(August 22, 2007) In an interview with CNN, former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discussed the importance of religion in foreign policy. (Albright: ‘Ignore religion ‘at our own peril’) During the course of this interview Ms. Albright was asked about the problem of the religious divisiveness over the city of Jerusalem. She responded by saying “Anybody that can really solve that issue is a Solomon. With this being holy to all three of the Abrahamic religions, it’s very difficult. And religion, rather than bringing people together on this, is driving them apart, which … I don’t think [is] what is intended. It’s so interesting; we’re talking about the whole issue of sovereignty here. Because the parties both believed that God gave them that little piece of land, we started playing with a term, which was that it belonged to God. Divine sovereignty.” On September 13, 1993, my wife and I watched the Prime minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shake hands in front of President Clinton on the White House lawn. They had just concluded a peace agreement that hopefully would settle the problems between their two peoples. Several issues were supposed to be resolved through this agreement. However, the future of Jerusalem would be determined at sometime in the future. After listening to Mr. Rabin’s and Mr. Arafat’s speeches conducted on the lawn that day I turned to my wife and told her that this peace agreement was a sham. Both men within a few minutes of speaking had declared Jerusalem to be their people’s undivided capital. This meant that there had been no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ms. Albright now seems to understand the importance of Jerusalem in resolving the Arab-Israeli problem. She stated that it would take a man with the wisdom of Solomon to solve this dilemma. Actually, the man who seemingly solves this issue is going to be a world leader whom Christians refer to as the Antichrist. In the Book of Revelation God revealed the future to one of his servants named John. One of the events God showed to him was the rising of a man whom John called the beast and Christians call the Antichrist. John’s description of him explains how this evil leader is going to deceive the world: “…and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon [i.e. the Devil] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?… And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:3-4,8) The prophet Daniel spoke of this man and declared, “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” (Daniel 8:25) The Antichrist will come with a peace initiative which will include the rebuilding of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. For the Muslims to allow this they too will have “wondered after the beast”. The apostle Paul states that this Antichrist will then sit in the rebuilt Temple and commit the greatest blasphemy, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) So it would seem that the Antichrist will have finally solved the problem of Jerusalem but just a short time late the true problem-solver, Jesus Christ, will return. He will destroy the Antichrist and reign from Jerusalem as the King of Kings.


