Better Late Than Never

As the saying goes. The New York Times finally catches on to what the rest of the world has known for weeks.

Islamist Group Is Rising Force in a New Egypt

Have they been reading some prophecy websites?

In post-revolutionary Egypt, where hope and confusion collide in the daily struggle to build a new nation, religion has emerged as a powerful political force, following an uprising that was based on secular ideals.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group once banned by the state, is at the forefront, transformed into a tacit partner with the military government that many fear will thwart fundamental changes.

It is also clear that the young, educated secular activists who initially propelled the nonideological revolution are no longer the driving political force — at least not at the moment.

Yes it is. Its crystal clear.

As the best organized and most extensive opposition movement in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was expected to have an edge in the contest for influence. But what surprises many is its link to a military that vilified i

“There is evidence the Brotherhood struck some kind of a deal with the military early on,” said Elijah Zarwan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. “It makes sense if you are the military — you want stability and people off the street. The Brotherhood is one address where you can go to get 100,000 people off the street.”

Of course, later in the article, the NYTimes had to give the perfunctory "moderate" claim to the Brotherhood:

This is not to say that the Brotherhood is intent on establishing an Islamic state.

Yea - right. Perhaps the NYTimes writers missed the numerous quotes from the Muslim Brotherhood leaders stating exactly that. In Arabic of course. Even their own quote admits the shift towards Islam:

He would not comment on whether the Brotherhood had an arrangement with the military, but he said the will of the people to shift toward Islam spoke for itself

And this:

“I worry about going too fast towards elections, that the parties are still weak,” said Nabil Ahmed Helmy, former dean of the Zagazig law school and a member of the National Council for Human Rights. “The only thing left right now is the Muslim Brotherhood. I do think that people are trying to take over the revolution.”

Just as predicted however, we are seeing the Muslim Brotherhood as an emerging force in the region - even more so than before. Much more. At the same time, we are seeing an escalation of tensions around the Gaza border. We all seem to have forgotten Lebanon which is on the brink of being completely dominated by Hezbollah.

It seems that we are watching the build-up to the coalition referenced in Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 and one has to wonder just how much longer before we see these battles take place. God's perfect timing will ultimately dictate these events, but the rate at which we are seeing events in the Middle East progress towards the prophetic battles is breathtaking.

The Crown of Righteousness

Prophecy watching can hard. For years I have pondered this topic and tried to figure out why prophecy watching can, at times be a difficult process.

On the one hand, it is completely exhilarating: the knowledge that we are just on the brink of seeing Jesus Christ Himself, up close and personal - can become a mind blowing exercise. Not to mention the massive reunions - all of us - seeing our deceased brothers and sisters in Christ, grandparents, siblings, best-friends, and all of the biblical characters we have so long read about.

This is not even considering the abundant joy, the peace that we will experience, and the delight in exploring the wonders of Heaven and getting comfortable in the special place that Jesus has prepared for each of us - that place He described in John 14:1-3 and promised to take us. Our eternal home, "New Jerusalem", which is described in the last two chapters of the book of Revelation.

But that's the hard part as well, and I know this from talking to so many "prophecy watchers" over the years.

Fatigue can set in. Why? Because we know that we are JUST on the brink of the glory and the wonder described above - and yet it is still, at the moment unattainable.

Somehow that makes the difficulties of this world seem worse. We know how things should be and we know that our real world lies just beyond this world. We know that this world is just a temporary stop on a much longer journey. In short, we are looking beyond this world. As stated, we know that we are in this world, but we are not of this world.

As the hardships mount - and almost everyone I know right now is experiencing multiple hardships for various reasons - the more frustrating it is that we are still having to endure this world. Sure, we want to do the Lord's work until the very final moments, and sure, we want to witness to as many people as we can possibly reach. That goes without saying.

After its all said and done, all we really want is to be with Jesus - to be in His glorious presence and to have the opportunity to thank Him - in person - for what He did on the cross.

The longer it takes, the more painful it is. The wait actually becomes more difficult the longer it goes, especially when the anticipation remains high at all times.

Perhaps that is why we receive the "Crown of Righteousness":

"There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day: and not only to me, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8).

In other words, those who are looking for His appearing are specifically identified as being worthy of one of the five crowns mentioned in the Bible. There will be many rewards given at the Bema "judgment" (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 3:9-15), but this is one that is specifically declared.

As the apostle Paul set the framework for this discussion, he briefly mentioned the longing and "groaning" we experience while we wait:

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling...For while we are in this tent, we groan and we are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

Now comes the good part:

"Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 5:5)

We groan while in this body. We all have physical ailments, money concerns, cancer, taxes, work problems, traffic, too much to do and too little time, and on and on this list goes. Such is life on earth in the year 2011.

But as the apostle Paul stated we have been given a guarantee. And what exactly is that guarantee?

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God; trust also in me.
In my Father's house there are many rooms;
if it were not so, I would have told you.
I am going there to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am."
(John 14:1-3)

And this passage is also worth remembering:

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven
...with the trumpet call of God,
and the dead will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with
the Lord forever.

