When I was in high school, I had to do a current events project for my American Government class. I was not the news junkie then that I am today, and my understanding of the world and its politics was woefully uninformed. I went to the library and grabbed a newspaper article on whatever constituted the "Middle East peace process" of the late 80's. Based on this single reference, I produced a poster that rather poorly depicted the United States as pouring gasoline on the Israeli-PLO conflict, while holding back the "water" that would bring peace. As I recall, my mother later told me that she had to remove the poster from the table where I had been working on it, as it highly upset my father.
I'm reminded of that episode, not because it has anything to do with any differences between my politics and that of my father. No, I'm reminded of my own ignorance, as I watch the latest crisis surrounding Israel taking shape. The news has been filled in recent days of the attempt by a Turkish flotilla loaded with supplies and "activists" to run a naval blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza. There are options for getting humanitarian supplies to Gaza, which go through various checkpoints for inspection. The blockade exists to ensure that ONLY humanitarian supplies get to the people who live under control of Hamas, an organization designated as terrorist by the U.S. Bottom line, these Turkish "activists" attempted to run a military blockade. At least 10 paid the price.
Israel has long been a strong U.S. ally. But the signs are everywhere that this alliance is weakening, as the political holy grail of Mideast peace beckons. The U.S. signed onto a U.N. resolution that singles out Israel negatively, in the interest of a nuclear free region (while nothing substantive is said about Iran's progress toward becoming a nuclear nation). Further, the administration appears not to be defending the legitimacy of the blockade, and is being condemned by the State Department. Not to mention the audacity of the U.S. government trying to tell a sovereign nation where it can and cannot build apartment complexes.
I find it rather illuminating that the so-called peace "activists" were armed, and several appear to have direct ties to jihadist organizations. Nevertheless, it appears that none will be prosecuted, but rather will be deported and otherwise released.
Israel is in a constant state of conflict and isolation. Yet this time, I feel a sense of foreboding. There's the flotilla incident; Lebanon tried to shoot down an Israeli plane; Iran keeps rattling the saber as it flaunts the world in its pursuit of nuclear weapon technology; and a less friendly posture between Israel and the U.S. Beyond the strategic value of the relationship in a volatile region, there is a very real connection between Israel and America that goes beyond geopolitics. No doubt, America has its Jew-haters. But we do share a common spiritual heritage, albeit with one major distinction and chasm. In all of this, I cannot help but to think that there is great danger in turning our backs against Israel. With so much of the world turning up its condemnation of Israel, I can foresee a worst-case scenario that places us on the sidelines watching a Euro-Arab-Persian perpetration of a second Holocaust.
I can only pray that these straits are not so dire. Yet then I read an account of an American rabbi in Israel, who sometimes blogs at Sense of Events. He writes of life as a parent in what is presumed to become a new theater of war. I find myself deeply moved by this inside sense of things, apart from the news media. My take is this: unless the winds shift soon, a major Mideast war is at hand. And what awaits us if that happens?
My late grandfather had quite the interest in end-times prophecies. The last time I saw him, many years ago, he pulled me aside and looked me directly in the eye, earnestly saying: "Jesus is coming back soon. He's coming. It will happen in your lifetime." I simply and warmly responded, "I know, Grandpa."
From a theology standpoint, I tend to be very much in the realm that we can know neither the day nor the hour of the Lord's return. Signs of the end times have been prevalent since His Ascension. I would prefer to focus my energies not on what may or may not be signs pointing to the fulfillment of prophecy, but rather on the ministry of today, and the impact that today can have on eternity.
Yet a part of me does wonder, and what I see unfolding reminds me of how temporary this all is. The last 20 years have been distinctly tumultuous. I'm afraid we haven't seen anything yet.
Perhaps Grandpa was onto something.
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