On December 15, 2011, this story ran on the Israeli Arutz Sheva 7 website:

Exposé: The Vatican Wants to Lay Its Hands on Jerusalem

“Peace negotiations in the Middle East must tackle the issue of the status of the holy sites of Jerusalem,” Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, declared several days ago in Rome.

The Vatican’s former foreign minister asked to place some Israeli holy places under Vatican authority, alluding to the Cenacle on Mount Zion and the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

The first site also houses what is referred to as King David’s tomb.^[i]

As stated earlier, if you take the Bible seriously, Jerusalem has a prophesied future as the spiritual capital of the world, and for this reason, there are natural and supernatural interests in who controls its axis. The Hebrew prophets all spoke of a golden age, a righteous reign of the Messiah, and their oracles often included references to Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:26–28, 52:1–10; Joel 2:28–3:21). Of course, before that happens, we expect a usurper to sit in a rebuilt Third Temple declaring that he is God. As we will examine, there seems to be evidence that the Vatican wants to participate in building that Temple. We now come full-circle to the bombshell 2008 leaked classified US State Department memo that recorded this exchange between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (CR) and Dr. Saeb Erekat (SE), a Palestinian representative:

CR: I understand that there is no agreement without Jerusalem. 1967 as a baseline. But if we wait until you decide sovereignty over the Haram or the Temple Mount…your children’s children will not have an agreement! Sometimes in international politics you need to have a device to solve the problem later. When it comes to holy sites, no one will argue the sovereignty of the other—leave it unresolved [i.e. both Palestine and Israel could simultaneously claim sovereignty over the Haram].

SE: And actually in life?

CR: There are two other issues—who will administer? Make sure that the sewer system, the municipal issues are resolved [notes that this was a problem in Berlin], safe access to all the holy sites for all. I understand that this worked well before 2000. Some kind of custodians appointed by the world, possibly religious figures, non-governmental people.… One problem is that under the Dome is crumbling. Every time Israel tries to fix it, you call it excavations!^[ii] (brackets in original; the formatting but no content was altered)

While Condoleezza Rice’s relationship with the Vatican was murky, her suggestion that “religious figures” become custodians of the Old City of Jerusalem is in line with the exposés by Israeli journalists. In August of 2007, Rice met with Cardinal Tarcisio Pierto Bertone (a leading candidate for Petrus Romanus at the time), who said of the American Secretary, “If the angels did not accompany her, then she would not be able to knit back together all of these relationships that have been so fragile.”^[iii] Could this strange coalescence of diplomacy and prophecy be leading toward the final manifestation of apostate ecumenical faith predicted in Revelation 17 to be headquartered in Jerusalem? We think there is compelling evidence suggesting just that.

Prophecy scholars have long suspected that the Antichrist will seemingly resolve the Middle East conflict, which will drive his meteoric rise to fame and adoration. This idea is drawn from Daniel’s seventy-weeks prophecy, which predicts that in the final week, “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27). We think this interpretation must be correct, because the “consummation” is rendered from the Hebrew term kālâ, which carried the basic idea of “to bring a process to completion.” The beginning of the seventy-weeks prophecy listed things like “to bring in everlasting righteousness” (9:24b), which simply has not yet occurred. Furthermore, the same term is used in Daniel 12:7, rendered as “end,” unambiguously referencing the Day of the Lord. This firmly places the initial covenant at the beginning of the final seven years prior to Armageddon and Jesus’ return. Another problem with interpretations that place this final week in the past is that Jesus spoke of the “abomination of desolation” as a future event occurring just prior to His return: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)” (Matthew 24:15). The seventieth week includes “the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,” and Jesus mentions Daniel explicitly so one cannot take Him seriously while arguing that the events of the seventieth week are previous history. Furthermore, the population forming the context of this prophecy was Daniel’s people, the Jews, and the covenant violation is interference in the Temple sacrifice. Accordingly, we believe that the “covenant with many” speaks to the two-state solution for the Israel/Palestinian issue and forecasts the Tribulation Temple being built in Jerusalem.

