Transcript [00:00] Welcome to the weekly update of Israel [00:04] and Christians today. It is the 2nd of [00:07] September 2026. [00:10] The scriptures are full of promises that [00:13] in the last days God will in his mercy [00:16] bring his people [00:18] who will have been scattered among the [00:20] nations home to the mountains of Israel. [00:24] He said he would do this not because the [00:26] Jewish people are so numerous or because [00:30] they are more holy than other people. [00:32] He does it because he's faithful to his [00:34] word, because he wants to show mercy to [00:37] his people and cleanse them of their [00:39] sins [00:40] and because the restoration of his [00:42] people is a sign to the nations of God's [00:46] holiness and sovereignty. [00:49] For example, we read in Ezekiel chapter [00:52] 36. [00:54] Therefore, say to the Israelites, [00:56] >> [clears throat] [00:57] >> "This is what the sovereign Lord says. [00:59] It is not for your sake, people of [01:01] Israel, that I'm going to do these [01:03] things, but for the sake of my holy name [01:06] which you have profaned among the [01:08] nations where you have gone. [01:10] I will show the holiness of my great [01:12] name which has been profaned among the [01:15] nations, the name you have profaned [01:18] among them. Then the nations will know [01:21] that I am the Lord, declares the [01:23] sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy [01:26] through you before [01:28] their eyes. For I will take you out of [01:31] the nations. I will gather you from all [01:34] the countries and bring you back into [01:36] your own land. I will sprinkle clean [01:39] water on you and you will be clean. [01:42] I will cleanse you from all your [01:45] impurities and from all your idols. [01:47] [snorts] [01:48] I will give you a new heart and put a [01:51] new spirit in you. I will remove from [01:54] you your heart of stone and give you a [01:56] heart of flesh. And [01:58] I will put my spirit in you and move you [02:01] to follow my decrees and be careful to [02:03] keep my laws. [02:05] Then you will live in the land I gave [02:08] your ancestors. You will be my people [02:10] and I will be your God. [02:13] That's Ezekiel 36:22-28. [02:19] The restoration of God's people to the [02:21] land thus presents the nations with a [02:24] choice. Do they align themselves with [02:27] God's plans or do they oppose them? [02:30] It This will be a time, say the [02:33] scriptures, when nations must make a [02:35] choice. One of the points of contention [02:38] will be the status of the land, [02:40] especially Jerusalem. [02:43] Some countries will seek to divide the [02:45] land, and it is possibly these [02:48] nations who will go [02:50] up against Jerusalem, as we read in [02:53] Zechariah 12. While on the other hand, [02:56] many peoples and powerful nations will [02:58] come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord [03:00] Almighty and to entreat him. Zechariah [03:04] 8:22. [03:07] And so we need to remember this bigger [03:09] picture when we watch events in the [03:11] world regarding Israel and its relations [03:14] with the nations. There can be little [03:17] doubt that we are witnessing the [03:19] fulfillment of prophecy, [03:21] although we cannot always be sure [03:23] exactly where we are on God's timetable [03:26] or what the precise sequence of events [03:29] will be. [03:31] It's thus as much a matter of faith and [03:34] belief as it is of our understanding. [03:39] So, with all of that said, let's look at [03:43] events of the past week concerning [03:46] Israel and the nations. [03:48] First of all, [03:49] over the past week, two fronts moved in [03:52] opposite directions. The first concerns [03:54] Israel's military confrontation with the [03:57] revolutionary regime in Iran [04:00] and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. [04:04] Six months after the war that killed [04:06] Khamenei, [04:07] Washington is betting it can finish the [04:10] job against Iran with sanctions rather [04:12] than military campaigns. [04:14] Even as Tehran answered this week with [04:17] missiles and drones against three [04:19] US-aligned Gulf states in 48 hours. [04:23] The second front concerns Israel's [04:25] relations with Western-oriented [04:27] countries. And here we see [04:30] that Israel's own diplomatic standing [04:32] with the West kept eroding this week as [04:35] the fallout from the E1 settlement plan [04:38] continued to isolate Jerusalem from [04:41] allies it fought alongside [04:44] against