Photo Credit: Daily Mail
Last month President Donald Trump unveiled his Mid-East peace plan which has also received backing from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from his political rival, Benny Gantz.
The peace plan, like others before it, is calling for a two-state solution in order to resolve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Before the Palestinians are granted their own state, the plan requires that the Palestinians commit themselves to eliminating terrorism from their ranks [1, 6, 10] and to make political reforms which include freedom of speech, [1, 6] renouncing their animosity towards Israel and recognizing the legitimacy of the Jewish state. [5] In return, the Palestinians would be given control of much of the West Bank and Gaza with roads and tunnels connecting the two regions, with some sources claiming that the Palestinian capital would include parts of East Jerusalem [1, 3] and others stating that Jerusalem would remain the undivided capital of Israel with the Palestinian capital located just outside the city. [5, 7] The plan also respects Israel's sovereignty of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, [1, 3, 5] allows Israel to annex settlements not already under its jurisdiction, [6] and maintain sovereignty over the Jordan Valley located east of the West Bank [1, 3, 5] though Palestinians will be allowed some autonomy in the area. [1] The plan also allows Israel to forbid Palestinians from returning to Israel. [6] Israel will maintain overall security [1, 6] but Palestinians will be required of maintaining security within their designated territories. [6]
Reactions to the peace plan have drawn both praise, criticism and skepticism from all sides
with officials in support of the plan portraying it as Israel as agreeing to mass concessions without compromising its security [2] but no details have been provided as to what those concessions would be. While President Trump is confident that the Palestinians will eventually accept the plan, the Palestinians have already rejected the plan claiming that it is too biased towards Israel, [1, 3] with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas going so far to say that the peace plan would be dumped "into the dustbin of history" [3] and later cut off all ties, including security ties with Israel and the U.S., preferring increasingly anti-Semitic international organizations as mediators of the peace process rather than the U.S., thus revealing himself to be an enemy of both Israel and America. [6]
Saudi Arabia--along with Oman, the Unite Arab Emirates, and Bahrain--expressed support for the peace plan [3, 7] while Israel's enemies predictably opposed it, with Egypt expressing skepticism of the deal, [3, 7] calling on both Israelis and Palestinians to carefully study the plan. [4]
Jordan, an ally of the United States, and which has a peace treaty with Israel, called for the eastern half of Jerusalem to be given to the Palestinians, instead of it remaining the undivided capital of Israel [3] and expressed criticism of the plan as being too favorable towards Israel. [7]
The so-called Palestinians also have strong ties to the nation of Jordan [8] which seems to indicate that Jordan was the nation from which the fictitious Palestinians had once originated.
But the peace plan is not without its critics from the Jewish side. Commentator and blogger Ariel Natan Pasko criticized the plan because it calls for the dividing of the land of Israel into two different nations [9, 10] which is forbidden by the God who created the universe and all that is in it (Lev. 25:23, Joel 3:2) and who set apart Israel to be a nation to represent Him before all the world to fulfill through them the promises that He made to their forefathers who feared and faithfully served Him.
Out of any opinion given about any peace plan proposed, the opinion that matters most is that of the God who had given the land at the center of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as an everlasting possession to the people of Israel (Ex. 32:13) because anyone attempting to do anything with the land that God has forbidden them to do is inviting judgment upon themselves which is why I fear and tremble for our nation.
No matter how admirable, principled, and even God-fearing our leaders may be or how well-intentioned the current peace plan may be, the dividing up of the holy land has always been a stumbling block to the leadership of both the U.S. and even Israel and God is the party whose voice has always been excluded from every proposed peace deal. If the Trump administration should continue to pursue this plan, it will be a blessing if the worst thing that happens to America is for her to be divided into two nations as a consequence which would be a kinder fate than an economic collapse, an immense catastrophe, or the loss of the God-given liberties that we have enjoyed, and even taken for granted.
