2012 Alerts: February 5, 2010
In This Issue:
Middle East Peace Treaty
Iran: The Path to “Peace & Security”?
What Made the U.S. Nervous This Week?
Will War Soon Break Out in the Middle East?
The Absence of the U.S. in Bible Prophecy
The U.S. Is Relinquishing Its Hold on the Internet
Update on Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock
Middle East Peace Treaty
After all the concessions Israel has made to try to get the Palestinians to the table to reinstitute negotiations toward a Middle East peace treaty, the Palestinians have come up with new demands—calling for Israel to cease and desist all construction in East Jerusalem (and the West Bank). The Israeli leadership is refusing to go for that. Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is set to visit Paris soon, is being urged by the French Foreign Minister to accept U.S. envoy George Mitchell’s terms for negotiation, saying that U.S. President Obama only has months in which to achieve something in the Middle East before his time runs out.
Meanwhile, a sermon broadcast Friday on PA TV, which is under the control of Abbas, called for the killing of Jews, claiming they are “the enemies of Allah and humanity”. Certainly this cannot encourage the Jewish leadership to make more concessions toward the Palestinians, nor can it even bring the Israelis to the negotiating table; and the problem is, this is far from the first time this kind of public hateful diatribe against the Jews has occurred. It causes the Israeli leadership to wonder how much the Palestinian leadership can be trusted.
As I have been saying for months, I do not believe there will be a peace accord struck between Israel and the Palestinians. Not only have there been too many missed opportunities in this regard, and not only are the two sides miles apart with no evident progress in sight, but the Bible shows us that the final treaty Israel will sign will be one with ten other nations—not one including the Palestinians. In addition, many signs in the Middle East in particular seem to be lining up with end-time Bible prophecy to signal that the final treaty is not far away. In fact, it seems so close that it is hard for me to conceive that Israel would confirm a treaty with the Palestinians—a treaty that is supposed to provide peace in the Middle East (and solve the regional problems, at least according to Jordan’s King Hussein)—and then turn around within a brief period of time and confirm another regional treaty with ten other nations. No, the current frustrations indicating the inability to get a treaty done between Israel and the Palestinians seem to indicate that another treaty, with other participants, is coming soon.
Iran: The Path to “Peace & Security”?
Middle East peace envoy, Tony Blair (former British Prime Minister), warns that the world faces a decision regarding Iran and that it could take a war to stop its nuclear ambitions. Meanwhile, a New York Times article this week warned that the clock is ticking; for, six months after a new diplomatic overture from the Obama administration, Iran is still playing for time, appearing no closer to negotiations about its nuclear program. In fact, according to the Boston Globe, as the Obama administration has made attempts to negotiate, Iran has "opened its fist and slapped [the U.S.] in the face", by not only completely ignoring U.S. attempts (by disregarding three deadlines for talks) but also by continuing on toward achieving nuclear capability.
So if Iran will not negotiate, the next obvious step would be to put sanctions upon Iran strong enough to incentivize the Iranian leadership to become more willing to talk about their nuclear program. However, the Boston Globe article pointed out that neither Russia nor China are onboard, nations which are needed to secure sanctions through the U.N. In addition, if they are not onboard with sanctions, there is little hope that efforts to keep away from Iran products and services that, by their absence, would create a high motivation for the rogue nation to “play ball”. Just this week, the New York Times revealed that China renewed its refusal to go along with sanctions against Iran. Following that up, the Washington Post agreed that China could block sanctions against Iran.
I pointed out in the last “Alerts” that European nations are, currently, the biggest traders with Iran. The New York Times announced this week that a few German companies will be pulling out of Iran to help put “pressure” on Iran in regard to its nuclear program; however, the article also pointed out that even at that, it will likely take them several years to complete the pull-out. Since some (particularly Israeli intelligence) project that Iran could achieve nuclear capability by the end of this year, it seems evacuations that take a few years will not be very helpful as an incentive for Iran to cease its nuclear program.
Thus, it seems, sanctions will not be the answer in stopping Iran’s impending nuclear attainment. Then what possibility is left? It is the obvious one—military attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In a Wall Street Journal article this week, entitled, "Seven Myths about Iran," Bret Stephens makes the case that a military strike against Iran’s facilities could provide significant and beneficial results, contra Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who is against striking Iran. In addition, he argues that as the U.S. goes down the present path in its attempted dealings with Iran, it becomes much more likely that Israel will attack the rogue, terrorist nation. That is what I have been saying in these “Alerts” for months now; and I believe when that occurs, the Iranian regime will be toppled from within.
Iran already has a large supply of ballistic missiles which can carry a nuclear payload. As the New York Times points out, this fact is making many Arab nations very nervous and has moved the U.S. to begin deploying anti-missile defenses in the Middle East, but can sufficient defense be set up soon enough? (This same article revealed that Israel may attack Iran if the leadership is not convinced that the U.S. can sway Iran from its race toward nukes. I would say that the Israeli leadership is far from convinced at the present time.) This nervousness has prompted some Arab nations to draw closer to Israel, seeing the Jewish nation as their only possible hope of seriously dealing with the chilling prospect of Iran’s attainment of nuclear weapons. Unquestionably, there have been discussions between some Arab nations and Israel of dispensing with the nuclear facilities; and there has likely been some incentive for Israel to attack, provided by Arab nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. One major incentive could be the guarantee of a regional peace deal. Interestingly, these three Arab countries could be three of the five nations from the Eastern half of the old Roman Empire that confirm the future seven-year treaty with Israel, the treaty that will initiate the final seven years before Christ returns.
What Made the U.S. Nervous This Week?