Iran only months ago. [04:46] The UK, France, Germany, Italy, the [04:49] Netherlands, Canada, and Norway are, [04:53] together with Ireland, Spain, and [04:55] Belgium, becoming the most vociferous [04:58] critics of Israel's presence and [05:00] activities in the so-called occupied [05:03] Palestinian territories. [05:05] At the same time, Israel is [05:08] strengthening relations with countries [05:11] like Greece and Venezuela and Finland. [05:16] So, let's first look at Iran 6 months on [05:20] from Operation Roaring Lion [05:23] and Epic Fury, the joint Israeli-US [05:25] campaign that killed then supreme leader [05:28] Ali Khamenei in its opening strike on [05:32] February 28th. [05:34] A lengthy JNS analysis this week [05:36] captured where the confrontation [05:38] actually stands. [05:40] Israel [snorts] is battered, bruised, [05:42] and degraded. Uh sorry, Iran is [05:45] battered, bruised, and degraded, but [05:48] entrenched. With no nuclear deal in [05:51] sight, [05:52] Israel is waiting in the wings for a [05:55] possible next round. [05:57] The 6-week war saw Israel drop roughly [06:00] 19,000 munitions and the US about [06:02] 17,000, [06:04] causing an estimated $100 billion in [06:07] damage. [06:08] Iran fired some 500 and 50 missiles at [06:12] Israel and 850 more at Gulf states. [06:16] A ceasefire declared in April collapsed [06:18] repeatedly, [06:20] and MOU signed in France in June expired [06:24] unfulfilled in mid-August. [06:27] And Washington has since pivoted to what [06:29] Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls [06:33] Operation Economic Outcast, [06:35] an unprecedented whole-of-government [06:37] sanctions campaign [06:39] meant to, quote, collapse every last [06:42] option for Iran, end quote. [06:45] Netanyahu's public reaction was notably [06:48] restrained, thanking Trump and Bessent [06:50] for exactly a steep price from that [06:53] cruel dictatorship, [06:55] rather than pressing for renewed [06:57] strikes. [06:59] Tehran's [snorts] answer arrived within [07:01] days. On the night of August 30th, US [07:03] forces struck Iranian Revolutionary [07:06] Guard Corps mine-laying units. [07:09] It said were threatening shipping in the [07:11] Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by [07:14] fire on Jordan, [07:15] where air defenses intercepted eight [07:18] missiles, and by sending drones at [07:21] the UAE's Al Minhad airbase. [07:25] By September 1, the exchange had widened [07:27] into what Iranian state media called a [07:30] decisive operation. [07:32] Further missiles and drones aimed at [07:34] US-linked targets across the region, [07:37] with Jordan intercepting 13 ballistic [07:39] missiles. [07:41] And Kuwait, Kuwait, and Bahrain [07:43] activating air defenses against Iranian [07:46] drones. [07:47] Trump confirmed a further US strike on [07:50] Iranian radar reconstruction sites. [07:54] Analysts [07:55] that [07:56] uh media outlet JNS spoke with are split [07:59] on what comes next. [08:01] Some like former ambassadors Michael [08:03] Oren and Danny Ayalon back sustained [08:06] economic strangulation, [08:09] while military figures [08:11] insist Israel retains the option [08:14] of acting alone should Iran move to [08:17] reconstitute enriched mu- uranium. [08:21] Um [08:23] Meir Ben-Shabbat, former head of [08:25] Israel's National Security Council, was [08:27] very blunt. He said that Tehran's [08:29] self-confidence has increased, [08:31] and the regime likely judges it can [08:33] outlast the pressure Trump faces [08:35] domestically ahead of the US midterms. [08:39] Looking at Lebanon, Israel's Prime [08:41] Minister Netanyahu met this week with [08:43] his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, [08:46] and his ambassador to Lebanon, Michelle [08:49] Issa, [08:50] to work through the sticking points [08:52] still blocking progress on Hezbollah's [08:54] disarmament and in Israeli forced [08:58] withdrawal. [08:59] An eighth round of the US-mediated Rome [09:02] talks is expected in early September, [09:05] but reports out of Beirut this week [09:07] suggested the next ses- session may [09:09] simply confirm how far apart the two [09:13] sides remain. [09:15] As in previous rounds, the practical [09:17] question of verification, [09:19] who certifies that He- Hezbollah [09:21] fighters and weapons weapons have [09:23] actually left contested positions, [09:26] remains unresolved, and Hezbollah [09:28] continues to reject the legitimacy of [09:30] any negotiation over its own [09:34] disarmament. [09:36] Looking