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[23] And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. [25] And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. [26] Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.Exodus 16 : 23, 25-26
Reuters
Sat, April 12, 2025 at 2:09 PM GMT+31 min read
U.S. President Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House
(Reuters) – The Trump administration is drafting an executive order to enable the stockpiling of deep-sea metals to counter China’s dominance in battery minerals and rare earth supply chains, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Deep Sea Mining ⚒️ Treasures At Risk! Wandering Abroad For Bread Sea to Sea 🌊
Under the plans, the stockpile would “create large quantities ready and available on U.S. territory to be used in the future”, in case of a conflict with China that might constrain imports of metals and rare earths, the report added.
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord’s appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win. DA 636.1
Last week, China placed some rare earth elements under export restrictions as part of its response to President Donald Trump’s tariff package, potentially cutting the U.S. off from minerals vital to everything from smartphones to electric car batteries.
The stockpile is being considered as part of a broader push to fast-track deep-sea mining applications under U.S. law, and to create onshore processing capacity, the report added.
China produces around 90% of the world’s refined rare earths, a group of 17 elements used across the defense, electric vehicle, clean energy and electronics industries. The U.S. imports most of its rare earths, and most come from China.
[16] And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: [17] And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? [18] And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. [20] But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? [21] So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Luke 12 : 16-21
The White House and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.
(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)
The abject desperation in the Gaza Strip is emboldening the population there. For the first time since Hamas seized power 18 years ago, they are speaking out against Hamas at great personal risk.
“Since Oct. 7 people have been blaming Hamas and recognizing Hamas started this war,” Moumen Al Natour said.
A Gaza lawyer and former political prisoner of Hamas, Al Natour knows very well the risk he is taking by making public statements against Hamas.
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. GC 608.2
Fearful Fainting in Day of Adversity_Thirsting For Water of Life!
“I would be lying if I said I was not afraid,” he said through a translator. “I am afraid like any citizen living as a hostage under Hamas rule for the last 18 years. If I don’t speak out against Hamas, we will certainly be exposed to something worse in the future.”
Looking ahead, we must ever remember the words recorded in Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 196: “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and his teaching in our past history.” 9T 10.2 – 9T 10.3
Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
While Al Natour is taking the dangerous step of speaking out – he even wrote an opinion piece published in The Washington Post – he is not entirely alone.
On March 26, thousands of Palestinians took to the devastated streets in the Northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. They chanted, “Out, out, Hamas get out” and “The people want the fall of Hamas.”
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. John 19 : 15
And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. Luke 23 : 2
Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94 The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3
We shall be attacked on every point; we shall be tried to the utmost. We do not want to hold our faith simply because it was handed down to us by our fathers. Such a faith will not stand the terrible test that is before us. We want to know why we are Seventh-day Adventists, what real reason we have for coming out from the world as a separate and distinct people…. The powers of darkness will open their batteries upon us; and all who are indifferent and careless, who have set their affections on their earthly treasure, and who have not cared to understand God’s dealings with His people, will be ready victims. No power but a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, will ever make us steadfast; but with this, one may chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. Mar 217.6 – Mar 217.7
A demonstration in Gaza against Hamas would have previously been a guarantee of a heavy-handed response from the terrorist organization. Now, Hamas is weakened, partially by Israeli Defense Forces, partially by the desperation of the Gazans Hamas claims to serve.
“Recently, anger has been increasing towards Hamas because the situation is deteriorating,” said Al Natour.
Power has been a rare luxury in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. Video that comes from the Gaza Strip is an accurate reflection of the pervasiveness of the destruction. Al Natour told Fox News only buildings in the center of the Gaza Strip escaped the wrath of Israel’s army.
Hamas fires a missile into Israel.
Water is scarce. “Most of the water we have is dirty, unhealthy water,” Al Natour said. “It’s very hard to have access to clean water. The water they use for other purposes is seawater, and it’s very salty. It is greatly affecting people’s health over here.”
[5] The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, [6] Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; [7] Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: [8] And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. [9] Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. [10] Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. [11] For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, [12] Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. [13] Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Isaiah 8 : 5-13
An Israeli apartment building suffers damage after a rocket attack from Gaza in Ashkelon, Israel.
Life in Gaza will only return to a healthy standard when the war ends. So, Al Natour says Gazans want to liberate the Israeli hostages. “The people of Gaza are all for the release of all Israeli hostages and sending them back to their houses. But, on the other hand, the civilians in Gaza do not have anything. They do not have the tools or any ability to help in this matter.”
[14] But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; [15] And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.Acts 3 : 14-15
He also said that Gazans want an end to Hamas rule, replacing them with local leadership focused less on fighting Israel, less on political affiliation, more on providing the basics of life.
[26] And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. [27] And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, [28] Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.Acts 8 : 26-28
“Gaza is totally destroyed,” he said. “We don’t need political affiliations or political programs right now. We only want to give the people services.”
Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
Numbers 22 : 6
Gazans are speaking out against Hamas at great personal risk.
The established Palestinian leadership was quick to reject President Donald Trump’s proposal to evacuate and then reconstruct the Gaza Strip and call it a freedom zone. “That’s a hell of a place,” the president said last Monday.
Living in the destruction, Al Natour thinks Gazans could agree, even if it means leaving the coastal strip for good. “People welcomed Trump’s recommendation because life in Gaza is hell, and no human being can stay in Gaza forever under these circumstances.”
And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;Acts 17 : 6
Experts say the moves by President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress prompted university administrators to clamp down on protests and warn students to mind their behavior. And now a Trump administration push to deport or eject international students over allegations they are aligned with Hamas has further chilled campus activism.
In response, some activist groups have cautioned international students in particular to avoid being associated with any movements targeted by Trump. Free-speech experts worry about the long-term implications of silencing student protests.
Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94 The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3
“There’s just as much reason to protest but there isn’t as much room to protest,” said Prof. Robert Cohen, a New York University expert on protest movements. “If you’re a foreign student or someone on a green card, you’re going to be very afraid to participate in this movement.”
