The Final Sign. Is America Abandoning Israel?

Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing; 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Contained in this passage is one of the most important promises, and a warning, that I believe God has given to the nation of Israel and all the other nations that inhabit the earth. In simple terms God says that anyone person or nation that blesses Israel will be blessed, but to those who curse Israel, they in turn will be cursed.The United States and Israel have been allies since the inception of the Jewish state in 1948, and throughout the intervening years of both war and peace in the middle east we have continued to support the independence of Israel.

Anyone who has taught the subject of eschatology, or what the Bible has to say about the end of the world as we know it, has at one time or another encountered the same question over and over again, and that is "where is the United States in prophecy?" Since it would appear that we are not mentioned specifically, those of us who teach on this subject have been left to come to our own conclusions based on what we do find in scripture, and on what we don't. The position I have taught over the years is really a simple one, and it goes something like this. The United States is not mentioned in the end times scenarios written in scripture for one of two reasons. One, we don't exist as a nation, or two, we exist but choose to not get involved.

Now since we have always been allies with Israel, the logical conclusion would be that we suffer some sort of an attack or at least are threatened with one serious enough to force us to question our support and then choose to withdraw. This is the conclusion most would come to based on the fact of our past strong support for Israel. Recent events on the political front initiated by our current president, however, may be signaling a radical shift in our foreign policy which in turn might suggest that in any future conflict the United States may withdraw it's longstanding support for Israel.

Since taking office our current president has initiated contact with Syria, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela to name but a few, and the one thing in common with each of these countries is the fact that they all have been considered enemies of the United States. At some time in the recent past each of these countries has threatened the United States by making statements that suggest that the world would be a better place if the United States, as well as Israel, ceased to exist. Threats from radical regimes is nothing new to our nation, and in the past such threats were simply ignored, or written off as the rantings of disturbed individuals. Now we find our president attempting to make friends with the very people that have threatened our existence?

Already in Israel the feeling is emerging that the United States is "rethinking" it's historical support of Israel. They see our president reaching out to their enemies and attempting to influence the policy making of the new Israeli government. Slowly but surely it would appear that a shift is occurring in regards to our relationship with Israel, and Israel is fully aware of it. There are signs that Israel is preparing to address the threat from Iran without the support or approval of the United States, which in the past has been a major concern. Does Israel feel abandoned already?

If I were to give any advice to our president I would strongly suggest he read and become intimately familiar with the passage from Genesis which begins this post. Should a major conflict, which we know from scripture is on the near horizon, occur in the Middle East and we withdraw our support, God is very clear that we will be cursed. The only question is what form our judgement would take.

Read and consider the following articles:

http://www.theage.com.au/world/obamas-stance-worries-israelis-20090417-aa90.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cznZs-swR9k
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1387
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710718819&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull