2012 Alerts: December 24, 2009
In This Issue:
Christians in the Middle East
The State of the Church
Iran Again
U.S.-Israel Relations
My Thanks and Wish for You at Christmas
Christians in the Middle East
As we celebrate Christmas in freedom, there are many Christians who are currently experiencing persecution—especially in the Middle East. Even in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, Christians are experiencing extreme persecution. In fact, such persecution is occurring there, that Christians are fleeing in record numbers. (Where fifty years ago, 70% of Bethlehem was comprised of Christians, today less than 15% of the city is made up of Christians.)
This includes Iraq, where Christmas is celebrated amid threats of persecution and under the watchful eyes of police who generally are either unable or are unwilling to protect Christians. In Iraq the persecution has been so violent that Christians fear extinction.
So what does this have to do with Bible prophecy? Plenty. Many or most of the Christians in Iraq are Assyrian. I present in my book (Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock) that the king of the North, the man who will conquer the Middle East and northern Africa before entering the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to proclaim himself as God and who will be crowned the king of the world, is Assyrian. In addition, Apocalypse 2012 presents the evidence that this man will originate in Iraq, and that it will likely be the severe persecution of Assyrians (who are Christians, with the exception of the king of the North) in Iraq which will begin this man’s ascent in power. Assyrians in Iraq are desperately looking for leadership to protect them, and this man will step up to do so. Satan will give him his power to conquer which will enable him to be militarily victorious over all Muslims in the Middle East who attempt to eliminate his threat to them.
The severe persecution in Iraq has resulted in a depleted population of Assyrians, which is growing less day by day as many are killed and even more flee the country. Since the king of the North will arise within the first half of the final seven years before the return of Christ to the earth, and since there will need to be Assyrians left in Iraq for this man to protect and lead, this scenario may indicate that time is not far off.
The State of the Church
Speaking of Christians, a report published this week does not present a positive picture of the Church (the universal organism which consists of all who have believed in Jesus Christ for eternal life). As a result of interviewing thousands of Christians in America, Barna Research found that less than one-third of al Christians believe in moral, absolute truth. In addition, apparently few Christians practice evangelism as only 36% believe it is important to maintain positive relationships with non-Christians.
In a Harris Poll recently conducted, a little more than half (59%) of all Americans are absolutely certain of the existence of God. In addition, of those surveyed in Britain, those who call themselves Christians has decreased from 66% to 50%. Of course, we are not saying that all Americans have believed in Jesus alone for eternal life (probably a small minority have), nor are we saying that all Brits who claim to be Christian really are. However, I feel that these statistics indicate that the Church is growing increasingly ineffective at reaching the world for Christ. And I believe that it will be for that reason (among others) that Jesus will soon pull the Church out of the world in order to start with two Jewish prophets to reach the world for Christ.
Iran Again
Once again, there was much in the news about Iran this week. For example, Ahmadinejad dismissed the UN deadline on the nuclear issue. In addition, he mocked President Obama in an interview with a British TV station, saying the President "has been a disappointment to the world". Seemingly eliminating one option to stop Iran’s nuclear aspirations, China signaled resistance to sanctions against Iran. This is only one reason why the New York Times ran an article this week indicating that sanctions against Iran may not work. Another article in the New York Times this week, by Alan J. Kuperman, director of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Program at the University of Texas at Austin, stated that the only way to stop Iran is by military air attack.
According to a new study of public opinion among eighteen Arab states, Arabs fear Iran more than they fear Israel. This is why at least two Arab nations—Egypt and Jordan—met with Israel and the United States this week to plan for the possibility of war with Iran. In fact, some Arab nations, including Egypt, seem to have more to fear from Iran than Israel does. There is a great fear among all that if it achieves nuclear capability, Iran will provide terrorists with nukes, including Hezbollah, which is why Israel cannot allow Iran to get to that point.
Meanwhile, protests in Iran continue, with hundreds of thousands of protestors gathered in just one area in Iran. The continuation—and even growth of—these protests against the Iranian regime make it likely that if Israel attacks Iran soon, the regime will be overthrown. This could lead to two scenarios prophesied in Scripture—collaboration on a peace treaty between Israel and ten other nations (including five Arab nations) and the world believing it has achieved “peace and security” (with the elimination of the world’s greatest sponsor of terrorism). If so, we could be very close to the fulfillment of end-time Bible prophecy.
U.S.-Israel Relations
In past “2012 Alerts,” we have been watching the development (or regression) of U.S.-Israel relations. We have observed that they have been getting worse politically due to pressure upon Israel by the Obama administration. Another indicator of that was seen this week as Israel’s top strategic think-tank presented the probability that the Obama administration will "sideline" Israel in its dealings with Iran. In two other excellent and well-argued articles this week, Israel's settlement building is presented as being legal and includes Israel's right to "occupy" the West Bank. These presentations fly in the face of pressure Israel has received from the U.S. in recent months regarding the settlements issue.
I have argued in past “Alerts” that a political move away from Israel could prepare for the U.S. not being in the peace treaty picture with Israel, which would be a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. It seems to this writer that the U.S. movement away from Israel could prepare for the confirmation of the Middle East peace treaty in the near future.
My Thanks and Wish for You at Christmas
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of “2012 Alerts” and Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock (see www.2012apocalypsebook.com). In addition, I want to wish you and your family a very special Christmas. May the Christ whose birth we celebrate at this time of year be very real in your life at Christmas. And remember, He is coming back, so keep looking up!
John