Student-led protests helped end the Vietnam War, pass the Civil Rights Amendment, and forced American universities and companies to divest from apartheid-era South Africa. Protesting ‒ including the peaceable assembly of people petitioning the government for change ‒ is specifically protected by the First Amendment.
But Trump and his allies have argued some pro-Palestinian campus protesters physically attacked or harassed Jewish students and community members last year, and accused university administrators of allowing antisemitism to flourish on campuses. Trump officials have slashed federal research funding for some of the universities they accuse of failing to protect Jewish students.
On April 9, the Trump administration said it would be scouring the social media posts of international students to see if they are in any way “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity.”
Said Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin: “There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here.”
The fanatical teachers gave themselves up to be governed by impressions, regarding every thought and impulse as the voice of God; consequently they went to great extremes. Some even burned their Bibles, exclaiming: “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” Munzer’s teaching appealed to men’s desire for the marvelous, while it gratified their pride by virtually placing human ideas and opinions above the word of God. His doctrines were received by thousands. He soon denounced all order in public worship, and declared that to obey princes was to attempt to serve both God and Belial. The minds of the people, already beginning to throw off the yoke of the papacy, were also becoming impatient under the restraints of civil authority. Munzer’s revolutionary teachings, claiming divine sanction, led them to break away from all control and give the rein to their prejudices and passions. The most terrible scenes of sedition and strife followed, and the fields of Germany were drenched with blood. GC 191.2 – GC 191.3
Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil detained for more than a month
In an open letter to her husband, Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, said authorities are trying to stifle challenges to “their corrupt and oppressive systems.” Both Khalil and Abdalla studied at Columbia, and were living in student housing when Khalil was detained.
DHS police officers stand guard as protesters take part in a rally organized by Jewish activists against the detention by ICE agents of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in New York City, U.S., March 20, 2025.More
“They are trying to silence anyone who dares to speak out against the atrocities happening in Palestine. But they will fail,” she wrote. “We will not be silenced. We will persist, with even greater resolve, and we will pass that strength on to our children and our children’s children ‒ until Palestine is free.”
Universities targeted for alleged antisemitism
In a January executive order, Trump vowed to target any international student or green card holder who participated in “pro-jihadist protests” and “all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
I will be ruler of the earth, prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God’s Sabbath shall be an object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws shall be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law; and the earth will be wholly under my dominion.” RH April 17, 1900, par. 4
As part of his stated efforts to fight antisemitism, Trump has targeted 60 universities across the country for federal investigation, starting with Columbia, where large pro-Palestinian protests launched last spring. The university is now on its third president since Aug. 1, and administrators there have been accused of caving to Trump’s demands, which included tougher student discipline, limiting where students are allowed to protest, and a requirement that protesters remove face coverings when asked by authorities.
“I think that the intimidation is just starting to take effect,” said Syracuse University Prof. William C. Banks, a legal expert who studies governmental powers, asymmetric warfare and surveillance. “Trump’s back and everybody knows it.”
A coalition of journalism groups recently advised student journalists to consider whether they should be removing photos or news stories identifying specific protesters, and more consistently offering interview subjects the option to be quoted anonymously.
A person holds a sign as they protest the arrest of former Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil and show support for Palestinians during a “Fight for Our Rights” demonstration by Shut It Down for Palestine (SID4P) and various local groups at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, on March 15, 2025. Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent faces of Columbia University’s protest movement that erupted in response to Israel’s conduct of the war, was arrested on March 9, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on X.More
Trump was also hostile to many of the racial justice demonstrations that sprang up nationally following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, and repeatedly deployed federal police and troops against protesters. He hasn’t targeted protesters critical of him or the MAGA movement, but some experts say that could come next.
Some alumni groups, including one at Johns Hopkins University, have been angered by administrators’ responses to Trump’s demands, and are pushing their alma maters to strengthen protections for students, or to spend down their endowments to buy freedom from punitive budget cuts.
“That sent the message to other university presidents that if they didn’t suppress these movements, they might lose their jobs,” Cohen said. “If a Harvard president can lose their job, then anybody can lose their job.”
How universities handled the protests has already cost several university presidents their jobs following Congressional hearings, including the president of Harvard who stepped down in early 2024.
Students quieted by visa revocations, spring crackdowns, exhaustion
Multiple university student-government associations did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Longtime immigration attorney Len Saunders, who works near the Canadian border in Washington state, said he’s telling clients to keep a low profile because it’s unclear exactly what Trump’s administration is using to justify cancelling visas and target international students.
“If I had a kid here on a student vista I would say ‘do not join any clubs, do not join any protests, do not get your name or face out there,'” he said.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s deputy executive director, said he thinks the protests have largely calmed because protesters are simply exhausted ‒ but also because university officials clamped down so hard last spring, before Trump was elected.
“The last school year, numerous universities called in law enforcement to brutalize their students. That’s how most encampments came to an end,” he said. “The crackdown that universities launched certainly played a larger role than anything President Trump has done.”
Trump officials in recent weeks have revoked the visas of more than 300 international students, in some cases citing their participation in pro-Palestinian protests. In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has recommended that international students keep a low profile.
Students protest the presence of ICE agents on campus at Arizona State University on April 3, 2025, in Tempe.
Quieting the country’s conscience
Banks, the Syracuse University professor, said chilling student protests risks quieting the country’s conscience.
Protests might be sometimes-inconvenient or messy, but young people have long provided a valuable values check about what the United States stands for, he said.
“I think we will (eventually) see a return to activism but some courts are going to have to come along and say to the Trump administration, ‘you can’t summarily round people up, can’t summarily tell people they can’t protest,'” Banks said. “He’s going to do it as long as he can get away with it.”
[23] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: [24] But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. [25] Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.Acts 9 : 23-25
Libyans carry a poster showing slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (R) during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people, on April 8, 2025 in Tripoli (Mahmud Turkia) (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/AFP)More
After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.
