As Foretold, the Nations Are Already United

and Prepared to Act

How realistic is it to think of the nations of today’s world uniting to deal with the problem of Jerusalem, and to impose an international solution by military force? Although people may not be generally aware of it, events have been moving in that direction for decades.

Back in 1947, the nations of the world debated how to divide British-ruled Palestine into two states—one Arab and the other Jewish.  The nations decided that Jerusalem would sit between the two new countries, and that neither one of them would control the city.  The General Assembly of the United Nations passed its Resolution 181, which was voted on and approved on November 29 of that year.  Section C of Part II of that Resolution was titled “The City of Jerusalem” and, in effect, claimed the authority of the United Nations to determine and establish “the boundaries of the City of Jerusalem.”  General Assembly Resolution 181, Part III, Section A, stated that the city must not be part of the state of Israel, nor part of any Arab state. Rather, it must be an “international” city administered by the United Nations.

Representing the nations of the whole world, the General Assembly declared:

“The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council shall be designated to discharge the responsibilities of the Administering Authority on behalf of the United Nations.”

And in Section B titled “Boundaries of the City” U. N. General Assembly Resolution 181 went on to specify that

“The City of Jerusalem shall include the present municipality of Jerusalem plus the surrounding villages and towns.”

More recently in the year 2002, the “Quartet” composed of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations drew up a “roadmap for peace” and presented it formally to the government of Israel and to the Palestinian Authority in May, 2003. That roadmap envisions, in its final phase of implementation, an international conference to achieve

“resolution on the status of Jerusalem that takes into account the political and religious concerns of both sides, and protects the religious interests of Jews, Christians and Muslims worldwide.”

Later chapters of this book will look more closely at this and subsequent resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem passed by both the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations, and at the Quartet’s roadmap for peace. But this much is mentioned here to demonstrate that “all the nations of the earth” have already started to “unite in an attempt” to impose their solution for the problem posed by Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:3 The Living Bible)

Besides simply drawing up resolutions on Jerusalem and voting to make them official, the international community also seems to be moving in the direction of enforcing those resolutions.  According to a report in the Jerusalem Post Internet Edition, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, “the West has been guilty of double standards—on the one hand saying the UN Security Council resolutions on Iraq must be implemented, on the other hand, sometimes appearing rather quixotic over the implementation of resolutions about Israel and Palestine.” (From the article titled, “Foreign Ministry slams British PM's linkage of Iraq, Intifada,” by Douglas Davis, March 26, 2003)

The same article quoted British Prime Minister Tony Blair as saying that the American President George W. Bush “believes, like me, that this is a vital interest to resolve because it is probably the issue, more than anything else, that keeps the Arab and Muslim worlds and the Western world apart.”  Prime Minister Blair spoke those words less than a week after the British armed forces had entered active combat, alongside American forces, with the stated goal of enforcing Security Council resolutions on Iraq.

Linking “the implementation of resolutions about Israel and Palestine” to the military enforcement of resolutions about Iraq carries ominous implications, and, not surprisingly, the British statements drew strong criticism from the Israeli government.

Is the world really moving toward a head-on conflict with God?  Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in the year 2000, with neither side willing to yield on the status of Jerusalem.  The violence and terror that followed hit Israel first, but then spread worldwide.  The attack of September 11, 2001 brought the conflict to America.  Now, fear of terrorism grips the world.  Much of the world also lives in fear of the American military response that was demonstrated first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq.  World public opinion rages against these American actions and against the Israeli military actions in Gaza and the West Bank.  As tensions rise between Muslim nations and the West, many point to the violence in and around Jerusalem as the root cause.

While radical Islamic leaders enlist followers to ‘march on Jerusalem,’ other diplomats advocate placing Jerusalem under international control, policed by United Nations peacekeeping forces. The government of Israel has been following such talk, of course, and has long been resolved to hold onto Jerusalem at all costs.

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition carried a story by Gil Hoffman on November 7, 2001, reporting, “The diplomatic plan that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is formulating with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is intended to prevent the international community from imposing its own plans on Israel, Sharon explained yesterday.” That same report added these details: “Explaining the urgency of the Sharon-Peres diplomatic initiative, the Foreign Minister referred to plans circulating out of the United States, European Union, and United Nations and said that Israel cannot let its actions be driven by the agendas of other bodies with vested interests.” (The Jerusalem Post's internet edition can be found online at www.jpost.com.)

So, Israeli politicians see the possibility of ‘the international community imposing’ a solution, and they are determined to resist. That is the formula for conflict.

Although foreign armies have surrounded Jerusalem in the past—even international armies during the crusades—the conflict has always been of a more limited scope. Never before has Jerusalem been a problem for “the world,” and never before has there been a fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy that “all the nations of the earth” would unite to impose their solution. (Zech. 12:3 LB)  Now, today, we see such a problem in place, and we see moves afoot in the world community to impose such a solution.  Are we also seeing the events Jesus pointed forward to as part of a ‘sign’ to watch for in the end times?   Jesus said:

“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near . . . it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.”

—Luke 21:28 NIV

Everyone living today has reason to be concerned and to investigate the significance of these events and the prophecies that foretold them.