Watch Jerusalem!
President Bill Clinton personally conducted the July Camp David peace talks with Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat. The meeting captured the world’s attention. The talks broke down, however, over Jerusalem. If they don’t settle the issue of Jerusalem, there will never be peace in the Middle East. Never!
The talks always break down over that city.
Where is it all leading? If people knew they would be stirred beyond words to describe—both by the bad news and the far greater good news to follow!
Half of Jerusalem
Presently the Jews rule over all of Jerusalem even though East Jerusalem is mostly comprised of Arabs. Yasser Arafat wants this half for his capital. But most of the Jews won’t budge, saying they must rule all of Jerusalem.
Both sides proclaim that they must rule East Jerusalem or there will be war!
Here is the real shocker. Did you know the Bible prophesies about this one half of Jerusalem and the super miraculous outcome? It is a prophecy that will stagger your mind.
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee” (Zech. 14:1). This subject is about the Day of the Lord—the end time. This whole book is focused on the latter days.
“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city” (v. 2). Notice how specific this prophecy is. East Jerusalem—one half of the city—will be conquered by the Palestinians!
The Day of the Lord and dispute over one half of Jerusalem are presented in the same context! The Camp David discussion is a strong sign that the Day of the Lord is almost here. We must wake up!It is time for men to heed God’s warning prophecies before it’s too late!
The peace talks made headlines around the world. But here is the greatest “scoop” of all, and the news media totally ignore it!
The Camp David peace talks will lead to the world’s greatest battle ever—between Christ and all the major armies of the Earth!
These armies will gather in Armageddon. They will move from there to Jerusalem to battle Christ. That war will cause blood to flow up to the horses’ bridles in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
These very peace talks are leading directly to the return of Jesus Christ!
The peace talks also lead directly to the fall of East Jerusalem. This battle triggers events that lead to a nuclear World War iii! This is the crowning result of man’s best efforts to bring the world peace!
Thankfully Jesus Christ will intervene just before all life has been exterminated (Matt. 24:21-22). Then Christ will usher in 1000 years of peace.
“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zech. 14:3-4). The Jews and Palestinians will never settle the Jerusalem issue until Christ returns. Christ is obviously not a part of the peace talks. He is nevertheless orchestrating the overall direction of these events.
Shortly after the fall of East Jerusalem, and much more violence and warfare, Christ will return. He will stand on the Mount of Olives. That famous mountain will divide, creating a huge valley.
Only Jesus Christ can and will settle the Jerusalem issue!
Why won’t more people look at this prophecy? Why won’t they listen, when it is about the violent outcome of a world-famous peace process where men are fighting verbally for the rights to East Jerusalem? And it is tied directly to the return of Jesus Christ—the greatest event ever to occur on Earth or in the universe!
This prophecy is thrilling, wonderful and awesome! It ought to stir the imagination of the whole world! But men are too drunk on deception to comprehend what is happening. Only great violence can sober them.
This so-called peace process has already shaken Mr. Barak. His administration may fall because of the latest peace talks! Israel’s foreign minister, David Levy, has already resigned. What a paradox. When will men learn that they don’t know how to bring true peace?
Your Part
“The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (v. 5). All those saints who surrender to Christ before His Second Coming will be rewarded as no people ever will be for all eternity.
Christ is preparing them to rule as His bride (Rev. 19:7). The bride prepares by submitting to her Husband today and by accepting the trials and tests needed to prepare for headquarters positions forever. What a mind-dazzling reward! The bride is going to help Christ rule the world. After that responsibility, they will be given the highest positions in ruling the universe.
Can our minds grasp what this all means? Will we comprehend this vision? Do you have the will to even try to understand?
Are you willing to look at what Christ says about the peace process? World news and Bible prophecy are shockingly similar today.
Soon the Jews will be even more deeply mired in danger. Where they go for help will prove to be the worst decision in their nation’s history!
Judah’s Wound
The nation called Israel today is actually called “Judah” in the Bible. We have proven that many times to our readers. The word Jew is simply a shortened version of Judah.
The book of Hosea was written as prophecy for the end time. There are some specific prophecies about Judah in this book. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound” (Hos. 5:13). The Hebrew reveals that both Ephraim (Britain) and Judah (called “Israel” today) go to Assyria (which is Germany—to prove that fact, write for our free booklet The History and Prophecy of Germany).
