Will there be peace in the Middle East, and if so, how do we get there?
To answer this question, Tim Moore and Nathan Jones traveled to the annual Pre-Trib Study Group Conference held every December in the Dallas, Texas area. You won’t find a larger gathering of experts in the study of Bible prophecy than where these professors of prophecy meet to share their research into the study of eschatology.
Our first three experts discussed the question from the perspective of current political developments, including the Abraham Accords and President Trump’s new Board of Peace.
Current Political Developments
Don Perkins: Well, there won’t be peace right now. I believe the only time Israel will experience lasting peace is when Isaiah 9:6-7 is fulfilled. That’s when Christ will sit on the throne of His father David in the Millennial Kingdom. We are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), but Israel has not yet experienced any lasting peace.
And I’ll say this as well: no president, prime minister, or nation will get the glory for stabilizing that region. I don’t care what kind of peace plan comes together, like the Abrahamic Accords; it doesn’t matter. I have a whole list of presidents who have tried to stabilize the region, and all it ended with was a photo op.
When you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, you are praying for the Millennial Kingdom. That’s the only time lasting peace will occur. However, I believe that as long as we, the Church, are here, there won’t be any true stabilization of peace in the Middle East. The world will only experience temporary periods of peace.
Joe Hawkins: In today’s world, we won’t see peace in the Middle East. The everlasting peace we’ve been hearing about on the news isn’t going to arrive before the Millennial Kingdom. True and lasting peace will only come after the Tribulation period ends with Christ’s Second Coming. Once Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom during the Millennial reign, that’s when a lasting peace will be established in the Middle East and throughout the world. Any peace we see now is only temporary and can be considered false peace.
Pete Garcia: I believe peace in the Middle East won’t happen until the Lord returns. We see many parallels between the post-World War I era and today. Consider the Balfour Declaration of 1917, when the British Empire was the dominant global power. Back then, they were very pro-Zionist. However, by 1939, they had become strongly anti-Zionist. From 1917 to 1939, Britain gradually shifted towards appeasing the Arab world, which was protesting and acting violently. I believe we are seeing similar patterns today, with governments trying to negotiate peace deals, like the Council of Peace, to appease major players such as Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others.
War of Gog and Magog
Our next three experts examined the peace foretold in Ezekiel 38:11, a temporary peace Israel will have before the Gog and Magog invasion.
Lee Brainard: The only peace we’re going to see before the Lord Jesus Christ returns is a superficial peace described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Israel is prophesied to be dwelling in unwalled cities during a time of apparent peace. However, this peace will be superficial and deceptive because the same simmering antisemitism will still be infecting the entire world.
Mondo Gonzales: President Trump has been using the phrase “eternal peace,” but that’s not going to happen within the current prophetic timeframe. Jesus, as the Prince of Peace, will be the one who brings lasting peace.
However, I would say we’re moving toward Ezekiel 38’s description of the people of Israel dwelling confidently (betach) and quietly. The passage doesn’t say “in peace,” but rather “quietly” or during a time of relative carefreeness. This is part of the prophetic agenda before the Ezekiel 38–39 War of Gog and Magog occurs. I believe that Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations joining the Abrahamic Accords are setting the stage for the peace prophesied in Ezekiel 38. All these events are creating an atmosphere of temporary peace, which will later be shattered by the Gog and Magog coalition’s advance.
There will be a temporary peace, but not the eternal peace that Donald Trump desires. Of course, every president has wanted to be the one who secures peace in the Middle East, and for their own personal reasons. This conflict with Israel will persist into the Tribulation and continue until the end. There’s a lot of antisemitism displayed during the Tribulation, so that two-thirds of the Jewish people will tragically perish. Again, the world doesn’t kill Jews simply because everyone loves them and fosters a false sense of peace.
Randall Price: Scriptures mention a temporary peace coming to Israel before the battle of Gog and Magog. This type of peace should be understood as betach, meaning a kind of security. Israel has experienced a sense of security throughout its modern history because it has built a strong military. When the Jews returned from the Holocaust and Eastern Europe, they vowed, “Never again! We’re going to protect our people.” Thus, Israel has been successful in every war fought against them, giving Israel a sense of security. That is why Jews see Israel as a safe haven. October 7th may have momentarily shaken that sense of security, but the nation is currently in a good position.