Therefore encourage each other with these words."
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Amen and Maranatha.

It won't be long now.

We are simply too far into this generation and the signs are abundant.

Its a guarantee.

In the News:

Is an uprising beginning in Jordan?

Protesting Jordanian youths attacked

Around 500 young people from different movements, including the powerful Islamist opposition, had braved rain and cold weather to to call for "regime" reforms and putting the corrupt on trial.They were camped out next to the Interior Circle, or Gamal Abdel Nasser Square, in the capital.

At nightfall, police attempted to disperse the youths and cut off electricity on the square around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT), an AFP journalist witnessed. A group of nearly 50 loyalists hurled stones at Jordanian students in a protest camp set up in Amman Thursday night, leaving several injured, as security forces stood by, witnesses told AFP.

'IDF will have to carry out large-scale operation in Gaza'

Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) on Friday said that he estimates that the IDF will eventually have to carry out a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, bigger than Operation Cast Lead. Sa'ar made the comments in an interview with Israel Radio.

Sa'ar said that he understood local authorities in the South who decided to cancel school in light of increased rocket and mortar fire, but emphasized that the Home Front Command said that studies could continue as usual.

Nowhere to run: Ashdod, Ashkelon grapple with rockets

The above article details the experiences of several Israeli citizens who face daily rocket attacks (while the MSM ignores the issue):

“This is the scariest time so far for me. Back in Cast Lead, anytime there were sirens me and my wife were always home with our son, but today he was home alone when the siren went off,” Ashdod resident Gabi Tatarov, a 53-year-old native of Georgia, described rushing home to his nine-year-old son Sharon on Thursday, after he was kept home from school when classes were canceled for the second day in a row as a means of keeping kids home and safe from the rockets which have in the past week returned to batter the communities of the south.

These kids can't even go to school for fear of being the recipient of a rocket attack.

“In the morning, I told him what to do if there is an attack because with school out and me and my wife at work, we knew he’d be home alone. I rushed home and found him hiding in the stairwell. We have a safe room in the house, but there were other people in the stairwell so he felt safe there.”

Tatarov’s experience was shared by many residents of Ashdod and Ashkelon who on Thursday described the renewed Grad strikes on their cities as predominantly a cause of concern for their children's welfare, who had been out of school since Wednesday.

Israel ready to act with "full force" to stop missiles

Jerusalem - Israel is ready to act with its full force to stop missile attacks launched from the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday.

'No country could accept such attacks,' Netanyahu told reporters as he met US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in the coastal town of Caesaria.

Netanyahu made the remarks at the end of the week in which Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired around 85 projectiles, including Russian Grad missiles, at Israel, hitting towns and villages close to the salient, but also the cities of Beersheba and Ashdod, located 45 and 25 kilometres respectively from the enclave.

'Russians won't retract anti-ship missile sale to Syria

The Russian sale of Yakhnot anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria is a “done deal,” and Moscow has no intention of scuttling it, the Kremlin told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Moscow on Thursday, according to a senior Israeli diplomatic source.

According to the source, the Russians said that from their point of view, Israel enjoyed a clear qualitative military superiority in the region, and the sale of 20 of the missiles to Damascus would not tip the strategic balance

Israel girds for Gaza strife as US calls for peace talks

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets deep into Israel on Thursday, as the Israeli military said it was being drawn into a broader confrontation with militants in Gaza.

That's pretty much the bottom line isn't it?

Israel Defense Forces officers told McClatchy Newspapers that if the violence persists, Israel could be drawn into a large-scale operation in Gaza.

"Nobody wants to see another Cast Lead," said one high-ranking official from Israel's Southern Command, which oversees Gaza. He was referring to Israel's punishing 22-day Gaza offensive, which commenced in December 2008. "The region is a big mess right now. Everything is unpredictable, and it could turn against us quickly."

Israeli officials said they're aware of the risks of starting another operation in Gaza. Recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya have focused on domestic politics and economics, but the focus could be deflected to Israel.

"With instability in their own fronts, countries like Syria or Egypt could chose to turn attention to Israel to distract from their own problems," said an official from Israel's Foreign Ministry. He added that politicians in Israel could not, however, choose to ignore domestic calls for stronger action to be taken against Gaza.

Debka offers a perspective on current events:

Israeli and Saudi leaders in Moscow as Palestinians ramp up missile strikes

As Russian, Israeli and Saudi leaders discussed the ramifications of the Arab uprising in Moscow and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates talked to Israeli military chiefs in Tel Aviv, the Palestinian Hamas continued to escalate its missile offensive on Israeli cities

The radical Palestinian rulers of Gaza are in fact raising the stakes, they say, and hoping to goad Israel into an extreme response in the belief that a war clash with Israel will elevate the Gaza Strip to the same regional level as the war in Libya and the Arab uprisings, especially in Yemen and Bahrain.