It is also reiterated in the new documentary Belly of the Beast that the design of Washington DC in the likeness of Vatican City, with its proportionate Dome and Obelisk, was no accident, but rather the product of an arcane science ostensibly related to apotheosis. These parallel apotheotic sites seem poised to spawn the beast from the bottomless pit (Revelation 11:7) and the beast from the earth (Revelation 13:11). While it is speculative, this could suggest coordination between the two locations—the Vatican as the spiritual influence (False Prophet) and Washington as the political (Antichrist). From Washington, a figurehead could initiate the covenant spoken of in Daniel 9. While the Washington figure could be a Jew, that is not really necessary. The late Messianic Christian author Zola Levitt wrote, “It is an outsider that has to sign a legal covenant with the Jewish people, not one of their own.… They wouldn’t need a special covenant drawn up between them and one of their own citizens.”^[iv] In fact, while it is possible, there is no direct evidence that the Antichrist will be accepted as the Jewish Messiah. Rather, he could simply be the one who facilities the building of the Tribulation Temple like the Persian King Cyrus (to whom Trump has been widely compared), who was designated a mashiyach (“anointed one”) for freeing the Jews to build the Second Temple (Isaiah 45:1).

In fact, Orthodox Jews are not likely to be fooled by the Antichrist. Midrash tradition, including works like Sefer Zerubbavel, contains warnings about a character named Armilus, who will deceive the whole world into false idolatrous worship. He is said to come to power when ten kings fight over Jerusalem, and after emerging victorious, he rules the entire world for a brief time before Messiah comes. According to Randall Price, “Other sources describe Armilus as rising from the Roman empire, having miraculous powers, and being born to a stone statue of a virgin.”^[v] This sounds remarkably congruent with Roman Catholic Mariolatry, wherein stone statues feature prominently. Other traditions say he is the offspring of Satan and a virgin, which sounds eerily similar to the pedophilic rite described by Malachi Martin that occurred on June 29, 1963, at the parallel enthronement site in Charleston, South Carolina, and that was connected to the enthronement of Lucifer at the Vatican. Furthermore, this stone statue aspect of the Jewish tradition could find some sort of bizarre realization in the image of the beast, which seemingly comes to life (Revelation 13:4, 15). While a minority of religious Jews are aware of these traditions, the secular Jews probably are not. Still, with the centuries of papists corralling Jews into ghettos and mandating yellow badges, one wonders how they could be persuaded by a future pope leading an ecumenical religion in Jerusalem. Time will tell, but one thing is certain. Not in our lifetime has more interest been raised in building the Third Temple, around which and in which religious and political figures will soon rise in a theater of fantastic finality.

God’s Second Hand

Analogy has been made to God’s prophetic clock and His chosen nation, Israel. Israel, in this analogy, is the hour hand. The attempted peace process between Israel and its enemy neighbors is the minute hand. The desired Third Temple construction is the second hand.

We will look at all three elements here, with emphasis on the building of the Third Temple—the matter that can indeed move the end-time clock swiftly toward the consummation of this dispensation.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO:

FLASHBACK! GARY STEARMAN INTERVIEWS DR. THOMAS HORN ON THE SECRET PLAN TO BUILD THE THIRD TEMPLE!

The Hour Hand: Israel

No issue on the geopolitical landscape holds the potential for planet-rending devastation as that of war and peace involving Israel. Daniel the prophet gave the following about God’s chosen people—the Jews—in scriptural passages familiar to all students of Bible prophecy.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)

The old prophet was told to proclaim that Jerusalem and Israel will be at the center of the most horrific conflict ever perpetrated upon mankind, and that the conflict will culminate in the catastrophic consummation of human history at the time of Christ’s Second Advent.

This prophecy, of course, could not be in view for the present generation, if Israel weren’t back in the land as a nation. We know from our daily news—no, now it is our hourly news—that not only is Israel again a nation, but that it is constantly in the spotlight of world news reporting.

Israel is the most hated nation on earth, as manifest by the overwhelming, anti-Semitic balloting of most nations within the United Nations every time a vote is taken involving the Jewish state. Jerusalem has become the “cup of trembling” and “burdensome stone” prophesied by Zechariah (Zechariah 12:1–3).

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 began the process of prophetic fulfillment at the time World War I was in full rage. The “war to end all wars,” as WWI was called, began in 1914 between Great Britain and its allies and Germany, Austria, Hungary, and, later that year, the Ottoman Empire.

The Islamist Ottoman Empire, which controlled the area constituting what became known as the Holy Land, was on the losing side of the great first worldwide conflict. The Balfour Declaration finally incorporated into the Sèvres peace treaty the terms that would begin bringing God’s chosen people back into the land as a nation.

