Page 64 - Signs of the End

28 THE SIGNS OF THE END

Sepulchre (Jerusalem), and the Church of the Nativity
(Bethlehem).

Only worldwide Jewry and many evangelical Christians
appear to be happy with the current arrangement, with Israel
being in political and military control of Jerusalem. The rights of
all religions and the sanctity of all religious sites are zealously
protected, which was certainly not the case before Israel gained
control of Jerusalem. However, what the Moslems and most
liberal Christians (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and World Council
of Churches) have been urging for decades is some kind of
internationalization of Jerusalem.

In other words, Jerusalem would come under the political
control of the United Nations, and all religious groups could
worship and make pilgrimages under the protection of the
United Nations. While this sounds like a reasonable solution to
many, the past history of the U.N. in preserving peace and
guaranteeing rights has been less than encouraging.

Chief Rabbi Meets with Pope

In the euphoria and hubbub surrounding the signing of the
peace agreement, there w as a possible step in the direction of the
internationalization of Jerusalem that went by almost unnoticed.
The Chief Rabbi of Israel visited the Pope in Rome. That may
not seem significant until one realizes that this was the first time
in history such a visit had occurred. The Vatican has been fairly
unfriendly to Israel, feeling that its primary interests in the
Middle East were vested in the Arab nations and peoples. But
now that the Palestinians and Israelis were making mutual
arrangements, the time seemed right for some accommodation
between the Jews and the Roman Catholics. The subject matter
of the visit w as not revealed, but it has long been known that the
Vatican favors the internationalization of Jerusalem plan.

What some people think may be in the works is some kind
of formal agreement between Israel and the Vatican about
Jerusalem. In fact, there are those among the evangelical
Christians in Israel who believe that just such an agreement has
already been concluded. They are fearful of the impact of this
kind of an accord. They think this deal has been worked out in