Those who have studied the Biblical festivals in the Torah understand that God has always had all of His most important events fall on those days.  Many students of Bible prophecy are beginning to understand that this is going to be true during the last days just as it has been throughout history.  For example, Yahshua (Jesus) was crucified on the eve of Passover at the same time that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in Jerusalem in preparation for the festival.  In fact, during the original Passover the people of Israel were instructed to place the blood of their lambs on the doorposts of their home.  Why?  It was to foreshadow the Messiah.  The vast majority of doorposts, even today, are made of wood.  Wood comes from trees.  So by putting the blood on the doorposts, the message to the people of Israel was that the blood of the lamb on the tree covers them from the wrath of God.  That was prophetic of what the Messiah would do for all of us one day.

Not only that, but if you do a careful study you will find that so many of the important events in the Scriptures fell on these festival days.  The 10 Commandments were given to Moses on Shavuot (Pentecost) and on that exact same day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early believers in Yahshua (Jesus).  In the gospel of John it tells us that the Word became flesh and “tabernacled” among us, and that is exactly what happened when Yahshua (Jesus) was born during Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles).  In fact, for over a thousand years before Messiah came, God had his people live in humble temporary structures during that time of the year to wonderfully foreshadow the way that His Son would come into the world.

So how do some of these festivals pertain to the last days?

Well, in Christian circles a lot of speculation has centered on Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets), but in this article we are going to focus on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). 

God instructed the people of Israel to observe Yom Kippur on the 10th day of the 7th month of the Israelite calendar.  Even today it is regarded by the Jews as the most solemn day of the year.  On that day the people of Israel were instructed to “afflict their souls” (humble themselves and fast) and it was the only day of the entire year in which the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies.

In Leviticus 23:26-32, we read what the people of Israel were instructed to do on that day….

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in the same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsover soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

In Leviticus 16, the Scriptures describe for us the duties of the High Priest during the time of Yom Kippur, and in Hebrews 9:24-28 we are told how Yahshua (Jesus) is now our High Priest and how He fulfilled what Yom Kippur had foreshadowed for so many generations…. 

For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

In verse 28, it talks about how the Messiah will appear a second time to bring salvation for those who are waiting for Him.

So are there legitimate reasons to believe that the moment when the feet of Yahshua will touch down on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14) will be on Yom Kippur?

Well, we believe that there is.

In Zechariah 14:1-4, this moment is referred to as the “day of the Lord”….

A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you.  I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.  Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.  On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

So do we have any clues as to when the “day of the Lord” will be?

Yes.

In Joel chapter 2 there is a lengthy description of the “day of the Lord”, including this notable portion of Scripture in Joel 2:15-16….

Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.  Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast.  Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.

We are told by Joel that it is a time when the bridegroom and the bride will leave their chambers.

So why is that significant?

Well, in Revelation 19:7-9, we are told that the marriage of the Lamb occurs just before the glorious return of Yahshua (Jesus) to this earth later in the same chapter…. 

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Please take special note of the “fine linen, clean and white” mentioned in the passage.

On Yom Kippur even today, many married men wear a kittel, a white robe-like garment on Yom Kippur.  In fact, this garment is used by some Orthodox males on their wedding day.

Not only that, but when the Temple was still standing, on Yom Kippur the High Priest would change into special linen garments at one point during the ceremonies of the day.

In addition, even today it is customary for all Jewish people to wear white on Yom Kippur.

So the fact that the saints are given “fine linen, clean and white” to wear on that day may be a little more prophetic than we may have realized.

In fact, in Revelation 19:14, this fine linen is mentioned once again….

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Another detail from Revelation 19 to take note of is found in verse 13….

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Blood was a key feature of the celebration of Yom Kippur.  It was the one day during the year when the High Priest could enter into the Holy Of Holies.  The High Priest would take the blood from the bull that had been sacrificed and would sprinkle it on the mercy seat. 

In Revelation 19, Yahshua returns in a robe that has been dipped in blood, signifying that He was the true atonement for our sins.

