Those
who live in the Western world tend to think that the most important world
events happen in Washington D.C., Ottawa, London, or at least in the United
Nations.
But serious Bible students have long realized that this is simply false. From a
divine perspective the Middle East, in a very real sense, is the
center
of divine activity in human history. It was there that God chose a small nation
from which the Messiah and Savior of the world was to be born. And
it
is there that the events which mark the end of human history will take place.
Therefore, whenever social, political, or economic unrest takes place
in
that part of the world, serious Christians observe the activity with close
attention.
In
this chapter I would like to tell the biblical story about what is to take
place there in the future and also examine current events in this area to
see
what light they might shed on what the Bible says.
Daniel
9 reveals a very important and fundamental prophecy,' one which has to do with
a time after the church has been taken out of the world to be with
her
Lord in heaven. Daniel is told that this revelation is about His people,
Israel, and His city, Jerusalem. Daniel 9:2 and following states the occasion
for
the giving of this prophecy: Daniel, who is studying the prophecy of Jeremiah
(25:11,12; 29: 10), in which God says that the desolation of Jerusalem
was
to last 70 years because of Israel's sin of idolatry, becomes concerned; he
wants to know when this period will be completed. He is uncertain as to
when
the 70 years of exile will be over because there were three sieges of
Jerusalem, the city falling only on the last.
God
does not answer Daniel's question directly, but gives him a related revelation.
It is not about 70 years in which idolatry will be ended, but about
70
"weeks" or heptods (490 years) in which all iniquity, transgression,
and sin will be put away from the nation of Israel and eternal righteousness
will
be
established (Daniel 9:24). Sixty-nine of these "weeks" are now past;
they ended with the coming of Messiah, the Prince, at His baptism and entrance
into
the messianic office (Daniel 9:25). After the first 483 years and before the
last seven years, two things will happen that are related to God's people
Israel
(Daniel 9:26): Messiah will be cut off and have nothing (the word translated
"cut off" is used of a violent death) and the city of Jerusalem will
be
destroyed, an event which we know occurred in 70 A.D.
That
brings us to verse 27, the most important one for the topic at hand. Some
interpreters believe that week 70 immediately follows the end of the
sixty-ninth
week.
The antecedent of the "he" which begins the verse, in this view, is
Messiah, the Prince, of verse 25. This interpretation states that the covenant
which
the Messiah makes with many is the new covenant of Jeremiah 31 and Hebrew 10.
This covenant was established by Christ's death on the cross. The most
serious
objection to this view-and a decisive reason for rejecting it-is the fact that
the new covenant is not a seven-year covenant, but an eternal one.
The
correct interpretation of this verse identifies the antecedent of the
"he" with the ruler who will come. If this were not the case, then it
would be
impossible
to explain why "he" is in the text. Verse 26 makes perfect sense
without his mention. Again, the only explanation for his inclusion is that
"he"
is the antecedent of the pronoun that begins verse 27. Therefore the seventieth
week of Daniel is not about the Messiah, but Antichrist. Daniel's
seventieth
week will be the week of Antichrist. On the basis of this text, Christians talk
about a time of trial or tribulation, which will last for seven
years
before Christ returns to the earth.
Satan,
the great counterfeiter of God and God's truth, will present a counterfeit
trinity to the world during Daniel's seventieth week. Revelation 12 and
13
describe this trinity. Chapter 12 reveals the motivator and central figure-that
old dragon, Satan, who has two masterpieces described in chapter 13:
the
beast from the sea and the beast from the earth, or land. Since the sea often
symbolizes the nations of the world, it is fair to say that Antichrist
will
be a Gentile. Moreover, this deceiver's functions will be political (Daniel 2,
7). The second beast will be from the earth or land. I think he will
be
an apostate Jew, as the land of Israel is often referred to as "the
land." This beast's functions will be religious (Daniel 8,11; 2
Thessalonians 2:3ff.).
