Look, I don’t want to go overboard, but what we witnessed on the eve of Christmas Eve this last year was a betrayal of the first order, a day of infamy and shame for the United States – and a challenge to the Biblically-declared order as proclaimed by God Himself to His servant Abram, who would later become Abraham. “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” (Genesis 12:1-3) (ESV) As we follow that story through the Book of Genesis, God does show Abraham the Promised Land, establishes a line through his son Isaac, and promised the Land in an everlasting covenant. Genesis 3:14-15: “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” (ESV) This was no easy promise. By one count, the Scriptures record 55 times that God confirmed the gift of the Land to Abraham and Isaac, with an oath. And a dozen times it is described as an ‘everlasting covenant.’[i] One of these is recorded in Psalm 105:8-11. “He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
This Everlasting Covenant then, is nothing to be played with. Yet that is just what the United Nations did, with the full cooperation of the United States. Blessings to those that bless Israel – curses to those that curse her! Obama’s America has chosen a different route. It is a policy at variance with our entire history. On December 23, 2016 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334 which demands that “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.” It goes on to clearly define Israel as an “occupying power” and demands a return to the pre- June 4, 1967 borders. Finally, the language of the document takes a prophetically pregnant turn, with this truly ‘Watchman Moment,’ as it: “Calls upon all parties to continue, in the interest of the promotion of peace and security, to exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues in the Middle East peace process.”[ii] The language of the resolution is screaming out at us: “Peace and Security.” Let me give the context.
At the end of 1Thessalonians 4, Paul is talking about the rapture of the Church. He begins the next chapter addressing the timing of End Time’s events. “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1Thessalonians 5:1-3) The term “peace and security” is exact. The precision of the Scriptures is unmatched.
Now it is no surprise that all the other nations in the world would flock to the side of the Palestinians and condemn Israel. That is not news. However, for the United States it is a giant move. Technically the US sat this one out. Obama had the American delegation abstain in this vote. In the past many such resolutions have come before the Security Council only to be vetoed by Washington. However, President Obama decided to break from that long standing tradition. But according to Prime Minister Netanyahu it is even worse than that. The Israelis claim to have solid evidence that Obama was demanding a resolution be passed and even cooperated in its drafting. David Keyes, a spokesman for Netanyahu said: “We have ironclad information that emanates from sources in the Arab world and that shows the Obama administration helped craft this resolution and pushed hard for its eventual passage.”[iii] This would be in perfect keeping with President Obama’s policy throughout his term. The Obama / Clinton / Kerry team has consistently sided with the Palestinians against the Israeli cause, insisting that Israel withdraw to the indefensible pre-1967 borders, to make peace with an enemy that has shown they will accept nothing less than the end of the Jewish state in the Middle East. Just to make sure Netanyahu got the message Secretary Kerry delivered a major policy speech after Christmas in which he stated: “Israel can either be Jewish or democratic. It cannot be both.”[iv] Good at the insult, at least the Secretary is proving he is good at something.
The effects of the UN vote are rather nebulous but could still spell trouble for Israel. It will give a boost to the BDS or Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement that has been economically targeting Israel these last several years. It could also provide more legal cover for Palestinians who “are trying to haul Israeli officials before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.” But Israel will not abide by the UN Resolution; Netanyahu has already said so. The Prime Minister’s Office issued a strong retort, stating: “Israel categorically rejects the despicable anti-Israeli resolution at the UN, and will not adhere to it. While the Security Council does nothing to prevent the massacre of half a million people in Syria, it is shamefully singling out Israel — the only democracy in the Middle East.”[v] And the Israeli government has already taken steps to cut off aid and recall ambassadors from nations that voted for the measure.[vi] Israeli fears are centered around what might come next. There is a foreign ministers meeting scheduled to be held in Paris on January 15th. Haaretz is reporting: “During Sunday’s security cabinet meeting, ministers were presented with an assessment that during the international foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled for January 15 in Paris as part of the French peace initiative, a series of decisions on the peace process will be made. These will immediately be brought to the UN Security Council for a vote and will be adopted there before January 20.”[vii] Should that take place, it would just put more barriers in place for any meaningful negotiations as it would harden the Palestinian position. President Elect Donald Trump, who came out strongly against the resolution before it was passed, did have a response to the whole matter. He tweeted out: “As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th.”
Blessings & Curses
As noted above, man will act according to his will but God has determined both blessings and curses based upon how nation’s deal with His People, Israel. Now the notion that God is punishing America for betraying Israel or for her other sins may sound crazy to some until one begins to systematically examine the real ‘coincidence’ between events. Here’s the first principle in question. God has set aside the nation of Israel as His own, – and the Land as His own. His word speaks to Abraham’s descendants both physical and spiritual. God takes those words quoted in Genesis 12:3, – quoted above, – very seriously indeed. Sobering thought, when we consider that the US has been one of the prime movers pressuring Israel to trade away some of God’s Land for worthless promises of peace. This has been true through many administrations. And now he’s given tacit approval to the language of “peace and security”, as was prophesied by the Apostle Paul. This is not the first time those words have been used in recent diplomacy. Those words have been echoed by world statesmen time and time again when referring to Israel and the coming Palestinian State. They’ve been uttered by Bush the Younger and Obama and Clinton and others in official documents referring to the peace process. It is a haunting theme when one thinks of the prophetic connection: For that is the description that the Bible gives to the time just before the coming destruction at the End of the Age. Again recall the words of Joel 3:2; – the judgment against “all nations” that interfere with “my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land”.
