Unrest in Egypt: Israel's worst nightmare?

Yes it is. Well, it is an ongoing nightmare actually - only now the nightmare has become worse. Much worse. We are seeing the evolution of radical Islam taking over several key regions in the Middle East - regions that we know will go to war with Israel. This article gives us the realities of what Israel is now facing:

Unrest in Egypt could lead to Israel's worst nightmare

For Israel, the popular uprising against the Mubarak regime raises the specter of its worst strategic nightmare: collapse of the peace treaty with Egypt, the cornerstone of its regional policy for the past three decades

...in a worst case scenario, democratic or Islamic forces were to come to power denouncing Israel and repudiating the peace deal, that could herald the resurrection of a major military threat on Israel's southern border.

The largely American-equipped and American-trained Egyptian army — by far the most powerful military in the Arab world — numbers around 650,000 men, with 60 combat brigades, 3500 tanks and 600 fighter planes.

A hostile government in Cairo could also mean that Egypt would be aiding and abetting the radical Hamas regime in neighboring Gaza, rather than, as at present, helping to contain it.

Worse: If there is a domino effect that also leads to an anti-Israel regime change in Jordan, with its relatively large Islamic political presence, Israel could find itself facing an augmented military threat on its eastern border, too.

That could leave it even worse off than it was before 1977, facing a combined military challenge from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians -- with the added menace of a fundamentalist Iran that seeks to acquire nuclear weapons.

To conclude:

...instead of democracy in Egypt, there could well be a two-stage revolutionary process -- an initial quasi-democracy, overtaken within months by the emergence of an autocratic Islamic republic under the heel of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It would be similar to what happened when the United States supported pro-democracy forces against the Shah in Iran in the 1970s, only to see the emergence of the fundamentalist Ayatollahs. Moreover, in the event of an eventual Muslim Brotherhood victory, the big regional winner would be fundamentalist Iran.

However the events in Egypt play out, they will clearly have an impact on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The very notion of a threat to the peace with Egypt will almost certainly further reduce the Netanyahu government's readiness to take risks for peace.

In a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu re-emphasized the importance he attaches to the security element in any peace package -- "in case the peace unravels." As for the Palestinians, the Egyptian protests could trigger Palestinian demonstrations pressing for statehood -- without peace or mutual concessions.

Either way, the events in Egypt are not good news for those advocating Israeli-Arab peacemaking. They could push efforts to resolve the conflict back several decades.

One aspect of this upheaval in the Middle East is this: It will have prophetic significance. These events are too close to the approaching battles that we know are coming, and Egypt will probably be involved in the early part of this continuum. We are watching the evolution of events which will lead into the prophetic battles described in Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39.

Its all coming together - and coming together at breathtaking speed. Jordan could be next as their turmoil is in the early stages.
And don't forget Lebanon, as that situation is also rapidly evolving.

Israel is indeed in the eye of the storm.

Mortar Attacks in Southern Israel

Palestinians shell western Negev with Grads, mortar attacks

Barrage of fire from Gaza hits southern Israel; rocket lands near building where wedding is taking place in Netivot; 4 treated for shock, vehicle damaged; Color Red rocket alert system fails to go off.

The relative calm in the South was shattered on Monday night when Palestinians in Gaza fired a barrage of powerful Grad rockets and mortar shells at the western Negev.

One Grad-type rocket fired from Gaza smashed into the town of Ofakim and a second rocket slammed into Netivot, not far from a building where a wedding celebration was taking place.

Four people were treated for shock from the attack on Netivot and a vehicle was damaged.

Grad rockets land in western Negev, four treated for shock

Grad rockets landed near the cities of Netivot and Ofakim in the western Negev on Monday, causing damage to a car and leading to four people being treated for shock.

The attacks came a few minutes apart late Monday. One rocket hit Netivot, which is 9 miles east of Gaza, and the second exploded in Ofakim, 15 miles from Gaza.

And how about this little detail:

A Qassam rocket that struck near a kindergarten in Ashkelon lightly wounded a teenage girl in a nearby building.

This reminds us of two points worth considering:

1. These mortars are intended to inflict bloodshed and terror.
2. The people affected include innocent children and teenagers.

Lets repeat that last sentence and let it sink in for a while. Remember - this is what Israel is facing:

A Qassam rocket that struck near a kindergarten in Ashkelon lightly wounded a teenage girl in a nearby building.

Thats right, It struck near a kindergarten. And it could have just as easily hit these children. A teenage girl was wounded.

More details emerge from this article:

Grad rockets hit near Netivot, Ofakim

"It was terrifying," an Ofakim resident said. "We heard a boom – like a nuclear bomb. We thought it was thunder; there was smoke and explosions. We're dying of fear that another wave of Grads and Qassams will begin. We have no shelters or secure rooms, and the rocket fell about 10 meters (33 feet) from the houses."

One of the people who attended a wedding in a small hall near the rocket's landing site in the Netivot area said, "There was music, then we suddenly hear a loud blast. Everyone - little children and men – ran for cover. People fell over one another. It's a miracle no one was hurt."

Another person who attended the wedding said, "Luckily, the rocket landed after the chuppah, while everyone was already eating at the tables. If it had landed a few meters closer, this could have been a mass casualty event."

Thats just a small reminder that these are real people involved. People who have lives just as we do. People who have families, and struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis - just as we all do. Only they have an imminent fear of being hit with an incoming missile, or worse, their children could be hit while at school. Or just going about daily business.

And the world yawns. After all, its just some Jews in Israel - who cares?

The Coming Famine (II)

Even for me, it is hard to believe that we could really have a world-wide famine on this side of the rapture, but the stories continue to roll in. Just today for instance:

Global food chain stretched to the limit

Strained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about a repeat of food riots last seen three years ago.

Signs of the strain can be found from Australia to Argentina, Canada to Russia.

As supplies tighten, prices surge. Earlier this month, the FAO said its food price index jumped 32 percent in the second half of 2010, soaring past the previous record set in 2008.

Prices rose again this week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut back its already-tight estimate of grain inventories. Estimated reserves of corn were cut to about half the level in storage at the start of the 2010 harvest; soybean reserves are at the lowest levels in three decades.

Authoritarian governments start stockpiling food

Authoritarian governments across the world are aggressively stockpiling food as a buffer against soaring food costs which they fear may stoke popular discont

Commodities traders have warned they are seeing the first signs of panic buying from states concerned about the political implications of rising prices for staple crops.

Governments in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa have recently made large food purchases on the open market in the wake of unrest in Tunisia which deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Resentment at food shortages and high prices, as well as repression and corruption, drove the popular uprising which swept away his government.

Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economics professor who predicted the financial crisis, this week told the World Economic Forum in Davos that high prices were "leading to riots, demonstrations and political instability." "It's really something that can topple regimes, as we have seen in the Middle East," he said.

Jim Gerlach, of commodity brokerage A/C Trading, said: "Sovereign nations are beginning to stockpile food to prevent unrest." "You artificially stimulate much higher demand when nations start to increase stockpiles."

"This is only the start of the panic buying," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst at Singapore-based Phillip Futures. "I expect we'll have more countries coming in and buying grain."

An era of cheap food may be drawing to a close

U.S. grain prices should stay unrelentingly high this year, according to a Reuters poll, the latest sign that the era of cheap food has come to an end.

U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat prices -- which surged by as much has 50 percent last year and hit their highest levels since mid-2008

The forecasts suggest no quick relief for nations bedeviled by record high food costs that have stoked civil unrest. It means any extreme weather event in a grains-producing part of the world could send prices soaring further.

A series of shocks brought the grains market to the brink last year.

Another year of high grain prices could exacerbate the problem of food price inflation.

A summer drought in Russia led to a suspension of grain exports, rains in Australia downgraded the quality of its wheat crop, and a lack of rain cut Argentine corn output. China bought near-record volumes of U.S. corn, and demand for corn-based ethanol surged.

For North African countries like Algeria, the rush to import grains, particularly in the past two weeks, has been fueled by concerns about how to reduce populist anger over rising food costs that has led to riots.

With the stepped-up demand from North Africa and the Middle East whittling away at global wheat stocks, there is no room for error with the winter wheat crop in the United States that was planted last fall and will be harvested in the summer. the same goes for the wheat crops in China -- the world's largest grower.

"We are not in a good situation going into February and March in China and in the U.S., so wheat is on the verge of a real scare," Roggensack said.

As discussed in the previous post regarding famine (see here), the bible informs us that in the early days of the Tribulation, it will require a single day of wages to buy a day's worth of food. That is a severe famine. And it seems to be approaching, due to a number of complicated factors which are not helped by flooding, drought and crop disease in much of the world.

Like all of the signs that we monitor - this one is progressing pretty much as we would expect at this point.

