Adolph Hitler came away from the Munich Summit in 1938 ready to rule the world having convinced British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain he wanted peace. Hitler’s plans were destroyed when Winston Churchill replaced Chamberlain and the plans for Hitler were never the same.

Of course Hitler’s plans were drastically altered when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and brought the brunt of U.S. power against the Riech. Again Hitler miscalculated.

Invading Russia was to be a huge step toward conquering the world but the Soviet resistance not only halted Germany but drove them all the way back to Berlin in defeat, again Hitler was wrong.

As allied forces invaded Normandy on D-Day Hitler made several tactical blunders that allowed coalition forces to push all the way to Berlin, Hitler’s miscalculations proved devastating for Germany and fatal for himself. For years the world felt like Hitler’s Nazi Empire was unstoppable but in reality was imploding from the very beginning and time proved to be the deciding factor.

Ahmadinejad, bin Laden, Putin and the rest all have their schemes and desires but the reality is God is still in control. We read in Daniel 2:17 that God raises up and takes down both rulers and nations thus all are subject to God’s sovereignty.

Yes, there seems to be evil succeeding everywhere but as long as we trust God it matters not what things look like to us.

With  30,000 troops now committed to Afghanistan and all the controversy surrounding it people haven’t been giving much attention to the war on terror in Israel.

Russia is trying to give Mig 29 Fighters to Lebanon, a nation controlled by Syria and a safe haven for Hezbollah. The same Hezbollah continues to receive all types of weapons, rockets and supplies from Iran and in the process creating a lethal environment is Southern Lebanon.

Iran’s nuclear threat continues to grow with the help of Russia while the diplomats attempt to talk down Ahmadinejad’s dream of the return of the Mahdi hasting his coming back to earth.

Hamas, a Sunni terror group, and Hezbollah, a Shia Terror group, although opposed to each other are finding a way to unite in their hatred against Israel. Although Egypt and Jordan are at peace with Israel on paper the influence of radical Islam not only threatens the governments of these nations and their fall would truly jeopardize Israel’s safety.

While it is easy for America to identify the war on terror being fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan the world needs to realize the war on terror is not just regional in scope but is inclusive of both America and Israel and the world.

If the media were doing its job, it would cover all aspects of the war on terror. Then people could at least be aware of all the issues, but it is what we don’t know that becomes the issue, history has proven that!

We can’t say Merry Christmas anymore in public yet the same corporations that say no to Christmas can say yes to other religious celebrations at this time of year and do so unashamedly.

Who can calculate the amount of money paid by employers to give their employees the day off or how much production is lost during this special day.

What measure of joy can be gauged by the Atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or other practitioners that even when not accepting the holiday take full advantage of this special time of the year to be with family and friends?

Figure if you can how many companies selling food, gifts, and whatever else make significant profits during this time of year even when their shareholders may not hold to the birth of Jesus as a personal reality.

The list could go on and on but the real question is what is the problem with Christmas? Christians worldwide love the holiday and find peace and comfort celebrating this holiday and find true benefit. And on the other side even those that say they are offended or opposed to the concept all experience the benefit of Christmas and enjoy this time of year regardless of what they say.

If America truly wanted to be politically correct, Christmas should be included with all of the other belief systems rather than excluded. So the question is, “What’s The Big Deal?”

Ah, the holiday season is upon us and as always we hear people are in the spirit of giving.

I believe it must be Christmas year round with the western powers since they keep demanding Israel to give up more land in the name of peace. Realize that all Israel has to do is make more concessions of real estate and the violence and bloodshed will cease.

Israel first started parting with land in the name of peace yet had to destroy Iraq’s nuclear reactor and Iran poses the same threat but at a much greater extent. When the Jewish state commenced with the Oslo Accords more people died the first five years than the previous ten. As the land mass has continued to shrink the numbers of terror groups operating literally within eyeshot has multiplied a thousand fold all with easy accessibility to Israel’s civilian populace.

The essence of giving is to give out of the goodness of the heart and certainly Israel’s trusting heart has given not just land but has paid a high price in dead and wounded both civilian and military as well.

Sadly the other side keeps taking land and taking life as well… maybe there is one time when it is really not better to give than receive.

It is time Israel started receiving something good for all she has given up to this point.

If you lived during the reign of the Caesars, Czars, or the Kaisers, you would be convinced they were the Anti-Christ. To be alive under the reign of a Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Castro, or Hussein again the feelings would be similar.

In the cold war era all types of Anti-Christs came on the scene according to prophecy “experts” such as Kissinger or Reagan according to numerical manipulation of their last name.

One of these experts went as far as naming Don Carlos of Spain as the Anti-Christ because of the coverage he was receiving twenty-five years ago.

I just received a book that declares the Son of Perdition will arise out of the Iraq area called the “Nineveh Plains.”

In reality, the personage of the Anti-Christ is not based on your personal trauma, momentary focus, or numerical manipulation of the person’s name.

First we must realize the spirit of Anti-Christ is already a reality in the world, I John 4:3, and second, Anti-Christ will deceive many, II Thess 2:3.

All the hoopla in the world cannot create an Anti-Christ to fit a specific agenda and it is times like these I like to quote the Apostle Paul, Titus 2:12,13, “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; KJV

As I write this article,  Jews around the world are preparing for the festive eight day celebration known as Chanukah.

The story of Chanukah is intriguing as it exemplifies a storyline carried through the millennia of Judaism. First the enemies of the Jews try to destroy them and then G-d preserves them.

Antiochus Epiphanes the Greek Syrian ruler had not only erected pagan idols for all to see, but also had desecrated the Temple in abominable fashion. He even went as far as declaring any Jews that circumcised their male children according to their tradition would be put to death.

