Vatican wants greater involvement in the Holy Land.

Several leading bishops from the Vatican recently visited a “Christian” village in the Gaza Strip.  This event was done in coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Also, in December a Vatican center in Jerusalem hosted a conference with Christian and Muslim leaders entitled, “How to live together in a future Palestinian state?”  (IsraelNationalNews.com, January 11, 2012).

The “high profile” group of bishops visiting the Gaza Strip later described the living conditions of the Gaza Christians as being like in a “prison”—due to the intensified sea and land blockades of Gaza by the Israeli military.  However, this one-sided description by Catholic leaders overlooks Israel’s stated objective of defending its cities against rocket attacks launched from Gaza, and the ongoing Muslim persecution of Christians in the Palestinian territories.  

The Vatican has long wanted greater involvement in the Holy Land and Jerusalem in particular.  This recent visit and further cooperation with the PA against Israel appears to support this long-standing agenda.   

Bible prophecies have long stated that just prior to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, “gentiles” (non-Israelites) will occupy and control Jerusalem for a 3.5 year period (Revelation 11:1-2).   The actions of the Vatican in the Holy Land today appear to fit with biblical end-time prophecies. 

For more information on this topic, review our booklet The Middle East in Prophecy.