Sabbath 9/6/35/120

Dear Friends

The biggest problem with the Middle East is that these Islamic fundamentalists are so involved with a corrupt Hadith that they do not read, let alone understand the Bible and its prophecy. Nor do they reconcile the Bible and the Koran together, largely because they don’t like what God has said concerning the future of the Middle East Nations. Let us examine what they are saying and then see what God has determined regarding the Middle East.

There is growing tension between Iran and the Jewish state.  Iran's president promises "a new Middle East" without "traces of the Zionists".  Now be careful of what you want because you might get it.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday, in a speech in Tehran to mark the Day of al-Quds (Jerusalem), that the "cancerous tumor" Israel will soon disappear. "The Zionist regime is a cancerous (...) The countries of the region will end soon with the presence of the Zionist usurpers of the land of Palestine;" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to the protesters gathered in front of Tehran University for collective prayer.

Iranian television showed images of large crowds of protesters across the country that came to participate in the "Qods Day" organized annually by the power at the end of Ramadan in solidarity with the Palestinians and against Israel. "They (i.e. the West, ed) say they want a new Middle East, we also want a new Middle East, but in ours there will be no trace of the Zionists," said Ahmadinejad in this speech in a context of growing tension between Iran and the Jewish state. "The Zionists will leave and the American domination of the world will end," he added while his speech was punctuated by cries of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America".

 He also denounced a two-state solution for a peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis. "They (the U.S. and its allies) want to play a scenario ... to accept the two-state solution (...) Even if they give 80% of the land of Palestine to the Palestinians and keep 20% (for the Israelis), it will be dangerous, it will wipe out years of resistance," he said. Iran's supreme leader is supporting this sentiment. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel will soon disappear when the countries of the region will soon end the presence of the Zionist usurpers of Palestinian land.

An Israeli air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities would be "welcome" because it would give Iran a reason to strike back against and "get rid" of the Jewish state "forever," said Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Chief of the air Force in the country.

According to comments reported on Saturday by the official news agency IRNA, General Hajizadeh added that Iran's response would be "quick, firm and destructive." General Hajizadeh also believes that Israeli threats of air strikes are only part of a psychological war against Iran. These comments follow a speech attacking Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday at Tehran University after pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the last Friday of Ramadan. Protesters burned Israeli and American flags. Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear program. Iran denies any intention to build nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is peaceful and has only civilian purposes.

The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah said on Friday they were in possession of precision missiles capable of killing "tens of thousands" of Israelis.

We expect that will be the news that alarms many of the NATO alliance (Dan. 11:40ff.) along with the news of the nuclear aims of Iran.  It is probable that Israel will launch an attack on Iran and Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon very soon.

The US is increasingly concerned at the posturing and the expressed violence in the Middle East and the increased involvement of the surrounding nations including Iran and Syria and the increasing nuclear program.  The US seems to view a Middle East composed along ethnic and religious lines. They have produced what they consider to be their think tank outline of what the Middle East will look like.

[Map of the entire Middle East, bordering composed along ethnic and religious lines. Map prepared by a U.S. military review AFJ (Armed Forces Journal) released in June 2006, titled Blood Borders written by Ralph Peters
http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/06/1833899/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Peters]

The result was predictable and followed five days later:

"Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent an aide to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, in order to obtain support for an attack against Iran, Israeli media reported Tuesday."

Russia is also entering the World Trade Organisation as announced this week. How long that will last depends upon whether Russia and China back Iran and Syria or not.

The presence of the chemical weapons in Syria worries both Russia and the US as well as Israel but these WMDs are of concern to both because neither wants to see the weapons in the hands of those who pose a threat to either side. Israel will not allow the nuclear or bio chemical threat to get into the hands of the Palestinian Al Fattah or Hamas or Hezbollah in Lebanon. The radical Islamists in Egypt and Lybia will see them involved also in a serious reaction from Israel. 

Paris backs Syria no-fly zone

In a report today by Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, he stated that “French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged the international community to consider backing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria.” He said that caution should be used before closing the nation's entire air space as this would indicate a declaration of "going to war." Also “a willing international coalition” would need to be involved and that “does not yet exist.”

It seems France would take part in a full no-fly operation if international legal principles were followed, but in the first instance a partial closure should be studied.

Russia has been promised by the Damascus government that its arsenal of chemical weapons will not be used or moved. Syria has previously admitted it has chemical weapons and said they would use them if foreign nations intervened there.

On this rare occasion Russia is in agreement with the United States to pressure Assad to step down. If the Assad regime attempted to use or move the chemical weapons, President Obama has indicated that the US might have to intervene.

Meanwhile, at a meeting in Istanbul on Thursday senior diplomatic, military and intelligence officials from the U.S. and Turkey discussed plans for dealing with emergency scenarios that could arise in Syria from the possible use of chemical weapons or otherwise. Part of the plan includes positioning stocks of bio-hazard gear in the region in anticipation of international response should these chemical weapons are used.

What does the Bible says about these aspects?

