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Foreign Office, November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in Conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet. His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavour to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being |
"A century ago geo-politicians could have foreseen the continued colonization by Russia and the United States of the empty lands to the East and West; but who could have foreseen that far more astounding colonization in the eastern Mediterranean, the creation of the State of Israel? We may like it or not . . . we may deplore it as the last western crusade, the latest venture of western imperialism, seeking not trade but settlement . . . but we cannot deny that it is an extraordinary historical achievement. How little the British who listened to its early advocates foresaw the present consequences" (Hugh Trevor-Roper, History and Imagination) |
"The restoration of Israel is a most important feature in the divine economy. It is indispensable to the setting up of the kingdom of God . . . the restoration of the Jews is a work of time, and will require between 50 and 60 years to accomplish . . . there are two stages in the restoration of the Jews, the first is before the battle of Armageddon; and the second after it . . . the pre-adventual colonization of Palestine (i.e. the settlement of the Land before the return of Christ) will be on purely political principles; and the Jewish colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus." |
"So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." (Galatians 3:9) "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29) |
"Out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem . . . nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:3,4) |
"They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (verse 24) |
"The LORD shall scatter thee among all people . . . and among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest." (28:64,65) |
"Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee." (Jeremiah 30:11) |
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." (Romans 11:25) |
Preparing the way for Armageddon:The important event in the Middle East which paved the way for the re-establishment of the State of Israel was the demise of the Turkish Empire. In a remarkable Bible prophecy in Revelation 16, reference is made to the drying up of the river Euphrates. The purpose of this was to make way for the events which will draw all nations into the Middle East arena. The result is described as the battle of Armageddon.
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." (16:12-14) |
Russia and Israel:The battle of Armageddon is described in part in Ezekiel 38: the prophet foresees a massive confederacy of nations invading the land of Israel just before the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The leader of the confederacy is called Gog of the land of Magog. Bible students have consistently looked to Russia to fulfill the role of Gog. Magog was an ancient name for the land of the Scythians in the southern part of what is now Russia. This invader comes in confederacy with many other peoples against Israel. The ancient names of these allies cover territories now occupied by other former Soviet Republics and European countries.
"The land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations." (Ezekiel 38:8) |
Russian allies - Persia, Ethiopia and Libya:Ezekiel 38:5 adds that in league with Gog (Russia) will be "Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya". These three countries therefore deserve special attention.
Israel and the West:The prophecy of Ezekiel 38 describes opposition to the northern invasion of Israel by a southern grouping called "Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof" (verse 13). Sheba and Dedan were nations in the Arabian peninsula. "Tarshish" represented the most western (and also probably the most eastern) trading areas of the ancient Middle East seafarers. Bible students for at least 150 years, have consistently identified Britain and the English speaking countries as fulfilling this description. Here we have, then, a Western alliance with Saudi Arabia and her near neighbors to the south of Israel in opposition to the Russian-led invasion. This alliance was given dramatic reality following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Within weeks, a multinational army of half a million troops and devastating weaponry was assembled on Saudi soil. The US is now committed to a long-term presence in the area and is perfectly placed with Britain and other allies to champion the concerns of "Sheba and Dedan".
Israel and the Arabs:If the Arab nations surrounding Israel can be traced back to Abraham through his son Ishmael, then the roots of Jewish/Arab resentment can be traced back 3,500 years. The prophecy concerning Ishmael in Genesis 16 says:
"And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." (verse 12) |
"They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." (Psalm 83:4) |
"Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity . . . neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape." (verses 13, 14) |
Israel and the Palestinians:In 1967 the Arab nations surrounding Israel planned to annihilate her, but Israel dramatically won the famous Six-Day War. Since then Israel has occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Today Palestinians living in these "occupied territories" are at the forefront of international attention. Behind the present tension lies the question of who owns the land. Whatever the political rights and wrongs of the present dispute, in the Bible God has made it clear that the land belongs to Christ, and will be given to Abraham and his descendants through the line of his son Isaac and grandson Jacob (Israel).
Jerusalem:If the Middle East is the center of God's plan with the earth, then Jerusalem is its epicenter. From the very first, when God brought Israel out of captivity in Egypt, He spoke of "the place" where He would set His name. That chosen place was Jerusalem. There David was established as king over the first kingdom of God on earth; and Jesus himself, David's greater son, called Jerusalem "the city of the great King". The promise that lay behind these words includes the following prophecy:
"They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem." (Jeremiah 3:17) |
"Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her." (Ezekiel 5:5) |
"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (12:2,3) |