This
trinity, then, will consist of Satan himself, a Gentile political leader
located in Rome, and an apostate Jewish religious leader who will operate
from
Jerusalem. Some refer to the first beast as the Antichrist or the beast; others
call the first beast the Antichrist and the second the false prophet.
Therefore
it is helpful to observe each one's function and location to avoid ambiguity.
The two will try, however, to establish a worldwide rule during
the
tribulation period.
We
are now able to identify the "he" of Daniel 9:27 He is the first
beast of Revelation 13, the political leader. We learn that this final week of
Daniel's
prophecy
will begin with a covenant that this leader will make with many in the nation
of Israel for one "week" of seven years. This agreement will
guarantee
Israel's
political and religious sovereignty and autonomy. The Jews will be allowed to
build a tribulation temple and establish a sacrificial system. Scriptures
indicate
a brief period of peace for the first 3 years, although some of the judgments
of Revelation 6- 19 will begin to fall on the earth.'
A
number of things will happen at the midpoint of the week to radically change
what will take place. First, Satan will enter heaven and make war with Michael
the
archangel. Michael will prevail against Satan and his followers, who will be
cast to the earth. Satan will immediately turn his rage and anger against
the
nation of Israel, pictured as a woman. It is clear that without God's
supernatural intervention and protection of the woman, Satan would destroy her
(Revelation
12:13-17). The temple worship of sacrifices and oblation will cease (Daniel
9:27).
Although
some would disagree with this, I think that this time frame will roughly be the
time of the revelation of the second beast, the world religious
leader,
who will come into prominence with the destruction of the harlot of Revelation
17 and the end of temple worship in Israel. Jesus taught that what
will
follow will be a time of great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the
world and never equaled again. As a matter of fact, if the days of the
severest
trial were not shortened, no flesh would survive (Matthew 24:21,22). We can see
what Jesus meant. The number and severity of the divine judgments
spoken
of in Revelation 6-19 will intensify. This counterfeit trinity will take power
and try to subject the entire world to its authority (Revelation
13:15-18).
There will be the abomination of desolation in the holy place (Daniel 9:27; 12:
11; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4; Revelation 13:11-15).
It
is difficult to identify precisely what is meant by the abomination of
desolation, but this phrase often refers to idols or idolatry, which would
indicate
that
an idol-most likely of the first beast who was wounded, died, and rose
again-will be placed in the temple. This world religious leader will try to
establish
the final form of apostate religion, the worship of Satan as God. Failure to
comply will be met with the most severe physical, social, and economic
sanctions
(Revelation 13:15-18).
Within
this context, the nations of the world will march to a meeting with Almighty
God at Megiddo, or Armageddon. The relationship between these two terms
is
not entirely clear. In fact, the name "Armageddon" appears only once
in the Bible, in Revelation 16:16, and it does not appear in any Hebrew text
that
we
possess, leading some interpreters to suggest that this refers not to a
geographic locality, but rather to an event. Others believe the word
"Armageddon"
is
a corruption in the language, and really means "city of desire" or
"his fruitful mountain." If so, it might refer to the city of
Jerusalem. However,
the
most popular explanation- and the one that I think is correct-is that
Armageddon refers to Mount (Ar) Megiddo (Mageddon), a military stronghold
(Joshua
12:2
1; 17; Judges 1:27; 2 Kings 8:27) which occupied a strategic position on the
southern rim of the Plain of Esdraelon in the north of Palestine.
Megiddo
is mentioned often in the Old Testament. It was a royal city for the Canaanites
(Joshua 12:21), and after the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites,
it
was given to Issachar (Joshua 17: 11), although it later became the possession
of the tribe of Manasseh (judges 1:27). Megiddo did not become secure
within
the land until the time of Solomon, who built fortifications in the area and
placed 12 deputies over Taanach and Megiddo (1 Kings 4:12; 9:15) .5
A
number of significant Old Testament historical events occurred in this
locality. It was here that Barak was victorious over the king of Hazor, whose
army
was
under the command of Sisera (judges 4:13-15). In addition, Gideon defeated the
Midianites here (judges 7), Saul died here (I Samuel 31:6-8), and Ahaziah,
king
of Judah, fled to this place and died here (2 Kings 9:27). However, the primary
historical interest in this area lies in the death of Josiah, who
attempted
to stop Pharaoh Neco of Egypt as he passed through Carmel into the plain of
Megiddo. Unsuccessful in his attempt, Josiah was shot by an Egyptian
archer
as he tried to escape. He died on the road to Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:29,30; 2
Chronicles 35:20-24; Zechariah 12: 11).