So can we 100 percent prove that Yom Kippur will be the day when Messiah returns to the city of Jerusalem?

No, but as with so many other things in the Scriptures about the last days, we can try to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  And the pieces of the puzzle seem to indicate that Yom Kippur could very well be the day when Yahshua returns to the Mount of Olives.

Not only that, but many believe that there are other references to Yom Kippur in the book of Revelation as well.

For example, many scholars believe that there is a Yom Kippur service going on in Revelation chapters 5 and 6.

For now, we just wanted to point out that almost all of the key events throughout Scripture took place on one of the festival days, and that Yom Kippur seems to be a likely choice for the day on which Messiah will return to Jerusalem at the end of the Tribulation period.

In addition, it is important to note that we are NOT setting dates.

The truth is that nobody knows when Messiah will return.

However, considering the Biblical pattern, it seems virtually certain that He will return to Jerusalem on one of the festival days.

We believe that it will be on Yom Kippur in some year in the future.

So are we right?

We will just have to wait and see.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that the world community will accept no peace plan for Israel that does not include a Palestinian state.  In fact, at this point the creation of a Palestinian state is a foregone conclusion in most diplomatic circles.  The only question seems to be what the exact dimensions of that state are going to be.  The Scriptures have long foretold the division of the land of Israel in the last days, but to see it play out in front of our eyes is absolutely stunning.  Virtually the entire world is united behind the idea that a Palestinian state is a great idea, and the pressure for Israel to accept one will continue to grow in the coming days.   

Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, was recently asked if there is an alternative to a Palestinian state during an appearance at the Hebrew University’s Truman Institute. 

His response? 

“No.” 

In fact, he made it clear that the UN is not even considering any other alternatives when he made this statement….

“I don’t know of any alternatives.”

So that is what Israel is faced with.

Accept a Palestinian state or nothing.

In essence, a Palestinian state is Plan A and there is no Plan B.

Meanwhile, it is being reported that the Obama administration’s plan for Israel includes stationing international troops along Israel’s border with a future Palestinian state.

Apparently the idea is that by deploying international soldiers along the Palestinian side of a future border with Israel, there would be a “buffer” that would keep peace between the two sides.

Of course we have all seen how well UN troops “keep the peace” in other areas of the world.

So what is the main obstacle to a Palestinian state at this point?

Well, it is the fact that the Palestinians want East Jerusalem for their capital.

Benjamin Netanyahu and the current Israeli government are not about to accept that.

But we were warned in Zechariah 12:3 that the city of Jerusalem would one day become a huge stumbling block for the nations…..

“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

So how will all of this play out?

We will just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, the entire region continues to prepare for war.

*The president of Syria is openly accusing Israel of trying to start a war.

*According to one new report, Syria has approximately 1,000 ballistic missiles zeroed in on Israeli targets.

*Egyptian military forces recently concluded maneuvers in the Sinai Peninsula that simulated an invasion of southern Israel.

*The National News Agency reported this week that the Lebanese Armed Forces fired anti-aircraft artillery from the town of Shebaa in South Lebanon at Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanese territory around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

*A top IDF Home Front Command officer said on Tuesday that Israel is not sufficiently prepared for a chemical missile attack.

*Israel recently kicked off a five-day nationwide defense drill with the goal of preparing civilians for rocket attacks.

*It is being widely reported that teams of American special forces have been authorized to conduct spying missions intended to pave the way for a military strike on Iran in case Barack Obama orders one.

The truth is that tensions continue to rise in the Middle East and war could break out at any time.

So will a Palestinian state come before or after the next war?

There is quite a bit of debate about that among Bible prophecy scholars.

The truth is that we will just have to wait and see.

But let us pray that the division of Israel and of Jerusalem does not happen, because if the U.S. has a hand in that, God will not be pleased at all.