Fire Chief Weeks, who had directed the fighting of a number of big fires in Battle Creek, was later to declare that he had fought every one of the Adventist fires and his score was zero.”‘There is something strange,'” he said, “‘about your SDA fires, with the water poured on acting more like gasoline.'”—P. B. Fairchild to Arthur L. White, December 4, 1965. The Review and Herald publishing plant had grown to be one of the largest and best-equipped publishing establishments in the State of Michigan. Now it was just a pile of rubble. Why? 5BIO 224.6 – 5BIO 224.7
Israel vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, launching a blistering offensive in Gaza that has massively weakened the movement while reducing much of the territory to rubble.
Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, have all been killed, as have a string of other commanders and political figures.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2 : 10
Yet unlike its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, whose cult of personality around its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah was a key pillar of its identity, Hamas has placed less of an emphasis on its top ranks.
[6] Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: [7] Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Proverbs 6 : 6-7
The group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks, particularly the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades.
“The name of the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will remain a secret,” said a source close to Hamas’s armed wing.
But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Acts 28 : 22
Researchers say it is likely that the role was inherited by Yahya Sinwar’s younger brother Mohammed, whom Hamas put in charge of the hostages taken into Gaza in 2023.
“Yahya Sinwar’s personality was rather unique” and militants viewed him as a “hero”, said Laetitia Bucaille, who teaches political sociology at the INALCO institute of Middle East studies in Paris.
Mohammed Sinwar’s blood link to the slain commander, coupled with his own experience in the brigades, have conferred upon him an automatic authority, she said.
– Collective leadership –
Israel vowed after October 7 to eradicate Hamas, and while the movement has suffered staggering losses, it has not been crushed.
According to Yasser Abu Heen, founder of the Gaza-based Safa news agency, the loss of so many of its leaders has impacted Hamas, “but only temporarily”.
[4] For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. [6] And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
Esther 7 : 4, 6
Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94
The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3
“These hits do not pose an existential crisis, Hamas has its own way of running its institutions,” he said. “Israel will not be able to eradicate it.”
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Matthew 10 : 23
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a member of Hamas’s political bureau described how it acts as the movement’s executive arm, voting on decisions and then taking action.
Political bureau membership is decided by the larger Shura Council, the equivalent of a parliament, he added.
All Going Ahead as One Man
“We will not know the new leaders’ names. There’s a push to keep their identities secret, and to maintain a collective sense of power,” said Leila Seurat of the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies in Paris.
[7] Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. [8] And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. [9] But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
“This isn’t a movement based on a charismatic leadership.”
While Hamas has survived thus far, it has yet to make the toughest decision of all concerning its future role in Gaza and in the Palestinian struggle for statehood.
Reduced under daily bombardment, Hamas faces demands not just from Israel but from powers around the world and even from some Palestinians to give up power.
– Dissent –
The Palestinian Authority, whose decades of corruption contributed to Hamas’s ascent, has pitched itself as a credible ruling entity for the battered territory.
Within Hamas, discussions are raging on whether to hand over power.
According to sources cited by the Soufan Center in New York: “The internal debate has intensified to the point where some Hamas political leaders have considered breaking with the group’s military leaders in Gaza.”
Hamas is no stranger to division, with Seurat pointing to crises in the past over a range of issues from the Arab Spring to the movement’s alliance with Iran.
But the war with Israel has brought to a head frustration among ordinary Gazans sick of a conflict that has killed many thousands and reduced their territory to rubble.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a leading Hamas figure involved in talks over the ceasefire with Israel, told The New York Times in late February that as far as he was concerned, “if it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been October 7”.
In March, hundreds of people took to the streets of Gaza, chanting “Out, out, Hamas out!”, after a rare call to protest circulated via Telegram.
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
John 19 : 15
And now another scene passed before him. He had been shown the work of Satan in leading the Jews to reject Christ, while they professed to honor His Father’s law. He now saw the Christian world under a similar deception in professing to accept Christ while they rejected God’s law. He had heard from the priests and elders the frenzied cry, “Away with Him!” “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” and now he heard from professedly Christian teachers the cry, “Away with the law!” He saw the Sabbath trodden under foot, and a spurious institution established in its place. Again Moses was filled with astonishment and horror. How could those who believed in Christ reject the law spoken by His own voice upon the sacred mount? How could any that feared God set aside the law which is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth? PP 476.2
“Some Palestinians want Hamas to go. Some have always been opposed, while others are just fed up,” said Seurat.
Pressure alone will not work, however, because Hamas has no viable competitor, and the people of Gaza simply do not have the means to stand up to it.
“They are still in control,” said Bucaille. “While Hamas has been weakened, no one can stand up to it for now.”
[23] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: [24] But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. [25] Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.Acts 9 : 23-25
Libyans carry a poster showing slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (R) during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people, on April 8, 2025 in Tripoli (Mahmud Turkia) (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/AFP)More
After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.
Fire Chief Weeks, who had directed the fighting of a number of big fires in Battle Creek, was later to declare that he had fought every one of the Adventist fires and his score was zero.”‘There is something strange,'” he said, “‘about your SDA fires, with the water poured on acting more like gasoline.'”—P. B. Fairchild to Arthur L. White, December 4, 1965. The Review and Herald publishing plant had grown to be one of the largest and best-equipped publishing establishments in the State of Michigan. Now it was just a pile of rubble. Why? 5BIO 224.6 – 5BIO 224.7
Israel vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, launching a blistering offensive in Gaza that has massively weakened the movement while reducing much of the territory to rubble.
Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, have all been killed, as have a string of other commanders and political figures.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2 : 10
Yet unlike its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, whose cult of personality around its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah was a key pillar of its identity, Hamas has placed less of an emphasis on its top ranks.
[6] Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: [7] Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Proverbs 6 : 6-7
The group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks, particularly the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades.
“The name of the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will remain a secret,” said a source close to Hamas’s armed wing.
But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Acts 28 : 22
Researchers say it is likely that the role was inherited by Yahya Sinwar’s younger brother Mohammed, whom Hamas put in charge of the hostages taken into Gaza in 2023.
