A Cup of Trembling...

It doesn''t take long for one to find a story about Israel in the daily news.They seem to be on the focus of the international scene even now exceeding thetopic of Iraq. You hear many words like ''Peace'', the ''road map'', or the ''PeaceProcess'' or the ''Peace plan''. You also hear of major players in the world beinga part of such plan. In April 2003, the Quartet (the US, UN, EU and RussianFederation) announced the ''road map'' a performance-based plan to bring about twostates, Israel and a democratic, viable Palestine, living side by side in peaceand security. Both Israel and the Palestinians have previously affirmed theircommitment to the roadmap, however traditionally only Israel has stepped up tothe plate and actually followed through with the promises, despite thePalestinian deception and continued lies.

The Annapolis conference on November 27th, 2007 promised a renewed spirit ofpeace. All parties came to the table led by the starry eyed Bush administrationall the while ignoring the true root of the conflict. {styleboxop}Like an evening at amasquerade ball everyone put on their best diplomatic mask and through unmovinglips spoke the words ''peace''.{/styleboxop}

Meanwhile, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PrimeMinister Ehud Olmert meet in Annapolis, the democratically-elected Hamasgovernment issued a concurrent statement calling Abbas "a traitor" andpledged to reject any decisions or agreements produced from the summit.

You see, there is a huge difference between a Government figure head signingor shaking on a ''peace'' agreement with another country, and the country theyrepresent actually accepting the deal. The people, the culture, the populacemust agree with the terms, or you will always find those who remain ''at war'' intheir hearts. The trouble with the Middle East is that the desired government bythe people is always one of Islamic Law. Unlike North America where people go togreat lengths to separate church from state, muslim countries will invariablyelect Islamic governments if given the opportunity. Case in point: Palestine.The first chance that the Palestinian people got to vote for a government thatrepresented the will of the Palestinian people, they elected the PalestinianIslamic militant organization and political party known as Hamas. The result wasfor the current administration to ignore the results of the election that theythemselves demanded.

After coming to power, Hamas announced it was giving up suicide attacks and "offered a 10-year truce [with Israel] in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories: the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem." Hamas also declared a unilateral ceasefire with Israel which, after Israeli air strikes in response to Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza, was formally renounced.

Following the Battle for Gaza in June 2007, when Hamas used force to take control of the Gaza Strip after Fatah refused to hand over control to the new government, elected Hamas officials were ousted from their positions in the Palestinian National Authority government in the West Bank and were replaced by rival Fatah members as well as independents. On June 18, 2007, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah) issued a decree outlawing the Hamas militia and executive force. ¹

It truly is a dizzying affair to track the political affairs of Palestine,but what the west needs to know is that Islam is both a religion and a politicalsystem. We would be wise to take note of this and we need to realize that thecountries involved cannot be handled as if there were separation between churchand state. Unlike the west where we may say we have ''faith'' in our governments;in Islamic countries, the faith of the people is the government.

So what is the cost for this apparent peace? Right now the answer seems to bean independent Palestinian State. Palestine wants its own homeland, and allparties of the Annapolis meeting are recommending that Israel regress itsborders back to those recognized in 1948 - previous to the 1967 conflict knownas the six-day war and grant this Palestinian state.

What is interesting to me is that in all of this the west repeatedly forgetsthe past, and always looks to the future. A quick few minutes of research andanyone can quickly see that time and time again whenever Israel has enteredpeace agreements, while they fulfill their conditions, the other parties do not.The 1993 Oslo accord is a prime example of this kind of ''peace''.

So why do these treaties not last? The terms seemed clear, and yet theyalways seem to come out one sided. I believe the key lies with the Arabic wordmany times used for peace - ''hudna''.

Hudna is both the ordinary Arabic word for a ''truce'' or ''cease-fire'' and aterm with Islamic religious implications. Where a peace accord or treaty isdeclared a hudna by some, one must take care to understand this term can gobeyond the face value meaning of the word.

Although the word hudna does not actually appear in the Koran, it was theterm used by early koranic commentators for an event described in the Koran''s48th sura, known to Muslims as Al-Fath., "The Victory." There, theKoran describes and event where, in 628, Mohammed marched from Medina with 1500believers to the city of Mecca. Apparently Muhammad had had a vision of going toMecca and venerating at the Kaba. The Arabs who controlled the city at the timewere apparently against the idea and they sent a numerically superioranti-Muslim army out against him. Rather than fight the two sides, meeting at aplace called Hudaibiyah, declared a hudna in which each made concessions.Although some of Mohammed''s closest followers, such as his general Umar Ibn al-Khatib, were opposed to this truce as they felt it was dishonorable; they had no choice but to accept the prophet''s decision. The prophet even declared the truce a "victory" as he claimed to have a revelation as found in Sura 48:1 of the Koran:

"We have given you a glorious victory so that God may forgive you your past and future sins"

Two years later Mohammed annulled the truce, marched again on Mecca with afar larger force and took the city.