An umbrella organization in Pakistan that includes more that two dozen fundamentalist Islamic groups plans to formally ask the United Nations to enact a global law against blasphemy that would include the death penalty for anyone who blasphemes the Prophet Muhammad.   Yes, unfortunately this is actually true.  The formal name of the umbrella organization is Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD) and according to IndianExpress.com, the leadership of the JuD has decided to contact the UN and ask them to implement a global law “against blasphemy of prophets and awarding death penalty to violators.” 

So what types of things would be considered blasphemy?

Well, according to Wikipedia, the following are just some of the things that are considered blasphemy in Islam….

-to speak ill of Allah.
-to find fault with Prophet Muhammad.
-to slight any prophet who is mentioned in the Quran, any member of Prophet Muhammad’s family, or any cleric.
-to speculate about how Prophet Muhammad would behave if he were alive.
-to draw a picture to represent Prophet Muhammad or any other prophet, or to make a film which features a prophet.
-to write Prophet Muhammad’s name on the walls of a toilet.
-to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
-to state facts such as: Prophet Muhammad’s parents were not Muslims.

So is there any chance that the UN will grant their request?

Well, there are over 40 Islamic countries in the UN, but there is no chance at all that the other members of the United Nations are going to go for something like this.

But what this does demonstrate is the dangerous mindset of radical Islamic organizations around the globe.  They are determined to impose their radical agenda on us however they can.

In this case, these radical Muslims in Pakistan are trying to make it sound like it is all about their hurt feelings….

The following is an official statement from the JuD that followed the meeting where it was decided to go to the UN on this issue….

“The ambassadors of Muslim and non-Muslim states will be told that blasphemy against prophets not only hurts the feelings of one religion but also sows a seed of hatred against the people of other religions.”

So because someone hurt their feelings that person deserves the death penalty?

No, this is not about hurt feelings.

This is about the desire to use force and violence to advance the cause of radical Islam.

But we have seen this pattern repeated over and over for centuries.

The followers of radical Islam are just not pulling this stuff out of thin air.  They are getting it right out of the Quran.  In Sura 9:29-31 it says the following….

“Fight those who believe not in God nor the last day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, (even if they are) of the people of the Book, until they pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”

The reality is that the vast majority of radical Muslims have no problem using violence to get their way.  Just check out a few examples of violence commited by radical Muslims recently all over the globe….

*A Christian man in Pakistan’s Punjab province was literally fighting for his life after radical Muslim leaders, backed by police, burned him alive for refusing to convert to Islam while his wife was raped by police officers.

*A horde of radical Muslims recently stormed into a central Nigerian town and slaughtered about 500 Christian villagers – most of which were women and children.

*A World Vision mission office in Pakistan was recently assaulted by Islamic gunmen, leaving at least five of the staff members dead.

*In broad daylight and in full view of witnesses, a group of 4 Islamic radicals in the southern Egyptian city of Attaleen fired 31 bullets into the head of a Coptic Christian before beheading him.  The dead body was then dragged through the streets accompanied by shouts of victory.  Later, an Egyptian court acquitted the four Muslim men accused of committing the crime.

*Two Islamic suicide bombers in Lahore, Pakistan killed at least 43 people and injured at least 100 others in a high-security area with a dense military presence.

The truth is that wherever radical Islam encounters any other kind of culture all over the world there is violence.

But it is not going to just be Islam that becomes very violent in the last days.

In Matthew 24:9, Yahshua (Jesus) told us that the entire world will hate Christians and will want to kill them in the last days….

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

So the truth is that hate is going to continue to grow and massive persecution of Christians is coming.

The world is rapidly changing, and we are all going to have to get much closer to God in order to be able to handle the days that are ahead.

As the Obama administration continues to stumble about as if they have absolutely no idea how to conduct foreign policy, Russia and China are busy running around making deals and treaties with the rest of the world.  The United States is becoming increasingly isolated as nations around the world seem more eager than ever to reach out and deal with other major powers rather than with America.  Most serious students of Bible prophecy realize that the U.S. will experience a rapid decline in the last days, but there are times when watching it happen seems almost surreal.  Russia and China are rising.  They are quickly making friends and the influence of both superpowers is dramatically expanding.  Meanwhile, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the other dunces in charge of U.S. foreign policy insist on pushing friends like Israel around while showing no ability to make friends or protect U.S. interests around the globe whatsoever.

