"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

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

...In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf."

Zechariah 12:2-3,6

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.

These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

Revelation 19:11-21

REALITY CHECK:

In the global push for a Middle East peace, even Christians and Jews tend to forget that the formation of a Palestinian state is an abdication of Israel’s divine claim to the Promised Land.

Israel is quite literally giving away the territory that God says belongs to Him and to the descendants of Jacob. Obviously, those who do so do not feel obliged to protect the Holy Land that God so specifically claims.

Is Israel duty-bound to defend the territory God appointed her through covenants with Abraham and his descendants —Isaac and Jacob?

Well, it was actually God who ran them off the land in the first place because of their rejection of Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple, that not one stone would be left on top of another. That certainly happened. In addition, the Old Testament prophets prophesied the dispersion/diaspora of Israel. It was He that scattered them to the four corners of the earth. God clearly and intentionally cut them off from their possession.

But Ezekiel prophesied that Israel would be resurrected (returned) from "dry bones" (dispersion). God planned all along to bring them back to the Holy Land. The very existence of the modern State of Israel is testimony that God is guiding this saga from on High. And God is NOT nearly through with this mess.

Ironically, the force that worked so hard to rebirth the modern state, Zionism, is not very religious at all. Zionists are mostly secular, often atheistic, often-anti-Orthodox. Those who work feverishly to promote Zionism are rarely doing so for Biblical reasons. It does not seem that Zionism is consciously driven by a divine mandate, but by other motives. It appears to manifest a much greater loyalty to the cultural and familial values of Jews than to fulfilling God's agenda. Much of the Zionist agenda actually contradicts God's ultimate plan for Israel.

I cannot adequately surmise the dilemma here, but will venture to say it had been better if Zionists had never reclaimed the land, than to first claim it, then give it away again. Their failure to hold the land in sacred trust for the purpose of God is certain to anger God.

We have seen that every Israeli politician who has engaged in giving away territory has met with calamitous circumstances. Could that be a manifestation of divine retribution? Only God knows for sure.

So, what about this "Roadmap for Peace"?

Who instigated this formal, international manhandling of Israel called the Roadmap? According to a PBS video documentary entitled, “Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs," Jordan's King Abdullah was the driving force behind “The Roadmap for Peace.”

King Abdullah is alleged to be the 43^rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, of the Islamic religion. Muhammad's grandfather, Hashim is the namesake of this people. The lineage traces through Muhammad's daughter Fatima. (The dispute over this claim is the principal difference between the Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims). 

King Abdullah was educated in Britain and the U.S., and received Middle Eastern studies at Oxford University and a Masters in Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is very popular in the West, and one of the most famous Muslim on earth (as opposed to infamous Osama bin Laden or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad).

Photo: Jordan's King Abdullah and then Crown Prince (now King) Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

According to King Abdullah’s website, the Roadmap is “based on the breakthrough peace initiatives by Arab nations at the Beirut Summit of 2002.”

The Beirut Summit, held in Lebanon on March 28, 2002, was a meeting of the kings, presidents and emirs of the Arab states. The official statement of the Beirut Summit greeted “with pride and honor the valiant martyrs of the intifada,” and expressed “solidarity with Syria,” among other things. (Intifada, in this case, refers to the uprisings of hostilities against Israel. Syria, of course, is one of the most notable state-sponsors of terrorism.)

“The Beirut Declaration” listed the Arabs’ three principal expectations from Israel.

1. Withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights, back to 1967 borders.

2. Resolve the Palestinian refugee problem according to UN Resolution 194.

3. Accept a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In return for Israel’s compliance, the Arab states agreed to “sign a peace agreement with Israel, and achieve peace for all states in the region.”

Since the “Roadmap for Peace” was constructed from “The Beirut Declaration,” and since the Roadmap has become such an important document to the future of the world, it is only natural that we should ask, "Who constructed the Beirut Declaration?"

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah presented the original text to the Arab leaders, who then adopted it with revisions.

Significantly, the Declaration itself did not attract the interest or support of Western powers until Jordanian King Abdullah traveled to 10 Downing Street in London on April 22, 2002, and talked with then Prime Minister Tony Blair. That same day, the King called on the United States to assume its responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to withdraw.

“The Roadmap for Peace” would never have evolved into its present role if Jordan’s King had not effectively twisted the arms of the West via Tony Blair and George Bush on April 22^nd. Interestingly, King Abdullah had just met with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah the previous day in Casablanca, Morocco.

Three days later, on April 25^th, President George Bush received Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. At that meeting, Bush stated his hopes that “our efforts can help return us to the path of peace.

In less than sixty days, Bush delivered a speech in the White House Rose Garden that set forth his vision for “two states, living side by side in peace and security.” He announced that the United States and the European Union planned to work with the Arab states and Palestinian leaders to implement changes.

