Is the Middle East Destined for Conflict?

Posted on Sep 19, 2017 Topic : Prophecy
Posted by : Ron Rhodes

Israel and the Middle East have been like a powder keg, ready to blow up for decades. It used to be that Americans didn’t pay much attention to the Middle East. However, with 9/11 in our rearview mirror, four out of ten Americans now believe that conflicts in the Middle East are an indication that we are living in the last days. Moreover, over half of Americans (52 percent) agree that the rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. All of this—in conjunction with the escalating threat of terrorism from Middle East antagonists—has motivated Americans to pay more focused attention on events in the Middle East.

Much of the conflict centers on the city of Jerusalem. Indeed, Jerusalem is the holiest of all cities for the Jews, and is the third holiest city for Muslims (behind Mecca and Medina). The conflict is hence as much a religious issue as it is a political issue for Jews and Muslims. After all, the Jews believe Jerusalem was promised to them by Yahweh, the God of the Bible. Muslims, by contrast, believe the city was promised to them by Allah, the God of the Quran. Because both sides are unbending in their religious devotion, conflict seems inevitable and unsolvable.

Muslim leaders—both old school and new school—have always held a hard line on Jerusalem. Anwar Sadat in the 1970s proclaimed that “Jerusalem is the property of the Muslim nation…Nobody can ever decide the fate of Jerusalem. We shall retake it with the help of Allah.”

Likewise, Yasser Arafat in the 1990s promised that “whoever does not accept the fact that Jerusalem will be the capital of a Palestinian state, and only that state, can go drink from the Dead Sea.”

More recently, the Iranian head of the Strategic Research Center at the Expediency Council, Ali Akbar Velayati, stated in no uncertain terms that Iran will not recognize Israel because “it is a usurper entity.” Indeed, “Iran believes Israel has stolen the Palestinians’ land.” They want the land back. It belongs to them as a gift from Allah.

On the Jewish side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—with equal vigor—has promised: “I will never allow Jerusalem to be divided again. Never! Never! We will keep Jerusalem united and…we will never surrender those ramparts.” Netanyahu vowed in late 2016 “to keep Jerusalem united under Israeli control.” Addressing the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) to mark the 49th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, Netanyahu promised: “Our roots are deeper than any other nations, including to the Temple Mount. Jerusalem was ours and will remain ours.” Both Muslims and Jews remain unbending.

One thing is certain: The multiple variables of the Middle East conflict seem to be cascading out of control. Taken in conjunction with the other signs of the times, can there be any doubt that we are living in the end times?