Middle East peace: An expanded role for the EU

by Michael G. Mickey

(9-19-05)

Since the birth of the international Quartet of Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, the key thing I've looked for - and stressed others should watch for as well - is any indication the European Union, the empire which will someday rule the world under the leadership of the Antichrist, may be about to take a leading role in pursuing the Quartet's ongoing quest to bring peace to the Middle East, the internationally-led mechanism through which the Antichrist will be revealed to the world as, ironically, a peacemaker. Well, it's been a while coming, but it is coming around!

The Jerusalem Post is suggesting it, while The Independent is outright saying it: Israel is warming to the idea of a security role for the revived Roman empire of Bible prophecy - the European Union - on Gaza's border with Egypt!

The Independent is calling the latest development a "significant escalation" of the EU's involvement in the Middle East peace process and I couldn't agree more! It is, as anyone who has been reading my website for any significant period of time knows, precisely what I've been anticipating to take place in preparation of the prophesied Antichrist being revealed to the world through confirmation of a seven-year covenant of peace in the Middle East "with many", as seen in Daniel 9:27.

Tomorrow (9-20-05), the Quartet of the United Nations, the United States, Russia, and the European Union is going to hold a ministerial meeting in New York - its first face-to-face ministerial meeting since the Gaza withdrawal took place, although there has been a teleconference held recently between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana during which issues related to the implementation of the Quartet's Road Map for Middle East settlement were considered, as detailed on a page from Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

What will tomorrow's Quartet meeting bring to the table for those of us monitoring the prophetic signs seemingly pointing toward the soon-coming return of Christ to consider, in light of this latest development concerning the EU? It's anyone's guess. We may hear something of interest or close to nothing! Regardless of what we hear or don't hear, there is clearly much more going on behind the scenes in the Quartet's efforts to bring peace to the Middle East than most of us are aware of, particularly where the involvement of the European Union is concerned! Not only that, The Independent seems to suggest a certain amount of mystery is going to remain concerning what is going to take place in the days ahead concerning Middle East peacemaking efforts (emphasis added mine):

Discreet negotiations on border security, which follow Israel's withdrawal from Gaza after 38 years, are expected to take place in the next few days.

Is Israel seriously considering the European Union's offer to assist in border security? What once seemed inconceivable - that Israel would do so - now seems quite plausible, based on an excerpt from The Independent's article (emphasis added mine):

Although Israel has opposed third-party involvement in the past, it is now being more flexible behind the scenes than in its public declarations.
Mark Regev, the foreign ministry spokesman, said: "We have to find solutions that are workable and prevent the Rafah crossing becoming a place where explosives, weapons and cash for the terrorist organisations can enter.

"We know there are people out there who will want to strengthen Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It's important that this doesn't happen. The challenge is to provide maximum opportunity for freedom of movement and at the same time to calibrate the all-too-real security risk."

On the issue of possible EU involvement, Mr Regev said only: "Up to now, Israel has not agreed to third-party deployment. We have yet to finalise what the arrangements would be."

What can we derive from Mark Regev's comments? Reading between the lines, a great deal more than we have known at any point prior to now! Although we've heard it said the EU is willing to play a third-party role in keeping the peace between the Israeli and Palestinians in the past, we now have an Israeli Foreign Ministry official on the record stating, and I quote, "We have yet to finalize what the arrangements would be." In other words, negotiations are underway! They just haven't been FINALIZED!

In November of 2004, I drew my readers' attention to a Middle East Newsline article which stated the European Union had drafted plans to deploy a peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip - what I stated at the time could, hypothetically, result in peace being confirmed in the Middle East! Middle East Newsline's article demonstrated there was a timeframe being considered for this peacekeeping force to play its role (emphasis added mine):

EU officials said Brussels was discussing a proposal to help organize a force to stabilize the Gaza Strip after an Israeli withdrawal in September 2005.

It's now September of 2005 and wouldn't you know it? Israel has withdrawn from the Gaza Strip and we find ourselves on the verge of seeing a "significant escalation" of the EU's involvement in the Middle East peace process - a not-so-subtle reminder that steady progress is being made toward the prophesied advent of the Antichrist - an event which will be preceded by the Rapture of the Church.

KEEP LOOKING UP! JESUS CHRIST IS COMING SOON!

OUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH!