France and Britain have called on the United Nations Security Council to set a timetable for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. France has been working on a draft resolution which would form the basis of renewed talks between the two parties. The European announcement comes on the back of an ever-widening rift between Israel and the United States on several major issues. The disagreement between US President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over the Iranian nuclear crisis has been especially sharp, with the latter arguing that the agreement will actually pave the way for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons rather than prevent it. US interference in the Israeli elections, coupled with Netanyahu's election pledge that there would be no Palestinian state established during his term, also served to drive a wedge between the two leaders. This resulted in President Obama threatening to 'reassess' US policy in relation to Israel. Many interpret this to mean that Israel would no longer enjoy 'automatic' support from the US in the United Nations...

Quote: “"It's the responsibility of this council to adopt a consensual and balanced resolution that sets the parameters of a final status and a timeline for the negotiations," French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told a council meeting.

According to the French proposal, the 1967 Armistice Lines will form the foundation of a Middle East peace agreement, with mutually agreed land-swaps. Jerusalem will be declared the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. Israel will receive recognition as a Jewish state, and the US and EU will recognize the state of Palestine. But first, France must submit its peace plan to the United Nations Security Council, and then an international peace conference must be held.

Quote: “Shaath said “France is working with the US to gain backing for the new peace effort. France is also seeking support from European and Arab partners”. He declined “to provide more details on the possible sticking points in the negotiations. The weight of a Security Council resolution, which is legally binding, would add to international pressure on Israel.”

But as has been pointed previously, even if Israel and the Palestinian Authority were to sign an agreement tomorrow, that itself is no guarantee of peace. Hamas resolutely refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist period, Hizbullah are still armed to the teeth with Katyusha missiles, and with all the turmoil in neighbouring Iraq and Syria, a future Palestinian state would be easy prey for the likes of ISIS or other Islamic terrorist groups that are looking to expand their caliphate. Establishing a Palestinian state may solve one problem, but it will create a dozen more, not only for Israel but the entire region. Thus Netanyahu's vow that no Palestinian state should be established in his term in office.

Of course all of this is happening just like the Bible said it would. The book of Daniel predicted that in the last days, a world leader would strengthen an agreement between Israel and many peoples for a period of seven years. Daniel clearly identifies this world leader as belonging to a revived Roman Empire. In Daniel 9:26 it states that, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”. The city of Jerusalem and Jewish Temple were destroyed by the Roman legions under the command of Titus in 70AD. This 'prince that shall come' is to be of the same people. As you can see from this map, there is no doubt that the European Union is a revived form of the old Roman Empire. Indeed, the precursor to the European Union - the European Economic Community, was established under the 'Treaty of Rome' on the 1^st of January 1958.

The Scriptures also predict that in the last days, the city of Jerusalem would become like a 'burdensome stone' for all people, and that all that tried to grapple with it would be cut in pieces. Today, the status of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is one of the most contested pieces of real estate in the entire world, with one third of all UN Security Council resolutions being made regarding the nation of Israel. Zechariah 12:2 predicts that in the last days, Israel's enemies would be in siege against Judah and Jerusalem (modern day 'West Bank'), and Joel 3:2 and Revelation 11:2 predict that the city of Jerusalem will be forcibly redivided for a period of three and a half years. This will commence the period known in the Bible as “Jacob's trouble”, Jeremiah 30:7, and the “great tribulation”, Matthew 24:21. This will be an horrific time for Israel and the Jewish people. There will be great calamities in the world also. But through this time of trouble, many people in Israel and the world will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

Zechariah 12:10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

The Bible is not a book of doom and gloom. Yes, many terrible things will happen in the not too distant future. But God has revealed these to us in advance so that we would know that He is real and that the Bible is true. And when we see these things begin to come to pass, we would not be afraid but would put our trust in Him. Three and a half years of trouble is a very short time compared to the thousand years of peace that will follow when Jesus Christ returns to set up His kingdom. But only those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins will see it. Jesus said in John 3:3, “Except a man be born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God”. Would you like to be in God's kingdom when Jesus Christ returns? That's what God wants, and that is the message of the entire Bible, that all who will trust in His Son for salvation will live forever in God's kingdom. God loves you so much He sent His only Son Jesus Christ into the world to be your Saviour. Jesus Christ bore God's punishment for your sins when He died upon the cross. And all who put their trust in Him for salvation have their sins forgiven and will live forever in God's kingdom. But don't delay because the time is short.

The following is just by-the-way... I have thinking recently about Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:25-27). If it is true that the first sixty-nine weeks ended at the rejection of Christ at His first advent, and that each of the weeks were made up of years of 360 days each as opposed to the standard Hebrew calendar, it follows that the seventieth week should also be made up of 360 day years. Next year on the Hebrew calendar will be a Jubilee year (fiftieth year when all debt was to be released in the land). Some also say this will be the seventieth Jubilee year since the Israelites first entered the land of Canaan. And if you add forty-nine years of 360 days each from the date the Temple Mount was taken back (7^th of June 1967), you arrive at Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement, which is the first day of the Jubilee year (23^rd of September 2015). Now I don't know whether this is significant or not, but I think it is worth noting in light of current events.

Source Ynet News, Ynet News

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