Sound The Midnight Cry

“Doomed From The Start”

When the Trump administration released the economic portion of its Middle East peace plan last week, the back-seat quarterbacks launched into their versions of what’s wrong and what should be done.  

The plan was presented as an outline towards peace; not a peace plan in itself. While there was little different than past efforts to peace initiatives, the critics were vocal as to the issues they felt would be roadblocks. However, a closer look would reveal that the problem wasn’t in the details (as it they usually are) but rather the bigger picture was being ignored.

So, what’s the problem? Palestinian Authority leaders say they want the West to give investment and aid, but there will be no discussion of peace until they are given an independent state.

However, lest anyone be fooled into thinking the problem is with Israel, the Palestinians had their chance to get the “liberty” they say they wanted in 2000, 2001 and 2008, when Israeli governments put a two-state solution with almost all of the West Bank and a share of Jerusalem in their hands. 

They also enjoyed eight years of an Obama administration that clearly saw Israeli policies as the main obstacle to peace. Still, every time they had the chance to get the state they say they want so badly, they said “no.”

The problem is that the Palestinians' century-old war on Zionism has become intricately linked to their national identity. It is almost impossible for anyone inside their political structure to imagine normal life alongside a Jewish state. In addition to that mindset, embedded groups like Hamas and other Islamist terrorist organizations that have in their charters to see Israel obliterated from the face of the earth. , as well as the millions of descendants of the 1948 Arab refugees who continue to hold onto the false hope of erasing the last 71 years of history, won't like them act on it.

There are also millions of descendants of the 1948 Arab refugees who the land when Israel became a nation. The hold onto a false hope perpetuated by groups like Hamas in their pursuit in promoting the “right of return” as if the annihilation of the Jewish state will somehow take place. It is also why the Palestinian Authority continues to subsidize terror in the form of salaries for imprisoned terrorists, and pensions for their families and survivors. To do otherwise would be to admit that their defeat in a war they haven't the courage or the good sense to give up on.

President Trump's plan to bring peace in the Middle East will eventually fail. Why? Because in this case, it’s not about the money—it’s about the existence of Israel which is not acceptable to the Arab parties involved. And that is where the blame should lie—at the feet of those that will not accept Israel’s right to exist.

One day, a political figure will bring a false peace to that region of the world. The Bible identifies him as the Anti-Christ. This will happen in the very last years of history as we know it today.

Until then, it’s clear from biblical prophecies, that there will never be a lasting peace in the Middle East until the return of Jesus Christ to earth. Until that time, the Bible clearly states that there “will be wars and rumors of wars…”

So, this peace initiative is doomed before it starts…as are all others. There is only one Prince of Peace; and He is coming soon!

“Drumbeats of A Middle East War”

In a region of the world where one mistake could escalate into a world war, Iran is pressing it to the limit. In recent weeks, Iran and its proxies have begun operating under a new directive best described as a policy of controlled escalation.

Responding to the choke-hold of U.S. sanctions put in place by the Trump administration, Tehran, together with its non-state militias and terrorist entities, initiated a series of aggressive acts throughout the Middle East.

These include the targeting of oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman with mines by a naval Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) squad, and last month, the targeting of oil tankers docked at a United Arab Emirates' port in the Strait of Hormuz.

This morning, it was reported that Iran shot down a U.S. Navy high-altitude drone was shot down Thursday by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian-backed forces also fired cruise missiles Wednesday night into Saudi Arabia hitting a power plant. This added to last week’s attacks on two oil tankers are a clear threat aimed at showing off Iran's ability to disrupt international oil-shipping traffic.

In the meantime, the Iranians are preparing the option of leaving the nuclear agreement and restarting its nuclear program.

On Monday, Iran warned that it could begin enriching uranium to 20 percent, significantly higher than the 3 percent it is allowed under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal. Tehran also increased the rate of uranium enrichment and stopped shipping excess uranium abroad, as it is obligated to do.

Israel, for its part, has made it clear that it will not tolerate a situation in which Iran restarts its nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said should that happen, the international community will have to immediately activate snap-back sanctions, and “in any case, Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”

As tensions in the Persian Gulf rise, they also distend outwards to other areas of the Middle East. Iran controls powerful, heavily armed proxies, and it could activate any number of them as part of a new escalation.

Last month, the Trump Administration announced plans to send the USS Arlington and the Patriot missile battery to the Middle East. This was in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East.

What is Iran’s intent in a “controlled escalation?” Iran's warning seems to stem from a position that if a strained economy causes instability at home, the Islamic Republic could prefer plunging the region into war in order to save itself, and in doing so rally Iranians around the flag. 