It was against this backdrop the Macabee’s revolt led to freedom and the rededication of the Temple for all to worship once again. Had it been up to the Antiochus Epiphanes all traces of Jewish culture and tradition would have been wiped out but such was not the case!

Pharaoh, Sennacharib, Haman, Babylonia and Roman expulsion, Inquistion, Pogroms and the Holocaust all prove the attempts to destroy the Jews never come to fruition.

So, as Jews worldwide light the candles on their Menorah and the essence of the light never being extinguished take hope the G-d of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.

I believe Israel’s best days are in the future, I believe G-d is on your side and let me wish all of Judaism everywhere Happy Chanukah, your light burns bright!

Palestinian Prime minister Salaam Fayad has unveiled his government’s plans for a de-facto state by 2011. Fayad’s plan calls for two Palestinian airports, one in the Jordan Valley the other in the Gaza Strip, a plan that would pose a true threat to Israel strategically.

Also included in the plans are the desire to reunite the Gaza Strip and the area of Judea/Samaria (West Bank) an interesting move that if implemented would take yet another huge chunk of land away from Israel.

Fayad asserts the need to defend the Arab character of Jerusalem; an interesting concept since the Muslim control of their Holy sites on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount has always stayed under Arab control even after the 1967 War.

If Fayad’s plan was for a legitimate state, there would be an infrastructure to provide education rather than the indoctrination centers that propagate hate against the Jews.

We have seen with the Palestinian takeover of Gaza that mortar pits and launch sites for rockets have taken precedence over sanitation, healthcare and job training. If the Palestinians and all of their supporters what a truly legitimate state, they are a decade away at least, but a de-facto hurry up scenario to facilitate war in Israel is just around the corner.

With all of Fayad’s rhetoric we can only assert that the plan of a two state existence is the Palestinian existence in both Gaza and the one in Judea/Samaria and peace is still very far away.

After Barak Obama’s election as President of the United States speculators stated that our nation would be tested within six months by extreme Islamic forces. Since the inauguration we have transcended eleven months without incident but does that mean the threat is nonexistent?

Our nation’s involvement in World War I, II, Korea, and Vietnam all came due to an inability to estimate the threat of the enemies of our nation and from not being able to properly interpret related intelligence. When our nation felt the sting of the 9-11 attacks, then President George Bush stated the war on terror had begun when in fact the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was when the war on terror started.

Currently our nation is ready to commit 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan because of the escalation of terrorist activity with no end in sight.

Although at a stage where we are supposed to see a reduction of U.S. troops the continuation of violence in the war in Iraq is still something to be seriously considered. Certainly the expansion of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza and Judea-Samaria tells us our nation’s policy on terrorism is being tested daily in and around Israel. While all of these are specific geographic considerations,  terrorist operations and attacks have become global and with that add a list of nations that condone and even harbor terrorists. Again, we are being tested as a nation.

Jesus told us that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars and nation would rise against nation, Matthew 24:6, 7. While we haven’t had the outright attack that I believe is still to come,  we are now being tested and it is not going to let up.

In 1830 George Wilson was found guilty of robbery and murder by the U.S. Court in Philadelphia. President Andrew Jackson granted Wilson a Presidential pardon, however Wilson rejected the pardon outright stating it was not a true pardon unless he accepted it. Wilson’s decision left President Jackson in a dilemma and prevailed upon Chief Justice John Marshall for intervention.

Marshall’s decision was “a pardon on a peace of paper, the value of which depends upon its acceptance by the person implicated.” He further stated, “It’s hardly to be supposed that one under the sentence of death would refuse to accept such a pardon, but if it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must hang.” At the appointed time George Wilson, convicted murderer and robber, was hanged; end of story.

One of the supposed roadblocks to accepting Christianity is the question of a loving G-d sending people to hell. George Wilson stands out as the truest example of someone not appropriating the grace of G-d available to all mankind. Could George Wilson blame anyone but himself? Absolutely not. President Jackson’s pardon and Justice Marshall’s interpretation were not the essence of his pardon. The pardon could only be accepted by Wilson.

Nowhere in the Scriptures do we find G-d not extending His love and mercy, being longsuffering toward the sinner ; but each person is judged by G-d on his life and receiving the pardon offered. G-d does not send anybody to hell!

The Great War, i.e. World War I, was to be the war that ended all wars , and the Treaty of Versailles, signed after the cessation of the hostilities, was supposed to put a geographic security blanket in place. Coupled with no war and new boundaries was the assurance the League of Nations would be able to negotiate thick or thin and resolve any issues that would arise.

Before the treaty could be signed Germany scuttled her entire fleet and never did follow the treaty and ultimately forged relationships with both Italy and Japan that set the stage for World War II.

China became angered at the League’s decisions and was alienated from the West . Today we still are feeling the negative effects.

More importantly,  many ethnic groups were pocketed within redefined borders and the scenario again was set for a clash of cultures. Even with the tragic results of both World Wars the United Nations in its wisdom divided India and Pakistan in 1947 to eliminate war,  yet the violence continues today. Certainly the League of Nations’  post World War I decisions,  followed by the United Nations World War II policies in the Middle East,  created more problems than it ever could rectify.

So now we sit in our age of atomic, nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare with rogue nations funding, training,  and promoting terrorism and we see Israel being both surrounded and cut off. For nearly two decades the West has tried to induce the National Palestinian Movement while sacrificing the sovereignty of the Jewish State in the name of peace which hasn’t come.

Realigning borders and shifting groups of people to please some only angers many  and,  as history has proven, only brings war, so in Israel peace is very far away!