Betach could also be seen as imagined security. Israel remains in a state of divine discipline until the nation repents. The Jewish people will never achieve true security because ongoing conflict with neighbors who oppose Israel has been part of that divine discipline. As long as Israel faces hostility from their neighbors, they will never find that perfect peace. I don’t believe the Abraham Accords will ever succeed because the Arabs will always bring the issue back to the Palestinians.
The Antichrist’s Covenant
Our next two experts addressed the question by referencing Daniel 9:27, which prophesies that the Antichrist will confirm a peace covenant with Israel.
Josh Davis: There might be a temporary peace in the Middle East. Ezekiel 38 prophesies how one day Israel will live without defensive walls and be a nation without borders, meaning their security could be fragile. It seems like Israel will be taken by surprise by the War of Gog and Magog.
While people in the Pre-Millennialism, Pre-Tribulation Rapture camp differ on the timing of Ezekiel 38–39, it is my personal belief that it will happen toward the beginning of the Tribulation, right after the Rapture of the Church. The Antichrist rises promising peace for Israel. According to the peace covenant that is confirmed in Daniel 9, Israel will then gain some semblance of peace through the Antichrist, kickstarted by the outcome of the Ezekiel 38–39 war.
Olivier Melnick: There will be no true peace in the Middle East until Sar Shalom—the Prince of Peace—returns. We find the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6, who is Yeshua the Messiah. Until then, there will be a semblance of peace for Israel, but it will be a false peace. The Antichrist is going to bring about this peace, but only for a little while. The Jewish people will think they’ve reached a good peace deal, but it’s not genuine. The Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel, and then all hell will break loose.
Only after the Tribulation will there be peace in the Middle East when Jesus returns. Until then, giving up land, taking control of land, and calling for a ceasefire—it’s all a joke. Hamas doesn’t want to disarm and go away; they want to re-arm and be ready to wage the next October 7th. So, I believe there won’t be peace until Jesus comes back.
Return of the Prince of Peace
Our final three experts confirmed that lasting peace in the Middle East will only come when the Prince of Peace returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom.
Carl Broggi: I don’t believe peace will come to the Middle East in our age. Clearly, God’s timetable is centered around the nation of Israel. He has established His prophetic plan through that country. The antisemitism we see worldwide today is clearly satanic. Whether it was Abel being murdered by Cain, the Nephilim cohabiting with the daughters of men, Athaliah trying to kill all the boys from the tribe of Judah, Haman attempting to deceive the Persian king to kill all the Jews, or King Herod trying to murder the Christ child in Bethlehem—all these acts are acts of Satan. From the future perspective, we know from Revelation 12 that Satan is behind the hatred of the Jews. His Plan A failed, so now Plan B is to prevent the Messiah from ruling so Satan can continue to rule. Now that Israel has been regathered in the land, prophetic events are accelerating. There’s no other human explanation for the hatred toward the Jewish people except the evil one himself.
Johannes Vogel: No, there will be no peace in the Middle East. Peace can only come when the Prince of Peace returns. I’m from Europe, and the antisemitic acts I’ve been witnessing have been unbelievable. No peace is coming at the moment, nor in the near future. Instead, wars against the Jews will worsen until Christ returns.
Tom Hughes: Yes, there will be some peace, but two different dynamics will unfold. One comes from Ezekiel 38:11, which prophesies a temporary period of peace following the return of the people of Israel to the mountains of Israel; a people who had long been scattered. The Jews from the diaspora have been brought back to Israel, where they will experience a semblance of peace and safety before the invasion described in Ezekiel 38–39 occurs. Israel is definitely not there yet, so we can see that we are not yet on the verge of Ezekiel 38. In other words, it won’t happen tomorrow. It’s impossible because the safety mentioned in verse 11 could very well be related to being protected by the IDF. When I visit Israel, I always feel safe there—much safer than I do in Los Angeles or even Texas, for that matter.
Currently, both Arabs and Jews are more aware of the need to behave well. However, the word for peace comes from a Hebrew root that means tranquility, and Israel hasn’t been truly tranquil since Solomon. Even with Gaza subdued, you still have Judea and Samaria where there are problems in the land. So, now way is the Middle East is not yet entering a time of peace and safety.
[Watch the interviews on our television program, Christ in Prophecy!]
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