Megiddo
is identified with the modern archaeological site of Tell el-Mutesellim. This
site has been extensively excavated, and is one of the most important
sites
in Palestine.
Mount
Megiddo or Armageddon is important not only historically but prophetically as
well. This is where one of the climactic battles of human history-a
conflict
between the forces of God and the forces of Satan-will be fought. The Bible
tells of a period of time called "the day of the Lord" that precedes
the
return of the Lord to this earth. This will be a time when a multinational war
will take place (Joel 3:9-15; Zechariah 14:1-5; Zephaniah 3:8; cf. Mark
13:7,14ff.,
24ff.). For pre-millennialists, this will come before Christ sets up his
kingdom on this earth for a thousand years.
As
I have already said, there is some disagreement over the scriptural meaning of
Armageddon. One problem facing the biblical interpreter is that it seems
difficult
to present a coherent picture of all that is said on this subject. For this
reason some commentators think that Armageddon symbolically represents
this
final conflict. They caution against taking the prophetic, apocalyptic imagery
too literally.
However,
I believe there is a better way of dealing with the interpretive problem: We
must recognize that Armageddon is not a battle, but a war. This can
be
supported by two considerations. First, the only actual mention of Armageddon
in the New Testament is in Revelation 16:16, and it is in the context
of
a battle on the great day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14). This Greek word
may be translated either as "battle" (NIV) or "war" (NASB).
I prefer the
NASB
rendering. That is, Armageddon will not be a single battle, but a full-fledged
war.
Second,
as we gather all the texts that relate to this conflict, we see fighting
throughout the land of Palestine. Revelation 14:20 speaks about blood flowing
out
of God's winepress as high as the bridles of the horses for the distance of
about 180 to 200 miles-the distance from Dan in the north to Beersheba
in
the south. Having said this, the Bible describes three principal areas of
conflict: fighting to the south of Palestine (Daniel 11:40-45), which is said
to
occur in Egypt, Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Ethiopia, as well as in the south of
Israel by the Dead Sea; fighting in the north (Ezekiel 38, 39; Daniel
11:40-45);
and
conflict in the city of Jerusalem and the Kidron Valley (Joel 3; Zechariah 12,
14).
If
this is the correct understanding of the teaching of Scripture, then Armageddon
will not be just a battle, but a war-with three major areas of fighting-that
will
ultimately engulf the entire land of Palestine. And it gets its name from one
of the major battles or areas of conflict.
Not
only will this war involve the whole land of Israel, but the Bible teaches that
all the nations of the world will also become embroiled in it (Zechariah
12:3;
14:2; Revelation 16:14). These nations quite clearly will form four power
blocks or alliances: nations to the south of the land of Palestine; a
confederacy
from
the West; armies from the East (Revelation 16:12)-mounted troops will number
200 million (Revelation 9:16); and finally, nations from the north of
the
land of Israel (Ezekiel 38, 39; Daniel 11:40-45).
When
the Bible speaks of all the nations of the whole world, does this mean that
every country in existence today will do battle in Armageddon? Obviously
not.
just within the last decade, we have seen some nations come and go. None of us
can say for sure just what nations will be in existence at the time
this
prophecy is fulfilled. Will the nations of the Western Hemisphere- the U.S.,
Canada, and Mexico be a part of this final conflict? They are not mentioned
by
name anywhere in the Bible. This does not mean that they will not be in
existence, but neither would any prophecy be falsified by their absence.
