palestine

We all share your ambition for peace in the Middle East.

The type of Utopia described in that proposal will only be found in one place: the Kingdom of God.

Thankfully, the way has been made open through the body and blood of Jesus, whereby we can enter His Kingdom. We look forward to His appearing and Kingdom, when He will come and judge the world, giving to the evil their just deserts, and welcoming the good into the joy of His eternal Kingdom.

All who want to may receive this Kingdom now, into their heart. He will send His Holy Spirit into your heart, as a guarantee of your future welcome into His Kingdom. But the unrighteous cannot enter. When I received Jesus many years ago, I freely experienced the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit that it seems the whole world is seeking.

We currently live in the phase of human history in which the Kingdom of heaven is being announced, and all who want to are entering it - meanwhile the wicked and the good live alongside each other in this world. But the last day will come, in which, like a great harvest, He will root-out the weeds and throw them into the fire (the wicked), but the wheat He will gather into barns, into His Kingdom (those who have accepted the gift of righteousness through Jesus the Saviour).

The Kingdom of heaven is now being announced to all mankind, and all who want to, no matter whether they are Jew, Palestinian, Lebanese or anyone, can enter in. Ethnicity makes no difference in the Kingdom of heaven. God loved the whole world and sent Jesus to die for all of us, so that whoever believes in Him need not perish but have eternal life. The troubles of this present world are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be our's when Jesus comes in His Kingdom. Having purchased eternal redemption for us through His blood, Jesus now sits in the heavens, and welcomes all to come to Him to receive salvation. That is of eternal importance. The affairs of this world however, are passing away.

No new proposed political or religious system or Anti-Christ system (anti, "in the place of" i.e, in the place of Christ) can ever achieve the type of kingdom, the type of peace, described in that article, which the whole world longs to experience. Because the Messiah (the Christ) has already come - God visited us through the baby born in a manger, born of a virgin, who healed the sick, whom men crucified and buried, who rose again the third day, who was seen of many witnesses, who ascended into heaven. His Name is Jesus.

But I also believe God delights in every ethnic race having their own homeland here and now. Consequently, there is a right place for the Jews, and there is a right place for the Arabs, to call home. But since 100% peace won't be achieved in this world outside of God's Kingdom, the borders for each country need to be determined on the basis of what is RIGHT - not on the basis that some elusive Utopian peace may hopefully be procured.

And what criteria, or philosophy, or basis should be used to determine what is RIGHT? The article proposed a return to the pre-1967 borders - but who says even those borders were RIGHT? The answer ofcourse, to finding what is RIGHT, is the WORD of God.

So what does God's Word say about the borders between Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and the Arabians? Well if a map of Israel's historical territory which God gave the Jews is super-imposed over a map of the modern-day Middle East, we find that Israel's homeland included all of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, substantial areas of land east of the Jordan River (into modern-day Jordan), perhaps a small way further north into southern Lebanon, and into a small section of south-west Syria, and just a little more of the Sinai Peninsular towards Egypt.

I don't know for sure if it's feasible, or timely for all this to be once again made Israel's territory today, given the current state of things. Then again, neither am I sure if it would be right not to see this territory restored to Israel. But if it happened, it would still give the Palestinian Arabs 75% of the territory that was Britain's original "Palestine" Mandate, giving Israel just 25%.

God's Word also speaks of His love for Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, and the Arabian - and recognizes their homelands. Iran and Iraq are also mentioned. Worldwide, Arabs are said to have 600 times more territory than Israel, and outnumber the Jews by 50:1. Modern-day "Jordan" was originally part of the "Palestine" Mandate, before it was partitioned-off to form a Palestinian State called first Transjordan and later Jordan. Jordanian Arabs and Palestinian Arabs are said to be identical historically, ethnically, religiously, and geographically - they even have the same flag. So in effect, could it be said that a "Palestinian" State for Arabs was already created by Britain long ago, three times larger than the State of Israel?

But regardless of what partition plan is used, real and lasting peace will only be found by those who truly know Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, in the hearts of those who look forward to His coming and Kingdom.

All the trouble in this world is caused because a Divine Law was broken - and all the world stands guilty before God, both Jew and Gentile. There is none righteous, not one.

But God sent His Son to redeem the whole world from our sins and iniquities - both Jew and Gentile, Jew and Palestinian, Jew and Lebanese, American, British, everyone. We can now receive His redemption in our hearts, we can receive the free gift of forgivness, righteousness, peace, joy and the promise of eternal life - by repenting of our sins and believing in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. For those who receive Jesus, a magnificent welcome awaits them into the coming Kingdom and peace of God.