by Stan Goodenough of Jerusalem Newswire

The critical question lurked like a rattler in the long grass of foreign policy issues, after the debaters survived an interrogation into the Wall Street meltdown and were just beginning to lose their nervousness.

Then it struck. And Sarah Palin fell…

I just returned from nearly three weeks in the south-eastern United States. Everywhere I went I expressed the conviction that Senator John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin signified nothing less than that the God of Israel is still extending grace, mercy and favor to America.

Back here in Jerusalem I awoke at 3.30 this morning to watch and pray through the debate as it happened. I marveled at the way Mrs. Palin engaged Mr. Biden – with poise, confidence; piercing focus as she prepared her rebuttals, smiling eyes as she launched them.

Everyone “knew” how relatively inexperienced the Alaskan governor was in foreign policy issues. So it took pundits by surprise to see and hear how quickly and thoroughly she had learned. Fox News Channel’s popular "Fox and Friends" presenters reported that in all the history of that show never had there been such a flood of email responses from viewers asked who they thought had won the debate. Tens of thousands mailed in, 87 percent of them giving the gold medal to Palin.

In so many ways her performance was an answer to untold numbers of prayers that were going up on her behalf. And then:

Moderator: Governor, you mentioned Israel and your support for Israel.

Sarah Palin: Yes.

Moderator: What has this administration done right or wrong — this is the great, lingering, unresolved issue, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — what have they done? And is a two-state solution the solution?

Palin: A two-state solution is the solution.

Seven simple words. A little more than 50 minutes into the 90 minute debate, they took barely three seconds to say. How easy it would have been to miss them in the midst of all the hype and focus that surrounded this event. How tempting to dismiss them as really not all that significant in the “greater scheme of things.”

But unless they are repented from, the consequences of following through on this belief will fundamentally and detrimentally affect the national history of the United States.

History will show that unless this “solution” is recognized as nothing less than a total betrayal of Israel and turned from, the curtain will fall on America as a DIRECT result of its pursuing this policy.

Let me say it again. America’s future as a great and God-blessed nation hinges NOT primarily on the numerous other important issues that were addressed by Palin and her Democratic opponent Joe Biden in their debate in St Louis, MO.

It rests, first and foremost, on this point.

It doesn’t get more serious than this: The two-state solution is the division of God’s land. It is the bullying theft of that land, which God gave to Israel, from a small nation that looks to mighty America (whether or not they should) to support their claim to, and possession of, this land.

It’s immoral: Chief “peace process” sponsor America pressing on another, historically endangered, nation to gamble with its existence in order to benefit the USA and the rest of the world.

And it’s cowardly: Don’t tell me a two state solution is the solution and there is no other way to go. There is another way – the right way, the only way, and that is a 23-to-1 state solution.

There are 23 Arab states that already exist, and just one Jewish state; the Arabs have 940 times more land than the Jews would have even if they had all of their tiny territory. The Palestinian Arabs have never had a nation in this land. The Jews have always had this land in their hearts.

The land-for-peace-process is wrong in God’s Book. The nations that support it are on a collision course with Him.

The LORD has vowed to judge the nations that divide up this land (Joel 3:2). He has a day of vengeance on the nations for the controversy of Zion. (Isaiah 34:8) He will trample these nations in the winepress of His wrath (Isaiah 63:3-4).

“A two state solution is the solution.”

Seven simple words. And yet on them, more than on any another, everything depends.

My disillusionment was shared by others. Within minutes I had received two emails:

#1 “[It] doesn’t matter anymore who’ll be president. Palin uttered the oh-so-stupid words “the two-state solution, is the right solution”. Talking of the bridge to nowhere…! Man, what a disappointment. Well, I guess He has unwaveringly set the plan into motion. May God help us now.”

#2 “I must say my heart sank when she said she was in agreement with Bush regarding a two state solution. I am praying that God will surely reveal the truth to her. If she continues this policy we are no better off and the ax will surely fall.”