The sad thing is that the United States is heading for a very serious confrontation with Russia and China, and the Obama administration (along with the vast majority of the American people) has absolutely no idea what is coming.

Geopolitics is not checkers. 

It is chess.

And right now, Russia and China are wiping the floor with the United States.

Just consider a few of the recent deals that Russia and China have been busy making….

*Russia has signed major arms deals with Syria under which it will sell it warplanes, anti-tank weapons and air defense systems.

*After Russian President Medvedev’s historic visit in Damascus, Russia’s energy minister says that his country is “studying the question” of building a nuclear power plant in Syria.

*The U.S. government says that it is carefully reviewing a Chinese decision to build two nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

*Nigeria and China have signed a tentative deal to build three oil refineries in the West African state at a cost of 23 billion dollars.

*Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that Russia and Turkey are becoming key strategic partners.

*According to a new report, China, Iran and North Korea have established a strategic alliance that focuses on missile and nuclear technology development.

*The Russian government has agreed to a raft of new accords with the new government in Ukraine.

*South Africa’s second-biggest lender, has completed its first transactions in Africa with China Construction Bank Corporation after the two agreed to cooperate last July.

*Russia had been busy selling high tech weapons to Iran.  Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control, weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism, says that he would be surprised if Moscow shipped the S-300 anti-aircraft system that Iran has ordered.  But that just shows how clueless the Obama administration actually is.

*A China-led consortium has sealed a deal with the Iraqi government to develop a prized cluster of three oil fields in the country’s south, bringing China closer to becoming the dominant foreign player in Iraq’s recovering oil sector.

Now wait a second.

I thought it was the U.S. and the U.K. that liberated Iraq.

So the Iraqi people are so grateful that they are letting China come in and be the dominant player in the Iraqi oil industry?

What in the world?

We are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to keep Iraq secure so that China can swoop in and get all the oil?

Does anyone else see something wrong here?

U.S. foreign policy is a mess.

The Obama administration is beyond clueless, and Russia and China are rapidly getting their chess pieces into position.

In a few years when things with Russia and China take an ugly turn and the U.S. is facing a major crisis with them, remember where you heard it first.

The United States should not be taking their eyes off of Russia and China.

But as long as we have complete incompetents running U.S. foreign policy things are going to continue to deteriorate.  Russia and China are more powerful than they ever have been before, and they aren’t going anywhere.  It is a whole new ballgame, and the U.S. is losing.

Let us pray for our leaders, because they sure need it.

As if California didn’t have enough problems, a 26 foot tall Buddha weighing almost fifteen tons has been installed across the street from the city hall of San Francisco and will remain there through 2011.  This piece of “art” is a sculpture by Zhang Huan entitled “Three Heads Six Arms”.  This piece is Zhang’s largest sculpture to date, and the San Francisco art community is extremely excited that this piece is going to be displayed in their city.

In fact, on the website that has the official announcement about the dedication of this “sculpture”, San Francisco May Gavin Newsom sounded absolutely thrilled to have this idol sitting directly across from city hall….

“The installation of Zhang Huan’s spectacular sculpture in the Civic Center marks a high point in the Shanghai-San Francisco Sister City 30th Anniversary Celebration and a milestone for the San Francisco Arts Commission,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “By bringing this incredible work of art to the City, we underscore Shanghai and San Francisco’s bond as two of the world’s most important centers for arts and culture.”

Hopefully at this point alarm bells are going off for you.

Is there a problem when a city puts up a 15 ton Buddha right across from city hall?

Yes, of course there is a problem.

But shouldn’t we appreciate art?

Isn’t a statue okay as long as we don’t worship it ourselves?

Well, no.

Absolutely not.

So what does God think about San Francisco putting up a 26 foot tall Buddha in the center of the city?

In the Scriptures, we find that God severely denounces idols all the way from Genesis to Revelation.