While
certain nations are not specifically mentioned in any way in prophecy, other
nations are clearly named as participants in Armageddon. Some of the
nations
named fall under general designations. Daniel 2 and 7 clearly indicate a
Western confederacy of nations, although the exact nations included in
that
alliance are not clear. These two chapters speak of four world powers that will
arise one after another. Though not all Bible students agree, it seems
best
to identify this fourth kingdom with Rome, which we know will exist in prophetic
times. During Daniel's seventieth week a little horn will arise and
take
power. He will be the world political leader.
We
are not certain which nations the symbols of ten toes and ten horns signify.
Some have tried to identify this prophecy with the creation of an European
Common
Market in our time. It is difficult to say whether this is correct. If Christ
were to return for His church today, it could well be that this Common
Market
would be used in the fulfillment of this prophecy. However, if Christ's coming
is some years off, even centuries into the future, we cannot say
what
the case will be. Recent history teaches us that nations making up the Common
Market have changed; nations have come into and out of existence. What
we
can say with confidence is that, if we are correct in our interpretation of the
Daniel texts, God will raise up a confederacy of nations in this general
area
to participate in the event of the end times.
Similarly,
Revelation 16:12 indicates that a group of nations will come from the East to
Armageddon. The nations are not named, but the size of their troops
is
enormous. This fact, in addition to the fact that the Euphrates River is dried
up to aid their march to Megiddo, precludes this as a reference to the
nations
to the immediate east of the land of Palestine: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq.
So some interpreters identify this contingent with nations such as
India
and China.
Other
nations named specifically as participants in this conflict include: Ammon
(Jeremiah 9:26; Ezekiel 25:1-7; Daniel 11:41); Assyria (Isaiah 14:24-27);
Egypt
(Isaiah 19, 20; Ezekiel 29, 30; Daniel 11:41); Libya (Daniel 11:43); Moab
(Isaiah 15, 16); and Syria (Isaiah 17), to name just a few. There is also
the
possibility that Babylon (Isaiah 13, 14, 21) will be rebuilt. Ancient Babylon
is modem Iraq and part of Iran. The Bible speaks of its absolute destruction,
and
this seems never to have occurred historically. While we do not know exactly
what nations will be in existence at the time of Armageddon, the Bible
states
clearly that all those nations which do survive until eschatological times will
participate in the meeting at Megiddo.
So
far we have seen that Armageddon will involve all the nations of the world and
will be fought over the entire land of Palestine, but exactly what will
happen?
Three passages in Scripture help us understand the battle plan for Armageddon:
Daniel 11:40-45; Revelation 16:12-21; Revelation 19:11-21. This
war
will begin with simultaneous invasions into the Holy Land from the south and
the north. The invaders will be successful at first, with many countries
falling.
While the power blocs mentioned before will fight one another for their own
self-interests, they will arrive at the city of Jerusalem, where they
will
decide to unite against God and His people, Israel.
But
God will respond to the challenge of the nations against his people Israel.
Christ will return to the earth in great power and glory with the armies
of
heaven. From His mouth will come a sharp sword, with which He will strike the
nations of the world. Christ Himself and the armies of heaven will make
war
against the ungodly trinity. The seventh bowl of judgment will be released.
This will include flashes of lightning, rumblings, thunder, and a great
earthquake
which will cause the City of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives to its east to
be split. The enemy will be struck with panic and madness. Islands
and
mountains will disappear. God will hurl from the sky huge hailstones that weigh
a hundred pounds. The political and religious leaders who have deceived
the
world will be caught and cast into the lake of fire.
It
is not hard to imagine what this will do to the nations of the world who have
come against the Jews: They will do their best to get away from the
destruction.
At
this time God will destroy the armies that flee to the south (Daniel 11:42-44)
and to the north (Ezekiel 38 and 39). While some students of prophecy
understand
Ezekiel 38 and 39 to take place in the middle of Daniel's seventieth week, I
think it is better to place it as a part of Armageddon. Since this
speaks
of the destruction of armies on the mountains of Israel in the north, this may
explain the significance of the battle and why the war is called
Armageddon.
