The Camp David negotiations between Israel and the Arabs is over without any progress toward peace. What they did do was bring the issue of Jerusalem to the table. Previous discussions had centered about ownership of the Golan Heights and Gaza Strip.

God said in Zechariah 12 that He would make Jerusalem a "cup of trembling" and a "burdensome stone to all people." Surely we have seen that prophecy develop over the centuries until today the whole world is holding it's breath as it watches.

The negotiations were called by the worried president of the most powerful nation on earth. When they failed, another powerful voice repeated his own solution: "The Holy See continues to believe that only a special internationally guaranteed status will be able to effectively preserve the sacred parts of the Holy City," commented Pope John Paul II.

Here we have the three most powerful religious forces in the world locked in mortal struggle. Israel's temple site is occupied by the Dome of the Rock Muslim Mosque. And dotted all over the city are shrines set up by popery declaring sacred the places where special events occurred in the life of Christ.

Israel is characterized as selfishly wanting the whole city for itself. Islam has openly declared that the Jews must be dumped in the Mediterranean sea because the whole of the land belongs to Allah.

Hovering over the fray is the smiling popish vulture saying: No, No! Jerusalem belongs to everybody. Let the United Nations have it to "assure freedom of religion and of worship for all the faithful...."

"But he provided no details as to how such a statute would work," commented Voice of America World News. Indeed, according to ex-Jesuit Alberto Rivera, the Vatican has had a secret plan for a long time and is not about to divulge it now. As part of his training, Rivera was told that the popes have always wanted to move the Vatican to Jerusalem. The crusades in the middle ages were part of that strategy. It did not succeed because they were never able to secure Jerusalem from the Muslims.

The Vatican was not pleased when Palestine was given to the Jews in 1948 and they were able to occupy Jerusalem in 1967. The pope grudgingly established diplomatic relations with Israel in recent years, but has continued to encourage the Palestinians in their struggle to regain Jerusalem. If no peace can be negotiated between Israel and the PLO, then the pope's plan to give Jerusalem to the UN might be entertained. This would increase the Vatican's chances of gaining the control she wants.

Rivera said that the Vatican continues to nurture that hope to use Jerusalem as world headquarters of Roman Catholicism. (See Crusaders Comic The Godfathers).

So, while the rest of the world watches this tiny piece of real estate out of the corner of its eye, what should the soul winner do? First, we are instructed to pray for the peace of Jerusalem in Psalm 122. As long as Jerusalem is at peace, we have more freedom to witness, to carry out the great commission.

If war over Jerusalem erupts, it is unlikely that it could be kept local. A billion Muslims stand solidly behind the PLO. If they advanced, the West would not likely stand by and allow the Jews to be pushed into the Mediterranean.

Much of the freedom which we now enjoy to publish the gospel world wide would be gone. Secondly, Jerusalem is God's prophecy clock. As we watch the developments there, we can rejoice that our "redemption draweth nigh."

But in the meantime, we must redouble our witnessing efforts "while it is day: the night cometh...."