Is War Coming?
 Between
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Kim Jong II of North
Korea the world has plenty to keep her shuttle diplomats
busy trying to keep the lid on “peace”,
or whatever semblance there is of it. Added to these
two despots are those numerous small-time dictators
who like to keep things stirred up internationally by
rattling their own little sabers and spewing their own
variety of war-talk and hate speech. At times alliances
and treaties, both open and secret, are hardly in their
frames and ready for the archives before things change
and everything heretofore is suddenly made null and
void. It is a crazy and mixed up world where brinkmanship
is the game-of-the-hour that brings even sub-important
banana-republic countries and their leaders to the international
forefront.
So, is this simply a global game that
ruthless contestants, by virtue of their communist or
Islamic politics, are expected to play? Or, is this
serious business that can quickly escalate into a world
wide conflagration? The answer is somewhere in between.
It is more than a game, but it will not end up in global
nuclear war — not yet, at least. No doubt war
is coming, but it will not be the variety that will
turn the entire world into a moonscape. In God’s
plan this world is indeed going to be destroyed by fervent
heat (2 Peter 3:10), but it will not be because some
Commie or Muslim decides it is time to kill all enemies
and infidels in a mass murder/suicide. Nor will it happen
when a Marxist head-of-state or Islamic Ayatollah decides
it is time. The final war will come when God says so
and not a minute before.
God is still sovereign and He has a
plan. And by God I mean God, not Allah or some other
pagan deity so often referred to in today’s media.
It is nothing less that frustrating when western media
translate from Arabic into English and use the word
“God” for Allah.
In a nutshell the scripture tells us
God’s plan is to allow things to get worse on
the international scene. Matthew 24 gives us a good
look at things after the rapture of the church, and
we are living in the looming shadow of those events
even this day. That is a good indication of how close
the rapture is. Despite a new U.N. Secretary General,
renewed pledges of cooperation toward international
peace and stability and all the other hot-air rhetoric
that goes with global diplomacy nothing is actually
better. As God steadily allows man the creature to demand
independence from God the Creator we may look for a
steady and downward spiral in the areas of peace and
stability. Though the process will include wars, the
really big one will not happen until the end of the
tribulation when Jesus personally returns to this earth
to do battle with His enemies. Everything else, though
terrible in consequence, is just a prelude.
But, consider just what this prelude
might include.
There will be numerous battles before
the end, and each one will be part of the crescendo
leading up to the worldwide army that will be formed
to fight Jesus at His 2nd coming (Zechariah 14; Revelation
19). It is possible Israel will be at war again at any
time. Hezbollah is not dead and Syria’s goal of
recapturing the Golan while on its way to destroy the
Jewish state is very much alive. Though Egypt, Jordan
and Saudi Arabia do not support Hezbollah the fact of
the matter is all of them would be quite pleased to
see the Jewish state destroyed. Do not be deceived by
what the media call “moderate” Islamic states.
In the analysis there is no such thing.
All outward signs indicate Iran is
only waiting on a sure-fire means to destroy Israel
in one-fell swoop. They remember well what happened
in the Arab surprise attack on Israel in the Yom Kippur
War of 1973. If the Arab world ever had any chance at
all of destroying the Jews in a conventional war it
was in 1973, yet it did not happen. By the hand of Almighty
God Israel was able to not only maneuver for defense,
but was also able to launch a blistering counterattack
that turned into a full-blown rout for Egypt and Syria.
By the time Russia was able to force an end to the fighting
the entire Egyptian 3rd Army was surrounded and the
IDF was within spitting distance of Damascus. It is
interesting to note that as long as the war was going
against Israel nobody wanted it to stop. Wonder why.
Anyway, Iran wants no part of that kind of action. They
are going to stack the deck in their favor in every
detail in order to insure success next time.
We do not have to wonder why Iran is
so set on developing nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad believes
the only way to fight Israel is with nuclear weapons,
and has publicly said on several occasions Israel must
be wiped off the face of the map. Does this not make
things more clear? Are we to believe his intentions
are for war, or are we to reject his ravings as those
of a mad-man and continue to stick our proverbial heads
in the sand? We forget mad-men have a way of doing exactly
what they say they are going to do. Ahmadinejad fervently
believes this war will bring the Mahdi, the Islamic
“messiah” to the scene and the whole world
will come under Islamic order. The mother of all nightmares!
One of two things will happen and it
probably won’t be long before it happens. Either
the U.S. will make a preemptory strike on Iran’s
nuclear facilities or Israel will. Before that decision
is made a number of heavy issues must be considered,
none of which will be easy. Nonetheless something will
probably be done. The western world understands the
problem, but most of it does not have either the means
or the guts to do what needs to be done. Ahmadinejad
also understands the position in which he is putting
the U.S., Israel and the western world, but he is gambling
he can either intimidate everybody or pull it off before
the good guys take action.
