A Sharing Arrangement Marking the Final Seven Years

It’s one of the only prophecies with a date on it. The Bible foretells that the West Bank (Judea) will be placed under Palestinian control and that the Temple Mount will be shared between Jew and Gentile under international supervision.

On September 20^th, the Palestinians will ask the United Nations to recognize Palestine as a state within pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. If the UN votes for this, which it is expected to do, this would grant UN recognition to Palestine’s jurisdiction over Judea and over the Temple Mount.

The Bible prophesies that, when a deal is struck to place Judea under Palestinian authority and the Temple Mount under a sharing arrangement, the final seven years to Armageddon will begin. These are the very two issues that will be presented to the UN on September 20^th.

What will happen?

The United States has promised that it will veto the request of the Palestinians if it comes before the UN Security Council. Consequently, the Palestinians are considering avoiding this showdown with the US by taking their case directly to the UN General Assembly where the US has no veto power. It is almost certain that the Palestinians would receive approval for their request at the General Assembly.

However, only the Security Council has the power to grant full UN membership and recognition of statehood to the Palestinians. Any action by the General Assembly would merely be symbolic and have only significant PR value. Nevertheless, the Palestinians appear determined to push this course of action, believing it would create international pressure on Israel and the United States to eventually yield to the Palestinians.

What does the Bible say will happen?

The Bible clearly depicts Judea under Palestinian control (Matthew 24:15-21) and the Temple Mount under a sharing arrangement between Jew and Gentile (Revelation 11:1-2) three and one-half years before the Battle of Armageddon. So, if the UN General Assembly does vote to grant the Palestinian request, it still will not be implemented since such implementation would place the Temple Mount under the sole control of the Palestinians. This would be contrary to the prophecy.

The likely outcome of the pending head-on collision at the UN will be the following:

1. The US might broker a last-minute deal to delay the vote or to convince the Palestinians to drop their plan for now.
2. The General Assembly could vote in favor of the Palestinians. This would not grant UN membership but could lead to resolutions demanding that Israel withdraw from what the majority of nations have recognized as “occupied territory.” This could lead to charges being filed before the International Criminal Court against Israeli leaders as have been filed against Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir.
3. Some hope for a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough at the secret talks that are now being conducted by Israel, the Palestinians, and the US. In the unlikely event that this occurs, the final seven years could actually begin as a result.

Whatever happens on September the 20th, one thing is certain. Things in the Middle East will never be the same. We may not be able to know at this time exactly what course events will take, but we can know where they will end up. Judea will end up under Palestinian control and the Temple Mount will be shared between Jew and Gentile.