1. To fight corruption in the Palestinian Authority.
2. To destroy the Oslo Accords.

"Hamas's participation in the parliamentary election will completely destroy the Oslo Accords," Gaza's Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar is quoted in the article as having said. What does this demonstrate to us? The warmongers of the Middle East are afraid the Oslo Accords will eventually bring about a permanent peace between Israel and her enemies, something Hamas - bent on Israel's destruction - doesn't want to see happen.

Interestingly, Zahar is quoted in the article as saying he wouldn't rule out the possibility, should Hamas win a majority of the Palestinian Authority's governmental seats, the government would negotiate a long-term hudna [a temporary cease-fire] with Israel in the aftermath. The use of the word 'hudna', however, tells us Hamas is never going to agree to a lasting peace with Israel. As such, if a variation of the Oslo Accords is going to play a role in fulfilling Daniel 9:26-27, which details the rise of the Antichrist at the onset of the Tribulation Period, the plan is going to have to be backed by a third party or a group of many backers, in order to prevent organizations like Islamic Jihad and Hamas from sabotaging it. Is that what's going to happen? I have no idea, but it is certainly worthy of consideration as a possibility, especially if Hamas views Oslo as such a threat to its ongoing mission to destroy Israel!

Trouble brewing on the Temple Mount?

The Israeli Insider reported earlier this week that Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia is warning a fresh outbreak of violence will erupt if Jewish extremists go ahead with plans to force their way into a disputed holy site in Jerusalem in an attempt to sabotage Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.

The disputed site, the Temple Mount, is a highly-contested piece of real estate where Muslims claim their prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Jews, in contrast, accurately claim Islam's Dome of the Rock sits atop the ruins of Judaism's Holy Temples detailed in the Bible.

Although it's hard to say what is going to take place in the months ahead, I thoroughly believe there is going to be an effort on the part of many Jews and, perhaps, Christians to get onto the Temple Mount in an attempt to prevent Israeli settlements from falling into Palestinian hands.

Palestinian Prime Minister Qureia, speaking on the topic, was quoted in the Israeli Insider's article as saying, "We warn the Israeli government and the international community that if any attack targets Al Aqsa, the situation will explode."

Lately, I've gotten quite a bit of e-mail from brothers and sisters in Christ concerning ongoing efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. Several of the e-mails I've received have been from people who feel the situation in the Middle East, in spite of its volatility, isn't so desperate the international community views resolution of the ongoing crisis as a top priority, potentially a sign the peace plan foretold in Daniel 9:26-27 is nowhere close to arriving.

If the international community isn't properly motivated to resolve the conflict, that could be well on its way to changing in the not-too-distant future, as I'm about to demonstrate.

Revava, which describes itself as "a Jewish grassroots organization whose goal is to restore self esteem to the state of Israel by restoring Jewish national pride and values", plans to lead 10,000 Jews onto the Temple Mount on April 10, 2005. Presuming Revava is successful in getting onto the Temple Mount, there are going to be a lot of Muslim extremists looking to spill Jewish blood in the aftermath. In other words, trouble may be brewing on the Temple Mount.

The prophetic stage is being set! Jesus Christ is Lord and He IS coming soon!