About Jesus    Steve Sweetman

Home Page

Critical Choices

The Bible portrays God as being actively involved in the affairs of man, which I believe includes the two great wars of the 20^th century.  Whatever reason one might give for World War 1 and World War 2, the student of the Bible has his own reason.       

One result of World War 1 was the defeat of the Ottoman Empire who had ruled the middle east for centuries.  With the Balfour Declaration (British declaration in support of an Israeli homeland - 1917) hot off the press, the League of Nations (forerunner to the United Nations) divided the middle east into sections.  Great Britain was given responsibility for the "Palestinian Mandate".  How England handled this responsibility eventually determined her future. 

For a number of decades prior to World War 1 Jews from across Europe, Africa, and elsewhere, began to relocate to what would become known as Palestine.  These Jewish immigrants turned the once desolate desert into a place ripe for economic prosperity.  Arabs who had struggled economically for centuries in this wasteland were now benefitting from the Jewish presence, so much so that more Arabs began to immigrate into Palestine in hopes of a better future.        

Great Britain was one of the early supporters of Jewish immigration into Palestine.  However, her sympathies towards Jewish immigration into Palestine, for which she was responsible for, began to waver by the 1930's.  England's calculated policy decision to limit Jewish immigration into Palestine helped facilitate the execution of millions of Jews by Hitler.  Jews were trapped.  They couldn't escape Hitler's rage to Palestine even if they had the chance.  All along, Britain allowed Arabs to freely immigrate to Palestine without restriction.          

After World War 2 came the formation of different middle eastern states, which included the state of Israel.  The deterioration of British sympathies towards the Jews continued.  Still, in 1948, Israel became a nation.  Jews finally had a land they could claim as their own, howbeit, only 25% of the land promised them.   England gave the remaining 75% of the land to the Arabs to pay back a favour for assistance in the war.  That's how present day Jordan came into existence.   Jordan was meant to be a safe and secure place for those Arabs who might be displaced by the new Jewish state, but things never turned out as planned.  Now 63 years later, many Arabs, who in error call themselves Palestinians, are stuck in refugee camps on the West Bank.  Worst still, they're stuck in camps in Jordan, a country that was supposed to assimilate their Arab brothers into Jordanian society.    

When the descendents of Abraham became a nation in 1948, Biblical prophecy concerning the end of this age speeded up. God was clearly involved in the affairs of men during the 20^th century, which includes World War 1 and 2 and the creation of the Israeli state.   

As far back as Genesis 12 we see God's eternal commitment to Israel.  He had his own version of the "Balfour Declaration".  It's called the "Abrahamic Covenant".  The covenant promised the Jews their homeland.  It also decreed that God would bless those  who blessed Abraham's descendents and curse those who cursed these descendents.   

Although Great Britain once supported the Jews, their support became progressively lax, to the point that she broke her promise to the Jews.  Taking 75% of the land promised to Israel and giving it to the Arab's is a big chunk of land to lose.  God is never happy with such broken promises, especially those directed towards Israel.  For that reason, I believe Great Britain ceased to be great. 

Soon after World War 2 Britain's super-state status faded.  America became the new super-state, but America seems to be following in Britain's fatal footsteps as her government becomes progressively more liberal.  I believe America's ongoing decline as a super-state in recent times; and I do see a decline, is in direct relation to her laxness towards Israel which begun with the Carter administration in the late 1970's.  Bill Clinton, along with America's involvement in the Oslo Accord in the 1990's, furthered this trend.  The hesitation to help Israel is now being cemented into American foreign policy by the Obama administration.  Unless things suddenly change, the ongoing problems confronting the U.S. from all fronts will bring her  super-state statue crashing to the ground.  The obvious question arises; "Who will take America's place"?   Her leadership has kept the world relatively safe for more than a half century.  The gospel of Jesus was sent around the world from her shores, but now, America (not all Americans) is deliberately and systematically setting aside this gospel, along with the Biblical mandate to support Israel. 

Although it's not evident to world leaders, how a nation  supports or doesn't support Israel will determine that nation's destiny.  God made many promises to Abraham and his descendents.  He promised Israel a much larger portion of land than was given her by Britain; a land with specific borders.  Unlike Great Britain and many western nations today, God will never break His promise.

The nations of the world are now making their "critical choice".  It's called "a two state solution – land for peace".  From a Biblical perspective, I can safely say that this "critical choice" to extract more land from Israel will not go unnoticed in  heavens. 

Home Page