Worldwide Islamist Revolution Explodes

Thats the title of an ominous article from WND - an article which puts things in perspective:

Worldwide Islamist revolution explodes

Islamists, in particular the anti-Western Muslim Brotherhood, seem poised to take power throughout the Middle East as a result of riots that have already toppled one Arab regime and are threatening others, in what some are calling only the latest wave of an Islamic "tsunami" sweeping the globe.

In fact, some Muslim clerics are already calling the riots in Egypt simply an extension of 1979's Islamist conquests.

Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, as reported by Iran's Radio Zamaneh. "The fate of those who challenge [our] religion is destruction."

The leader of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, Hammam Saeed, warned that the unrest in Egypt will spread across the Mideast until Arabs succeed at toppling leaders allied with the United States.

In other words, we are seeing the early stages of a more widespread movement - a movement which is already involving Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon.

And on the Internet, the Middle East Media Research Institute reports, prominent Salafi cleric Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti issued a fatwa in the website Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal Jihad encouraging the protests in Egypt, claiming Islamist jihadis are now on the verge of a historic moment in the history of the Islamic nation, an "earthquake" he likened to the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City.

Similarly, it is Islamists allied with the Muslim Brotherhood who stand to gain in Pakistan, Jordan, Tunisia and Yemen. Already, the Shiite fundementalist Hezbollah organization is poised to exert enormous influence over Lebanon.

ElBaradei, former International Atomic Energy Agency chief, has reinvented himself as a campaigner for "reform" in Egypt.
He is seen as an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition force in Egypt.

Last week, ElBaradei gave an interview to Der Spiegel defending the Brotherhood.

"We should stop demonizing the Muslim Brotherhood. ... [They] have not committed any acts of violence in five decades. They too want change. If we want democracy and freedom, we have to include them instead of marginalizing them," he said.

More worrisome quotes:

David Rubin, former mayor of the Israeli town of Shiloh and author of the book "The Islamic Tsunami," however, warns that the Obama administration cannot continue to ignore the Muslim Brotherhood's and other Islamist groups' greater goals.

"There is a plan to take over Western civilization," Rubin told The Washington Times, "and we need to recognize it for what it is."

In November, the Brotherhood's new supreme guide, Muhammad Badi, delivered a sermon entitled, "How Islam Confronts the Oppression and Tyranny."

"Resistance is the only solution," stated Badi. "The United States cannot impose an agreement upon the Palestinians, despite all the power at its disposal. [Today] it is withdrawing from Iraq, defeated and wounded, and is also on the verge of withdrawing from Afghanistan because it has been defeated by Islamist warriors."

Badi went on to declare the U.S. is easy to defeat through violence, since it is "experiencing the beginning of its end and is heading toward its demise."

That last quote is extremely ironic. Ironic because we know from biblical prophecy that this statement actually applies to radical Islam, not the U.S. We know from the prophet Ezekiel that this Islamic revolution is headed to a showdown with Israel - but more importantly a showdown with God Himself.

They won't know what hit them. Opps - I take that back. They will know exactly what hit them:

'I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them." (Ezekiel 39:21)

"And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 38:23).

Israel: In the eye of the storm

With the recent turmoil in the north, as Hezbollah assumes control of Lebanon, and now in the south with Egypt's uprising and even in the east with newly formed protests in Jordan, Israel is indeed in the eye of the storm. The Jerusalem Post puts this situation in perspective - but to add to that, we see a huge opening now for the EU to assert their border control military troops - an unexpected finding in the midst of this rioting:

Analysis: Egyptian chaos and the Palestinian question

For instance, a recurring topic – and a source of disagreement – was whether an international force or Israel would monitor the eastern border of a future Palestinian state, with the Palestinians insisting on a third party, and Israel angling for a presence along the Jordan River.

There it is again, an "international force" to monitor the eastern border.

One of these issues was the notion of an Israeli presence both on the Jordan River, and also on the West Bank hills immediately overlooking Jerusalem and the coastal plain.

If Netanyahu was insisting on an Israeli security presence along the Jordan River before the events in Cairo, he will assuredly be even more adamant about it now.

And the next paragraph confirms this idea:

The instability gripping Israel’s neighbor in the south, as well as Lebanon in the north, will only strengthen Netanyahu’s default setting – that any peace accord must be preceded by ironclad security arrangements on the ground, and that those security arrangements can’t be a reliance on any third party. Israel must be present.

We also see the potential for expansion of this unrest in the Middle East and the ensuing violence:

But what if it is? What if the events in Egypt, as worrisome as they are for Israel, spread to Jordan, and massive demonstrators threaten the Hashemite Kingdom? What if King Abdullah II is overthrown, and replaced not by Jeffersonian democrats, but Iranian-backed Islamic radicals peering through gunsights on the other side of the Jordan River?

Who is Israel going to want on the west bank of the Jordan, US-led NATO forces, or Israeli ones? While a few months ago this scenario might have been readily dismissed as the paranoid ranting of the extreme right wing, times have quickly changed.

Mr Netanyahu provides us with a history lesson:

“We left Lebanon, Hizbullah came in,” Netanyahu said. “We left Gaza, and there was an Egyptian army that was there and is still there, and Iran walked in. And we need to have some safeguards that we don’t repeat this a third time, because obviously the security of the nation is at stake, and the security of our people, the security of peace, is at stake.

“There’s a country with which we had tremendously close relations,” Netanyahu said. “We had the exchange of the leaderships; there were exchanges between our security forces; economic trade. That country is called Iran. And that changed overnight.

“There’s another country with which we had flowering peaceful relations: meeting of leaders; joint military exercises; 400,000 Israeli tourists a year – that country is called Turkey.

Then the article closes with the same thoughts that we saw in its opening:

Which all doesn’t bode particularly well for the diplomatic process, because if the Palestinians were not willing to accede to an Israeli presence in Efrat two years ago, how likely are they to now agree to an Israeli armed presence in the Jordan Valley?

No, but I am betting that everyone will agree to the having the new Roman Empire involved in sending these forces which will make up the "armed presence" which is sought - and thus "confirm" the covenant.

Background: Who are the Muslim Brothers

As the Egyptian popular uprising enters its seventh day on Monday, all eyes are on the Muslim Brothers, the country’s largest and best-organized opposition movement, to see how it will try to leverage the crisis to further its goal of rising to power.

Founded by Hassan al- Banna in the smoky coffeehouses of Cairo in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood believes in the establishment of a fundamentalist state ruled according to the strictest interpretation of Shari’a (Islamic law).

The Brotherhood views secular Arab regimes as the foremost obstacle to setting up a state it believes has been ordained by the Koran.

That backdrop takes us to the present situation:

The Brotherhood’s ideology has placed it on a collision path with the Egyptian state for more than 60 years, forcing it to come up with a pragmatic, slowmoving tactical road map

As the Brotherhood evolved in Egypt and then spread to other Arab countries, and beyond, its ideologues came to believe that instant jihad was useless so long as the masses were not “properly” following Islam.

There would be no point in establishing an Islamic state, they reasoned, if an Islamic nation following their ideology did not first exist to populate it.

Should free elections ever be held in Egypt, the Brothers have a reasonable chance of winning, he said. “Clearly this is a possibility.

This is the most organized opposition in Egypt. The rest of the opposition groups are are a rabble.”

And of course, these last comments are completely expected in these last days:

In addition to representing a sea change within Egypt, a Muslim Brotherhood government would obviously spell bad news for relations with Israel.

In 2009, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt published a draft charter on its website, in which it said that the peace treaty with Israel would be “reviewed” if it came to power.

It is a given that when the Muslim Brotherhood comes to power (formally) - any agreements with Israel will be taken off the board. We can never forget the ultimate goal by Middle Eastern Islamists - and that is the complete destruction of Israel.

Prophetically we know where all these events lead as well. All of this will ultimately result in the invasion of Israel as described in Ezekiel 38-39. Radical Islam is on a collision course with Israel and with God. We are just seeing the pieces of the puzzle assembled.

Inside the Egyptian Revolution: Muslim Brotherhood Co-opts Movement

Joel Rosenberg comes up with another insightful analysis:

Inside the Egyptian Revolution: Violence is Rising Because the Muslim Brotherhood is Co-opting the Movement

In the past several days, the dynamic of the protests in Egypt has changed rapidly, and not for the better. What started out as a genuine and positive pro-freedom movement is being steadily coopted by the Muslim Brotherhood and other violent and extremist forces.

There is now a growing risk that the overthrow of the Mubarak regime could lead either to an authoritarian military regime, or a Radical Islamist regime. We must pray neither scenario comes to pass.

The people of Egypt would be further oppressed. The U.S., Israel and the West would be endangered. Bottom line: This is a very complex and fast-moving crisis, and it could get much worse.

