Woe to them that divide the Land of Israel
As the founder of "America and Israel in Bible Prophecy" I would like to say the following: I have not posted this as a political statement but rather out of a Religious concern. The Bible clearly tells us that if we will bless Israel that we will be blessed, and that if we curse Israel we will be cursed. It is very important for us to pray that President Obama and his administration will wake up to the truth.
I am not sure what the future holds for us during this Presidential Term but I am sure of this one thing. Eventually America will stand with Israel at the time that it is going to count the most. There is so much ignorance in the leadership of our nation, not just one party but both. They have lost sight of God and the meaningful things that are important for the survival of our nation. They have lost sight of what the founders told us. The most important thing that they have forgotten is that our liberties come from the creator not from man. As long as they believe that men are the writers of liberty we are in trouble. But I believe that there will eventually be a wake up in America. God used men to help re-establish Israel in her land and God will use men to perform his will in the future. An interesting note is that men helped Israel re-establish themselves because they knew that God wanted it to happen. We can do the same as God leads us to do his will.
Tommie Spurgeon
There are many Christians that have heard people say that the Bible says "Woe to them that divide the land of Israel". Obama and Netanyahu met last year to discuss the making of two states, one for Israel the other Palestine it causes a lot of worry. Especially when it comes to anything that might bring danger to us that are living in the United States. I believe that America should always stand with Israel against her enemies, but I do not believe that what President Obama and Netanyahu is placing our nation in some sort of danger. It is scripture that gives the warning so we need to understand what they are saying. There is no such scripture in the Bible that says "Woe to them that divide land", but there is one that could be mis-applied and said to mean that.
The scripture that I am referring to is taken from Joel 3:1-2. It is a warning of the coming doom and destruction of someone in particular that will divide the land of Israel. You can read numerous websites and blogs crying out "woe to them that divide my land" with various views of this thought. It is commonly believed that if anyone negotiates a division of the land in Israel it will bring destruction on those that do so. The following scripture is the reality of this meaning and it has to be rightly divided.
Joel 3: 1: For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2: I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
According to Strong’s concordance the word Jehoshaphat means; "Jehovah has judged". The 'valley of Jehoshaphat' is to be understood as a general term for the place or part of the world for God's final judgment on those enemies of Israel." The Key to understanding the scriptures in Joel 3:1-2 is to actually read what it says.
So we must keep these things in mind when we pronounce this terrible woe upon those that are involved in attempting to negotiate a peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. Is this what they are doing? It is very important for you to know that I do not believe that giving away part of Israel to the Palestinians is going to bring any kind of peace. To give away Jerusalem would be catastrophic. I hate the thought of it. You see the radical Muslims in that part of the world does not want there to be peace between the Palestinians and Israel. If Israel gives away this land it will not do any good. The war to drive Israel out of that part of the world will continue because it is the goal of the Islamic people. So negotiating land to the Palestinians is not going to bring peace to Israel or Palestine.
I personally do not believe that God is going to punish the leaders of America and Israel for seeking a peaceful solution to the continued turmoil that goes on in that part of the world. The reason I do not believe this is based on the meaning of the scriptures in Joel 3:1-2 and what Daniel says in the 11th Chapter. I believe that this punishment and judgement will fall on the Antichrist and his nations at the time of Armageddon and this is why.
Daniel 11:39: Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
Notice that this verse says that the Antichrist "shall divide the land for gain." There is only one person in Bible prophecy that fits all the criteria of the four points that the scripture points to in Joel 3:1-2. When the Antichrist invades Israel at the middle of the Tribulation Israel will be overpowered and forced to run for their lives. In Joel it says scattered into the nations. They must flee or be killed. For just a short period of time right after the Antichrist takes over Israel he will divide the land among the Palestinians and some key supporters of his. This he will do to appear to rest of the Muslim nations that he is fulfilling all the prophecies that they have of him as the Mahdi or messiah to come. This will be short lived because the United States and her allies will invade Israel and drive him all the way back to the river Euphrates in Iraq. There, at that time, world war three will erupt. Finally at the end of this period the Antichrist will be enforced by kings from the east that will help him drive the US and her allies all the way back to the city of Jerusalem. It will be at that time that Joel 3:1-2 will take place when Jesus Christ himself comes to fulfill these scriptures and punish these wicked people for driving Israel from their land and dividing the land among themselves.
About Obama
I know that since Barack Hussein Obama became our President that there has been some surprising decisions that he has made and said. I have been totally surprised over some of the things that he has done as well as everyone else. I know that there are some folks that believe that Obama could possibly be the Antichrist. Obama is not the Antichrist because there is nothing about him that places him in Bible prophecy. Up front I would like to say that I am glad that he is trying to help bring peace to the Middle East but I do not approve of the method that he is using.
Recently in his speech in Cairo Egypt, Obama said that he was a Christian and he said this in front of a very large group of Muslims. In fact he was speaking this to the whole Muslim world. It takes a lot of courage to do this in front of thousands of Muslims that do not particularly care about Christians. But it is sad to know that he isn’t a real Christian because of a number of things that he has said. For one he doesn’t believe that a person has to be born again to be a Christian and go to heaven. He believes that if you are a good person that you can make it on your own merit. He said that his mother wasn’t a Christian but he is sure that she made it to heaven because she was a good person. So I am not assuming anything that isn’t obvious. He confesses to be a Christian but has never been born again himself. He confesses Jesus but doesn’t know him. However I believe that the guy believes the things that he is doing is right. I was glad when he clearly placed the killing of those that were killed in the Twin Towers as being the responsibility of Muslim terrorists. He also brought up the point that those that were killed were innocent people who had not done anything to them to deserve it.
