William Terry James

False Peace: The Pseudo-Storm Shelter
by Randall Price

Most people do not easily recognize the ways of deception. Like all delusions, if the appearance is proper, the words right, and the audience has displaced normal reservations in light of necessary (and expected) results, even seasoned statesmen can be deceived. In the ancient days of Israel's monarchy, a good king by the name of Hezekiah succumbed to political deception. After having survived an attack by the dreaded Assyrians, Hezekiah was over-confident that his empire was secure through its fortifications (many of which were accomplished under his administration). Hezekiah then gave Babylonian emissaries a complete tour of his kingdom (2 Kings 20:12-15). Naively trusting their show of concern and desire for peace (verse 12), he revealed to this foreign power the extent of his military might and even the wealth of his regime. As a result, the Babylonians, who later eclipsed the Assyrians as Israel's greatest enemy, destroyed the Israelite monarchy and took Hezekiah's heirs into captivity (verses 16-18). The king was deluded that he had done the right thing, even when warned by the prophet Isaiah concerning its dreadful consequences, because he thought, "... there shall be peace and truth in my days" (verse 19).
In our modern era another monarchy faced the same circumstances as that of Israel. In September of 1938 the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met in Munich with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. Secure in the reputation of his great empire "upon whom the sun never set," conscious of the expectations of his position and desperately wanting an "understanding" between their countries, Chamberlain returned from the meeting to proudly announce, "There will be peace in our time!" That "peace" led less than a year later to the Second World War in which 47 million people perished and Chamberlain's own city of London was practically demolished.
Pseudo-Peace at Any Price
The modern age has ' become intoxicated at the prospect of global peace as we begin the twenty-first century. Weary of wars, and believing that technology can rescue the future, there is today an unparalleled longing for "peace at any price" (so long as our country does not have to pay for it!). Yet, despite appearances to the contrary (since the nature of man and the conditions that foment wars have not changed), our planet is ready to pursue any process that may promise the coveted peace. While a good one- third of our earth is at war at any time, international attention has been focused on the one supposed obstacle to "peace in our time"- the Middle East conflict. Regardless of the irreconcilable religious agendas that precipitated and continue to provoke the conflict, the international community is driven by a desire to resolve the political situation. And, as in the case of Chamberlain, due caution and reasonable requirements for security have been abandoned in order to achieve "peace at any price."
For example, even though the Palestinian Authority acquired the biblical regions of Judea and Samaria, known popularly as the West Bank, as Israel's donation toward the peace process, the world has watched Palestinian "President" Yasser Arafat meet in the summer of 1997 with Iraq's Saddam Hussein (whom he supported in the Gulf War) and openly embrace and kiss the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas only weeks after and days before they launched terrorist bombings in downtown Jerusalem in the early fall of the same year. And though more have been killed on both sides during the peace process than before it was initiated, the world continues to urge on the peace process with Chamberlain's same naive ambition. Why is peace in the Middle East, and especially between the Israelis and Arabs, deemed so vital? What is the agenda for this peace process, and what kind of peace is possible? Why has it been so difficult to achieve, and where will it ultimately lead us? These are questions we must examine within the context of Scripture and especially Scripture's predictions of the pseudo-peace that is to characterize the end of the age.
The Origin of the Middle East Conflict
The international media has presented a biased and incorrect image of the Middle East conflict as Israel's oppression of a displaced refugee people whose land they invaded. In truth, the conflict in the Middle East has persisted for thousands of years involving many nations. Jerusalem alone has been invaded or destroyed almost 30 times. However, the modern reference to conflict has its origin in the events that surround the creation of the State of Israel and the five wars it has had with Arab nations since. Jewish immigration prompted by the Zionist Movement in 1897 brought Jews to the land to live alongside Arabs who (then under Turkish rule) had been there since the Arab invasion of the country in A.D. 638. It should be remembered, however, that a resident Jewish population always existed in the Land throughout the past 19 centuries, despite the experience of persecution and pogrom. In the same way, Jewish communities still survive in Arab countries hostile to them such as Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. Throughout the early decades of the twentieth century as tensions mounted and riots occurred, usually over access to holy places, Great Britain, who had been granted mandatory jurisdiction over the country by the League of Nations (in 1922), after their conquest of the Turks in 1918, sought a solution to the conflict.
The Palestinian Problem
The British "solution," which violated both the terms of the Mandate and the Balfour Declaration (which had called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in all or any part of Palestine) was to divide the country between the Arab and Jewish populations. On May 14, 1946 the British gave the eastern four-fifths of the land (known then as Transjordan) to the Arabs and to the rule of the Hashemite family. This created the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Thus, Israel was left to occupy only 23 percent of Palestine (not 100 percent as the media portrays), while the Arabs received the remaining 73 percent. This territory was originally intended for the resettlement of Palestinian Arabs by the League of Nations, not to become an independent Arab state.' Interestingly, it was thereafter identified by its Arab occupiers as the nation of Palestine. Even as late as 1968, King Hussein of Jordan was still saying: "Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan. 112 Incidentally, in 1974, Yasser Arafat said much the same thing: "What you call Jordan is actually Palestine."' How different is the perception and rhetoric today! Today, Israel is called Palestine and Jordan is viewed as a distinct Arab nation such as Saudi Arabia.
In 1947, because of the British failure to resolve the mounting crisis between Arabs and Jews in the 23 percent of Palestine, the United Nations stepped in and established a temporary "peace" by partitioning this 23 percent of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. At this time the term "Palestinian" (the Anglicized form of the Latin name of Israel's ancient enemies, the Philistines), originally given to the country by the Romans after their conquest of the Jews, and revived by the British after more than a thousand years, was applied equally to both its Jewish and Arab population. For example, the well-known English language newspaper The Jerusalem Post was then called The Palestine Post.' However, this peace was short-lived, for when the United Nations narrowly voted to recognize the Jewish declaration of the independent State of Israel on May 14, 1948, the Arab world went to war against the Palestinian Jews, now able to call them "Israelis." Failing to overrun infant Israel, the attacking Arabs occupied what they could. Jordan annexed the biblical territories of Judea and Samaria (now known as the West Bank) in 1950, and Egypt took the Gaza Strip. But the Israeli victory had left displaced the Palestinian Arab population who had fled Israel's borders under Arab command and the promise that upon the defeat of the Jewish enemy they would reclaim their and the Jews' abandoned homes. Many of the Arab countries surrounding Israel could have easily absorbed their brethren, but refused. On the one hand, they did not want the economic and social burden of caring for an indigent people, while on the other, they wanted to create a problem for Israel which they knew could be an instrument for international criticism and eventual intervention.