The document was signed by the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour on November 2, 1917. It was issued to Baron Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community. The letter was for Rothschild to transmit to the Zionist Confederation of Great Britain and Ireland.

The gist of the notice was as follows: His Majesty’s government would view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use its best endeavors to achieve this, it being clearly understood that nothing would be done that might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

This all appeared well and good. However, many treacheries developed as the Jews began to re-enter their God-promised homeland. The British reneged on their promises in ways that caused the struggle to become one of survival for the Jewish people as they sought to reclaim the hostile, swampy land. All of Islam eventually swarmed against the effort to reestablish a Jewish state.

However, God, unlike human governments, never reneges on His promises, and we know the rest of the story to this point. All other nations of the world might fall, but, one thing is sure: Israel is now a nation and a people forever.

Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.

But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 26: 44–45)

And I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink their wine; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord, thy God. (Amos 9:14–15)

The hour hand of God’s prophetic clock, Israel, is nearing midnight. The second hand is the peace process being forced upon that nation. The diplomatic world, in total disregard of biblical truth, willfully, if unknowingly, long ago set the timer of the Armageddon timebomb.

The Minute Hand: The Peace Process

Since the 1967 war, when the Israelis struck preemptively to head off the Arab coalition preparing to attack, there have been many attempts at peace-making. Some of these efforts are listed here:

• UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967—Resolution 242 was passed on November 22, 1967, and embodies the principle that has guided most of the subsequent peace plans—the exchange of land for peace.
• Camp David Accords, 1978—US President Jimmy Carter capitalized on the new mood and invited President Sadat and the Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, for talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David near Washington. The talks lasted for twelve days and resulted in two agreements.
• The Madrid Conference, 1991—This conference, co-sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union, was designed to follow up the Egypt-Israel treaty by encouraging other Arab countries to sign their own agreements with Israel.
• Oslo Agreement, 1993—The Oslo negotiations tried to tackle the missing element of all previous talks—a direct agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, represented by the PLO. Its importance was that there was finally mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO.
• Taba, 2001—Although he was about to leave office, Bill Clinton refused to give up and presented a “bridging proposal” that set up further talks in Washington and Cairo, and then Taba in Egypt.
• Arab Peace Initiative, 2002—Under the plan called the Arab Peace Initiative, Israel would withdraw to the lines of June 1967, a Palestinian state would be set up in the West Bank and Gaza, and there would be a “just solution” of the refugee issue. In return, Arab countries would recognize Israel.
• Roadmap, 2003—The roadmap is a plan drawn up by the “Quartet”—the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. It does not lay down the details of a final settlement, but suggests how a settlement might be approached. It followed efforts made by US Senator George Mitchell to get the peace process back on track in 2001.
• Geneva Accord, 2003—The Geneva Accord reverses the concept of the Roadmap, in which the growth of security and confidence precede a political agreement and puts the agreement first, which is then designed to produce security and peace.
• Annapolis, 2007—Late in his second presidential term, US President George W. Bush hosted a conference at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, aimed at relaunching the peace process.
• Washington, 2010—After taking office, US President Barack Obama was quick to try to restart the peace process. Contact between Israel and the Palestinians resumed in May 2009, after a hiatus of nineteen months, in the form of indirect “proximity talks” through US Middle East envoy George Mitchell.[vi]

NEXT: The Ark Of The Covenant As Initiator For Third Temple?

[i] Giulio Meotti, “Expose: The Vatican Wants to Lay Its Hands on Jerusalem,” Israel National News, December 15, 2011, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150757#.TzV9aORnDmd.

[ii] “Minutes from Bilateral and Trilateral US-PAL-ISR Sessions Post Annapolis, Tuesday, 29th July 2008,” viewable here: Al Jazeera, last accessed February 7, 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/palestinepapers/. Please note that formatting but none of the content has been changed from the original source.

[iii] “Vatican Secretary of State Speaks with Condoleezza Rice about Christians in Middle East, Iraq,” Catholic News Agency, last accessed February 13, 2012, http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican_secretary_of_state_speaks_with_condoleezza_rice_about_christians_in_middle_east_iraq/.

[iv] Levitt Letter 21:2 (Feb 1999), 3, as cited in Randall Price, The Coming Last Days’ Temple (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1999), 475.

[v] Randall Price, The Coming Last Days’ Temple (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1999), 481.

[vi] “History of Mid-East Peace Talks, BBC News, July 29, 2013, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11103745.

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