On August 1, Jordan’s King Abdullah came to Washington and met with President Bush. Coincidentally, the president met the same day with Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister of Israel. American policy has since reflected a significant shift in favor of the Palestinian state.

On September 17, 2002, at the annual UN General Assembly, members of “the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East” outlined a three-phase “roadmap” to achieving “two states, living side by side in peace and security” – the exact words Bush used almost five months earlier. Javier Solana represented the EU, Colin Powell the US, Kofi Annan the UN, and Igor Ivanov the Russian Federation.

On April 30, 2003, almost one year exactly after the King of Jordan and the Crown Prince of Saudi met with President Bush, the U.S. Department of State officially published the “Roadmap.”

What impelled Jordan’s King to champion this cause?

King Abdullah could have had several motives, not the least of which was two million Palestinian refugees (see 1952 photo at right) that his relatively small state has been forced to support over the past fifty years. Jordan has absorbed more Palestinian refugees than any other locale except Gaza. See my article "The Swelling of Jordan."

King Abdullah of Jordan also faces enormous pressure from his Arabic and Islamic brothers to plead the Palestinian cause to the West, due in large part to the high favor he enjoys in the Western world.

At this writing, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are being coerced into compliance to the Roadmap by the four major powers in the Quartet: the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia.

In a nutshell, the Roadmap is a strategy to define the borders of Israel, resolve the right of return for Palestinians, settle the Jerusalem issue, and determine who will control the Temple Mount. If the Roadmap is fully implemented, Israel will have given away more territory than nearly anyone in the West ever expected.

While many consider this to be one of the absolute prerequisites to peace in the region, all Jews and Christians are aware that Israel will have given away almost half of the Promised Land. That is an ominous prospect. If and when such a settlement occurs, the world will have to contend with Almighty God's displeasure over the matter. Israel’s head has never been on such a chopping block as this one. Its implications are vast. 

ADDENDUM:

Since this original article was written in late 2005, Tony Blair has been added to the equation. After departing the office of Prime Minister of the UK, Blair established a residence in Israel for one week of each month. His goal was to help bring the Palestinian State into existence. As such, the media depicts him as representing the UN Quartet. In cruel reality, however, he is representing Kings Abdullah of Jordan and Saudi Arabia and the Arab nations. They have twisted his arm so tightly that he had no choice but to plead their cause for a Palestinian State. If Blair fails, can you say, "No more oil for the West!"?

But wait... there's more! Since all this began, members of the European Union finally ratified the Lisbon Treaty, officially empowering the EU as a unified governance over its member states. For the first time, Europe has a single president, and an official foreign minister. Prior to the ratification of that treaty, Javier Solana was the de-facto Foreign Minister of Europe. But now, for the first time, the European Union has a President and Vice-President. President of the European Union is once Communist, now Social Democrat, José Manuel Barroso, and his Vice-President is High Representative Catherine Ashton.

What does that have to do with Middle East affairs? The EU is in a most conspicuous position from the view of Bible prophecy. Why? Because the European Union is the Iron and Clay Feet AND the four-headed Leopard of the book of Daniel. The prophecies there forecast Europe taking the lead role in world government. Whereas the United States has heretofore been the strong-man at the United Nations, the European Union will probably replace that arrangement very, very soon, and the President of the EU is likely to be just the man to make that happen. If and when that happens, it will ultimately be the EU president, in tandem with the Pope and the Vatican, who finally forces the State of Israel into the Seven Year Covenant of Bible prophecy.

Bible prophecies say that the "Prince of Rome" will make seven-year covenant over Israel (Daniel 9:27). We cannot yet see exactly what form that seven-year covenant will take, but the Bible clearly tells us that there will be an Assyrian ruler (Isaiah 14:25-26, Revelation 13:5-6) installed in Jerusalem BY THE EUROPEANS and ROME.

Let me restate that fact. The Bible shows that the powers of Rome will have a "mouth speaking great things and blasphemies." The only way to reconcile the various scriptures on this matter is for Europe and Rome to endorse an Assyrian as the governor of Jerusalem. "ASSYRIAN" in modern terms would be someone from the region of Turkey, Syria or Iran. This man of sin could come from anywhere in that region - probably someone of the stature of Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey, or Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation - the second largest international organization in the world after the UN.)

This would effectively fulfill all the prophecies about the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Assyrian.

This man will finally commit the "Abomination of Desolation" (Daniel 9:27) in the Third Temple in Jerusalem.

But for right now, the whole world is absolutely determined to force Israel into accepting a new Palestinian state, and a DIVIDED JERUSALEM. Eventually, (sooner than later) it will happen, but there can be no real "peace and safety." Sudden destruction will soon follow the establishment of a Palestinian State. That is the Biblical forecast.

"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."

1 Thessalonians 5:3