It doesn’t matter if you worship the giant Buddha or not.  Any idol is an abomination in the eyes of God.

In fact, we are told in Revelation 9:20 that there will still be widespread idolatry in the last days….

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.

But today, it has become so “fashionable” to put up little buddhas in your home.

In fact, you can find little buddha statues in stores all across America.

And Christians act as if they could care less about all these idols.

But God cares.

What in the world is happening to this nation?

It seems like California almost revels in the fact that they are leading the way into moral depravity.

For example, the San Francisco Chronicle the other day ran an article about what a great thing it is that more lesbian couples are choosing to become “moms”.

Not only that, but Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (from California) is now claiming that it is cheaper to treat teens for drug use than it is to interdict drugs being smuggled across the border.

What?

Seriously?

But this is what we have come to expect from the state of California.

Hollywood is a cesspool of godlessness and sin.  The television shows and movies that are being produced there are leading the whole world into wickedness.  In addition, California has produced more pornography than anywhere else in the world for decades.

California just keeps piling up sin after sin after sin after sin as if none of it will ever catch up with them.

But perhaps someday it all will. 

The number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 4.0 in Southern California has increased significantly in 2010.  In fact, there have been 70 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater in the region so far in 2010.

That is extremely troubling, because there were only 30 such earthquakes in all of 2009 and only 29 such earthquakes in all of 2008.

So considering the fact that we have already had 70 this year and it is only April is a really troubling sign.

California should be repenting for their sins, but instead they are setting up a 26 foot tall statue of Buddha and they are pumping out record setting amounts of pornography.

We will all just have to wait and see how all that ends up turning out.

Recently, Comedy Central started censoring episodes of South Park after the network and the producers of the series received a large number of violent threats from radical Muslims.  In fact, in one recent episode every instance of the words “Prophet Muhammad” was bleeped out by the network, and whenever the character of Muhammad appeared in the episode it was covered by a large block labeled “censored”.  The producers of South Park were upset about this censorship, but apparently Comedy Central is taking no chances when it comes to dealing with Islamic extremists.  However, apparently making fun of Jesus is still fair game on Comedy Central.  In fact, Comedy Central is developing an entire animated series that mocks Jesus Christ.

Yes, that is right.

An entire animated series that does nothing but mock and degrade and make fun of Jesus Christ.

The working name of the show is  “JC”, and it is scheduled to be a half-hour show about Jesus wanting to escape the shadow of his “powerful but apathetic father” and live a “normal” life in New York City.

What in the world?

It is being reported that the show will depict God as being preoccupied with playing video games while Jesus tries to adjust to life in the big city.

How disgusting is that?

How dare they openly mock the God of the universe?

But that is exactly what they plan to do.

They are scared to death to make fun of Muhammed, but Comedy Central’s head of original programming Kent Alterman considers making fun of Christianity to be “comedy in purist form”….

“In general, comedy in purist form always makes some people uncomfortable.”

Yes, I am uncomfortable with someone mocking my God. 

But this is not new for Comedy Central.

Jesus has been openly mocked on South Park and on other Comedy Central shows for years and years.

But still millions of Christians have no problem watching that filth.

But we should expect that the mocking of Christianity will get even worse.

In Matthew 24, Jesus told us that in the last days “you will be hated by all nations because of me” and that “the love of most will grow cold”, so we should not be surprised when these things happen.

By the time all of this is over, Christians and Christianity are going to be greatly hated around the world.

If you watch carefully, you can see the persecution starting to grow around the world.  You can see hearts growing cold from the hardness of sin. 

God is being pushed out of all aspects of public life in the United States, just like He is in most other nations around the globe.

In fact, Franklin Graham recently said that he believes that Christians in America may lose the right to preach the gospel outside of the walls of a church during his lifetime….

“I think its coming to this country where we (will) have the freedom to preach inside a church wall, but we will lose the freedom to do it outside. That day will probably come – maybe in my lifetime.”