John McTernan and Bill Koenig have long been students of the correlation between actions on the part of the United States leadership with regard to Israel and how they correlate with natural and economic disasters striking this country. Review the evidence and you will find that it is beyond coincidence. (There is one more correlation they make; – that between actions promoting homosexuality and these same natural and economic events.) Back in the Spring of 2009, McTernan spoke about the events surrounding the economic storm that began in September of 2008. After numerous rounds of negotiation, – on September 11 the American Consul General to Israel let it be known that Israel had agreed to give away East Jerusalem. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Olmert on the 14th. Olmert was willing to give away not only the Holy City but a full 98% of Judea and Samaria and was quoted as saying, “The vision of greater Israel no longer exists. Those who speak of it are delusional.” On September 11 Hurricane Ike headed toward Texas and Lehman Bros was collapsing. The next day, Ike savaged Texas and Louisiana. By the 14th Lehman Bros was in bankruptcy. On September 25th, President Bush met with Mahmoud Abbas to promote the division of Jerusalem. September 29th was Rosh Hashanah, – the Jewish New Year. The stock market fell a record 777 points. Ten days later comes Yom Kippur, the next High Holy Day, – the Day of Atonement. The 10 days between are called the Days of Awe. World markets plunged during that period, culminating in a fall of 679 points right on the holy day. Six days later on October 15th, – the Feast of Tabernacles, – the Dow took another 737 point plunge.[viii] Was this all coincidence? Or was God speaking?
To form our answer, let’s start by looking at just what has happened in the past, whenever the US applies pressure on Israel to give away God’s Land. Here’s some of the record.
- On October 30, 1991 the first President Bush opened the Madrid Conference designed to put in place a peace plan that would force Israel to give away a significant part of her land to the Palestinians. That very day, what would later come to be known as the ‘Perfect Storm’, formed off Nova Scotia. It pounded the coast of New England with 100ft waves, heavily damaging the President’s home in Kennebunkport, ME.
- August 23, 1992, a conference was held in Washington with the same agenda. Hurricane Andrew hit that day. It was the worst natural disaster in US history.
- On January 16, 1994, President Clinton met with Syria’s President Assad. The subject: Giving the Golan back to Syria. The next day a 6.9 earthquake hit Southern California.
- March 2, 1997; – Clinton and Arafat met in Washington. Massive tornados smash into Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio.
- September 1998: Hurricane Georges buffets the Gulf Coast as Madame Albright works on getting Israel to surrender about 13% of Yesha.
- The Wye River talks are held from October 15-22, 1998. Floods ravage Texas from October 17-22.
- January 21, 1998: – President Clinton and Secretary of State Albright snub Israeli PM Netanyahu. The Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks the same day.
- November 23, 1998 & March 13, 1999: Clinton & Arafat meet. The Stock Market plunges over 200 points both days.
- May 3, 1999 was the day that Yasser Arafat was supposed to declare a Palestinian State with its capital in Jerusalem. That was the day that a super tornado hit the Mid West with record 316 mph wind speed.
- July 12-26, 2000: Arafat attends meetings at Camp David. Forest fires break out destroying 7 million acres.
- April 30, 2002: President Bush arranges for Arafat’s release from his compound in Ramallah. A series of tornadoes smashes Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. Super tornadoes reach over 300mph.
- November 10, 2002: US pressures Israel to agree to the “Road Map”. 88 Tornadoes hit 13 states.
- May 3-5, 2003: Secretary of State Colin Powell commits US to Road Map and the return of the Golan Heights. 83 tornadoes rip through the Mid West killing 38 people.
- August 29, 2005: Exactly one week after Israel completed the US supported Israeli forced evacuation from Gaza, Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans and vicinity. 80% of the city goes under water.[ix] [x] [xi]
- And this from Infowars: “May 19th, 2011 Barack Obama told Israel that there must be a return to the pre-1967 borders. Three days later on May 22nd a half-mile wide EF-5 multiple-vortex tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. According to Wikipedia, it was ‘the costliest single tornado in U.S. history.’”
This is the truth of – but not the end of the matter. The evidence seems clear that there is a correlation between the way one treats Israel and the way God treats nations. We’ll visit this subject next week and draw conclusions from what we’ve learned.
[i] Bible references to the promised land, Different Spirit Ministries, monitored December 27, 2016
[ii] Full Text of UN Security Council Condemnation of Israel, Resolution 2334, The Jewish Press, December 24, 2016
[iii] Israel: ‘Ironclad information’ White House behind UN rebuke, Washington Post, December 27, 2016
[iv] Bob Unruh, Kerry: Israel can be Jewish or democratic – not both, World Net Daily, December 29, 2016
[v] After vote defeat, Netanyahu lashes out at Obama and UN, Times of Israel, December 23, 2016
[vi] What UN Vote on Israeli Settlements Means — and What’s Next, Bloomberg, December 26, 2016
[vii] Israel fears American, French initiative in Paris conference before Obama leaves office, Haaretz, December 27, 2016
[viii] Bill Koenig, Update For: As America Has Done To Israel,(2007), – 2009
[ix] Nine Major “Acts Of God”…, Bible Topics 119
[x] John McTernan, God’s Final Warning to America, Philologos, (Review)
[xi] Bill Koenig, Middle East Peace Talks Major Tornadoes, Watch.Org
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