2012 Alerts: January 8, 2010
In This Issue:
The God of the Details
The Identity of the Antichrist
2012
U.S. – Israel Relations
Iran: The Ticking of the Clock
Update on Apocalypse 2012
The God of the Details
The Bible clearly shows that God is in control of all things. This means that He is not only in the details, He is the God of the details. And not only is He the God of the details, He is a God of purpose; so He has a purpose for every detail of life that He allows—even the ones we do not understand.
I bring this up because of an article published this week that indicates that Israel’s invasion of Gaza last year, in response to being attacked by rockets fired from the Gaza strip, may have a connection to a potential regime change in Iran. Israel’s swift and complete victory over the Iranian backed Hamas in Gaza has emboldened the anti-government movement in Iran, as Israel exposed the weakness of the fighting force of the Iranian regime. Thus, God may have allowed the development of the situation in Gaza to bring about Israel’s retaliation in order to encourage the overthrow of the current regime in Iran. Further, as I have explained in past “2012 Alerts,” that regime change could bring about conditions to fulfil Biblical prophecy regarding the persuasion of the world that it has achieved “peace and security” and to then bring about a seven-year treaty involving Israel and ten other nations—a treaty that will begin the final seven years before the return of Christ to the earth (to establish God’s kingdom).
This is one more illustration that God is the God of the details. Doesn’t that encourage you to know God is in control in your life? This should also encourage us to view the details in our lives—and in the world in general—as being part of God’s kingdom plan.
The Identity of the Antichrist
I don’t know if you have seen it, but on more than one occasion someone emailed me a video presentation seeking to demonstrate that Barak Obama is the Antichrist. This should serve to illustrate that we should not trust the veracity of everything that is emailed to us. Certainly Barak Obama is not the Antichrist.
In Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock (see www.2012apocalypsebook.com), I kill a sacred cow among evangelical Christians by showing that the Antichrist will not be the future world ruler; instead, as I demonstrate from the Bible, the Antichrist will be the false prophet who will serve as the great promoter of the one who will be the world ruler. But with that aside, I know that President Obama will not be the world ruler described by the Bible since he will not arise from the United States but from the Middle East (specifically, Iraq). Moreover, his background is not Kenyan; it is Assyrian.
It may interest you to know that Assyrians are “Christians” (Chaldean Catholic and Orthodox), not Muslims. And you may know that being a Christian in the Middle East sets one up for a difficult existence. In fact, this week, the Wall Street Journal described the severe persecutions Christians in the Middle East experience. This includes Assyrians in Iraq.
In Apocalypse 2012, I explain that the severe persecution experienced by Assyrians in Iraq since the removal of Saddam Hussein (who protected Assyrians) will likely lead to the rise of the Assyrian leader who will conquer the Middle East just prior to becoming the ruler of the entire world. In fact, I show in the book that the severity of persecution these Assyrians are experiencing has led to a fast drop in the numbers of Assyrians left in the country which seems to indicate that this leader will arise soon. Stay tuned to see.
2012
The magic year seems to be 2012—at least, that is what the Obama administration seems to believe as it is aiming to arrive at a Middle East treaty in 2012. This comes from an announcement this week by U.S. Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, who stated that once negotiations begin on a Middle East peace treaty, it can be completed in two years. However, in another signal that the U.S. and Israel are not on the same page regarding the peace process, Israel announced this week that the two-year plan is not a good idea.
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, signaled that he may re-enter the peace talks at the beginning of this year; however, he refuses to talk as long as Israel will not agree to permanently stop any construction in the “settlement” areas. If you remember, Israeli construction in the settlement areas were not a hindrance to the peace talks until the Obama administration made it an issue. According to the Obama administration, these settlement areas include an area around Jerusalem that has been a long-time Jewish area. This issue has led to strained U.S. – Israel relations, which is our next topic.
U.S. – Israel Relations
On Wednesday of this week, the U.S. administration publicly accused Israel of damaging the peace process by approving the construction of four buildings on the Mount of Olives which is just East of Jerusalem. Israel has not reacted well to this accusation since the Mount of Olives area has been a Jewish area since the time of the first Temple, going back to King David’s time—a thousand years B.C. (By the way, a great article was published this week to show why Israel must control the Mount of Olives.)
In actuality, this decision by “Israel” was actually a Jerusalem municipal decision, which is the way any decision would work regarding building within city limits. (For example, if there was a decision to approve construction in Des Moines, Iowa, it would be the city counsel of Des Moines giving that approval, not the U.S. federal government.) The deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Kobi Kahalon, stated that at that same meeting to approve construction of those four buildings, the city committee approved "twenty plans for Arabs in East Jerusalem" without protest by the U.S.
Another member of this city committee presented the U.S. protest of this decision as hypocritical stating: “Just as the American administration will not prevent a person in Washington from building in his city based on race, skin color or religion, so we are sure that the Americans will maintain similar values and endorse construction in this project.” Then he went on to proclaim that they would continue to build in East Jerusalem.
In addition, an article published in the Jerusalem Post this week claims that President Obama's "instincts toward Israel are hostile". (The article also indicated that hostility toward Israel can be politically costly since Americans are generally pro-Israel.)
All that to say that the U.S. – Israel relations are becoming increasingly strained in regard to the peace process. To add to this heightened strain, White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel angrily told an Israeli diplomat this week that he is "fed up" with the way Israel has been responding to U.S. ideas in the Middle East.
The relations between the two nations were not helped this week with the announcement of a U.S. arms deal with Egypt. This deal, which involved cruise missiles, provided great concern for Israel.