From this the religious connotations of a ''hudna'' is clear: Although anIslamic group may agree to a truce with Israel for tactical reasons, when theright time comes, the war against the infidel will be renewed and fought untilfinal victory. In the footsteps of their prophet Mohammed, the breaking of a ''hudna''is an acceptable means to an end.

With the world seemingly pushing for peace in the Middle East, and onlyIsrael ''actually'' following through with the treaty one has got to ask thequestion. ''Is this at all possible?'' Can Israel ever dwell in peace among themany neighbors that seem to hate her so much and will do whatever means arenecessary to ensure her end. As Israel dwells among the very people who signtreaties and make promises in closed meetings, and then announce publiclyafterwards that they will not stop until Israel has been wiped from the face ofthe earth; can peace be had while Israel remains?

To the logical mind, it would certainly seem doubtful… and yet… the worldkeeps pushing Israel to give concessions for the sake of peace. Despite allodds, and against all common sense, we still talk of Peace in the Middle Eastand Israel remains at the epicenter of the talks.

Israel''s very existence as a country came about against all odds, so perhapswe hope this ''Roadmap to Peace" will as well.

History documents that prior to May 14, 1948 the country of Israel did notexist for just about 2000 years. In fact it was doubtful if such a homelandcountry with national borders could once again become present on the worldstage. On May 14, 1948, and against all odds, the United Nations recognized anddefined the Israel state in the middle of the Middle East. The State of Israelwas formed again, in the homeland of their heritage of ages past.

What should be of no surprise is what the bible says about this.

"Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he." - Jer 31:10-11

"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel , and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." - Isa 11:12

"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:" - Ezekiel 37:1-5

So here we see that on May 14, 1948 the nation of Israel was born again;against all odds and impossibilities because God said it would happen.

If that wasn''t amazing enough, Israel''s modern history gets a little moreinteresting.

Immediately following the declaration of Israel''s existence, Israel wasinvaded by armies from neighboring Arab states, which rejected the UnitedNations partition plan. This conflict, now dubbed ''Israel''s war ofIndependence'', was concluded by armistice agreements between Israel, Egypt,Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria in 1948 and resulted in a 50% increase in Israeliterritory from those that were given at their coronation. Israel, having justbeen formed, had not only successfully resisted the invading forces of wellestablished countries, but beat back these invaders and successfully acquiredmore land then they were originally given. The result: Nothing short ofmiraculous.

Another war in 1967 dubbed the ''Six Day War'' that occurred under the similarcircumstance of Israel''s neighbors invading, resulted in the same consequence.{styleboxop}Officially, no Arab country recognized the armistice lines of 1949 asinternational borders, and no Arab country recognized Israel{/styleboxop}, diplomatically.Israel, according to Arab rhetoric, had no right to exist, and was referred toas "The Zionist entity." Defeating and destroying Israel and"reversing the results of 1948" became central goals of Arab politicalrhetoric.

The ''6 day war'' conflict began on June 5th, 1967 with Egypt, Syria, Jordanwith some help from Iraq, invading the land of Israel.

These were the armies that were involved in the Conflict:

Total Arab Forces: About 250,000 troops (not counting 50,000 in Yemen) 530 aircraft, 1,500 tanks (some sources claim 2,800 tanks), broken down as follows:

• Egypt: 180,000 troops (of which 50,000 were deployed in Yemen - some of these were returned to Sinai), About 420 aircraft, of which 242 were MiG fighters, and the rest were apparently Ilyushin and Topolev bombers and Sukhoi fighter-bombers, 900 tanks, 800 artillery pieces ²
  
  
• Jordan: 56,000 troops, 24 Hawker-Hunter jet fighters, 294 tanks (including 30 Iraqi), 194 artillery pieces (including 34 Iraqi) Jordanian troops were reinforced with several Iraqi brigades. ³
  
  
• Syria: 70,000 troops, 92 fighter aircraft and two bombers, 300 tanks, 265 artillery pieces and heavy mortars. ⁴

Total Israeli Forces: 250,000 troops (200,000 reservists), 192 combat aircraft, 40 trainers, 1100 tanks, 400 guns and heavy mortars⁵

By June 10, 1967, Israel completed its final offensive in the Golan Heightsand a ceasefire was signed the day after. Israel had seized the Gaza Strip, theSinai Peninsula, the West Bank of the Jordan River (including East Jerusalem),and the Golan Heights. Overall, Israel''s territory grew by a factor of 3,including about one million Arabs placed under Israel''s direct control in thenewly captured territories. Israeli fatalities in the war were officially givenas 679 dead and 2,563 wounded. Arab casualties were given as 21,000 dead and45,000 wounded. Israel destroyed between 452 and 469 aircraft in all and lost36. Israel captured myriads of tanks, weapons and vehicles from the invadingforces. The aftermath of the ''6 day war'' saw the nation of Israel still standingstrong, and they had acquired even more land which now included the city ofJerusalem, which is of serious historical significance to the Jewish people.