Why do the Jews go to Germany and what is Judah’s wound? The word wound is defined in Strong’s Concordance, “in the sense of binding up: a bondage, i.e. remedy.” Gesenius’ Lexicon defines it this way: “the pressing together, binding up of a wound; here used figuratively of a remedy applied to the wounds of the state.” In other words, the remedy is the wound!
Another word for wound is also mentioned in Obadiah 1:7: “All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.” Gesenius defines this wound as “falsehood; hence, fraud, insidious dealing … net, or snare.” It has the same root word as the word used in Hosea 5:13. In Obadiah the wound is directly related to being deceived by a peace pact!
Is the peace pact with the Arabs the Israeli wound that God refers to in Hosea 5:13? There would have been no peace pact if Judah would have trusted God instead of men.
The word wound doesn’t necessarily mean some violent act, but it will undoubtedly lead to violence.
“Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness” (v. 12). The word rottenness should read “worm.” The Anchor Bible Commentary states that the word usually describes the rottenness in wood or bones (Hab. 3:16; Prov. 12:4; 14:30; Job 41:27; Isa. 40:20). This wound reaches into their bones like cancer.
The worm is “like maggots infesting open wounds and then begins to devour the flesh.” This is a sickness unto death. The only cure is God.
The word wound in Hosea 5:13 means “bandage.” It’s as if a bandage is hopelessly applied to an open, running sore. From the beginning of the peace process, the Jews have looked to men, often their enemies, for help—not God. That is the unseen wound.
So little trust in God—so much trust in their enemies!
The real wound is spiritual—a lack of faith in God. The Jews keep trying to heal themselves by making peace pacts. They were strong when they trusted God. Even recent history proves that truth. Just a few years ago they were a terror to the Arabs. Now the Arabs are a terror to the Jews. A complete reversal in such a short time!
Why?
They will finally see that their peace pact with the Palestinians has failed. The Jews really only see the effect of their wound. They don’t see the cause. That is why they turn to Germany for another peace pact! This time they place their trust in an even greater enemy! Once again they fail to trust God. It will lead to the worst disaster in the Jews’ long history of suffering.
The lesson still has not been learned. God is going to teach them emphatically about what their wound is and what is the real solution.
Today the Jews only see their wound humanly. But even that understanding comes painfully slow. Before this is over, they will see their wound spiritually—through God’s eyes. Then their wound will be healed and they will have peace forever.
But before that happens, they have the most terrifying lesson of their national life to learn!
Lange’s Commentary states that the word Jareb, the German leader mentioned in verse 13, means “warlike monarch.” The Soncino Commentary translates it as “King Contentious.” He will be far more dangerous than Hitler was.
If you read our literature on Germany, you will see that this leader will be ruled by Satan! And Britain and the Jews will go to him for mercy and aid!
Wounded Judah and sick Ephraim go to Germany for help. Why? Because America is even sicker than both of them and can be of no help at that point. The deadly weakness of these three nations leads to their simultaneous destruction by Germany—if they don’t repent! “And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them” (Hos. 5:5). America, or Manasseh (write for our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy for proof), is labeled as “the pride of Israel” because they have recently been the real power behind all the nations of Israel.
Now Judah is giving away strategically vital land as the terrorist acts intensify! Of course Yasser Arafat goes through the charade of arresting some of the Hamas Palestinians, but very little, if anything, is done beyond that. That is because most of the Arabs are only using the peace process to destroy Judah. That certainly makes the peace process a deadly wound. But it is far more deadly than any Israelis can possibly see.
“I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early” (v. 15). God will not stop punishing Judah (and all Israel—mainly America and Britain) until they “acknowledge their offense,” or repent of their sins and seek God. But how can they know what their sins are and how to repent?
“Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be” (vv. 8-9). God has made their sins known to them through Herbert W. Armstrong and our Church today. You are reading that trumpet message now! Hosea is specifically about our work today (write for our booklet on Hosea). The Jews are going to suffer at the hands of the Arabs and Germans until they awaken! They must acknowledge our message from God! If they don’t hear the alarm of war through our message, they must experience being conquered!
“For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him” (v. 14). The lion is king of the beasts—the most fearsome predator. It is the strongest metaphor of destruction!
Why is God so angry? The prophets always had scathing messages when Israel went to and trusted the heathen.