Would you believe the act that made the U.S. nervous this week involved Iran sending a dozen earth worms, a rat, and two turtles into space? (Apparently, those were the only volunteers they could get to board one of Iran’s rockets.) Actually, this is true; but the part that really made U.S. leaders a bit anxious is the link with an Iranian satellite. Officials believe this step could advance Iran's ability to use satellite technology to launch nuclear weapons. In addition, if Iran can mount missiles with nuclear payloads aboard a satellite, no nation in the world will be safe from Iranian nuclear attack. This is one more threat by Iran and one more reason their race toward nuclear capability must be stopped—soon!
Will War Soon Break Out in the Middle East?
The prospect of that is great. The flow of arms from Iran to Hezbollah seems to signal that Hezbollah will soon attack Israel. If so, it is a classic Iranian tactic. With the threat of a government coup taking place by the growing democratic movement within the country, the Iranian leadership is seeking to galvanize their nation with a common enemy—Israel to take the attention away from how bad things are within Iran. In a Reuters article, U.S. National Security Adviser, Jim Jones, was quoted as warning against this imminent attack due to pressure building on Tehran (Iran). While Hezbollah is gathered in Lebanon, just north of Israel, Iran has also been shipping arms to Hamas, which resides to the southwest of Israel.
Moreover, more bad news for Israel surfaced this week with the revelation that North Korea is helping Syria to achieve nuclear capability. This is not new news for Israel, as their intelligence revealed a nuclear reactor being built a year ago, which their missiles wiped out. Still, this is not good for Israel, as it shows another “neighbor” mounting up to destroy the Jewish nation. However, there is one apparent solution to all of this—an effective attack of Iran which, in turn, might create the environment for a leadership change. This may be the most effective solution as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Syria are all financially supported by Iran; and without Iranian support, all three enemies of Israel become far less dangerous.
The Absence of the U.S. in Bible Prophecy
We have discussed in past “Alerts” that the United States seems to be absent from Bible prophecy. We have also surfaced some possibilities of what could move the U.S. off of center stage prophetically—away from Israel, which is in the prophetic spotlight. One of those possibilities could be terror attacks on the U.S.
The New York Times reported that U.S. Senators are warning of an al Qaeda attack to take place by July of this year. In addition, Fox News reports that CIA Director Leon Panetta Leon Panetta warned Congress this week of this imminent attack. The warning is labeled as “certain” there will be an attempted attack upon the U.S., and the attack is targeting massive destruction and loss of life. Depending on the immensity of the attack and the administration’s response, combined with other factors, it could lead to the result of the U.S. handing over the Middle East peace process to (ten) other nations.
Another factor which could lead to a lessening role of the U.S. in Middle East (and global) affairs has to do with its financial status. Numbers this week have suggested the nation has taken on a $12 trillion debt load! But one financial institution is arguing that the current U.S. debt is closer to $20 trillion, which comes out to $200,000 for every taxpayer in the country! This same institution claims the U.S. is now bankrupt. Certainly, the ramifications of this are serious and will most likely severely affect the international role the U.S. will be able to have in the near future.
The U.S. Is Relinquishing Its Hold on the Internet
One other interesting revelation which came forth from one news organization this week is that the Obama administration has been quietly "ceding control of the internet to foreign powers". The internet was invented by the U.S. Commerce Department (with, of course, U.S. taxpayer help), but now, apparently, the U.S. is lifting some of its control of the worldwide web. What could this mean if certain powers gained its control? The Bible predicts a an end-times, one-world government which will certainly have control of the internet, so could the Obama administration’s action be a preparation for this to occur?
Update on Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock
Lucas Kitchen (of Media Kitchen, www.themediakitchen.tv) filmed and edited a new promotional video of Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock that is now available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juSd9VzJHPM. (It can also be seen at www.2012apocalypsebook.com.) I think Lucas did a great job and would highly recommend him for your video needs. But I want you to be the judge. If you would, please take four minutes (the length of the video) to go to the YouTube address; and if you would, please sign on and rate it. (Also, direct your friends to view it.) Thank you.
The last of the proofing for the book has taken place, and a final list of corrections is now with the publisher. Then the typesetting will be completed and the back cover done, hopefully, by the end of next week. Then it goes to the printer. That’s the good news. However, I just heard from the publisher who reported that it could take up to six weeks for the printer to complete its job on the book. If so, I will not be receiving my order of books by the end of this month as I was told by the publisher mid-December; instead, it now looks more like the end of March. If you have ordered copies of the book from me, I do appreciate your patience—and support!
By the way, I want to thank Cindy Mallett (once again) for her great work in going back through the second proof of the book. Had it not been for all of the time she has spent on the three proofings, we certainly would not be where we are in this process.
I believe that the content in Apocalypse 2012 will potentially be life-changing for some (or many) who will read it. I feel it will prepare many for the return of Christ, but it will not get out to many people without your help. So I am asking you to partner with me on this project.
I would like for you to consider three ways of helping to get this material out to as many as possible. One way is to ask for the book at bookstores. Bookstores have limited shelving space, so they will only stock books they think will sell. If enough people ask for a particular book, they will consider ordering the book for their shelves. Once it is on their shelves, more people will see it and purchase it.
Once you have read the book, a second way you could help is by writing a positive review at Amazon.com. Those positive reviews will influence many to order the book. Thus, you will be influencing people—and potentially impacting them for eternity via the book—by writing a review.
The third, and most important, way you could help is by praying. Ask God to put a copy of the book in the hands of all who are open to His truth.
Thank you. I really appreciate your support! Don’t forget to keep looking up!
John