This commentary provides several explanations of the various "groups" within Egypt, including the "radicals", the "reformists", the "revivalists" and the "resisters", just to name a few. Then we come to the conclusions:

That said, let’s focus again on the crisis at hand. What we are witnessing in Egypt is an historic clash between true Reformer Muslims who want free elections and free markets, and Radical Muslims who want to use the protests to overthrow the Mubarak regime and install a violent, extremist Islamist government.

The Revivalists in Egypt are, for the most part, staying underground. True to their nature, they are remaining apolitical and are devoting themselves to much prayer for the future of their country and the souls of their friends and neighbors.

For the first first few days of last week, most of the initial protestors on the streets of Egypt were peaceful, respectful, somewhat educated, and poor to middle class. I believe they were genuinely calling for an end to the Mubarak regime’s corruption and authoritarian rule in order to achieve more freedom, more opportunity, a better economy, more and better jobs, and a democratic government that would respect and protect their human rights and civil rights and set them free from the stagnant, stultified, oppressive Egyptian system they have suffered under for so long.

However, beginning on Thursday and accelerating throughout the day on Friday, the situation began to change dramatically.

The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood (which began in Egypt in the 1920) had initially been caught off guard by sudden and intense rise of the protests and had not been involved in planning or developing these protests. But sensing an opportunity, they decided to move decisively and try to coopt the movement for their own purposes.

They mobilized their followers throughout the country and told them to take to the streets. That’s when the complexion of the protests took a turn for the worse, characterized by:


- Violent attacks directed at the police – Agence France Presse reported on Saturday that an estimated 60 percent of Egyptian police stations have been set on fire
- Rioting, instead of mere protesting
- The emergence of gangs on the streets wielding machetes and knives
- Government office buildings being set on fire
- Cars being set on fire
- The looting of the Egyptian Museum, with vandals ripping the heads off of two ancient mummies
- Looting of shops, businesses and homes
- Muslim Brotherhood members escaping from prison –[see this article as well]
- UPDATE: Some 8,000 prisoners escaped from a prison in the east of the country and one report said “prison guards have joined the protests allowing dozens of Muslim Brotherhood members to walk out of jail.”
- A rising civilian death toll as the police have been forced to defend themselves and protect other citizens — as of Sunday, there were more than 100 people dead, and more than 2,000 wounded

To contrast with what we observed in Iran last year:

These are not the actions of a true pro-freedom movement. Almost none of this happened last summer when millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest the fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. To the contrary, the Iranian people, to their great credit, initiated what was overwhelming a classic non-violent, principled protest movement against the Radical regime.

And this:

For all of Mubarak’s sins, he is not a Radical. He doesn’t want to launch a jihad against the U.S., Israel or the West. He has maintained the peace treaty with Israel. He has worked to counter the Hamas movement in Gaza. He is strongly opposed to the Iranian nuclear weapons program and has worked closely with the West to counter it.

The Obama administration needs to be careful to support positive change in Egypt and support human rights there, without cutting the legs out from underneath Mubarak precipitously, the way President Carter did to the Shah of Iran in 1979.

The Shah had his many flaws, no question about it. But Carter’s actions helped trigger the Islamic Revolution and led to the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the loss of an American ally, and the rise of a terror-exporting country that has gained in lethality ever since. We dare not make the same mistakes with Egypt.

I am praying, therefore, that the Lord would be merciful to the people of Egypt, and that He would give wisdom to Mr. Mubarak and his senior advisors. My ideal at this point is that Mubarak would hand the keys to the kingdom to a group of Reformers, men truly committed to steadily expanding hope, growth and opportunity for all their people, and doing so in a way that creates order and stability, not an opening for the Muslim Brotherhood to seize control.

That possibility seems very remote at this point, unfortunately. It looks like the Muslim Brotherhood will maintain control of this situation as they have the infrastructure and motivation. It would seem very difficult to uproot their influence at this point. We shall see.

In the rest of the world:

While everyone focuses on Egypt, there are news coming in from the rest of the world:

Japan on Alert After Volcano's Biggest Eruption in 50 Years

A one-mile cordon has been established around a volcano on Mount Kirishima after it erupted scattering rocks and ash across southern Japan and sending smoke billowing 5,000ft into the air.

The Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert to level 3 as ash today continued to spew from Shinmoedake on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, and residents have been banned from going within a mile of the volcano following its worst eruption in 50 years.

Protestors in Jordan demand political economic reforms

Once again, we see the vice tightening around the tiny country of Israel:

Islamists, leftists and union members marched Friday in downtown Amman, demanding more significant economic and political reforms to help struggling citizens.

The Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Jordan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, is also asking for an "elected government." Currently, the prime minister and cabinet are appointed by King Abdullah II.

Besides their demands of Jordan's government, those in Amman also showed solidarity with others in the Arab world who have recently taken to the streets to demand certain freedoms and urge the ouster of their governments.

Chanting, "Egyptian nation, our beloved -- your redemption is near," the Jordanian demonstrators spoke to the thousands of protesters in that north African country, who hit the streets Friday calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-rule.

Kashmir: A dangerous nuclear flashpoint

Sixty three years have lapsed but Kashmir dispute remains unresolved. During this period, besides several military standoffs, two full fledged Indo-Pak wars and two localised conflicts in April 1965 and in summer of 1999 took place on account of Kashmir issue

Indian security forces have kept the people of Kashmir suppressed through use of brute force and has hid its gross human rights abuses under the cover of blatant lies and deceit. Today Kashmir has turned into a dangerous nuclear flashpoint.

And like clockwork, with precision predictability, we see the following:

Tens of die-hard Jihadi groups cropped up to assist the Kashmiri struggle.

As a consequent to blocking Jihadi groups from assisting Kashmiris, these groups in revenge joined hands with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and TNSM and started fighting Pak security forces, thus compounding Pakistan’s security problems.

Apart from many in western countries, several intellectuals and human rights activists within India have started to sympathize with Kashmiris and are condemning ISF brutalities. Arundhati Roy has taken the lead and has not minced her words in saying that Kashmir is not part of India as claimed by Brahman Indian leaders and that justice should be meted to the people of Kashmir.

Indian leadership will never risk holding a plebiscite since it knows that the result would be to its disfavor. It will keep dragging its feet until it is forced to give up its obduracy. The US must play its role to solve this dispute to avoid a nuclear holocaust in the future.

The world is in turmoil. What will the outcome of this world-wide violence and political upheaval be?

Just read Revelation 6-18 and you will know the future. That is where all of this is headed - and it is headed there with great speed.

Updates and Headlines

There are so many pertinent news stories today, we'll just post headlines with a few highly germane comments lifted. But for the most part there is only room for headlines.

1. Updates on Egypt:

Cairo: Thousands gather after relatively quiet morning

Exodus in Egypt: US Suggests Fleeing as Soon as Possible

Egyptians Defiant as Military Does Little to Quash Protests

Egypt Riots: MKs fear more infiltrators

Is the spreading anarchy in Egypt going to cause a heavy price to Israeli demographic? Knesset House Committee Chairman David Azoulay (Shas) expressed his concerns on Sunday that the uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would lead to a massive flow of infiltrates into Israel.

Israel watches with concern as Egypt teeters

The other possibility that everyone is talking about is that the Muslim Brotherhood, the forerunner of the Palestinian Hamas, will take over. Experts have noted that he Brotherhood is the only large organized opposition force in Egypt, so if the Mubarak regime falls completely, the likelihood of a Brotherhood takeover is high.

If that scenario plays out, there are many that fear Egypt will go the route of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The only thing that is currently missing is a charismatic Islamic figurehead. Iranian leaders on Saturday said they were pleased with how things are going in Egypt, and said they felt the revolution there had been inspired by their own.

Israel Holds Its Breath

This article brings forth an issue which has been kept relatively quiet:

Meanwhile, however, yet another United Nations resolution aimed at Israel like a guided missile is making its way through the Security Council and, at this point, only the U.S. can shoot it down with a veto.

The UN resolution declares that any construction in the West Bank by Israel is illegal, even if it is in its capitol, Jerusalem.

Though not confirmed, the rumor-mill in Washington is saying that the Obama administration will not veto the latest in an endless succession of anti-Israel resolutions.

If true, President Obama would become the first U.S. President to not defend Israel’s sovereignty.

If true, it would signal to the entire Middle East and the world that America is abandoning the only true democracy in the region and its longtime ally.

