7-Year Treaty
A Strong And Firm Covenant With The Many
The Bible tells us that a short time after (following directly on the heels of) the war of Gog & Magog the Antichrist will sign a treaty or an agreement with Israel for 7 years and the very moment of the signing of this treaty (or agreement) marks the start of the seven year Tribulation.
Much like approaching a stop sign in a car, the closer to the sign you get, the more legible the letters of the sign are. As we rapidly approach this day, information on what this treaty might be is starting to grow.
We traditionally refer to this agreement as a peace treaty. Daniel 9:27, while may not be giving us all the details we would like, does gives us perhaps the best description of what this agreement actually is:
And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator.
The Bible tells us that this is “a strong and firm covenant with the many”. The question is, is this a peace treaty?
It may very well be. If this is a treaty of peace it will not be a treaty to protect Israel from the world and the EU, it will be a treaty to protect the world and the EU from Israel. With the amazing victories and divine protection Israel will have experienced by then, the world will fear Israel and the EU would certainly not want to face Israel in battle.
There is however a possibility that is growing more and more likely as this day approaches, which is that the “strong and firm covenant with the many” is the accepted offer of membership into the EU by Israel.
The Evidence is There
At some point in the near future, the Antichrist will be at the head of the EU and a global government will be forming around the EU via 10 world regions with the EU being the seat of power, or capital region if you will. We can safely assume that this coming world government will not have been fully formed at this point due to the fact that many nations will join in the coalition lead by Russia and Iran in what is known as the war of Gog & Magog (which will occur just prior to this treaty). This very act by those nations implies independent decisions and actions not governed by a central world government.
Furthermore, at the point at which the coming world government is fully formed, it would have some degree of control over Israel. A treaty by a government with one of whom it governs would only serve to undercut the government’s legitimacy and authority and would not be a logical course of action. Therefore, it is safe to assume the world government will not be fully formed at this point, although certainly well underway with possibly regions such as North American Union, etc. already in place. It also follows that this treaty or agreement will be between the Antichrist/EU and Israel.
Let’s first look at what will by then, be the recent history that leads up to this point. First, Israel will have utterly defeated and conquered all if its neighboring enemies in a regional Middle East war prophesied in Psalm 83 as well as Isaiah 17, Ezekiel 25:13-14, Jeremiah 49, Obadiah, Isaiah 17, Zephaniah 2:3-5 (For more information on this war see: http://www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com/road/mewar.html). Israel will expand its borders and will no longer have a knife held to its throat by its immediate neighbors. Following very closely on the heels of this, a huge coalition of forces lead by Russia and Iran will converge on Israel and will be destroyed not by any military force but by God alone in what is known as the war of Gog & Magog (For more information on the war of Gog & Magog see: http://www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com/article/gogmagog/gogmagog.htm).
It is around this point; the Antichrist will step forward with this “strong and firm covenant.” It is important to understand that at this point, Israel will not need any form of a treaty for its peace and security. No nation on earth would dare move against Israel. At this point, Israel in and of itself will be such a great power that no supposed superpower would dare to attack her. In this circumstance, the only motivation for any sort of treaty with the EU would be one to ensure that Israel wouldn’t attack the EU. Logically thinking, this doesn’t seem to be probable. Israel has never been an aggressor or rouge nation and will not have initiated either of the previously mentioned wars. The EU would have no logical reason to assume that Israel somehow has its sights set on conquering them.
Furthermore, God tells us in the Bible that this is a “covenant with death” [Isaiah 28:14]. A simple treaty not to attack doesn’t seem to fit the description. If we closely examine Isaiah 28:14, the description we see certainly seems to indicate that Israel will be a part of or at least ruled over by the EU
14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. 15 You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
In Isaiah 28:18 we see further down the road of time to when the Antichrist will move against Israel with military force (for more information on this see: http://www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com/article/antichrist/antichrist.htm). Traditionally, this has been thought of as a violation of a peace treaty, but it would be a much deeper violation for the Antichrist to attack one who has already agreed to be submissive to his control which the description of “covenant with death” certainly seems more accurate.
We see other evidence of this in the Bible. Daniel 11:45 tells us the Antichrist will move his seat of power to Jerusalem.
45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the seas and the glorious holy Mount [Zion]; yet he shall come to his end with none to help him.
This has traditionally been understood to mean that the Antichrist will move the capital of the world government to Jerusalem. While we certainly wouldn’t say that this is proof of Israeli EU membership, it is certainly a clue to the fact that this is the case. In any way of thinking, the capital of an empire would reside somewhere within the empire.
An argument could be made that this is referring to the fact that the Antichrist will headquarter in Jerusalem due to the battles being fought near that region at that time, however the leader of an empire would not headquarter in the arena of conflict. With the pace of modern war and modern communications this would make no sense. Furthermore, the armies of the world will converge on this point in the battle of Armageddon which is a battle that starts because half the world’s armies move against the Antichrist to gain independence from him. They will move to attack in his capital which will then be in Jerusalem (For more information on the battle of Armageddon see: http://www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com/article/armageddon/armageddon.htm).
Why is the Agreement for 7 years?
The natural question is; if Israel is to join the EU how does seven years play into this agreement?
According to the EU, before a country applies for membership it typically signs an Association Agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, so they need many years to prepare for the process. An association agreement helps prepare for this first step.
It is entirely possible that this Association Agreement will be for a 7 year period and is the “covenant with death”.
The Beginning Stages
The “covenant with death” could very well turn out to be a peace treaty between the Antichrist/EU and Israel, but there is a great deal of Biblical information as well as current events that points to the “covenant with death” being Israel’s accepted offer of membership into the EU.
The Mediterranean Union, founded in 2008, aims to unite the European Union, northern Africa, Israel, and several Arab League nations to discuss matters of mutual interest. One of its aims is to promote Middle East peace, by bringing Israel and Arab countries together.
As the above headlines show, we are already seeing the genesis of this with the Italian Prime Minister initiating discussions and openly calling for Israel to join the EU. It is logical to assume that with two wars still waiting to unfold in the Middle East and with the world’s knee jerk “blame Israel first” mentality, talks of EU membership will ebb and flow. We will also not know the discussions behind closed doors so we might not see a straight line unfolding of this event but what we do know is that the moment this agreement is formally signed, Tribulation will began and if you’ve put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ you will not be here for that.
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
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