In the last years of
Obama’s presidency we have seen his true colors emerge towards Israel.
In 2015 the Obama administration
and Secretary of State, John Kerry, brokered a controversial deal that called
for limits on Iran's nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions
that have crippled Iran’s economy. In response to these negotiations with Iran,
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu denounced it by calling it a
“historic mistake for the world,” adding that, “Iran is not just developing
ICBMs for Israel. They can reach us with what they have. They are also looking
to reach the U.S.”[1]
With this deal, the U.S. has helped a state, well-known for their ties to
global terrorism and radical Islam, come that much closer to their stated goal
of “wiping Israel off the face of the Earth.”
Then on December 23, 2016
the U.N. spat in the face of Israel again. USA
TODAY reported, “In an unprecedented diplomatic rebuke of Israel, the
United States abstained on a United Nations Security Council resolution
demanding an end to Israeli settlements, allowing the highly charged measure to
pass.”[2]
Netanyahu fired back denouncing the U.N. resolution and vowing that “Israel
would not turn the other cheek.”[3]
This is a complex issue that has a long history. In order to fully understand
it we must go back to June 1967 and the so-called “Six Day War.”
In this conflict tiny
Israel stood up to Egypt, Syria, Jordan Iraq and Lebanon who coalesced to
destroy the Jewish State. In a stunning victory, Israel won big and seized control
of the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East
Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Over the years, some
of these captured territories were given back by Israel in exchange for peace
and recognition of their national sovereignty. But, that has never been enough
for Israel’s neighbors, who hate her with passion. As Golda Meir (former Prime
Minister of Israel) once said, “If the Arabs put down their weapons today there
would be peace in the Middle East tomorrow, but if Israel put down her weapons
today, there would be no Israel tomorrow.” The nations around Israel want
nothing less than her total eradication.
Israel still controls
property in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and has built some 600,000
settlements there, which the Muslims cannot abide since this throws a monkey
wrench in their plans to see a Palestinian State. The U.N. resolution, and the
Obama administration’s abstention from vetoing the anti-Israel policy, essentially
endorsed the Palestinian position by calling for the pre-1967 lines to serve as
the reference point for a final border. In other words, the U.N. expects Israel
to give back the land they won to the Palestinians who want them dead.
Dr. David Reagan of Lamb
and Lion Ministries summed up the situation well, “The President's decision was
shameful, reckless, spiteful, and dangerous. It was shameful because it
represented a betrayal of our nation's best friend and ally. It was reckless
because it serves to encourage Palestinian intransigence and terrorism. It is
spiteful because it treats the only democracy in the Middle East as if it were
a third-rate banana republic.”[4]
The Christians in this
nation should tremble in fear and be outraged over these recent events. Why?
Because we are clearly told by God in the Abrahamic covenant, “I will bless
those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you” (Gen. 12:3). When
U.S. foreign policy persecutes Israel we are setting ourselves us for God’s
judgment.
In the neglected book of
Joel, the prophet looks forward to end-times and the climactic battle of
history—Armageddon. When the Lord Jesus returns back to planet earth He is
going to destroy the evil nations who have allied themselves against Him and terrorized
the Jewish people. Joel states many of God’s indictments against the gentile
nations:
“I will also gather all nations,
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into
judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they
have scattered among the nations; They
have also divided up My land” (Joel 3:2).
Take note of that last
part. Jesus is going to bring the hammer down on the nations who have carved up
His land which He deeded to Abraham and his descendants long ago (Gen. 15:18),
which is exactly what the U.N. and other nations are trying to do right now.
Unknowingly, the
President's decision to persecute Israel is a significant step toward the
fulfillment of end-times prophecy — namely, that all the nations of the world
will come together against Israel over the issue of Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2-3
states:
“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that
causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against
Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all
the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”
Unless Trump can change
America’s treatment of Israel to blessing and not cursing, this does not bode
well for our future. Moreover, this recent decision by Obama and the U.N. is a
strong indicator of how the world stage is being set for the final act of God’s
divine drama to begin. And that, in turn, means the Rapture could occur any
moment. Are you ready? -DM
[1] ISABEL KERSHNER, “Iran Deal Denounced by Netanyahu as
‘Historic Mistake,” The New York Times, 14
July 2015
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-deal-israel.html>
[2]
Doug Stanglin, “U.S. Abstains on U.N. Vote Condemning Israeli Settlements,” USA TODAY, 23 December 2016
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/23/un-set-vote-israeli-settlement-despite-trump-intervention/95796716/>
[3]
Barak Ravid, “Netanyahu on UN Settlement Vote: Israel Will Not Turn the Other
Cheek,” Haaretz, 26 December 2016
<http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.761470>
[4]
David Reagan, “Will Obama's Latest U.N. Antic Against Israel Be Disastrous?” Lamb and Lion Ministries, 4 January 2017
<http://www.lamblion.com/enewsletter2/v3_enewsletter_template_170104.html>
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