Therefore, returning to Palestine, most took up residence in the Palestinian nation of Jordan in the Jordanian-occupied area known as the West Bank, while others chose to live within Israel proper and became citizens of Israel with the rights and benefits of Israeli citizenship. The former group of Arabs in the West Bank are the original "Palestinians," although today their ranks have been joined by a large number of Arabs who originally lived outside the borders of Israel. These came from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries allied with the original Arab League charter to remove all Jews from the land. Since the Palestinian "uprising" (Intafada) that began in 1987, the Israeli-Arabs (such as those of East Jerusalem) who comprise about 20 percent of the n now re er o emse ves only as "Palestinians." It should be emphasized, however, that, except for Jordan, there has never existed at any time a Palestinian State. In contrast to what is popularly presented today, "Israel is being robbed of its political, historic, and geographic legitimacy while seeming to rob the Palestinians of a nation it already has."' Meanwhile, this newly-formed conglomerate of Arabs have sought to create what has never before existed by electing a president, adopting a flag, forming an army (read: "police force"), setting up diplomatic headquarters in East Jerusalem (the Orient House), and with Jordan's agreement, "declaring a state," all in violation of the stipulations agreed in the Oslo Accord which precluded any recognition of a Palestinian state or a "governmental presence" in Jerusalem.
The Cause of the Middle East Conflict
One of the major misconceptions concerning the Middle East conflict fostered by media reporting is that it is the result of a dispute over the ownership of land. Such a conflict, of course, is seen at the surface, with the Palestinians calling for a complete Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory (which according to Palestinian maps is all of the land!), and Israel arguing that the same territory is their ancient homeland and the inheritance given to their fathers by God (See Genesis 12:7- 13:15-17; 15:18-21; 17:8- 22:17). Seeking to create their own revision of history, Palestinians have now claimed descendency from the ancient Philistines, whom they say renamed Canaan "Palestine" in an attempt to predate the Israelites in the Land!' But the necessity of land should be understood in light of the statistical reality of Arab land at 4,600,000 square miles versus Israeli land (including the West Bank) at 34,000 square miles. Israel is content to live within this small amount of territory, even though the original covenant with Abraham included much more (about 200,000 square miles). However, the surrounding Arab nations deny Israel occupation in even this area, and despite the Oslo Accord to the contrary, the Palestinian Authority, in agreement with other Arab nations, continue as a provision of their charter a refusal to recognize the right of Israel to exist!
The real reason for the Arab-Israeli conflict is not political, but religious. The problem is Islam, which believes that it must subjugate the world by the sword, that all lands once in Muslim possession must never be relinquished or returned, and that the Koran proclaimed Israel as wretched and condemned and Jews as the friends of Satan worthy only of contempt and punishment. The Koran also teaches that Islam superseded both Judaism and Christianity, and therefore Islam cannot tolerate another religion sharing equal access or privileges with itself (such as at holy sites).' Many Muslims further teach that the Jews of today (and especially European Jewry) are really non-Semitic descendants of the Middle Age Khazar dynasty. Therefore, on religious grounds, it is impossible to negotiate a lasting peace with a perpetual enemy. The existence of a sovereign Jewish state is an affront to the Koran, and most Jews are not Jews at all and have no right to claim any inheritance based on the Bible. Because of these irreconcilable religious differences, the kind of "peace" understood by most Westerners and Europeans is impossible in the Middle East.
What Kind of Peace is Now Possible?
From the outset it is important to understand that peace between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries is possible so long as it is understood what kind of peace we can expect. Two types of peace are possible in the world today. The first kind of peace is that which exists between democracies. The peace between the United States and its neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico is an example of this type of peace. Even though Canada may protest the United States poisoning its environment with acid rain, and the United States may oppose the drug trafficking from Mexico, these countries do not go to war with each other over these issues. Democracies generally resolve their differences by non-violent negotiation and therefore do not require guarantees since there is no threat to the national security.
The second kind of peace that exists is that between democracies and non-democracies. When the nature of the regime changes, so must the nature of the peace. When political philosophies are inherently different, the type of peace expected will follow suit. In this case, agreements must be attended by guarantees of security and a balance of power that promotes detente. The type of peace that is being negotiated between Israel (the sole democracy in the Middle East) and its Arab non-democratic neighbors is of this second type. The Palestinian Authority was once at the top of the U.S. list of terrorist organizations because it employed terrorism as its means for achieving political ends. It used the terrorist tactic of "uprising" (Intafada) against Israel before the Oslo Accord and has continued to call for "holy war" (Jibad) throughout the first phase of the "peace process." It has also continued to openly embrace and support terrorist organizations such as Hamas. In addition, the Palestinian Authority has called for and implemented the death penalty for any Palestinian who sells family-owned land to Jews. Such use of terror is the way of non-democracies, but it is totally unacceptable in terms of negotiation with democracies. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion of expectations, it is imperative to understand that peace between democratic and non-democratic parties cannot be achieved on the basis of handshakes and non-violent negotiations, since only one side of the negotiators can ever be expected to honor these terms. The only possibility that a manageable peace could exist is if it exists with enforceable guarantees of security and a balance of military armaments.
