Chapter 10
Will We Abandon Israel?
Scripture states that in the time of Israel’s distress no one will come to her aid. Why would countries like England, Australia, Canada and especially the United States abandon Israel?
Of course, it is possible that they would do so out of political self-interest. The rising moral decay could move them to the side of Israel’s persecutors. It seems more likely, I think, that when the time comes they will be economically and/or militarily unable to assist Israel, assuming that they want to. But historically, and even today, that is not the case as we sit here with a stockpile of nuclear weapons, technically advanced tanks, submarines, ships and aircraft. How could we find ourselves unable to assist our ally?
England, the U.S., and, in fact, much of the world is suffering financially and cutting back on military expenditures. This could get much worse. The economies of many countries, including those in Europe and the U.S., are struggling and their outlook is bleak.
Another very plausible scenario would be attacks by terrorist organizations. If one or more nuclear devices were detonated in key cities, it could cripple the country. If a nuclear device were detonated very high (above 30km) in the air above the U.S. or any other technically advanced country, communication would be disrupted by ionization and sophisticated electrical equipment would be instantly disabled by the electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Commerce, law enforcement, medical facilities, our military and many other services would be severely hampered.
This raises the question of just how vulnerable we are. The fact is – we are quite vulnerable. A missile could be fired from the hold of any one of the thousands of ships that visit our ports. The components of a suitcase bomb could be smuggled in on such a ship or as bits and pieces carried by couriers across our borders, especially our southern border.
Monday, March 2, 2012 Fox News ran a feature that announced that the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement are not even interested in deporting illegal aliens living and working in the U.S. who are not considered undesirable. But, at the same time, announced that they had arrested more than 3,100 illegal aliens in a one week sweep who were considered dangerous – some with multiple felony convictions.
If more than 3,000 “considered dangerous” could be arrested in a single week, one must wonder just how many such illegal aliens are here that have not been arrested – and how many would it take to inflict great harm?
Several weeks ago a veteran immigration officer was suspended for refusing to obey the order of his superior to release an “illegal alien” he arrested for driving illegally without a driver’s license. This illegal alien had multiple violations including a felony for resisting arrest. If this illegal felon was not “considered dangerous” what were the 3,100 like and how did they get into the U.S. in the first place?
A look at Immigration Dangers
I recently received an E-mail containing the following information. I wondered, at the time, if this could really be true.
A 2006 congressional report on border threats, titled "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border" and prepared by the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations, indicated that 1.2 million illegal aliens were apprehended in 2005 alone, and 165,000 of those were from countries other than Mexico. Approximately 650 were from "special interest countries," or nations the Border Patrol defines as "designated by the intelligence community as countries that could export individuals that could bring harm to our country in the way of terrorism."
Based on U.S. Border Patrol statistics, there were 30,147 OTMs apprehended in fiscal year 2003; 44, 614 in fiscal year 2004; 165,178 in fiscal year 2005; and 108,025 in fiscal year 2006. Most were caught along the U.S. Southwest border.
An internet search revealed the following article by Michael Haltman, Homeland Security Examiner posted on Examiner.com.
The US Mexican Border and the Danger of Ignoring Our Border Crossing Laws
Much controversy has recently swirled around the tough new Arizona immigration law that was passed in an attempt to stem the rising tide of illegal border crossings taking place from Mexico. The oft mentioned mainstream media bias, as well as a misinformation campaign being run by politicians including President Obama, attempts to paint this law as nothing more than an excuse for racial profiling, when in fact it is a critical puzzle piece in protecting the United States from those who would like to destroy it.
Other Than Mexicans (OTM)
One of the best kept secrets surrounding the US Mexico border is the fact that there are many non-Mexicans who are using our porous borders and insufficient US border patrol capability to cross into the United States in a position to carry out a terror attack at some point in the future. Included among the countries whose citizens have been found to be taking this route into the U.S. are Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and Egypt. Items recovered by US border patrol includes Muslim prayer rugs and a military jacket with Arabic writing and an insignia reading martyr.
I have not yet been able to verify the accuracy of the reports above. I do not cite either of these sources as authoritative, but they do raise some very pertinent questions. It is no secret that our southern border is porous, and it would not be unreasonable to think that our sworn enemies might exploit that vulnerability. Our government, perhaps concerned about panic, does not announce or publish these statistics in the media. Nevertheless, it is not hard to imagine terrorist organizations using the weaknesses in our southern border to invade us with suicide bombers and others intent on spreading fear and destruction. How would we react if we began to experience the types of terrorist attacks that Israel has endured?