The drumbeats of war are getting louder. Senator Lindsey Graham stated in response to Iran’s attack on shipping, “He [Trump] should put the oil refineries on the target list and look at sinking the Iranian Navy if they attack shipping again.”

The Bible clearly speaks of specific wars that will take place in The Last Days. Psalms 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38 are prophetic events that will take place in the day ahead.

Could these actions by Iran be the staging for one of these End Time wars? Only time will tell but you can be sure of this: they will take place one day!

“Rewriting History In The Middle East”

For those of us that have lived long enough to know the events of the past, the concept of rewriting history is not understandable. What has taken place cannot be erased but there are those that are trying.

Someone once said, “Without an understanding of what happened in the past, it's impossible to grasp where we are today.” And when it comes to bible prophecy, history has profound relevance for the world.

A great example of that is in regard to what is known as the Six-Day War that took place 52 years ago this past week. While some wars fade into the pages of history books, this one is as relevant today as in 1967. Why? Because many of its core issues remain unresolved. Politicians, diplomats, and journalists continue to struggle with the outcome of that war.

Attempts to find a solution have failed greatly because many of the parties involved rarely consider or are even unaware of the context that led to its happening. Without context, some critically important things may not make sense. It would be like trying to solve a crime without any clues; it would amount to only guessing.

Let’s look at just one fact that is indisputable: In June of 1967, there was no state of Palestine. It didn't exist and never had. Its creation, proposed by the UN in 1947, was rejected by the Arab world because it would also mean the establishment of a Jewish state alongside it.

So, the problem today in trying to reach a peace accord in the Middle East stems from the false premise that there once was a state of Palestine. The parties involved along with the mainstream media simply ignore this truth. They want the world to believe there was once a Palestinian state, which there was not.

They want the world to believe there were fixed borders between that state and Israel. But when Israel became a nation again in 1948, there was only an armistice line between Israel and the Jordanian-controlled West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem. A line that was the result of a failed attack by five Arab armies against Israel in 1948 with the aim of destroying the emergent Jewish state.

These same individuals want the world to believe the 1967 war was an aggressive act by Israel. Yet, history clearly shows that it was an act of self-defense in the face of death threats to vanquish the Jewish state by Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Not to mention the maritime blockade of the Straits of Tiran and the abrupt withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces.

The Six-Day War is proof positive that the core issue is, and always has been, whether the Palestinians and larger Arab world accept the Jewish people's right to a state of their own.

Will this continue to be ignored or will the upcoming event by President Trump to bring about the “Deal of the Century” finally set the record straight? This fact will be paramount in the outcome—one way or another!

“Whose Land Is It?”

The biggest stumbling block to peace in the Middle East has to do with the land presently known as Israel those that lay claim to it.

The Balfour Declaration in 1917 was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during World War I announced support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, which was under British control. It became official on May 14, 1948.

Since that time, much effort has been put forth in military as well as political endeavors to establish peace in the Middle East; all for naught.

Past U.S. Administrations have tried to broker peace initiatives by convincing Israel to give up its land for the hope of peace with its enemies. Each time the U.S. has forced Israel’s hand in this matter, it has failed to bring peace, but it has always seen catastrophic events in the U.S. tied to those efforts.

Even now, Jared Kushner was very busy in May planning for the June 25-26 economic meeting in Bahrain, the first phase of President Trump’s “deal of the century.” It is the current proposal to be put forth for a final peace deal in that region of the world.

During this same period of time preparing this plan, the United States has experienced major month-long, record-setting tornado events and record-setting flooding, which is getting worse by the week.

Bloomberg wrote on May 29, 2019: “The U.S. has been rocked by 500 tornadoes in the past 30 days with a trapped jet stream in the atmosphere ‘stuck in neutral,’” according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center. Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the center in Norman, Oklahoma, said in a telephone interview. “In the past seven decades, only 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2011 have faced that many tornado reports in a 30-day period”.

In his book, “Eye to Eye”, William Koenig notes, “The White House was actively involved in the peace process in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2011. Additionally, there were record-setting hurricanes in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2017 and 2018. There were also numerous periods of flooding in the springs and summers, when the White House was active in the peace process — the most recent being 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016 and this year.”

Also, of interested is that the 2017 hurricane names Harvey, Irma and Maria and the 2018 hurricane names Florence and Michael, were all retired due to these hurricanes’ sizes and magnitudes. This is unprecedented.

There appears to be a direct correlation to when the White House is actively involved in planning to divide the land of Israel, and atmospheric disruptions that are record-setting in the U.S.

The Bible clearly states that God gave the land and its boundaries as spelled out to Abraham and reaffirmed to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Any effort by any person or nation to go against what God has decreed, appears doomed from the outcome.

The question of “Whose land is it?” seems to be already decided; it appears however, that some may learn the answer the hard way!