2. Recent Commentaries:

Hamas gunmen from Gaza battle Egyptian forces in Sinai

Gunmen of Hamas's armed wing, Ezz e-Din al Qassam, crossed from Gaza into northern Sinai Sunday, Jan. 30 to attack Egyptian forces and push them back. They acted on orders from Hamas' parent organization, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, confirmed by its bosses in Damascus, to open a second, Palestinian front against the Mubarak regime. The Muslim Brotherhood is therefore more active in the uprising than it would appear.

That is most certainly bad news. We keep hearing about how wonderful it is that Muslims and Christians are united in this struggle against the "oppression" of Egypt's current leaders, and to a degree this is true. But just as we have seen before (see below) this will end as soon as the radical element of Islam takes control - and then we'll see extreme persecution ensue as it always does.

Sunday, Hamas terrorists aim to follow this up by pushing Egyptian forces out of the northern and central regions of the peninsula and so bring Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip under Palestinian control. Hamas would then be able to break out of the Egyptian blockade of the enclave and restore its smuggling routes in full.

And that is worth remembering.

Early Sunday, the Egyptian army quietly began transferring armored reinforcements including tanks through the tunnels under the Suez from Egypt proper eastward to northern Sinai in effort to drive the Hamas forces back

The Egyptian troop presence in Sinai, which violates the terms of the peace treaty, has not been mentioned by either of the peace partners. Our Jerusalem sources report the Netanyahu government may have tacitly approved it.

Hamas' Gaza leaders do not seem to fear Israel will resort to military or even air action to interfere with their incursion of Sinai, although it brings their armed units within easy reach of the long Egyptian border with Israel.

Carter Redux?

For those who lived through the 1979 Iran revolution and the abandonment of the Shah of Iran by the Carter administration, there is a tangible sense of foreboding as to what form the outcome of the current upheaval in Egypt will take.

Like Carter, Obama has made overtures to the Islamists. 1n 1978 Jimmy Carter was on the side of "human rights" and eagerly embraced Ayatollah Khomeini. Carter's UN Ambassador Andrew Young went so far as to call him "some kind of saint".

It now turns out that in 2009, the Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum reported that President Obama secretly met with representatives of the jihadist Muslim Brotherhood, the Hamas and Al Qaeda ally that has been barred by the US and put on the terror watch list by the Bush administration.

The last comment above is one of many articles which has seized upon this meeting between the US and the Muslim brotherhood. Unfortunately, it looks more and more as though this actually did occur.

There are numerous reports out of Cairo that the Islamist element has not only helped foment this uprising but is now taking control of it.

Is this 1979 all over again? The world cannot afford another Iran on the shores of the Mediterranean thus in control of the Suez canal and completing an encirclement of Israel. That will almost guarantee a Middle East War.

Egypt and Iran: We WIll Again Fuel the Fires of Revolution

This paragraph is worth remembering and repeating over and over in the coming weeks:

But revolutions don’t stop with the initial demands.

Revolutions create power vacuums that draw new players with different agendas from those who initially sought to make the revolution. Revolutions move to the extremes, usually to the left. Those who join the mob to demand more liberty will ultimately create a regime that extinguishes all liberty. Did those who ran through the streets of Paris in July 1789 think they were revolting for the ensuing “Terror”? Did the workers who charged the Winter Palace in 1917 think they were fighting for the Gulag? Did Banisadr and Ghotbzadeh think they were replacing the shah of Iran with a theocracy?

There is more worth remembering from this article:

The choice in the streets of Egypt is not Mubarak or democracy.

It is Mubarak or the Muslim Brotherhood. It is the Muslim Brotherhood, like the ayatollahs of Tehran, who are the best situated to benefit from and direct the revolution, unless of course the Egyptian military holds firm.

If the Brotherhood comes to power, it will behave as did its proxy in Gaza: one man, one vote, one time, with the opposition shot in the legs and thrown off rooftops.

For decades we have been dumping billions of dollars worth of advanced weapons into Egypt. A revolution means that those weapons could fall into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. This will tilt the balance of power in the Middle East. Emboldened by success in Egypt, radical Islam will next show its power in the Gulf and threaten the world’s oil supply. Already there are riots in Yemen.

The world as we knew it might just spin out of control. It remains to be seen if the Egyptian military, with or without our support, will rise to the task of restoring order and stability in Egypt and become a vehicle for vital political change. But if Obama emulates the horrendous decisions Jimmy Carter made during the Iranian revolution, radical Islam will spread through the region like a forest fire with the Saudis facing the ultimate conflagration.

This situation in Egypt looks more and more like Iran in the early days of its revolution. As the Muslim Brotherhood moves in more and more, one can safely bet that we'll see a radical Islamic faction seize control. We can only watch and pray at this point.

The MSM will attempt to paint this crisis in Egypt as "non-Muslim" and even this morning a pundit on the news was gleefully declaring that Christians and Muslims are united in this effort. Don't believe it. Not for a second. It may be the case, superficially, in the early stages - but as we have seen over and over and over in the past in these types of uprisings - once the Muslim Brotherhood gains complete power - persecution will ensue. And it will do so in a big way.

Globalism: The New World Order

Below is a fascinating view of what globalism really involves in this day and age. It may be different than you think - at least for now:

What is Globalization?

So what is globalization? In an economic sense, it is the integration of the national economies of the world. Just because we don't have a "one world government" yet and just because we all aren't paying our bills with implantable microchips yet does not mean that the global economic system has not arrived.

In fact, if someday the United States is merged into a one world government, that doesn't mean that our current government would disappear. It is likely that it would just be made subordinate to the global government, kind of like how our state governments have been made subordinate to the federal government in Washington D.C.

Trade is one of the primary tools of those seeking to implement globalization. This is something that a large percentage of those that are concerned about a "New World Order" fail to realize. Most people keep their eyes focused on the political realm, but the globalists realize that once you get control of money and trade you are a long way towards winning the game.

These three paragraphs form the introduction to the article. It is well worth reading. Lets jump to the middle and then to the conclusions:

That is exactly what is happening right now. Our "regional economy" and culture are becoming integrated with the rest of the world. Many applaud this change, but it also means that everything that once made America "exceptional" is being lost as we are merged into a new global system.

Fortunately, many Americans are starting to wake up to the threat of globalization. In particular, large numbers of Americans now realize that globalization is sending millions of our jobs overseas and it is destroying the standard of living of America's middle class.

You see, one of the things that globalization is ultimately all about is transferring power, wealth and control out of the hands of the middle class and into the hands of the global elite. The entire system is designed to funnel money into their hands and leave the rest of humanity fighting over a smaller and smaller slice of the pie.

Now the conclusions:

This is not communism and it is certainly not capitalism. It is probably best described as "neo-feudalism", and it is a system that will strip virtually all of our liberties and freedoms away if we allow it to.

Globalization is here and it is happening right now. It is destroying what still remains of the once great U.S. capitalist system. As our economy continues to be merged with the economies of the rest of the world, our standard of living will inevitably sink to match the standard of living that the rest of the world enjoys.

The entire game is changing. All of the things that you were taught about trade and economics as you were growing up are being turned upside down. Globalization is a complete and total nightmare. Hopefully the American people will wake up before it is too late.

Unfortunately, this train isn't stopping and it certainly isn't reversing course. This train is running full steam ahead - right into the Tribulation, where we will have a continuation of the global economic platform - only it will be controlled by a central figure. The world will also have a global religion and a global governance. We are just seeing the preparations in progress.

Its all about globalism and a new world order. I'm glad not to be part of it.

The Pragmatic Fantasy

As mentioned in the previous post, this commentary is so insightful and relevant, it needs to be emphasized.

From Caroline Glick:

Column One: The pragmatic fantasy

Today, the Egyptian regime faces its gravest threat since Anwar Sadat’s assassination 30 years ago. As protesters take to the street for the third day in a row demanding the overthrow of 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, it is worth considering the possible alternatives to his regime.

On Thursday afternoon, presidential hopeful Mohamed El Baradei, the former head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, returned to Egypt from Vienna to participate in anti-regime demonstrations.

As IAEA head, Elbaradei shielded Iran’s nuclear weapons program from the Security Council.He repeatedly ignored evidence indicating that Iran’s nuclear program was a military program rather than a civilian energy program.

Well, this is just peachy. The potential next head of Egypt is firmly in Iran's camp.

Elbaradei continued to lobby against significant UN Security Council sanctions or other actions against Iran and obscenely equated Israel’s purported nuclear program to Iran’s.

His actions won him the support of the Iranian regime which he continues to defend. Just last week he dismissed the threat of a nuclear armed Iran

Elbaradei’s support for the Iranian ayatollahs is matched by his support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

This group, which forms the largest and best-organized opposition movement to the Mubarak regime, is the progenitor of Hamas and al-Qaida. It seeks Egypt’s transformation into an Islamic regime that will stand at the forefront of the global jihad

In recent years, the Muslim Brotherhood has been increasingly drawn into the Iranian nexus along with Hamas. Muslim Brotherhood attorneys represented Hizbullah terrorists arrested in Egypt in 2009 for plotting to conduct spectacular attacks aimed at destroying the regime.

