Peace in the Middle East?

Yesterday, Jimmy Carter was in town promoting his new book about achieving peace in the Middle East. President Carter is a good-hearted man. He’s done much good in this world. But is he on a hopeless mission?

The problem with Carter’s goal is it’s not Biblical for in the Middle East, there are two “nations” descended from two half-brothers. The nation of Israel is descended from Isaac. And the nation of Islam is descended from Ishmael. From the beginning, God told Abraham that Ishmael would be a “wild donkey of a man” and that “his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Genesis 16:11-12). Later, in Genesis 25:18, this is reiterated about Ishmael’s descendents. So, from the beginning, Islam and the Jews were enemies. There can be no peace between them.

Stack on top of the struggle between the Jews and the Arabs man’s fallen condition. We are born sinners and without Christ, we are slaves to that sin nature. Those who do not serve Christ, serve the enemy, whether consciously or not. And the enemy thrives upon chaos, rebellion, and strife. He will do everything in his power to pit man against man. Ephesians 2 shows us that those who do not follow Christ, follow the ways of the “ruler of the kingdom of the air,” who is satan. All of us, prior to Christ, gratified our sinful cravings. Without Christ we are slaves to lust, power, self-centeredness. Even with Christ, we constantly battle the temptation to fall back to our sinful selves (see Romans 7). Man, on his own, creates strife by his very nature.

Finally, with the first coming of Christ, further division came to the earth. And because not everyone will accept Christ (Matthew 7:13) there will always be that division. Christ Himself said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household’” (Matthew 10:34-36). Because Christianity is diametrically opposed to the world, satan will do all he can to make Christian’s lives miserable. There will be no peace as long as there are Christians and non-Christians.

What can be done? Can we, at least temporarily, achieve peace in the Middle East. The only hope for true peace is the love of the one and only God. Our job is to love the Arabs and love the Jews and lead them to Christ. The more Christians in the Middle East, the more likely there will be peace. Unfortunately, this too is stacked against us. For the Bible is clear that the Jews will continue, for the most part, to reject Christ as Savior until the 144,000 witnesses, which is after the rapture. (See Revelation 7 and 14).

This doesn’t change our mandate, though. Christ commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. All the world includes the Middle East. So, either go and tell, or support those who do.

Peace between nations in the Middle East may not be achievable until Christ returns. But, peace in the heart of a believer is very much achievable. Pray for the Arabs and the Jews. Love them to Christ.

What do you think?