Chapter 1 What We Will Consider

What is driving the price of oil, gasoline, food and everything else through the roof?

When I was dating my wife, in the late 1950’s, I paid $.25 to $.27 per gallon for gas. A new car was $2.500 to $3.500.
Thirty years later, in 1987 gasoline was around $.95 (approx. $.70 increase) and new automobiles ranged from just over $10,000, for a Ford or Chevrolet, to just over $14,000 for a Chrysler New Yorker.
By 2007 (20 years later) gasoline averaged $3.07 per gallon (over $2.00 increase) and car prices had roughly doubled.
In 2012 (just 5 years later) gasoline was close to $4.00 per gallon (almost $1.00 (33%) increase in just five years).

Why does it appear that the entire world is headed for bankruptcy?

Japan, Russia, much of Europe, and most other countries across Africa and South America are heavily in debt and/or in financial difficulty. China appears to be the only Asian country with a strong economy and even it may not be what it appears.

American communities are declaring bankruptcy: Harrisburg, PA; Jefferson, AL; San Jose, CA; Stockton, CA; San Bernardino, CA, and Mammoth Lakes, CA. have already filed. Numerous other cities are teetering on the edge. Some of the municipalities in financial difficulty are: New York City, NY., Cincinnati, OH., Washington, DC., San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Los Angeles, CA., Newark, NJ., Detroit, MI., Reading, PA., Chicago and Joliet, IL., Camden and Paterson, NJ., Jefferson County, AL., Boise County, Idaho, and others.
Even worse, a number of states are in financial difficulty as well. Some say as many as ten states, while others put the number over thirty, depending on the criteria they use. All seem to agree that some states are from a few hundred million dollars to several billion dollars in debt.
The current national debt as of January 2017 has risen above $19 trillion up $9 trillion during the Obama years alone. Using the 307,212,123 U.S. population from the July 2010 census as a basis that would equal more than $52,081per person or $136,000 per family. We appear to be in serious trouble and President Obama is asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling so we can borrow another $trillion.
The interest alone on the current national debt equals more than $323,050,646,977.43 annually. Yes - that is over $323 billion over $1,050 from every man woman and child every year just to pay the interest on the debt. Source: Treasury Direct.gov. What is of even greater concern our creditors are now beginning to scatter causing interest rates on our debt to rise.

Why are we experiencing so many natural disasters?

A tsunami in Indonesia.
A massive and devastating 9.0 earthquake in Japan in 2011 and a 7.0 earthquake in Dec. 2012.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 devastated New Orleans and then, 7 years later to the very day, Hurricane Isaac again in New Orleans?
Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast causing severe damage as it ripped through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Even after it downgraded from hurricane status the massive storm caused extensive wind and rain damage.
Extensive flooding and over 1,000 tornadoes in the U.S. each year.
A summer wildfire in California consumed 565,070 acres in 2016 and Louisiana suffered the worst flooding since hurricane Sandy.
In the winter of 2016 storm Jonas, called, “the storm of the century”, devastated much of the Northeast U.S. and hurricane Matthew devastated the Caribbean and Southeast United States.
Also in 2016 earthquakes ranging from magnitude 6.4 to 7.8 rocked Taiwan, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, Solomon Islands and Chile.

Weather changes around the world? Getting worse?

Have you heard that there is a threat of attacks by terrorists?

U.S. the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and New York’s Twin Towers.
There haven’t been any attacks in the U.S. soil lately! But there have been several close calls.
September 11, 2012 terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi
World wide – In the first 6 mos of 2012: there were over 200 attacks; 4,888 persons were killed and at least 8,813 persons injured.
2016 was rife with terror with nearly one hundred attacks in January alone and ending with more than 140 in December.

Have you heard that there is a threat of war?

Syria vs. Turkey – late in 2012 spill over shelling into Turkey from Syria’s civil war raised a threat of a Turkish response and NATO involvement.
Israel vs. Hamas; around the same time Israel’s conflict with, Iran backed, Hamas in Gaza posed a serious threat of escalation.
Israel vs. Iran; is the determination of Iran to develop a nuclear weapon the trigger for the next world war?
December 6, 2012 the U.S. warned Syria that the use of chemical weapons against its own citizens will have serious consequences. As of mid January 2013 that threat still existed.
One after another countries throughout the Middle East have been involved in civil unrest, escalating to the level of civil war in several countries, with the governments of Libya and Egypt being overthrown and Syria could soon follow.
In 2016 armed conflicts involved Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, South Sudan, Burundi, and China is aggressively claiming large portions of disputed territory in the South China Sea stirring concerns that it could lead to a confrontation.

Have you heard the term “Day of the Lord”?

In Ezekiel chapter 30:3 NIV; For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near — a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.

In Amos 5:18; Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light.

In Joel 2:31; The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Then - in Joel 2:11; The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?

What in the world is going on? What, if anything, do these things have in common? More importantly – what does it mean to you and to me?

In Luke 21:5-11 we find the following in the NIV:

5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,

6 "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."

7 "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.

9 When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

10 Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. NIV.

No doubt some will say, “Wait a minute. They have been claiming that the end-time is near since the time of the Apostles and the world is still here.” And they would likely say, “Look at the next verse...”

"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. Luke 21:12 NIV.

These individuals would be quick to point out that they have not been persecuted and thrown into prison or brought before kings and governors because of their testimony. But it is easy, here in America, to forget that our brothers and sisters in Africa, the Middle East, China, Russia and other places have been persecuted, brought to trial for their faith, and even executed. Also, we must not forget that the Apostles and many other believers suffered greatly, and many gave their lives. The United States was founded by people fleeing religious persecution.

As for wars and revolutions, there have been many since Jesus days on earth but never so frequently as now. In the last few years; wars, revolutions and terror attacks seem to be in the news daily. So, are we living in the last days? Well – probably not the last few days -- but we are at least two thousand years closer to the last days than the Apostles were!

The focus of this book is not, however, to arrive at a date for the last days. Rather it is to examine the situation in the Middle East, the effects of radical Islam on the world we live in, and hopefully, to answer the question: “Is all of this turmoil tied to end-time prophecy?

What is really behind the hatred that so many people, especially those in the Middle East, feel toward the U.S. and Israel? Some say that Israel unjustly holds land belonging to the Palestinians and unjustly wages war on the innocent while the U.S. unjustly supports Israel by giving them financial aid, political support and military arms. Are they correct? Is it wrong to support Israel?

Many seem to believe the unrest in the Middle East is simply a struggle over a homeland for the Palestinians. Is this the case or is it something deeper?

Are we likely to suffer more serious terrorist attacks like 9/11? We know there are radicals who would like to hurt us. Is there any likelihood that they could succeed? How might it occur?

Is it likely that war will soon break out in the Middle East? Who might instigate another war? Why would anyone do it?

Who is Imam Mahdi? Why should I care?

Are we living in the End-time? Are we reaching the end of this age? If so, what does that mean?

How can we tell? Are there any signs we should be looking for?

What, if anything, is happening today that could drag us into the end of days scenario outlined by the prophets and in the Apostle John’s Revelation?

To gain some understanding of how and where to find these answers we must understand the views of others who have researched these questions and how they came to their answers. The prophets, even Jesus, spoke of a time of great tribulation. Since there are several views on this subject we will briefly examine them.

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