NZ’s Dangerous Ambitions

Any country that seeks to divide Israel will answer to God. As New Zealanders who understand the Scriptural injunction that the land of Israel must not be divided, we are presented right now with an opportunity, indeed an obligation, to pray fervently for both Israel and our own nation.

Why the urgency? Because the clock is ticking. There are suggestions from high places that President Obama has been considering ways in which a final push can be made, before his presidency ends on 20th January, to enforce so called “peace” between Israel and the ‘Palestinians’. This is the “two state solution” which includes the proposed redrawing of the borders of Israel to the pre-1967 lines. This is the division of Israel and Jerusalem.

“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.” (Joel 3:2)(ESV)

Where does New Zealand fit into this? Well, New Zealand’s chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council ends this coming January. You may remember that at the beginning of our two year term in January 2015, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister McCully, stated that our government’s intention was to “punch way above our weight” and to “use the opportunity to push Israel and the Arabs effectively towards the ‘two state solution’”.

Minister McCully has already said that New Zealand may support a resolution of the Security Council to begin the process to force a redrawing of the borders of Israel to the pre-1967 positions and the declaring of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. He indicated this after Australia had voted against such a resolution in December 2014.

This attitude places New Zealand in a precarious position. Read Joel 3:2 – God will judge any nation that divides up His land. Remember too Genesis 12:3 – “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee…”. Make no mistake, such a redrawing of the borders of Israel would be cursing Israel. The government of Israel and the Israel Defence Force have made this abundantly clear to the nations of the world.

What is the likelihood of New Zealand being involved or supporting such a UN resolution? Well, we know about Minister McCully’s support for and intentions in relation to the ‘two state solution’. Maybe it’s significant that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, an ardent proponent of the ‘two state solution’, has just visited New Zealand. Ostensibly, he was here on ‘climate change’ matters. One has to wonder why a minor player in the world of climate change like New Zealand would be visited by the US Secretary of State in the last two months of his tenure. Of course it was slated as a stopover in his visit to Antarctica. But even that would seem an unlikely priority in his last days in the job.

It was reported though that Mr Kerry met with our Prime Minister and others in the government. Perhaps it’s cynical to think that, even though the Israel situation was not mentioned in the resulting press conference, New Zealand’s role as chair of the UN Security Council in supporting a final push for the ‘two state solution’, was possibly the main reason for this high-level visit during these very significant final days of “opportunity”?! Oh, and Mr Kerry did actually thank New Zealand for being “a key contributor to global peace and security” through our “very productive term on the UN Security Council”, which hasn’t quite finished yet!

Our government is clearly considered on the international stage to be a supporter of the ‘two state solution’. The Times of Israel, for example, reported that while the New Zealand government was considered a close friend of Jerusalem, the government of New Zealand is “convinced that the peace process needs to be advanced, if necessary by forcing a solution on the parties.” As long as that remains the arrogant view of our government we are on a deadly collision course with the Almighty.

By the way, you may recall that Secretary Kerry left New Zealand a few hours before the 7.8 earthquake that devastated the Kaikoura area, sending damaging shock waves north to Wellington. Maybe Wellington has been warned.

Then only a few days ago, Mr Kerry, now back in the US, said in a speech to the Women’s Foreign Policy Group conference that there are “things we can do” in relation to the ‘two state solution’. So this possibility remains on the table. But, interestingly, also in the last few days, it has been reported that President Obama has now “nearly ruled out” his pushing for a UN resolution enforcing a peace arrangement between Israel and the ‘Palestinians’. At first glance this may seem encouraging. On giving it further thought, however, this may be an ominous situation. It may simply mean that the US will encourage another nation to present the resolution which the US would then support by voting for it and not exercising its power of veto. If that scenario played out, recent history suggests that such a resolution would pass. Minister McCully has, indeed, mentioned the possibility of New Zealand sponsoring such a resolution. This would be “punching above our weight” and would certainly see New Zealand leave a lasting (albeit deadly) legacy on the world scene through our Security Council chairmanship.

Remember, any nation that presents or supports such a resolution will be invoking the future judgment of the almighty God as He has warned in Joel 3:2, and will be immediately invoking the curse of the living God as He warns in Genesis 12:3. Let’s pray urgently and fervently that this is not New Zealand.

We should also note that during this last week New Zealand has been visited, for the first time, by the King of Jordan, Israel’s immediate neighbour. Of course, Jordan is the nation that controls the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holiest site on earth for the Jewish people. Yet it is jealously “protected” by Jordan for Islam, even though it is not mentioned in the annals of the Islamic faith. Jordan too has a major interest in seeing its neighbor Israel divided. A quick look at the map shows a strategic reason why Jordan would love to see Judea and Samaria in Arab hands.

Is it being unnecessarily suspicious to wonder if the question of the ‘two state solution’ was a topic of discussion with the King? While my friend’s friend may not necessarily be my friend, shouldn’t I be wary of my friend’s enemy? Jordan and Israel coexist as neighbours and Jordan sent help to Israel during the recent fires. But there is ample evidence that Jordan both fears and hates Israel

There is time, but it is measured in days. Prayer changes things. It is what we have available to us to alter or scuttle the plans of powerful world leaders. Pray now that New Zealand will not use the closing days of its position of influence on the world stage to stand against the Almighty God. The Lord has warned us clearly through His Word, and maybe He has recently been giving Wellington and our nation some specifically directed powerful warnings?