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The following is the final installment transcript of a commentary given by Hal Lindsey in May of 2001. I have transcribed it below as a fitting conclusion to this segment on the Israeli and Palestinian problems.

JERUSALEM:THE BOTTOM LINE

TRANSCRIPTION:
Frankly, if I take a look at the situation Israel is in at this moment from purely a human point of view, I would say that they do not have a chance of survival as a nation. The Muslim nations that surround Israel are far more prepared for a war of annihilation than they were in the past. Conventionally, their weapons are first rate. Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq alone possess more front line main battle tanks than the United States. They have far more advanced fighter bomber aircraft than Israel. They have well trained, well equipped armies that outnumber Israel ten to one. They have artillery and missiles that can accurately hit both military targets and the civilian population centers of Israel.
But where the balance of power has really changed is in the area of weapons of mass destruction. All of the nations surrounding Israel now have terrifying stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Some are believed to have a few nuclear bombs. It's fairly certain that Iran has at least three or four atomic warheads. All these nations named above now have missiles capable of hitting any target in Israel with accuracy.
Following World War II, there were just three nuclear nations – the United States, England, and France. Then came the Soviets and Chinese. Today the list is much longer for both nuclear countries and those almost there. Israel, South Africa, North Korea, Syria, Iran, India, Pakistan, Iraq, and Libya all already have nuclear weapons or are in a race to build them.
Internationally, Israel is more isolated than ever. Virtually all nations today are more sympathetic to the Palestinians than they are to Israel. Only the United States stands up for Israel's survival and seeks to keep her supplied with new weapons. But this support is a fragile thing. Given our dependence on Persian Gulf oil, it can be very fragile. In any event, if Israel were over-run by enemy forces, it is doubtful that we would step in directly with our armed forces.
The United Nations has just passed a United States sponsored resolution recognizing the vision of a future Palestinian state (March 2002). It would seem on the face of it all that both the US and the UN are rewarding the Palestinians for terrorism. The administration advances a number of arguments in favor of statehood, but they fall apart when examined closely.
1. Statehood will bring peace to the Middle East. Statehood will do nothing to erase a decade of anti-Isralie brainwashing in Arafat's school system. Only the truth can do that.
2. The hope that statehood will satisfy the Palestinians and peace will come. The charter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization was composed in 1964. Three years before there were any occupied territories to liberate. The charter defines the PLO sole purpose as to the destruction of Israel. The Palestinian Authority agreed to discuss revising the charter, and that's all they ever did – discuss it. It was never amended. In 2002, the PLO's defining purpose officially remains – Israel's destruction. Exactly as it was in 1964. Despite the spin to the contrary, facts are facts!
3. Statehood is based on the hope that Arafat will keep his promise to respect Israel's right to exist within secure borders. Arafat signed seven cease fire promises in the last twelve months, but broke all seven. In speeches, he promises a Palestinian state reaching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. The PA's official maps of Palestine don't mention Israel, but include all of Israel's territory as Palestinian territory.
4. It is argued that statehood will end Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and rectify an historic injustice against the Arabs. Nobody has ever defined what constitutes Palestinian territory. Until 1967, the West Bank was Jordan, and Gaza was Egypt. The only Palestinian territory is Israel. The real historic injustice was the Arab refusal to accept the United Nations partition plan in the first place. The Palestinians would have had a state since 1948 if they had. But Jerusalem would have been an International city – the Palestinians could not accept this.
5. Statehood will assure Palestinian human rights. The Palestinian record on human rights was displayed this last week. Two people suspected of collaborating with Israel were murdered without a trial. Then their bodies were dragged through the streets to a cheering crowd and on to Bethelem's major square.
6. Statehood is expected to solve the Palestinian refugee problem. There is only one problem. The Palestinians say they will not absorb the refugees that are in Jordan and the surrounding countries. The right of return they demand is that Israel must absorb the refugees into it's diminished territory. If Israel does, it's population will be overwhelmed by returning Palestinian refugees. Israel will cease to exist as a Jewish state in the next election. If Israel does not accept them then Arafat will build refugee camps for them. These camps will become breeding grounds for terrorists, just like they did in Jordan and Lebanon. Only this time they will be in the heart of Israel.
7. It is argued that statehood will end Israel's economic oppression of the Palestinians. You know this would be laughable if it weren't so desperately serious. Israel depresses them economically by not letting them work in Israel, doing so because of the fear of allowing more Palestinian terrorists into Israel. You see there are no jobs in the Palestinian Authority territory. All the billions of dollars in international donations that have disappeared into the private bank accounts of Arafat and his cronies has been forgotten. Not to mention the multitude of weapons that were purchased with the money. Because of the PA's greed and ineptness, the jobs are all in Israel. Palestinian statehood will not change this situation.