We must also consider the fact that many thousands of ships from all over the world enter our ports every year carrying cargo, passengers and sailors from around the world. Our Coast Guard and customs officials have neither the manpower, resources nor even the mandate to check out every person, cargo container or even every ship. The success of the current security measures depends primarily on truthful reporting regarding the self-monitoring and security measures of trusted shippers. It is no secret that only a very small percentage of the cargo containers entering our ports are ever inspected.
The following are excerpts taken from an article found on the website for the Council on Foreign Relations:
Article
Port Security Is Still a House of Cards
Author:
Stephen E. Flynn
January/February 2006
Far Eastern Economic Review
---- the days when policy makers could take safe transportation for granted are long past. The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and subsequent attacks on Madrid and London show that transport systems have become favored targets for terrorist organizations. It is only a matter of time before terrorists breach the superficial security measures in place to protect the ports, ships and the millions of intermodal containers that link global producers to consumers.
Should that breach involve a weapon of mass destruction, the United States and other countries will likely raise the port security alert system to its highest level, while investigators sort out what happened and establish whether or not a follow-on attack is likely. In the interim, the flow of all inbound traffic will be slowed so that the entire intermodal container system will grind to a halt. In economic terms, the costs associated with managing the attack’s aftermath will substantially dwarf the actual destruction from the terrorist event itself.
A Brittle System
--. On any given day, millions of containers carrying up to 32 tons of goods each are moving on trucks, trains and ships. --.
From a commercial standpoint, this has been all for the good. But there is a problem: as enterprises’ dependence on the intermodal transportation system rises, they become extremely vulnerable to the consequences of a disruption in the system. ----.
However, multiple port closures in the U.S. and elsewhere would quickly throw this system into chaos. U.S.-bound container ships would be stuck in docks, unable to unload their cargo. Marine terminals would have to close their gates to all incoming containers since they would have no place to store them. Perishable cargo would spoil. Soon, factories would be idle and retailers’ shelves bare.
In short, a terrorist event involving the intermodal transportation system could lead to unprecedented disruption of the global trade system, and East Asia has the most to lose.
A House of Cards
Second, terrorists will likely target a legitimate company with a well-known brand name precisely because they can count on these shipments entering the U.S. with negligible or no inspection. It is no secret which companies are viewed by U.S. customs inspectors as “trusted” shippers; many companies enlisted in C-TPAT have advertised their participation. All a terrorist organization needs to do is find a single weak link within a “trusted” shipper’s complex supply chain, such as a poorly paid truck driver taking a container from a remote factory to a port. They can then gain access to the container in one of the half-dozen ways well known to experienced smugglers.
--. When every container is assumed to be potentially high-risk, everything must be examined, freezing the worldwide intermodal transportation system.
Most manufactured goods and even a very large portion of the food sold in U.S. today are imported. One major terrorist event brought to our shores in a shipping container could severely curtail our imports if it became necessary to inspect all or even a majority of the containers entering our ports. What would life look like if shipping all over the world came to a halt? What would happen to our economy? To the world economy? To the job market? To crime statistics and personal security? How would international relationships and the security of our world be affected? How would we get food, medicine, and the many other things we depend on?
Many countries, especially in the Middle East, are hostile and/or unstable at present time. It is no secret that a number of countries in the Middle East, especially Iran would love to annihilate Israel. They have openly said so. Groups like; Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood and others are working feverishly to exploit the instability of the governments of several countries. What is not so well known and understood is that Russia is, and has for decades been, funding, training and arming radical Islamists to destroy Israel. In every war since the war of 1948, Israel has been up against Russian arms, tanks and aircraft manned by troops trained by Russian military specialists.
Let’s examine the possibility of an End-time Coalition.
The End-time Coalition
Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia are specifically identified in scripture along with Russia as prominent figures in end-time prophecy. The government of Iraq under Sadam Hussein was taken down by coalition forces led by the U.S. and now President Obama has removed our troops and civil unrest seems to be increasing.
The DOW dropped more than 166 points and the price of crude oil rose to $89.34 per barrel after rioting broke out in Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt. The civil unrest in these countries erupted as citizens took to the streets demanding regime changes.
Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, had been the president of Egypt since Oct. 14, 1981. Mubarak had been relatively supportive of Israel's existence as a nation. His regime, however, had a history of being rather corrupt and abusive toward Egyptian citizens as he grabbed power to prolong his presidency.