The Issue of the Oslo Accord
The issue of the Oslo Accord was simple. The Israelis were to give the Palestinians territory for self-rule and the Palestinians were to curtail terrorism toward Israel from that territory. Israel never viewed their action as giving up territory for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, but as sharing sovereignty with their Arab neighbors west of the Jordan in order to create a defense against attacks aimed at the Israeli people. Israel's primary concern was the guarantee of security for its people who have continually been attacked by organized terrorists from these territories. The Oslo Accord did not deal with either the question of Palestinian statehood or the status of Jerusalem. Israel refused to consider the formation of a Palestinian state within Greater Israel (Judea and Samaria). They postponed the Jerusalem issue to a second phase of negotiation which ideally would build upon the foundation of the guarantee of security established by the first phase. Now that terrorism in Israel has demonstrated that the Palestinians are both unable and unwilling to honor their commitments to Israel's security, the second phase of negotiations has been frozen. Even so, it is clear that no government of Israel (whether Likud or Labor) will permit the formation of an independent Palestinian state nor change the present status of Jerusalem.
Problems for Present Peace
The Jewish construction of 6,500 housing units for its evergrowing immigrant population within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries at Har Homa has created an incident of international protest. Palestinians claim that this is in violation of the Oslo Accord and, as one CNN anchor put it, "an invasion of Palestinian territory by Israel." However, such construction is not prohibited by Oslo in areas under Israel's jurisdiction and 75 percent of the expropriated land for the project was Jewish-owned. Yet, when terrorist bombing was renewed in Israel, Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Feisal al-Husseni said, "the terror of the bulldozers [Jewish construction at Har Homa] has led to the terror of the bombs." How can there be negotiations with people who believe that a construction project can be equated with the murder of innocent people? Yet, rather than implement security procedures to control terrorism against Israel (in compliance with Oslo), Yasser Arafat turned his police force into a 40,000-man army (made up in many cases from known terrorist leaders) that is being trained to launch terrorism, not fight it.
This has been demonstrated in recent riots in which members of this police force fired on Israelis, but not on its own fire-bomb throwing people. Arafat has continually given the green light to terrorist organizations sheltered within Palestinian territory to wage Jihad and liberate Jerusalem.
Other problems include negotiation with Syria over the Golan Heights, which is presently impossible because of Syria's preconditioned terms that Israel return the Golan Heights. Of course, if this were done there would be nothing to negotiate, since Israel would have lost its only bargaining chip and Syria would have what it wanted. No government could comply with such preconditions, especially with a country which continues to declare itself in a state of war and is increasing its armaments at an alarming rate.
The facts are that the so-called "peace-process" has been impossible from its outset and that the problems Israel has been enduring since the cessation of the Intafada and the handshake on the White House lawn (between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat) have been the result of Israel's attempts to honor Oslo by giving the Palestinians control of Jericho, Gaza, and the West Bank. Are these problems of pseudo-peace part of the prophetic plan for Israel in the endtime? Gershon Salomon, an Orthodox Israeli and head of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful, believes the present conflict is a sign that his generation will see both the pangs of Messiah and the promised redemption. Concerning this he wrote in his newsletter:
We are acting in a very critical time in the history of the people and the land of Israel. We always knew from the Scriptures and Jewish tradition that the time before the coming of the Mashiah and the complete redemption of Israel would be a difficult and complicated time. We call them "pangs of redemption." But I and my friends are completely committed to doing everything that we can to ensure that the prophetic plans of G-d will be fulfilled ... We are committed to bring about the appearance of Mashiah ben David in our lifetime. If needs be we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for this. We have decided that we want to see the rebuilding of the Third Temple and the return of the Israeli Jewish nation to the boundaries which G-d promised us.
If, as many Israelis believe, the present peace process is a pseudo-peace, it is necessary to consider what the Scripture says concerning the nature of such events in light of the prophetic program outlined for Israel in the endtime. Let us first consider what the Bible records concerning the real peace promised after the Lord's return, and then, by contrast, the characteristics of false peace that will deceive the world prior to Christ's Second Advent.
The Promised Peace
While pseudo-peace processes may be attempted both before and during the Tribulation period, a time of true peace will eventually come to the region. The prophetic details concerning this promised peace are given largely by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Ezekiel refers to a "covenant of peace" (Ezekiel 34:25; 37:26) made between the Lord and the "sons of Israel" that will have several provisions: (1) it will involve secure occupation of the Land of Israel-, (2) it will be everlasting (Ezekiel 37:26b)., (3) it will establish and increase the Israeli population in the Land (Ezekiel 37:26c; compare verses 25. and 36:24, 28); and (4) it will secure the rebuilding of the Temple and return the Divine Presence (Ezekiel 37:26d-27; compare chapters 40-48). Isaiah, building upon these understood guarantees, adds in Isaiah 2 that this peace will also be universal and pervasive (verse 2), spiritual (verse 3; compare 11:9b), unparalleled, and will emanate from Jerusalem (verses 2,3; compare 27:13). Isaiah also depicts this peace extending beyond the political realm to the natural order (Isaiah 11:6-9a; compare Ezekiel 34:25), and as being inclusive of Gentiles as well as Jews (Isaiah 56:6,7). Jeremiah's details of this period of promised peace in Jeremiah 31 focus on its unconditional and spiritual nature. Here called the "new covenant" because it differs from the conditional and legal nature of the Mosaic Covenant which it supersedes, its provisions of national spiritual regeneration and restoration (verses 33,34) guarantees Israel's existence as a national entity. This is enforced by the use of the stronger Hebrew term in verse 36 for a corporate body-goi "nation," rather than the weaker 'am "a people." Thus, Israel must be preserved as a recognizable national entity, not simply as a distinguishable people for the fulfillment of this prophetic position. Although always known through the ages as the Jewish people, this national distinction was returned to Israel in May of 1948. Zechariah makes "peace" the hallmark of the coming age in contrast with the former time in which "there was no peace because of his enemies..." (Zechariah 8:10). Therefore, in the Millennial Kingdom, the time of promised refreshing (Acts 3:19), there will be peace for agricultural activity, peace for Israel among the nations, and peace within every Israeli city (Zechariah 8:12-19). According to Revelation 20:1-9, this period of peace on earth, whose security will be guaranteed by the righteous reign of the Messiah (Psalm 2:6-12), will persist for a thousand years before becoming the permanent possession of the saints in the Eternal State (Revelation 21:4, 24-26; 22:2,3).