Israel's birth came with blood and fire. No nation was willing to recognize Israel until America did. Many still oppose recognition. Israel is the UN whipping boy. It has been officially condemned by United Nations resolutions more times in 50 years than all the other nations of the world combined. Yet the UN is rushing to grant recognition to a Palestinian state ruled by proven and unashamed terrorists. A state populated by citizens who approve of suicide bombing to achieve political goals by a margin of four to one.
Doesn't anyone recognize the colossal wrong that is now seemingly being accepted by most nations of the world? But all this is about to change!
In Psalm 2, verses 1 through 9, we read:
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. 'Let us break their chains', they say, 'and throw off their fetters.' The One enthroned in Heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, My holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to me, 'You are My Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
You know Jesus did not leave us in doubt as to who this prophecy refers. When questioned at His trial, under oath by the religious leaders, He was asked:
"Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I AM," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of Heaven." (Mark 14:61-62)
Islam says God has no Son. Even most of the Christian world doesn't believe Jesus will return. What's worse, Israel doesn't yet believe that Jesus is it's Messiah and is it's only hope. But we are all about to come face to face with Him whether we believe it or not. Israel is God's clock counting down to the last day. Events in the Middle East clearly show that the hands are approaching the midnight hour.
For over forty five years I've been studying what the Bible Prophets predicted about these very events that are unfolding before us. Moses predicted that Israel would be destroyed and dispersed twice in future history. The second dispersion, he said, would be very severe, and scatter the people of Israel in every country on earth. Other prophets pick up this theme and predict that when Israel is returned and miraculously reborn in the last days, she would never be destroyed and scattered again. Ezekiel, Chapters 36 through 40, make this very clear. However, Ezekiel and other prophets predict that Israel will experience a catastrophic invasion by it's surrounding nations that will come close to destroying her. But the Bible predicts that Israel's Messiah will intervene and save her.
According to the Word of God, the nation that was reborn in 1948 will never be destroyed again. The Messiah, Jesus, will rescue it out of a critical moment and the people will turn in faith to Him. Zachariah the Prophet predicts:
"In that day, the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David. And the House of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day, the Lord says, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the House of David, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of Grace and Supplication. Then they will look on Me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Me as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Me as one grieves for his first born." (Zachariah 12:8-10)
As I look at current events, and try to reconcile them with what's developing right now, I realize it will take a miracle of God to preserve Israel – and that is exactly what is promised. God makes it clear that it's not because Israel deserves to be rescued, but because He promised He would do it, and His Name is at stake.
"Therefore, say to the House of Israel, thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, O House of Israel, but for My Holy Name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations where you were dispersed. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land."
(Ezekiel 36:22,24)
God declares that all of this will be a witness to the gentiles who survive. He says:
"So they will say, this desolate land has become like the garden of Eden. And the wasted, desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited. Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it." (Ezekiel 36:35-36)
Many of my critics have asked me, "What would it take, Hal, for you to admit that your view of prophecy is wrong?" I have one stock answer. If Israel is destroyed as a nation, then I would have to rethink my whole understanding of Bible prophecy.
I believe that we are very near the zero hour when we'll begin to see some very earth-shaking events. Israel could be attacked in a limited war before the coming of Jesus for the Church (the Rapture). This war could be so frightening to all the world that it will make it ripe for the Antichrist to step up and negotiate a pseudo-peace that is brokered by the Devil himself. This could be a war in which tactical nuclear weapons are used – including neutron bombs against troop concentrations. It could even be the time when the prophecy about the total destruction of Damascus is fulfilled in Isaiah Chapter 17 verse 1. This would certainly stop the other Muslim nations in their tracks. Israel has promised that it will nuke any Arab nation that uses chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons against them– and Israel has at least 200 nuclear warheads with the missiles to deliver them accurately.
Friends, we live in very dangerous times. But it's comforting to know that God will take care of His own. We need to learn His promises and believe them for peace and stability in the midst of the fearful things that are about to come. The great hope is that Jesus is soon coming for the believers. Let's take as many with us as we can.
As I complete this heavy report, I'm especially burdened that we pray for our president. President Bush, I believe, is especially open to the leading of God, because he is a believer. And I believe that Colin Powell is also. Let's pray every day for these men, because they have momentous decisions to make and very soon. He had to hit the ground running with this problem in the Middle East and it is not an easy problem to solve. But the decisions he's making right now are going to have long term effects. Not only does he have to deal with wisdom concerning the Middle East crisis, and we pray that he will have it from God, but he also has to deal with our relationship with China. And he needs great wisdom in how to deal in a way that doesn't provoke or doesn't look weak. So let's claim the promise of Proverbs:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)


SOURCE:http://www.heaven-speaks.com/jerusalempart3.html

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