DP Tool Club 26/CD_ASCQ_26_1295.iso/vrac/peace_me.zip/PEACE.ZIP/THIS_ZIP.4

Text File | 1995-10-29 | 8KB | 128 lines

"And This Man Shall Be The Peace"^15

Principle # 2: Lasting Peace Will Come To The Middle East Only Through
the Work of Christ

There are no references  in the Scriptures of  which we are aware  that
describe a  period of  peace and  prosperity in  the Middle East before
the coming of Christ.  Peace is associated exclusively with his reign.

In the prophecy of Micah,  after revealing that Bethlehem would  be the
birthplace  of  Messiah,  the  prophet  continued with reference to his
work at his  second coming: But  thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,  though thou
be little among the thousands of  Judah, yet out of thee shall  he come
forth unto me that  is to be ruler  in Israel; whose goings  forth have
been from of old,  from everlasting.  Therefore  will he give them  up,
until the time that she  which travaileth hath brought forth:  then the
remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.   And
he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty  of
the name of the  LORD his God; and  they shall abide: for  now shall he
be great unto the ends of the earth.  And this man shall be the  peace,
when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread  in
our  palaces,  then  shall  we  raise  against him seven shepherds, and
eight principal men.   And they shall  waste the land  of Assyria  with
the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus  shall
he deliver  us from  the Assyrian,  when he  cometh into  our land, and
when he  treadeth within  our borders.  (Micah 5:2-6)  This prophecy is
dealing specifically with the threat posed by the invading army of  the
Assyrians to the remnant of Jacob that has returned to the land.   What
power is indicated  by the Assyrians,  the Arab States  to the east  or
some other nation?   Is this prophecy not  a parallel reference to  the
invasion  described  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  in  chapters 38 and 39?
Making this connection between Micah's prophecy about the Assyrian  and
Ezekiel's  prophecy  about  Gog  is  strongly suggested by the question
with  which  the  prophet  Ezekiel  addressed  the  invading  force  he
foresaw: Art thou he of whom I  have spoken in old time by my  servants
the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years  that
I  would  bring  thee  against  them? (Ezekiel 38:17)  Micah was one of
those prophets of old  time in relation to  Ezekiel.  Ezekiel is  clear
that the burden  of his prophecy  about Gog had  been disclosed to  the
prophets that came before him.  Where are such prior references to  Gog
if this one about  the Assyrian is not  included? In the same  way that
Babylon,  in  its  latter  day  usage,  came  to  represent  a  Gentile
religious  power  in  the  West,  so  we  believe  that Assyria is used
typically to  refer to  a secular  Gentile power  with designs upon the
holy  land.   This  foreign  power  has  long  been recognized by Bible
students as Russia.  This identification need not be accepted in  order
to establish  the principle  of Micah  5:5.   Israel obtains peace from
its adversaries  from the  hand of  Messiah and  not from  any treaties
into which it enters:  this man, that is,  Messiah or Christ, he  shall
be the peace (giver).

If the Arab peoples make peace with Israel of their own accord, and  by
such steps  confer on  Israel a  measure of  peace and  prosperity, why
does the prophet Isaiah reveal that Edom will partake of God's fury  in
its  judgment?  His  vengeance  and  fury  is caused by the unrelenting
enmity of Edom  for Israel.   For my sword  shall be bathed  in heaven:
behold, it shall come down  upon Idumea (another term in  Scripture for
Edom), and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.  The sword of  the
LORD is filled with  blood, it is made  fat with fatness, and  with the
blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for  the
LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah,  and a great slaughter in the  land of
Idumea...  For it is the day  of the LORD's vengeance, and the year  of
recompences for the controversy of  Zion.  (Isaiah 34:5-8) The  prophet
later reveals that the  Messiah will be the  agency by which the  sword
of the  LORD is  executed against  Edom: Who  is this  that cometh from
Edom, with  dyed garments  from Bozrah?  this that  is glorious  in his
apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?  I that speak  in
righteousness,  mighty  to  save.   Wherefore  art  thou  red  in thine
apparel, and  thy garments  like him  that treadeth  in the  winefat? I
have trodden  the winepress  alone; and  of the  people there  was none
with me: for I  will tread them in  mine anger, and trample  them in my
fury; and their blood shall be  sprinkled upon my garments, and I  will
stain all my raiment.  For the  day of vengeance is in mine heart,  and
the  year  of  my  redeemed  is  come.  (Isaiah  63:1-4)  If Edom is so
severely singled  out for  judgment, does  it not  imply that  its hand
against  Israel  has  been  treacherous?  The perpetual hatred will not
cease because the Palestinians have signed an accord with Israel.

The prophet Jeremiah is also express in revealing the source of  peace.
Behold, the days come, saith the  LORD, that I will raise unto  David a
righteous  Branch,  and  a  King  shall  reign  and  prosper, and shall
execute judgment and justice in the earth.  In his days Judah shall  be
saved, and Israel shall dwell safely:  and this is the name whereby  he
shall be called,  THE LORD OUR  RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5-6).   This
prophecy implies that  safety shall not  come to Israel  in the absence
of David's  greater Son.   Divine arrangements  and not  ones struck by
men shall ensure the peace of Zion.

Is  there  any  indication  in  Scripture  that Israel will continue in
ignorance of  its true  Messiah, our  Lord Jesus  Christ, until Edom is
brought into judgment?  The prophecy  of Ezekiel is very clear on  this
point: Therefore as I live saith the Lord GOD I will even do  according
to thine anger and according to thine envy which thou hast used out  of
thy  hatred  against  them;  and  I  will  make myself known among them
(Israel), when I have judged thee  (Edom) (Ezekiel 35:  11).   Not only
does  this  prophecy  show  that  Israel  will  continue on its present
course without  recognizing the  purpose of  the Most  High until  Edom
comes into  judgment, it  further documents  that Edom  will reap as it
has sown.   The judgment  to be  visited upon  Edom by  Christ will  be
according to the anger, envy, and hatred which it has held out  against
Israel.  This shows, therefore, that the peace process of 1993/1994  is
not going to quell these emotions on the part of the Arabs.

The prophecy  of the  apostle Paul  has been  in the  thoughts of  many
Bible students throughout the past few years: But of the times and  the
seasons  brethren  ye  have  no  need  that  I  write  unto  you.   For
yourselves know  perfectly that  the day  of the  Lord so  cometh as  a
thief in the  night.  For  when they shall  say Peace and  safety; then
sudden  destruction  cometh  upon  them  as  travail  upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape.  But ye brethren are not in  darkness
that that day should overtake  you as a thief (1  Thessalonians 5:1-4).
This prophecy  provides important  insight into  present events because
it shows that at  the very time when  they are talking about  peace and
security, sudden destruction will break  in upon them.  In  relation to
the holy  land, never  before has  there been  as much  ongoing talk of
peace.   Therefore,  these  are  precisely  the  conditions in which we
should expect sudden destruction to arrest the progress towards  peace.
This prophecy  in the  first epistle  to the  ecclesia at  Thessalonica
does not indicate to whom the pronoun "they" refers.  If this  prophecy
is  linked  with  Luke  21:35,  the  pronoun  "they"  appears to have a
universal application to  the leaders of  the nations of  the Gentiles:
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of  the
earth.

Is  there  any  indication  in  the  Scriptures as to what this "sudden
destruction" refers to?