The Characteristics of Pseudo-Peace
The Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel warned Israel on the eve of the destruction of its monarchy: "... they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace;' when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11), "they have seduced My people by saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace" (Ezekiel 13:10,16). Israel made unwise and unworthy alliances with enemies who had the potential to fight for Israel, but whose plan was to fight against her. In every case the move was away from trust in God because of the fear of man (compare Isaiah 7:1-9). A similar situation will occur when the day of the Lord commences with the Tribulation period. During this time of human enthronement in the Antichrist, security will be sought in his globalized governmental system (Revelation 13:4,7,16,17). In 1 Thessalonians 5:3, we read that at the very time they will be saying: "'Peace and safety!' then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." The deception and disappointment of pseudo-peace is that those who believe they have prevented future trouble have really only prevented themselves from escaping from it.
The Consequences of Pseudo-Peace
Pseudo-peace seems to offer the possibility for peace, but in fact only makes more probable the necessity for war. The agreement with the Palestinians has effectively turned the calendar back to 1947 when Israel was contained within its least defensible boundaries, only nine miles in width in some places. It has removed the necessary buffer zone between Israel and its hostile Arab neighbors, made possible the establishment of an enemy army in the territories under Palestinian authority who could cut off access to vital water resources and invade Israel. While the world hopes for a "peace" in the Middle East, more seasoned analysts are now forecasting just the opposite. They see the peace process as part of a phased program devised to weaken Israel as a prelude to the next and perhaps final Arab-Israeli war. As one writer, comparing the similar context of history, has put it:
"Weakening Israel territorially or spiritually ... will soon force it to face the choice Chamberlain faced when appeasement failed and Hitler invaded Poland: fight a desperate war or perish.""'
The peace process has especially threatened Jerusalem, control of which has been the stated objective of the Palestinians since the beginning of official talks with Israel in Madrid. Since the end of the first phase of the Oslo Accord, the demand for Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state has increased and been supported by terrorist attacks in the very heart of the city. This has led some newspapers to announce that "the battle for Jerusalem has begun!"
The Battle for Jerusalem
There is no doubt that the end of the conflict in the Middle East will be over Jerusalem. This is direction toward which all of the negotiations in the peace process have headed, and, as Arafat once announced: "Jerusalem is the essence of peace between us! " The biblical prophets also confirm that the resolution of the Middle East conflict will center in this city (Zechariah 12:2,3). When I spoke with Jerusalem's mayor Ehud Olmert a few days after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's state funeral, he said to me that the Prime Minister had assured him just days before his assassination that he would never divide Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated the same position, a position of strength which returned his Likud party to power. He has said: "I will never allow Jerusalem to be divided again. Never! Never! We will keep Jerusalem united and ... we will never resurrender those ramparts."" And again: "Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years since the time of King David and we don't expect to change that for the next 3,000 years!"" Renewed acts of terrorism have also provoked a renewed focus on the growing conflict over the holy city and the Temple Mount, the central stage for end-time events, but presently barred to Jews for religious purposes.
The Peace Process and Prayers at the Temple Mount
Likud's election manifesto declared that the Temple Mount is "the heart and soul of the Jewish people and the most holy focus of the Nation." According to Temple activists, it also promised to open the Temple Mount for Jewish prayers. In a letter from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Yehuda Etzion, an activist on trial for resisting arrest when he was forcibly removed from the Temple Mount after attempting to pray there last September, Netanyahu is reported to have written:
The right of the Jewish people to its holy place-the Temple Mount-cannot be questioned. I believe it is necessary to arrange for Jewish prayer at the site, especially given that we permit freedom of worship to all religions in Jerusalem... I believe we can do this properly when we return to govern the country.
The Israeli High Court did rule to permit Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount in the recent case of Yehuda Etzion. The Muslim reaction was predictable. In a sermon delivered shortly after the High Court's decision, the sheikh of the AI-Aqsa mosque declared: "We refuse to obey the decisions of this racist court. The rabbis will not enter Al-Aqsa, not [unless] over our dead bodies and shrouds." This was tested last Tisha B'Av (the day commemorating the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70) when Chief Rabbi Israel Lau issued a call for all Israel to go to the Temple Mount and pray. The Muslims closed the Mugrabi Gate (the only entrance open to Jews) and thousands of Israeli Jews waited for hours outside. Muslims were permitted inside for prayers, but the Jewish worshipers were refused entrance by police who barred the entrance fearing the threat of Arab opposition.
The Peace Process and the Rebuilding of the Temple
If the "peace process" is to continue, the Palestinians have demanded sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, though by next year a majority of Jews will live in East Jerusalem and most Israelis (whether secular or religious) continue to view the Temple as a unique symbol of Israel's independence and unity, if not of its promised future. The issue of rebuilding the Third Temple has also continually been at the forefront of Arab concerns.
access to vital water resources and invade Israel. While the world hopes for a "peace" in the Middle East, more seasoned analysts are now forecasting just the opposite. They see the peace process as part of a phased program devised to weaken Israel as a prelude to the next and perhaps final Arab-Israeli war. As one writer, comparing the similar context of history, has put it:
"Weakening Israel territorially or spiritually ... will soon force it to face the choice Chamberlain faced when appeasement failed and Hitler invaded Poland: fight a desperate war or perish.""
The peace process has especially threatened Jerusalem, control of which has been the stated objective of the Palestinians since the beginning of official talks with Israel in Madrid. Since the end of the first phase of the Oslo Accord, the demand for Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state has increased and been supported by terrorist attacks in the very heart of the city. This has led some newspapers to announce that "the battle for Jerusalem has begun!"
The Battle for Jerusalem
There is no doubt that the end of the conflict in the Middle East will be over Jerusalem. This is direction toward which all of the negotiations in the peace process have headed, and, as Arafat once announced: "Jerusalem is the essence of peace between us! " The biblical prophets also confirm that the resolution of the Middle East conflict will center in this city (Zechariah 12:2,3). When I spoke with Jerusalem's mayor Ehud Olmert a few days after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's state funeral, he said to me that the Prime Minister had assured him just days before his assassination that he would never divide Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated the same position, a position of strength which returned his Likud party to power. He has said: "I will never allow Jerusalem to be divided again. Never! Never! We will keep Jerusalem united and ... we will never resurrender those ramparts."" And again: "Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years since the time of King David and we don't expect to change that for the next 3,000 years!"" Renewed acts of terrorism have also provoked a renewed focus on the growing conflict over the holy city and the Temple Mount, the central stage for end-time events, but presently barred to Jews for religious purposes.