“Yahya Sinwar’s personality was rather unique” and militants viewed him as a “hero”, said Laetitia Bucaille, who teaches political sociology at the INALCO institute of Middle East studies in Paris.
Mohammed Sinwar’s blood link to the slain commander, coupled with his own experience in the brigades, have conferred upon him an automatic authority, she said.
– Collective leadership –
Israel vowed after October 7 to eradicate Hamas, and while the movement has suffered staggering losses, it has not been crushed.
According to Yasser Abu Heen, founder of the Gaza-based Safa news agency, the loss of so many of its leaders has impacted Hamas, “but only temporarily”.
[4] For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. [6] And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
Esther 7 : 4, 6
Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94
The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3
“These hits do not pose an existential crisis, Hamas has its own way of running its institutions,” he said. “Israel will not be able to eradicate it.”
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Matthew 10 : 23
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a member of Hamas’s political bureau described how it acts as the movement’s executive arm, voting on decisions and then taking action.
Political bureau membership is decided by the larger Shura Council, the equivalent of a parliament, he added.
All Going Ahead as One Man
“We will not know the new leaders’ names. There’s a push to keep their identities secret, and to maintain a collective sense of power,” said Leila Seurat of the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies in Paris.
[7] Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. [8] And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. [9] But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
“This isn’t a movement based on a charismatic leadership.”
While Hamas has survived thus far, it has yet to make the toughest decision of all concerning its future role in Gaza and in the Palestinian struggle for statehood.
Reduced under daily bombardment, Hamas faces demands not just from Israel but from powers around the world and even from some Palestinians to give up power.
– Dissent –
The Palestinian Authority, whose decades of corruption contributed to Hamas’s ascent, has pitched itself as a credible ruling entity for the battered territory.
Within Hamas, discussions are raging on whether to hand over power.
According to sources cited by the Soufan Center in New York: “The internal debate has intensified to the point where some Hamas political leaders have considered breaking with the group’s military leaders in Gaza.”
Hamas is no stranger to division, with Seurat pointing to crises in the past over a range of issues from the Arab Spring to the movement’s alliance with Iran.
But the war with Israel has brought to a head frustration among ordinary Gazans sick of a conflict that has killed many thousands and reduced their territory to rubble.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a leading Hamas figure involved in talks over the ceasefire with Israel, told The New York Times in late February that as far as he was concerned, “if it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been October 7”.
In March, hundreds of people took to the streets of Gaza, chanting “Out, out, Hamas out!”, after a rare call to protest circulated via Telegram.
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
John 19 : 15
And now another scene passed before him. He had been shown the work of Satan in leading the Jews to reject Christ, while they professed to honor His Father’s law. He now saw the Christian world under a similar deception in professing to accept Christ while they rejected God’s law. He had heard from the priests and elders the frenzied cry, “Away with Him!” “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” and now he heard from professedly Christian teachers the cry, “Away with the law!” He saw the Sabbath trodden under foot, and a spurious institution established in its place. Again Moses was filled with astonishment and horror. How could those who believed in Christ reject the law spoken by His own voice upon the sacred mount? How could any that feared God set aside the law which is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth? PP 476.2
“Some Palestinians want Hamas to go. Some have always been opposed, while others are just fed up,” said Seurat.
Pressure alone will not work, however, because Hamas has no viable competitor, and the people of Gaza simply do not have the means to stand up to it.
“They are still in control,” said Bucaille. “While Hamas has been weakened, no one can stand up to it for now.”
[23] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: [24] But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. [25] Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.Acts 9 : 23-25
Libyans carry a poster showing slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (R) during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people, on April 8, 2025 in Tripoli (Mahmud Turkia) (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/AFP)More
After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.
Fire Chief Weeks, who had directed the fighting of a number of big fires in Battle Creek, was later to declare that he had fought every one of the Adventist fires and his score was zero.”‘There is something strange,'” he said, “‘about your SDA fires, with the water poured on acting more like gasoline.'”—P. B. Fairchild to Arthur L. White, December 4, 1965. The Review and Herald publishing plant had grown to be one of the largest and best-equipped publishing establishments in the State of Michigan. Now it was just a pile of rubble. Why? 5BIO 224.6 – 5BIO 224.7
Israel vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, launching a blistering offensive in Gaza that has massively weakened the movement while reducing much of the territory to rubble.
Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, have all been killed, as have a string of other commanders and political figures.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2 : 10
Yet unlike its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, whose cult of personality around its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah was a key pillar of its identity, Hamas has placed less of an emphasis on its top ranks.
[6] Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: [7] Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Proverbs 6 : 6-7
The group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks, particularly the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades.
“The name of the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will remain a secret,” said a source close to Hamas’s armed wing.
But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Acts 28 : 22
Researchers say it is likely that the role was inherited by Yahya Sinwar’s younger brother Mohammed, whom Hamas put in charge of the hostages taken into Gaza in 2023.
“Yahya Sinwar’s personality was rather unique” and militants viewed him as a “hero”, said Laetitia Bucaille, who teaches political sociology at the INALCO institute of Middle East studies in Paris.
Mohammed Sinwar’s blood link to the slain commander, coupled with his own experience in the brigades, have conferred upon him an automatic authority, she said.
– Collective leadership –
Israel vowed after October 7 to eradicate Hamas, and while the movement has suffered staggering losses, it has not been crushed.
According to Yasser Abu Heen, founder of the Gaza-based Safa news agency, the loss of so many of its leaders has impacted Hamas, “but only temporarily”.
[4] For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. [6] And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
Esther 7 : 4, 6
Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94
The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3
“These hits do not pose an existential crisis, Hamas has its own way of running its institutions,” he said. “Israel will not be able to eradicate it.”
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Matthew 10 : 23
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a member of Hamas’s political bureau described how it acts as the movement’s executive arm, voting on decisions and then taking action.
Political bureau membership is decided by the larger Shura Council, the equivalent of a parliament, he added.
All Going Ahead as One Man
“We will not know the new leaders’ names. There’s a push to keep their identities secret, and to maintain a collective sense of power,” said Leila Seurat of the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies in Paris.
