session, I gave a sneak preview of Inside The Revolution, which will be released March 10th of next year. It was a fascinating time, and if you have time, I would encourage you to watch the following webcasts. Special thanks to Horizon’s senior pastor Mike MacIntosh and his team for inviting us and hosting such great events. Together, we are organizing the first-ever U.S. “Epicenter Conference” for next spring. Details coming soon.

Also, several weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at a wonderful evangelical congregation in Israel. There, I spoke on the urgent need for godly, Christ-centered leadership as the world faces dangerous, uncertain times. I hope you will have some time to watch this webcast as well.

* To watch the webcast of General Boykin and Joel C. Rosenberg speaking at an evangelical Christian worship service on Sunday morning, December 7th, please click here (speaking portion begins at 22:12 into the program).

* To watch the webcast of Boykin and Rosenberg speaking at an evening Q&A session, please click here (program begins with Christian praise songs; speaking portion begins 39:05 into the program)

* To watch a recent sermon Joel Rosenberg delivered at an evangelical congregation in Jerusalem on “The Leadership Crisis and The 10 Secrets of a Victorious Christian Life,” please click here.

As the Obama team prepares to take office on January 20th, there are new threats and rumors of possible new wars coming in the epicenter. There is also growing concern that nuclear and biological attacks against the American homeland are nearly inevitable in the coming years unless decisive steps are taken to stop Radical Islamic groups and states: Consider the following headlines:

1.) Agence France Presse: “Nuclear, biological terror attack ‘likely’: US commission” — Excerpt: “The authors of a report warning that a nuclear or biological attack is likely within five years present their sobering findings Wednesday to vice-president-elect Joseph Biden as the next US administration prepares to confront the potentially catastrophic threat. The bi-partisan commission will also brief President George W. Bush on their report, which accuses his administration of failing to treat possible biological attacks with the same priority as the spread of nuclear weapons. The report, World at Risk, calls for decisive global action to address the threat and urges the creation of a new post in the White House that would focus solely on overseeing government efforts to prevent an attack with weapons of mass destruction.”

2.) Al-Quds Al-Arabi: “Bin Laden Has Ordered an Attack Bigger than 9/11” — Excerpt: “On November 9, 2008, the London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported, citing ‘a source close to the Al-Qaeda leadership in Yemen,’ that Osama bin Laden had ordered a new attack on the U.S. which will be “far greater than the 9/11 attacks.’ The paper said the source was ‘a former Al-Qaeda commander who is still in touch with… the organization leadership, and who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.'”

3.) New York Times:”Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon” — Excerpt:”Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors. The figures detailing Iran’s progress were contained in a routine update on Wednesday from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been conducting inspections of the country’s main nuclear plant at Natanz. The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium….’They clearly have enough material for a bomb,’ said Richard L. Garwin, a top nuclear physicist who helped invent the hydrogen bomb and has advised Washington for decades. ‘They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.'”

4.) Jerusalem Post:”IDF preparing options for Iran strike” — The report suggests Israeli military commandres are actively drafting options for a massive airstrike against Iranian nuclear facilities that would presuppose no support whatsoever from the U.S. once Barack Obama takes office as President. Excerpts: “‘It is always better to coordinate,’ one top Defense Ministry official explained last week. ‘But we are also preparing options that do not include coordination.’ Israeli officials have said it would be difficult, but not impossible, to launch a strike against Iran without receiving codes from the US Air Force, which controls Iraqi airspace. Israel also asked for the codes in 1991 during the First Gulf War, but the US refused. ‘There are a wide range of risks one takes when embarking on such an operation,’ a top Israeli official said. Several news reports have claimed recently that US President George W. Bush has refused to give Israel a green light for an attack on Iranian facilities. One such report, published in September in Britain’s Guardian newspaper, claimed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert requested a green light to attack Iran in May but was refused by Bush.” Iranian officials, however, indicate that are not worried, believing that prevailing geopolitical conditions make it unlikely for Israeli leaders actually to order an attack.”We think that regional and international developments and the complicated situation faced by Israel itself will not allow it to launch military strikes against other countries,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told reporters in Teheran, according to the Press TV Web site. “Israel makes threats to promote its psychological and media warfare,” he said.

5.) MEMRI: “Pakistani Nuclear Scientist: ‘None Of India’s Cities Can Remain Safe From Our Missiles’; ‘Our Missile System… Can Be Fired in Only 10 Minutes – They Are On the Launchers'” — Excerpt: “Amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan following the 11/26 Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Samar Mubarakmand spoke of the readiness of Pakistani missiles and of their capability to target Indian cities. Dr. Mubarakmand, who has steered the Pakistani nuclear program for the past several decades alongside disgraced nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, expressed his views during a talk show.”