Based upon knowledge of biblical prophecy, it is highly unlikely that this unrest will herald a democratic government favorable to the principles of the west with its freedoms, both politically and religious.

Elbaradei has been a strong champion of the Muslim Brotherhood. Just this week he gave an interview to Der Spiegel defending the jihadist movement. As he put it, “We should stop demonizing the Muslim Brotherhood. ...[T]hey have not committed any acts of violence in five decades. They too want change. If we want democracy and freedom, we have to include them instead of marginalizing them.”

The Muslim Brotherhood for its part has backed Elbaradei’s political aspirations. On Thursday, it announced it would demonstrate at ElBaradei’s side the next day.

Now we see the ramifications for Israel:

And as we now see, all of its possible secular and Islamist successors either reject outright Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel or will owe their political power to the support of those who reject the peace with the Jewish state. So whether the Egyptian regime falls next week or next year or five years from now, the peace treaty is doomed.

THE TRUTHS exposed by the convulsive events of the past month make it abundantly clear that Israel lives in a horrible neighborhood. It is a neighborhood where popular democracy means war against Israel.

The quotes above are just a small sample of this commentary, which is worth reading in its entirety.

The uprisings seen in the Middle East today are likely to be co-opted by radical Islam. We now watch various events in the region developing - and we know that ultimately these events are leading into the massive invasion of Israel. There may be twists and turns as part of this ongoing process - but we will not see a reversal of history. The hour is too late. The outcome for each of these uprisings will be towards regimes who will support aggression against Israel.

Thats a guarantee. The prophetic scriptures have given us the bottom line. Everything we are seeing right now, in real time, will ultimately have complete consistency with biblical prophecy. That fact alone dictates that new regimes will aid and assist those who are sworn to destroy Israel.

And in this endeavor, they will be forced to face God Himself. That is the "real" bottom line.

The Middle East: Updates and Commentaries

When we see breaking news such as the case with Egypt, I am equally interested in the recent news and well reasoned commentaries on the underlying basis of such news and what it all really means. Today we have both. There are some excellent commentaries being written on this situation in Egypt. First, recent updates:

Egypt's Regime on the Brink

President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year grip on power hung in the balance as protesters massed around Egypt and overpowered the police, prompting the army to deploy on the streets of the nation for the first time in 25 years.

His address appeared to only heighten the gulf between Mr. Mubarak and the tens of thousands of protesters who took part in Friday's planned "Day of Wrath" against what they characterized as the regime's oppression, stagnation and lack of opportunity.

The deployment of army tanks and troops across Egypt late Friday represented a critical point in the crisis. It was the army's first mobilization on the streets of the Arab world's most-populous nation since 1986.


"It means that the military is more in charge than Mubarak, and now there is a lot of uncertainty about who is in charge in Egypt and who is giving orders," said Issandr al-Amrani, a Cairo-based analyst and blogger.

The military's role in the country's future remained unclear. The army has historically been the seat of power in Egypt, with all Egyptian leaders for the past 60 years haling from its ranks.

It is beginning to crystallize - who the military actually supports, but it still isn't completely clear yet:

Some protesters appeared to welcome the troops, with chants of "the army are our brothers." A half-dozen armored personnel carriers rolled through downtown Cairo with protesters riding jubilantly on the roofs. After the army deployed at the foreign-affairs ministry and the besieged headquarters of state television, troops and protesters were seen chanting together: "We are Egyptians, we are brothers."

Analysts said the unrest in Cairo is almost certain to doom whatever prospects still existed of Mr. Mubarak handing power to his son Gamal, who many have believed for years was being groomed to rule...

Some of the most serious violence Friday was in Suez, where protesters seized weapons stored in a police station and asked the policemen inside to leave the building before they burned it down, according to the Associated Press. They also set ablaze about 20 police trucks parked nearby. Demonstrators exchanged fire with policemen, trying to stop them from storming another police station, and one protester was killed in the gun battle

Massive Cairo demonstrations; protesters vow to defy curfew

Al-Jazeera reported that the number of people killed in Egyptian protests was reported to be close to 90, with at least 23 deaths confirmed in Alexandria, and at least 27 confirmed in Suez, with a further 22 deaths in Cairo.

The sight of over 50,000 protesters pouring into Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square for a fifth day indicated Mubarak's words in a televised speech shortly after midnight had done little to cool the anger over Egypt's crushing poverty, unemployment and corruption.

In Suez, 1,000-2,000 protesters gathered and that the military was not confronting them, the news agency reported.

A military officer was quoted as saying that troops would "not fire a single bullet on Egyptians", regardless of where the orders to do so come from.

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Below are some excellent reviews and commentary on this situation:

Iranian leaders hope for Islamic republic in Egypt

Iranian leaders expressed satisfaction with the anti-government protests in Egypt, with one leader saying he believes the protesters were inspired by the revolution in his country in 1979.

Western officials fear Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be replaced by a hardline cleric similar to the ayatollahs in Iran, like the Muslim Brotherhood opposition party, which also gave rise to Hamas.

Egypt Revolution? By Whom? For What?

You can’t judge a revolution by its theatrics. Something real has to happen, something beyond marching, chanting slogans, and making demands.

Revolutions end systems of rule and replace them with new ones. Is that happening now in the Middle East?

I think that the efforts by Hezbollah to take over Lebanon also constitute an attempt at revolutionary change, because it would turn the secular Lebanese system into an Islamic Republic.

All of which is a long way of saying that there’s a lot of tumult in the Middle East (and not only the Middle East; there were big demonstrations a few hours ago in Albania), a great perturbation in the Force, as Obiwan would say. Lots of fighting. Lots of factions. In Egypt, which is by far the most important of the Arab countries affected by the tumult, there are genuine democrats and also members of organizations (from the Muslim Brotherhood to Islamic Jihad, Hamas, et al.) who would transform Egypt from an authoritarian to a totalitarian regime.

At this point, he gets to the crux of the matter:

The key to many of these tumults — certainly not all, for example, Tunisia — is Iran.

My thoughts exactly.

It follows that the Iranians will — probably have already — mobilize their terror army against Mubarak, as against the Jordanian monarchy, and for the tyrants in Khartoum. They are good at manipulating Arabs (when’s the last time you saw a Persian suicide terrorist? They’re all Arabs manipulated by the Persians) and the Iranians’ religious proxies and self-starting fellow travelers and useful idiots in Sunniland will be calling for mass martyrdom. Nobody knows how this will play out. Not even the mullahs. Everyone’s in a big hurry, and lots of mistakes will be made.

And last but certainly not least, this comes in from Caroline Glick:

Column One: The pragmatic fantasy

On second thought - this commentary is just too important and insightful to bury here. It deserves its own, separate post. More to come.

The Truth in an Age of Lies and Deception

We've mentioned this aspect of end times prophecy so many times - that this age would be a period of lies and deception. We see it manifest every single day.

Today, Jerry Golden has an interesting perspective on the Middle East:

How About Some Truth

This is relatively brief and worth posting in its entirety:

Israel has four borders, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt and we could now say five if one considers Gaza. Our largest border is the Mediterranean Sea to the west but today even that is changing with the Prime Minister of Turkey making statements like if Syria is attacked by Israel they will not sit quiet that in fact they will defend Syria against Israel.

Today with riots in the streets of Cairo threatening to oust President Hosni Mubarak from his 30 year reign as Dictator of Egypt. The man that wants to replace him is the former head of I.A.E.A Mohamed ElBaradei who shielded the Iranian nuclear weapons programs for years. But looking over his shoulder is the Muslim Brotherhood connected to the Wahhabi out of Saudi Arabia who supplied the terrorist for 9/11. Mubarak's position is weak at best and his only option to stay in power is to begin shooting protesters dead in the street like they did in Iran. The question now is would the Egyptian military follow such an order at this point, I don't think so. As for what hangs in the balance for Israel and the fragile peace treaty seems to be in serious danger to completely failing and Egypt once again preparing to join in the fight to destroy Israel with the rest of the Islamic Arab World.

If you listen to the Main Line News Media you would think this is a good thing and that it's all about fighting for Democracy but the facts on the ground are quiet different. They are protesting for survival, they can no long afford the price of food and there are no jobs, put that together with the Islamic propaganda they have listened to all their lives and you have an explosion in the makings. If you were able to take a survey in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan or any Arab country you'd find that the average man on the streets believes that some how Israel is the reason for their suffering and that Israel must be destroyed.

