In recent days, United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, has made considerable attempts to bring the Palestinian Authority (“PA”) and Israel back to the peace-talk table. Kerry has been to Israel four times in the past four months. That is almost as many trips as his predecessor, Mrs. Clinton, made during her entire stint as Secretary of State.
Recent articles from The Jerusalem Post state that the leader of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, is setting deadlines and making demands for peace talks to resume or he will dismantle the PA. Dismantling the PA would most likely make for a perilous situation in Israel. As of now, the PA acts as a government over the Palestinian people and keeps them somewhat in check. However, if they dissolve, Islamic terrorists are sure to rise against Israel, thus forcing Israel to nip Islamic actions in the bud. The Arab world and many others would look upon this call to arms as an act of oppression against the Palestinian people.
One of the requirements that Mahmoud Abbas has mandated in order to return to peace talks is the release of all Palestinian prisoners arrested before 1993—all at once. Another requirement is that the peace agreement must be based on a two-state solution with Israel’s borders reverting to their placement in 1967 before the Six-Day War.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated, “We are in favor of immediate negotiations without preconditions. I call on Abbas to put preconditions aside and talk.” He further stated to Abbas: “Don’t waste another four years. Give peace a chance.”
Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said Israel was willing to make “very painful” concessions and “serious compromises.” He further stated that Israel is ready for “a two-states-for-two-peoples solution,” but that Israel wants “genuine peace” and “real security that we can trust.”
The statements of these men bring to remembrance Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.” However, it does not seem as though all parties involved here want to be reasonable. This has been a long-standing problem in finding solutions for the Israelis and Palestinians. Recall in 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinian Liberation Organization leader, Yasser Arafat, everything they requested except for a small part of Jerusalem. Arafat immediately refused and demanded ALL of Jerusalem. The Palestinian movement truly wants all of Israel and will not be satisfied unless such is accomplished.
Israel, however, will hold onto her land by the divine hand of God—because it is the miracle working power of Almighty God that brought the people of Israel back to dwell in their land in the first place.
For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up (Jeremiah 24:6).
Israel will not be moved! The prophet Daniel tells us in chapter 12, verse 1 that Michael, the great prince and archangel, now stands watch over Israel. He began this assignment at the “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” This time of trouble was the Holocaust years of World War II. Since then, the archangel Michael has seen Israel through many wars, with impossible odds, and will continue to do so.
The prophet Amos reiterates God’s promise:
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God (Amos 9:14-15).
Jesus even speaks of Israel’s possession of Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel:
“Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).
Israel reclaimed Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. No longer will the gentiles hold control of this holy city because the time of the gentiles has been fulfilled. If the whole world declared war on Israel today, then the whole world would be defeated because Jesus has overcome the world! Praise God, Jesus is on the throne, and He reigns in all power and glory!
We all know the uprisings in the Middle East are heated in Libya, Egypt, and Syria—all are violent, and the outcome of these uprisings has yet to be seen. Egypt’s President, Mohamed Morsi, is proving to be more volatile than his dictator predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. Libya’s government has yet to be determined, and Syria is still experiencing civil war with casualties of over 80,000—and there appears to be no end in sight. And yet, there in the middle of all this ungodly mayhem is the tiny nation of Israel—the race of people whom God declares, “In these shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
It is difficult to be a blessing to others while having to fight for your very existence. However, rest assured, Middle East peace is coming. Israel will dwell securely. Recall the words of Israel’s Yuval Steinitz: “We want genuine peace and real security.” Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “The citizens of Israel want security and peace.” Listen to the desire of the Israeli people’s hearts as spoken by their leaders. God will grant them this desire because it is His will according to the Word of God by the prophets.
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely (Jeremiah 32:37).
And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid (Ezekiel 34:28).
And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates (Ezekiel 38:11).
According to Ezekiel chapter 38, this time of peace will be established before Russia and all her allies come down to attack Israel for her goods. Russia and her allies are established as the aggressors in Ezekiel 34:28. The time for this event is close; we see the allies of Russia that are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5-6 developing strong ties today. The forces for the attack have been assembled, and we are waiting on the prophesied peace.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee (Psalms 122:6).
As Christians, we have a part to play in bringing about the peace of Jerusalem according to this psalm. We must pray for Israel’s security—it is God’s will that we do so for His people. This peace will position the Jewish people to receive Jesus as they see the mighty hand of God moving on their behalf. Our assignment is to win souls—that is what the wise do according to Proverbs 11:30. (You are wise, right?) We can win souls by praying for Israel.
We also benefit by praying for Jerusalem; look again at the second half of Psalm 122:6: “they shall prosper that love thee.” You cannot pray for someone without the love of God rising in your heart for them, and it will cause you to prosper in many ways. I know we all want to prosper, and one way we will prosper is by accelerating the catching away of the Church with our prayers.
The Rapture? Yes! Once peace is established, Russia will see its opportunity to plunder Israel for her resources. They will say, “I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely.” At that time, God uses his wrath to protect Israel. When God uses His wrath, there are no survivors. However, the Body of Christ is huge in Russia, so the Father has to remove the Body of Christ from the earth before using His wrath. He has established this biblical precedence of always removing the righteous before using His wrath—for example, the removal of Noah in the ark before the flood and Lot being removed from Sodom before it was destroyed with fire.
So, the events currently taking place in the nations of the Middle East are giving us signs that Jesus is coming soon—really soon! Let’s take our place beside Jesus and pray for Israel so we may hasten that day. Let’s win souls and save others from the fires of hell, thus filling the heavenly streets in the New Jerusalem, for our time is short. Selah!
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