Blair,the EU and Mideast Peace:The former British Prime Minister's new role has a potential prophetic connection

The recent Palestinian schism between Hamas and the Fatah party of Mahmoud Abbas has paved the way for renewed hope and a new round of Middle East peace talks.In light of the Palestinian divide, President Bush has called for an international conference on the Middle East this fall (2007) and announced that the United States was contributing $190 million to help the Palestinian territories. But as new talks try to get off the ground there's a new, prophetically significant, piece to the puzzle. Only moments after he left office on June 27, the former British Prime Minister was appointed a special envoy for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as part of an international effort to get the road map to peace back on track. Blair was named to the post by the European Union, United Nations, Russia and the United States, the group known collectively as the Middle East Quartet which was formed to mediate a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Blair made his debut as the special Mideast peace envoy from the EU on July 19. There's cautious optimism that he can re-energize the derailed peace process. According to The European Weekly (July 21, 2007), "Blair's new job includes overseeing the development of the Palestinian economy and viable governing institutions while rallying the international community to assist the Palestinians dedicated to peace with Israel." Blair met with the "Middle East Quartet" in Lisbon, Portugal which currently holds the EU presidency that rotates every six months among the member nations. Blair stated the goal of his new mission. "The absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community that the only way of bringing stability and peace to the Middle East is the two-state solution. This means a state of Israel secure and confident of its security, and a Palestinian state that is not merely viable in terms of its territory, but in terms of its institutions and governance." This recent development points toward the end time scenario presented in the Bible. According to Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 6:1-2, the coming Antichrist or man of sin, who will rise from a reunited Roman Empire, will launch his career as a great peacemaker. He will make his international debut as one who can bring a 7-year peace treaty to Israel and solve the persistent Middle East crisis. The 7-year time of tribulation predicted in the Bible will begin with this coming Middle East peace. Let me make it clear that I am not saying in any way that I believe Tony Blair is the Antichrist. I don't believe the Antichrist will be unveiled until after the rapture (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). However, I am saying is that this new post of EU envoy, and the fact that the initial meeting took place in Europe (Portugal) foreshadow what the Bible presents. Also, a key part of Tony Blair's stated objective is "a state of Israel secure and confident of its security." This sounds like what we read in Ezekiel 38 where Israel is presented in the end times as "at rest" and living in peace and security (38:8,11,14). Only some kind of guaranteed, internationally enforced peace could possibly give Israel this kind of security. Developments in the Middle East and Europe continue to unfold in exactly the way one would expect if the prophecies of the Bible are true.
By Mark Hitchcock - www.prophecyhotline.com
As in the days of Noah...