The 1st recorded peace treaty in history

In Genesis 21, the servants of the king of Gerar, Abimelech, took over the wells that Abraham and his servants had dug in the Negev. Abraham told Abimelech about it, and who said he hadn't been aware of it until that moment.

"So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this[d] may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba,[e] because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God." (Genesis 21: 27-33).

Many wells were dug throughout Be'er Sheva in the millennia since. This one here dates back to Roman times. You can see grooves in the walls where ropes slowly wore them in over time. Next to this one, is a young tamarisk tree just like what Abraham planted.

While it is unlikely to find the exact well that Abraham and Abimelech disputed and settled in peace over, that's okay. What's important about this story is not the exact physical location down to the millimeter; it's that this story happened and what it meant. '

This is the first recorded peace treaty in all of history, brokered by the father of Israel.

That's pretty cool!

It's also a 3-day walk to Jerusalem, which is what happened when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac at Mount Moriah.

Modern day Be'er Sheva is pretty cool. Like ancient times, it is complete desert.

So when I was there last August, I was stunned at how much green I did see! I mean, I was in a desert, and at places, there was grass! There were gardens!

And, so many fountains. This one was my favorite. Can you see why?

It's Moses leading the Israelites through the Red Sea! Below are the Egyptians.

So cool! It looks like those underground springs are still present today, almost 4,000 years after that peace treaty!

I definitely recommend visiting Be'er Sheva if you ever come to Israel! You'll understand why in next week's post.

The Last Jihad Series by Joel C. Rosenberg

So, I was definitely late to the party when it comes to reading Joel C. Rosenberg's books, but I'm so glad I'm here now!

I just finished reading Rosenberg's 5-book series, The Last Jihad, and all I can say is: Wow! (I feel like I say that a lot when it comes to his books.

What's so incredible about this one is the story behind it, how the first book was almost completely written before September 11, 2001. And then, the same could be said for things that happened in the next year and book 2. Reading this in 2021, it's still eerie to see, because there are things in there that are happening now. 

How did this happen? Well, he based this books on Biblical prophetic texts, specifically Ex 38-39. Most recently, in book 4, The Copper Scroll, he talks about deal signed by Iraq and China as an exchange of oil for weapons. And on March 27, 2021, a very similar deal was signed in real life between China and Iran. I was literally reading book 4 when this announcement was made. 

While I've loved reading all of Rosenberg's novels so far, this one has caught my attention because it literally deals with the last days and what it could be like. I've always loved imagining what those would be like. So it definitely caught my attention and let imagination fly!

The other thing I wanted to point out from this series is how Rosenberg treats the depiction of honor and shame in this culture and explains it to the Western readers (and characters). He does an amazing job of that in book 2, The Last Days, specifically while describing the view point of Palestinian society. Pages 253-255 have an especially beautiful description of the heartache of the shame felt as a whole by the culture of the character who is speaking. His request to the President of the United States in this scene isn't so much about power or winning, so much as restoring some honor to his people.

Anyway, I loved this series! It's going on the shelf and will be read over and over, haha. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think. Please let me know in the comments below!

The Elijah Chronicles by Ray Bentley and Bodie Thoene

Have you heard of The Elijah Chronicles?

This 3-book series follows American Jack Garrison from his initial fact-finding mission to Israel through an incredible adventure throughout the Holy Land. My favorite part is that it is set in modern times, so there are mentions of real-life world leaders and events that just happened a few months ago. But it's more than just being a modern day story. This is how Amazon describes it: Watch history, prophecy, and current events leap to life as best-selling author Bodie Thoene and prophecy scholar Ray Bentley lead you on a journey that melds the past, present, and future into one unforgettable story. 

I've read many books by Bodie Thoene (co-authored by her husband, Brock), and reviewed them here. So I'm familiar with her work, though not Ray Bentley's. I was excited by the premise of this trilogy and enjoyed it. However, before I go into something specific I learned from this series, I do want to say that as an avid reader, I felt something lacking from this series. The physical books themselves are shorter than a true novel, and their print is large. It felt more like I was reading 3 novellas than 3 full-length novels, and this was evident to me in the reading. I didn't get as immersed in the stories as I normally would, because of the lack of detail. In addition, at times the actual timing in the series felt abrupt and unclear, especially in the 3rd book. Since The Cyrus Mandate is set in 2020 and discusses real-life events, I knew what it was referring to. For instance, Covid-19 and its effects are just suddenly referred to as having arrived and the characters are dealing with the normal. But there was no build up to that (outside of one mention something being released from China in one of Jack's visions). But for readers 10, 20, 30 + years from now, will they understand the minutiae that led to that scene (will we even be here, haha)? It could be the purpose of this series was to show the truths of today and what is going on for the modern reader in a fiction form. If so, this series met its purpose and they writers did a great job! It's just that for me personally, as a lover of Israel and someone who loves a good novel, I wanted more (because it was great)!