To further complicate matters Iran
does not share a border with Israel, but Lebanon does.
Ahmadinejad would really like to turn Lebanon into an
Islamic Republic into which he can pump nuclear arms
which, of course, would be used against Israel. This
is why the Lebanon/Hezbollah situation is anything but
over.
There are some “moderates”
in Iran who are calling for Ahmadinejad to shut up about
war and to work on their economy, but the extent of
their influence is yet to be seen. Do not forget, however,
many of those so-called moderates are not so much interested
in not destroying Israel and the U.S. as they are in
placing those goals elsewhere on the Islamic agenda.
The west, immersed in materialism and ease of living
and wanting to avoid any form of discomfort, mistakes
so-called Islamic moderation for pacifism. Bad mistake!
And don’t forget about Russia.
Vladimir Putin might have looked friendly enough riding
around Pres. Bush’s Texas ranch in that Ford pick-up,
but his interests go far beyond mesquite smoked bar-b-q.
Since that little jaunt riding shotgun while the President
was behind the wheel, Mr. Putin has gradually decreased
the freedom afforded his people by the collapse of the
USSR. He is a former member of the KGB, and we might
ask how many former members of the KGB are not strong
Russian nationalists? Putin has no loyalty except to
his perceived destiny and can be brutal in the process
of achieving it.
Putin and his Motherland have interests
in the Middle East, and Iran is the entry point. Twenty-six
hundred years ago Ezekiel foresaw the invasion of the
Middle East by a powerful nation directly to the north
(chapters 38 and 39). Many believe that powerful nation
is none other than modern Russia.
That Putin is willing to take considerable
risks regarding his Mid East policy is obvious with
his unabashed support of Iran’s nuclear program.
And to think for one second he believes Ahmadinejad’s
purposes are purely civil is to ignore the obvious.
There is much historical precedent for Russia’s
interest in the Israeli/Arab conflict, for she has fought
several skirmishes against Israel by way of Arab surrogates
in the last several decades.
No one knows how this will play out
with Iran, but that the stage is being set even today
is plain to see. The thing that must be kept in mind
is the fact that Israel is still the key. No matter
where the current international focus is, the real hot
spot is Israel. And, the question is not about Jerusalem
being Israel’s capital. The bottom line has to
do with the very existence of Israel as a nation. Jerusalem,
the Temple Mount, the Golan, Judea and Samaria (West
Bank), the Sea of Galilee and all the rest of it are
all window dressing. The real issue is Israel and her
survival. Every diplomat of every country involved knows
this, but won’t admit it.
Look again at Matthew 24. The context
is not the rapture of the church, but is about the second
coming of Jesus as Messiah. At this point the disciples
understood little or nothing of the church, the rapture
or anything else having to do with the end of the church
age. Notice the three questions they asked in verse
three and how Jesus answered them in context of His
second coming.
Though the text is about the tribulation,
that is not to say an application of Matthew 24 cannot
be made to the end of the church age. In light of verse
8 we understand a woman is pregnant for quite a while
before even the beginning of birth pangs arrives. That
is where we presently are in history. That is, our world
is pregnant with the events of Matthew 24, and the taking
out of the church is before the beginning of birth pangs.
How far along are we in this matter? No man should attempt
to say with all certainty, but it is obvious we are
nearing some important event.
War is a plague of horrible proportions.
It has no equal in misery and suffering. Yet, because
of sin it has become an almost “natural”
part of the human race. No man, no international body,
no treaty, no anything conceived in the human mind can
end war. Though peace has been pursued by peaceful men
for millennia, it is the brass ring far beyond the reach
of humanity. Only Messiah will bring peace, and until
He comes back to this earth in person as the Prince
of Peace, the King of kings and Lord of lords there
will be no peace.
Though there is conflict in Asia and
Africa presently, those battles are not on a plane with
what will happen in the Middle East. That is the flash
point, the ignition source. The final great battle that
is coming and all those of lesser magnitude that are
coming can all be traced to that small piece of real
estate God calls “My land” (Joel 3:2, etc.).
Is the rapture imminent? Yes. Will
we have another war in the Middle East before then?
Quite probably if the rapture is prolonged for any time.
Hezbollah and other Islamic groups, Syria, Russia, Iran
and others are all itching to do something. We are witnessing
a growing anxiety and dissatisfaction with the status
quo. Any number of nations are conducting military exercises
and drills with a view to impending war. A preemptive
strike would do it.
Sort of a gloomy forecast for the world,
but not for Christians. We are living in the days of
the taking out of the church, and that is more exciting
than anything else we might imagine. Do not despair,
simply look up. DLM |