We are now seeing these same riots happening in Jordan and as I stated in past reports Jordan is pulling away from their peace treaty with Israel and embracing Iran and the rest of the Islamic Arab world to make sure they are not next on the list to be destroyed.

What seemed to be the quiet takeover of Lebanon by Hezbollah may not be so quiet after all as riots are breaking out in the streets of Beirut as well and this could be the kicker to start the next war as Hezbollah could very well start the missiles flying into Israel to change the political direction when Israel retaliates forcing the people to get behind Hezbollah and forgetting their political problems for the time being.

We are now hearing from Debka that Iran is sending a fleet of warships into the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal taking up positions around Israel's western shores. The US has sent the USS Enterprise carrier with a strike group carrying 6,000 sailors and marines and 80 warplanes, to read more about this deployment CLICK HERE.

In the mean time Syria continues to move long range missiles into southern Lebanon in preparation for the coming war. As far as Egypt is concerned it may be the only thing that could save Mubarak at this time is joining a war against Israel, but I can't see that happening in time to save him.
There are many Scriptures that are in the making of fulfillment in all of this, Zechariah, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel also in the Gospel of Luke and Matthews I could print them all here but you should know them by now. One thing is certain the Arabs learned their lesson in the wars of 48, 67, 73 and they want more assurance this time around and will come with all their might, only to be destroyed by God Almighty. The sad part will be the death and suffering once again to the Jewish people as the Devil tries once again to destroy the possibility of the return of the Jewish Messiah.

I am asked all the time how does this Ministry play into all of this, all I can say is we have heard from God and we will continue looking towards our salvation and strength knowing that God has a plan for this Ministry, what we do may not be big in the eyes of men, but very important in the eyes of God. We are short at this time on finances
The larger boat is still our greatest need, and the establishing of ground communications with our boats is also needed. Our travels will not be published for a while for obvious reasons.

As for the USA Obama has sealed its fate with his hatred of Israel and his love for the enemies of God and of Israel, but he put the final nail in the coffin when he repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell, now God has no choice but to be true to His Word.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for our son Joel and all the IDF soldiers. Pray for this Ministry and your part in it.

Shalom, jerry golden

UPDATE: EGYPT

First some breaking news, and then a very nice summary from Joel Rosenberg. These types of situations are very familiar to Mr Rosenberg, given his background and experience and his insights will be invaluable as watch the Middle East ignite.

Mubarak sacks gov't, protesters remain in Cairo's streets

Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak fired his Cabinet early Saturday and promised reforms in his first response to protesters who have mounted the biggest challenge ever to his 30-year rule.

But many protesters were outraged by Mubarak's nationally televised address, in which he also defended the crackdown by police on tens of thousands of demonstrators that drew harsh criticism from the Obama administration Friday, and even a threat to reduce a $1.5 billion program of foreign aid if Egypt escalated the use of force.

Mubarak's decision to dismiss Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and the rest of the Cabinet would be interpreted as a serious attempt at bringing change under normal circumstances. But on a day when tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand Mubarak's ouster, it fell far short of expectations.

As a result, options appeared to be dwindling for Mubarak, a 82-year-old former air force commander who until this week maintained what looked like rock-solid control of the most populous Arab nation and the cultural heart of the region.

There is much more in this article regarding the current state of affairs in Egypt.

Egypt Cuts Off Most Internet and Cell Service

Autocratic governments often limit phone and Internet access in tense times. But the Internet has never faced anything like what happened in Egypt on Friday, when the government of a country with 80 million people and a modernizing economy cut off nearly all access to the network and shut down cellphone service.

The shutdown caused a 90 percent drop in data traffic to and from Egypt, crippling an important communications tool used by antigovernment protesters and their supporters to organize and to spread their message.

White House: Time for reform to come to Egypt

The White House says that the "legitimate grievances" of the Egyptian people must be addressed immediately by the Egyptian government and violence is not the right response.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama has not spoken with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the target of roiling street protests. Asked why not, Gibbs said that "we're monitoring a very fluid situation."

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Now for some insight from Joel Rosenberg:

Revolution in Egypt? And Could Jordan Be Next?

This commentary is worth reading - here are a few parts:

One thing’s for certain: No one predicted the demonstrations in Egypt would grow so big so fast. Momentum for the protests is growing. A Facebook page promoting the democracy protests grew from 20,000 members on Wednesday to 80,000 on Thursday.

The government then reportedly shut down Facebook, and disrupted Internet service in parts of the country. Twitter has been blocked. Police are beating protesters. As of Friday, more than 1,000 Egyptians have been arrested for demonstrating. Now an overnight curfew has been imposed and the Egyptian army has been deployed to urban centers.


Meanwhile, protests have mounted in recent days in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. There, too, economics is playing a critical role. Reports the AP: “The economy saw a record deficit of $2 billion this year, inflation rising … to 6.1 percent just last month and rampant unemployment and poverty — estimated at 12 and 25 percent respectively.

In Jordan, there is a very high risk that Islamic radicals would take over the regime. As I write in Inside The Revolution, “It is precisely because the Jordanians have made such progress [with positive political and economic reforms in the past two decades] that I am worried by the Radicals’ determination to launch a jihad there, seize the capital, and create a new anti-Israel, anti-Western base for Iran and al Qaeda.

Therefore, I often pray for Jordan’s peace, prosperity and continued progress. I pray for King Abdullah’s health and safety, and I pray that the Lord would grant him the wisdom to know how best to move forward in such challenging times.”

On top of all this, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror movement has just toppled the government in Lebanon. Iran’s leaders are convinced their so-called messiah known as the Twelfth Imam is coming to earth at any moment, and feverishly trying to build nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to help usher in a new messianic age and an Islamic caliphate.

One aspect of this whole situation strikes me the most. With the Hezbollah (Iranian) takeover of Lebanon - and with Egypt in turmoil. Not to mention Jordan - we now have perfect "staging areas" for the battle of Gog-MaGog. Staging areas where troops can assemble prior of the massive invasion of Israel. Israel is completely surrounded, and feeling pressure from every end.

Thankfully, they have God on their side.

EGYPT

There are so many updates circulating right now, it is hard to keep up.

Here are a few briefs that are both current and provide the most germane news:

Military takeover in Egypt aired as army holds fire against curfew violators

The possibility of the military taking control of the regime on the back of the popular uprising to end Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule was actively discussed Friday night, Jan. 28, after security forces failed to control anti-government riots for four days.

Protesters in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez ignored the nationwide curfew imposed until 0700 Saturday and the soldiers who were called in to enforce it held their fire. Protesters overturning and burning security forces vehicles welcomed the military APCs.

The transfer of rule to the military even for an interim period would shake the entire Middle East to its foundations. The US stands to lose its senior Arab ally, whereas a new government in Cairo might modify or abandon Egypt's epic 1979 peace treaty with Israel and turn away from the close relations between the two governments.

Its almost a guarantee that a new government is unlikely to recognize the peace treaty with Israel. Its all coming together now, prophetically.

Egyptian protesters tried to storm the foreign ministry in Cairo Friday night, Jan. 28 in defiance of nationwide curfew imposed on the capital, Alexandria and Suez, until 0700 hours Saturday. President Hosni Mubarak called in the army to back the security forces facing swelling numbers of protesters and enforce the curfew.

Gunshots were heard near the parliament and thousands of protesters remained out in the streets. At least 10 people were killed and more than a thousand wounded in Cairo during the day. In Suez, 13 are reported dead, 75 injured.

The protesters later set fire to parliament, the national museum and the ruling National Democratic Party whose offices were later looted.
Some soldiers and policemen instead of confronting the rioters reportedly shed their uniforms and joined them.

Finally, and as expected, we see the Muslim brotherhood making their presence known.

During the day in Cairo, the protesters' ranks swelled to tens of thousands when Muslim worshippers poured out of the mosques, many heading for the Nile bridges and fighting to cross over to the government district and Tahrir (Liberation) Square on the other side. Security forces firing rubber bullets and tear gas, using water cannons and charging them with batons, injured hundreds but failed to halt the current.

Mubarak: "There will be a new government tomorrow"

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made his first public statement since anti-government protests began four days ago. He said he is aware of the problems faced by Egyptian people, called for order and announced that the government will be replaced on Saturday.

"In my capacity as president of the republic, I always stressed and continue to reiterate that sovereignty belongs to the people." However, he continued, "There is a fine line separating freedom from chaos."

The head of the Egyptian opposition Wafd party on Friday called for a period of transitional rule in Egypt, new parliamentary elections and amendments to the constitution limiting presidential terms, Reuters reported.

As protests continued into the night, Egyptian authorities were reportedly holding talks to establish a "transitional government," following the series of deadly protests against President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

An even more recent update (5:55 EST) is now in:

Egypt's Mubarak fires Cabinet but refuses to resign

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on early Saturday said he had ordered the Cabinet to resign and said he would name a new one 'tomorrow'.