The unrest spreading across the Middle East appears to be driven, at least in part, by concerns over human rights issues and by inflation - especially in food prices. The following article was taken from the internet:
In Yemen, tens of thousands march against president By Jeffrey Fleishman and Alexandra Sandels, Los Angeles Times January 28, 2011 / Los Angeles Times/ World latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-yemen-protests-20110128,0,3090706.story?track=rss
Reporting from Cairo and Beirut -?e current unrest in the Middle East spread to impoverished Yemen on Thursday as tens of thousands of protesters angry over unemployment and political oppression marched in the capital against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Instability in Yemen is a major concern for Washington, which has been working with Saleh's government to defeat an entrenched Al Qaeda offshoot that claimed responsibility for last year's attempted bombings of planes over U.S. airspace. Officials fear anarchy in the country would give militants a strategic base in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 32 years, has been unable to stem unemployment and improve education, healthcare and sanitation in the region's poorest nation. Anger toward him and his government has been steadily growing, especially among young activists and tribal leaders. He has also faced an intensifying secessionist movement in the south.
In addition, more recently suspicion has risen that religious motives may lie beneath the surface of the uprisings. The resentment between the Shiite and Sunni’s and especially, the radical factions are at work behind the scenes striving for, and gaining, power as these governments topple. It seems very possible that these factions may be working to stir up these uprisings.
The revolution in Syria is a battle between the Baath Party government and those trying to overthrow it. It has become increasingly clear that several radical Muslim groups have inserted themselves into the fray intent on gaining control once the current regime is out.
Intent on avoiding a crisis like the one in Egypt, Jordan's king Abdullah accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister and fired all 31 cabinet ministers in an effort to stem unrest among the citizens demanding change. Those involved in protest state they want change in their government and while they do not apparently want to dethrone their king they do want to limit his power to appoint the prime minister. A January 2013 news report indicated there is a still serious unrest and possibility of Abdulla being overthrown.
As of the end of February 2011, the government of Egypt had fallen under the protests of its citizens and Egypt is now operating under the control of government led by the Muslim Brotherhood. Recent events have shown that there is still considerable unrest in Egypt.
Libya's dictator Muammar Gadhafi’s hold on power in Libya was broken and he was slain. The new leader, Mustafa Jalil placed Libya under strict Sharia’ Law.
Iran also experienced public protests following the Egyptian's successful revolt against the Mubarak regime. The Iranian government, however, was quickly successful in putting down the protests. This was due to several differences in the situations within the two countries. Egypt was a relatively open country compared to Iran with greater access to outside media sources, internet access, and military trained in, and by, the U.S. The Iranian government's stronger hold on its military, its ability to control the media, internet access, and other communication sources, plus the greater number of people dependent upon the regime for their jobs, all served to provide greater leverage with which to suppress the protestors.
Saudi Arabia is ruled by the Al Saud family and is controlled mainly by the “Sudairi Seven”, that is, king Faud, his full brothers and their descendants. There are no political parties in Saudi Arabia and no elections. Opposition stems from Sunni activists, a Shi’ite minority and other Islamic activists. However, political protest demonstrations are not tolerated, even if peaceful.
Saudi Arabia was facing a planned protest day on March 11, 2011. On March 2nd, with 26,000 lined up on Facebook to participate, the organizer, Faizal Ahmed-Ahad, was killed, reportedly by security forces. The ruling monarch, king Abdulla, unveiled a $36 billion benefit package that will create 1200 jobs and a 15% pay increase for government workers, in an attempt to placate enough people to stave off a serious revolt. However, many Saudi's, especially among the intellectuals are not pleased with this effort since they believe political reform is needed. There has also been some discord in the ruling family after two of the heirs apparent died recently. Prince Sultan died in 2011 and Prince Nayef in 2012.
And then there is Lebanon:
Lebanon youths revolt against confessional system
by Rana Moussaoui Wed Feb 23, 11:49 am ET
BEIRUT (AFP) – Protests sweeping the Middle East have given new impetus to Lebanese youths who have launched their own revolt on Facebook in a bid -- albeit improbable -- to bring down Lebanon's confessional system.
Confessionalism allots political influence to religious groups in proportion to the number of adherents within the group so that if Sunni’s outnumber Shi’ites the Sunni’s have greater political clout.
Using slogans popularized by protesters in Tunisia and Egypt, several pages urging the Lebanese to bring down the Mediterranean country's confessional "regime" or calling for a "day of wrath" against confessionalism, corruption and poverty have appeared recently on the social networking site.
"Lebanese youths, rise up against the oppression of this regime," writes Mahmoud al-Khatib on www.facebook.com/lebrevolution, which has attracted more than 10,000 friends.
But observers and those behind the initiative say they are well aware that changing the system, in which most government and other posts are attributed according to religion rather than merit, will be a hard-won battle. Source: Yahoo News.