It is because of the divine prohibition against selling or dividing up the land of Israel into two nations will ultimately fail. Even if the Palestinians did capitulate to the demands required of them and obtain their sought after statehood, it would ultimately fail. How it would fail, no one can say, but if the Palestinians continue to reject the peace deal and provided that the Trump and Netanyahu administrations make no further concessions, the days of the Palestinians as a player on the will be numbered and their push for a statehood would ultimately fail, to which Israel would feel free to see.
That the Palestinians have so far insisted on rejecting the peace plan without even taking the time to look at what it contains has caused some commentators to finally admit that an independent statehood is not what the so-called Palestinians have in mind but that their objective is really the destruction of the nation of Israel [11, 12] because Islam, the main religion of the Palestinians, calls for the elimination of the Jews as revealed by two of their most authoritative and damnable hadiths:
"Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews." (Sahih Muslim 6985) [13]
"Allah's Apostle said, The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say: 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him'." (Sahih Bukhari 4:52:177) [14]
President Trump, even if he is ignorant about what the scripture has to say about the Jewish people and the land that God gave to them, knows that the Jewish people have an indisputable historic claim to the land and that Jerusalem is undeniably their rightful capital. Could it be that this peace deal may simply be a test to determine what the motives of the Palestinians actually are and possibly expose to the world that the Palestinians are not really interested in the peace that they claim to be? The part of me that has come to respect and admire President Trump would like to think so.
But then there is that bitter reality that the Trump administration may very well be intent on pursuing a two-state solution at this point and much to the displeasure of our Lord and to the hurt of our nation because seeking to divide the land of Israel will inevitably incur the displeasure of the God who has set it apart for a specific purpose and because He has made it sacred land, we would do well to treat it accordingly and respect the office of the nation and people that He has determined should possess it forever, which is why we ought to pray that the heart of our President may be turned away from any two-state solution and instead stand in support of an undivided Israel and I myself, for the sake of our nation, pray that his heart will be turned away from dividing up the land, especially if the Palestinians continue to reject the deal that is offered to them.
The Palestinian statehood movement has been the clog that has delayed a number of prophetic events that have yet to take place and yet must ultimately fail one way or another. If the Palestinians come around to accepting the current peace plan in its original form, it would likely delay a number of prophetic events to come, but if the Palestinians do agree to the terms set forth in the peace agreement, it will likely only be for show and to lull the Jewish state into a false sense of security before finally carrying out their attempts to eliminate the nation of Israel though this will end in failure and in the elimination of the Palestinian nation.
If they reject the peace plan and provided that Israel makes no concessions, then we can expect their days on the world stage to be numbered; their statehood movement to fail in short order which would not only pave the way for Israel to assume full control of Gaza and the West Bank, but also for another Jewish Temple to be built upon the mount.
The elimination of the so-called Palestinian movement would then lead to the nation of Israel to experience the long sought after peace and security within its borders, thus enabling prophetic fulfillment to take place at a more rapid pace by setting the stage for the fulfillment of forthcoming events such as the fulfillment of Ezekiel chapters 38-39, the forthcoming tribulation which will commence with the confirmation of an existing covenant for seven years by the forth coming Anti-Christ who will violate that covenant half way through the tribulation (Dan. 9:27) and who will be destroyed by the returning Messiah. Know this, that if indeed the Palestinians persist in continuing down their current path, the return of our Lord is that much closer and when He returns, He will set up a Kingdom immensely better than any devised by mortal men. No image or any amount of imagination will ever be able to do any justice to what is to come, but only they who have placed their trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins will be permitted into His Kingdom while they who have refused to accept the forgiveness and mercy offered by our Lord will be cast into eternal torment.
No other name can be called upon for salvation and no amount of good works on our part will be able to buy our way into Heaven because Jesus is the only one who was able to serve as the much needed sacrifice to take away our sins.
