How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About?
FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF: BOB THIEL
How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About?
Will we have peace in the Middle East?
Certainly.
How will it be brought about?
Many have ideas. And many ideas have been tried. Will Jesus’ mother Mary or Pope Francis bring real peace? Will supporting or fighting Islamists bring peace?
What does the Bible teach?
U.S. Presidents Nixon and Carter
U.S. President Richard Nixon hoped to bring in a generation of peace:
PEACE — “a generation of peace” — as President Nixon’s theme on his election-year barnstorming tour of the United States in the fall of 1970.
“We have not had a generation of peace in this century,” said Mr. Nixon, “but we shall have a generation of peace.”
How long is a generation? Webster’s — dictionary says “usually 33 years”– three to a century. What are our actual chances for thirty-three years of world peace? (Dorothy C. Will we Ever have “Our Generation of Peace”? Plain Truth, February 1971)
This still has not happened.
After US President Carter encouraged talks between Egypt and Israel, some agreement happened. The resulting Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978. They both got the Nobel Peace prize for that, but that did not bring peace to the Middle East, only a reduction of hostilities between Egypt and Israel. And one that seems to have been maintained by the USA sending billions of dollars to Egypt to keep its part of the accord, as well as billions sent to Israel by the USA.
Pope’s Vigil to Mary
Late last Summer, when the USA indicated it would bomb Syria because of its alleged use of chemical weapons (see US Senate committee approves military action against Syria), Pope Francis held a vigil to fast and pray to Mary for peace (see Pope Francis’ ‘solution’ to Syrian crisis will not work and Francis prays and fasts to ‘Mary’). The U.S.A. ended up not bombing Syria at that time.
So, did that bring peace?
No. Instead, because the U.S.A. had indicated to its anti-Assad regime allies it would intervene, and then failed to do so, many of the Sunni rebels became even more disillusioned with the U.S.A. This helped set the seeds for the dramatic rise of the group now calling itself the Islamic State. That group has killed and terrorized many in Iraq and Syria. It has greatly concerned the West, including those in the U.K. and U.S.A.
The Islamic State believes that it knows the way of peace–its way is to kill all it can who will not agree to support it. But the crooked ways of the Islamic State will not bring real peace (Isaiah 59:8).
Bombing the Islamic State?
So, is the solution then more bombing of forces part of the Islamic State? While some in the U.S.A. think that will solve the problem, many others, including its President Obama, do not believe it will solve the problem. Bombing the Islamic State will affect it, but will not bring peace.
U.S. President Obama has stated that the U.S.A. cannot bring peace to Iraq. While that is true, it is also true that the U.S.A. intervened in Iraq under its President George W. Bush.
Is the solution bombing terrorist groups like the Islamic State out of existence? No.
In the past, the U.S.A. bombed and invaded Iraq, captured and then killed its dictator Saddam Hussein. Yet, that did not truly bring peace to Iraq.
Destroying the Islamic State leadership will not result in real peace as well.
Is the solution flying surveillance over Syria? No.
Is the solution the newest humanly proposed Iraqi government? No.
There are also problems in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East that violence will not resolve.
A Peace Will Come
Will we have any peace in the Middle East before Jesus returns?
Yes, but it may take a lot more war and conflict first. The Bible shows that a temporary deal will bring a type of peace to the Middle East per Daniel 9:27:
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)
Notice that this deal will, however, be broken 3 ½ years after the prince, who becomes the King of the North by Daniel 11:31, breaks it. Because of passages in Daniel 8:25 and 11:22-23, it is believed that this is a type of peace deal. The Bible prophesies about various false proclamations of peace (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 5:3; Ezekiel 13:9-16).
Is the solution to conflict in the Middle East some type of cease-fire agreement that those of Israel and Hamas have sometimes agreed to? No. While not fighting is a good first step, the reality is that those two sides have differing objectives for the territory that both sides believe will cause future conflict. A cease-fire is mainly a rest between warring campaigns–not real peace.
However, since many of the ‘cease-fires’ have had times associated with them, they could set a precedent that may lead to the temporary deal in Daniel 9:27 (see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27).
Confederation of Arabic and Turkish Peoples
Many within Islam believe a type of confederation or caliphate will solve the problems. They believe that this is consistent with Islamic writings and prophecies, as well as history.
Even some in the West seem to be leaning slightly that way.
French President Hollande is one who is proposing something like that:
France said on Wednesday it wanted the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and regional countries, including Arab states and Iran, to coordinate action against the militant group Islamic State, the insurgents who control parts of Iraq and Syria.