Are Obama and Hillary ready for a nuclear Iran?

On Monday, I did a telephone interview with reporter who asked a number of intriguing and provocative questions. Here are three, with an executive summary of my answers:

1. What is the most serious foreign policy challenge facing the incoming Obama Administration?  Without a doubt, the biggest challenge to U.S. national security — and the security of our allies (namely Israel) — is the threat of Radical Islam. Al Qaeda leaders and other Jihadists are actively preaching that Israel is the “Little Satan” and America is the “Great Satan” and both must be annihilated. So are the leaders of Iran, whose brand of Shia Islamic eschatology (End Times theology) is driving them to try to destroy Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it in order to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah known as the Mahdi or the “Twelfth Imam.” Such Radicals are actively planning and trying to execute catastrophic terrorist attacks Americans and Israelis. True, we as Americans haven’t been hit since 9/11/01 here at home. But that’s not because the Jihadists aren’t trying. The fact is, U.S. and foreign intelligence services have thwarted at least twenty serious terrorist attacks targeting the homeland. The nightmare scenario would be a Radical Islamic group obtaining nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and using them to accomplish their genocidal objectives. Just this morning, the Times of London has a major story noting: “Iran poses the greatest foreign policy challenge to Barack Obama, the President-elect, with Tehran on course to produce a nuclear bomb in the first year of an Obama administration, a coalition of top think-tanks gave warning yesterday.” That said, the second biggest challenge we face is this: the rise of an increasingly totalitarian, anti-Semitic, imperialist and violent Russia under Czar Putin. I’m deeply concerned that Russia’s invasion of the democratic Republic of Georgia last summer is a sign of more aggression to come.

2. Are you encouraged by the selection of Hillary Clinton as the country’s next Secretary of State? Unfortunately, no. As I have previously written, I am not convinced that President-elect Barack Obama truly understands the nature and threat of Radical Islam in general or the threat posed by the current leaders of Iran, in particular. His choosing Hillary has not dispelled those concerns. During the Pennsylvania primary, Hillary said on ABC’s Good Morning America: “Well, the question was, if Iran were to launch a nuclear attack on Israel, what would our response be? And I want the Iranians to know that, if I`m the president, we will attack Iran. We would be able to totally obliterate them. That`s a terrible thing to say, but those people who run Iran need to understand that. Because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic.” It sounded tough and hawkish at the time, and it probably helped Hillary win the Keystone State. But think about her words more carefully. First problem: she is suggesting obliterating Iran after Iran obliterates Israel. Shouldn’t we be doing everything we possibly can to prevent a second Holocaust of six million Jews, not simply threaten retaliation after that Holocaust
occurs? Second problem: Hillary believes Washington can “deter” Iran from using nuclear weapons, if they obtain them. Is that true? I’m not convinced. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believe they have been chosen for this moment to usher in the return of the Islamic Messiah by destroying Israel and the U.S. They believe this is their divine destiny. This is why they are feverishly trying to build, buy or steal nuclear weapons to trigger the End of Days. How exactly can one successfully negotiate with much less contain or deter leaders with an eschatology that requires them to obtain and use weapons of mass destruction? Hillary’s fundamental misreading of the beliefs and goals of the Iranian leadership tragically compounds the President-elect’s misreading of the situation. I am praying for them both, and for their other national security advisors. But I am not encouraged by what I have seen so far.

3. What do the terror attacks in India tell us the next stages in the Global War on Terror? It tells us two things. First, the Jihadists are targeting Americans, Jews and Christians for death and destruction wherever they can find them. No country is off limits. There are no safe havens. The war with Radical Islam truly is a global war and we need all hands on deck in the struggle to defeat the Jihadists. Second, the Jihadists are trying to trigger a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. During my interview with him for Inside The Revolution, former CIA Director Porter Goss urged me to keep my eye on the India-Pakistan conflict and warned this could be one of the next major flashpoints. Seems he was right. Let’s be praying that the Lord would intervene and bring true peace between those two increasingly critical countries.

** To join more than 80,000 people around the world who have signed up to receive Joel’s (free) “Flash Traffic” email updates from Washington, please click here **

* On Sunday, Joel will be speaking at Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, along with Lt-General (ret.) Jerry Boykin, former commander of Delta Force. For more information, please click here.