Israel’s President Hails Palestine President’s Comments: A Prelude to an Officially Divided Jerusalem?

Jerusalem

Israel’s President said something positive about something said by Palestine’s President:

JERUSALEM | Sat Nov 3, 2012…

(Reuters) – Israeli President Shimon Peres hailed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a courageous partner for peace on Saturday after the Palestinian leader made clear his support for a two-state solution to the decades old conflict with Israel.

In an interview with Israeli television broadcast this week, the Western-backed Abbas also hinted that Palestinians who, prior to the 1948 establishment of the Jewish state lived on lands that are now in Israel, do not have a right to return there, comments that sparked an outcry from his Islamist rivals.

“(Abbas’s) courageous words prove that Israel has a real partner for peace,” Peres said in a statement. “These are significant words … We must all treat them with the utmost respect.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/03/us-palestinians-israel-peres-idUSBRE8A20BL20121103

If the Palestinian President is really recognizing Israel’s right-to-exist (something that is basically in opposition to its original Palestinian charter), which is what a “two-state” solution implies, this would be a possible game-changer (and this could be done without too much difficulty if the Palestinians really consider such an arrangement as a temporary step). Both Israel and Palestine want Jerusalem as their capital (and technically it is Israel’s capital).

A divided Jerusalem seems to be consistent with the following biblical prophecy:

2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:2, NKJV)

If half the city is Jewish and the other half not, then there would be a reason for only one half the city to go into captivity. The Bible is clear that Jerusalem will be an issue in the end time:

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. (Zechariah 12:2-4)

World events continue to align with Bible prophecy. An apparent peace deal will come (Daniel 9:27), though it may take a war to persuade some of the parties to make the deal, and it may involve the enforced dividing of Jerusalem. Which is something that Israel currently will not accept–but depending on other events (including possibly the outcome of the current USA presidential election), Israel at some point will agree to some type of division (there is also a de facto division there now, so technically Israel would not necessarily have to agree to anything, but likely will).

To me, at least, the events happening in the Middle East make prophetic sense. And we all should be watching.

As Jesus said,

35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming–in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning– 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:35-37)

And the goings on in Israel and the Middle East are certainly areas that He was referring to (cf. Mark 13:14).

Prophetic events continue to line up.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?
The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? What will happen to the nation of Israel and Jerusalem?