In order to be effective in spiritual warfare we must understand the nature of the "world forces of this darkness". Here we will consider the election process of candidates to the highest offices in the land (indeed, in the world). There are some striking observations that can be made which reveal important aspects of our struggle.
There is great power, wealth, and prestige at stake in the election of a president of the United States. The U.S. is the lone superpower and is the primary engine of the world economy. With the growth and consolidation of large corporations, a relatively small number of people exercise great power in the global economy and, therefore, have a great interest in whomever is elected to high political office. I will present the thesis here that this group of business leaders (including, at a minimum, leaders of banking, media, industry, and energy) choose viable candidates before they are presented by the political parties in the general election of the populace. Furthermore, I believe that a candidate for president must make absolute commitments on policy and management team members before he gains approval. Therefore, when the general population goes to the polls, issues of real importance relative to international commerce have already been determined. Either candidate is committed to exactly the same policy. The business leaders in the background remain invisible in the election process because they are confident that policies regarding their interest will be implemented no matter which candidate is elected. This is most apparent in policy relative to Israel.
Wealth and power go hand in hand. For a candidate to rise to high national or international office, there must be a massive investment in him in terms of money and publicity. No one dispenses money, influence, and publicity without first insuring that their interests will be protected. Hence, leaders in international trade and media vote first with their resources. Once a set of "approved" candidates are chosen, it makes little difference which candidate is actually elected in the general electoral process. Crucial policy will be the same no matter which candidate is elected.
From time to time the process is threatened and corrections must be made to reestablish full control of the election process. One such situation developed in the 1992 election cycle. The "chosen" candidates were the incumbent president, George Bush and Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton. Neither candidate was very strong. In the aftermath of the Gulf War (1991), the Bush Administration had been extremely arrogant toward Israel and, hence, their popular support had been eroded. For moral reasons Mr. Clinton did not a ppear to be a suitable candidate. By early summer of 1992, Ross Perot was gaining remarkable strength in the general public. Although a third party candidate, he was rapidly becoming a viable candidate. Things were in danger of getting out of control. Unseen forces were brought to bear on Mr. Perot and he withdrew from the race. The reason given was not credible. Later, Perot reentered the race but by that time widespread enthusiasm for him had been dampened. He could only act as a spoiler for the incumbent; leading, of course, to Mr. Clinton's election.
U.S. foreign policy is aimed at insuring that things do not get "out of control" on the international scene. This happened in 1967 in the Six Day War. Israel defeated the combined Arab armies and took control of Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem. This was a remarkable fulfillment of Bible prophecy and advanced the process of redemption greatly. The "world forces of this darkness" (Ephesians 6:12) have been desperately attempting to reverse this situation since that time. We have seen a succession of plans presented mainly by the U.S. in collaboration with other powers and international agencies to revoke Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and its environs in Judea and Samaria. These include:
- 1967: U.N. Security Council Resolution 242
- 1978: Camp David Accords
- 1979: Peace Treaty Between Israel and Egypt
- 1991: Madrid Peace Conference
- 1993: The Oslo Declaration of Principles
- 1994: Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty
- 1997: Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron
- 1998: Wye River Memorandum
- 1999: The Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum
- 2000: The Israeli Camp David II Summit Proposals
- 2001: The Mitchell Report
- 2001: Tenet Plan
- 2002: The Arab Peace Initiative
These examples have been cited in order to help us understand some aspects of the operation of the "world forces of this darkness". It helps explain why an individual like President George W. Bush, who otherwise appears to be upright and in most areas acts in an admirable fashion, pursues a policy like the "Road Map", which is totally inconsistent with the "War on Terrorism" and is certain to endanger one of the few friends the U.S. has in the world, namely Israel. In this struggle we believe that Mr. Bush is a pawn of the "world forces of this darkness". Long before being elected, we believe that he made absolute commitments to implement such policies relative to Israel. As believers, our role is to shine the light of truth on these forces. Our conference, "Two Nations in the Balance", is designed to do this very thing.
[ Published: 12 June 2003 ]