“And the Lord said to Abram, “Go…..to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)
God called Abam (Abraham) to step out of his comfort zone nearly two thousand years before Christ was born, to go to a land He would give to him and his descendants. Sight unseen, no vacation brochure, no real estate listing. Just get up and start walking. And Abraham obeyed. That obedience produced a covenant between God and Abraham (Genesis 15:7-8). A covenant that included a promised land and multitudes of descendants. That promised land was Israel. But the promises given to Abraham and Israel stretched even further than a piece of real estate. God also promised to “bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt” (Genesis 12:3)
Sadly, Israel’s disobedience eventually caused them to be scattered among the nations. That held true until May of 1948 when Israel once again became a nation. But even after Israel’s rebirth as a nation there were many countries in the world who refused to acknowledge they were a nation or a people. However, some of that rejection ceased last Wednesday, September 15, 2020. In the middle of a worldwide pandemic, and with a world full of tensions and strife, a peace treaty was signed in Washington, DC between Israel, United Arab Emirates, and the kingdom of Bahrain. And now there is the potential for possibly five or six other nations to also undertake a treaty with Israel.
Obviously, all of this is historic and exceptional. It is exciting and an event to be celebrated. But this extraordinary alliance goes beyond all the commemoration and celebration. This momentous occasion is also prophetic. First, this “Abraham Accord” promoted both the nation of UAE and Bahrain from being on God’s “cursed” list to taking honors on his “blessed” list, by entering into a friendship with God’s chosen people. Second, this treaty moved you and me closer to our heavenly destination.
My first thought when I heard of this peace accord was what the apostle Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:2-3 – “For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying ‘peace and safety’ destruction will come on them.” In the fourth chapter of I Thessalonians, Paul writes about the Rapture. He then continues in chapter 5 by writing that that day will come “like a thief in the night.” In other words, it will be unexpected. But the sign of that day being near he writes is when people are saying, ‘peace and safety.’
That sign is why this week’s peace treaty is so important. Now you might be thinking that we are not seeing peace, nor are we seeing safety, here in the USA. But we need to refocus our mindset from America to the prime piece of real estate measuring 8,019 square miles that God calls his – namely Israel. The center of the world to our Creator is Israel. Always has been – always will be. So, when Israel is saying ‘peace and safety’, THAT is the time our eyes and ears need to perk up. And that is exactly what happened last week.
I am not saying the Rapture is coming this week, next week, next month, next year, or even in the next one hundred years. Remember, “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (II Peter 3:8). I am saying that what happened in Washington, DC last week has moved our journey home closer and closer. It truly was a prophetic peace treaty.
Darlene