When we look at the outcome of the War of Independence and the Six Day Warfrom the eyes of Israel, it is hard to come up with any other descriptor but''miraculous''.

According to the bible, we would be very accurate in that description.

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." -- Zechariah 12:3

"I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." - Joel 3:2

Another verse of some serious significance is to listen to the promise Godgave to Abraham.

"I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." - Gen 12:3

With a promise like that, should we then be surprised when we see God''spromise of cursing those who curse Israel come to pass in History, past, presentand future?

So now what now of the Peace process? Against all odds, does such a thing aspeace with Israel and her neighbors stand a chance?

Well, the bible tells us that there indeed will be a time in Israel''s futurewhere they will be at peace with their neighbors.  But there is a difficultroad again, that includes even yet, some more broken promises.

One such prophecy is found in Ezekiel 38 which documents an event which manyend times commentators dub as the Gog/Magog War.  Ezekiel speaks ofthis war in Israel''s future where the Arab States and possibly Russia willinvade the land of Israel to take spoil.  In this prophecy we are also toldthat God himself will stand up and defend Israel.  Like the miraculousvictories in the past, Israel will once again prevail against all odds.

Eze 38:18 "And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "that My fury will show in My face.
Eze 38:19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ''Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel,
Eze 38:20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.''
Eze 38:21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man''s sword will be against his brother.
Eze 38:22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Eze 38:23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD." ''

At the beginning of the prophecy we are told the reason for the invasion ofIsrael: spoil.

"And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of un-walled 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, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land." -- Eze 38:11-12

Notice how Israel will be the land of un-walled villages? That they aredwelling safely?

Right now Israel has a security fence and they certainly do not dwell safelyamidst their neighbors, but one day soon the "Roadmap to Peace" willtake down those walls. In fact the bible is very clear that peace in Israel willbe a defining moment of prophetic significance.

According to bible prophecy there is another time where Israel is at theepicenter of a treaty. The bible says that one day a man we refer to as''Anti-Christ'' will arise out of the ashes of the revived Roman Empire. Daniel tells us:

"..and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. -- Dan 9:26-27"

The people that destroyed the Jewish temple and the city was the RomanEmpire. The Prince that shall come out of that people, will confirm a covenantwith many (many here is referring to Israel) for one week.

It is important here to note the words, confirm a covenant. Thisrefers to a treaty of some kind. I personally believe it is a treaty that allowsIsrael access on the temple mount to worship in a traditional tabernacle ortemple.

The one week mentioned in these same Daniel passages is representative as 7years, and more specifically as the last week, the 70th week of Daniel''sprophecy involving Israel (see Daniel 9:24-27). This last week of the 70 weeksof years, is commonly referred to as the ''Tribulation''; the events of which arewell documented and detailed in the pages of book of Revelation.

Within this last week many terrible things will befall the world. God''s wrathwill be poured out on the unbelieving world, all according to his promises. Ofsignificance to us and our discussion is that the scriptures tell us that {styleboxop}in themiddle of the week, the Antichrist (Prince that will come) will break thecovenant with Israel.{/styleboxop} At this point there will be a terrible persecution againstIsrael and Christians that are alive at the time. We also can than read how atthe end of that Tribulation week, Christ will return at the battle of Armageddonand defeat the armies of the world, the Antichrist and all those that opposeIsrael, Christ and God. (Zech 14:2-4, Rev 19:19-21)

At the end of all this, we are assured that Israel will once again be atpeace within her borders during the 1000 year reign of Christ.  We can alsosee that Israel is restored to her rightful place of being God''s chosen peoplein complete fulfillment of the promises of God given to Abraham, Isaac andJacob.

For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: -- Heb 8:10

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: ''Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities; The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also." Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.'' "Thus says the LORD of hosts: ''In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." - Zech 8:19-23

And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel… And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid." - Eze 34:13-14,28

So where does that leave us in the here and now?

Well, we can know from the scriptures that God has promised restoration ofIsrael.  We can know that He promises them protection and blessings andlikewise, we can also know what awaits the world as we approach the end ofdays.  For those who have been reading along with me here, we should beable to recognize an event that will become the catalyst for the beginnings ofall these last day events.  Like a starting gun poised, we look towardIsrael and await one thing to set us off on one last final race…

''Peace''

Are you ready?

-- J.R. Hall

Footnotes:
1. Wikipedia: Hamas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas
2. "Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict",1881-1999, (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), pp 312,318;
3. ibid., pp 312.
4. ibid., pp 313.
5. ibid., pp 311.

Tags: God | israel | palestinian | peace