I
place the prophecy here because of the completeness of the destruction. It will
take seven years to put out the fires God has sent forth from heaven,
as
well as seven months to bury the dead. This seems out of keeping with something
that will take place in the middle of the tribulation period. Further,
Ezekiel
says that this conflict was spoken of in the former days by the prophets. I
think these prophets speak of God's wrath in connection with the return
of
Christ, not with the events in the middle of the seventieth week of Daniel.
What
I have just described is what I call the biblical story, or at least an
important version of that narrative. At this point some would argue that we
have
a compelling reason for rejecting the Bible as true and relevant to our lives
today.
This
is an ancient book, some 2000 years old, they would say. It may have been
written by people, who were spiritually sensitive, but they could not possibly
have
known anything beyond their own historical horizon. How could a writer of 800
B.C. or A.D. 95 know anything about the geopolitics of the final generation
?
To think that they might is foolishness of the highest order.
We
conservative, evangelical Christians have a ready and correct response to such
claims. The Bible is indeed a human book. It has human authors who wrote
using
their own personalities, style, and vocabulary. But the Bible has dual
authorship; it is not just a human book, but a divine Book as well. The Holy
Spirit
superintended the genuinely human authors so that they were kept from error and
had access to knowledge that transcended their time-bound place
in
history. The Bible is not a historical, but what is expressed in it transcends
the writers' place in history because God is also its Author (2 Timothy
3:16;
2 Peter 1: 16-21). Therefore, when the Bible predicts what will take place in
the future, we have a good reason for believing what we read. This
point
has been substantiated concretely, for the Bible not only tells us what we
should expect at the return of Christ and afterward, but it told us what
would
happen at Christ's first coming. Christians have always pointed to fulfilled
prophecy in Christ's first advent to justify our confidence in what
is
said about the second advent.
There
remains, however, another question, one which comes not from those who reject
the Bible's authority but from those who accept it and believe that
whatever
the Bible teaches is true. The question they raise is about the interpretation
of prophetic literature. They would respond to my description of
the
biblical story with accusations that I have taken the texts I have discussed
too literally. Their position would be something like this: The Bible
does
teach that there will great evil on the earth before Christ returns. However,
we should be careful in taking what is said too literally. Prophetic
literature
is full of symbolic depiction of events, and thus Armageddon is a name given by
biblical writers to an end-time conflict between good and evil.
God
is victorious, but care should be exercised in the description of the details.
At
this point a look at current history will show that while the geopolitics of
the world have certainly changed over the nearly two millennia since the
close
of the canon of Scripture, the Middle East still plays a critical role in the
modern world. That is, though we may think that Washington D.C. or
the
political centers of Europe are the center of politics in our world, our
attention continually returns to events in the Middle East. Before I turn
to examine
some of these events, a word of caution seems in order. The student of prophecy
should avoid two mistakes when thinking about current events.
The
first is to ignore the events as if they have no significance in relation to
what the Bible has to say. To do this is to allow the events spoken of
in
the Bible and unfolding in history to overtake us without our proper
preparation!
Second,
prophecy students should avoid identifying events as explicit fulfillment of
prophecy. If the rapture of the church is the next event on God's prophetic
calendar
and if it is not preceded by any signs, then we should be very careful about
talking about the fulfillment of signs which show that Christ is
coming
for His church. Closely related to this point is the fact that Scripture does
not tell us the time of Christ's coming, which is imminent; that is,
it
can occur at any moment. Jesus could have come for His church in the first
century A.D. or He could come many years, even centuries, from our time.
