5/6/09

Has Time Run Out For Mideast Peace?

By Bill Salus

Astoundingly 61 years have come and gone and the international community is still attempting to figure out a political way to achieve peace in the Middle East. Ever since the rebirth of the nation Israel in May of 1948, world leaders have struggled unsuccessfully to reconcile the irreconcilable differences between the Arabs and the Jews.

Former Clinton special Mideast envoy Dennis Ross has written an 848 page book called “The Missing Peace” on the subject and upon reading it, although it is not the intention of the book, one arrives at the obvious conclusion that there is absolutely no political way to broker a lasting peace between the Arabs and the Jews. Ross’s book evidences that the ongoing conflict has reduced world leaders to the intermediary role of Real Estate Brokers and predictably both the Palestinians, supported by their partnering Arab neighbors, and the Jews want possession of the precious Promised Land.

Unfortunately it appears that the only way this matter will find ultimate resolve will be via the military option. The Arabs and the Jews are likely going to have to “duke it out”! The military venue should come as no surprise to those eschatologists familiar with the Bible prophecies recorded in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39. Both of these prophecies clearly foretell the coming of two last days’ wars between Israel and their Arab and Persian nemesis’s. Undoubtedly it is the least preferred option, however in the end analysis the radical Islamic contingencies within the surrounding ancient Arab and Persian populations that most closely surround modern day Israel will bring it to that fatal point.

Presently all political ploys are being put on the table because time has run out. There can be no more procrastination because the Iranians, formerly known as the Persians, are threatening to pull the trigger on their own developing nuclear weapons program, and the Pakistani’s are in danger of losing control of theirs into terrorist hands. From Israel’s vantage point it is a matter of national survival and they realize, comparatively speaking, that the stakes have risen rapidly from DEFCON 3 during the former Bush Administration to DEFCON 1 in Obama’s early days in office.

In case you haven’t noticed, in the midst of the financial crisis and the pandemic H1N1 pandemonium, Middle East geopolitical temperatures have risen to fever pitch. Israeli President Shimon Peres has come to America in early May in order to pave the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrive in Washington with his laundry list of Mideast peace demands for Obama on May 18, 2009. Having previewed this list I see no reason why the Hamas and Palestinians specifically, and the Arab nations generally, will accept Israel’s conditions

In anticipation of Netanyahu’s arrival, President Obama previously requested King Abdullah of Jordan at the end of April 2009 to spearhead the concoction of a plan amongst the Arabs that will once and for all appease Israel. Abdullah is presently hard at work with some of his Arab counterparts trying to deliver this proposal. Meanwhile he has recently issued statements like "In the next 18 months, if we don't move the process forward, and bring people to the negotiation table, there will be another conflict between Israel and another protagonist". Furthermore Obama has invited Egyptian and Palestinian leaders to promptly visit him in Washington. Then in June of this year President Obama plans to personally visit Israel.
Isn’t it interesting that in the midst of the domestic problems facing him at home, that Obama is working double time in attempt to slap a peace agreement together between the Palestinians and the Jews? He can be applauded for the noble idea of seeking peace, but he is committed to the failed Two-State solution plan introduced in the Bush “Roadmap Plan” of April 2003. This three-phased plan has never gotten beyond phase one and six years and two Arab-Israeli wars have come and gone since it’s crafting.

Meanwhile Iran’s president continues almost daily to slander Israel and threaten the future existence of the Jewish State. Considering the fact that Iran will likely have the nuclear wherewithal to destroy Israel by the end of the summer, this has the international community’s back up against the wall. Obama, still reveling in his charismatic rock star like rise to fame, thinks he can engage in diplomatic efforts to simmer down the Mideast cauldron.

Engagement is another name for diplomacy, and that has not worked! It’s all or nothing and the Obama administration seems to sense this. That is why the Mideast peace process is moving blindly “full speed ahead”. The problem is that the international community fueled by the illusive dream of a Two State Solution, has run out of time and been reduced to saber rattling and muscle flexing on the sidelines.

Israel will be inevitably pushed into the corner and told that if they want broader Arab recognition for their right to exist as a sovereign Jewish State, they must forfeit land, place part of Jerusalem into Palestinian hands, and allow the return of millions of displaced Palestinian refugees into Israel. In essence, they will be told to commit suicide for the good of the International community.

Daniel 2:21 reminds us that God puts leaders in their place and it very well could be that He has put the present Israeli leadership in place to enable the self preservation of the nation at this critical point in time. Newly appointed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prioritized Israel’s national security above all else and it is doubtful that all the kings' horses and all the kings' men of the world will be able to huff and puff and blow Israel away this go round. Israel looks like it is about to celebrate its 61st birthday with a big bang in the Middle East.

