True Discernment

from Olive Tree Ministries:

Note: This article is from my current bi-monthly print newsletter, Understanding the Times. I try to keep print newsletter and e-newsletter separate but I have had so many e-mails requesting this be published electronically that I am doing so here.  I have also borrowed thoughts from ministry friend Bill Salus, whose eye on the Middle East is one of the best. His Web site is www.prophecydepot.net. If you would like to sign up for my print newsletter, do so here. It is free for one year and only available in the U.S. due to printing and postage costs.  

As Salus and I both note, the whole of the Arab world uprising, euphemistically called the “Arab Spring” by the media, is in a torment of revolt, rage, terror, and chaos. Peace is not on the horizon and democracy is even further away. The supposed democracy-lovers overthrowing evil rulers are thugs and terrorists themselves. When it comes to Islamic-rooted revolutions, there really aren’t any “good guys.” 

The only organized groups in the Arab world are the rabid Muslim groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. They will unite even with perceived enemies if it can lead to the overthrow of Israel.  They are at least honest brokers of death, whereas the ‘moderates’ hide their real intentions with duplicity and ‘diplomatic’ lies. 

At the outset of this “Arab Spring,” many inside the liberal media applauded the widespread Arab protests. They hypothesized that the protesters were merely the by-product of a regional youth bulge tired of tyrannical rule. They credited Internet social network sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for giving the activists a glimpse of freedom. 

Bill Salus writes, “Barely digesting the unsettling events of the ‘Arab Spring,’ the media’s attention has now been drawn back to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the genuine possibility of a Mideast winter war. Presently, Israeli borders are fortified rather than redrawn, Arab arsenals are replenished rather than dismantled, and the prospect for the ‘Mother of all Mideast Wars’ is extremely high.” 

Salus continues, “Interestingly, there is evidence that the majority of Middle East and North African countries plagued by the current Muslim unrest are involved in end-time Israeli war prophecies. You can read about these forthcoming battles in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39. Psalm 83 identifies an inner circle confederacy of Arab populations sharing common borders with Israel. Their mandate is to wipe Israel off the map, and their motive is the reclamation of Palestine. Ezekiel 38-39 describes an outer ring confederacy destined to invade Israel in the last days. Ezekiel presents a separate set of invaders than those described in Psalm 83. Additionally, they are driven by a different motive, which is the promise of plunder and great spoil (Ezekiel 38:1-13).” 

White House correspondent Bill Koenig writes in his weekly e-newsletter, Koenig’s Eye-View from the White House, “There is great concern that Israel’s enemies in the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran are cooperating and will rapidly close in on Israel. The United States’ involvement in the Middle East has been the backing of the lesser of two evils in country after country. The United States’ backing of dictators in the Middle East has led many in the Middle East to not trust the U.S.” 

As for our actions in Libya, Koenig writes, “The evidence is overwhelming that the U.S. President is downplaying or maybe even misrepresenting his use of American military and diplomatic support ofLibyan rebels who are terrorists, supporters of terrorists, and radical Islamists.”   

As I implied above, there are no “righteous freedom fighters” involved anywhere. There are only agenda-driven radicals on both sides of the region’s many conflicts. Evil is maneuvering for power, throwing out both brutal and benign regimes. While most uprisings are contained at present, you still need to see this as a concerted, orchestrated effort to eventually turn all guns on Israel. Enemies will become friends, for in the Middle East, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” That sentiment has never gone out of style. 

Strings are being pulled in places of power such as Europe and Washington. Money, greed, and power are potent forces with which to contend. Men like George Soros play a role but even he is but a puppet of more powerful men.  The most visible puppet is U.S. President Barack Obama who set America at odds with Israel last May. He also set America at odds with God by revealing himself to be the most anti-Israel president in U.S. history. His demand that Israel retreat to indefensible 1967 borders revealed both his ignorance and arrogance. 

But the world’s strongest delusion is that if just the tiny nation of Israel could be eradicated, this pulsating world would break into global peace and prosperity. Global debt could be contained. The stormy waters would instantly become calm. The rioting of disgruntled societies would cease. The world could become one.   

That is also driving the chaos. Be it a perceived environmental crisis or an actual economic crisis, globalism is the answer. Thus all these Middle East nations must overthrow leaders, kings, dictators, premiers, and generals, and then focus like a laser on Israel as the single enemy. They do not want Israel in the one-world system. She is the mouse that roars and the nation that embarrasses them in war after war. 

That a nation the size of New Jersey could have such a global impact is actually known to Christians, but it is interpreted entirely differently by the unbelieving world. Even the religious Left aligns with the Israel-haters. True believers are being called to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) more than ever. 

Spring is a season of new beginnings. Unfortunately, until the Lord returns to the heart of Jerusalem for His reign on Earth, there are no good beginnings ahead for that region of the world. Only conflict lies ahead and likely a war so horrendous that the stability of the entire world will be affected. Yet try to tell this to people you care about and you will be met with a glazed-eye stare. They have no clue nor do they want one. Be glad that you do.  

You read about it first not here, but in the Bible. The writing is on the wall and it doesn’t take the Prophet Daniel to interpret it. You simply cannot understand the times without a Bible. 

To better understand these issues, visit our Web site categories of Islam & the Arabs, Israel, and “Palestine?”