There is one thing I wanted to highlight specifically from the series, and that is the discussion on pages 240-242 of The Cyrus Mandate. One of the characters asks how Jews and Arabs are linked in Biblical prophecy, and Jack replies by explaining about the sons of Abraham, not only Isaac and Ishmael, but also the sons he had with Keturah, the wife he married after Sarah died. By his explanation, the Sunni nations are cousins of Isaac's descendants: "They share blood with one another. They are cousins to one another, it makes sense that they could come together in mutual blessing, mutual protection, mutual economic and technology and medical benefit" (referring to the historic Abraham accords). However, Shia Muslims, like Iran, are not related by away of Abraham. And this is where Ezekiel 38-39 comes into play. "God is using geopolitical reasons, pragmatic reasons, economic reasons, protection reasons, all of these things. He's bringing the Abrahamic family together".

I thought this was such a great explanation of the incredibly complicated situation in the Middle East that many outside of this region do not understand completely. And in light of the Abraham Accords that have happened since (UAE, Bahrain, Bhutan, Morocco, Sudan, Kosovo) and the ones that might come soon it was especially enlightening. 

If you like reading contemporary fiction set in "our day" that is strongly linked with real-life events, then this series is worth the read! You can get it here on Amazon, and please let me know what you think about it below!

Shocking news from Israel!

Yesterday, I saw 3 SHOCKING stories come from Israel. Are you ready for this?

WOW! 

I'm still in shock over the 4 that happened, and there might be 4 more peace deals between Israel and Arab nations on the way! Based on this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, I'm going to guess: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Mauritania. WOW! WOW! And I don't think these will be brokered by another nation, which is even more astounding! I am definitely going to stay tuned for this!

Here's the 2nd story that caught my attention. Because I LOVE archeology, I definitely dorked out over it:

In the "Cave of Horror" in the Judean Desert, which earned that name because the only way to enter is by repelling 80 meters down (263 feet!) from a cliff into it, they found 2000-year-old Biblical texts (the first since finding the Dead Sea Scrolls!), a basket dating back 10,000 years, coins also almost 2,000 years old, and the skeleton a child dating back 6,000 years. 

• Of the scroll fragments, the article states: "The scroll was written in Greek, but God’s name appears in paleo-Hebrew. It contains passages from the Minor Prophets, including Nahum." This is the first find since the Dead Sea Scrolls!
• Of the basket, it says, this is said to be "a 10,000-year-old exceptionally well-preserved basket which experts say might be the earliest item of this kind ever uncovered." I don't quite understand this, as the earth is only about 6,000 years old. But the dating of the coins and scroll fragments is unmistakeable.
• The coins date back to the Bar Kochba Revolt in 70 AD.
• Of the mummy, he or she was so well preserved because of the desert conditions but also by his or her wrapping and burial. To me, this is evidence of how loved he or she was. And while it is heartbreaking to read and imagine, that is comforting.

And for the 3rd story... this isn't so much shocking as good news, it looks like Israel might be the first nation to emerge into a post-Covid world. They are even talking of opening up tourism in April!

What do you think of these 3 amazing stories from Israel? Let me know in the comments below!

The Marcus Ryker Series by Joel C. Rosenberg

Speaking of peace treaties between Israel and Muslim nations, have you read the Marcus Ryker Series by American-Israeli author, Joel C. Rosenberg?

I just discovered this author in January, so reading these books were a lot of fun! Actually, I only read the first 3 because The Beirut Protocol does not release until March 9 (and I really hope that is the last book in the series, because I want to know what happens!).

It's been incredible to read, however, because it's like seeing the pages of current events and recent history come to life, but in a different way, as Rosenberg clearly states in author's notes that these are works of fiction. However, throughout the novels are references (and events related to) the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, a real-life event. Book 2, The Persian Gamble , talks about a close relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (this was written and published in 2019, well before the real-life August 2020 peace treaty). And then, Book 3, The Jerusalem Assassin, not only is set mostly in Israel, but deals with the topic of a possibly peace treaty between.... get this.... Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

Written long before its publication date, the author had no way of knowing officially of all the peace deals that have happened since August 2020. However, I would say that the most shocking of all would be one with Saudi Arabia, and Rosenberg totally went for it in this series. I am so here for this! And now I have to wait for Book 4, which seems cruel, haha. 

If you love political and military action fiction set in real-time, then this series might be for you! You can find all of Joel C. Rosenberg's books here on Amazon... needless to say, I'm going to be reading a lot more of his novels!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and Kosovo!

 Did you see this?

Kosovo, in what was predicted in 2020, is now officially normalizing ties with Israel! However, this is especially significant, because Kosovo is a Muslim state that will put their embassy in Jerusalem (effectively recognizing Jerusalem as the capital), while the countries who normalized relations with Israel in 2020 put their embassies in Tel Aviv (still a big deal!). 

In fact, Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel says this of this historic news: Although it is officially a secular state, the population is 96% Sunni Muslim. Thus, this is another example of a Jewish and an Islamic nation coming together in peace.