4/14/09

VIEW ISRALESTINE PROMO VIDEO




Set to explode in the not so distant future, is a devastating war in the Middle East. The Jews will fight off Arab aggression and end terrorism once and for all! ISRALESTINE; The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East, boldly unveils significant Bible prophecy that has eluded the discernment of today’s great scholars. Once upon a foretold time the Jewish people were to meet with a holocaust type condition, out from which they would return back to their ancient homeland of Israel. They would begin as refugees, but promptly emerge into an exceedingly great army. As per Psalm 83, destiny’s design for this great army is a head to head confrontation with a formidable Arab confederacy consisting of Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, Jordanians, Saudis, Egyptians, and associated terrorist groups like the Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda.

This Arab coalition has been developing in its fledgling stages since 1948, and will climax and officially confederate in the very near future. The Israeli Defense Forces will decisively defeat this offensive, and prove to be the “exceedingly great army” of Ezekiel 37:10, 25:14, and Obadiah 1:18. They will expand territorially, become regionally superior, take prisoners of war, and exploit the resources of these conquered Arab nations. In that condition they will become one of, if not the wealthiest nations on earth. It is from that position of empowerment that the Jews will dwell securely in the Middle East. Subsequently the world stage is set for the Russian – Iranian led coalition of nations, which will form against Israel as prophesied in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. This non – fiction thriller is carefully designed to cautiously navigate the reader through the end time’s calendar.

Click image below to watch Bill Salus on Jewish Voice Television.

3/18/09

PSALM 83 - Has It Found Final Fulfillment?

By Bill Salus

Currently many prophecy buffs are discussing the Psalm 83 petition formatted prophecy written by the seer Asaph approximately 3000 years ago. This prophecy enlists a ten-member population whose goal is nothing short of wiping Israel off of the map. These ancient populations are seen superimposed upon their modern day equivalents on the map below, and their confederate mandate is:
They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” (Psalm 83:4, NKJV)

My book Isralestine the Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East, has caused many eschatologists to rethink their end times model. However, not all the experts agree with my end time equation that Psalm 83 precedes Ezekiel 38 & 39. There are those who still sweep the prophecy into the catchall closet of the 7-year Tribulation, or simply deposit the event into the file 13 trash can bin of historical fulfillment.

Why Psalm 83 doesn’t belong in the 7-year Trib period is a subject for a future article; however this piece is intended to pull the prophecy out of the annals of historical fulfillment and place it back into the pending event category. Furthermore this article is not intended to serve as a substitute for reading Isralestine in its entirety, which covers all the above and volumes more.

THE 2 CHRONICLES 20 ARGUMENT:
Recently I was invited by Nathan Jones, (pictured far left) the up and coming eschatologist extraordinaire and Webmaster for Dr. David Reagan’s (pictured in middle) Lamb and Lion Ministries, to participate in an ongoing blog. The argument was raised by some gentleman identified as Don that 2 Chronicles 20:1-37 likely describes the final fulfillment of the Psalm 83 prophecy. You can read my blog comments below and review some of the other assorted blogs made by others at the following link: http://www.lamblion.us/2009/01/gaza-conflict.html

“Nathan and Don- 2 Chronicles is not likely the episode Asaph describes in Psalm 83. The 2 Chronicles account primarily describes only 3, possibly 4, of the 10 member populations enlisted in the prophecy of Psalm 83. These are the Psalm 83:6-8 confederates: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites (Hagarenes); Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot.

Now compare all of the above to 2 Chronicles 20:1-37. 2 Chron. 20:1 NKJV - It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. (Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint reads Meunites see 2 Chronicles 26:7

2 Chronicles 20:1 ASV And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.Verse 1 enlists Moab and Ammon, and possibly the Meunites.
The NKJV suggests that “others” were involved besides them, but that likely refers to the Meunites a much smaller grouping than those of Psalm 83:6-8. The Meunites, if that is who verse one references, were an Arab tribe that dwelt about 12 miles Southeast of Petra, which still puts them in modern day Southern Jordan.

I cited the ASV in addition to the NKJV to illustrate that it only identifies Ammon, and Moab. Verse 2 references Syria (Some Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate; some Hebrew manuscripts and Old Latin read Edom.) Edom or Syria, or both, this still is only a portion of the 10 populations of Psalm. 83. Verse 10, 22-23 of 2 Chronicles 20 lists Moab, Ammon, and Mt. Seir. Mt. Seir identifies primarily the people of Edom.