Current
events might look strikingly similar to those prophetic signals which God's
Word says will precede Christ's second advent-that is, His literal return
to
earth to set up His millennial kingdom. However, since Scripture teaches that
there are no signs that precede Christ's coming for His church in the
air
(i.e., prophecies yet to be fulfilled before the rapture of the church), we
must be careful not to dogmatically proclaim that events we see occurring
today
are signals of the imminent rapture. We should not pass over this point
rapidly. We need to understand that attributing to current events prophetic
significance
pointing to the rapture is an error that might cause the unsaved, who so
desperately need Jesus Christ, to go even deeper into unbelief.
With
this in mind, let us turn to what I have called the facts of current history in
the Middle East.
Clearly,
a major reason for the importance of this region is related to its oil
reserves. Many readers remember the gasoline shortage of the early 1970s.
Since
almost everything in highly industrialized societies runs on petroleum
products, anything that can upset the free flow of oil from the Middle East
poses
a serious threat to the industrialized nations of the world.
Even
more of us remember the events of 1990, when, while much of the world was
either on vacation or asleep, Saddam Hussein took Kuwait by force. That act
placed
under Hussein's control 20 percent of the world's known oil reserves. Within
two weeks the price of gasoline at the pump rose by 50 percent; in
two
months the price increased by 100 percent.' Hussein was then in a position to
control navigation on the Persian Gulf, a means of transporting 40 percent
of
the oil from the region. The nations of the world could not stand idly by and watch
46 percent of the world's oil reserve threatened.' Seldom has the
world
witnessed such unity among the world's leaders. They met at the United Nations
and voted sanctions against Iraq.
The
abundance of oil in Arab countries has resulted in a redistribution of the
world's wealth. In those countries where oil is plentiful and the population
is
not dense, per capita income can be as high as 17,000 dollars, as in the United
Arab Emirates.' Oil revenues are so great that they could make it possible
to
buy the Bank of America in six days and IBM in 143 days. Given the oil reserves
of this area and the economic power that comes from the redistribution
of
the world wealth to this region, it is not hard to imagine the prophecies of
the ancient seers coming true. Though many regimes seem grossly out of
step
with our modern, high-tech societies, there is wealth and power enough to send
all the nations of the world there to protect what they see as their
own
self-interests.
Give
peace a try! This popular slogan certainly seems to be good advice. With oil
and wealth come economic prosperity. Why resort to war? All of this might
make
perfect sense to the rational mind, but irrationality is the order of the day
in the Middle East. Hatreds there are longstanding and run deep. Israel
is
a small nation surrounded by hostile neighbors, some of whom are sworn to drive
her into the sea. The hostility that rages has a very long history,
one
that we can trace back to Isaac and Ishmael in the book of Genesis. So when
Yitzhak Rabin and Yassir Arafat shake hands and make peace on the lawn
of
the White House, it is no small accomplishment.
As
if the hostility between Jew and Arab were not enough, little unity exists
among the Arabs themselves. While it is true that the Arab League has been
formed,
old and deep hostility remains among Arabs. We can see this in two ways. First,
leaders of Arab states who try to make peace with Israel are in
danger
of losing their lives. For example, when Egypt and Israel made peace, Anwar
Sadat paid for this courageous act with his life. Lest we think the
Jews
are exempt from similar acts, just remember the murder of Yitzhak Rabin.
Second, even where a peace accord has been reached, radicals who oppose the
peace
resort to violence to overturn it. Peace seems eminently rational for this
region, but though it sometimes seems within our reach, it always eludes
our
grasp. Hatred makes this area unstable.
No
analysis of the Middle East is complete unless we recognize that supernatural
forces are at work. Human history is an arena in which the struggle between
God
and Satan is played out. This is where the conflict between good and evil
stages its last act. Almost every passage that gives us the biblical story
shows
this supernatural factor at work. In Revelation 16:12-16, the New Testament
passage in which we see the word "Armageddon," John sees three evil
spirits
that
look like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon. These evil spirits went
out to the kings of the whole earth to bring them to Armageddon. Great
deceptive
power was given to these demon spirits so that they could perform miraculous
signs. In Zechariah, it is God who says that He will make Jerusalem
a
burden to all the nations of the world (12:3), and that it is He who will
gather all the nations to this city (14:2). Ezekiel puts this same point in
striking
language. He says that God will put hooks in the jaws of the nations of the
world to bring them to Armageddon (38:4), and that He will turn them
around
and drag them along (39:2). The nations have hated God and His people Israel.