 
As a result of normalizing their relationship, Israel and Kosovo anticipate swapping embassies in the near future. This is where a double miracle is revealed. First, when the Kosovo embassy opens, it will be in Jerusalem. Imagine that – a Muslim country placing its embassy in the holy city of Jerusalem. Bahrain and the UAE have established embassies, but theirs are in Tel Aviv. Kosovo, however, is recognizing Jerusalem as the true capital of the Jewish nation. The second miracle is the fact that Kosovo, as a European country, has chosen Jerusalem for their embassy. This goes firmly against the stand of the European Union (EU). Kosovo is taking a major risk by making this move. They have been approved as one of six Western Balkan countries to potentially achieve accession to EU membership in 2025. Placing their embassy in Jerusalem could put this placement in jeopardy.

Wow!

I honestly wondered if the normalizing of relationships between Israel and Muslim States would end after January 20, 2021, because these were brokered by President Trump, and President Biden's agenda for the Middle East is different. I'm thankful this one continued on!

What do you think of this latest news? Please let me know in the comments below!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel & Morocco (& normalization with Bhutan)!

 Did you see the latest news about Israel?

Morocco has become the 4th Arab nation to establish normalization ties with Israel since August! WOW! This includes the establishment of embassies and flights opened to/from these nations. 

Saudi Arabia, while not having a peace deal yet, is allowing Israeli flights over its airspace. Could they become the next one?

And then today, the East Asian nation of Bhutan has also agreed to normalization of relations between itself and Israel. According to the Times of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the development, calling it an "additional fruit of the peace agreements" and that there are other countries also want to normalize ties with Israel.

WOW!

So, just to sum up... since the establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948, before 2020, only 2 Arab countries had established ties with Israel: Egypt (1967) and Jordan (1994). Since August 2020, 4 other Arab countries have established normalization ties with Israel: UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and now Morocco. 

AMAZING!!! I never thought I'd see something like this. We truly live in historic times!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and Sudan

 Did you see this?

On October 24, the US, Israel, and Sudan announced a 3rd history peace treaty- agreement to normalization- between Israel and an Arab country. Since this is only the 5th ever, but the 3rd agreement reached in about 2 months' time, this is a BIG DEAL. '

And it's estimated that there are about 5 more countries in line for their own agreement. This likely will not happen until after the US election on November 3, as these deals were brokered by the US. However, of these 5 countries, we know that Oman is one, and 2 others are rumored to be: Saudi Arabia and Iraq! WOW!!! (Click on the links to see articles referencing this).

We are definitely living in historic times!

In other news, Israel just finished their 2nd major lockdown of 2020, which lasted a month this time and ended on Oct 18. Thankfully, their rate of COVID-19 has lowered significantly, and they are slowly starting to re-open. In fact, they will start human trials for a vaccine on Nov 1, and together in coordinated efforts with India, have created a rapid (and accurate) test for COVID-19 that hopefully will be ready soon. There are such high hopes for it that it is called "open skies", because, as the Israeli Ambassdor to India, Ron Malka, said: "[This vaccine] will be good news for the entire world. Until we manage to immunize the entire population, this joint operation, which we had named ‘open skies’, would literally open the skies in terms of international travel and other economic activities as this can be used at airports and other places by requiring a person just to blow into a tube and the result would be available in 30-40-50 seconds" (quote from this Behold Israel article).

Here's open borders everywhere will be able to safely open soon! 

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain

 Did you hear the news?!

On September 11, 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain agreed to normalize relations with Israel, joining the United Arab Emirates with their own historic peace deal. THIS IS SO BIG! As the Times of Israel pointed out: "For Israel, after 2 peace treaties in 72 years, there have now been 2 in a month."

That's not all!

• Eastern European country Kosovo, a Muslim majority country, announced a normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel, and will establish an embassy in Jerusalem. Its neighbor, Serbia, is also moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
• Malawi will become the first African nation to place its embassy to Jerusalem.
• Israel is in talks with Central Africa country Chad about possibly opening an embassy in Jerusalem.

WOW! Even though I knew the Bahrain deal was coming, I still am so amazed! What an historic time to be living in! 

What do you think about these latest events in the Middle East? Please let me know in a comment below!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and the UAE

Back in June, I talked about how Israel was supposed to annex Gaza and the West Bank on July 1. As time passed, I wondered what happened; why I wasn't reading stories saying "it happened". Then, last week, this incredible news was announced:

WOW!

The United Arab Emirates has become the 3rd Arab nation to strike a peace deal with Israel, the first being Egypt in 1967 and Jordan in 1994.

According to Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel, "Israel and the UAE have been working together in developing new methods to more efficiently combat COVID-19. As part of this new partnership, the two countries will share in trade, travel, tourism, and even technology." Behold Israel notes that while Palestine, Iran, and Turkey are against this peace deal, other Arab states support it (and might even follow with their own). In fact, one report I heard said that OMan will sign one in the next 2 weeks and Bahrain will follow (Bahrain has already picked out a building for an Israeli embassy!), Morocco, and then maybe even Saudi Arabia. Already Saudi Arabia is allowing Israeli flights to cross their airspace to get to the UAE. 

For more of the implications of this peace deal, you can watch Amir Tsarfati's update here:

What do you think of this historic event?