Thus the populations referenced primarily would be modern day Jordan, with a slight possibility of Syria having been involved. Moab is today Central Jordan, Edom is Southern Jordan, and Ammon is Northern Jordan. Petra, Mt. Seir, and the Meunites, would also be clustered in and around Southern Jordan today.

Due to the fact that less than half of the required ten Psalm 83 populations are referenced, it is not possible that 2 Chronicles 20 could be considered as the source of Psalm 83 fulfillment. In addition, several scholars like Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Jack Kelley, Dr. David Reagan, David Dolan and more believe that Psalm 83 has yet to find its final fulfillment.”

THE 1948 AND 1967 ARAB – ISRAELI WAR (S) ARGUMENT:

There are those who believe that the six-day war of 1967 occasioned the final fulfillment of the prophecy. I have this suggestion presented to me often, and below is a recent email I sent to a friend in response to his concern that this could be the case.

I have recently been informed that you believe Psalm 83 may have found its fulfillment in the six-day war of 1967. Interestingly Dr. David Reagan and I discussed this possibility recently while visiting together at a Calvary Chapel Chino Hills conference hosted by Pastor Jack Hibbs in February 2009. We concurred that the better argument for fulfillment was the 1948 war commonly considered by the Israeli’s as “The War of Independence”, however neither of these truly meets the description in our estimation. There are 10 populations involved in Psalm 83:6-8 and not all of them were involved in 1967 and more than all of them were involved in 1948.

Additionally it is important to note that the “tents of Edom” are the first population listed in the Psalm 83:6-8 grouping and a careful study demonstrates that the Edomite descendents became tent-dwellers only in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab – Israeli War.
Biblically the “tents of” condition alludes to either refugees or military encampments. In the Edomite instance their refugee condition became a troubling reality in 1949 when the Palestinian Refugee crisis commenced. Up until that time they were known as the Arabs of Palestine, these days they are referred to as refugees. (Above Photo of Baga'a Refugee Camp 1949 UNRWA)

Isralestine devotes an entire chapter to this topic called; “Whodomites” - Who are the Edomites Today. Inside the “Whodomite” chapter the Edomite – Palestinian Refugee connection is clearly made. The chapter traces several historical waves of Edomite migration out from their original homeland into Israel. They generally settled in and around Hebron, which today exists in the modern day West Bank. Ultimately they became known as the Idumeans, which is the Greek word for Edomites. The territory they developed inside of Israel assumed the name Idumea.

It appears that since 1949 up until the present day the Palestinian Refugees, the apparent antagonistic star of the Psalm 83 show, have a descendant Edomite contingency residing within their ranks. (1949 Palestinian Refugee Photo from UNRWA)
However the additional argument against either of these two Arab – Israeli wars being the fulfillment is the fact that Asaph is petitioning God to utterly destroy this confederacy as per Psalm 83:17, an event that has not yet occurred.

He petitions God to fashion their demise in the similar format of the historic examples he lists in Psalm 83:9-11 and the allegorical illustrations of Psalm 83:13-16. The fact that these populations still exist, seek possession of the Promised land in Psalm 83:12, and continue to collectively possess the antagonistic attitude toward Israel of Psalm 83:4, conclusively evidences in my estimation that this prophecy has yet to find fulfillment.”

For article brevity sake, I’ll let the reader do his or her own homework on the participants of the 1948 and 1967 wars and if further questions develop please blog them below this article.

CONCLUSION:

The two arguments listed above are the primary ones forwarded by today’s top scholars who believe that Psalm 83 has already found its fulfillment. Having previously deposited Psalm 83 into the historical fulfillment file 13, these advocates tend to then center their focus upon Ezekiel 38 & 39 as the next Mideast Bible Prophecy set to find fulfillment. I disagree with this thinking and express my opinions further in a previous article: "Psalm 83 or Ezekiel 38, Which is the Next Middle East News Headline?"

We must consider the fact that mere rumblings today between Russia and Iran in the Epicenter of the Middle East, as Joel Rosenberg likes to refer to them, does not constitute, but rather simply suggests, the nearby fulfillment of the Ezekiel 38 & 39 invasion. Oddly many military experts are predicting just the opposite, that Israel may be forced to invade Iran in order to forestall their nuclear aspirations. This could temporarily sideline Iran and render them of little immediate utility to Russia, and may be one of the reasons ancient Persia is not listed among the Psalm 83 confederates.
Anyway you prophe-size it up, some big world changing Middle East event is certainly about to happen, just like the Bible predicted it would. The fact that the Psalm 83 confederates live on today and embrace the ancient hatred of Israel signals the high likelihood that Psalm 83 is the next Mideast prophecy to find fulfillment.