now at Europe, the diplomatic [09:39] cost of Israel's West Bank policies kept [09:42] [snorts] mounting this week. [09:45] A joint statement was issued August 20 [09:48] by UK, France, Germany, Italy, [09:50] Netherlands, Canada, and Norway [09:53] condemning Israel's tenders for the E1 [09:55] settlement project [09:58] warning it could bury the two-state [10:00] solution. And these [10:02] criticisms continue to reverberate with [10:05] commentary across Israeli and [10:07] international outlets this week debating [10:11] whether Netanyahu's government even [10:12] minds the outrage. [10:14] The read from several analysts is that [10:16] the E1 construction shores up the Prime [10:19] Minister's right flank [10:21] at exactly the moment his coalition [10:23] needs it [10:24] making the diplomatic price a cost he's [10:26] willing, perhaps even eager to pay. [10:30] It's a striking split screen. The same [10:32] Western governments that fought [10:34] alongside Israel's interests against [10:36] Iran this year are now the ones publicly [10:39] rebuking [10:40] Israel over the West Bank. It's [10:42] important to put this E1 issue in [10:44] perspective. The E1 development is part [10:47] of the greater metropolis of Jerusalem. [10:50] If you look at the map, it's very [10:52] interesting that those nations that [10:54] oppose this development are the same [10:56] nations [10:57] that insist on the division of the land [10:59] and the establishment of a Judenrein [11:02] that is Jew-free Palestinian state with [11:05] its capital in East Jerusalem. [11:09] East Jerusalem is a euphemism for the [11:11] old city of Jerusalem. [11:13] Notable leaders of this pro-two-state [11:17] policy group are several European [11:19] nations [11:21] especially Netherlands, Germany, Spain, [11:23] Belgium, Ireland together with the UK [11:26] and Canada. [11:29] Now, away from these two main fronts, [11:31] Israel's week abroad was a study in [11:34] contrasts. [11:35] Israel signed a $3.5 billion air defense [11:39] agreement with Greece on August 31, [11:42] deepening defense ties with a NATO [11:45] member [11:46] amid Greek-Turkish tension in the [11:49] Eastern Mediterranean. [11:51] This is a reminder that Israel's arms [11:53] relationships are holding up in some [11:56] quarters, even as they fray in others. [11:59] Separately, Israel was strengthening its [12:01] relations with several [12:03] Western-oriented [12:05] states. For example, Israel and [12:07] Venezuela [12:09] are restoring consulate relations after [12:12] a 17-year break with UN Ambassador Danny [12:15] Danon meeting his Venezuelan counterpart [12:20] on September the 1st in New York. Prime [12:23] Minister Netanyahu hosted Democratic [12:26] Republic of Congo president to discuss [12:28] expanded ties, [12:30] including planned embassy exchanges. [12:34] Finland, meanwhile, is quietly deepening [12:37] defense cooperation with Israel, even as [12:39] it ends its funding of UNRWA, [12:42] the UN [12:43] relief agency for Palestinian refugees. [12:47] This is one more example of governments [12:49] separating their security relationship [12:52] with Jerusalem from their public stance [12:54] on the Palestinian file. [12:58] So, there we are at the end of this [13:00] week. Uh let's move to prayer points. [13:04] As we witness prophecy unfolding, let us [13:08] be humble, alert, and patient. [13:11] Our main task is to speak the truth and [13:13] to persevere in prayer. [13:16] And so, prayer points for this week, [13:18] pray for Israel and her leaders that [13:20] wisdom would guide them as pressure [13:23] mounts on every front, economic, [13:26] military, and diplomatic. Pray for the [13:28] enemies of the Jewish people that hearts [13:30] bent on destruction would be turned [13:33] toward peace. Pray for the peace of [13:35] Jerusalem. [13:37] And for the nations now gathering in [13:39] judgment against Israel that they would [13:41] instead be drawn to bless her. [13:44] Pray for the speeding coming of the [13:46] Messiah of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [13:49] He alone can still the raging of the [13:52] nations and establish the peace that no [13:55] sanctions, [13:56] ceasefires, or joint statements have yet [14:00] achieved or will achieve. [14:03] So, that's the end of this week's weekly [14:06] update. Thank you so much for listening. [14:09] We wish you a blessed remainder of the [14:12] week. [14:14] Uh and [clears throat] look forward to [14:16] uh seeing you, hearing from you next [14:18] week. Thank you, and God bless.
