Special - 1, 2000

“Watchman,

what of the night?”

"The hour has come, the hour is striking and striking at you,
the hour and the end!"          Eze. 7:6 (Moffatt)

 

The hour has come, the hour is 

striking, and striking at you, 

the HOUR and the end.  

Ezekiel 7:5-6 (Moffatt)  

 

SUMMARY 

Page 7

 

Editor's Preface

 

It was not our intent to publish special issues of WWN during this year. However, when we received The Jerusalem Post (NA Edition) for February 25, and read the headlines - "PLO-Vatican pact riles Israel" - and the article which followed, we knew that a "Special Issue" was necessary. The article by the Post Staff noted certain key provisions and objectives of the pact as well as criticisms against Israel for "lack of freedom in the Old City." The preamble to the agreement declared that an "equitable solution" based on international resolutions is "fundamental for a just and lasting peace." It declared that "unilateral decisions and actions altering the specific character and status of Jerusalem are morally and legally unacceptable." Clearly, it was an intrusion into the final-status negotiations between Israel and Arafat which was to include the status of Jerusalem. Calling as it did for "international guarantees," it resurrected the position of the Vatican in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, June 30, 1980. The Charge d'Affairs of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See asked that the Pope's "speech" to the then President of the United States, Jimmy Carter and published in Osservatore Romano, June 30, 1980, be circulated as a document of the Security Council, and it was (Document S-14032). The heart of this special issue will be the reproduction of this document in full so that the objective of the Vatican's "Jerusalem policy" can be seen in its full import.

Other factors involving Arafat, as well as a "secret" concession formulated by Foreign Minister Peres under the Rabin government will be reviewed. All in all, we ask, Is not this present action by the Papacy verily a "Wake-up" call telling us that the final movements of this world's history are in progress. Soon "Michael shall stand up" (Daniel 12:1).

At the bottom of each page of the document, we shall place notations, either with other facts, or comments on certain statements in the document itself. Page 7, will be a summation with Scriptural references and comments.

Page 2

UNITED
NATIONS
S

 
        Security Council
S/14032
30 June 1980

Distr.
GENERAL

S/14032
30 June 1980


ORIGINAL: ENGLISH/FRENCH

NOTE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL


The attached letter dated 30 June 1980 from the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations was addressed to the President of the Security Council.

In accordance with the request contained therein, the letter is circulated as a document of the Security Council.



Annex I


Letter dated 30 June 1980 from the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the
Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations
Addressed to the President of the Security Council


On instructions from His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of the State of His Holiness, I have the honour to request you to circulate as a Security Council document the attached text published in the 30 June issue of Osservatore Romano, which reflects the position of the Holy See concerning Jerusalem and all the Holy Places. The English translation, which was made from Italian, may be regarded as authorized.

(Signed) Monsignor Alain LEBEAUPIN
Chargé d’Affaires a.i.

Page 3

 

Annex II


Text on the question of Jerusalem published by the
Osservatore Romano (30 June 1980)



JERUSALEM

In his speech to the President of the United States of America, Mr. Jimmy Carter, on Saturday 21 June 1980, the Holy Father spoke of Jerusalem in these terms: “The question of Jerusalem, which during these very days attracts the attention of the world in a special way, is pivotal to a just peace in those parts of the world, since this Holy City embodies interests and aspirations that are shared by different peoples in different ways. It is my hope that a common monotheistic tradition of faith will help to promote harmony among all those who call upon God.”

In His Holiness’s words we find reference to permanent historical features (the “common monotheistic tradition of faith”), to present facts (the “interests and aspirations that are shared by different peoples”), and to a “hope” for Jerusalem (that “harmony among all those who call upon God” may be promoted in Jerusalem, in the Middle East and throughout the world).

History and contemporary reality

Throughout the centuries Jerusalem has been endowed with deep religious significance and spiritual value for Christians, Jews and Moslems.