[7] Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. [8] And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. [9] But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
“This isn’t a movement based on a charismatic leadership.”
While Hamas has survived thus far, it has yet to make the toughest decision of all concerning its future role in Gaza and in the Palestinian struggle for statehood.
Reduced under daily bombardment, Hamas faces demands not just from Israel but from powers around the world and even from some Palestinians to give up power.
– Dissent –
The Palestinian Authority, whose decades of corruption contributed to Hamas’s ascent, has pitched itself as a credible ruling entity for the battered territory.
Within Hamas, discussions are raging on whether to hand over power.
According to sources cited by the Soufan Center in New York: “The internal debate has intensified to the point where some Hamas political leaders have considered breaking with the group’s military leaders in Gaza.”
Hamas is no stranger to division, with Seurat pointing to crises in the past over a range of issues from the Arab Spring to the movement’s alliance with Iran.
But the war with Israel has brought to a head frustration among ordinary Gazans sick of a conflict that has killed many thousands and reduced their territory to rubble.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a leading Hamas figure involved in talks over the ceasefire with Israel, told The New York Times in late February that as far as he was concerned, “if it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been October 7”.
In March, hundreds of people took to the streets of Gaza, chanting “Out, out, Hamas out!”, after a rare call to protest circulated via Telegram.
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
John 19 : 15
And now another scene passed before him. He had been shown the work of Satan in leading the Jews to reject Christ, while they professed to honor His Father’s law. He now saw the Christian world under a similar deception in professing to accept Christ while they rejected God’s law. He had heard from the priests and elders the frenzied cry, “Away with Him!” “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” and now he heard from professedly Christian teachers the cry, “Away with the law!” He saw the Sabbath trodden under foot, and a spurious institution established in its place. Again Moses was filled with astonishment and horror. How could those who believed in Christ reject the law spoken by His own voice upon the sacred mount? How could any that feared God set aside the law which is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth? PP 476.2
“Some Palestinians want Hamas to go. Some have always been opposed, while others are just fed up,” said Seurat.
Pressure alone will not work, however, because Hamas has no viable competitor, and the people of Gaza simply do not have the means to stand up to it.
“They are still in control,” said Bucaille. “While Hamas has been weakened, no one can stand up to it for now.”
The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.3
Emmanuel Macron says France could recognise a Palestinian state as early as June – Shutterstock /Teresa Suarez
Israel accused Emmanuel Macron of giving Hamas a “prize for terrorism” after he said France was ready to formally recognise Palestine as a state.
Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94 The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3
In a major foreign policy shift, the French president said Paris could recognise a Palestinian state as early as June, at a UN conference in New York. If this took place France would become the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to do so, potentially creating a rift with Israel ally Donald Trump.
During a two-day trip to Egypt, Mr Macron said recognition would encourage several countries in the Middle East that do not recognise Israel to do so.
“We need to move towards recognition. And so over the next few months, we will. I’m not doing it to please anyone. I’ll do it because at some point it will be right,” he said on Wednesday.
Every position of truth taken by our people will bear the criticism of the greatest minds; the highest of the world’s great men will be brought in contact with truth, and therefore every position we take should be critically examined and tested by the Scriptures. Now we seem to be unnoticed, but this will not always be. Movements are at work to bring us to the front, and if our theories of truth can be picked to pieces by historians or the world’s greatest men, it will be done. Mar 217.4
“And because I also want to take part in a collective dynamic that should also enable those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in their turn, something that many of them are not doing.”
Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, posted on X: “A unilateral recognition of a fictional Palestinian state, by any country, in the reality that we all know, will be a prize for terror and a boost for Hamas.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1 John 3 : 1
“These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer – but the opposite: they only push them further away.”
Gideon Saar, the Israel foreign minister, says any recognition of a Palestinian state would be a ‘boost for Hamas’ – AFP/Menahem Kahana
Palestine has been recognised as a sovereign state by almost 150 countries. But most major Western powers – including the US, Britain, France, Germany and Japan – have not.
We shall be attacked on every point; we shall be tried to the utmost. We do not want to hold our faith simply because it was handed down to us by our fathers. Such a faith will not stand the terrible test that is before us. We want to know why we are Seventh-day Adventists, what real reason we have for coming out from the world as a separate and distinct people….
The powers of darkness will open their batteries upon us; and all who are indifferent and careless, who have set their affections on their earthly treasure, and who have not cared to understand God’s dealings with His people, will be ready victims. No power but a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, will ever make us steadfast; but with this, one may chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. Mar 217.6 – Mar 217.7
Having long backed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which Israel does not support, France would become the most influential European country to recognise Palestine.
Unhappy France reaped in blood the harvest she had sown. Terrible were the results of her submission to the controlling power of Rome. Where France, under the influence of Romanism, had set up the first stake at the opening of the Reformation, there the Revolution set up its first guillotine. On the very spot where the first martyrs to the Protestant faith were burned in the sixteenth century, the first victims were guillotined in the eighteenth. In repelling the gospel, which would have brought her healing, France had opened the door to infidelity and ruin. When the restraints of God’s law were cast aside, it was found that the laws of man were inadequate to hold in check the powerful tides of human passion; and the nation swept on to revolt and anarchy. The war against the Bible inaugurated an era which stands in the world’s history as the Reign of Terror. Peace and happiness were banished from the homes and hearts of men. No one was secure. He who triumphed today was suspected, condemned, tomorrow. Violence and lust held undisputed sway. GC 282.2
Until now, France, like the UK, has said it would recognise Palestine as part of or after the negotiations for a two-state solution.
Among countries that do not recognise Israel are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
“Our objective is somewhere in June, with Saudi Arabia, to chair this conference where we could finalise the movement towards reciprocal recognition by several countries,” Mr Macron said of a UN conference in New York.
This would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist – which is the case with Iran – and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region”.
