With the beginning of the Arab Spring earlier this year, it almost seems as if America has become a leading participant in the Dictator Of The Month club. The recent assassination of Osama bin Laden by Seal Team 6, and the demise of Anwar al-Awlaki by Predator Drone, seem to support my premise. I find it ironic that President Obama ran on a platform of ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet in the time since the beginning of the Arab Spring he has sent troops into Libya and, as of this past week, Uganda. What are we becoming??? The NATO thugs? When the President sent troops into Libya, he totally bypassed Congress in the process. As a result of our presence there the latest Dictator to meet his untimely death is Libya's Muammar Qaddafi. According to one report, his entourage was fired upon by Predator Drone, whereupon he exited his vehicle and ran to a drainage underpass. He was shot in both legs. Al Jazeera released video showing Qaddafi just minutes before he was shot in the head. The video and pictures are graphic. Below is just one such example. WARNING: Graphic!
It still puzzles me that pictures of bin Laden were not released. I think I would have felt major validation and justification in viewing those pictures....much the same as I did when Saddam Hussein was hanged. Qaddafi always reminded me of Scar from the Disney movie, The Lion King. I'm not sure why, but maybe the EVIL persona had something to do with it. While I feel little remorse on the death of this evil man, my concern is that someone of an even more vile nature will rise up to take his place. Isn't that the usual way of things? Egypt's Hosni Mubarak was ousted and he sought asylum elsewhere. Probably a good thing he left the country or he would have met a similar fate to that of Qaddafi.
The political game of foreign policy is skewered at best. I mean, we spent millions of American taxpayer dollars to support these regimes back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. We provided them with our technology, military equipment, etc., and for what? Just so we could kill them a few decades later, leaving the entire Middle East in upheaval and unrest, a plum ripe for the picking to the next, worst evil dictator to come along! I can honestly say, "What's wrong with this picture?"
I truly believe God is in control of all things; He is the master planner. There is nothing that happens that surprises Him. He isn't sitting in heaven, wringing his hands, with a worried brow. It seems that all of this unrest in the Middle East, the resurgence of anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitic attitudes prevalent all over the world are leading up to the end time events described in Daniel, Ezekiel, and the book of Revelation. I am not a prophet; have never claimed to be, but I can read. Interestingly enough, is that lately I've been reading the Qur'an. I have such a clear and concise concept of how those events are going to unfold. My spiritual eyes have been opened. Not that they were closed, but even with reading and understanding something is far different than in seeing or conceptualizing how those events come to pass.
Fact: the three major mono-theistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have their foundation in the person of Abraham and his sons Isaac and Ishmael. Judaism and Christianity from Isaac; Islam from Ishmael and the sons of Keturah. The center for all three religions is Jerusalem. God promised to make both Isaac and Ishmael great nations. But only Isaac was the son of promise, the line of the Messiah. Ishmael was banished, along with his mother Hagar, and eventually married an Egyptian woman. All of the ancient peoples of Edom, Moab, and Ammon are descendents of Ishmael. Abraham had other sons by his concubine Keturah. It is from her that the Arabs are descended. We know them today as Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Persia. Isaac was the father of Esau and Jacob. Jacob later became known as Israel and this is the line of modern day Israel. In reading the end time events and those leading up to Daniel's 70th week, we are introduced to people who will play a major role as those prophetic events unfold. Do I know who they are? No. Do I know the exact time when they will happen? No. Nut job Harold Camping has predicted the end of the world....again. This time it's for tomorrow, October 21, 2011. His previous prediction was in May of this year. Yet, Mr. Camping will be proven a false prophet again, tomorrow. The Bible is clear, without room for conjecture. No one knows the day nor the hour; it will come as a thief in the night.
That isn't to say that we can't be aware of events taking place at a rapid pace. We can see those quite literally with our own two eyes. All we have to do is turn on Fox News or CNN and run the current events through our prophetic scriptural eyes and we can SEE it happening right in front of us! Prior to reading the Qur'an, I always wondered how such events would unfold. How would so many people be deceived and believe a lie? How would so many come to accept the Mark of the Beast in their foreheads and/or hands? How would the nations of the world NOT recognize Christ as the Messiah when he returns? All of those questions are answered in the Qur'an. I know, weird! Right? The Qur'an is like a photographic negative to the Bible....similar but diametrically opposed. The Qur'an speaks of the Madhi and recognizes him as their savior. I find it astounding that this Madhi guy has many of the same characteristics as that of the Antichrist as depicted in the book of Revelation. The Madhi comes in a time of worldwide chaos, and establishes a false peace with Israel; he causes people to receive a mark in their heads or hands to show that they are the *true* believers, and he beheads those who do not convert; he leads the armies of the world against the One who returns on a white horse and makes war with the One whom he calls the "false Jesus" when in reality, that One on the white horse is the TRUE Jesus! The religion of Islam is setting Muslims up to be the agents of the end time events and they will believe they are doing God's (or Allah's) will. It's mind boggling when you begin comparing the two. We now have the movement of Chrislam overtaking evangelical churches in America. America will not be exempt from the judgment on the nations. Chrislam is the tool that will facilitate the one world religion and be instrumental in the emergence of the Antichrist on the secular, political, and ecumenical scenes. When you have Pastors such as Rick Warren and Robert Schuller embracing this false theology and then propagating it to their mega-congregations, you have to KNOW that this isn't going to end well for the sheep in their flock. They are great examples of what Jesus called a "wolf in sheeps clothing."
In closing, of the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, only one recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Only One claimed to be the Son of God and gave His life to prove He was who He said He was. Only One claimed to be The Way, The Truth, and The Life. There is no Plan B. Jesus was either who He said He was, or He was the biggest fraud in the History of Mankind. He either suffered and died as an atonement for us, the propitiation of our sin, or He suffered the most horrendous, horrific death imaginable as a Poser! If you can believe Homer wrote the Odyssey, or that Plato wrote The Republic, why is it so hard to believe the account of Jesus, as told by eyewitnesses and first-hand accounts? Primary sources we call them today. These Primary Sources were holed up in the upper room following the crucifixion. These scaredy-cats were afraid they were going to be next on the crucifix agenda! Yet something happened within that first 72 hours that changed these cowards into Bold men of God who turned the known world upside down! Not only that, they too, died a martyrs death! Why? What happened to change them so? They saw Someone, walked with Him, ate with Him, touched Him for 40 days! Then went and told others what they had Seen and Heard! So much so that the religious leaders of their day sought to kill them! When Stephen is stoned, a man by the name of Saul stood and watched. His mission to kill as many Christ-followers as possible! Until he met Someone on the road, that is! After meeting Jesus, Saul became Paul...a NEW creation in Christ. God is a Seeker. He sought Adam in the Garden; he left the 99 to seek the lost sheep; He sought Paul on the road to Damascus. God loves for us to emulate Him and seek Him. Real seeking always produces Real Finding! If you aren't finding then it's time to re-evaluate your seeking. He draws near to those who draw near to Him and He will always be found by those who Seek Him. Don't delay.
Pondering,
Starr
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