“In our minds and we hope that it will be possible … we want not only all the regional countries, including Arab states and Iran, but the five members of the Security Council, also to join this action,” Foreign Minister Faurent Fabius told lawmakers.
Earlier Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande called for an international conference to discuss IS. (Voice of America, August 20, 2104)
http://www.voanews.com/content/france-seeks-global-meeting-on-islamic-state-group/2421926.html
Some type of cooperation between Europe (King of the North) and the Arabs (King of the South) will take place (cf. Daniel 9:27; Psalm 83:3-8) and President Hollande has been calling for some cooperation.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has proposed regional cooperation as the solution:
Libya is in civil war, fundamentalist armies are building a self-declared caliphate across Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan’s young democracy is on the verge of paralysis…The concept of order that has underpinned the modern era is in crisis…
The contemporary quest for world order will require a coherent strategy to establish a concept of order within the various regions and to relate these regional orders to one another. (Wall Street Journal ) http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-assembly-of-a-new-world-order-1409328075
While cooperation can be a good thing, the Bible teaches that the type of cooperation he is advocating will result in disaster (Daniel 11:40-43).
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, seems to be endorsing the rise of an Arabic and Turkish confederation:
ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT – U.S. air strikes on Islamic militants in Iraq have blunted their momentum, but defeating them will require a broad regional approach that draws support from Iraq’s neighbors and includes political and diplomatic efforts, the top U.S. military officer said.
The long term strategy for defeating the militants includes having the United States and its allies reach out to Iraq’s neighbors, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday.
“This is not just about us,” Dempsey said.
Such a coalition could “squeeze ISIS from multiple directions in order to initially disrupt it and eventually defeat it,” he said. (USA Today, August 25, 2014) http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/25/iraq-needs-neighbors-to-help-defeat-isis-militants/14557355/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
Such a coalition could lead to the fulfilment of certain biblical prophecies (e.g. Ezekiel 30:2-8).
Here is something related to US President Barack Obama:
“Our goal is to act with urgency but also make sure that we’re doing it right, that we have the right targets, that there’s support on the ground … that we have a strong political coalition,” Obama said at a news conference…
One major piece of the strategy for weakening the threat from Islamic State, Obama and aides said, will be the support and participation of the neighbors of Syria and Iraq.
“It is absolutely critical that we have Arab states, and specifically Sunni-majority states, that are rejecting the kind of extremist nihilism that we’re seeing out of ISIL, that say, ‘That is not what Islam is about,’ and are prepared to join us actively in the fight,” Obama said, using one of the acronyms for Islamic State. (Los Angeles Times, September 5, 2014) http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-obama-islamic-state-20140905-story.html
I have been warning for some time that because of ISIS (now called the Islamic State), that the West would likely encourage the formation of the confederation that the Bible refers to as the final King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43). The King of the South is basically an Arabic and Turkish confederation consisting of predominantly Sunni-Muslim states.
It seems that many are promoting this. The Bible shows that this confederation will end in disaster (Daniel 11:40-44; Ezekiel 30:2-8).
Notice a couple of verses that tell that:
7 “They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed. (Ezekiel 30:7-8)
An Islamic confederation or caliphate will not bring peace.
Does Roman Catholicism Have the Answer?
What about Catholicism?
Pope Francis in 2013 and 2014 advocated turning to Mary for peace.
Pope Francis made an appeal for peace…
“The news coming from Iraq leaves us in disbelief and dismay:…,” he said. “All this greatly offends God and greatly offends humanity. You cannot bring hatred in the name of God. You cannot make war in the name of God!”…
Pope Francis concluded his appeal by inviting all present to pray for peace. “Let us pray to the God of peace, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary: Give peace, Lord, to our days and make us builders of justice and peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us,” he said. (Esteves JA. Pope Francis: You Cannot Make War in the Name of God! Zenit, August 10, 2014. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-you-cannot-make-war-in-the-name-of-god)
No verse in the Bible says to pray to, turn to, or call upon, the name of Mary, or have her cause world peace. No verse in the Bible calls Mary the Queen of Peace.
The Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB), a Roman Catholic Bible, in both the Old and New Testament teaches to turn to God:
13 And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. (Joel 2:13, DRB)
20 I preach, that they should…turn to God (Acts 26:20, DRB)
It also connects Jesus and His message with peace:
6 For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:13-15, DRB)
The Bible never says to turn to Mary for peace. Six times, the DRB (Challoner version), uses the expression “God of peace” (Romans 15:33; 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:20))–there are no similar statements related to Mary.