In May last year, Ireland, Spain and Norway recognised Palestine. It was an effort to find a political solution to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, which was triggered by the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
Israel accused the European trio of rewarding terrorism, withdrew their ambassadors and gave their envoys in Tel Aviv a dressing down.
In December, Israel closed its embassy in Ireland, where recognition was politically popular, in December, blaming “the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government”.
Donald Trump is an ally of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. The US president has suggested that Palestinians leave Gaza, which could then be taken over by the US.
‘Recognition would be premature’
Across France there were divided reactions to Mr Macron’s announcement.
If it “comes within a framework that allows countries that don’t recognise Israel to do so, and other countries that don’t recognise Palestine or the Palestinian state to do so, it’s a good process,” said François Hollande, France’s former Socialist president.
“Finally. After nearly two years of genocide in Gaza, France is finally considering recognising the State of Palestine,” said Mathilde Panot, leader of the deputies belonging to the hard-Left France Unbowed party.
God’s faithful witnesses, slain by the blasphemous power that “ascendeth out of the bottomless pit,” were not long to remain silent. “After three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” Revelation 11:11. It was in 1793 that the decrees which abolished the Christian religion and set aside the Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half later a resolution rescinding these decrees, thus granting toleration to the Scriptures, was adopted by the same body. The world stood aghast at the enormity of guilt which had resulted from a rejection of the Sacred Oracles, and men recognized the necessity of faith in God and His word as the foundation of virtue and morality. Saith the Lord: “Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah 37:23. “Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is Jehovah.” Jeremiah 16:21, A.R.V. GC 287.1
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally said recognition would be “premature”. Sébastien Chenu, vice-president of the party, said, “It’s sending out a signal: Do terrorism and we’ll recognise your rights.”
Gérard Larcher, president of the French senate and a member of the centre-Right Les Republicans, said the conditions were not right to recognise a Palestinian state.
“We still have hostages in the Gaza Strip, we still have Hamas attacks, we unfortunately have an extremely weak Palestinian Authority,” he said.
France is home to the largest Jewish community in Europe, and the third largest in the world behind the United States and Israel with an estimated half a million Jews. An increase in anti-Semitism has been blamed for rising numbers of Jews leaving France.
That great city (Revelation 14:6-8) is in darkness and error, and we have left it so thus long. Will God pardon this negligence on our part? What account shall we give for the men and women who have died without hearing the sound of present truth, who would have received it had the light been brought to them? My spirit is stirred that the work in —– has been delayed so long. 5T 369.1
IDF troops carry out a military operation in Rafah as it seeks to expand the buffer zone
The Israeli military is seizing the city of Rafah as part of a new offensive aimed at expanding the buffer zone along the Gaza border, it has been reported.
If confirmed, it would mark the first time the IDF has taken a major city within its defensive perimeter, essentially creating an Israeli military enclave 3 miles (4.8km) deep into the Strip.
Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let history testify of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate herself into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to further her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people. Romanism openly puts forth the claim that the pope “can pronounce sentences and judgments in contradiction to the right of nations, to the law of God and man.” [The “Decretalia.”] And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. GC88 580.2 – GC88 580.3
Israeli media has reported that defence officials were considering whether to fully demolish all buildings in the southern sector, where Rafah is located.
They have done this in other parts of the buffer zone. A report by the UN Satellite Centre last April estimated that 90 per cent of the buildings within the fortified area had been destroyed or damaged.
However, this would be the first time an entire Palestinian city would be effectively erased.
The city of Rafah, which could become the first major city within the IDF’s defensive perimeter to be taken – Mohammad Abu Samra/AP
The Israeli government says its renewed Gaza operation is intended to place Hamas under maximum pressure in order to secure the release of the remaining hostages, 34 of whom are thought to be alive.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has previously warned that Israel would seize tracts of territory in Gaza if the terror group failed to release the captives. Meanwhile, Israel Katz, the defence minister, said on Wednesday the IDF’s “great achievements” during the renewed fighting were bringing Hamas closer to another deal.
However, groups supporting hostage families have expressed extreme distress at the resumption of hostilities.
Rafah is located between the border with Egypt, which was previously controlled by Israel via a narrow strip of land called the Philadelphi Corridor, and a newly created east-west “Morag Corridor”, just south of the city of Khan Younis.
Around 200,000 Palestinians lived there before the war.
Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.Zechariah 8 : 3, And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.Luke 21 : 20, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Matthew 5 : 14
Incorporating the city and its surrounding neighbourhoods into a no-go buffer zone would essentially decrease the size of the Strip available to civilians by 20 per cent.
It follows significant increases in the depth of the buffer zone around much of the enclave, from a distance of approximately 800 metres before Oct 7 2023 to 1 mile (1.5km).
Israel says this is to protect its troops and Israeli civilians living nearby from a repeat attack.
On Wednesday, Haaretz reported an anonymous defence official as saying it was yet to be decided whether the entire area would be fully cleared of all buildings.
The IDF is reportedly taking a “low-risk” approach as it advances into neighbourhoods potentially controlled by Hamas, preferring to demolish buildings rather than send in troops and risk booby traps.
Despite hundreds of air strikes, which Israel says has killed more than 40 Hamas officials and mid-level commanders, there have been only sparse reports of fighting on the ground.
IDF strategists reportedly believe that Hamas still has 20,000 militants in the Strip – about half the number before the war – but most are choosing not to fight, potentially ahead of a large future battle.
The IDF is reportedly taking a low-risk approach as it advances through neighbourhoods in Rafah – IDF
The IDF has not said whether Rafah will be incorporated into a buffer zone or whether its buildings will be demolished.
A spokesman said: “As part of implementing the defence strategy and in accordance with the directives of the political echelon, the IDF is destroying terrorist infrastructure, strengthening defence components in communities, maintaining a broad military presence in the security zone adjacent to Israel, and working to remove threats in the area.
“These actions are essential in order to prevent Hamas and other terrorist organisations from operating in the area while ensuring the security of IDF forces and Israeli communities.”
