No issue on the present geopolitical landscape holds the potential for planet-rending devastation as does that of war and peace involving Israel. This is not hyperbole or supposition, if one believes Bible prophecy.
Daniel the prophet gave the following about God’s chosen people –the Jews—in scriptural passages familiar to all students of Bible prophecy.
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Dan 9: 27)
The old prophet was told to issue the proclamation that Jerusalem and Israel will be at the center of the most horrific conflict ever perpetrated upon mankind, and that that conflict will ultimately culminate in the catastrophic consummation of human history at the time of Christ’s Second Advent.
This prophecy, of course, could not be in view for the present generation, if Israel were not back in the land as a nation. We know from our daily news –no, now it is ourhourly news— that not only is Israel again a nation, but that it is constantly in the spotlight of world news reporting.
Israel is the most hated nation on earth as manifest by the overwhelming, anti-Semitic, balloting of the majority of nations within the United Nations every time a vote is taken involving the Jewish state. Jerusalem has become the cup of trembling and burdensome stone prophesied by Zechariah (Zech 12: 1-3).
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 began the process of prophetic fulfillment at the time World War I was in full rage. The ”war to end all wars,” as WWI was called, began in 1914 between Great Britain and its allies and Germany, Austria, Hungary, and later that year, with the Ottoman Empire.
The Islamist Ottoman Empire, which controlled the area constituting what became known as the Holy Land, was on the losing side of the great first world-wide conflict. The Balfour Declaration, finally incorporated into the Sèvres peace treaty, the terms that would begin bringing God’s chosen people back into the land as a nation.
The document was signed by the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, November 2, 1917. It was issued to Baron Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community. The letter was for Rothschild to transmit to the Zionist Confederation of Great Britain and Ireland.
The gist of the notice was as follows: His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
This all appeared well and good. However, many treacheries developed as the Jews began to re-enter their God-Promised homeland. The British reneged on their promises in ways that caused the struggle to become one of survival for the Jewish people as they sought to reclaim the hostile, swampy land. All of Islam eventually swarmed against the effort to re-establish a Jewish state.
However, God, unlike human governments, never reneges on His Promises, and we know the rest of the story to this point. All other nations of the world might fall –and many have and will do so in the future. But, one thing sure, Israel is now a nation and a people forever.
“Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 26: 44-45)
“‘Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them,’ says the Lord your God.” (Amos 9: 14-15)
So, now we come to the point of our title for this article –Balfour Declaration 2013!
Todd and I are pleased to announce ours and Rapture Ready’s association with a newly formed organization –The Balfour Post. It is a group devoted to standing with the nation Israel in its struggle in these days of growing anti-Semitism. The Balfour Post is determined to be a friend to be relied upon while the Jewish state seeks to contribute the very best of its national, creative abilities to all peoples.
We are particularly in agreement with The Balfour Post’sdeclarations with regard to Israel, and its relationship to Bible prophecy, which includes the following statement:
Bible prophecy and end-times information captivates a large majority of Christians in our world today; but, as most Bible teachers understand, the Bible must be understood in its entirety – from “cover to cover,” as they say. Thus, the importance and relevance of Israel is one key to rightly dividing these truths, especially regarding Bible prophecy.
The world and its governments, domestic and abroad, are clearly antagonistic toward this tiny state. There are few media outlets that keep this in proper perspective. Even those that do attempt to present a balanced understanding, such as Haaretz, and The Jerusalem Post, tend to lean in various degrees toward a liberal presentation. It is the “vacuum” left by these facts that The Balfour Post proposes to fill.
The Balfour Post has two primary objectives in mind:
1) To counter the massively prejudiced news media presentation of Israel in a false and negative light; and
2) To act as a bridge between the Christian community and the Jewish community.
There is not a day that goes by, but which there are multitudinous reports detrimental to Israel and her people; some are presented with some of the facts “conveniently” not told, some are outright lies. While we do not believe we can completely reverse this situation, we do fervently believe we must speak out.
Regarding our role as a “bridge-maker,” we have been shocked and saddened by the increasingly hostile position taken by the Christian community toward our “fathers in the faith.” In fact, we view The Balfour Post as an opportunity to recombine the branches with the trunk – all having one root.
With this in mind, we at The Balfour Post have agreed to engage in this bridge-building, utilizing elite minds from the conservative Jewish community and those of like-minds within the conservative Christian ranks, such as Bill Koenig, Jim Fletcher, and Lela Gilbert.
In addition, it is our intent to highlight those Jewish and Christian organizations– such as Rapture Ready– and individuals that stand with Israel and have made a commitment to the biblically ordained right of the Jews to their land, and that recognize Israel’s connection to biblically prophesied events.
Todd and I feel this relationship is one that is proper and even Spiritually Destined, while we at Rapture Ready watch and report on significant developments of these times.
–All-the-while expecting at any moment our Lord’s Shout “Come up hither!”