The Middle East and prophetic fulfillment

Once again, Mike Mickey has written a timely and revealing commentary on the current situation in the Middle East, and it is shown below in its entirety (link here):

Middle East Moving Toward Prophetic Fulfillment

by Michael G. Mickey
(4-27-10)

The news of late has been replete with stories of interest to those of us awaiting the fulfillment of bible prophecy, particularly where end times conflicts scheduled to occur in the Middle East are concerned. Here are a few examples:

Jordan's King Abdullah is saying war in the Middle East is possible unless Israel and the Palestinian Authority have entered into "serious" peace negotiations by July. (Source)

The Prime Minister of Turkey recently branded Israel as the "principal threat to peace" in the Middle East. (Source)

Turkey's military has traditionally stood guard over the nation's secular democracy, but seems to be losing control amid rumors that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan wants to turn Turkey into an Islamic state. (Source)

Israel has reportedly delivered a secret warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad that it will respond to missile attacks from Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese-based Islamist group, by launching immediate retaliation against Syria itself. (Source)

Syria is tightening its military alliance with Turkey, reinforcing a recent threat made to send Israel back to “the Stone Age” if it attacks Hizbullah. Syrian President Bashar Assad recently told a Kuwaiti newspaper Syria has “surprises" in store for Israel. (Source)

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has called on President Barack Obama to impose a Middle East peace deal. (Source)

Examining the above through the lens of bible prophecy, it is clear as crystal that God is alive, on His throne and in control where the wicked world we're living in today is concerned. Just as He said, He has made known to us the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) and the end of man governing the earth? It is scheduled to occur at Armageddon as foretold in Revelation 16:16, the culmination of a series of end times conflicts set to occur in the Middle East, some of which may be within view now as the news stories above highlight.

In Isaiah 17:1, we're told that the city of Damascus, Syria is going to be "taken away from being a city" and will be left a "ruinous heap". Recently, there has been a lot of discussion concerning Syria supplying Hezbollah with Scud missiles which, in a worst case scenario for Syria if ever there was one, could be armed with chemical munitions. Already it has been reported, as shown above, that Israel plans to attack Syria directly if those weapons are used against the Jewish nation. Israeli PM Netanyahu has downplayed that possibility of late, saying Israel isn't planning a move against Damascus, but let's not kid ourselves. If Hezbollah launches chemical weapons-tipped Scuds at Israel, it won't take long for the obvious conclusion to be reached, namely that the same nation which provided Hezbollah Scuds from its inventory of weapons likely provided the terrorist faction with chemical weapons from its inventory as well, an arsenal which reportedly consists of Sarin, tabun, mustard gas and, possibly, VX.

Given how high tensions in the Middle East presently are, as highlighted by Jordan's King Abdullah's prediction that war could erupt by summer, anything could happen. Sooner or later, as we see in bible prophecy, something horrific is going to happen. Syria, based on all of the above, seems committed to that end along with Iran which we know is going to be involved in the battle of Gog-Magog described in the book of Ezekiel (chapters 38 and 39) at the very least.

And then there is all of the above concerning Turkey, a nation which has been on my radar for a long time. For years I've been telling my readers to watch for it to turn from being a pro-Western nation aligned with NATO toward becoming a future member of the Gog-Magog confederacy alongside Iran and Russia. Month by month, year by year we've been seeing this dramatic movement taking place before our very eyes, perhaps never as clearly as the following excerpt from an Israel National News article demonstrates:

Turkish military officials said that its soldiers began joint military exercises with Syria on Monday, the second time in a year. The army maneuvers are another sign of closer ties between Damascus and Ankara, which was considered to be a friend of Israel until last year, when it fell in line with most of the Arab world’s anti-Israel campaign.
Lastly, not only do we see the potential of Isaiah 17:1 and Ezekiel 38-39 being fulfilled in the not-too-distant future, mankind is being pointed down the precise pathway to Armageddon itself by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas asking President Obama to impose a Middle East peace agreement is the equivalent of asking for the advent of the Antichrist to occur.

Before I get into the meat of Mahmoud Abbas' request and how it applies directly to the end times scenario, no, I am not suggesting President Obama is the prophesied Antichrist. I can not state emphatically enough that I don't know the identity of the prophesied Antichrist to come nor do I care to know as I'm a firm believer in a pre-trib rapture of the Church. The only interest I have in discussing events I believe are leading us toward the advent of the Antichrist is to draw attention to the fact our world is teetering closer and closer to outright asking for him to appear, albeit unknowingly, and how close that may be telling us we are to the Tribulation Period to come which will be preceded by the Rapture of the Church, the blessed hope of every believer in Christ.

Having completed my Antichrist speculation disclaimer, let's return to the issue of Mahmoud Abbas' request for President Obama to impose a Middle East peace covenant and why it is significant to end times bible prophecy and Middle East conflict. Let's look at how the prophet Daniel describes the advent of the Antichrist.

Daniel 9:26-27:
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The people who destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary in AD 70, in fulfillment of Daniel 9:26, was the Romans. The prince (or leader) that shall come, the Antichrist, will, therefore, be of Roman descent. He will confirm (or make strong) a covenant of peace in the Middle East between Israel and her enemies seven precise years in length. He will do so "with many" in support of him.

When we couple Mahmoud Abbas' request of President Obama with Daniel's prophecy, it is compelling evidence that the mindset which will lead to the advent of the Antichrist already exists in the Middle East and, in case you've missed it, this isn't the first time I've documented a desire being expressed, both from sources inside and outside the Middle East, for someone to somehow intervene in the ongoing conflict between Israel and its enemies in the Middle East. With the naive idea floating around in diplomatic circles that Israel and the Palestinians being at peace with one another could be beneficial to the West's efforts to deter Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, it is likely, particularly if we see warfare of any significant magnitude break out in the Middle East, discussion of someone other than an Israeli or Palestinian sorting their conflict out and bringing it to an end is likely to increase exponentially.

Keep looking up

Everything where the troubled Middle East is concerned is proceeding according to God's prophetic plan. Could it be more obvious than it presently is? I'm always tempted to say no, but I dare not. A few years ago if someone had told me I'd today be seeing Turkey and Syria partnering up for military drills and Turkey literally "in line with most of the Arab world’s anti-Israel campaign" I probably would've struggled to imagine how things could've changed so drastically so fast.

If the Lord delays His coming, we can thoroughly expect to see bible prophecy coming alive like never before in the news headlines of our world and increasingly so as time moves forward. While seeing what we assuredly will may be disturbing at times because we know what lies ahead for unrepentant mankind is going to be far worse, may we also be comforted by what we see, bearing in mind that these things coming to pass are not occurring outside of God's knowledge but completely within His plan, the end result of which is going to be nothing short of glorious for those of us who love the Lord.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!