The Holy City is the object of fervent love and has exercised a constant appeal for the Jewish people, ever since David chose it as his capital and Solomon built the temple there. Within it much of the history of Judaism took place, and the thoughts of the Jews were directed to it down the centuries, even when scattered in the “diaspora” of the past and the present.

There is no ignoring either the deep attachment of the Moslems to Jerusalem “the Holy”, as they call it. This attachment was already explicit in the life and thoughts of the found of Islam. It has been reinforced by an almost unbroken Islamic presence in Jerusalem since 638 A.D., and it is attested by outstanding monuments such as the Aksa Mosque and the Mosque of Omar.

______________________________________________________

Within a month to the day, July 30, 1980, the Israeli Knesset enacted "Basic Law: Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel. The first three provisions read:

1. Jerusalem, complete and united is the capital of Israel.

2. Jerusalem is the seat of the President of State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.

3. The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places.

This "Basic Law" placed the government of Israel on collision course with the objectives of the Vatican as were revealed in this UN Security Council document.

Page 4

S/14032
English
Annex II
Page 2

There is no need to point out that Jerusalem also belongs spiritually to all Christians. There the voice of Christ was heard many times. The great events of the redemption, the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, took place there.
It was there that the first Christian community sprang up, and there has been, even if at times with great difficulty, a continuous ecclesiastical presence. Numerous shrines indicate the places connected with Christ’s life and, ever since the beginnings of christianity, there has been a constant flow of pilgrims to them. Saint Jerome is one of the most illustrious witnesses to the Christian presence. In the picture of the world presented by Dante Alighieri in his Divina Commedia Jerusalem is seen as the centre of the earth.

At present all three communities, the Christian, the Jewish and the Moslem, are part of the Holy City’s population and are closely linked with its life and sacred character. Each community is the “guardian” of its shrines and holy places. Jerusalem has a whole network of organizations, reception centres for pilgrims, educational and research institutes and welfare bodies. These organizations have great importance for the community they belong to and also for the followers of the same religion throughout the world.

In short, the history and contemporary reality of Jerusalem present a unique case of a city that is in itself deeply united by nature but is at the same time characterized by a closely intertwined religious plurality. Preservation of the treasures of the significance of Jerusalem requires that this plurality be recognized and safeguarded in a stable concrete manner and therefore publicly and juridically, so as to ensure far all three religions a level of parity, without any of them feeling subordinate with regard to the others.

The religious communities of Jerusalem and the international community

The three religious communities of Jerusalem, the Christian, the Jewish and the Moslem, are the primary subjects interested in the preservation of the sacred character of the city and should be partners in deciding their own future. No less than the monuments and holy places, the situation of these communities cannot fail to be a matter of concern for all. As regards the presence of the Christians, everyone is aware of the importance, both in the past and still today, not only of the Catholic community with its various rites, but also of the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian and the other eastern communities, not forgetting the Anglican groups and others springing from the Reformation.

_________________________________________________

Note the designation of "three religious communities," and that they "should be partners in deciding their own future." Further, that along with "the monuments and holy places," "these communities" must be "a matter of concern for all." The Jerusalem Post indicated that the Papacy and Arafat signed "an agreement that called for an internationally guaranteed statute to preserve 'the proper identity and sacred character' of the city. [This language means more than just 'the monuments and holy places'] The text did not mention Israel, which considers Jerusalem its indivisible capital and has ignored previous Vatican calls of such a statute." The Foreign Ministry of Israel considers the agreement as "an interference in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians." The Director-General told the Papal Nuncio to Israel that not only were the contents of the document disturbing but that the timing was "deplorable" just before the Papal visit to the area.