The Peace Process and Prayers at the Temple Mount
Likud's election manifesto declared that the Temple Mount is "the heart and soul of the Jewish people and the most holy focus of the Nation." According to Temple activists, it also promised to open the Temple Mount for Jewish prayers. In a letter from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Yehuda Etzion, an activist on trial for resisting arrest when he was forcibly removed from the Temple Mount after attempting to pray there last September, Netanyahu is reported to have written:
The right of the Jewish people to its holy place-the Temple Mount-cannot be questioned. I believe it is necessary to arrange for Jewish prayer at the site, especially given that we permit freedom of worship to all religions in Jerusalem ... I believe we can do this properly when we return to govern the country.
The Israeli High Court did rule to permit Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount in the recent case of Yehuda Etzion. The Muslim reaction was predictable. In a sermon delivered shortly after the High Court's decision, the sheikh of the Al-Aqsa mosque declared: "We refuse to obey the decisions of this racist court. The rabbis will not enter Al-Aqsa, not [unless] over our dead bodies and shrouds." This was tested last Tisha B'Av (the day commemorating the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70) when Chief Rabbi Israel Lau issued a call for all Israel to go to the Temple Mount and pray. The Muslims closed the Mugrabi Gate (the only entrance open to Jews) and thousands of Israeli Jews waited for hours outside. Muslims were permitted inside for prayers, but the Jewish worshipers were refused entrance by police who barred the entrance fearing the threat of Arab opposition.
The Peace Process and the Rebuilding of the Temple
If the "peace process" is to continue, the Palestinians have demanded sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, though by next year a majority of Jews will live in East Jerusalem and most Israelis (whether secular or religious) continue to view the Temple as a unique symbol of Israel's independence and unity, if not of its promised future. The issue of rebuilding the Third Temple has also continually been at the forefront of Arab concerns.
In March of 1996, international newspapers published a photograph of Yasser Arafat holding up an artist's rendering of a restored Temple and telling his people to "get ready for the next battle" (for Jerusalem).
On September 25, 1996, the opening by the Israelis of an exit tunnel to the Hasmonean aqueduct which connects with the Western Wall Tunnel sparked a riot between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinians heaved stones from atop the Temple Mount toward Israelis who were praying at the Western Wall as loudspeakers on the Mount called for Arabs to come and defend the holy places. Arabs came and by the end of the riot period some 58 had been killed. The Palestinians claimed that the newly-carved tunnel threatened the Muslim mosques on the Temple Mount. For this reason, Yasser Arafat described the action as "a crime against our religious and holy places ... completely against the peace process."
The Palestinian-instigated riot, however, was merely a political tactic to turn attention to their demand for Jerusalem. The facts seem to support the Israeli contention: The Western Wall Tunnel, a 2,000-year-old underground passageway, used as a transit for priests during the time of the Second Temple, has been a popular tourist attraction since its official opening to the public in 1987. However, because the only exit for the tunnel at its northern end next to the Struthion Pool was through a private home, all tourist traffic had to exit back through the tunnel's entrance. This made it impossible to tour more than 30 people at one time, resulting in tour bookings literally around the clock. Therefore, as the Ministry of Religious Affairs contends, the Islamic Wakf (the Muslim authority which has jurisdiction on the Temple Mount) had an agreement with the previous administration to allow for the tunnel exit. The agreement was a deal to permit the Muslims a one-time use of the "Solomon's Stables" area for Ramadan prayers in exchange for permission to cut the tunnel. The Ramadan prayers were held last summer as scheduled, however, Feisal al Husseini, chief negotiator for the PLO, now says that no such agreement was ever reached with the Israeli government.
The real issue, according to Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert, is the control over Jerusalem: "The tunnel has no connection to the mosques-it is far away-this is about who will control Jerusalem." However, despite Israeli dismissal of the tunnel as an issue in the riot, it remained at the center of contention when I spoke with Wakf director Adnan Husseni in October. I even noticed that Arabic maps of the Temple Mount, with the new tunnel marked in red, were still being circulated from one of the Wakf offices. Even so, the Wakf reacted in an identical manner at Succot in October of 1990 when it was thought that the Temple Mount Faithful were going to bring a cornerstone for the Third Temple to the Mount. On that occasion, even though it was widely publicized to Muslim officials and the Arab press that the Israeli police would not allow the Temple Mount Faithful to enter the area, the riots were still conducted. However, Israeli intelligence reports later revealed that the reason for the attack at the Western Wall was to highlight the Palestinian plight and to gather worldwide Muslim support (then needed by Saddarn Hussein) by focusing on the common Arab interest in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem's Importance to Islam
What is the common Arab interest in Jerusalem? Why has this one city been singled out as the key factor for the success or failure of the peace process? If we consider the religious status of Jerusalem for the Moslem, we find that it ranks only third after the Great Mosque of the Kaabah in Mecca and the mosque built upon the house of Mohammed in Medina. The Al Aqsa mosque on the southern end of the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock at its western side are the buildings that make Islam sacred to Muslims. However, it must be noted that Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Koran, that no Arab power ever made it a center of government or a site for pilgrimage, nor were the later significance of Mohammed's "Night Journey" and "Ascent to Paradise," associated with these structures, either in the Koran or as a part of early Muslim interpretation. Rather, the importance of the Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock lies in their being symbols of Islam's suppression of Christianity and Judaism. In A.D. 638 when Islam captured Jerusalem from the Byzantine Christian empire, it wanted to demonstrate its status as military conqueror of Christianity, that Mohammed was a greater prophet than Jesus, and that Islam superseded Christianity. Therefore, the Al Aqsa was built over the site of a Byzantine church which in turn was built over the site of Solomon's Porch where the Church was born on the day of Pentecost (Acts 3:11; 5:12), and the Dome of the Rock was built over the site of the Holy of Holies within the Jewish Temple which had been defiled by Byzantine Christianity. This replacement theology of Islam can be further seen within the Dome of the Rock where inscribed verses from the Koran instruct Muslims that Christianity is false by saying "God had no son" and "Allah is the One God," and the Koranic teaching that Ishmael (Abraham's son claimed as the Arab progenitor), not Isaac (Abraham's son through whom the Jewish people came) was offered for sacrifice on the rock within the dome. This same concept of replacement can be seen in the fourth holiest place in Islam, the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, built in the city where Jesus' disciples were first called "Christians" (Acts 11:26) and over the site of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist. Nevertheless, apart from these apologetic purposes, Jerusalem holds no religious significance for the worship of the Moslem. As Shmuel Katz has observed: "Without Jerusalem, not an iota would be changed in the texture of Islam, or in the personal life of the Arabs or any other Moslem. He would continue to pray in the direction of Mecca, as he has always done.""
