As we go deeper into the political season, the issue of terrorism and how each candidate will handle national security is going to become more pronounced. The combination of radical Islam and terror is the great new threat to the world. The question is what does the Bible say about the prophetic implications of this new menance? The rise of Islamic terror is actually setting the stage for the end times, the rise of the Antichrist and the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here are a few things to consider. One, time is simply running out. There’s a storm coming friend; dark clouds hover over an already violatile world where rogue nations such as Iran, N. Korea and now the reemergence of Russia has signaled that the coming of Jesus is very near. Stop and think about this. End-time events predicted by prophets 3,500 yearse ago have never been so easy to imagine or been so consistent with the movement of world history as they are right now.
The Bible predicts that God, not man, will bring the period of the Gentiles to an abrubpt halt during the Battle of Armageddon when Christ returns to judge the world. God, not man, will control the events that lead to the reign of Christ on earth, when the Jewish people will finally be ushered into their hour of glory and peac predicted by the prophets. The lion will lie down with the lamb. The earth will be saved for the predicted millenial reign of CHrist. According to the Scriptures, at the end of that reign, God, not man, will dismantle the earth and create a new heaven and new Earth. If rogue nations or terrorists begin to use WMD, the whole world will be thrown into chaos and confusion. Just think, what would happen if one of these weapons, even a dirty bomb, were detonated in a major city in the United States, Europe, or Jerusalem. While something catastrophic could happen to destablilize the world prior to the Rapture of the Church, it seems much more likely that these kinds of international convulsions will be part of the post-Rapture scenario that catapults the Group of Ten nations known as the Revised Roman Empire and eventually the coming man of Sin, or Antichrist, to power.
God could delay or turn back the timetable for these end-time events. He could certainly prevent terroristsor rogue nations from getting their hands on WMDs and pushing the world to the brink of chaos. But right now it looks like the stage is set for end-time events to begin, though no one on earth knows the day or the hour of Christ’s coming – either for the church – or with the church.
Secondly, the nations of the earth are gathering daily in place for a predicted end time invasion and attack of Israel. The rise of Islamic terror is setting the stage for events in Ezekiel 38 and 39, which prophesy an invasion of Israel in the end times by a vast coalition of nations, all of whom are Islamic today except Russia. Israel has asid that a new “axis of terror” – Iran, Syria, and the Hamas-run Palestinian government – is sowing the seeds of thefirst world war of the 21rst Century. The rise of Islam, and especially radical Islamic terrorism, strikingly foreshadows Ezekiel’s great prophecy.
Thirdly, the conditions are in place for the world, especially Israel, to accept peace at any price. The world is more at risk today for nuclear detonations, biological warfare, and chemical warfare than ever before. Pakisan and India have the bomb. So do China and North Korea. Iran is working feverishly to join the “nuclear clubb,” and it’s only a matter of time until rogue states, terrorists, or fanatics get their hands on these weapons of mass destruction. The unrest in key Islamic nations could easily erupt into an explosive call for widespread jihad or holy war. Neigbor, we’re on the precipice of that daily.
The Middle East is the only region in the world whose reserves are large enough to meet rising U.S. and international demands for oil. The deadly combination of oil and terror in the Middle East leaves the West especially vulnerable. In this climate of terror and uncertainty, the world yearns for some way to make the unrest stop. People the world over, even here in America, are clamoring for peace and safety. The world has become obsessed with security at any cost yet we have never felt more unsafe, more exposed or more vulnerable than we do right now.
This “cry” for peace of Safety is taken right out of the pages of the Bible as the Apostle Paul decried in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 that when men say “peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail upon a woman. In light of this, if a “man” comes on the world scene promising such safety and can deliver, then the world will readily accept him – including the nation of Israel. That too is a scenario not taken from the pages of Fox News but from the pages of God’s Word.
Fourthly, the power of globalism and the threat of global terror has served to bring the world toegether. After the flood of the earth recorded in Genesis, the Bible says that all the people of the world congregated at one location under the leadership of one man, Nimrod, to build a great tower to the heavens (Genesis 10:8-10; 11:1-9) The whole world was one community in global rebellion against its Creator. God cam dow and confounded the language of man, dispersing the rebel race over the face of the earth.
Ever since, Satan has tried in vain to again bring the world under the control of one man through whom he could rule the world. The pharoahs,Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, the caesars, Napolean, Hitler and Stalen have entered and left the stage of world history. Yet there is one still yet to come whom the Bible predicts will come in the spirit of a one-world economy, government, and religion to shake its collective fist in the face of the Creator. The Antichrist will lead this global union against God. (Revelation 13:3-18). Until recently that may have seemed impossible. Not any more. With the power of the Internet and computer networking now in place globally, the possibilities for one ruler to communicate with the entire world and control the world economy is no longer a pipe dream; it’s a reality.
The 1990s were called the decade of globalization. Incredible developments occurred that advanced globalization at warp speed. These included the end of the Cold War; the creation of the World Trade Organization; the advance of the Internet; the creation of CNN and other instant global news agencies; the need for global cooperation on environmental issues; the threat of terror worldwide and the global need for oil.
In the face of these threats, nations can no longer afford to go it alone. Isolation is a thing of the past and more than ever nation coalitions are becoming a greater reality. Just recently a new Middle East conglomeration called the Union of the Mediterrean was introduced in 2007 and is gaining momentum everyday. More on this later. This latest coalition is quite different from the European Union which had no members from the Middle East area of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Israel – the main stage for the coming Tribulation period. This new coalition does. The Antichrist will take full advantage of this opportunity created by fear and will seize control of the global network of nations to rule the world. WIll it be this new “Union of the Mediterrean?” Not in its current state of close to 40 members. The coalition Daniel saw in his prophetic writings had TEN. A reshaping of this union could take place quickly or over time depending on how quick the HOLY SPIRIT deems fit to orchestrate last days events.
Either way, the threat of terrorism is not just an election issue this year – it’s a prophetic issue for the stage of the end times.
TRUE PEACE is coming to Planet Earth. God will allow even that which is evil to advance His prophetic program even if it is the false peace that will be offered and accepted by the Antichrist. This false peace will be shattered, followed by the catastropiic judgements that end the period of the Gentiles. Bottom line: GOD, not man, will bring true peace to the earth. Not Barrack Obama, not John McCain, not the United Nations, Not Bill Clinton and not the Pope in Rome. It’s hard to imagine world peace in these troubled times but neighbor it’s coming in the form of a MAN. False peace comes to earth in the form of the Antichrist; true peace is coming in the Second Coming of the PRINCE OF PEACE, the LORD JESUS CHRIST and He and He alone will come and rule over the earth one day; when He does, the lion will lay down with lamb! Praise God.
It’s getting late neighbor. I pray you have made your calling and election sure in these last hours before Jesus returns. Shalom, and Maranatha – even so come quickly, Lord Jesus.