But is not just Pope Francis that believes that ‘Mary’ is the way of peace. People I have termed as ‘Fatimists’ (those who erroneously believe that the apparition that appeared in Fatima, Portugal before 3 young children in 1917 was Jesus’ mother Mary and had an important message) believe ‘Mary’ will bring peace if the Pope takes certain actions. Fatimists observe May 13th of each year to honor this demonic apparition (and yes, the apparition was demonic—some details are in the article What Appeared in Fatima? in the Apri-June 2014 edition of this magazine).
Notice something that came out in 2013 after Pope Francis prayed to Mary for peace in Syria:
Father Gruner noted that the Pope has just completed a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for the intention of avoiding war in Syria. “Pope Francis’ Friday message regarding the threat of war invoked the very theme of our conference. As the Pope said: ‘Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our Mother: may She help us to find peace; all of us are Her children!’”
“Indeed, Mary is our Mother — the Mother of the Redeemer — and thus the Mother of all humanity,” said Father Gruner. “And She can indeed help us find peace. The Catholic Church calls Her the very Queen of Peace, and She gave the whole world a peace plan at Fatima. That is what the Message of Fatima is all about.”
The Message of Fatima is contained in a series of Church-approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Two of the children, Francisco and Jacinta, were beatified — declared blessed, the final step before canonization — by Pope John Paul II. The last surviving Fatima visionary, Sister Lucia, died in 2005. In the Message, the Virgin promises a period of world peace if and when Russia is specifically consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart, which ceremony would, the Virgin said, bring about the religious conversion of Russia and with it a time of peace for all humanity.
“God has chosen Russia as the object of this consecration because Russia is where so much of the suffering of the 20th century began, following the Bolshevik Revolution,” Father Gruner noted. “Furthermore, Our Lady warns that if Her request for the Consecration is not heeded, the world will face even worse chastisements than the two world wars, including what She warned would be the ‘annihilation’ of ‘various nations.’”
“In fact,” said Father Gruner, “Pope Francis has had his entire pontificate consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima by the bishops of Portugal. This shows how seriously the Pope takes the Fatima message, as did his two predecessors, who both made pilgrimages to Fatima.”
A brochure that Fatimist Priest Gruner put out in 2013 states:
And Our Lady has told us that if the consecration is delayed, we risk “the annihilation of nations” and great suffering for the Pope and persecutions of the Faithful. She has also told us “Only I can help you.” WE HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN! OUR LADY IS OUR ONLY HOPE AND HELP!
While the above is blasphemous and many will think that this is only the view of certain Fatima extremists, let me state the Pope Francis continually brings up his version of ‘Mary’ and tells people to pray to her to intervene for peace. He even had his pontificate consecrated to the ‘Lady of Fatima’ on May 13, 2013. On October 13, 2013 (another day that Fatimists observe), Pope Francis also consecrated the world to the ‘immaculate heart of Mary’ in front of the Fatima statue that had been flow into Vatican City from Portugal for that purpose.
No verse in the Bible says to pray to, turn to, or call upon, the name of Mary. Notice also that the only two times the DRB (a Roman Catholic Bible) uses the term intercession it is referring to Jesus, not Mary:
34 Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died, yea that is risen also again; who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34, DRB)
25 Whereby he is able also to save for ever them that come to God by him; always living to make intercession for us. (Hebrews 7:25, DRB)
Mary is not the intercessor of the Bible, nor was she considered to be by the early Christian church (see also Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions). Considering that Mary provides intercession is not biblically-proper and has other negative consequences.
We are not to call on, or turn to, Mary, but on the Lord God Jesus:
22 But flee thou youthful desires, and pursue justice, faith, charity, and peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22, DRB)
Notice who is the Lord of peace according to the Apostle Paul:
16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand; which is the sign in every epistle. So I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (2 Thessalonians 3:16-18)
Mary is NOT the way to peace.
Despite what the Bible teaches about the end times (Matthew 24:4-30), in late 2014 Pope Francis taught that peace is what is prophesied for the end times, and he does NOT mean the millennial peace. (His church officially teaches that any version of the millennium is a doctrine of Antichrist; see Catechism of the Catholic Church. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, p. 194).
Pope Francis believes that his ecumenical agenda will lead to peace in the world and the Middle East, yet the Bible warns that the world ecumenical religious cooperation leads to disaster (per Revelation 13, 17, & 18).
The Bible teaches that some will proclaim peace, just prior to destruction, and true Christians should realize this:
3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:3-4)
Disaster and destruction will come to the Middle East before Jesus returns (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:2-8).
Israel and the Jews?
If the secular and Roman Catholic approaches discussed here will not work, do any of the Jews have any ideas?
