Before expounding upon that latter statement, though, I feel that I should provide some explanation for why I will say what I am about to say herein. For, I'm quite certain that not everyone who reads this blog is very familiar with the Bible, its teachings and prophecies.
Those who are sincerely anticipating and looking for the return of Jesus Christ ~ and who also, then, have an abiding interest to understand Bible prophecy, are wont to interpret current events in the light of Scripture. Which practice is predicated upon two uncommonly held beliefs, namely, that: 1) Bible prophecy, though admittedly enigmatic, is not an altogether impenetrable mystery; and, 2) the ability to understand current events in the light of Bible prophecy, is akin to being able to discern a succession of waymarks with the help of a roadmap, which waymarks, as those are identified in Scripture, are intended as meaningful indicators of the approaching time of Christ's return. Both of which ideas are Biblically sound.
Yet there is further application of the correct interpretation of Bible prophecy, beyond merely understanding current events as they are unfolding or are about to unfold. Which is that those who rightly understand Bible prophecy may thus be able, in some measure at least, to forecast the future outcome of current events.
Such ideas and beliefs may seem elementary, to some ~ believing Christians, that is. But to everyone else ~ including, remarkably, the majority of professing Christians, such ideas and beliefs are considered ludicrous. Bible-believing Christians are truly a "peculiar people."
All of which lies behind my assertion, above, that current peace efforts involving the Middle East in general, and the Jews and Palestinians in particular, those peace efforts ~ instead of establishing peace, are actually going to produce an "Aftermath," of Biblical proportion. Of course, that does not mean that no one should desire and strive for peace in the Middle East. Only, that the Bible has much to say about the situation that is right now occurring, as well as concerning other events that shall follow after, with respect to current peace efforts involving Israel. Although the Aftermath (which I capitalized to emphasize the significance of that) shall not be caused by those seeking peace; yet, those peace-making efforts are going to have some unintended (though, perhaps, not altogether unexpected) effects; which the following, brief analysis shows.
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Peace for Israel. The conjunction of those terms is eminently meaningful. The fact of Israel's very existence in modern times, is the result of God's work in fulfillment of His express promises. Yet, modern Israel is mostly God-less. Tel Aviv, for instance, is listed as the #1 gay-friendly city in the world, by WOW Travel (here). How shall Israel have peace without God? What Israel will receive to herself as a nation, instead, is a false messiah, and false peace ~ and judgment.
The current peace efforts are substantially different from what has been tried before: in that the United States is now working together with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states (all of which are Sunni majority states), led by Saudi Arabia, to pressure the Palestinian leadership to negotiate a peace deal with Israel. But how do the Shiite-majority states (and their allies) perceive that kind of cooperation between the U.S. and the GCC? As a serious threat, to be sure. Which, President Trump's recently announced, massive armament/protection agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia ~ amounting to nearly a Trillion dollars, indicates the magnitude of that threat.
Meanwhile, the Iranians and the Russians, principally, and also Turkey, are continuing to entrench their forces and to expand their capabilities in (former) Syria ~ the area from whence, the Bible says, there shall come a stupendous (though unsuccessful) invasion of Israel, at a time just prior to the appearing of the Antichrist.
In addition to the deep and longstanding conflict between the two main divisions of Islam (Sunni, and Shiite) ~ involving non-Muslim superpowers aligned in opposition to each other, according to their respective alliances with various Muslim states; and, furthermore, in addition to pervasive antisemitism and anti-Zionism, worldwide; not least important, there is the immensely significant factor related to Israel's very recent discoveries of world-class deposits of natural gas and crude oil. All of which, according to Scripture, shall soon make Israel a target too tempting to resist, in the eyes of (Shiite) Iran and her powerful allies (i.e., Russia, et al).
But how might a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians serve to light the fuse on that powder-keg, so to speak?
Two years ago, an important article appeared online, in The Times of Israel (source, here), in which it was revealed that: "After years of alignment with Shiite Iran and its Arab allies, the Palestinian Hamas group is bidding for Sunni patronage from Saudi Arabia in a dramatic shift to its geostrategic orientation." A move which "deeply offended" Tehran [Iran], according to The Times of Israel article. (Hamas is the group that took over Gaza following the evacuation of all Jews from that region, during the tenure of Israel's former prime minister Sharon.) An Israel-Palestinian peace deal ~ backed by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia (and the GCC), would doubtless provoke extreme consternation in Iran.
The struggle for: a) supremacy over a long-hoped for Islamic Caliphate; and, b) control of Middle Eastern energy resources; and, c) geopolitical hegemony in the Middle East: is rapidly coming to a head. And whereas it may appear that current efforts related to peace between Israel and the Palestinians is a hopeful enterprise; yet, only in the light of Scripture (which reveals true knowledge about future realities) is it possible to see beyond that goal and, moreover, to anticipate what must then, soon, follow.
I do not say that the peace efforts involving Israel and the Palestinians will actually succeed. In fact, there seems to be some suggestion in Scripture to the contrary. What I do mean is that those efforts ~ in their present, complex context, are far more likely to provoke war rather than peace (even if, perhaps, there may first be a very brief interlude of pseudo-peace between the Israelis and Palestinians themselves).
There are two schools of thought: both of which share in common the main theme involving "Ezekiel's War" (the Iranian/Russian/Turkish invasion of Israel), but differing with respect to the question of whether that War shall be preceded by another, more limited conflict which some have called, "the Psalm 83 War." In either case, the convergence of so many prophesied events, definitely points to the fact that we are rapidly approaching the end of this present Age. Notwithstanding that many have for years tried to bring peace to the Middle East; still, there are aspects of the current situation that are not only unique, compared with former peace efforts, but which aspects also seem more likely to precipitate a chain-reaction of other prophesied events, as just discussed.
These are indeed momentous times. Above all else, it is not the time to be undecided about how you will respond to Jesus Christ. For, the single most important thing to which all the prophecies of Scripture point, is the return of Christ ~ in this generation. Have you made peace with God, by confessing and repenting of your sins, and humbling yourself to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior?
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