Egypt plunged into chaos on Friday when tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Cairo and other major cities to demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Some of them clashed with security forces, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 1,100 others.

The Egyptian leader, who has ruled the African nation since October 1981, said he would name a new Cabinet 'tomorrow' but gave no indication if he was referring to Saturday or Sunday.

Meanwhile....

Number of dead rises to 18, 13 in Suez, in Egypt protests

The number of people killed in the latest day of anti-government protests in Egypt rose to 18 on Friday, with 13 people killed in the port city of Suez, al-Jazeera reported.

Nearly 20 people were also reportedly injured in the protests in Suez, with over 900 people injured throughout the country.

Earlier, five people were confirmed dead in protests in Cairo.

As night fell, several government officials and businessmen fled Egypt in private jets, reported Reuters.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities were reportedly holding talks to establish a "transitional government," following the series of deadly protests against President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Earlier Friday, Egyptian state television said Mubarak imposed a curfew on Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez after violent demonstrations there.

Egypt's military was also deployed on the streets of Cairo for the first time since the protests began four days ago.

Parts of the ruling party headquarters in Cairo were going up in flames apparently set by enraged protesters demanding Mubarak's ouster.

Mubarak has not said yet whether he will stand for another six-year term as president in elections this year. He has never appointed a deputy and is thought to be grooming his son Gamal to succeed him despite popular opposition. According to leaked US memos, hereditary succession also does not meet with the approval of the powerful military.

This situation is evolving rapidly. More to follow - that much is certain.

The Coming Famine

"A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages" (Revelation 6:6).

That verse, which comes from Revelation 6 is a description of the famine which comes early in the Tribulation. According to the NIV study Bible, we read:

"Wheat...barley. One quart of wheat would be enough for only one person. Three quarts of the less nutritious barley would be barely enough for a small family. Famine had inflated prices to at least ten times their normal level."

According to Jesus: "There will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matthew 24:7)

"There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11)

This leads to yet another article predicting this scenario:

Food prices rocket by 50% as global hunger epidemic causes riots and famines

The increase will be triggered by the exploding world population, rising cost of fuel and increased competition for water, according to a leading Government think-tank.

Spiralling food prices will push hundreds of millions of people into hunger, trigger mass migration and spark civil unrest, the report warned.

Global food prices are already at a record high. Last month the price of cereals, sugar and meat soared on the world’s markets after a series of crop failures caused by bad weather.

At the same time, climate change will increase the risk of droughts, floods and crop failures – creating a ‘perfect storm’ of food shortages and above-inflation rises in prices.

Professor John Beddington, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, said the food system was failing.

‘Firstly it is unsustainable, with resources being used faster than they can be naturally replenished,’ he said.

‘Secondly a billion people are going hungry with another billion people suffering from “hidden hunger”, whilst a billion people are over-consuming.’

Worsening famine will be coming on the earth, exactly as predicted by biblical prophecy. Just like the other signs, this one too is marching along - right into the Tribulation.

Snow Men?

This article may mean absolutely nothing, but it is interesting that this story is not being widely discussed or reported.

Is there something going on that we should know about?

Snow Men

The scene: Near midnight, January. Wednesday

Times Square, NYC. One of the world's busiest crossways. A fresh blanket of heavy, wet, billowing snow across the most populous city in the U.S., the city's sixth major snowstorm in the still-young winter season. Even though we are muffled and layered, furred and gloved, booted and hatted, the wind whips compact particles of ice and stinging snow into our faces at a curt clip. The temperature is below freezing.

We pass in front of the AMC movie theatre on 42nd and 8th, hard by the glimmering, somber New York Times building, one block south, and across the street from the often hive-busy Port Authority. Even with the 19th century daguerrotype-look of tonight's diorama, this is a happening and vibrant part of the city. Not any kind of backwoods culvert.

This is where the story takes a turn:

We notice a knot of men dressed all in black. They are outfitted in full Kevlar regalia, their clothing tight to their fit forms, with black half face-masks covering their noses, chins and lips. They have full black, big machine guns, which are not resting by their sides in a relaxed stance. The weapons are held at the ready. The frogmen-like special forces eye everyone who passes. Look up, scan down, watch warily.

It's New York, in the middle of the arctic night, but this is, after all, Hollywood East-are they actors, hired to promote a new flick? We're pretty savvy, but the presence of these military in gear that spells Trouble stops us in our tracks.

"Are you guys real? Or...maybe actors? Are you promoting something?" I ask, my usual reticence and shy Ms. Demeanor not fretting during the usual doh-si-doh indulged in by citizens when faced with constabulary of any kind. Aren't most people discreetly guilty until relieved by business as usual restores itself?

One guy graciously speaks to me from behind his face-mask. "We're real." He holds the firearm at an angle, skywards, but not at rest. He does not stop panning the street with his eyes as we speak. His fingers lightly stroke the long black gun.

Here, the story becomes more interesting:

Why are you here?" I pursue, baffled. I am well aware that the Big Apple is in major debt in the multi-billions, and these men--who, I notice, are up and down the street -- do not come cheap. Actually, this is the first time I have seen such military troop-type men on the street since 2001.

"Uh, you know," says the tall military guy with a huge black rifle and the restless eyes. "Um, 9-11..."

I am taken aback. "Do you mean there was some kind of alert--you're here in response to some kind of...current intelligence?" I am not being charming. No need to worry about this woman. She's not wearing a mask, she's smiling, and she's being just, you know, charming as all get-out. She's in a long mink, and a funky hat, now entirely white.

He nods. Yep.

An alert?

The other Kevlar'ed men nearby also nod, watching me, my companion, and the street, as the snow swirls down and the wind buffets us all with flurries and flakes of ice and snon

It's not by accident these men in their serious gear are here, this late, this cold, in this area. With our mental calculators ever more sharply attuned to the grimace of imminent city bankruptcy, the reality of a threat this impending, this live, is a sudden concussive realization. They know something the mayor has not announced to the residents of the city. People can go about their usual business, unaware of the evident risk these men have been told about. I listen to two or three radio news shows all day, keep my BlackBerry

But the threat is right here. Men in black dotting our wide white streets. Men with no-BS weapons. Pretty much aiming at anything untoward.

Net-net takeaway: They wouldn't be here if there was nothing to worry about.

Hmmmm. Perhaps we will hear more about this "threat" in the near future. For now, we are left to ponder what we currently don't know and what may be on the horizon.

Updates and Perspective on Current Events in the Middle East

Now we are starting to see some interesting commentaries which reflect on the current turmoil we are watching in the Middle East.

Israel quietly watches chaos unfolding around it

Israel has been closely watching the unrest roiling its Arab neighbors while keeping a low profile, with top government officials responding cautiously to what one described as "an earthquake" in the region.

The anti-government protests in Egypt, Israel's largest Arab neighbor and the first to sign a peace treaty with it, are being watched with particular interest here, and so far the prevailing official assessment is that President Hosni Mubarak will weather the storm.

To Israel's north, Lebanon is also in midst of political turmoil, with the appointment of a new prime minister backed by the Islamist movement Hezbollah. Israeli officials say they are concerned but do not expect the latest changes to trigger violence across the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.

Israeli minister: Hezbollah agents entering Gaza

Israel's minister of strategic affairs said Thursday the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group has infiltrated agents into the Gaza Strip to train Palestinian militants.

Gaza is ruled by the Hamas militant group, which, like Hezbollah, is sworn to Israel's destruction.

And below we see the one of the biggest problems:

The minister, Moshe Yaalon, Israel's former military chief of staff, told reporters that "Hezbollah experts can get into the Gaza Strip, like the Iranian rockets are coming to the Gaza Strip." He said Hezbollah militants can go from Lebanon to Sudan, then to Egypt and on to Gaza.

Israel charges that archenemy Iran sends rockets and other weapons to Gaza militants, smuggling them into the seaside strip through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

And this:

"We're living on a volcano," experts warn

As with Iran in ’79, Islamists could hijack pro-democracy movements; ex-IDF research chief: “We're on thick ice, but even that melts eventually."

Israeli security experts are casting an uneasy eye at the civil unrest spreading through the region.

On Thursday, Yemen joined the list of Arab states experiencing unprecedented demonstrations calling for authoritarian leaders to step down, and Egypt braced for more civil unrest.

While no analysts here predict any immediate ramifications for Israel’s national security, some said mass protest movements that begin as pro-democracy uprisings could easily be hijacked by Islamists.

“We need to understand that we are living on a volcano,” said Maj.- Gen. (res.) Ya’acov Amidror, former head of the IDF’s Research and Assessment Directorate.

