Officials at Beersheba's Soroka Medical Centre have stated that tests carried out on Ariel Sharon have revealed significant brain activity despite his vegetative state.

The former Prime Minister suffered a massive stroke following the completion of Israel's disengagement from Gaza. On the 18^th of December, 2005 he was rushed to Hadassah hospital by his son Omri after complaining of feeling ill. He was later discharged and vowed to continue his premiership, but was subsequently readmitted to hospital on the 4^th of January after suffering a massive brain haemorrhage. The stroke affected his speech and caused paralysis of his lower body. He was put into a medically induced coma to try and improve his chances of recovery but he never regained full consciousness.

Quote: “On Thursday Sharon was tested at Soroka with a Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) machine. During the two-hour examination, Sharon was shown photos of family members and doctors played a recording of his son Gilad's voice in order to check if and to what extent his brain responds to external stimulation. The tests' findings showed "significant" brain activity. Additional tests were performed to determine Sharon's awareness to his surroundings, but they did not give a clear indication that the former premier is in fact aware of his surroundings.

Many orthodox Jews perceived Sharon's stroke as divine retribution for his presiding over the division of God's land. And the disengagement from Gaza itself seemed to have a prophetic significance to it. Gaza residents were given their eviction notices on the anniversary of the destruction of the First and Second Temples, although the evacuation itself was purposely delayed in order to avoid this sensitive date. Also, Israel's control over the Gaza Strip lasted for 38 years, from 1967 until 2005. In the Scriptures the number thirty eight is associated with divine judgement. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for thirty eight years after their exodus from Egypt because they refused to believe God's promise that He would give them the land of Canaan for an eternal possession (Deuteronomy 2:14). Again in the New Testament, in John 5:5, the story is told of a man who had an infirmity for thirty eight years. The picture portrayed here reveals the mercy of Christ to a man whose illness was evidently a direct result of some sort of divine judgement upon his sin (John 5:14). Helpless and hopeless, he would have died in that sinful state, had Christ not chosen to intervene (John 5:7).

It's the same for us today. For like this man, there was a time when we were in our sins, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). But God in His mercy chose to intervene. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly”, Romans 5:6. The Lord Jesus Christ bore the divine punishment for your sin when He died upon the cross. And when you put your faith and trust in Him, you will receive the forgiveness of sins. One day national Israel will recognize Him as Lord. But sad to say that it will take the 'wilderness experience' of the great tribulation period before that will take place.

That day is fast approaching. It may even be closer than we think. For one of Israel's most prominent Kabbalistic rabbis, Yitzhak Kaduri, once claimed during a Yom Kippur address that the Messiah would not come until Ariel Sharon died. What makes that statement more remarkable is the fact that seven years following his stroke, Ariel Sharon is still alive albeit unconscious. Yitzhak Kaduri himself died in January 2006. He left behind him a sealed envelope with strict instructions that it not be opened until exactly one year after his death. That envelope contained a handwritten note signed by Yitzhak Kaduri, detailing an acrostic of the Messiah's true name. Kaduri wrote...

Quote: "Concerning the letter abbreviation of the Messiah's name, He will lift the people and prove that his word and law are valid. This I have signed in the month of mercy, Yitzhak Kaduri

In Hebrew...

ירום העם ויוכיח שדברו ותורתו עומדים

The first letters of each word in the phrase spell out the name יהושוע (Yehoshua), which is the name of Jesus in Hebrew. Many of Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri's followers believed the note was either a forgery or that the Rabbi had converted to Christianity. The rabbi did claim to have had a vision of the Messiah in 2003. Perhaps it is possible that Kaduri, like Caiaphas in the New Testament (John 11:49-52), was given a divine revelation of who the Messiah is. Perhaps he recognized Jesus as Lord and Saviour, but like Nicodemus in the New Testament, being a ruler of the Jews he was not in the position to confess Him publicly. Who knows. But what Kaduri said of the Lord Jesus Christ is true, He will exalt the people and prove that His word and law stand. It is through His humility, His suffering and death upon the cross, that He has lifted the people. And when He returns, He will prove that His word and law are valid...

Zechariah 13:6
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

What about you? Do you recognize Him as your Messiah? Have you trusted Him as your Lord and Saviour? He is waiting for you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Isaiah 53:6
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Source YNet News