Shalom from Israel! Even as I hear the rumble of jets echoing in the skies above me, I am still taken aback at the beauty of the land that surrounds me. The Jezreel Valley, which spreads for miles below my house, is lush and fruitful. The green bounty of the crops is only broken up here and there by the rich brown of the soil being turned by farmers in their tractors. It is idyllic and puts me in the mind of that apt description of this land as being one flowing with milk and honey.
Yet, despite the miraculous fertility of modern Israel, there is still a pall of sorrow that hangs over its people. This past weekend marked 100 days since Hamas terrorists poured over the Gaza border and began torturing, raping, kidnapping, murdering, and mutilating every Israeli that they could find. Even today, there are still 132 hostages that remain in captivity enduring the brutality of these savages. Imagine being one of these innocents, just ordinary civilians, having been snatched from your home, forced to watch your loved ones slaughtered, then abused at the hands of your captor’s day-after-day for 100 days. It’s so horrific that I can’t let my mind go too deep into their experience. It’s too dark. It’s too evil.
For these past months, I have necessarily been immersed into what has been taking place in my country – the prosecution of the war, the return of the hostages, the terrorist raids. Yet, even with that primary focus, I haven’t lost sight of what’s happening in the rest of the world. So many locations beyond just Israel are either at war or close to erupting. There are those who say that we are on the verge of another world war. Just three days ago, British foreign secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech that the “era of the peace dividend is over” and that we are now in a “pre-war” period that could eventually lead to conflicts involving Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. I agree with much of what he is saying. However, after taking stock of our global situation, I believe that a strong case can be made that we are already in a world war.
In today’s article, I want to look at eight areas of conflict or potential conflict that involve a very large percentage of Europe, Asia, and North America, and examine what has taken place in each situation just this past week.
1 comment:
Good Article. Globally it's looking off balance for sure, IMO too! So senseless, but many seek power, resources, control, not theirs's to have, and to risk it all for greed is man's downfall; knowing Jesus is the way, the truth, and seek peace shall come through Jesus!
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