Is Donald Trump’s announcement the beginning of end times?

On December 6, 2017, the United States of America president declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel while speaking in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room.

“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.

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To Trump, this declaration is his attempt to keep a campaign promise. CNN reports that this move has been commended by Paula White, a Florida megachurch pastor close to the president.

He said, “Once again, President Trump has shown the world what I have always known — he is a leader who is willing to do what is right however loud the voices are of the sceptics and the critics. Evangelicals are ecstatic, for Israel is to us a sacred place and the Jewish people are our dearest friends.”

Johnnie Moore, a spokesman for Trump’s informal group of evangelical advisers, adds, “This issue was — to many — second only to concerns about the judiciary among the President’s core evangelical supporters. President Trump has — yet again — demonstrated to his evangelical supporters that he will do what he says he will do.”

Why it is such a big deal to Christians

While this move has been criticised by many, some Christians believe it is a manifestation of a series of Biblical prophecy.

This prophecy is supposed to signal the beginning of the end times, the anti-Christ and eventually the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

This prophecy can be found in Deuteronomy 30:3, Isaiah 43:6, Ezekiel 34:11–13, 36:24, 37:1–14, Isaiah 28:18, Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4; Revelation 11:1, Zechariah 11:16, and Revelation 12:13.

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What religious leaders are saying

Religious leaders are divided. One party is unhappy because it sees this declaration as a trigger while the second group as we saw earlier is excited about this.

Pope Francis falls under the first group. Speaking to his weekly general audience at the Vatican in Rome, the Catholic leader said, “I cannot remain silent about my deep concern for the situation that has developed in recent days."

“And at the same time, I wish to make a heartfelt appeal to ensure that everyone is committed to respecting the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.

“Jerusalem is a unique city, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, where the Holy Places for the respective religions are venerated, and it has a special vocation to peace.”

The pope added, “I pray to the Lord that such identity be preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the entire world, and that wisdom and prudence prevail, to avoid adding new elements of tension in a world already shaken and scarred by many cruel conflicts.”

Pastor and New York Times best-selling author, John Hagee, disagrees. In an interview with CBN News, he said, “…I believe at this point in time, Israel is God’s stopwatch for everything that happens to every nation, including America, from now until the Rapture of the Church and beyond."

“It has nothing to do with what the Palestinians think, what the Russians think, what the UK has the opinion of; it belongs to the Jewish people. And Israel is the gateway to God’s blessing in the Bible. “Genesis 12: ‘I will bless those who bless you.’”

“World history can be summed up in one sentence. The nations that blessed Israel were blessed of God, and the nations that cursed Israel were cursed of God.”

Jerusalem is considered a Holy city and home to three religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.