Jerusalem's Importance to Jews
On the other hand, in Judaism, Jerusalem occupies the most important place in its worship. The posture of Orthodox prayer from any point in the world is only towards Jerusalem, as mandated in the Bible (1 Kings 8:29,30, 38-44; compare Daniel 6:10). Since the destruction and exile of the Jewish people from Jerusalem in A.D. 70, Jewish prayers have included a petition to return to Jerusalem and rebuild. At Passover, Jews throughout the world end their commemoration of the Exodus with the prayer "Next Year in Jerusalem! " And whenever access was possible throughout the ages, the Western Wall of the Temple Mount was the chief center for pilgrimage and worship. No other city in Israel commemorates a special day of celebration over its liberation, but in May each year "Jerusalem Day" celebrates the unification of the city which occurred in 1967. Regardless of the religious affectations of Jewish people, there is a universal recognition and affirmation that Jerusalem remains the historic capital of Israel and the place from which the peace promised to the Jewish people and mankind will be realized. This realization is epitomized in many places around the city where there can be seen inscriptions of the familiar verse from the Psalms: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
International Involvement
If, as Zechariah predicts, the nations of the world will one day unify in an invasion of Israel with the attack focused on Jerusalem, then we should expect to see international involvement in the Middle East situation mounting as we move toward the endtime. In this respect, China has traditionally supported Israel's Arab enemies and has especially close relations with Iran. Iran has for years been amassing non-conventional weapons, and China has agreed to build an atomic reactor for them. China has been interested in Israel's technological advances in agriculture since it struggles to feed its ever burgeoning population. Iraq, too, has continued to increase its armaments, despite the sanctions imposed upon it after the Gulf War, and recently Saddarn Hussein received Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (who, with King Hussein of Jordan, had supported him in the Gulf War). Libya's Mohammar Khadafi has begun to build a mountain fortress containing an arsenal of chemical weapons that can be launched against Israel and even the United States. The Commonwealth of Independent States has continued to supply arms to these and other Middle Eastern Arab powers while eyeing Israel's considerable wealth of mineral resources in the Dead Sea and its immigrant intelligentsia. Such resources are desperately needed to revive the social and economic disasters that plague the former Soviet empire.
Arabs and the New World Order
At the same time, the Palestinians and the Arab League are hastening to position themselves to be part of the expanding New World Order that has emerged with the unification of Germany, the collapse of the Iron Curtain, and the rise of the European Economic Community. Essential to entrance in this network is a peaceful coexistence that fosters the overarching principle of unity. Yasser Arafat, recognized by Palestinians as "President" of an as yet nonexistent Palestinian state, has listed acceptance by this community as one of his top priorities and motivation for making "peace" with Israel. He states:
For many years I have been asking the Israelis to start making peace ... There is a new world order. We want to be part of this new order, as Palestinians, and as an Arab nation.
For this same reason Arafat demanded an International Force be stationed in the Palestinian territories to police the Israeli settlements nearby. Such an action drew the Palestinian state into the protective custody of the international community, while at the same time set Israel apart from it. The Arabs perceived this as an important guarantee for their security, since they had interpreted the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican as a move against Muslim solidarity." However, by coming under the indirect control of an international force, when the Russian-Arab alliance moves against Israel, the European community will be compelled to intervene. However, when the battle is turned to favor Israel, they will join with the Israelis, and their leader will perhaps claim credit for what is, in fact, a divine intervention.
It was incredible enough to believe Israel's nearly five million inhabitants could hold their own against 22 Arab nations of more than 200 million, but with the added numbers of Russia and her satellites, the world will be convinced that Israel's survival through this attack is indeed miraculous. For a time, the anti-Semitism that has spread through Europe will give way to an acknowledgment of this phenomena. However, once Israel asserts her independence from the rule of Antichrist, anti-Semitism will explode on a worldwide scale, and Israel will truly be "hated by all nations" (Matthew 24:9).
Arms Buildup in the Middle East
One of the most disturbing events occurring parallel to the supposed "peace" plan in the Middle East is the continual buildup of weaponry throughout the Arab League countries. Russia is one of the largest suppliers of submarines and other armaments to Iran, China has supplied reactors and nuclear technology to Iran and Algeria, and France has sold massive amounts of tanks to the United Arab Emirates. As a result of allied assistance during the Gulf War, the U.S. and Great Britain have made heavy concessions of fighter-bombers to Saudi Arabia." It is also well known that Iraq,
Iran, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Algeria have all sought to produce or have produced nuclear and chemical/biological weapons in the last year." Reports that Egyptians have located uranium sites concealed by Israelis in the Sinai have also caused recent concern." One must wonder why there is an increased proliferation of arms pouring into these Arab countries if peace is truly a prospect.
What Could Happen Next?
If Israel is unsuccessful in its negotiations, and the "peace" process fails, it will be forced to engage in another war with its Arab neighbors, a conflict on a scale far greater than any it has yet seen. One writer summed up the situation as only trading land for time, adding a pessimistic prognosis for peace:
But let us also be under no illusion as to what has happened, or what will happen hereafter. The Palestinian Arabs as a whole have not changed their minds one iota about what they regard as a great historic wrong, nor have they abandoned their hope of rectifying it Let us consider, then, the events that may occur as we move down the road from pseudo-peace to a war in the Middle East.
