Preparing for Confirmation of Peace

by Michael G. Mickey

(11-17-06)

The last few days have seen a whirlwind of worldwide developments with potentially prophetic ramifications, the latest of which I want to write about is the following: The European Parliament passed a proposal yesterday "to send a multi-national force to Gaza designed to pressure Israel to "stop all its military operations" in the region", according to a Ynetnews article.

This multi-national force proposed by the European Parliament would be part of Spain, Italy and France's new Middle East peace initiative which outlines the following steps being taken to achieve peace, as seen in a Ynetnews article:

1. An immediate ceasefire.
2. The formation of a Palestinian unity government.
3. A prisoner swap between Israel and the PA which would including the three recently-kidnapped Israeli soldiers.
4. Talks between the Israeli Prime Minister and his Palestinian counterpart.
5. An international force that will deploy in Gaza and reinforce the ceasefire.

Is Daniel's prophecy concerning the advent of Antichrist taking shape before our very eyes?

Daniel 9:26-27: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

To simplify Daniel's prophecy, a prince (or leader) of Roman descent (because it was the Romans who destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its sanctuary in AD 70), is going to confirm (or make strong) a covenant of peace in the Middle East "with many" that will last one "week."A "week" in the context of Daniel 9:27 is symbolic of seven years.

For a long, long time I've watched for developments such as these to unfold! Interestingly, at a time when the Middle East seems on a collision course with all-out warfare, potentially even nuclear warfare, the revived Roman empire is making a play for peace while simultaneously preparing to confirm, make strong or reinforce a ceasefire that will be a component of such a peace coming to the region.

Almost shocking, from my perspective, in light of Iran's newspapers Kehyan and Resalat urging Muslims around the world to prepare for the "great war" they say is coming soon to wipe out Israel, the western world and Israel's #1 threat, namely Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is oddly embracing the new EU-led peace initiative, at least for appearance's sake.

According to a Ynetnews article, the Iranian president sent a letter to Italian Premier Prodi after France, Italy and Spain presented their Middle East peace initiative, "asserting that Europe must step forward to try to end years of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed." Wow!

If Ahmadinejad has done this as reported, he has tremendously bolstered the European Union's role as a Middle East peace broker. Not only that, he has signaled his willingness to talk peace to the revived Roman empire by way of the seat of power of the old Roman empire, that taking place as the European Union is making plans for the confirmation of Middle East peace to take place with "many" involved in the process - the "many" being a multi-national peacekeeping force like the one recently deployed in Lebanon.

Am I being dogmatic in stating that the advent of Antichrist could be in the making? Absolutely not! I don't put God in a box, engage in date-setting or anything of the sort, but I'd be remiss not to note that there is evidence that it could be! We are, after all, commanded to watch for Christ's return, as seen in Mark 13:33-37:

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

How naive would it be of us to think the Antichrist couldn't be waiting in the wings when Revived Roman empire forces are already stationed on one border of Israel reinforcing a UN-brokered ceasefire and we're presently seeing the possibility of Gaza becoming yet another location where revived Roman empire forces could be deployed to reinforce (or confirm) a fragile Middle East peace? Pretty naive, in my opinion.

The bottom line? With each and every passing day, we are moving in an increasingly clear direction, closer and closer to the fulfillment of all the Bible's yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecies, among which is the Rapture of the Church which will take place before the advent of Antichrist.

Whether this developing peace initiative is THE prophesied peace covenant of Antichrist in the making or not, who among us who are faithfully watching for the return of Jesus Christ, bearing in mind the prophetic signs of Christ's return, doesn't believe we're close to the return of Jesus Christ? Not too many, let me tell you!

Presently, I'm running a poll concerning the number of people who are witnessing to others concerning the end times. As I write this commentary, only 7 out of 667 votes cast in the poll indicate a belief that we are NOT living in the end times! If my calculations are correct, that means approximately 1% of those participating in the poll remain unconvinced that the end is near.

With the apostasy that exists in many churches today, I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that more than 1% of my site's Christian viewership could be in denial that the prophetic signs of Christ's return are in abundance around us. That tells me something concerning the amount of conviction the Body of Christ presently has in this regard! I don't know about any of you, but I'm worried sick that even 1% of those who have stopped by RaptureAlert.com are unconvinced of the imminence of Christ's return, which brings me to my final thought - the condition of the souls of those who visit this site.

Are you a Christian? If not, why?

If you're reading this, thinking that all the current issues relevant to Bible prophecy documented on this site are the product of mere coincidence and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee!Whether you choose to believe it or not, Jesus Christ could come for those who are trusting in Him at any moment and you NEED to be ready!

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to find yourself left behind, knowing that you're going to have to endure the horrors of the Tribulation Period to come? My Post-Rapture Survival Guide is written as though you were left behind, highlighting why you don't want to be.

If you're not a Christian, don't simply read one article or two from this site and dismiss it as though you have forever to make a decision to accept Christ. To do so is to play Russian roulette with your eternal soul!

Even if the Rapture is delayed another 30 years, as unlikely as I believe that is for a plethora of reasons, Jesus Christ could call you out of this world tomorrow - or even today. Why not choose Jesus Christ today and sleep way better tonight?

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