Will Israel Give Away the Store for a False Peace?
December 29, 2006
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Recent news articles, like the one following Archive Prophecy Update Number 32, and various intelligence reports out of the Middle East, are making me wonder if Israel, like the famous store owner Fred, is about to “give away the store.”
The current situation in the Middle East is in the most confusing state I have ever witnessed. The statements coming out of Israel shift from one day to the next, and there seems to be more diversity of opinion among government leaders than I have witnessed in many years. The Islamic nations are shifting allegiances like wrestlers in a thirty man match in a gigantic ring, hoping to end up as part of the ten who survive to wrestle in five later matches.
The question in the minds of many, who believe the prophecies in God’s word, has never been IF Israel would begin to develop a mindset in which she finally had a feeling of some sort of “Peace and safety,” but HOW such a thing would come to pass. I have operated on the premise it MUST come to pass according to Scripture for more than fifty years, and have watched Middle East events since my first tour there in 1952 and 1953.
Believe it or not, out of this maze of conflicting reports and shifting policies of both Israel and the Islamic nations, Israel is going to finally reach a mindset where she thinks that at least a brief period of “Peace and Safety” has been achieved for her people, regardless of how it comes to pass.
The mindset has to be developed on the belief she can successfully defend herself and win the victory over all foes in any war. Once the maze of confusing smoke and mirrors begins to clear up as the security barrier is completed by 2008, and some sort of hudna comes into place, I believe Israel will have the mindset of I Thessalonians 5:3.
I guesstimate the attack against Israel by ten Islamic nations is most likely to occur at some point in time between 2008 and 2012.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – 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.
[4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Begin Archive Prophecy Update 12
PROPHECY UPDATE 12
April, 2001
The Apostle Paul had a deep spiritual burden for his own people, the nation of Israel. His born again heart longed for them to forsake their unbelief by turning to Jesus as their Messiah.
He expresses this desire in Romans 10:1 as he states: “Brethren, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” There is no question that Paul saw Israel as being in unbelief. But he knew that some future day they would believe, and consequently be grafted back into God’s olive tree, from which they had been broken off because of their unbelief.
He stated this principle in Romans 11:20, as he wrote: “Well, because of unbelief they were broken off.” But he goes on in verse 23 to indicate they will one day believe, and thereby restored to being part of God’s olive tree. He writes, “And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.” I said all this to explain the words “they” and “them” in I Thessalonians 5:3, where Paul states: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh on them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” Paul, in his use of “they” and “them,” is referring to the nation of Israel in unbelief. However, it would also in part apply to all unbelievers in the last days.
So why have I given this discourse? The word translated as “safety” is “asphaleia,” which means “the security one experiences when standing on something that is firmly fixed.
It gives the one standing on it a sense of “not falling.” The last four leaders of Israel have worn out the following expression: “We must have a peace with security.” We have heard it used hundreds of times on the media, and it has been printed over and over again in countless articles. Why is this important? God indicates a time will come when Israel actually believes she has “a peace with security.” Why is it so important that we understand this prediction
? Because we can know that the final war, involving Israel’s Islamic neighbors, will not occur until it is fulfilled! Israel must be lulled into a false sense of security before any united Islamic attack against her can be successful. Until this happens, and it will, I merely wait for it to come to pass. Then, when peace and security for Israel does appear to arrive in the Middle East, you can know that the final war of this age is about to occur.
Don’t believe all these terrorist attacks will suddenly cause the final war of this age to begin. It is only when they cease that you can know the last war, which finally produces Armageddon some 3 and ½ years after it begins, is imminent.
End Archive Prophecy Update 12
Begin Jerusalem Post Article
Olmert ready to respond to ‘any murmur of peace’
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST
December 28, 2006
In a gesture to Syria, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday said that he was open to “any murmur of peace” from Israel’s enemies.
Syria has recently signaled that it would like to reopen peace talks with Israel, which broke down seven years ago. Olmert has rejected the offers, citing Syria’s support for Hizbullah and Palestinian terror groups.
In a speech to graduates of an air force pilot’s course, Olmert indicated he was softening his opposition. “The state of Israel is open to any murmur of peace from our neighbors and across our borders,” he said.
“If our enemies genuinely want peace, they will find in us a fair partner, determined to establish relations of peace, friendship and reciprocity,” he added.
Olmert’s spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, played down the comments.
“He has constantly said that if we see anything different, a glimpse of change, then that would be interesting and could make a difference,” she said.
However, Syria continues to support Israel’s staunchest enemies – including the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah, she added.
There was no immediate reaction from Syria, where government offices were closed at the beginning of an eight-day holiday.
In recent weeks, Syrian President Bashar Assad has offered to restart peace talks with Israel.
The offers came in different forms, including news interviews.
The recent report for the White House by the Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep.
Lee Hamilton, urged Israel to reopen talks with Syria to help reduce tensions in the Middle East.
Israel has rejected the report’s conclusions.
In peace talks that broke down in 2000, Israel offered a return of all of the captured Golan Heights, but the negotiations foundered on Syrian demands for a foothold on the shore of the Sea of Galilee – a major source of Israeli drinking water – and conditions for peace it would give Israel.
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