If Trump backs down over Jerusalem, pipsqueak countries will slap around the US.

Submitted by Michael S, Jan 25, 2017 at 06:00

Hi, Tovey.

You wisely quoted Romans 13: 1-4

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.' " Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.' " For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,' "for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer."

I agree with The Apostle Paul 100% here -- and I will note that Paul lived under lunatic emperors such as Caligula and Nero. None of the leaders we've had in the US have come close to those despots in their evil ways. My Chinese son-in-law came much closer than I have, since he grew up during the madness of the "Cultural Revolution"; and his parents suffered much under the Communist "Five-Year Plans" that resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of people, as well as severe persecution of Christians.

You went on to say,

"America's treatment of Israel is in the books of judgment; and Israel's claim to Jerusalem, indeed all of the land given to Abraham's seed according to the promise, is already settled. Not everyone sees this."

In fact, it seems that very few see this. You went on,

"Trump's promise to make the embassy move to Jerusalem is going to be fought, tooth and nail, not only by the virulent anti-Semite antics festering in the Middle East, but by similar antipathies here in America."

You hit the nail on the head, calling this anti-Semitism. I wrote the President about this, advising him to do as US President Harry Truman did in 1948. Then, too, the State Department was very anti-Israel; and he was getting no end of advice from both sides. In the end, he did what he was wont to do in such situations: He ignored his advisors and did what he felt was right. I hope President Trump does likewise.

I am personally inclined towards wanting to see the Jews settled in the land God gave them, and the Temple restored to its former place as the center of Jewish ceremonial religion. We pray, "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven"; and an important part of God establishing His kingdom on earth, is having HIS title to both the Land of Israel and the Jewish people recognized by the world. Much of the world is in ignorance on these matters; but some of the ring-leaders, including some Jews, know fully well what they are doing: They are in rebellion against the God of Israel, who is the King of the Universe.

Having said that, there is a non-religious reason why it would be wise for Mr. Trump to locate the embassy PROMPTLY in Jerusalem. It's because he promised it in front of all the world leaders -- as publicly as Obama's foolish "red line" in Syria in 2013, that was such a disastrous turning point in US foreign policy. If our President backs down, all the world leaders will CORRECTLY see that he has been cowed by slimy non-entities like Mahmoud Abbas and HAMAS. If he does that, as his press secretary seems to be implying he will, it will be a tremendous setback for those who trusted in Donald Trump's integrity, not to mention its becoming a disaster for the US around the world.

Right now, pipsqueak countries like the Philippines are slapping the US around. Expect more of this, if Trump backs down over Jerusalem.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".