Page 5

S/14032
English
Annex II
Page 3

In short, the Jerusalem question cannot be reduced to mere “free access for all to the holy places.” Concretely it is also required: (1) that the overall character of Jerusalem as a sacred heritage shared by all three monotheistic religious be guaranteed by appropriate measures; (2) that the religious freedom in all its aspects be safeguarded for them; (3) that the complex of rights acquired by the various communities over the shrines and the centres for spirituality, study and welfare be protected; (4) that the continuance and development of religious, educational and social activity by each community be ensured; (5) that this be actuated with equality of treatment for all three religions; (6) that this be achieved through an “appropriate juridical safeguard” that does not derive from the will of only one of the parties interested.

This “juridical safeguard” corresponds, in substance, to the “special statute” that the Holy See desires for Jerusalem: “this Holy City embodies interest and aspirations that are shared by different people”. The very universalism of the three monotheistic religions, which constitute the faith of many hundreds of millions of believers in every continent, calls for a responsibility that goes well beyond the limits of the States of the regions. The significance and value of Jerusalem are such as to surpass the interests of any single State or bilateral agreements between one State and others.

Furthermore, the international community has already dealt with the Jerusalem question; for instance, UNESCO very recently made an important intervention with the aim of safeguarding the artistic and religious riches represented by Jerusalem as a whole, as the “common heritage of humanity”.

____________________________________________

While The Jerusalem Post indicated Israel "had ignored previous Vatican calls for a statute" as outlined on pages 3 and 4 of Annex II, above and on p. 6 of this Special issue, this is not wholly accurate. Under the government of the late Prime Minister Rabin, his foreign minister, Peres, in a meeting with the Pope in 1994, presented a plan to "Vaticanize" the Old City of Jerusalem placing it under "the auspices of the Pope" and "administered by the Palestinians" (The Jewish Press, Nisan 14, 5755). Previously, in a letter carried by a friend of Peres to the Pope, Peres "offered to hand over sovereignty of Jerusalem's Old City to the Vatican. Jerusalem is to stay the capital of Israel, but the Old City will be administered by the Vatican. ... The plan called for the extra-territoriality of the Old City and the airport at Atarot, which would become a worldwide meeting center. ... Further details of the plan claim Jerusalem is to become a second Vatican of the world with all three major religions represented under the authority of the Vatican" (ibid., Sept. 2, 1994, pp. 5, 104). All of this was echoed in the original Vatican policy submitted in the UN Security Council document above, and now made a part of a pact between the Vatican and Arafat. It remains to be seen what the present Prime Minister will do in the final phase of negotiations concerning Jerusalem when confronted with this pact. He has declared that Jerusalem will not be divided, and will remain the capital of Israel.

Page 6

S/14032

English                                                                                                     

Annex II

Page 4

THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION AND JERUSALEM


As early as its second session, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved on 29 November 1947 a resolution on Palestine of which the third part was devoted to Jerusalem. The resolution was confirmed in the next two sessions, on 11 December 1948 and 9 December 1949 while on 14 April 1950 the Trusteeship Council approved a “special statute” for the city on the basis of the Assembly’s decisions. The solution proposed by the United Nations envisaged the setting up of a “corpus separatum” for “Jerusalem and the surrounding area”, administered by the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations.

This “territorial internationalization” of Jerusalem was not of course put into effect, because in the 1948 conflict the Arab side occupied the eastern zone of the city and the Israeli side, the western. The position of the United Nations does not appear at least as yet to have formally revoked. The General Assembly, as well as the Security Council, has repeatedly, beginning with the resolution of 4 July 1967, insisted on the invalidity of any measure taken to change the status of the city.

The Holy See considers the safeguarding of the Sacred and Universal character of Jerusalem to be of such primary importance as to require any Power that comes to exercise sovereignty over the Holy Land to assume the obligation, to the three religious confessions spread throughout the world, to protect not only the special character of the City, but also the rights connected, on the basis of an appropriate juridical system guaranteed by a higher international body.
HOPES FOR JERUSALEM

In his address to President Carter, the Holy Father referred to the fact that the question of Jerusalem “during these very days attracts the attention of the world in a special way”.

