The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Koenig on Trump Ending ISIS

Trump on Middle East

This week President Trump made Israel his priority stop during his first foreign trip as president, a trip notably scheduled quicker than the past five U.S. presidents who visited Israel before him. The original purpose of the trip was to signal tighter US-Israel ties. Trump also wished to erase the acrimony many felt festered between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama.

How will President Trump finally end ISIS?

This question was asked of Bill Koenig on our television program Christ in Prophecy. Bill has been a White House Correspondent for the last fifteen years. He is president of a news website called World Watch Daily, and he publishes a weekly report called “Koenig’s Eye View from the White House.” Bill is also the author of a telling book titled Revealed: Obama’s Legacy.

[Note: Bill’s answer below has been edited slightly for grammar and clarity.]

The Threat of ISIS

President Trump still faces ISIS, which will continue to be an ongoing threat. ISIS is on the ropes, though, thanks to the Kurds. The Kurds are an amazing people, and amazing fighters. If it wasn’t for the Kurds, ISIS would still be strong and getting stronger.

The threat of ISIS truly centers on lone ranger events, much like what we’ve seen here in the US, Paris and Nice, and other places. ISIS will move off the Syrian/Iraqi battlefield and into the public sector. The big problem with ISIS is you never fully defeat radical Islam.

The big problem with #ISIS is you never fully defeat #RadicalIslam. Click To Tweet

Israel over the years has had the attitude that they can’t ever fully defeat terrorism, but they can manage it. When you say you are going to defeat ISIS, and defeat Al-Qaeda, and defeat the Taliban, well that’s not ever going to fully happen. You can defend yourself against terrorism with greater security and by keeping known combatants confined to specific areas. Unfortunately, right now the Taliban has moved back into a position of influence in Afghanistan, almost as much as they were prior to 9/11.

True, ISIS has really been hit hard. How about Iran and the United States fighting side-by-side in Iraq to defeat ISIS? Crazy! Iran has been calling the shots in the military. I have a friend whose father was a general before Saddam Hussein took over, and who now lives in the U.S. She was over there interviewing the director of the Iraqi military, and he said that he takes his orders from Soleimani who is the head of the Al-Quds force based out of Iran.

Iraq remains a real challenge right now for President Trump. The fact that the U.S. invested some three trillion dollars plus into peace in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now our enemy Iran has won the controlling influence in Iraq. How do we move the Iranian influence away from Iraq and Syria? If we don’t do something about Iran soon, our losses and the chaos are only going to get worse.

Hope for Israel

Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world, about the size of New Jersey. The country’s dimensions are only about 300 miles long and about 75 miles wide. Israel’s population remains very small at nearly 6.5 million Jews, with 1.5 million Arabs living within its borders. Surrounding the nation of Israel are 350 million Arabs, many who want Israel destroyed. The situation looks hopeless for Israel.

Myself though, I believe there remains hope for Israel’s survival, because the God of Israel will always protect and defend His Name. Our Heavenly Father neither slumbers nor sleeps.

Hope for #Israel's survival because #God always protects and defends His Name. Click To Tweet

As a watchman in these end times, I keep informing people of what’s happening from a biblical perspective. We are living during the most exciting time of biblical history. Bible prophecy plays out right before our eyes!

I used to speak 15-20 years ago about the two or three final day events playing out at the same time. Today, though, we have every sign of the end times the Bible gives us playing out all at once. Prophecy has accelerated at a breathtaking pace. The time-clock to look at for when prophecy will be fulfilled is Jerusalem. Every nation in the world wants to divide the city of Jerusalem. Virtually almost every nation in the world wants to give Judea and Samaria to a future Arab state. None of this should surprise us, for the Bible prophesied about these events long, long ago.

The book of Zechariah states that in the end times the whole world will come against Israel over the issue of who controls Jerusalem. Jerusalem will become a burdensome stone to the world. We are seeing that specific Bible prophecy being fulfilled, played out in the daily news. Jerusalem remains the focus of the world. When some Palestinian throws a rock at a Jew in Israel, or vice versa, well it’s front page news heard all around the world. When a suicide bomber runs his truck into an Israeli crowd, the story makes front page news. For every Middle East peace conference that is held, or if Israel starts building homes in Judea and Samaria, that’s front page news throughout the world.

The fact that the whole world obsesses over this tiny little country, a country the size of New Jersey, stands out as biblically significant. God remains the God of Israel as always before. I’ve been watching this scenario play out for a long time, and it’s really exciting, and it helps me keep world events in a healthy perspective. Because, for the first time, all the signs of the end times are converging.

Also significant to me is the year 2017. We have some historical patterns converging in 2017 and 2018. Many don’t realize that 2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. Next year is the seventieth anniversary of Israel becoming a state.

I feel that those of us who understand Bible prophecy are so blessed. Sure, sadly we’re a small percentage of people who attend church, and even understand the biblical significance of the times in which we are living. We are such a small minority who fully understands that Genesis to Revelation is the Word of God, and when we understand God’s Word, how awesome it is to watch His divine plan play out!

Those who do not take the Bible literally, and so do not understand how God’s plan plays out, they’re facing a real tragedy. What a real tragedy that the vast majority of Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, are attending churches that teach Replacement Theology. Their misguided pastors are actually teaching their congregations that God has washed His hands of the Jews and has no purpose left for them. These liberal theologians totally miss the awesome prophetic implications that God has been regathering the Jewish people from the four corners of the earth.

These Replacement Theology pastors stand with the international community calling on Israel to give up its covenant lands. Catholic bishops have been calling on Israel to leave the “occupied land” and to leave the “Palestinian land.” I hope I’ve proven that there is no such thing as Palestinian land within the borders of Israel.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

2 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • I have been so aware of the amazing events even as of this past week watching our president’s speech to the Muslim nations while I was on vacation in a hotel breakfast room. We go about our lives, but God’s plan for the nations is happening before our very eyes. Thank you for posting this quick but significant article.

  • I enjoy reading about what is happening in our world today. It makes us realize the Bible is coming alive in our lifetime. Thank you for the Old and New Testament. You get to the point without making it too long and boring.

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