Many of today’s Bible prophecy experts teach that the false covenant of Daniel 9:27 and Isaiah 28:15, 18 ends the Arab-Israeli conflict. Or, they sometimes refer to it as resolving the Palestinian-Israeli problem. Some of them don’t actually state this directly, but they infer this indirectly when they say that the false covenant creates the peaceful people of Israel that dwell securely without walls, bars nor gates in Ezekiel 38.

“You, (alluding to Gog, the Russian leader of the Ezekiel 38 invading coalition), will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages, (Israel); I will go to a peaceful people, (the Israelis), who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’ (Ezekiel 38:11; emphasis added)

These Bible expositors teach that the safe-dwelling Israel described in this Ezekiel verse is the direct result of the enactment of the false covenant. This reasoning forces these teachers to put the start of Ezekiel 38 in the first half of the Trib-period, which is when Israel is experiencing a period of peace.

This timing goes against the teachings of, Dr. Arnold Fructhenbaum, Dr. Ron Rhodes, Dr. David Reagan, Gary Stearman, me and many others who advocate that Ezekiel 38 happens prior to the Trib-period. Is it likely that Ezekiel 38, which is an epic biblical war, will happen in the first half of the Trib-period when Israel is enjoying a pseudo peace brought about from their participation in the false covenant?

On the surface this theory that the false covenant fulfills the requirements of Ezekiel 38:11 seems logical. The rationale within this teaching is that Israel signs onto a treaty with the “many” of Daniel 9:27. The covenant is politically brokered by the Antichrist between Israel and the Palestinians and / or “many” of their Arab neighbors. This covenant then:

• Ends the Arab-Israeli conflict,
• Settles the Palestinian Refugee issues,
• Brings about peace in the Middle East,
• And, enables the Jews to tear down all of their border barrier walls, eliminate their internal partition wall and network of security checkpoints and perhaps even eliminate all of their bomb shelters.

Oh; that it could be that simple and Oh; if it were only biblical, but OH NO, IT’S NOT! This thinking is entirely current event driven. When Isaiah and Daniel prophesied about this infamous covenant they were not concerned with the Arab-Israeli conflict, nor did they issue any clues about this specific conflict in their covenant related prophecies.

When Daniel 9:27 was written, the Jews were not having Arab-Israeli issues. The Arabs were not contesting the state of Israel’s right to exist, nor did the Palestinian refugees even exist. Just the opposite was taking place. Around 538 BC, King Cyrus of the dominant Persian Empire was fully endorsing the Jewish State. As per Ezra 1:1-4, Cyrus authorized the Jews to return to their homeland, restore the nation of Israel and to rebuild their historic temple.

During Isaiah’s time, the Jewish state existed without Arab contest and so did the first Jewish Temple. Also, there was no Palestinian refugee crisis to contend with.

Therefore, from the historical grammatical context, which attempts to interpret Scripture through the lens of the existing peoples of the time, neither the Jews during Isaiah’s nor Daniel’s time would be under the impression that this covenant was about a future Palestinian refugee crisis or a coming Arab-Israeli conflict.

From the historical grammatical position, Daniel 9:26-27 was dealing with the dreadful fourth beast of Daniel 7:19-25. Thus, the people of Daniel’s time would be less concerned about their Arab neighbors and more concerned about the coming fourth empire, which turned out to be the Roman Empire headquartered in the great city of Rome.

Sadly, most of these advocates have entirely ignored or dismissed the Psalm 83 prophecy as the viable means for Israel’s ability to achieve peace in the Mideast. This prophecy is one of the subjects covered in The NOW Prophecies book. This Psalm predicts that the Arab-Israeli conflict ends in a war that Israel wins.

Related to Psalm 83 there are many other related NOW Prophecies that foretell of Israel winning wars against their Arab neighbors. Taking the position that the false covenant resolves the Arab-Israeli conflict peacefully, either totally ignores these unfulfilled war prophecies or pushes their fulfillment into the Trib-period or Messianic age, which are both scriptural impossibilities.

Below are a list of verses that predict the IDF will wage and win wars with their Arab neighbors and then capture additional territory as a result. The list is taken from a quote in my book entitled, “Psalm 83, The Missing Prophecy Revealed, How Israel Becomes the Next Mideast Superpower.”

As you take the time to open your Bibles and read these following prophetic verses, remember that in the first half of the Trib-period Israel is living in a pseudo-peace and not fighting wars. Then, in the second half of the Trib-period, the Jews are fleeing into exile from the genocidal campaign of the Antichrist and not fighting the Arab states in the process.

“This book identifies nearly 150 verses that appear to apply to the Psalm 83 prophecy. These include prophecies from the Major Prophets including Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah, as well as the Minor Prophets consisting of Obadiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah. Remember that Asaph, the author of Psalm 83, is also a prophet as per 2 Chronicles 29:30. Below are just a few examples of the many passages relating to the Psalm 83 prophecy. This extensive list doesn’t include the prophecies in Amos 1:1-15, which might also find application with Psalm 83.

• Psalm 83:1-18…………………………………. (18 verses) • Jeremiah 49:1-29, 12:14-17…………………. (32 verses) • Ezekiel 25:12-17, 28:24-26, 35:1-36:7, 37:10 (32 verses) • Isaiah 17:1-14, 19:1-18, 11:14………………. (35 verses) • Obadiah 1:1-21………………………………… (21 verses) • Zephaniah 2:4-11……………………………… (8 verses) • Zechariah 12:2, 5-6…………………………… (3 verses).”

These prophecies above await a Pre-trib final fulfillment. They predict that Mideast peace is achieved militarily, rather than politically. The false covenant is a political means for Israel to avoid an overflowing scourge that is happening globally. It is not a political mechanism to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict that is happening regionally. This understanding comes from the prophet Isaiah’s prophecies about this false covenant. Isaiah says,

“Because you, (leaders of Israel), have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” (Isaiah 28:15, NKJV; emphasis added)

In summary, if someone teaches that the false covenant is the reason that Israel dwells securely without walls, bars nor gates fulfilling the requirements of Ezekiel 38:11, then they are:

• Teaching that the false covenant resolves the Arab-Israeli conflict and Palestinian problem diplomatically, • Dismissing Psalm 83and the related unfulfilled Arab-Israeli war peripheral prophecies as the means for Israel’s ability to dwell securely as per Ezekiel 38:11, • Overlooking the fact that this theory is not biblically endorsed, but is current event driven, • Placing the start of Ezekiel 38 within the Trib-period, • Advocating that the Antichrist is revealed as the confirmer of the false covenant before Ezekiel 38 finds fulfillment, • And, teaching that seven-year process of weapons burning in Ezekiel 39:9-10occurs throughout the first and second halves of the Trib-period and into the early years of the Millennium.

Additionally, there are biblical clues that the true content of the false covenant has something to do with the Jews ability to build their third temple. These clues also mitigate against the teaching that the false covenant resolves the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In The LAST Prophecies book I explain what the true content of the false covenant appears to be and why it’s got nothing to do with resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, nor ending the Palestinian problem. _________________________