Israel’s military airstrikes targeted and hit a terrorist squad in the Southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
According to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the site had launched rockets toward Israel on Tuesday. Hamas is reporting that a Palestinian citizen was killed and another injured in Rafah city.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby issued a statement on Wednesday asking Israel to show restraint. But Israel has vowed to protect itself.
“The IDF will not tolerate continued rocket and mortar fire aimed at the communities of southern Israel,” the IDF said in a statement. “The IDF will continue to act decisively to thwart any attempts to harm Israeli citizens.”
What does the revolution in Egypt have to do with the terrorist attack in Jerusalem last week? And the escalating violence in the Israel and the Gaza Strip? Plenty, according to Shaddy Soliman, pastor of Every Nation Church in Lake Mary, Fla. and co-author of Islam and Terrorism.
“The Egyptian revolution has fallen into the direction of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Soliman says. “The Egyptians now wish they had never protested. The uprisings in Bahrain and Yemen has Hezbollah and al-Qaeda elements in it. Then there’s Libya. The Middle Eastern world is leading toward one thing: striking Israel.
Soliman isn’t surprised. That’s because it’s the year 2011. The number 11 in Bible numerology means disorder and chaos. Barely 90 days into 2011 the world has witnessed an uprising in Tunisia, followed by Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria and Libya, as well as the devastating earthquake in Japan, among other events.
“The symbol of 11 is manifesting,” Soliman says. “We’re seeing history-making events unfold before our eyes. I think this chaos will continue into September, which is the beginning of the new Jewish year. That’s not a prophecy—it’s just a prediction. Fasten your seatbelt, because we haven’t seen the best of it yet. The good news is that 12 is the number of order and perfection.”
So what about peace in the Middle East? Will that come to pass in 2012? As Soliman sees it, there will be no peace in the Middle East until the Muslims confess Jesus is the Son of God and accept Him as God, and until the Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah.
“As long as these two tribes of people exist without accepting Jesus, there will always be war. The only common denominator that’s going to bring people together is a change of heart,” Soliman says. “Until then, the Church in America needs to wake up. We have a responsibility to make disciples and take the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. We’re not making disciples locally, therefore we’re not going to make disciples in the world.”