The Israelis are trying to negotiate peace with the Palestinians. Many of the Hamas terrorists are Palestinians. In fact, the Palestinians are their closest friends. The Israelis have already given control of Gaza and other areas in the West Bank to the Palestinians (see map above). The terrorists often operate from these Palestinian-controlled areas.
That means the Israelis are no longer free to declare war on the terrorists’ base of operations.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s former prime minister, has said: “I think the central problem of the terrorism that we see today is that we have created a situation where we rely on Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to be our subcontractors to fight terrorism.”
Through weakness and a lack of faith in God,the Jews have created their own wound! Because of the land they have already given the Palestinians, the Jews can no longer even pursue their enemy. And you would think the Palestinians would be grateful to the Jews for the land they have already been given. Instead, they use that gift to intensify their hatred!
A little psychology ought to convince any honest person that a peace pact will never work! But the Jews cling to their illusions because of weakness.
Judah is afraid to get tough even in the Arab areas which they control. They don’t want the “peace” process to break down.
What most of them don’t know is that the peace process is a deadly delusion! It is a wound that will cause death, if they don’t repent. It is like terminal cancer!
The number-one Arab leader in the peace process is Yasser Arafat. Before the peace negotiations, he was the leading terrorist in the Middle East! This is not a good foundation for peace.
Why would the Israelis trust the greatest terrorist in the Middle East to protect them from terrorism? They have more than enough power to protect themselves. But they lack the will to use it! That is because God has broken their will—and that includes America and Britain. And here’s why! “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth” (Dan. 9:13). The book of Daniel is only to be understood in these latter days. It is for us today (Dan. 12:4, 9). Evil is coming upon America, Britain and Judah today because of our sins. And we still rebel against God!
Where is this prophesied in the law of Moses? “And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass” (Lev. 26:17-19). God is against us! And He is a far more terrifying foe than human terrorists!
The Jews have lost the will to fight and survive. And the Arabs know it most of all!
God prophesied that America, Britain and Judah would have power in this end time but lack the will to use it!
That is because God has broken the pride of our power. We now want to trust others to protect us, because we cringe in fear before our enemies. We no longer trust God!
Middle East Explosion Soon
Many intelligence sources see that there will not be peace in Israel. Here is what the March 1, 1996, Intelligence Digest stated in its article, “Listen to Arafat!”: “The propensity of people to ignore unpalatable truths is one of the most damaging of human traits. Unfortunately it is in full evidence over the Middle East peace process.”
The editor went on to quote Yasser Arafat from a secret speech he gave in May 1994 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Arafat called for a holy war in order to liberate Jerusalem. And concerning the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, he said, “This agreement, I am not considering it more than the agreement which had been signed between our Prophet Mohammed and the Quraysh.”
Continuing from Intelligence Digest: “This was a reference to the non-belligerency agreement Mohammed signed with the Quraysh tribe which controlled Mecca. Two years later, Mohammed violated the agreement, conquered Mecca and killed the leaders of the tribe.”
Telling It Like It Is
The speech quoted above was given in 1994. Has Arafat changed his views? Notice what he said in early 1996 to a group of Arab diplomats in Sweden (emphasis mine): “[Israeli Prime Minister Shimon] Peres and [Israeli negotiator Yossi] Beilin have already promised us half of Jerusalem [but] we Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem …. Within five years we will have 6 to 7 million Arabs living on the West Bank and in Jerusalem …. If the Jews can import all kinds of Ethiopians, Uzbekis and Ukrainians as Jews, we can import all kinds of Arabs …. We plan to eliminate the state of Israel and establish a Palestinian state …. We will make life unbearable for the Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. Jews will not want to live among Arabs.”
Concerning Arafat’s statements, Intelligence Digest commented, “But it is quite clear from everything that Yasser Arafat is saying in private (and he is saying a lot more than the two speeches above which have leaked out) that there will be no post settlement goodwillor restraint on the Arab side.
“War-weariness and wishful thinking in Israel, combined with misguided Western pressure, are leading the Middle East (and the world with it) to a disaster of untold magnitude ….
“For Yasser Arafat, a certain amount of terrorist activity from a group over which he can deny any authority (thus enabling him to keep his peacemaker credentials intact) gives him bargaining power with the Israelis ….
“Arafat’s unspoken threat is that he will get tough with the terrorists only if Israel makes concessions over Jerusalem and Palestinian statehood” (ibid.).
