The Quartet Speaks Out

by Michael G. Mickey

(5-9-05)

The Daily Times is reporting mediators from the international Quartet of Russia, the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union met in Moscow on 5-9-05 to encourage Israel’s partial withdrawal from the Palestinian territories.

The UN's Kofi Annan is quoted in the Daily Times article as saying, "We affirmed support to the Israeli initiative to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank. We insist on complete withdrawal from Gaza ... in accordance with the road map."

Along with Annan, the meeting was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The article states these individuals are the ones overseeing negotiations on the Quartet's roadmap peace process, but notes there's a new player in the mix - outgoing World Bank president James Wolfensohn, who was recently appointed as a special envoy to the Quartet to help in a planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The newcomer Wolfensohn, the subject matter of a book by Sebastian Mallaby entitled 'The World's Banker,' has a Jekyll and Hyde type personality which he uses to achieve his goals, according to a Washington Post article.

An excerpt from the Post's article, entitled 'The Real Mr. Wolfensohn', which I hope all my site's readers will read to become familiar with this new diplomatic player in the quest to bring peace to the Middle East, reads as follows, beginning with a reference to 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' author Robert Louis Stevenson:

I wonder if Sebastian Mallaby had Stevenson in the back of his mind when he was writing this book, for the World Bank President James Wolfensohn he portrays here appears to be almost exactly 50 percent Jekyll and 50 percent Hyde. Wolfensohn/Jekyll is the irresistible charmer seen at his vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyo., who can turn bitter foes into best friends (or at least "frenemies") with a single shot of his charisma. Wolfensohn/Hyde is the intolerable monster seen on Wall Street and in Washington, whose egocentric tantrums have just the opposite effect. The moral of Mallaby's story is that Wolfensohn's presidency of the World Bank would have been more successful had Dr. Jekyll been in sole charge. But that may underestimate the usefulness of Mr. Hyde.

It is unknown what role the newcomer Wolfensohn, reportedly the son of an unsuccessful Jewish businessman, is going to play in the Quartet's efforts, but it's interesting to me Wikipedia links Wolfensohn to two organizations associated with attempting to bring about the new world order that Bible prophecy tells us is coming in the prophetic future - the Bilderberg group (which just met in Munich, Germany May 5th through the 8th) and the Council on Foreign Relations. Interesting, huh?

Looking ahead...

Presently, as a result of a recent decision by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, it seems Israel isn't going to be pulling out of Gaza before the middle of August. If the Gaza withdrawal takes place as planned, the question in my mind will be this: How close will we be to the Rapture of the Church and the advent of the prophesied Antichrist at that point?

Bible prophecy tells us, in Daniel 9:26-27, a prince (or leader) of Roman descent is going to confirm a seven-year covenant of peace in the Middle East between Israel and her enemies. When he does so, he will do so "with many," according to the prophecy.

Could the "many" of Daniel's prophecy be the international Quartet? If so, could one of the men presently overseeing negotiations aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the creation of a Palestinian-Arab state on Israel's covenant lands be the prophesied Antichrist or will someone new be added to the diplomatic mix in the prophetic future? Time will tell, but I can't help but believe the prophesied Antichrist is out there someplace in the world today.

If I had to pick one thing out of all the things I discuss in my commentaries as the single greatest sign Christ's return may be drawing near, I'd pick the international community's burning desire to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict!

Jerusalem is presently a burdensome stone to the entire international community.

Zechariah 12:3: 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.

Diplomats from around the world, as I continue to document, are trying to find a way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with both sides wanting to possess the burdensome stone that is today Jerusalem. Eventually, "the prince that shall come" - the prophesied Antichrist, most likely a diplomat from the European Union - is going to somehow confirm a seven-year peace covenant between Israel and her enemies.

Daniel 9:26-27: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Confirmation of the Antichrist's peace covenant will mark the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation Period, which will come upon mankind suddenly!

1st Thessalonians 5:3: 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.

If what we're witnessing taking place diplomatically is leading us toward the advent of the Antichrist, the Rapture of the Church is potentially within view on the prophetic horizon. My advice to my readers, as such?

Matthew 24:42: Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

WATCH!

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