“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.”

[Joel 3:2]

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House Adviser, Jared Kushner, recently announced that his Middle East Peace Plan should be released by early June of this year. Although Trump and Kushner have provided few details about the plan, many are speculating that the deal could involve restoring Israeli authority and access to the Temple Mount.

In light of the recent reelection of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kushner said that the goal is to publicly release his plan after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. While Trump has proven to be one of Israel’s biggest public advocates, sources say that Kushner has been working tirelessly behind the scenes with a Muslim coalition from Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu had a great victory, and he’s in the middle of forming his coalition, and once that’s done we’ll probably be in the middle of Ramadan, so we’ll wait until after Ramadan and then we’ll put our plan out,

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/23/trump-middle-east-peace-plan-is-coming-after-ramadan-jared-kushner-says.html

In a historic declaration, President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel and also relocated the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city of David. Just this month, Trump also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which was never “internationally recognized” after Israel claimed victory over Syria in 1967.

In response to Trump’s bold declaration, Netanyahu promised to name a new settlement after Trump in the Golan Heights. No other U.S. president in history has been more proactive in promoting Israeli sovereignty in the land, and yet many believe that if Trump can broker deal that leads to peace in the Middle East, it will be his greatest achievement.

“All Israelis were deeply moved when President Trump made his historic decision to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” Netanyahu said. “I intend to bring to the government a resolution calling for a new community on the Golan Heights named after President Donald J Trump.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48031045

Navigating the Prophetic Implications

This is where things get interesting.

From a Biblical perspective, there is good reason to believe that some type of peace deal or “covenant with many” [Daniel 9:27] will be one of the primary prophetic signs of the last days. According to the testimony of the Biblical prophets, this covenant will be established between Israel and the surrounding nations and will involve disputed territory.

The irony of this coming covenant is that on the one hand it very likely will give Israel unprecedented sovereignty, peace, and even the authority to rebuild the 3rd Jewish Temple and reinstitute the daily sacrificial system.

On the other hand, however, this agreement will prove to be an deceptive scheme. The peace in the land will be a false peace. The Temple will be defiled by the Antichrist, who will use it as Satan’s temporary throne, and all the forces of darkness will turn on the Jewish people. Consider the following passages.

“1O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
9Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”

[Psalm 83:1-12]

“While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

[1 Thessalonians 5:3]

“His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.
32With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 33Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword and flame or be captured or plundered.”

[Daniel 11:31-33]

The one thing that the Jewish people want the most — peace, sovereignty and the freedom to restore Temple worship — will likely be the very things that the enemy uses to deceive Israel in the end.

While I do not believe Kushner’s new peace plan will be the final peace agreement with Israel, but I do believe that it could be a precursor to this covenant spoken of by the prophets. Either way, every step closer to “peace” in the Middle East is another step closer to the revelation of the Antichrist, the great tribulation, and the time of Jacob’s trouble.

But this also means that it is one step closer to the triumphant return of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is coming to deliver His people and bring everlasting peace to the Kingdom of Israel.

“Of the increase of His government and peace 
there will be no end. 
He will reign on the throne of David 
and over his kingdom, 
to establish and sustain it 
with justice and righteousness 
from that time and forevermore!”

[Isaiah 9:7]

If the results from Tuesday’s elections in Israel tell us anything, they tell us that two prominent world leaders in the Middle East will be in power for the foreseeable future. After being elected to his 5th term on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now the longest-serving leader in modern Israel’s history, surpassing the late great David Ben-Gurion.

Although Netanyahu presently has corruption charges lingering over his head, he and his right-wing Likud Party are poised to lead Israel for at least the next four years. The geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East and even the world at large are determined by what happens in Israel. As Israel goes, so goes the world. The next four years will be both intriguing and revealing to say the least.

All eyes will remain on Israel primarily because of one profound truth — the Creator of the Universe has placed a unique claim on the land and people of Israel. All eyes are on Israel because God’s eyes are on Israel.

“And the LORD said to Soloman, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.“

[1 Kings 9:3]

The Timely Rise of Turkey

Due north of Israel there is another political leader in Turkey who firmly has solidified himself as the head of state in one of the most strategic Muslim nations in the World. Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan first became Prime Minister 16 years ago, and his most recent election as president in 2018 has given him a five-year term and sweeping new powers that many believe will lead to a Turkish dictatorship.

“Since 2002, Erdogan has consolidated his hold on domestic politics while using military and diplomatic means to solidify Turkey as a regional power. His crackdown has been brutal and consistent – scores of journalists arrested, academics officially banned from leaving the country, university deans fired and many of the highest-ranking military officers arrested.”

Soner Cagaptay –director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute (2018)

Just over a decade ago, Turkey was considered a moderate Islamic nation embracing western values, a NATO member, and an ally to the U.S. and Israel. Today, Turkey may be the biggest potential threat looming over Israel and the entire Middle East. Erdogan unapologetically has declared his ambitions for Turkish national supremacy and has expressed a clear desire to lead a revived Islamic Caliphate through a Neo-Ottoman empire.

Erdogan, like many Muslim leaders, showed public disdain for President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Addressing a summit of Muslim leaders in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Jerusalem was “our red line,” according to a CNBC article from December of 2017.

“Israel is an occupying and terror state,” Erdogan said as he called on all countries to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/13/turkey-calls-israel-a-terror-state-says-jerusalem-our-red-line.html

Add this dangerous rhetoric with geopolitical tensions between Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and it would not be surprising to see conflict arise in the Islamic world. And according to the testimony of the Biblical prophets, we should expect to see growing turmoil among the Muslim majority nations in the Middle East. In Daniel 8 the prophet describes future conflict between “Javan,” which refers to modern day Turkey, and Persia (Iran). Combining the civil war in Syria with historical Sunni and Shiite tensions, regional war could erupt at any moment.

Turkey not only possesses nuclear capabilities but also boasts the 9th overall most powerful military in the world, which is now being commanded by a virtual dictator with Neo-Ottoman aspirations.

“The Turkish Armed Forces collectively rank as the second largest standing military force in NATO, after the U.S. Armed Forces, with an estimated strength in 2015 of 639,551 military, civilian and paramilitary personnel.”

 “News From Turkish Armed Forces”. Turkish Armed Forces. tsk.tr. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.

The Apple of God’s Eye

What the LORD has decreed, He will do. The end which has been declared from the beginning will be accomplished. As the LORD continues to sovereignly work all of these things according to His good will and purposes, we must remember that Jesus is coming to avenge His people Israel and reclaim Zion for Himself. I will leave you with the timely words of the prophet Zechariah.

“For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: 9“Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. 10Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. 11And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 12And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”13Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”

[Zechariah 2:8-13]