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly men are ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly they are waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. ST July 6, 1904, par. 1
A corrupt union has been formed to tear down God’s memorial of creation, the seventh day which He hallowed and blessed, and gave to man to be a sign between God and His people, to be observed throughout their generation forever. A period is coming when every one will take sides between the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, which the Lord has sanctified and blessed, and the spurious sabbath instituted by the man of sin. An idol sabbath has been set up as the golden image was set up in the plains of Dura. And as Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, issued a decree that all who would not bow down and worship this image should be killed, so a proclamation will be made that all who will not reverence the Sunday institution will be punished with imprisonment and death. Thus the Sabbath of the Lord is trampled under foot.
But the Lord has declared, “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and write grievousness which they have prescribed.” [Isaiah 10:1.] “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
“Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fires of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” [Zephaniah 1:14-2:3.]
The Lord of heaven permits the world to choose whom they will have as ruler. Let all read carefully the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, for it concerns every human agent, great and small. Every human being must take sides, either for the true and living God, who has given to the world the memorial of creation in the seventh-day Sabbath, or for a false sabbath, instituted by men who have exalted themselves above all that is called God or that is worshipped, who have taken upon themselves the attributes of Satan, in oppressing the loyal and true who keep the commandments of God. This persecuting power will compel the worship of the beast by insisting on the observance of the Sabbath he has instituted. Thus he blasphemes God, “sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself that he is God.” [2 Thessalonians 2:4.]
This worship of a false sabbath is a wedge that split the Protestant churches from God, and left them naked. They had not a text of Scripture to sustain their false god, but yet a deception, hoary with age, but still a deception, was commended to reverence, and exalted, while the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was trampled upon and God dishonored. The Bible was before them with a plain “Thus saith the Lord” and the penalty that is the part of the transgressor; but as Adam and Eve in Eden listened to the falsehoods of Satan, so the righteous world are following their example.
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezekiel 28 : 14
Satan, who was expelled from heaven, is leading the world, blindfolded by his sophistry, in the same way that he led the angels who accepted his theology before a “Thus saith the Lord!” Already the churches are naked, and without a covering. Like the archdeceiver they are without excuse, for they have the Word of God, plain and clear and pointed. While they would rein up the faithful and loyal subjects of the kingdom of God, depriving them of their liberty of conscience, bringing them before magistrates and judges, and pronouncing sentence upon them, delivering them into prison, putting them into the chain gang, and even condemning them to death, they themselves before the universe are showing determined and obstinate contempt of the laws of the eternal Jehovah.
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping, with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders; and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” [Revelation 14:1-4.] One of the marked features in the representation of the one hundred and forty four thousand is that in their mouth there was found no guile. The Lord has said, “Blessed is the man … in whose spirit there is no guile.” [Psalm 32:2.] They profess to be children of God, and are represented following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. They are prefigured before us as standing on Mount Zion, girt for holy service, clothed in white linen, which is the righteousness of the saints. But all who follow the Lamb in heaven, will first have followed Him on earth, in trustful, loving, willing obedience; followed Him not fretfully and capriciously, but confidently, truthfully, as the flock follows the shepherd. Are these the ones who are bruising and imprisoning their fellow men, humiliating them to the depraved association of those who compose the chain gang? Is this the sign of those who follow the Lamb. No, no. All who do this work evidence that they have chosen the side of one who was expelled from Eden, who was a falsifier of God, and who by oppression tries to compel God’s chosen ones to worship an idol sabbath, which is without one text of Scripture for its authority.
Did Christ give His followers any such lesson or example? No: He came, not to break down [the] moral power of men, but to restore it. He came to break the power of oppression. His work was to release those who were in bondage to Satan. Those who say, I am a child of God, and yet do work which will grieve and oppress, executing cruel actions against their fellow men, are not following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, but are followers of another leader. They develop the attributes of Satan, and make it manifest that they are participators and co-workers with him to bind, imprison, and condemn, to cause all the suffering possible to body and mind, because they cannot compel men to be untrue to God and dishonor His work and transgress His holy law. These are the ones who have guile in their mouths. These are the ones that profess to be followers of Christ while they are following a leader who was expelled from the courts of heaven. These men, who are working unrighteousness with such zealous zeal, show before the whole world and universe that if Christ was upon the earth, as at His first advent, they would do as did the unbelieving Jews—follow Him as spies, seeking to get Him to say something which they could use against Him to condemn Him to death. If they had opportunity and power, they would do as did Nebuchadnezzar when he set up his golden image in the plains of Dura. It is the spirit that dwells in the children of disobedience that decides their future eternal destiny. Men who conceal their convictions of duty because they are afraid of suffering persecution are not following the true, but the false, shepherd. To maintain principle at all hazard is the highest path one can travel, because by doing this we follow Jesus. That which has a “Thus saith the Lord” is right and expedient. God has said, “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.” [Proverbs 10:9.] If you suffer for the truth’s sake, you are partakers with Christ in His suffering, and will be partakers with Him in His glory.
God is weary of professional falseness and hollow hypocrisy. “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” [Revelation 14:5.] What grand words, how cheering and uplifting. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart: who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully,” “he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and keepeth the truth in his heart,” “he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” [Psalm 24:3-5; 15:2.] The third angel’s message, following the first and second which have proclaimed the hour of God’s judgment and the fall of mystic Babylon, is proclaimed in louder and more explicit tones, giving a warning to all co-workers in the great anti-Christian apostasy, “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying Babylon the great is fallen … and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” Revelation 18:1-5. The whole chapter is full of importance and is of consequence to every human agent. Consider this matter it will bear close searching. The men who are denying the Sabbath instituted by God himself, who are trampling upon the commandments of God, are the devil’s spies who seek to find accusation against those who will not reverence a man-made institution and worship an idol sabbath. The observance of the seventh day according to the commandment, reveals to them a neglect of duties which they owe to God. If there was not a people voicing the third angel’s message, they would have no conscientious scruples for Sunday observance, but it is the truth that they do not wish to receive. The Jews did not want their customs and practices to be disturbed; neither do the professed Christian world of today wish to be disturbed. They reject the message of truth which God in mercy hath sent to them to arouse their moral sensibilities. The Jews treated Christ just as professed Christians of today would treat Him should he come as He did at His first advent.