The truth is that things are going to get a whole lot worse than even Franklin Graham is imagining.  Those who follow Jesus Christ and stand up for righteousness are now commonly depicted as “evil” or “deluded” or “morally wrong” on television, in movies, in our popular music and all over the Internet.  Standing up against abortion and homosexuality and sex before marriage will now get you labeled as being part of a “hate” group.

The sad thing is that Christians have participated in constructing this godless society, and now we are so amazed when our children grow up completely godless.

But we should not be surprised that record numbers of  young people are turning away from the Christian faith.  We recently examined how young people are dramatically leaving Christianity and are rapidly being secularized on our sister site…. 

Our public schools teach our children day after day after day that they evolved from monkeys, that abortion, sex before marriage and homosexuality are perfectly moral and that anyone who disagrees is a bigot.  Then they go home and they are surrounded by entertainment for the rest of the day (television, radio, video games, Internet, movies) and the overwhelming message regarding the Christian faith in these forms of entertainment is that either Christianity is irrelevant, not true or should be openly mocked.

The tide of public opinion is radically shifting against the Christian faith.  Those who still hold to Biblical Christianity should expect that persecution will only get a lot worse as time rolls forward. 

It is time that we started learning from the great martyrs of the past in order to start preparing ourselves for what is coming.  One great book that we recommend is Extreme Devotion by The Voice Of The Martyrs.  That book contains a ton of amazing testimonies from persecuted Christians that have gone before us.  There is a lot that we can learn from them. 

Since the first century, millions upon millions of Christians have been slaughtered for their faith, and Christians all over the world are being killed for their faith today.

While persecution in the United States is not that bad yet, the truth is that the Scriptures promise us that the persecution of Christians will be absolutely horrific in the last days.  Now is the time for all of us to start preparing ourselves mentally to be able to endure whatever persecution we are to face while we are still on this earth.

Barack Obama has reportedly decided that if Israel and the Palestinians have not agreed to a peace agreement in the next few months, the Middle East peace process will be handed over to the international community for a resolution.  So what would be the result of handing over the peace process to the international community?  Well, the international community would almost certainly come up with the solution that the UN, the EU and Barack Obama have been seeking all along – a Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

According to Haaretz, Obama has agreed with leading European allies on a secret plan to convene an “international peace conference” by the end of the year if Israel and the Palestinians are not able to work out an agreement.

This “international peace conference” would be convened under the auspices of the Quartet for Middle East peace.  The membership of the “Quartet” currently includes the United States, the EU, the UN and Russia.

So if Israel does not act quickly they could very well soon find the rest of the world imposing a Palestinian state on them.

What in the world is Barack Obama thinking?

Well, apparently he wants to be the “great Middle East peacemaker” and he is willing to throw his weight around in order to get it done.

But the truth is that this could end up being one gigantic mess. 

The Telegraph recently quoted Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat close to the Obama administration, regarding his opinion on what an “international peace conference” would mean….

“An international conference involving the EU, China and Russia is more of a recipe for chaos than a practical political blueprint,” he said. “But anything is better than the status quo.”

No, anything is not better than the status quo.

The truth is that the Palestinians now have no incentive to negotiate with Israel.  They can just sit back, allow the negotiations to fail, and still get a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem just like they always wanted anyway.

The reality is that this whole plan by Obama undermines the entire peace process as one Israeli official recently explained….

“If you enforce a time limit and then introduce an imposed solution if they don’t succeed after a period, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: you’re going to guarantee the talks won’t succeed.”

Not that Israel should be considering giving away one single inch of the Promised Land anyway.

But now the Palestinians will just sit back and wait for the international community to give them the state that they have been promised along with a capital in East Jerusalem.

The reality is that Barack Obama has been promising them a Palestinian state for a long time.  According to WorldNetDaily, Barack Obama told the Palestinian leadership all the way back in 2008 that he supports a Palestinian state and a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.

So why in the world would the Palestinians be willing to accept anything less from Israel?

By doing his best to divide the land of Israel, Barack Obama is directly coming against the Word of God.