I have to wonder if the strained relations between the U.S. and Israel, which have become particularly rough under the Obama administration, might lead to a separation of the two countries that have been friends since 1948. As I have mentioned in past “2012 Alerts,” the Bible indicates that the U.S. is not involved with the (near?) future peace treaty with Israel, which is conducted between Israel and ten other nations. Look for continued rough waters between the U.S. and Israel (but with a “front” that everything is just fine between them—like a married couple heading for divorce who does not want anyone to know) and the emergence of an environment that will bring about a treaty between Israel and five nations from Europe and five Arab countries. In fact, this environment seems to be developing already.
Peace Treaty
As mentioned, I believe the U.S. will begin stepping away from Israel in the near future. A signal to this possibility is a statement made by Rahm Emmanuel just this week when he announced that if there is no imminent progress in the peace process, the Obama administration will reduce its involvement in the process. In other words, the U.S. will begin stepping back.
Look for this to occur soon for several reasons. One of those is the refusal of the Palestinians to negotiate. Each time Israel has made concessions to the Palestinians, they have spurned those offers. Consequently, Israel does not believe peace with the Palestinians is possible.
Worse than that, Israel sees Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader with whom the U.S. has pushed Israel to negotiate the peace process, as an enemy. After all, just this week, Abbas once again glorified terror on Israel by honoring a Palestinian who brought terrorism to Israel.
Finally, Israel is wary of the U.S. plan for regional peace. So, because Israel does not see the Palestinians as truly interested in peace, does not trust the Palestinian leader with whom it is supposed to negotiate, and does not trust the U.S. plan for peace, do not look for progress to happen on this process. This will frustrate the Obama administration even more, causing the U.S. to step back from Israel. This is looking more and more like it is setting up for the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
Iran: The Ticking of the Clock
It was announced this week that even with Iran ignoring all U.S. deadlines, the Obama administration is still open to dialogue with the rogue nation. Maybe that is because just this week, China once again said no to sanctions against Iran; and without China and Russia’s participation, sanctions against Iran will lack much of its effectiveness. That leaves dialogue and military attack as the only two options available, and one of those options will not lead to any serious change. (Can you guess which one?)
This is a serious situation since the regime in Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear weaponry which could be used against Israel—and could be used as a threat to bring the entire Middle East and even Europe into submission to Iran. In addition, Iran, as the largest promoter of terrorism in the world will continue to advance terrorism throughout the world. Thus, as one article put it this week, Iran must be stopped.
For now, Israel seems willing to wait on sanctions; however, there is a limit to that wait. After all, many experts believe Iran will be able to achieve nuclear weaponry sometime this year. (See past “Alerts” on this subject.) As the Jerusalem Post pointed out this week, once it becomes clear that sanctions will not be effective at stopping Iran, Israel will attack Iran and will be very effective at doing so.
The announcement this week that Israel will outfit its citizens with gas masks may signal that it is preparing for an eventual attack upon Iran; and as Israel stated, this is not an act of fear but of preparedness. The gas masks are for an expected biological attack and could come as a counter attack from Iran or as one from Hezbollah, an Iranian-sponsored terror unit in Lebanon (the country to the north of Israel). Of course a counter attack would mean that Israel attacks first, and Iran is certainly afraid of that possibility. In fact, as I have pointed out in past “Alerts,” many experts believe Israel will likely carry out an eventual attack on Iran.
When this attack occurs, it will likely create an overthrow of the Iranian regime (which, as indicated above and in past “Alerts,” would likely create the conditions for a brief period of “peace and security” in the world followed by the implementation of a seven-year treaty with Israel). The environment for an Iranian coup d’état seems to be present already with a democratic movement that will not go away. As the Washington Times presented this week, opposition to the Iranian regime is growing, which was also verified by the Las Angeles Times. Even conservatives in Iran, which normally back its current regime, desire the regime's demise. So now, it is not so much as whether the regime will change, but when it does, who will lead?
So much is moving so quickly in the Middle East, which is the focus of Biblical prophecy, that one has to wonder how soon will end-times prophecy be fulfilled? By the appearance of what God is doing, it seems like it will not be far off.
Update on Apocalypse 2012
The typesetting process has begun on the book and soon printing will take place. The official release date is still set at May 1st in order to allow time for printing and marketing to take place. In addition, this date will allow for the book to make it into the “Christmas” catalogue—the biggest catalogue of the year for VMI Publishers—which will be sent out in June.
Though the release of the book is not slated until May 1st, the publisher has assured me that I will receive my thousand copies by the end of February. There is still time for you to acquire some early copies, but I would encourage you to send a check for them soon. (Checks should be made out to John Claeys in the amount of $16 per book, plus $3.99 shipping per copy, and sent to 2709 S. Garrett St., Marshall, TX 75672.)
One local bookstore wants me to do a book signing, so we will arrange to do that shortly after the books arrive. (The store will also display copies of the book on its shelves.) Within the next month, I need to provide local media (newspapers, radio stations, TV news programs, etc.) information on the book and get on other promotional opportunities. By the way, if you have any media connections, please let me know. I believe that the information in the book is very important for preparing people for the return of Christ; so by promoting this book in any way, you are helping to expose people to God’s word about the future which could be life-changing for them.
I really appreciate your support. As you can, please promote this e-letter by telling others about it and forwarding it on; encourage others to sign up for it. Also, please pray—ask God to put a copy of Apocalypse 2012 into the hands of all who may be open to His word in order to prepare them for the soon return of Christ.
Until He comes, keep looking up!
John