America, Britain and Judah must understand that they are being punished for their sins. Jeremiah is also a book written for the end time (Jer. 23:20). Prophecy clearly reveals why our problems are overwhelming us. “Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return” (Jer. 8:5). Jerusalem is a type of all the nations of Israel. They all “hold fast deceit” and continue in their ugly sins.
“I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle” (v. 6). “No man” repents when they hear God’s word.
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord” (v. 7). The animals understand their purpose better than America, Britain and Judah do theirs!
“How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?” (vv. 8-9). They have heard God’s word and rejected it. They abhor God’s law and government. They have no judgment or wisdom.
A terrible penalty is coming unless we wake up. “Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely” (v. 10). The enemy is going to take Israel’s wives for themselves! Why? Because Israel is so blatantly rebellious!
Our physical and spiritual leaders have deceived the people. “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (v. 11). Our leaders have gotten the people to accept peace pacts like the one between Judah and the Palestinians. The leaders continually talk of peace, peace, when there is no peace.
Look around. Do you see peace? The more violence we see, the more they talk about peace! They don’t know how to have peace. “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace” (Isa. 59:8).
Our peoples boast of all the Bibles we print. But we don’t believe what is in them! We don’t believe God! We talk about Him much of the time. But we don’t believe Him—His word!
All this suffering could be eliminated. Because of our sinful attitude, our people refuse to obey God. So we must suffer until we change that attitude.
Through the peace process, Judah has become vulnerable to the enemy, with very little freedom to strike back. Just a few years ago, they would have retaliated with far greater force! But not today.
Soon the whole world will see what the Arabs saw all along—that the peace process was a wound from which the Jews would never recover!
The Whirlwind
The king of the north, led by Germany, will soon clash with the king of the south—probably led by Iran. “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Dan. 11:40). This push by the king of the south will probably be a clash directly related to Jerusalem. It could certainly involve cutting off oil to punish the king of the north, over a dispute about Jerusalem. (Europe receives more than one third of its oil from the Middle East.)
The king of the north is going to come against him like a “whirlwind.” Gesenius defines whirlwind this way: “a storm or tempest … to sweep away in a storm” or “to be fierce as a tempest.” Strong’s Concordance states, “by implication to cause to shiver with fear.” It leaves people terror-stricken.
After the German-led European armies conquer the mighty king of the south, the world will tremble and the Germans will feel invincible!
Little Judah will then no doubt ask them for protection. “He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon” (v. 41). The powerful European Union army will then enter the glorious land, or biblical Judah. The word enter in no way indicates the use of force. The Germans will undoubtedly be invited in as a peace-keeping force. (Write for our free booklet Nahum—An End-Time Prophecy for Germany.)
The king of the north immediately enters the glorious land, specifically Jerusalem. That is a strong indication that the war was triggered over that city. Anyhow, Jerusalem is their main concern.
The pope spoke out during the latest Camp David peace talks. He said that Jerusalem must be an international city. He, like the Arabs, also has a passionate interest in that city.
The Vatican and Germany are the heart of the Holy Roman Empire. They have conquered that city several times before. And they are destined to do so one last time!
There is about to be a war over Jerusalem! It will probably come after the Jews have lost control of East Jerusalem and the U.S. can no longer help them. Regardless, the Jews will go to Germany for help.
The Holy Roman Empire will undoubtedly make some kind of a peace pact to protect Jerusalem. But it will become one of the greatest double-crosses in the history of man (read “A Special Warning” on page 1).
“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many” (v. 44). Tidings out of the northeast—Russia and China—trouble him. This leads to a clash between the Asiatic millions and the king of the north, or the Holy Roman Empire.
“And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (v. 45). A great false religious leader moves his headquarters to Jerusalem. But he quickly comes to his end. Why?
This leads us back to Zechariah 14:1-2: “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle….” Jesus Christ gathers the main armies of the Asiatic millions and those of the Holy Roman Empire to Jerusalem.
It is there that Christ puts an end to warfare and brings peace to the Earth (vv. 3-4).
This greatest of all events will flow from the recent Camp David peace talks! What a momentous time to be alive!
The good news is, this present crisis will soon culminate in the return of Jesus Christ. What a glorious future that lies just ahead! But immediately before that event, the worst time of suffering ever on this Earth will come upon us.