Firstly the Bible deals with two different lots of Ten Kings that are involved in the times of the end. One is a list of ten kings in the Old Testament.  The other is a list of the ten toes of Daniel that extends into the New Testament book of Revelation that is the World Empire of the Ten Toes of the Empire of the Beast which are ten economic regions that are destroyed by Messiah at his return. These unions of the Ten Kings are both destroyed by their own actions and the intervention of Messiah. The ten economic regions are the ten regions established over the whole world and grouped as per the Treaty of Rome from 1957 and then in 1997 under non-democratic bureaucracies under World Economic Control.

The other group described as the Wars of Amalek in the Last Days is described in the Book of Esther in the papers Commentary on Esther (No. 63) and Commentary on Esther Part II: Purim in the Last Days (No. 63B).

The subject has also been dealt with in the paper Law and the Sixth Commandment (No. 259) under the section Amalek and war among the nations (p. 21) and also Messiah and the Red Heifer (No. 216).

“Amalek and war among nations

Balaam’s prophecy showed the latter end of the nations that rose against Israel. Amalek was first among nations, yet his latter end was to perish forever, just as the Kenites were to perish forever. The end times were a problem of survival as we see when Balaam also said, “Who shall live (or survive) when God does this?” (cf. Num. 24:20-24). “And the ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Ashur and Eber and he also shall perish forever” (v. 24 KJV). In this text the Assyrians, and the earlier or pre-Israelite or generic Hebrews, are attacked by the Kittim, as sons of Javan, son of Japeth (Gen. 10:4). Kittim/Chittim was formerly Cyprus and the north coastline of the Mediterranean. The people were also associated with the Phoenicians, as part of the ancient Sea Lords also ruling from Cyprus.

These wars of the last days are reminiscent of the battles between Israel and Amalek before they entered the Promised Land (Ex. 17:8-16).

Exodus 17:8-16 Then came Am'alek and fought with Israel at Reph'idim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Am'alek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Am'alek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Am'alek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua mowed down Am'alek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 And the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Am'alek from under heaven." 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD is my banner, 16 saying, "A hand upon the banner of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Am'alek from generation to generation." (RSV)

Amalek smote the weak and feeble and had no fear of God (Deut. 25:17-19).

The entire alliance stands together in Psalm 83.

All branches of these nations conspire to eliminate Israel. There are ten nations in all, as the union of the ten kings. Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, the Philistines and the inhabitants of Tyre, and the Assyrians join with them (Ps. 83:5-8). God ordered their utter destruction (cf. 1Sam 15:2,3; 28:18), but it was not done; consequently they almost destroyed Judah (cf. Est. 3:7-9, 10). In all this, wisdom – as the keeping of the commandments of God – is the key to the prolongation of life, and through the power of God is Israel protected (cf. Prov. 4:1-27).”

The later base of the power of Amalek involved the power of Persia or Iran also. God gave these people into the hands of Israel and they were grouped in the last days so that all the nations that had tried to destroy Israel were to be grouped together in the last days and they formed part of the collective nation of Israel.

Before the collection of Israel as foretold by Isaiah (Isa. 66:20) the Oracle of Zechariah from Chapter 12-14 will be executed on the Middle East and everyone that bothers itself with Jerusalem will be dealt with and subjugated. Messiah will deal with them and restore the Feasts and the Temple and all nations will send their representatives to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and if they do not they will get no rain in due season and suffer the plagues of Egypt (Zech 14:16-21).

The Arabs of the Middle East are comprised of the Sons of Keturah who are the original Arabs and among them are the sons of Ishmael who inhabited the areas of Syria and Iraq and form the lesser Arab peoples that were absorbed.  Moab and the Hagarenes were also part of the Clans in Jordan. The sub-group of the Hagarenes were associated with the Ishmaelites as we see in the papers in the series Sons of Shem. Gebal and Moab were those dwelling in Jordan with Ammon.  Amalek was a nomadic tribe that stretched from Jordan to Persia and into Egypt.  The other groups of the Philistines are the Palestinians and they also extend to Tyre and into all Lebanon which also comes under the Federation of Israel. The Assyrians are to the North of the Euphrates and they will come back out of the North and occupy to the Euphrates. The Edomites were brought into Judah under the Macabbees as did the Phoenician traders from Tyre and Sidon come in under the Hasmoneans and Romans.

This war is about to erupt and the final Purim will come to pass over the next short period of time.

In the final subjugation of the Middle East we will see these nations involved in the war and then the King of the North will occupy Jerusalem and to the Sea at Gaza for 42 months and then be destroyed at the coming of the Messiah. Then all nations will be brought down to Megiddo; that disaster is about to come to completion over the period from 2012 to 2022. The destruction of the Ten Kings of this alliance occurs as the War with Islam. The destruction of the Ten Kings of the Empire of the Beast ends at the close of the 42 months and the destruction of the Antichrist and False Prophet at the end of the 42 months in the period after the European/Islamic War.  

Thus the war is an extended matter and exceeds the simple 3.5 years allowed to the Empire of the Beast and the Witnesses. We see here the nations involved in the first battles in the Wars with Islam.

Wade Cox
Coordinator General