Feb 6
The Volatile Middle East Just Got A Little More Volatile
The surprise Hamas electoral victory has created quite a stir in the world
of prophecy. The past week, several people have asked me for my take on Israel
getting an Islamic terrorist state as its new neighbor.
The establishment of Hamas rule in the West bank and Gaza almost guarantees that the world media will soon be covering a new round of
terrorist acts. When Arafat ran the Palestinian Authority, he looked the
other way when Hamas carried out homicide bombings in Israel. Unless the
leopard decides to change its spots, any future terrorist acts will now have
state sponsorship.
The Israel government has been rather quiet the past couple weeks. I'm sure
they are assessing the situation. If terrorist acts against the Jewish
population can be traced back to the new Palestinian government, it is
certain that the Israeli military will take swift action. We need to
remember that Ariel Sharon approved several air strikes against several
Hamas leaders.
Once Hamas forms a cabinet, it will have to deal with a government riddled with corruption and mismanagement. The Palestinian Authority is
running out of money to pay civil servants, the state has an $800 million
budget, and unemployment currently stands at 40 percent. These are
just a few of the problems.
The troubles are only going to get worse now that several nations have
frozen aid money previously earmarked for the Palestinians. Israel will
certainly have nothing to do with a Hamas government. The terrorist
bombings that Hamas sponsored forced Israel to build the containment
wall.
Terry and I have been talking about this situation, and we generally think
that Hamas will probably be forced to recognize Israel in some way. Unless a
nation like Iran decides to dramatically increase its level of support,
Hamas will eventually have little choice but make peace with Israel.
Of course, the Bible predicts there never will be any lasting peace between
the Israelis and the Arabs. The Word of God says that a group of nations,
led by Russia, will someday seek to destroy Israel. Even when the
Antichrist comes to establish a peace agreement, he will betray Israel by
committing the abomination of desolation..
"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,)
then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains" (Mar. 13:14).
I think what makes the Hamas victory so important to prophecy is the
Palestinians' proximity to State of Israel. They both claim the same
small patch of ground. Any unrest between the Palestinians and Israelis
could be the catalyst that triggers a wider conflict.
The situation in the Middle East is getting very close to resembling
the vision described by the prophet Ezekiel. We now have leadership in
Russia, Iran and the Palestinian government with agendas that perfectly fit
the Ezekiel 38 and 39 scenario. As students of prophecy, we need to be very
watchful of any further indications that the prophetic puzzle board is
coming together.
"After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come
into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of
many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste:
but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all
of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud
to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee" (Ezek.
38:8-9).
--Todd
America: Stumbling Block or Catalyst?
Antichrist and the false prophet of Revelation chapter 13 will be the drivers of the geopolitical and religious juggernaut that will crush anyone and anything that opposes it during the tribulation era. The engine that will power Satan’s cruel, soul-rending beast of Revelation 13: 1-2 will be an all-controlling, enslaving economy.
We see the beast described as follows:
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev. 13:1-2).
The control that beast will wield is described in this way:
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:16-17).
The technologies for setting up just such a system of control over the people of Planet Earth have grown exponentially during the past several decades. Computer-satellite hook-ups between continents, linking most all of the world in a geometrically progressing network of electronic funds transfer capability, brings this generation ever closer to the type control prophesied in those familiar passages of Scripture. The United States of America, the most materially blessed nation to ever sit atop earth’s surface, has been concentric to the global networking. Most of the great contributions to the computer and satellite revolution have been spawned from this country. But, other super-industrious peoples around the globe continue the “progress.” Other nations are now taking the relevant technologies to new levels of “achievement.” Now, it is America who seems to be dragging her feet in bringing in economic Utopia.
The problem is that we Americans won’t make significant movement toward giving up our paper bills and coinage. We seem to be fighting the desire of the other major economic spheres who want to convert to digital money –total electronic funds.
An article sent to me by a Rapture Ready friend (thanks again, Jason) somewhat sums up the cause of the growing rift between the economic elites.
"Joe Levine, a senior analyst at Yankee Group, is skeptical that U.S. paper money or coins will fall by the wayside anytime soon. Creating a cashless society in the U.S. with either mobile phones or smart cards would require enormous effort by players in several industries, he said, including credit-card companies,
mobile-phone service providers, manufacturers, and retailers."
There is considerable concern among the financial powers who plan for all-encompassing globalization in order to create their economic heaven on earth. The article addresses that concern to some extent.
“So, what would get the U.S. to the day when cash becomes obsolete? According to Levine, we are still far enough away that trying to foresee a turning point is difficult. In the same way that cash was still on the scene after the introduction of checks, so will it eventually coexist following any adoption of digital money,
[Charles Goldfinger, a consultant who has advised the European Commission on e-finance and smart-card-based financial applications] said. Nor will e-cash eliminate credit cards and debt, he said. People still will be reluctant, he pointed out, to use a prepaid card to buy something like a computer” ("Is It Time To Say Goodbye to Paper Money?" Walaika K. Haskins, newsfactor.com Mon Jan 30, 5:55 PM ET).
Is America, then, a stumbling block to or a catalyst for the emerging system that will almost certainly serve as the framework for Antichrist’s Revelation 13 hegemony over Planet Earth?
Rationale prompts one to believe that something must happen to cause the U.S. citizenship to come around to a total e-money solution to the confusing state of currency exchanges, etc. But, the process is agonizingly slow, and would likely have to take place with powerful opposition from the American Congress and its constituencies and lobbyists.
Many observers of Bible prophecy, including yours truly, can’t see decades for such a situation to develop. That is, we can’t imagine a scenario that would allow, in America, a lengthy transition to the coming global order essential to the future Antichrist regime’s system of control. This, because most all other prophesied signals for the tribulation appear to now be in place –so far as stage-setting for the tribulation is concerned.
Again, the factor that fits perfectly into a scenario in which America instantly is brought to such a state of chaos that she acquiesces to the world’s call for a cashless system of digital economics, is –you guessed it—the rapture!
--Terry