The world is in co-partnership with the professed Christian churches in making void the law of Jehovah. God’s law is set aside; it is trampled under foot; and from all the loyal people of God the prayer will ascend to heaven, “It is time, O Lord, for thee to work: for they have made void thy law.” [Psalm 119:126.] Satan is making his last and most powerful effort for the mastery, his last conflict against the principles of God’s law. A defiant infidelity abounds. After John’s description in (Revelation 16), of that miracle working power which was to gather the world to the last great conflict, the symbols were dropped, and the trumpet voice once more gives a certain sound. “Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” [Verse 15.] After the transgression of Adam and Eve, they were naked, for the garment of light and security had departed from them. The world will have forgotten the admonition and warnings of God, as did the inhabitants of the Noatic world; as did also, the dwellers in Sodom. They awoke with all their plans and inventions of iniquity, but suddenly the shower of fire came from heaven and consumed the godless inhabitants. “Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” [Luke 17:30.]
The world full of rioting, full of godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security, putting afar off the coming of the Lord, laughing at warnings, calling those who try to arouse their attention, almost fanatics, enthusiasts, not levelheaded. The lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God are taken unawares. This is the proud boast that is made, “All things remain as they were from the beginning. Tomorrow shall be as this day, only much more abundant.” [2 Peter 3:4.] We will go deeper into pleasure loving. But said Christ, “Behold, I come as a thief.” [Revelation 16:15.] When the scorner, the rejector of truth, has become presumptuous, then the routine of work in the various money making lines is being carried on without regard to principle, when the student is fully engaged in ambitious aims to obtain knowledge of everything but the Bible. Christ comes as thief. The warning has been given, “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broke up.” [Matthew 24:42, 43.] Every hour that passes is one hour less for you to make preparation of character for this great event. 11LtMs, Ms 7a, 1896, par. 7 – 11LtMs, Ms 7a, 1896, par. 26
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly men are ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly they are waiting and watching the movements of their leaders.
An intensity such as never before was seen is taking possession of the world. In amusements, in money-making, in the contest for power, in the very struggle for existence, there is a terrible force that engrosses body and mind and soul. In the midst of this maddening rush, God is speaking. He bids us come apart and commune with Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.”
“Come unto Me,” Christ says, “and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest.” ST July 6, 1904, par. 1 – ST July 6, 1904, par. 3
The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. ST July 6, 1904, par. 1
ByBhavika Rathore
Jul 27, 2024 02:29 PM IST
The appearance of a pale horse with a rider has been associated with Death at the Paris Olympics.
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The Paris Olympics began in earnest on Friday, 26 July with a grand opening ceremony at the river Seine in Paris. The ceremony included artists and singers from across the globe and the programme was hosted by Kelly Clarkson. One of the acts of the ceremony witnessed a rider on a pale horse parading along the river Seine which captured the eyes of many at the event and beyond. In a post on X, a user posted the picture of the rider on the pale horse which soon was associated with Death itself at the Olympics.A performer on a mechanical horse carries the Olympic flag down the river Seine in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)(AP)
Rider on the pale horse at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
As part of the Olympic opening ceremony, one of the acts included a Gendarmerie officer riding on a metal horse on the parade route along the Seine River. The horsewoman was wearing a cape printed with the Flag of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A user shared a short clip of the rider on the horse on microblogging platform X and wrote, “If you have any doubt what is going on at the Olympics opening ceremony. A single rider on a pale horse is straight out of the book of Revelation,” and then quoted from the book, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and the name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
According to literature or the Bible, the term pale horse implies death. This reference is derived from the Bible verse,
“And I saw, and behold, a pale horse,
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Its rider’s name was Dęath, and Hãdes followed him
They were given power over a fourth of the earth
To kìłł with sword and with famine”
With pęstilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”
The above verse translates to a pale horse approaching, matching the colour of its rider, who is identified as Death. They are closely followed by Hades who is the God of the Underworld and ruled over the dead according to ancient Greek religion. They were given power over a quarter of the earth to kill people with swords, hunger, disease, and wild animals.
The pale horse with rider symbolises the culmination of the human destructive cycle which was initiated by the previous horses– The White horse identified with conquest and deceit, The Red Horse which represents the devastations of the war and The Black Horse which represents economic disparity and manipulation.
The pale horse is said to be the ultimate consequence of a society that has fully immersed itself into imperialism, militarism, economic exploitation, widespread death and decay as explained by the Watermark Church.
Netizens react to the pale horse at Paris Olympics
The concept of the pale horse piqued the interest of netizens as they associated the Revelation quote with the clip and called it Death. One user wrote, “Full-on blasphemy and Satanic to mock The Last Supper at the Olympics. They took it even further and added the pale horse from Revelation”
A second user on X wrote, “Saw some messed up stuff at the Paris Olympics.. like, literal evil, pretty sure I saw a pale horse! lol , idk, I was raised a Christian and watching it just kinda hurt., so threw this together. Possible religion included.” A third user wrote, “I thought my days of symbolism were over but the display at the opening ceremony of the Olympic is very disgusting. They mocked God and put up rituals in our faces. Drag queens and transgenders!! Death riding a pale horse! Recreated the last supper? Grim reaper? The end is near.”
One user on X wrote, “Why did France include The Pale Horse of Death in the opening ceremony at the Olympics?” while another wrote, “This was unveiled at the French Olympic ceremony, it is clearly a pale horse.. If you ask me the elites of this world are showing who they really are, bringing apocalypse closer.”
This was unveiled at the French Olympic ceremony, it is clearly a pale horse.. If you ask me the elites of this world are showing who they really are, bringing apocalypse closer
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This was unveiled at the French Olympic ceremony, it is clearly a pale horse.. If you ask me the elites of this world are showing who they really are, bringing apocalypse closer pic.twitter.com/WrD4aBDatY
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