Middle East Peace in 2009?

by Michael G. Mickey
(5-19-08)

Recently, there has been so much going on of prophetic interest my head has been spinning like a top trying to keep up with it all and the subject of today's commentary? Well, it only adds to the drama.

According to the Jerusalem Post, in spite of what has been considered by many to be a snail's pace effort between the Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace agreement anytime soon, the Palestinian Authority is presently seeming optimistic that an agreement of principles between the two sides could be signed as early as August 2008.

Countering that possibility, however, is President Bush's recent speech to the Knesset which Jordan's King Abdullah says carried a "Zionist" tone that may result in this "chance for peace" being missed, even though the Jerusalem Post story later adds that Abdullah is saying a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal must be reached this year.

While none of us know with certainty how the final events detailed in Bible prophecy are going to play themselves out, one thing is certain. We are witnessing an almost odd sense of urgency being displayed by many world leaders concerning a peace agreement being reached by early 2009. Could this be the case because Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is reaching a critical juncture that is potentially going to force Israel's hand, creating fears that the entire region is going to explode into conflict if something hasn't happened to appease Israel's enemies somewhat, lowering tensions in the region which governments around the world hope will open doors for the international community to make some progress in dealing with Iran and its nuclear weapons program? At this point I think that's a factor at the very least. Regardless, the months ahead are going to prove very interesting, in my opinion.

If an agreement of principles is signed by Israel and the Palestinians, I expect that Iran and Syria's bands of terrorist thugs will attempt to torpedo the peace process if we're anywhere close to the peace covenant of Daniel 9:27 becoming a reality. Why? Because any covenant between Israel and her enemies that is going to have any promise to bring genuine peace to the region, in my opinion, is going to have to be confirmed (or made strong) by a prince (or leader) of Roman descent (Daniel 9:26-27), the prophesied Antichrist to come whose presence in the process is going to kick off the seven-year Tribulation Period.

With every passing day it seems we have something new to consider in watching for the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No matter how one approaches the times we're living in, the only logical conclusion I believe one can arrive at is we are close, potentially very close, to some key events taking place in the Middle East we've read about in Bible prophecy showing up in the headlines of the news of our world today.

Conclusion

Remain at your posts until relieved of duty, Christians! The King is coming!

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