An Oslo State of Mind

While I'm in no way dogmatic that the failed Oslo Accords are yet going to play a role in Bible prophecy, the Jerusalem Post is reporting that a return to an "Oslo state of mind" is presently taking place in the Middle East.The Oslo Accords,according to Wikipedia, were"finalized in Oslo,Norway on August 20,1993,and subsequently officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993,with Mahmoud Abbas signing for the Palestine Liberation Organization and Shimon Peres signing for the State of Israel."The Oslo Accords paved the way for a Palestinian state to be founded on Israel's covenant lands, requiring Israel to withdraw from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with a final status agreement set to begin being negotiated by 1996 at the latest.In the year 2000,months before the seven-year anniversary of the signing of Oslo was to see a Palestinian state born, an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a final status settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict took place at Camp David between President Bill Clinton,Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Things quickly went south after Camp David 2000 and the struggle continued.While the Oslo Accords are considered by many to be a dead issue today,Oslo is often looked back upon with fondness by the media as it was the only time the Israelis and Palestinians were willing to agree to certain principles,the end result of which was,hypothetically,going to resolve their seemingly never-ending struggle and bring the Middle East to a lasting peace.Thus my interest in a report indicating that an Oslo state of mind may be returning to the Middle East at this time when so many signs in the world around us are pointing toward the soon-coming return of Jesus
Christ.The aforementioned Jerusalem Post article opens as follows:
All of a sudden, things are moving again on the diplomatic front.They are not moving a lot, they are not necessarily moving by leaps and bounds, but they are moving. And this time it is movement, however slight, not just motion - as in months and years past.The movement started last week, with the meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. It picked up speed with US President George W. Bush's speech on the Middle East, and with the visit on Thursday of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.Talking to new PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, Solana enthused to Israeli interlocutors, "is like talking to ourselves. We are on the same page."In the intervening days, Israel decided to release 255 Palestinian prisoners and grant amnesty to nearly 180 wanted Fatah men who were potential prisoners - moves that fueled the momentum.And that was all last week.The Jerusalem Post article not only notes the above but, addressing the arrival of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the region in his new role as Middle East envoy to the Quartet, makes reference to Blair's "charm" and "stature" being added to the diplomatic process. For those who don't know, it seems that Mr. Blair is considering residing in a literal palace in Jerusalem which couldn't hurt his influence in the region.The Israeli government seems to be signaling a turning away of Israel from the Quartet's roadmap to peace, apparently as a result of giving a look back at an Oslo-like agreement of principles that would seek to resolve the crisis. If that mentality persists, a seven-year timeline could soon re-emerge as existed in the case of Oslo.The potential that an Oslo state of mind is going to persist has me wondering two things:
If a seven-year timeline like that of the Oslo Accords emerges, will an agreement of principles be CONFIRMED (or made strong) by a prince (or leader) of Roman descent (the prophesied Antichrist) in accordance with Daniel 9:26-27?
Could the day of Jesus Christ's return for His Church be at the very door?
We just don't know. Thus the need for us to be WATCHING and READY for Christ's return.
by Michael G. Mickey
As in the days of Noah....