There has been a lot of fear because of his views in trying to bring about change to the World and America. I sometimes cringe when I hear about something new that he has introduced or is in the process of doing. Many Christians fear that he is going to do something that is going to bring the judgement of God upon America. One of these things is that he and Netanyahu are engaged in negotiations to make two states, one for Israel the other for Palestine. The fear of dividing the land has become somewhat of an outcry in itself. However the person that God is speaking of in the Old Testament prophecy that divides the land will be the Antichrist himself at the time that he invades Israel and drives them out of their land. Obama is not the Antichrist because there is nothing about him that places him in Bible prophecy. Yet I believe that what he is doing could have a great affect on fulfilling Bible prophecy.
He is going to attempt to convince everyone to internationalize Jerusalem. In other words to make it a city that belongs to the World community rather than Jew or Arab. He believes that since Jerusalem is considered to be a Holy city for Israel, Christians and Arabs that if he makes it international that it will bring peace to everyone. This he hopes will end the battle to own Jerusalem by any particular group. He has the approval of the French president and many other leaders in Europe and across the world. Everyone would like to see peace in the Middle East.
That whole region, including Jerusalem, belongs to the people of Israel and is a promise from God. However the Muslims believe that it belongs to them, especially with the Dome of the Rock sitting on the temple mount. They have a lot of religious interest in the city of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem is the city of David and goes back thousands of years as part of Israel. The temple mount is the very spot that Abraham offered up Isaac. It is the place that Solomon built the first Temple of God. So for me there is no doubt who this city belongs to.
I know that America will always back and support Israel if they are invaded by another country but I also know that America is not going to agree with everything that Israel does. The Bible shows America defending Israel during the last half of the Seven-Year Tribulation period. Them and their allies will drive the Antichrist and his armies out of Israel after he has invaded and divided the land among his friends. But, before all that happens there can be many events that will lead up to the final signing of the seven-year peace agreement that has got to happen.
It is important to think about what could happen. One of the things that could happen and in all probability will happen is that Jerusalem will not become an international city and the struggle over the city will continue until the time that the seven-year peace treaty is signed. Obama is only a man and the problems in that part of the world is only going to increase until there is a seven-year peace treaty. Tragically that treaty will be broken after the first three and a half years.
There still has to be the appearance of the Mahdi, the Muslim messiah that is to come and negotiate this peace treaty. It is written in the Hadith that he will sign a peace treaty with Israel for seven years. Our Bible also tells of such a man. This man will have the approval of the Muslim people and they will trust him to take care of them when he makes his appearance. Only he will be able to make such an agreement with Israel. If Jerusalem does not become an international city then it will take his appearance to bring the problems to an end.
However if Jerusalem becomes an internationalized city it could come with a condition. That condition would be that Israel would be given permission to build their Temple on the Temple Mount along side the Dome of the Rock that belongs to the Muslims. It may take this sort of agreement in order to make it happen. If this is the case and a seven-year peace treaty is signed at the time Jerusalem is internationalized and Israel becomes two states, one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians the Mahdi will be the main negotiator in this peace signing. It could happen this way as well.
We must always remember that nations cannot rise or fall without God’s permission for it to happen. His hand will be in all that comes out of these negotiations. No matter what happens in these negotiations whether it seems good or bad God is still in control. God is not so small that Obama can mess up everything that he has said would come to pass. All that God has promised will happen you can count on it.
On June 14th 2010 around a week later after Obama and Netanyahu had met, Netanyahu gave a speech. The world waited to hear what he was going to say. In the past Netanyahu and the political party that he belongs to has never agreed to a two-state solution. With Obama putting the pressure on Netanyahu, Netanyahu came up with what he could agree with and what he could not.
He decided that he could agree with a two-state solution but said that the Palestinians would have to disarm before he could do it. He also said that Israel would not turn loose or divide Jerusalem. He would not agree to closing down the settlements. He said that if Palestine could agree with these terms that He could agree with a two-state solution. This was so disappointing to the Palestinians and the Arab nations, but most said that it was what they were expecting from Netanyahu. Obama however was enthusiastic that Netanyahu had at least gone from not agreeing with a two-state solution to agreeing with it. He felt that it was a huge leap forward.
The wheels continue to turn until the perfect time for all of the things written in scripture come to pass. I sometimes feel like John in saying, “even so come quickly Lord Jesus.”
News event!5/20/2011: Today Obama and Netanyahu are meeting over a very hot topic. Obama is trying to put pressure on Israel to go back to their 1967 boundaries. If they do this it will endanger the nation's security. This is a lot different than Israel and Palestine working out a deal for peace between themselves. It is wrong for us to put any kind of pressure on Israel and it could bring about a judgement from the Lord. If we try to force Israel to do anything that places them in harms way it would be a different matter all together. Pray that God will help our leaders to have some knowledge and good sense in what they are doing concerning the nation of Israel.
God Bless You
Tommie Spurgeon