12-24-17 Dress Rehearsal or the Real Deal?
Dress Rehearsal or the Real “Deal?” :: By Todd Hampson
With the news of the US officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital today, and additional plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem—I have a sense that things may be about to shift into overdrive. In related matters, recent reports about the soon-to-be-revealed Mideast peace plan unveiled some interesting details as well. These two developments are related politically and prophetically.
God seems to use unexpected figures to move certain pieces of the end-times puzzle into place—believers and non-believers alike: Theodore Herzl, Lord Balfour, Harry Truman (and just about every US president since). And now it seems, Donald Trump. With everything else converging, the timing of the self-professed ultimate deal-maker’s Mideast plan is something of extreme interest to those who study future biblical events with one eye on the daily news. This time the deal is—from early reports I’ve seen so far—quite a bit different than any previous attempt.
It appears that there won’t be an attempt to divide the land and that Egypt will offer some of its land in the Sinai for the Palestinians. (I pray that is the case. If the US attempts to divide the land, I don’t believe it will be a good thing for anyone pushing for it). Also, the tension between the Shiite and Sunni worlds have apparently provided unlikely allies for Israel. For the first time ever, Saudi Arabia and Israel are on the same side of an emerging coalition.
We learn about a key end-time agreement that officially begins the tribulation period in Daniel chapter nine. I’m curious about the wording of verse 27 which tells us the man of sin will confirm a covenant with many for seven years and then break it in the middle. The wording suggests that some type of well-known treaty between many nations and Israel will be confirmed, enforced, or somehow finalized. You get the impression that the antichrist is not the author of the treaty, but pushes it to the finish line.
Let’s speculate for a moment—and let’s be clear—I’m speculating as I see world events converging in textbook fashion in every end-times sign category. Could it be that the innate desire of Trump—the ultimate deal-maker himself—is to succeed where every other recent US president has failed, to actually get the Israeli-Palestinian deal formulated in such a way that all that is left for the parties to do is sign the treaty?
I think it’s safe to say that Donald Trump is not the antichrist—although many secularists would have you believe he is something worse. He simply doesn’t fit the qualifications described in Scripture and is a surprisingly unlikely character, being used of God (I believe) to hold back the tidal wave of Globalism and evil for a bit longer. I’m not saying that he’s a great leader or a godly man. What I am saying is that he seems uniquely prepared for this exact moment in history.
Vice President Pence and a few others, who have met directly with Trump on matters of faith, say that he is indeed now a believer. That being said, Trump’s young Christian faith (or cultural acceptance of Christian principles – I’m not sure which but the Lord knows) doesn’t seem to be grounded enough in the knowledge of end-time events to surpass his desire to be the guy that gets the impossible deal done.
In other words, Trump doesn’t seem to understand that this deal sounds a whole lot like the “covenant with many” spoken of in Daniel 9. If the details of this deal are what early reports are saying, this may be the end-time deal we’ve all been waiting for. If that’s the case, Trump is not the guy that will ultimately get it done. Something major will have to happen IF this is the deal, and IF everything aligns as spelled out in Scripture.
IF that’s the case, here’s my prayer—that Trump is indeed a believer and is caught up in the rapture along with all believers. In that case, it would make sense that the one who confirms a covenant with many—i.e. enforces an agreement already set up but not yet enacted—would be someone other than Trump. Perhaps, a charismatic European leader who seems to have all the answers after the rapture?
Again, I’m just speculating. The deal could unexpectedly hit a stall or be drastically different than early reports suggest; but again, the overwhelming convergence of signs and conditions are unprecedented and cause me to sense in my gut that this is a very significant development. Timing is everything—and only time will tell if this is the final version or just another closer iteration of the prophesied end-times treaty spoken of in Daniel 9.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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