The Road to Making Pseudo-Peace
Somewhere along the prophetic path that leads to the final pseudo-peace made by the Antichrist, will come a war between Israel and a Russian-Arab alliance (Ezekiel 38-39). This war, called the "Battle of Gog and Magog" in the context of Ezekiel, is placed between the chapters dealing with Israel's return to the Land and spiritual restoration (chapters 33-37) and the building of the Millennial Temple (chapters 40-48). Therefore, it could occur prior to the Tribulation or in either the first or second parts of the Tribulation, including at its end. Israel, at present, fits the description given in Ezekiel 38 of "living securely... without walls, and having no bars or gates" (verse 11). Only the old city of Jerusalem is walled, but the majority of Jerusalemites live in the new city outside these walls. Israel has also inhabited the "waste places" as predicted for this time in Ezekiel 38:12.
The Battle of Gog and Magog
During the end-time battle of Gog and Magog, Gog is depicted as a military leader that arises from "the northern region" (from Israel's vantage point) of Magog (ancient Scythia). Today this area is comprised of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghiza, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. According to Ezekiel, other nations which align themselves with Magog to invade Israel are Rosh (Russia), Meshech and Tubal (territories in Turkey), Gomer (Germany), Togarmah (Turkey), Persia (Iran), Cush/Ethiopia (Sudan), Put (Libya), and Egypt (according to Daniel 11:4042). While there is a difference of opinion among scholars as to the precise timing of this war, many now place it sometime before or during the Tribulation period (compare Ezekiel 37:8, 16; 39:9) .21,
Can it be only coincidental that the balance of power in this part of the world has for decades been concentrated in Russia and the Arab countries? Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, six of the former southern republics have become independent Islamic nations: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. All of these new nations, which are part of Ezekiel's prediction, have a militant Islamic movement and are virulently anti-Semitic. They all also have economic hardships which have forced alliances with other Islamic nations, and have nuclear weapons at their disposal.
Russian control of Arab countries will perhaps give it the power to negotiate with Israel, although the thought expressed here is that Russia will invade Israel and control it by guaranteeing its security (by a covenant of peace?). This is similar to Daniel 11:40,41 and Ezekiel 38:8, which both picture a non-destructive invasion of Israel from the north.
It appears that the groundwork for this plan has even now been laid through the political and economic circumstances in Russia. Since Russia cannot produce a sufficient industry to survive economically, its only course has been to align itself with Third World countries. An axis has been formed at the present between Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Ethiopia to overthrow the U.S. and its allies. Russia has already forged alliances with some of these and others: Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Libya, and Turkey. In addition, the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrghyzstan have signed a military assistance pact with the Russian Federation. These countries are all Islamic and have been confirmed to possess nuclear weapons. In the past year, Iran and Iraq have been arming themselves with weapons supplied by Russia and China as never before, an act which in itself calls for international involvement. Such events, combined with the downturn in the pseudo-peace process, has led Gershon Salomon, leader of Israel's Temple Mount Faithful, to announce publicly that he expects the soon-coming and unavoidable Arab-Israeli war to be none other than the prophetic battle of Gog and Magog:
I consider it my duty to warn my people and all the friends of Israel that a terrible war, the most terrible war of all the seven wars of Israel, is going to be perpetrated in this land against the people of Israel as a direct result of these terrible agreements and the giving away to the enemies of G-d our Holy Temple Mount and the most holy and important Biblical areas of Israel ... According to the prophetic plans of G-d these areas must be, and will be, even more so than in the past, the land of G-d and the people of Israel to carry the great mission in the end-times ... We read in the prophetic Scriptures of Ezekiel and Zechariah about the terrible Gog and Magog war which is going to come on the people of Israel in the end-times, in the time of the redemption. When we see these terrible, critical events in Israel we can understand why, in this time of redemption, this terrible war of Gog and Magog is going to take place ... This war will not be an easy time for Israel ... but it will be the last war of redemption of the people of Israel. This will be the war when the Messiah, Mashiach ben David, will appear and again be the eternal King of Israel. This war will also open a new moral and spiritual page in the history of Israel. After this war the people of Israel will not be the same people... G-d is ready to make this a time of prophetic fulfillment, are we allowed not to be ready? ... We believe that a brave government committed to the historical vision of the people of Israel of the rebuilding of the temple would soon give the order to renew the work of finding the Ark [of the Covenant] and to place it in a rebuilt Holy of Holies."
If this expected pre-Tribulational war is that of Gog and Magog, or some other war involving similar peoples, and it neutralizes the pervasive political clout of Islam, Israel will emerge as a major player in the end-time scenario and a force with which to be reckoned by all nations (compare Zechariah 12:3,9;14:2).
The Prophetic Process of Pseudo-Peace
Because the outcome of this coming Middle East war will result in Israel gaining a new position of power in the Middle East, the European leader (the Antichrist) will move to establish a balance of power by making a covenant with the Jews (see Daniel 9:27). For the first time in modern history there will be no Islamic opposition to Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem. It is possible that as a result of the recognition of divine intervention in the war, Orthodox Jews will be elevated in the eyes of the secular nation, and will take over the government. These new spiritual-political leaders will announce that the victory of Israel has ushered in the long-awaited Messianic era of redemption. This will instigate the rebuilding of the Third Temple and the sacrificial system will be reinstituted (Revelation 11:1,2; Daniel 9:27).
Daniel's Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9:24-27) clearly identifies a "prince that shall come" whose people destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Sanctuary (Daniel 9:26). This future figure will make a "firm covenant" with the Jewish leadership ("the many") at a time when the Jewish Temple is (or can be) rebuilt and the sacrificial system reinstituted (verse 27). The relationship between these events in the same context imply that the restoration of the Temple and its services may be a result of the signing of this covenant. If so, the parallel of these events with the provisions in God's "covenant of peace" (to be made with Israel at the beginning of the Millennium), may also imply the Antichrist's attempt to counterfeit this predicted peace and deceive Israel and the world with a pseudo-millennium.
