Now we know that at the time of the Gogian invasion Israel must be at peace. This is clear from multiple prophecies, Ezekiel talks of the host coming against a land “at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates”. The land of Israel seems to be described as being vulnerable and unprepared for war because they have been enjoying a period of peace.

But could it be argued that Israel is at peace today? Some would suggest that the word for “safely” should be understood to mean confidently, and in many ways Israel is confident in it’s military ability. However, it is impossible to describe Israel’s current situation in the land as being without walls bars nor gates, because the land of Israel is still divided by the “security barrier” which is a barrier that goes around the West Bank, partly made up of fences, but also of walls. When you cross it you have to travel through a checkpoint, armed by soldiers with machine guns. When you go to a Israeli settlement in the West Bank, you have to go through a gate which is usually manned by a guard, and the rest of the settlement is surrounded by fences. And all these things are for security reasons, because if they didn’t take these precautions there would be attacks against Israelis.

Israel today cannot be described as being without walls, bars or gates. Israel is only safe because of these defences.

And so because of this, we as Bible believers, have taken a keen interest in looking for peace in the Middle East, ever since Israel became a state. Bible prophecy requires this. How God will do this, of course we do not know, but we can be sure of it, just as sure as we have been of Britain leaving the European Union, since the day it joined.

And so as Netanyahu heads over to the United States, stating that he and President Trump will be making history this week when they release the peace deal, we should look with keen interest to see if it is at this time that Israel is brought to that position of “peace and safety”.

Benny Gantz, Israel’s opposition leader has said that the deal will be a “significant milestone” on the path to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

On the Palestinian side there has been talk of “a day of rage” to respond to Trump’s peace plan, and it is likely that it will be rejected by the Palestinian leadership. It will be interesting to see what is laid out in Trump’s plan to deal with this scenario, as this could lead to the Palestinians being forced to make a deal, or more likely loose ground to Israel in the West Bank by allowing various annexing of settlement areas.

And if we look back at Ezekiel 38, we see that the areas specifically mentioned to be inhabited by Jews and in peace are the mountains of Israel, which today are known as the West Bank. So even if this peace plan does not lead to that peace we know will come, it may bring us closer to the situation we read of in Ezekiel 38.

So in this coming week, as we see Britain God willing leave the European Union, preparing itself for the role ordained by God, lets also watch events in Washington, and look to see whether we will start to see the beginning of another next step we know must take place, when Israel becomes at peace. World events are moving quickly towards that described by Ezekiel, so let’s be ready and waiting, because our lord draws neigh.

This has been Paul Barnes joining you for this week's Bible in the News.