Thursday, November 12, 2009

Jerusalem: A ticking time bomb

It never ceases to amaze me - the accuracy and specificity of biblical prophecy. As we have mentioned so many times on this blog; the fact that tiny Israel occupies so much of the attention of the world, and the world's leaders, as foretold in the prophetic scriptures is amazing - especially given the fact that these prophecies were written around 2,500 years ago. What would be the "random odds" of hitting that correctly by accident or luck? Of all the locations in the world, Israel was identified as being central to almost everything happening and affecting the world - as we approach the end of this age.

As Zechariah's prophecies informed us, Jerusalem would be the center of attention within Israel. A city such as Jerusalem should be insignificant. It is relatively small by modern day standards with a population barely over 700,000; it isn't a port city so shipping isn't a consideration; it isn't interesting from a military (strategic) perspective and there is nothing there that should reasonably precipitate such world interest. In other words, predicting that Jerusalem would be the focus of the world's attention would seem highly implausible.

At the risk of being redundant, it is worth repeating the scriptures:

Zechariah 12:1-3

"This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: 'I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.'"

With this scripture leading the way, we look at yet another article from the Middle East which reveal the accuracy of this prophecy:

"Jordan: Jerusalem is a ticking time bomb". Quotes:

"Jerusalem is a ticking time bomb where an attack by Jewish extremists on Muslim holy sites could erase any chances for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, undermining stability in the entire Muslim world. Jordan's US Ambassador Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Huaaein told the Washington Post in an interview published on Thursday."

"The Jordanian diplomat stressed that the two-state solution was pointless if the Israeli government refused to discuss the status of the capital. 'If Jerusalem is left out of the mix, if you can't negotiate Jerusalem, there is no deal, even if you negotiate other components.'"

"If you can't have a two-state solution because of Jerusalem, can anyone think of any other way?" he was quoted as saying.

So once again, we see Jerusalem as the single remaining issue in this entire Middle East "problem" that has the attention of "the world'. The "quartet" as it is commonly called, namely the EU, the U.S., Russia and the UN have assumed the leadership role in the Middle East peace process, and this group definitely represents the majority of the world.

Before 1967, the date in which Israel recaptured Jerusalem following the epic surprise attack launched against Israel - Jerusalem wasn't even a passing thought by any world leaders. At that time, Jerusalem was merely a footnote in secular history. But over this relatively brief period of approximately 40 years, Jerusalem has indeed become the main focus of Middle East peace.

To put this in perspective, can you imagine attempting to determine what city in the world will be the main focus by world's leaders - 2,500 years from now? What are the odds that you could randomly predict that?

Yet, the Bible prophecy told us the following:

- Israel would be regathered - after having been scattered throughout the world - in Israel, and it happened.
- Israel's land would be restored, and it has happened.
- Israel would be surrounded by her enemies (look at a map) and this is occurring now, in real time.
- Jerusalem would be a main focus, and all nations would be gathered against her.

Other than Israel, where are the world leaders supporting Israel right now? Where is the world leader who is supporting Israel's control over Jerusalem? Or the world leader who is stating unequivocally that Jerusalem belongs to Israel, exclusively?

Answer: no where. There isn't a single world leader standing for Israel when it comes to Jerusalem.

In the words of Joel Rosenberg - and I am paraphrasing, but he said the following:
"Israel is the epicenter of the world. Jerusalem is the epicenter of Israel and the Temple Mount is the epicenter of Jerusalem."

True words. As the Jordanian ambassador stated - it all boils down to Jerusalem. But we already knew that because we have future history at our disposal - history written in advance through the biblical scriptures.

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