Now the nations are brought supernaturally to the valley of Jehoshaphat
so
that God can enter into judgment against the nations (Joel 3:1-3).
Supernatural
forces are not only responsible for the nations coming to Armageddon, but
repeatedly we are told that God sets the limits on the success of
wickedness.
Daniel says that God's court will sit in judgment of this end-time world
political leader, and that his power will be taken away and he will
be
completely destroyed (7:26). Concerning the end-time religious leader, God says
that his end is decreed (9:27), and that he will come to his end and
no
one will be able to help him (11:45). Ezekiel teaches us that God does this to
show His greatness and holiness (38:23) and that throughout the punishment
of
the nations God will display His glory among them (39:21).
God
is at work through human means to accomplish His plan. Everything is
transpiring right on time, and victory is assured both for Him and for those
who
are
His.
Sometimes
all of this seems so abstract and beyond our control. Mat difference does it
make to my everyday life? More importantly, "at can I do to make
any
kind of difference? As Christians we are never taught to acquiesce to
circumstance or to give ourselves over to despair. We are clearly commanded to
do
certain things.
1.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and this region. The Holy Spirit says through
David that we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem among its neighbors
(Psalm
122:6). Notice that we are never commanded to pray for the wrath and judgment
of God to fall on the nations. These things will come; that is certain.
However,
we are to be peacemakers. We are to pray for peace. This is something that we
know we should do, but too often we think our prayers will be ineffectual;
even
worse, we forget to pray for peace at all. Only heaven will show how the
prayers of God's saints have changed the course of human history. Let us
not
be so fainthearted that we lack the faith to believe that God may grant peace,
even in our time.
2.
Share the gospel with precious Arab and Jewish people. Again, this is something
that most of us would consent to in theory but fail to put into practice.
Paul
says that the gospel is the power of God. From a human perspective it seems as
though there is no hope for peace in the Middle East. However, with
God
anything is possible! We realize that if relationships between nations and
within nations are to be changed, it will only come through a change of
heart,
and only God can do that. Evangelism among Arabs and Jews is not easy; it takes
some preparation on our part, and it seems even more difficult because
many
of us can travel to the Middle East only for a short visit, if at all. Thus we
need to provide means for mission agencies as extensions of our feet
and
our lips in the carrying of the good news to these needy hearts in these
nations.
3.
Support attempts to bring peace and justice to the nations of the Middle East.
Sometimes our eschatology has been used to justify our inaction. We say
that
we are really happy that things look bleak, because then it is more likely that
the Lord will return soon. And we want Him to come. But Christians
are
to be peacemakers, not warmongers. Peace will not come and it certainly will
not last where there is no justice or fairness. justice is difficult to
describe
for the Middle East. The Jews are God's chosen people. But the Arabs for the
most part are also the descendants of Abraham. So when God says that
He
will bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse him, that
principle applies to both Arab and Jew. While the land of Israel has been
promised
to
Israel, that is after the return of the Messiah. Furthermore, the reason the
Jews have been in exile is because of disobedience and disbelief. Though
God
holds nations responsible for their actions toward Israel, in an important
sense they are His chastening rod. Therefore, as informed Christians, we
need
to be fair. We need to find and support justice for all parties, realizing that
there is a time when the judge of all the earth will set things in
order
and see that His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
4.
Rest in the assurance that God is in control of human history, and He will be
victorious. His glory will be displayed to Israel and the nations. The
study
of prophecy is practical indeed. We already know the end: God is victorious.
Nothing can defeat His glorious will. We are on the winning side. A
healthy
appreciation of God's activity in history allows the saints to rest in the
serenity of eternity while still living in the chaos of time. Grace
and
peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!