A remark of Henry Kissinger some years ago has already proved to be true. Concerning war against Israel he said. "No [successful] war is possible without Egypt, and no peace is possible without Syria." The long and continuing struggle for peace is just that a struggle, and Syria has been the spoiler much of the time.
Each president of the United States for these last forty years has been seriously occupied along with his Secretary of State in trying to establish peace in the Middle East. Renewed efforts are in process again this year. Syrian President Hafez Assad has proven himself to be completely unpredictable. In his dealings he has sided sometimes for and at other times against all his neighboring nations and the Palestinians too. He knows that if he should even recognize Israel's right to exist, he could end up like Anwar Sadat of Egypt did—that is, dead.
Syria's place among the world's nations, then, is as a spoiler of any peace plan suggested. The nation of Jordan is sixty percent Palestinian and with many of them connected with their own people in the West Bank, they are a continuing problem which neither they nor other powers can solve. Syria cannot have her own way, which would be to annihilate Israel, nor will she let others force their way of solution.
These conditions that prevail should not surprise Christians living at this time, but rather encourage us to look for our Savior. First, He will come for His redeemed people and then after cleansing judgments upon the earth. He will come with His wife to reign in peace for a thousand years.
Joseph is a beautiful type of this. In Gen. 41, he is given the name Zaphnath-paaneah. In Coptic, this signifies "revealer of secrets," and in Chaldee, it means "the savior of the world." In the same verse, Joseph gets a wife and goes out over all the land of Egypt, which in Scripture is a type of the world.
Peace, then, for this world and particularly for Israel and the present nations around her, is not to be expected now. Having cast out the Prince of Peace when He came the first time in grace, this world cannot have peace until He comes in power. Ed.