They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. `Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. Jeremiah 6 v14

Peace in the Middle East ?

It is probably unwise to attempt to speculate how God will put everything right when the Messiah comes (returns).    All we can do is study the scriptures, watch and pray.   (See Jeremiah 12 v14-17 for one possibility)   There will clearly not be a political compromise and sharing of position with another god    ( " I will not yield my glory to another"   Isaiah 48 v11). ( See footnote) So, what about the Arabs living in Israel?    God always wanted his people to care for the alien and stranger who came to live with them.     His love for the Arab people is very great, and he is working in many hearts right now.   We are already witnessing the healing and reconciling power of Jesus in fellowships where Jewish and Arab believers worship together and overcome the barriers of hatred and mistrust.    Only the power of the Holy Spirit can accomplish this.   Consider also the prophecy of Isaiah 19 (see below).  Let us pray that many more will receive revelations of Jesus ( Issa ) and be delivered from Islam.   Ultimately those intent only on destroying God's people, Israel, will come to fight against Jerusalem and will be spectacularly defeated.   ( See End Times Prophecies )

The land that Israel is considering trading for peace ( "land for Peace") has great practical, as well as strategic, significance to the land.   The Golan Heights are the main source of fresh water for Galilee and thence for the rest of the land.   Before Israel regained the Golan, Syria had been building water courses to divert water away from Israel and cripple the country.  Presumably this work would resume if Syria was given the Golan in exchange for promises of peace.

Middle East Peace ?

Israelis long for Peace and the ability to live like other nations.  Indeed many seek fulfillment in the same things as those in other nations.  Many young people are into discos, drugs, sex, alcohol and New Age living like in other nations.  But Israel is not just any nation!

  God is still fulfilling his purposes and promises through Israel.  Their sufferings are a result of their unwillingness to recognize this.  The politician's peace is not the same as the Shalom of God!

"They have also healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying, 

'Peace, Peace, when there is no peace.'   - - -    (Jeremiah 6 v14)

"We have made a covenant with death and with Sheol we are in agreement.  We have made lies our refuge and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves."  - - -   (Isaiah 28 v14-15)

"I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mortal men,

the sons of men who are but grass,
that you forget YHVH your maker,

who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth,

that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor?

Isaiah 51 v12 and 13

Does the idea of the Palestinian as the oppressor sound far fetched to you?   The Israelis do live in fear of terrorist attack, and if Yasser Arafat or his successors could have provoked all out war, by sacrificing some of his people on TV,  Israel would face the Arab/Muslim world without any certainty of support from a friendly nation.

Are we Taking sides with Jews against Arabs ?

Are all Jews wonderful and all Arabs terrorists ?

 

No.  Of course not.  The problem is with the people who oppose the will of God.  He chose the land of Israel as the homeland of his chosen people and is still working out his purposes to bless the world through Jerusalem and Israel, his nation of priests.    God has a special care for the children of Ishmael (but it just does not include them taking over Israel)   See Isaiah 19 v23,  In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.   In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.   The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria (Iraq)  my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance." But Ezekiel 28 v25-26 says " `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.' " Pray for the nations in their Anti-Semitism  and Anti-Zionism

The challenge for the Christian is to love the Jews without hating the Arabs and to love the Arabs without hating the Jews.   This is particularly true for those seeking to be diligent in prayer without the benefit of having been to Israel and having to rely on "Christian" organizations which have a bias one way or the other.

When you come to know Jews and Arabs who know and love Jesus/Yeshua, and see them together, there is the sweetest fellowship and real "Middle East Peace".  I am so grateful to God for my Palestinian Christian friends and my Jewish friends.

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Footnote

It is tempting to answer the world's questions about what God will do in Israel in the way the world thinks.  However, the ( humanistic ) world asks the wrong questions.  It would not be right to assert that God will work out His purposes in a way the world considers Politically Correct.  God is sovereign and it is not for man to judge God.    See also Biblical Christian Zionism.

Remember, God promised the "Promised Land" to Israel and He promised He would bring Israel back after they were dispersed to the nations.  God started bringing them back to a desolate land which had been waiting for them.  If one reads the Books of Joshua, Judges and 1 and 2 Samuel (they are consecutive in the Tanakh), it is obvious that the Muslim Arabs have placed themselves in great danger by moving in to defy the God of Israel by claiming the land and Jerusalem belongs to them. 

Is a Peace trade possible?

The trade which the world hopes will bring peace, is for Israel to give land in return for the Islamic people giving up all warlike intentions and actions against Israel.

Can the parties give what the deal requires?

Israel could give half its territory (making its remaining territory non-defendable if the other party failed to honour the deal)

The Muslims can not give peace, because their faith dictates that all the land of Israel must be regained for Allah, no compromise is permissible (except for a temporary {Hudna} cessation of hostilities)

The Islamic Movement (Hamas) Charter states that “the Land of Palestine is Islamic Waqf.” By saying this they have changed a potentially solvable territorial conflict into an insoluable conflict for God. “our struggle against the Jews is wide ranging and great” They are packaging Islam to be at war with the Jews. (It doesn’t have to be.) The charter quotes the Hadith “The day of ressurection will not come until……..” This is a call for genocide within the Hamas charter and it also says, “The Hamas is looking forward to implementing Allah’s promise whatever time it may take.”

So No! - Peace is not within the grasp of man!

Wildolive does not advocate political or militant action or hatred against the Palestinian people.  Indeed, speaking to Jewish Israelis one is impressed by their deep sympathy and concern for the hardships endured by the Palestinians and their practical efforts to help.   When we assure Jewish Israelis we are praying for them, they will often say earnestly, "Pray for the Palestinians too."   One major problem is the media habit of ascribing responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinian people to Israel instead of the Palestinian leadership and surrounding Muslim nations.

Any Christian who believes that God keeps his promises should be concerned for the Palestinians who are being placed in such danger by their Muslim leaders.  If a group of people was squatting in the path of an express train, it would hardly be compassionate to encourage them and declare solidarity with them in their chosen position!   Yet this is what many church leaders are doing in their support for Yasser Arafat and his hatred of Israel and the Jews.

Updated 28/11/07

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