The Eve of Destruction?

"The Middle East today is like Europe on the eve of the Great War of 1914-18. It needs only a spark to set the whole region on fire."

So says a Middle East observer to Patrick Seale, leading British author on the Middle East in an article dated June 22, 2007, How Israel and the United States Aim toward Disaster. It was published by Middle East Online.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=21184=21184&format=0

There are a number of reports saying that many, if not all, of the Middle East leaders are expecting war this month (July). Certainly, they are making feverish preparations. Iraq's foreign minister, Zebari, who is himself a Kurd from northern Iraq, is quoted as saying to MSNBC News, July 9, that Turkey has amassed 140,000 troops on its border with Iraq to fight the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group advocating the formation of an independent Kurdistan.

On the same day, July 9, according to DEBKAfile Intelligence, "Damascus called on Syrian civilians to depart Lebanon to avoid 'an eruption' expected next week."

BBC News Brief for July 9 also notes that Russia is evacuating its citizens from the Gaza Strip, and that they have reached the Israeli-Jordanian border, expecting to cross into Jordan shortly. Russia is also flying its citizens out of Lebanon. This is normal when a country believes that war is imminent.

Apparently, Hamas and the PLO are also expecting war, because the urgency of the situation has caused them to begin holding covert peace talks in Stockholm, beginning July 8. The talks are sponsored on the two sides by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Hamas is represented by Imad al Alami. He is talking with PLO ambassador in Sweden, Eugine Makhloof. (DEBKAfile, July 9, 2007).

Probably the most ominous sign of all was reported by the Washington Times on July 6 in a weekly column by Bill Gertz, "Inside the Ring": "International radio operators picked up large numbers of coded Air Force communications being sent around the world on June 26 that indicated some type of military activity was about to take place." These messages were said to be "extraordinary" because of the unprecedented length of the messages. Normally, they are only about 30 characters long, but these had up to 174 characters. This phenomenon has not been seen since the First Gulf War in 1991. Because this comes on the heels of a significant U.S. nuclear war exercise, it is making a lot of people nervous.

It makes me wonder if perhaps the huge breach of intelligence, brought about by the capture of intelligence documents on June 19 in Gaza has brought some fear in the hearts of world leaders, causing them to speed up the time table for war.

What would be the spark of the war? What would be its consequences? That is hard to say, but it seems to me that President Bush has been baiting the Iranians for a long time, hoping to get them to do something that would give us a plausible excuse to attack them. The simple fact that they are making nuclear fuel does not seem to be enough of an excuse to do more than rattle their sabers as loudly as possible.

Certainly, this is largely due to the fact that Russia would consider an attack on Iran to be an attack upon Russia, and Putin has reportedly told this to Bush in blunt terms. This has no doubt delayed an attack on Iran, but it has also served to raise the stakes. When the war does come, we will find ourselves against Russia. Hopefully, such a scenario would involve only a proxy war, with each side supporting the opposite sides. But these things have a way of getting out of hand, as we saw in World War One.

Reports are saying that these nations are preparing for (or even expecting) war as early as next week--that is, by July 15. Such reports in the past have often proven to be exaggerated. IF this were to happen, I would see the timing of such a war in the light of the spiritual warfare that we did July of 2001. We have been seeing in 2007 an emergence into the world of the many spiritual battles that we did back in 2001.

In fact, on July 11, 2001 the spiritual battles suddenly exploded into what we called "world war" when we perceived a spiritual attack upon America itself. Of course, these heavenly battles are not detected by the vast majority of the people, nor do most people have any understanding how these wars set patterns for earthly events afterward. In fact, it is difficult to discern the time factors as to when these things begin to emerge into the earth.

We did take note back in 2001 that there was an old revelation, "July is like September," and hence, we expected to see some emergence into the world on Sept. 11, 2001. The destruction of the World Trade Center on that date certainly confirmed the view. But since the end of last year we have begun to see a six-year emergence, and I suspect we will also see these spiritual events emerge next year as well on a seven-year cycle.

At this point, all we can do is be watchful. The spiritual warfare in 2001 was completed on July 14, with final details being wrapped up on July 15 and 16. So for months now, we have wondered what might emerge at this particular time. It is by no means certain that we will see a Middle East eruption next week. There are other possibilities for the fulfillment of these things. For instance, because "July is like September," we may see things happen in September as if it were July. Or things may settle down for another year. I simply do not know and can only be watchful of actual events occurring and developing in the world.

I will say, however, that back in 1986 in my vision of the two Gulf Wars, I took note that the purpose and "calling" of the second "bear," which was released on Sept. 11, 2001, is to destroy Jerusalem. The "bear" is a spiritual entity, but also involves Iran, the biblical Persia, which is prophetically pictured as a bear in Daniel 7:5.

Persia is the nation God used to judge ancient Babylon, and I believe God is using Iran for the same reason today. Mystery Babylon has ruled us beyond its time, but has refused to release us (Jer. 50:33). Therefore, God will redeem us (Jer. 50:34) and is using modern Persia in the divine plan.

So even if the world trembles in fear over the prospects of war and destruction, we can remain confident that God has not lost control over His universe. Though the powerful men on earth fancy themselves as the ones shaping history, they are outsmarted by God Himself, who is using them, even as God used Assyria to judge Israel, and Babylon to judge Judah. All is happening according to His laws and His judgments on the earth, and when their purpose is completed, God will then judge them for overstepping the boundaries of His law.

It appears that we are now closer to the resolution of these things, a climax of history, whose ending has been pre-written. The earth is not going to be destroyed with Babylon, and we are not on the eve of destruction. The destruction of war is not for the purpose of destroying those who are in Christ. Its purpose, in fact, is to remove from us the yoke of bondage that was placed upon us in the days of Daniel. The Babylonian succession of world empires will end in God's pre-determined time, and no man can prevent the fall of this great world empire.

So while this is a sobering time, it is not a time for fear, but to look up, for our redemption draws near.