So, we see that political changes are currently occurring or are "in the wind" in virtually every country mentioned in these prophecies. Even Russia, which went through extreme reformation when the Berlin wall came down, seems to be on the verge of reverting back to its old ways.
Russian foreign minister criticizes the West for supporting Arab protests
Russia and Britain engaged in a war of words over the people power protests across the Middle East as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blasted Western support for demonstrations as counterproductive.
Source: The Telegraph Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent 6:37PM GMT 15 Feb 2011'
This attitude, supporting repressive dictatorial regimes, is typical of “Old Russian” attitudes. Other evidences of the tendency toward old views are reflected in their past tentative support of Israel recently reverting toward anti-Semitic support of the Radical Islamic attacks on Israel. While these changes and potential changes in the political leadership of Middle East nations do not necessarily imply immediate fulfillment of prophecies, it is not unreasonable to assume that these changes are setting the stage for their future fulfillment.
Even moderate Beirut recently had to deal with serious unrest and street demonstrations as thousands protested the actions of their government, especially their president.
Then there is Qatar. The U.S. has a very key base in Qatar that serves as access, fuel depot, etc. to the Persian Gulf providing access to Iran. Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hammad bin Kalifa al Thani, better known as Sheik Hammad, took control in 1995 in a bloodless coup while his father was out of the country. After seizing power he froze his father’s assets and forced him into exile.
Sheikh Hammad attended Sandhurst Military Academy in England and is considered progressive. His wife supports education and children’s issues. He is, however, considered corrupt by many in Qatar, even many of the enlightened and influential of Qatar society. There have been significant, though mostly peaceful, protests but recently these have been shut down by the government.
Serious rioting broke out Friday, 9/12/2012 all across the Middle East. There were violent riots in Morocco, Libya, Gaza, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen, Lebanon, Oman, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and finally even in Australia. U.S. embassies were attacked and at least one German embassy was attacked and burned. The American flags were torn down trampled, ripped and burned. Graffiti on embassy walls said, “Look out America. We have 1 ½ billion bin Laden’s!”
All the while, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah work among the protestors with the goal of bringing down the established governments to bring in more radical forms of Shi’a law and regimes more receptive to their radical jihadist goals. A French doctor, Jacques Beres, who has traveled to Syria on three occasions, with “Doctors without Borders”, to treat those injured in the fighting there, said recently that at least half of those treated are foreign jihadists (imported holy war soldiers).
Russia and Iran sit in the wings funneling money, weapons and training into the conflict. Both are ready to pounce, the moment they feel the time is right.
Is this the way the end-time coalition will come together and usher in the final days of earth as we know it? No one can say for sure but the fact that we can now see the very clear possibility is, itself, perhaps the greatest sign that things are coming together to fulfill prophecy just as was foretold. Consider the words spoken to Daniel when he asked about the prophecies given to him:
In Dan 12:8-9:
8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?"
9 He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. NIV.
A Possible Conclusion
Although no one can be sure about the specific meaning of many end-time prophecies, it is now possible to see what many of these prophecies might be referring to and how they might be fulfilled. This fact, in itself, may well be a significant sign of just how close we are.
For example, we are told that there will be an individual referred to in scripture as the beast out of the sea by John in Revelation 13:1, and he is called the Antichrist in 1 John 2:18. Elsewhere he is referred to as the deceiver, the lawless one, the secret power of lawlessness and the lawless one.
This deceptive individual we are told will rule much, if not all, of the world. One of the ways we are given to recognize this individual is that he will negotiate a seven-year peace treaty with Israel, that will apparently clear the way for the rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.
Considering that the “Dome of the Rock” Muslim Mosque, Islam’s fifth holiest site, sits on the Temple Mount, that is a feat that is hard to comprehend. Even if it were decided that it should be built a short distance away in the old City of David area Muslims would undoubtedly oppose it. Radical Muslims have shown, time after time, their willingness to riot and even kill over any perceived offense against Islam. This makes it hard to conceive how they might agree to the Israeli’s, who they call “little Satan”, placing a temple next to the Muslim mosque or anywhere in Jerusalem. They want all Jews out of Israel and the temple would be a strong symbol of permanence. How will it be accomplished?
It clearly will require someone with an enormous amount of influence within the sphere of the Muslim faith. We see plainly that the radical Muslims are not seriously influenced by financial, political or military might. They have effectively declared war on most of the super powers of the world. So how will this individual gain enough influence to get radical Muslims to agree to such a treaty with the nation they call “Little Satan”?
One possibility that few people are aware of is that this individual, “the Antichrist” might be the Radical Muslim Messiah.
Copyright © 2012 Vernon E. Gillispie
All Rights Reserved