Even if we try to do what is right and pleasing in the sight of our Lord, we will always continue to come up short because there is ever present within us a corruption of our very nature called sin which distorts our understanding, perverts our thinking, clouds our reasoning, corrupts our motives, leads to bad and foolish decision making, and brings out of us hurtful and unwholesome speech, perverted affections, shameful behavior and conduct, and acts that are evil, harmful, and destructive and has been so ever since Adam, the first man sinned against our Maker by eating fruit from a certain tree that he was commanded not to eat from: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:16-17, chapter 3)
Since that day, sin entered into both Adam and his wife Eve and from them, we have inherited a sinful nature which has been passed on to all of humanity. As a consequence of sin, we are all subjugated to death (Rom. 5:12) and are born separated from our Maker and if we should die in our sin, will remain separated from God for all of eternity and condemned to eternal punishment, because God cannot allow sin to go unpunished and He cannot allow that which is sin into His presence, but in His love for us, Christ, who is without sin, came into the world to die on the cross for our sins and to be raised from the dead so that we who believe on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. It is upon the cross in Christ that both the demanded penalty for sin and the need for forgiveness and mercy were satisfied.
It is in Christ that sins are taken away, restored fellowship with God is made, liberation from death is made certain, and a world without the sin, evil, death, suffering, hardship, grief, sorrow, or pain that we witness in this present world will be brought forth. (Rev. 21-22)
If you wish to be in a world immensely better than the present world in which we are living, then I urge you reader, to turn away from your sins and ask Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of your life, placing your trust in Him and in Him only for your salvation.
If you are not sure what to say, here is an example of a prayer you can pray:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of His standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
The Lord is not concerned with the words that you use as but only with the attitude and sincerity within your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Him to forgive you of your sins and to be your Savior and Lord, you are already saved and will one day spend eternity with Him forever.
End Notes:
1. Andrew O'Reilly and John Roberts, "Trump unveils Middle East peace plan with two-state solution, tunnel connecting West Bank and Gaza," Fox News, January 28, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-middle-east-peace-plan-includes-two-state-solution-tunnel-to-connect-west-bank-and-gaza-strip
2. Ibid
3. OAN Newsroom, "President Trump unveils Middle East peace plan with two-state solution to Israel-Palestine conflict," One America News Network, January 28, 2020
https://www.oann.com/president-trump-unveils-middle-east-peace-plan-with-two-state-solution-to-israel-palestine-conflict/
4. Ibid
5. Newsweek; Tom O'Connor, "How the Middle East Is Reacting to Donald Trump's Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan," MSN News, January 29, 2020
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-the-middle-east-is-reacting-to-donald-trumps-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan/ar-BBZqcss?ocid=spartanntp
6. Adam Shaw, "Palestinian leader Abbas says he is cutting ties with United States and Israel over peace deal,"
Fox News, February 1, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/palestinian-leader-abbas-says-he-is-cutting-ties-with-us-israel-over-peace-deal
7. Chris Massaro, "Trump's Mideast peace plan could have major implications for ally Jordan,"
Fox News, January 31, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-mideast-peace-jordan-israel-palestinians
8. Ibid
9. Ariel Natan Pasko, "Only The Likud Can...Sell-Out," Conservative News And Views, February 4, 2020
https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2020/02/04/editorial/guest/only-the-likud-can-sell-out/
10. Ariel Natan Pasko, "Bo: Leave My Land Alone," Conservative News And Views, January 31, 2020
https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2020/01/30/clergy/bo-leave-my-land-alone/
11. Eugene Kontorovich, "Eugene Kontorovich: Palestinians wrong to reject Trump Israeli-Palestinian peace plan--It's fair and just," Fox News, January 28, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/eugene-kontorovich-trump-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan-is-fair-and-just-but-palestinians-wont-compromise
12. Tribune Media Services; Cal Thomas, "Cal Thomas: The fatal flaw in Trump's Middle East peace plan,"
Fox News, February 2, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-middle-east-peace-plan-cal-thomas
13. Hadith; Sahih Muslim 6985
14. Hadith; Sahih Bukhari 4:52:177
Scripture references:
1. Leviticus 25:23
2. Joel 3:2
3. Exodus 32:13
4. Ezekiel 38-39
5. Daniel 9:27
6. Genesis 2:16-17
7. Genesis 3
8. Romans 5:12
9. Revelation 21-22
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