Is Now the Time for A New Middle East Peace Initiative?

A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News magazine senior writer, United Kingdom

In the opinion of former US President Bill Clinton, "A new Middle East peace initiative is a strong likelihood within the next two months" (Financial Times, Sept. 20). President George Bush also conceives of a democratic peace in that troubled region of the world. He recently said: "Some of the [positive] changes in the Middle East are happening gradually, but they are real" (USA Today, Sept. 20).

Earlier the American Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, had talked of the present distress as "the birth pangs of a new Middle East." Former President Clinton indicated that the deterioration of conditions in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza had paradoxically created a climate for "some kind of positive movement to take place" (FT article). One journalist recently talked about "a new momentum for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace settlement out of the ashes of the past several months."

But are all these comments pie-in-the-sky? Are they just another manifestation of the proverbial triumph of hope over hard experience? True, even the Bible does indicate that conditions are going to come together that may produce a so-called temporary peace that causes world leaders to say, "Peace, peace...when there is no [real] peace" (Jeremiah 6:14).

Not all astute observers of the world scene would agree that there are any substantive prospects for peace in the Middle East. Take Harvard historian and author Niall Ferguson. He conceives of a conflict there that could spark a global conflagration. Professor Ferguson considers the 20th century to have been the most violent in the history of humankind and sees the 21st century as beginning to move in the same tragic direction.

He wrote in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs: "Today one region displays in abundance all of the characteristics of the worst conflict zones of the twentieth century. Economic volatility has remained pronounced there even as it has diminished in the rest of the world...That place is the Middle East" (emphasis added throughout).

There is not sufficient space in this commentary to go into his reasons, but he concluded his article with these words of warning. "The sobering possibility we urgently need to confront is that another global conflict is brewing today—centered not on Poland or Manchuria, but more likely on Palestine and Mesopotamia."

Another long neglected source of wisdom is the Judaeo/Christian Bible. It is full of predictions of Armageddon-like conditions that will prevail in the Middle East. Its pages forecast a series of shattering events that will end with the Messiah returning to Jerusalem, from where He will govern the earth—finally ushering in that utopian peace that mankind has sought for so long in vain (as clearly explained in our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy.)

Former President Clinton talked about "creating a new sense of order that enables everybody to live together" (FT article). But only the true Messiah promised in the Judaeo/Christian Scriptures, Jesus Christ, can foster the peaceful conditions that will bring that kind of new world order to this troubled and chaotic globe.

The Bible reveals that God has an overall plan that will bring mankind's sufferings to a close and usher in world peace and prosperity. That plan has a number of benchmarks pictured by seven annual festivals.

Each annual occasion celebrates an important part of God's overall plan and purpose for mankind. Three festivals in the spring and summer embody three distinct personal responses from people God calls and who because of this calling choose to serve Him in this present age. Then four fall festivals herald direct divine intervention in the affairs of all humanity on a global basis. The beginning of this intervention is represented by the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) observed late in September this year.

Notice what the concluding trumpet blast represented by this awesome day pictures. "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever'" (Revelation 11:15). This passage signifies the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to become the office King of kings.

The biblical Feast of Tabernacles, observed soon after the Feast of Trumpets, represents Christ's peaceful, millennial rule. For a full understanding of how events represented by these annual biblical festivals will impact the future of our presently warring world, just request or download our free booklets: God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind and The Book of Revelation Unveiled.