Well, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu believes that bombing places like Iran, and sometimes other lands like Gaza, is necessary for peace. While those type of actions can affect the world for a time, they also tend to drive many to become more radical in their determination to eliminate the State of Israel.
What about religious Jews? Well the Temple Institute has its own proposed solution:
ARE YOU READY?
Are you ready for the peace we all long for in the Middle East?
The Third Temple in Jerusalem will be the House of Prayer for all nations. Every prophet of Israel, without exception, prophesied that the Temple would be rebuilt, ushering a new era of universal harmony and peace. The “movement” to rebuild the Holy Temple was born almost 2,000 years ago, at the moment of the Second Temple’s Destruction.
After millennia of yearning, only one organization is paving the way for the rebuilding of the Temple. The Temple Institute, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is a research organization dedicated to the preparing for the construction of the Third Temple, including the recreation of 60 sacred Temple vessels ready for use once the Temple is rebuilt. These include the High Priest’s breastplate featuring the twelve precious stones of the tribes of Israel, the half-ton golden menorah, and the musical instrument of the Levitical choir.
Now is time for one of its most ambitious projects yet: completing architectural plans for the actual construction, fusing ancient texts and modern technology. While strictly adhering to the religious requirements set forth in Biblical texts, the Third Temple will also be equipped with every modern amenity: full computerization, underground parking, temperature control, elevators, docks for public transportation, wheelchair access, and much more.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO WAIT AND PRAY FOR THE THIRD TEMPLE. IT IS A BIBLICAL OBLIGATION TO BUILD IT. https://www.templeinstitute.org/events.htm viewed 08/26/14
The ‘third temple’ that the Bible tells of does not get built until after Jesus returns. This does not mean that the Jews cannot possibly build another one prior to that, but it will NOT lead to peace in the Middle East.
When Will True Peace Come?
Notice the following from the late David Jon Hill:
There will be no peace until King Christ personally rules all earth in His Kingdom soon to come.
Peace is ever elusive. Men speak peace and make war. Peace treaties are for the purpose of giving men time to gather strength for the next war — and are of themselves all too often the very cause of the next war! We forget the prophet’s stern warning to beware of those who say, “Peace, peace!” when there is no peace (Jer. 6:14; 8:11).
We forget the repeated maxim: “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isa. 57:21). We forget that Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34).
We forget that one of the main signs that heralds the returning Christ is “wars and rumors of wars” (Matt. 24:6) — which sign, if we look around today’s world, we see fulfilled to its greatest extent in history! We forget the blood drenched prophecies of the book of Revelation which culminate in that horrible word “Armageddon” — all of which must come to pass before the Prince brings peace to earth! Why do we have wars? The answer is given very plainly by James: “Isn’t it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you? You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:1-3, The Living Bible).
As long as there is even one group of men left on earth who covets what some other group has, we will continue to have wars. When one person within a society exercises this lustful desire, it is called a crime; when one society exercises that desire against another society, it is called a “just war”! Just war — that’s all! …
It is not a peaceful world — and it will get increasingly less so with each passing year. But you can achieve peace as an individual, even in the midst of a war-torn world. Christ’s peace is available now to all who seek it — and will be available to all mankind when He comes to establish His Kingdom, after the many wars yet to come.
Please make your individual choice of peace on earth! Why not? (Hill DJ. WHY NOT? WHY NOT PEACE ON EARTH? Plain Truth, December 1978)
Individuals can make decisions now.
Society will be fixed later, irrespective of what political leaders now decide.
Notice something the Bible teaches that is to happen after Jesus returns:
3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)
Keeping God’s laws properly does lead to peace.
The Bible teaches:
8 The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. (Isaiah 59:8)
Notice that unless people will change there ways, they will not know peace or the way of peace.
Interim steps by governments and leaders will have various affects, but they will not prevent the coming of the Great Tribulation and the destruction of nations such as the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (see Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?).
John the Baptist was prophesied to be involved with peace:
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:79)
John the Baptist taught that soldiers should do violence to no one (Luke 3:14, KJV) and people should turn to Jesus (John 1:29-34).
Most people do not really want to do both.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:15-18)
Short of worldwide repentance, the ONLY WAY to bring peace to the Middle East and the rest of the world is the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
The world will get so bad, that despite proclamations of peace (), humanity will get close to the point of total annihilation:
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:21-22)
But those days will be shortened. The time of no more war will also come:
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4)
But humans, apart from submitting entirely to God will not bring peace about, even though they will apparently bring about a temporary multi-year peace in the Middle East–that too will be broken (Daniel 9:27, 11:31).
Humans, apart from God, do not know the way of peace. IT WILL TAKE THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST TO BRING REAL PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.