The positions of the two sides on the question of sovereignty over Jerusalem are known to be very far apart; any unilateral act tending to modify that status of the Holy City would be very serious. The Holy Father’s hope is that the representatives of the nations will keep in mind the “common monotheistic tradition of faith” and succeed in finding the historical and present day reality of Jerusalem reasons for softening the bitterness of confrontation and for promoting “harmony among all those who call upon God”. The aim will be to ensure that Jerusalem will no longer be an object of contention but a place of encounter and brotherhood between the peoples and believers of the three religions and a pledge of friendship between the peoples who see in Jerusalem something that is part of their very soul.

____________________________________________

The coming visit of Pope John Paul II to Israel needs to be monitored closely. After the "urgent meeting" called by the Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry with the Papal Nuncio to Israel, the Nuncio told reporters that the agreement was not fully understood by Israel. He said, "It is not a political statement, but one about the religious nature of Jerusalem and its importance to three major religions." Yet Israel was not mentioned, and at the meeting between the Pope and Arafat, the Pope accepted an invitation of Arafat to add Jericho to his scheduled itinerary. This is solely political, placing the Pope squarely on the side of Arafat.

Page 7 

SUMMARY

The year, 1980, not only marked the complete fulfilment of the prophecy of Jesus concerning the probation of the nations, but also the objectives of the Papacy were set forth in a Security Council document which prepares the way for the fulfilment of another prophecy which when fulfilled will herald the close of all human probation. Jesus, from Olivet's mount during the last week of His earthly life, declared of the city across the Kidron Valley, wrapped in the light of the paschal moon, would be "trodden down of the nations (Gr.), until the times of the nations (Gr.) be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). The Knesset of Israel on July 30, declared Jerusalem, complete and united," once again the capital of Israel.

One month earlier, June 30th, the Holy See lodged with the Security Council of the UN a document which reflected 'the position of the Holy See concerning Jerusalem and all the Holy Places." The stipulations when carried out would set the stage for the final prophecy of Daniel 11:45 - "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." In February, this last year of the second millennium, the Holy See signed a pact with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat which will set in motion the fulfilment of its objectives. The next verse in Daniel reads - "And at that time shall Michael stand up" (12:1).

There is another prophecy which focuses on the same time period. In Revelation 16:13-14, 16, the reason is given for the sixth plague. It reads:

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. ... And they (Gr.) gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.

(Note:   Each plague save one - the third - is God's response to what man did in probationary time. For example, the first plague, "grievous sores upon men who had the mark of the beast" (16:2). The mark of the beast was received before the close of probation, the plague followed its close. Just so the sixth plague - verse 12 is the description of the plague, verses 13-14, 16, the cause in probationary time.)

"Har-Magedon" (ARV) transliterates back to the Hebrew, Har-Mo'ed, "mount of the congregation." This coincides with the objective of Lucifer, to "sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north" (Isa. 14:13); in other words, the glorious holy mountain" (Dan. 11:45; Ps. 48:2).

An interesting use of Rev. 16:13-14 is found in The Great Controversy, pp. 561-562. Defining these verses as describing "the last remnant of time," the comment is made:

Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled into a fatal security, to be awakened only by the out pouring of the wrath of God.

If language means anything, it is saying that the "gathering" of Revelation 16, is synonymous with the "planting" of Daniel 11:45. "At that time shall Michael stand up."

 

 

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Originally published by Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Mississippi/Arkansas
Wm. H. Grotheer, Editor

Adventist Laymen's Foundation was chartered in 1971 by Elder Wm. H. Grotheer, then 29 years in the Seventh-day Adventist ministry, and associates, for the benefit of Seventh-day Adventists who were deeply concerned about the compromises of fundamental doctrines by the Church leaders in conference with those who had no right to influence them. Elder Grotheer began to publish the monthly "Thought Paper," Watchman, What of the Night? (WWN) in January, 1968, and continued the publication as Editor until the end of 2006. Elder Grotheer died on May 2, 2009.