“In our worst dreams we did not suspect that Israel,—in the 20th year since the start of Hitler’s slaughter of the Jewish people—would send a stream of weapons to rearm the German army.” This quotation appeared in a Tel Aviv newspaper in violent protest to Israel’s proposal that they sell $3,300,000 worth of Grenade launchers to the West German government.
Still vivid in the minds of thousands were the inhuman atrocities inflicted upon the Jews in Germany under Hitler’s regime. In a program, dedicated to the destruction of God’s people, Hitler set out in 1933 to confiscate all land and personal possessions of the Jews, depriving them of German citizenry and forbidding them to marry the German people.
By the time the war broke out in 1939, no Jew in Germany could own property, attend the public schools, parks, libraries or other public places frequented by Germans. By the end of the Second World War, the Germans had succeeded in massacring 6,000,000 men, women and children. The following extracts from the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy amply illustrate the manner in which Bible prophecy has been fulfilled to the very letter.
“And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by word among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee . . . Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes . . . And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude ; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God . . . And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shalt the sole of thy foot have rest : but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind.”
Indeed, the memories of these horrible years under the heel of German dominated countries, is indelibly impressed in the minds of many in Israel. It is quite understandable why they would ball now to send arms to those who at one time were dedicated to the Jew’s extinction.
In the early history of Israel, such would not have been the case. Many cases could be cited where the Israelites visited those who did wrong to them, many years afterwards. Such will not be the case either at the appearing of the Lord Jesus, the redeemer, who will come to Zion and turn away ungodliness from the house of Jacob. God through the prophet Isaiah promises, “The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee ; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet ; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa. 59 :14). Micah likewise foretells the punishment that is to be inflicted on those who have so viciously hated and persecuted the apple of God’s eye ; “Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eyes look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel: for He shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, 0 daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horns iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass : and thou shalt beat in pieces many people : and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.” (Micah 4 :11-13).
Israel’s premiere David BenGurion, eager to complete this sale of arms to West Germany, threatened to walk out as he had done on many occasions before, only to form a new cabinet, if he did not receive sufficient backing from the present cabinet. This position, by the man that has done so much to gain and ensure Israel’s independence, came as a surprise to many. The premier insisted that the issue was purely an electoral campaign, and that the Germany that remains today is not the friend of Hitler. The true disciples of Hitler, said Ben-Gurion, still live in the Middle East, and it is they who rule in the Arab countries that surround Israel. These are the real enemies of the Jews, who in these days, need all the friends they can gain.
After nine and a half weeks of futile effort, the Geneva Big Four Foreign Ministers conferences came to a formal conclusion. Vital issues that had prompted the series of meetings in the first place still remained unsolved. From May 11 through July, 24 sessions were held by the representatives of U. S., Britain, France and the Soviet Union. In addition to this, 20 private sessions were entered into without attaining even the least of expectations. This venture is estimated to have cost the taxpayers in excess of $10,000,000. Actually, the only gain that was realised through these negotiations was the dissolution of Nikita Khrushchev’s May 27th ultimatum, when Allied troops were to evacuate West Germany.
Andrew Berding, U. S. State Department, had this to say about the progress of the conferences : “They reached complete agreement that each item should be dealt with on a separate piece of paper. They did not agree on anything else.” If a summit meeting of the heads of nations is to convene it will not result from any progress achieved at Geneva ; rather, in spite of it. President Eisenhower, before the conferences began, solidly announced that a summit meeting would be out of the question unless real progress was achieved by the foreign ministers. Later, the president qualified this statement by suggesting that a meeting might be held if it could be proved at Geneva that such a conference would be successful. The recent successful visit of U. S. Vice President Richard Nixon to Russia, and Mr. Khrushchev’s plan to trade visits with Eisenhower, seem to be setting the stage for more serious negotiations on a higher level. The reports of these planned visits have eased world tension somewhat in most countries, where it is hoped that both the United States and Russia will arrive at an acceptable agreement of coexistence.
It is with a great deal of scepticism that most people view these visits. History has repeated itself too many times for the man on the street to believe that world peace is going to be attained that easily. As long as nations and peoples are to rely on the efforts of mortal man to guide them through the perplexing problems of this age, they must content themselves with only short periods of peace. As long as the spirit of disobedience working in the prince of the power of the air, is allowed to be the dominating influence, the peace and security promised in the age to come will remain a Utopian dream.
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night ; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early : for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Isa. 26:9
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One