These events move Israel into the Tribulation period known in the Old Testament as the "Time of Jacob's Trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7) or "Time of Distress" (Daniel 12:1). The first half of this period, while certainly a time in which God's wrath is displayed on earth (Revelation 6:1,2), will nevertheless be a: time in which Israel enjoys a pseudo-messianic era. However, this time of "peace" in the Middle East, which may be the political maneuver that propels the Antichrist into world ascendancy, is described by the Bible as a false peace (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11). In 1 Thessalonians 5:3 we read: "For when they shall say, 'Peace and safety;' then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." It may be that during this time the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11-18), who will be Jewish (verse 11) may appear and eventually be accepted by many Jews as the Messiah (Matthew 24:24). This false peace will evidently end with the desecration of the Temple by the Antichrist and the worldwide persecution of Jews at the mid-point of this period. These events will usher the world into a time of Great Tribulation, described as a period when this pseudo "peace is removed from the earth" at the opening of the second seal judgment (Revelation 6:4).
How Will It Happen?
When we look at the mix in the Middle East today, there is confusion as to how the scenario posited in Scripture will happen. It is my opinion that the events concerning Israel during the Tribulation will be spearheaded by a minority element of religious Jews. They will enter into the contract with the Antichrist in order to secure peace and rebuild the Third Temple. From their ranks may come the 144,000 Jews who will understand the deception, receive the true Messiah, and bear witness to the gospel of His coming Kingdom to the world (Revelation 7:3-8). Many have wondered how the present religious minority movements in Israel (messianic and Temple movements) could influence world events. As the 1990 Temple Mount incident with the Temple Mount Faithful, which drew response from Saddam Hussein, and the Kach member Baruch Goldstein's 1994 'mosque shooting have revealed, it does not require a majority to make a big difference in the Middle East. One writer has said concerning this disproportionate influence of minority organizations in Israel:
Although small in absolute numbers, the power of these splinter groups to derail international initiatives and to reignite conflict on the West Bank is magnified by uninhibited ideological fanaticism."
Today in Israel there exists the Temple Movement, the Lubavitchers with their continued hope in the resurrection of their pseudo-messiah Menchem Mendel Schneerson, (the Ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionist who awaits a divine intervention and the overthrow of secular Jewish government), and many other organizations who want to see Jewish sovereignty restored to all of the Land of Israel ('Eretz-Yisrael). Though at present these are splinter groups, a deceptive event of divine proportion could convince these groups to follow a single messianic figure and support the signing of a covenant that appeared to fulfill their biblical expectations.
Preparing for the Prince of Pseudo-Peace
But how will the world follow the figure of the Antichrist? Today, though the world is relatively stable, there exists a longing for someone to follow who will unite human hearts despite their cultural and religious differences. Modern media-enhanced figures
have offered evidence that the masses can be moved to idolize and even "worship," be they rock stars such as John Lennon or political celebrities such as Princess Diana. The international outpouring of grief at the deaths of these famous people by so many from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds lay in the universal familiarity gained through media exposure. Though some seven billion people are thought to have shared in sympathy over "Princess Di," few, if any, of these had ever met her. It was the image they knew and had adored. Yet, something more may be revealed in these disproportionate displays of emotion. Perhaps we are also seeing the collective disappointment of a desperately seeking society cheated of a world-class figure whose projected image offered a rallying point for the planet.
However, once the spiritual checks and balances of the Holy Spirit working through the Church are removed at the Rapture, the great delusion will descend upon a world bereft of discerning leaders and in their place will arise the "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:6-12). The world's penchant for following a charismatic figure will become fanaticism, and fearful of anarchy breaking out across the globe, the world will seek security in a leader who can effectively employ detente. When he reveals himself in supernatural proportions, the international media elite will join in projecting his image around the globe. And when this icon of pseudo-peace perishes, and then revives, the world which has been merged in grief and jubilation will passionately surrender itself to his leadership. Thus we read in Revelation 13:3,4: "And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"' That future leader will be the one who resolves the Middle East conflict and finally makes peace possible. He will be internationally heralded as a superstar, man of the year, peace prize recipient, and even messiah. It is not hard to see how this will be possible given the modern climate of expectancy and the clamoring for any candidate who promises peace.
The True Storm Shelter of Peace
Failed promises of pseudo-peace have frustrated the deluded masses from time immemorial. God's Word in both testaments has preserved such thwarted hopes in its own record of man's desperation: "We waited for peace, but no good came..." (Jeremiah 8:15; 14:19), "and the path of peace they have not known" (Isaiah 59:8; Romans 3:17). But the Scripture also proclaims that the present desire for peace can be realized. Only Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), is able to "speak peace to the nations" (Zechariah 9:10), for with Him as the High Priest of His people is "peace and righteousness" to "turn many back from iniquity" (Malachi 2:6). However, Christ did not come into this world at His first coming to bring political peace (Matthew 10:34; Luke 12:51; compare John 18:36); this has been reserved for His return at the end of the age (Acts 3:20,21; Romans 16:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). Even so, Christ offered His personal peace as a storm shelter in contrast to the pseudo-peace of the world: "My peace give I unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you" (John 14:27; 16:33). This peace is first of all a "peace with God" (Romans 5:1), since all men as sinners are at enmity with Him, being born into enemy camp (John 8:44; Romans 3:9-18). This spiritual peace is promised to the one who believes God's word concerning Christ, who died in the sinner's place on the cross that he might receive forgiveness from God and inherit eternal life (Acts 16:31; Romans 5:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 13:20). Christ also grants a practical peace to safely weather all the storms of life (Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:16), and assures us that as the God of Peace, His presence will be with us to make good His promise (Romans 15:33, 2 Corinthians 13: 11; Philippians 4:9). This peace, which is beyond earthly understanding (Philippians 4:7) makes possible a new peaceful relationship between Gentiles and Jews (or for that matter, between Arabs and Jews), Ephesians 2:14-17. This, then, is the true peace for which the world seeks, and which may be found if sought in Christ alone. May you escape the deception of this age's pseudo-peace and find Christ's true peace which forever shelters from the storm.