ISRAEL UPDATEAugust 3, 2003 - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, although not as flamboyant as Yasser Arafat, is still able to carry the same message – hold Israel accountable to the point of perfection, while “we are doing the best we can with what we have.”
As proof, Abbas demands the immediate cessation of Israel's construction of the wall of separation and building of new settlements.
Yet when asked about dismantling terror groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, he states that they have been limited due to a lack of funds and resources.
After the nearly three-year war of attrition, has the Palestinian economy been hit harder than the Israelis? No. Which begs the question - how much help have the Palestinians received from the European Union and oil-rich Arab states?
According to Abbas, Israel's release of three hundred prisoners is not enough in light of the terror activity. Yet he states that Hamas and Islamic Jihad would present no shame as political entities.
He says Israel needs to lift the travel restrictions on Arafat, the king of riot instigators. Mr. Arafat, the one who has cried “give me your children to martyr”, while his family lives in affluence under the protection of France.
The military uniform and a Kefiyah (headdress) are gone, while Abbas appears in suits with trimmed beard. But mark this down,… in the near future you will learn of how many ancillary committees and panels that Arafat chairs and how much power he still wields. Nothing changes - the Palestinians demand all the changes to come from Israel, while they make excuses… War will come for sure.
August 3, 2003 - Those poor Pharisees… so confused, so proud, so “anti” everything that is good… Or was that really the case?
Truthfully, the Pharisees are one of most misunderstood “pieces” of the New Testament picture. Thus, because of not understanding the Pharisees, there are many will never know the true essence of Jesus, Paul, or much of the New Testament setting.
Over the next several weeks we will begin to explore the Pharisees from a fair, objective point of view that will help to shed light on this intriguing group of religious leaders.
The word Pharisee comes from the word “prush”, or separatist in this case - one who holds a conservative belief in the Scriptures. In today’s world, we would call them fundamental evangelical believers – embracing a stance more right of center than left.
As this group of separatists grew and developed, their theology was based on a literal interpretation of the Scriptures, angels, and a sovereign G-d who was and is concerned with the everyday needs of His creation.
The Pharisees also believed in an afterlife where both good and evil men were rewarded for their deeds on earth.
It should be noted that the Pharisees stood in much more opposition to a pagan Roman Empire then did the Sadducees.
So in theory, most believers today would by definition be Pharisees. As future articles are written and published, we shall see how many Pharisees are in the world today. Stay tuned…
To be continued . . .