In response I wrote:

“I was watching with you live, and felt sick from the moment she said those words. For the last few hours I have been wrestling intensely with the Lord on how to best respond. At least one other person wrote me immediately after the debate and expressed what you did. In my spirit, though, I hear God saying, ‘Don’t write off what I have not written off.’ And His gentle reminder – ‘I did not write you off with your first wrong move, or with your thousandth.’ As long as it is still daylight we are to work - and I - and many others, will be working on Palin.”

We may be at night’s door, but while there is light we have to fight! And we will.

Some thoughts from Mike: Concerning this commentary, I didn't ask Stan for permission to reprint it here but he and I have interacted positively enough in the past that I feel confident he won't mind me sharing this as it expresses nearly exactly what I've been feeling since the debate as well.

Most everyone I'm interacting with feels good about Sarah Palin. Most see her as a Christian and a supporter of Israel, more so than any of the others at the very least. Not only that, Sarah has gotten some Christians who had decided to sit this election process out to rethink their position and support the GOP ticket.

But now things have changed. We've heard from her lips something that causes us all to shudder, indications that leave little doubt that both party tickets are going to continue down the path of pressuring Israel to surrender covenant lands in the interest of peace, placing our nation in absolute peril where God's wrath is concerned! Very discouraging to say the least!

Throughout the election process, I have done everything I know how to to encourage Christians to refuse to have our voices silenced by our two political parties. I pray that all of you will remain in the fight as I plan to, in spite of the latest development, because Stan is right.

We are the Church! We're to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth until we are relieved of duty via death or the rapture. Nothing has changed in that regard!

With the Democratic ticket, I don't think any of us who are following along have any doubts concerning the impact our Christian voices will have when it comes to changing the political course of a liberal like Obama, but Sarah and Senator McCain? There's at least some hope there, particularly where Sarah is concerned.

I don't know what role faith plays in Senator McCain's life, but everything I've ever read quoting his pastor has been doctrinally sound. I've seen video of Sarah speaking in her former church in Wasilla, Alaska and sense that she has a good foundation upon which God can build and we need to be praying for that to occur!

Recent polls indicate it is likely Benjamin Netanyahu is going to return to his former role as Israeli Prime Minister as soon as the Israelis get a chance to vote him into the role. It is my understanding that he is going to take the two-state peace solution off the table if he gets a chance and keep Jerusalem in Israeli hands so we need to be prayerful that Israel's next PM is Benjamin Netanyahu as that will help!

As Stan Goodenough suggested, God didn't write us off when we were babes in our faith or even when we were lost in our sins! Similarly, I think it's too early to write Sarah off as a potential game changer where our nation's foreign policy toward Israel is concerned, especially when doing so may well hand the reins of power over to someone that can, as has been reported in the past, sing the Muslim call to prayer like a songbird in Barack Hussein Obama!

Pray on these matters, Christians! Many are prepared to turn their Christian light off where the elections are concerned, using the logic that one shouldn't choose the "lesser of two evils." That mindset, to me, is defeatist.

A hypothetical scenario for my readers to consider....

You are in a dark alley and you have a shotgun in your hand with only one shell in it.

From your left, a man carrying a sword begins charging at you with it held high above his head.

From your right, a man with a steak knife charges at you, prepared to stab you with it.

Clearly, each of these men pose a deadly threat. No matter what, there is a chance you're going to be hurt, perhaps very badly, but you have a shotgun and one shell.

Christians, we have a shot that we can fire in this election and, whether we think the end result is going to see us get out of the dark alley unscathed or not, we need to pull the trigger on November 4th!

Anyone who knows me would tell you I'd drop the guy with the sword at the outset. The next thing I'd do? I'd turn the shotgun around and point it at the guy with the steak knife and ask him if he wanted some too! Hopefully, my resolute determination to protect myself would give him pause but if he somehow realized or suspected that I was out of ammunition for the time being and continued his charge? A fight would be underway soon thereafter! I wouldn't just lie down and allow my attacker to steak knife me to death! No way!

At the end of the day I hope to be able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2nd Timothy 4:7-8)

Fight a good fight until you have finished your course, Christians! Don't lie down in defeat! That's what the enemy wants us to do, of course!