“Conditions can change from today until tomorrow. We must ask ourselves, what is the worst case scenario,” he said. “We are on thick ice, but even that melts eventually."

We can’t forget that in Iran, at the end of the 1970s, the uprising against the shah was led by [pro-democracy] youths who took the streets – but this was taken over by Islamists in the end.”

It is hard to imagine that these spreading "uprisings" throughout the region will not have prophetic implications. The hour is too late and the implications are too significant for these uprisings to not somehow fit into the prophetic developments. We are now just seeing the beginnings of these uprisings and they will most assuredly take some unpredictable twists and turns.

Meanwhile, we continue to watch these events closely.

Egyptian Violence Spreads

Egyptian protests intensify, as clashes spread across the Middle East

Egyptian police have been fighting protesters in intensifying clashes, and demonstrations have reported from Yemen and Gabon – a sign that defiance against authoritarian rulers in the Middle East is spreading.

Security forces shot dead a Bedouin protester in Egypt's Sinai region on Thursday, bringing the death in the three days of protests to five. Police in Suez fired rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators calling for an end to the 30-year-old rule of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president.

Protesters chucked rocks and petrol bombs at police lines. In Ismailia, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, who dispersed the crowds with tear gas.

Tomorrow promises to be most violent day so far:

Egyptian Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei announced on Thursday he was returning to Egypt to join the protests. "Tomorrow is going to be, I think, a major demonstration all over Egypt and I will be there with them," he said. Mr Baradei, who won the Nobel peace prize for his work as head of the UN's nuclear agency, called on Mr Mubarak to leave office, saying "he has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire."

Protests against Egyptian president spread

Web activists called for mass protests across Egypt on Friday to end President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule after protesters clashed with security forces late into the night in the eastern city of Suez.

Emboldened by this month's revolt in Tunisia that toppled its long-serving leader, Egyptians have staged mass protests since Tuesday in an unprecedented outburst of anger against Mubarak's strong-handed rule

And we also see another warning about Islamic radicals exploiting this situation - a factor that would represent the biggest threat to Israel:

The United States, Egypt's close ally and major aid donor, is concerned Islamic radicals could exploit continuing anger.

The EU Observer considers this situation in light of the breaking news regarding the Mediterranean Union:

Mediterranean Union chief resigns as Egypt unrest continues

The secretary general of the Union for the Mediterranean has announced his resignation, highlighting the institution's shaky foundations and apparent inability to tackle key issues in the region, including the ongoing political tension in northern Africa.

Jordanian diplomat Ahmad Khalef Masadeh's decision to step down on Wednesday (26 January) co-incided with a second day of Tunisia-inspired protests in Egypt, leaving at least four dead as police tried to disperse the thousands of activists who flooded the streets of Cairo, demanding an end to the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

Made up of the EU's 27 member states and 16 Mediterranean countries from north Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans, the union was launched in 2008 with the purpose of promoting stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region.

The union's silence over the dramatic events in Tunisia and Egypt recently have prompted further existential questions over its role.

The rest of the article points out how this situation of "unrest" and rioting may be spreading within the region:

Protests continued for a second day on Wednesday in Cairo and other Egyptian cities after the ousting of Tunisia's former autocratic ruler, Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali, inspired calls for regime change in other north African countries and as far afield as Yemen.

The Egyptian government has said the protests are illegal, launching a crackdown and arresting some 700 people. Police beat protesters with batons and fired tear gas, reports say. In the eastern city of Suez protesters set fire to parts of a government building and attacked the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party.

Witnesses say the protests are unlikely to fade away, with more expected to join the crowds once the working week finishes on Thursday. "We've started and we won't stop," one demonstrator told AFP.

It seems that more and more countries are experiencing major unrest. It wasn't long ago that Greece was in the news with riots taking place in the streets. Then Tunisia, followed by Lebanon and now Egypt. From this article it may also spread into Africa and Yemen.

This situation even involves the EU, as their policies are now being questioned:

The unrest in the Maghreb has put a question mark over the EU's policy toward the area, with regimes such as Mr Ben Ali's in Tunisia having enjoyed the support of many southern EU states over the past decade.

Interestingly and somewhat unexpectedly, we are watching the Middle East erupting with internal conflict. Unfortunately, many, if not all of these countries were experiencing relative stability, at least as far as Israel is concerned. Any change is most likely to result in administrations not nearly as favorable to Israel. That alone should generate some interest in this evolving situation.

Perhaps of greater interest, at least to this prophecy watcher - is this recurrent thought that the world is so ripe for a leader who can seemingly conquer these various and growing world-wide problems which include the financial crisis, the approaching famine problem, the ongoing conflicts and array of potential wars, and of course the ever present fear of terrorist groups obtaining nuclear weapons. That just mentions a few of today's problems.

One cannot help but wonder when he will make his move. This is a moot point to a Christian however, as the scriptures indicate that we'll be in New Jerusalem before he confirms the covenant - that act which serves to define his identity.

All of these events are closing in rapidly. The battle of Gog-MaGog, God making His presence known, the beginning of the Tribulation and the rise of the antichrist. These things are just around the corner - the signs are unambiguous. It is time to remain in prayer as much as possible, especially for those who are unsaved. There is still time, but that door is closing rapidly.

In the news: Quakes, Russia, and Famine

It looks like another day of prophecy watching:

First, we see yet another "unusual" earthquake in a "diverse place":

Shallow 3.9-magnitude quake rattles southern Idaho

Second in the news: We see yet another city preparing for an eventual New Madrid Quake:

200 years after big quake, Missouri gets ready

It was 200 years ago that a series of earthquakes centered near the southeast Missouri town of New Madrid caused devastation over several hundred miles. This year, Missourians are being asked to take part in preparedness to get ready if the next big one occurs.

Similar fears in India:

Next major earthquake may split Banni from Kutch, says expert

The earthquake that shook Gujarat on January 26, 2001, caused maximum damage in Kutch district where towns like Bhuj, Anjar and Bhachau were virtually flattened. But what few people know is that if the same quake, which had the power of 400 atom bombs of the size that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were to strike again, it could physically split Kutch asunder.

This is indicated by the research done by RK Singh, senior scientist at Institute of Seismological Research (ISR)...Singh presented a paper on his findings at the international symposium on earthquake sciences that concluded at ISR on January 24.

His study has revealed that the 2001 quake was so powerful that it had created new fault-lines and reoriented several faults that already existed beneath the earth’s surface in Kutch.

The massive breach created by the quake of 2001 lies between these two fault-lines and it is this breach which, in the eventuality of another powerful quake, may impact Banni and split it from the southern part of Kutch. A study on this issue has also been conducted by international seismologists and both the studies agree on this lurking threat to Banni.

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Now, on to the land of MaGog, who is proceeding exactly as we would expect:

WW3 Alert: Russia threatens NATO with Nukes

The Russian president has called on NATO to clarify Moscow’s role in a European missile system, warning if no agreement is reached, Russia will be forced to deploy “offensive” nuclear weapons.

“So this is not a joking matter. We expect from our NATO partners a direct and unambiguous answer,” Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with Russia’s NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin.

“Either we agree to certain principles with NATO, or we fail to agree, and then in the future we are forced to adopt an entire series of unpleasant decisions concerning the deployment of an offensive nuclear missile group,” Medvedev was quoted by AFP as saying.

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The coming famine:

Grain, Soybeans Rise as Food Riots Spur Demand for U.S. Exports

Wheat rose, capping the longest rally since November 2009, while corn and soybeans climbed as countries increase purchases from the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, to cut food inflation and quell civil unrest.

Food-exporting countries are “strongly advised” not to restrict shipments to prevent “more uncertainty and disruption” in world markets, the United Nations said. Governments in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Yemen have faced protests amid rising costs and high unemployment, and a revolt toppled Tunisia’s leader.

The commodities climbed in 2010 after drought slashed crops in Russia, Ukraine and other parts of Europe, and adverse weather reduced harvests in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Governments from Beijing to Belgrade are increasing imports, limiting exports or releasing supply from state stockpiles to curb food inflation.

A surge in food and energy costs is stoking inflation in emerging markets and causing riots that may topple governments, Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the financial crisis, said today in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television’s “The Pulse.”

Is it just me, or does the entire world seem to be teetering just on the edge?

It would seem like a VERY ripe time for a "world-leader" to emerge on the scene - a world-leader who appears to have the answers to all of these problems, even including the Middle East.

His time appears to be approaching - as we watch a world that seems to be in an ongoing "crisis" mode. Everything we observe in the world today is lining up precisely as one would expect from a literal view of prophecy. How reassuring it is - to have not only forewarning of these ominous events - but the promises directed to the Church as we watch these events unfold.

Maranatha!