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1995-10-29
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43 lines
During the last twelve months Israel and its longstanding adversaries
have taken dramatic steps towards peace. Breakthrough initiatives
that seemed unthinkable for so many years have not only been agreed
upon but largely implemented. The first major milestone in this
emerging rapprochement between Israel and its Arab enemies was staged
before the world when the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Rabin, and
the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Mr. Arafat,
shook hands in front of the President of the United States at the
White House in September, 1993. That historic handshake set in motion
a chain of events that led to the transfer of control of the Gaza
strip and Jericho from Israel to the PLO in the late spring of 1994.
More recently, another milestone was reached on July 25, 1994 when the
Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Rabin, and the King of Jordan, Mr.
Hussein, shook hands in the presence of President Clinton at the White
House. Later during their visit to Washington, both Mr. Rabin and
Mr. Hussein jointly addressed the US Congress and pledged before the
world to lay down the sword.
Press reports indicate that progress is also being made between Israel
and Syria and Israel and Lebanon in the efforts, under US guidance, to
similarly end the belligerency that has prevailed in their
relationships since the beginning.
For those of us who believe in the vision of the Hebrew prophets
concerning the setting up of the Kingdom of God on earth in these
times, this turn of events in the Middle East warrants our
examination. Like many other world developments in the past five
years, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and its hegemony over
Eastern Europe, the extension of peace in the Middle East was not
widely foreseen by Bible students. In this paper our purpose is to
offer an explanation as to how these moves towards peace fit with our
expectation concerning the return of our Lord Jesus to the earth.
Although the establishment of peaceful relationships between Israel
and the PLO, Israel and Jordan, and Israel and the Vatican may not
have been specifically anticipated by Bible students, one of the
consequences of these recent developments has been to ensure that
Israel continues to receive prominence in the world media. The peace
process has been responsible for Israel's often sharing the lead story
in the world news media's daily reports. Thus, its witness to the
divine purpose continues.