In a previous article, we explained why this is a very, very bad idea for any U.S. administration to do….

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In Genesis 12:3, God warns that those who curse Israel will be cursed when he promised this to Abraham:

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

In the book of Joel, God warns specifically against dividing the land of Israel.

Joel 3:1-2 states, “…I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people and my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up my land.”

Bill Koenig, the author of “Israel: The Blessing or the Curse”, has said this:

“We know for a fact that God gave this land, through the Abrahamic covenant, He gave the land of Israel to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, and this land is God’s land.”

In the Scriptures, we are warned that the city of Jerusalem would one day become a huge stumbling stone for the nations in Zechariah 12:3…..

“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

Is that not what has happened?

The truth is that God gave that land to Israel long ago, and now that He has started to bring His people back to the land, anyone who tries to give it away is going to be under a curse.

So is there any evidence of a curse on those who try to divide the land of Israel today?

Yes.

Consider these examples…..

#1) On April 30, 2003, America was positioned to be the catalyst for the so-called “solution” to the Middle East crisis. As Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in, the “Road Map” peace plan was set in motion.

The very next day began the worst month of tornadoes in United States history – more than 500 in a single month. Under normal conditions, 1,000 tornadoes hit the United States each year, but in just eight days that May, 375 twisters ripped across the heartland of America.

#2) May 9, 2003, President Bush addressed students at the University of South Carolina. Bush called on the Palestinians to embrace the roadmap to peace, and Bush expressed his desire to see the flag of Palestine raised over a free nation.

Hours later, tornadoes returned and Oklahoma City again became the target for deadly twisters, reducing many businesses and homes to splinters and bricks. The tornadoes of  May devastated the Midwest with the third worst property damage in American history.

#3) On October 30, 1991, in a meeting scheduled by George H.W. Bush, Israelis and Palestinians discussed ways to achieve peace in the Middle East. Opening talks focused on trading parts of Israel for a peace agreement.

That same day, thousands of miles away, a powerful storm was brewing off of the coast of Nova Scotia. On October 31st, what would be known as “The Perfect Storm” smashed into New England, pummeling the President’s Kennebunkport, Maine home with waves 30 feet high. It was a storm so rare that the weather patterns required to create it only happen about once every 100 years.

#4) On August 23rd, 1992, Middle East peace talks resumed in Washington, D.C. with hope that there would be a great breakthrough.  These talks focused on surrendering the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria in exchange for peace. Hundreds of miles south of there at the same time, Florida was the target for one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Hurricane Andrew ripped through the state with an eye more than 30 miles wide and winds up to 178 miles per hour leaving behind a 32 billion dollar disaster.

#5) Between August 16th and 30th, 2005, Ariel Sharon expelled 9,480 Jewish settlers from 21 settlements in Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank.

On January 4th, 2006, Sharon had a stroke, and he fell into a coma and is now in a persistent vegetative state.

#6) The U.S. had strongly pressured Sharon to evacuate those settlers from Gaza.

On August 29th, 2005 the storm that would become Hurricane Katrina formed, and it devastated New Orleans and the surrounding areas to such an extent that they still have not recovered. That devastating storm caused at least 200 billion dollars in damage.

#7) In June of 2001, George W. Bush sent CIA director George Tenet to Israel in an attempt to implement the Mitchell Plan.  The Mitchell plan called for, among other things, the cessation of new building in the Jewish settlements.

On the same day that Tenet met with Israeli and Palestinian officials, tropical storm Allison formed in the Gulf of Mexico and moved over Texas, the President’s home state, and dropped over 28 inches of rain over the Houston area alone, causing over $4 billion dollars in damage. The storm then moved to Florida and up the east coast causing damage as far as Pennsylvania. The meteorologists called Allison the “worst tropical storm in history”.

There are many more examples of this phenomenon here:

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1055/1055_01.asp?wpc=1055_01.asp&wpp=b

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But America never seems to learn, eh?

Barack Obama is absolutely determined to divide up the land of Israel.

Let’s just hope that it does not happen.