They also believe it will help Syrian president Bashar Assad, who hosts a Hamas center in Damascus, by distracting attention from the bloodbath he is inflicting on protesters against his repressive regime.

Thursday, Syrian soldiers were reported to have shot 100 protesters dead in the southern town of Deraa. At some point, the West which is punishing Muammar Qaddafi for killing his own people might also take notice of Assad's actions against his.

The Middle East is heating up much as it did a couple of years ago when major conflict was seen on the northern border. Now its Gaza.

Ultimately, Iran is pushing the buttons among Israel's enemies in the region. We'll have to wait and see what they have in store, but clearly, something is up. Could this escalation in violence be part of a larger plan?

More Quakes

Two magnitude 7.0 quakes hit Myanmar

It said the quakes struck seconds apart at 8:25 p.m. on Thursday (1355 GMT) and were centered 69 miles north of Chiang Rai in neighboring Thailand. The first one was very shallow, at a depth of 6.2 miles, while the second one was deeper at 142.5 miles.

Quake kills 74 in Myanmar as aftershock rattles Thailand

At least 74 people were killed in a strong earthquake that struck Myanmar, state media said on Friday, while a series of aftershocks have caused panic

The death toll from Thursday's 6.8 magnitude tremor was expected to rise slightly in Myanmar after 225 homes and nine government buildings were destroyed. Over 100 people were injured, according to state television.

The quake sparked panic, but no major damage, in other countries across Southeast Asia. This month's devastating Japan quake and tsunami have revived memories of the even more powerful 2004 Indonesia quake and tsunami which killed around 226,000 people.

An aftershock of an estimated magnitude of 5.5 rattled Thailand on Friday

The New UN: Could Israel be in the Crosshairs?

An interesting story has appeared in WND and offers a scenario which hasn't been discussed in the context of the UN's new power to enact war according to their determinations:

American military targeting Israel?

Could President Obama's decision to sidestep Congress and strike Libya as part of an international coalition put the U.S. on a military collision course with Israel?

...the precedent set by Obama in agreeing to target Libya opens the door to other possible United Nations-backed confrontations, including perhaps one day with Israel.

"Particularly concerning is the prospect that what we might call the Gaddafi Precedent will be used in the not-to-distant future to justify and threaten the use of U.S. military forces against an American ally: Israel," writes Frank Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy.

This possibility must be considered, particularly in light of the fact that we know from biblical prophecy that the entire world will be aligned against Israel. We can also observe all recent trends which also point in this direction.

In a piece this week entitled "U.N. intervention into Libya an ominous precedent for Israel," Gaffney spells out a possible scenario whereby an international coalition, including the U.S., could militarily threaten Israel just as it is striking Libya.

Gaffney notes the Palestinian Authority is attempting to bring a U.N. resolution that would unilaterally declare a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel.

Such a resolution seeks international legal recognition for a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, meaning inside the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, technically including the Temple Mount.

Why, of course. We also know from biblical prophecy that the ultimate goal (in addition to destroying the Nation of Israel) is Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Just read Zechariah 12:3.

Should the U.N. unilaterally declare a Palestinian state, Gaffney warns, the move may put the U.S. and Israel on a military collision course.

Writes Gaffney: "With a stroke of the U.N.'s collective pen, substantial numbers of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli citizens find themselves on the wrong side of internationally recognized borders. The Palestinian Authority (PA) insists on its longstanding position: The sovereign territory of Palestine must be rid of all Jews."

Gaffney envisions a scenario in which Israel refuses to evacuate its Jewish communities and military stations from the newly recognized Palestinian state, leading the PA to seek international help to "liberate" its so-called land.

Would this really be surprising?

Another scenario not directly pointed to by Gaffney could involve the PA asking the international community for help to oppose any future Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip or West Bank should the U.N. unilaterally impose a Palestinian state there.

"As with the Gaddafi Precedent," Gaffney predicts, "the first to act is the Arab League. Its members unanimously endorse the use of force to protect the 'Palestinian people' and end the occupation of the West Bank by the Israelis."

They call on the U.N. Security Council to authorize such steps as might be necessary to enforce the Arab League's bidding."

"Accordingly, hard as it may be to believe given the United States' longstanding role as Israel's principal ally and protector, Mr. Obama acts, in accordance with the Gaddafi Precedent. He warns Israel that it must immediately take steps to dismantle its unwanted presence inside the internationally recognized State of Palestine, lest it face the sort of U.S.-enabled 'coalition' military measures now underway in Libya. In this case, they would be aimed at neutralizing IDF forces on the West Bank – and beyond, if necessary – to fulfill the "will of the international community."

We need to pray that this scenario never happens. Such actions against Israel would be met with significant consequences - God assured us of that fact many times in the Bible. One can read the various "judgments of the nations" in several prophetic books, not to mention the extremely graphic descriptions of God anger directed at those who desire to destroy Israel. This fact is unambiguous.

Can there be any doubt that we are living in the very last days leading into the Tribulation?