The mad dash to obtain Middle East peace

by Michael G. Mickey

(10-8-06)

As I discussed in yesterday's commentary, there are fresh concerns that a war is about to begin between Israel and Syria - the latest potential Middle East showdown coming on the heels of the Israeli-Hezbollah clash that saw RaptureAlert.com and probably every other eschatology-based site on the worldwide web see dramatic spikes in readership. Now, as those who pay only passing attention to news of prophetic interest are drifting back into the perceived safety of their daily lives, readership may about to experience another spike, at least if the information I'm recording here hits the mainstream media loudly enough that those curious as to whether Armageddon lurks around the corner or not begin another migration to end times websites like mine to figure out how seriously those of us who watch for Christ's return to occur each and every day are reacting to the rising tensions in the Middle East.

Before I get too deeply into today's topic , I want to touch on yesterday's information somewhat, as well as build on it somewhat. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is convinced the Middle East is about to "explode." Meanwhile, Syria's Bashar Assad is telling sources his nation is preparing to go to war with Israel. And then there's the latest, as reported by Israel National News, the headline of which says it all: Syria Tries to Turn International Community Against Israel.

Israel isn't interested in peace since Ariel Sharon left office, according to Syria's Assad, which is a really odd assertion for one to make given the fact that many Israelis are disenfranchised with current Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's perceived willingness to give up just about anything Israel's enemies want if it brings the promise of peace to the region.

Regardless, none of those crying that there isn't any Israeli interest in peace, from Syria to the Palestinians to Hezbollah, actually want peace themselves, in spite of what the willingly blind media and the world at large chooses to believe, which is whatever Israel's enemies tell them to believe. Rather than accurately identifying themselves as the aggressors, all of Israel's enemies make it seem that Israel is the aggressor, which is absolutely comical in the present flare-up between Israel and Syria. Why do I say that? I'll tell you why! Because, as demonstrated by a Middle East Media Research Institute article, threats and insinuations of imminent hostile Israeli military action aren't emanating from Jerusalem but Damascus:

In an August 15, 2006 speech at the fourth conference of the Syrian Journalists' Union, in Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad praised the resistance as "essential for the achievement of peace" and for the restoration of Arab territories and rights, and threatened that "[Israel's] weapons... will not protect [it] in the future" from Arab vengeance. He also accused the Arab leaders of serving Israel's and America's interests.

Israel's weapons will not protect it in the future from Arab vengeance. I'm having a bit of trouble seeing how Israel is threatening an attack of Syria based on that Assad remark. How about you? The opposite, however? The above speaks for itself.

At any rate, the threat of another Middle East fight has leaders from around the world wildly trying to come up with a solution to the Middle East conflict. Consider the following news stories:

• EU's Solana says "new push" needed for Mideast peace - Neither side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, resolution of which is viewed as the key to ending all Middle East conflict, is seriously trying to implement the Quartet's proposed roadmap to peace according to Solana who says an international conference on the topic will be needed at some point. Many of you may recall that I've documented that this conference may already be in the works, potentially being planned to be held in Madrid, Spain where a 1991 peace conference became the catalyst for the Oslo peace process.
• The BBC is reporting that "more than 130 former world leaders, politicians and Nobel laureates have called for urgent international efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict." Again, we see in the BBC article, a call is going out for an "international conference to map out a comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East."
• The International Crisis Group is additionally calling for action on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The president of the group, Gareth Evans, is quoted as saying, “There is a real hunger out there for present-day political leaders to take hold of this catastrophically divisive issue and resolve it once and for all.”

Indeed there is a seemingly insatiable hunger in the world today to see the Arab-Palestinian/Israeli conflict resolved once and for all. Parties from around the globe have their eyes on Jerusalem and are hoping that someone - ANYONE - can bring peace to the region. Bible prophecy, as seen in Daniel 9:26-27, demonstrates that, sooner or later, the international community is going to find one who can. He will be a prince (or leader) of Roman descent who will somehow confirm (or make strong) a seven-year covenant of peace. He will notably, in light of how many past and present leaders we see calling for peace to come to the region now, do so "with many." This leader will be the prophesied Antichrist. Although the world will not view him as evil at the time he resolves the Middle East conflict, he will rapidly rise to become the supreme leader of the European Union and, ultimately, the most powerful global dictator the world has ever known. But first something has to happen and it could happen at any moment.

In 2nd Thessalonians 2 we see that something or someone is restraining the Antichrist from making his rise to global power and has been since the days of old. What or Who is this restraining influence spoken of in scripture? David Guzik, director of Calvary Chapel Bible College in Germany, spells it out for us in a commentary on the entire chapter of 2nd Thessalonians 2 which I hope everyone will take time to read who has been erroneously taught that the Antichrist will arrive on the world stage before the coming of Jesus Christ for His Church.

Guzik tells us what restrains the Antichrist's rise to global power by carefully analyzing 2nd Thessalonians 2:5-8. He writes:

(5-8) What restrains the coming of this man of sin.

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

a. When I was still with you I told you these things: Paul was only with the Thessalonians a few weeks (Acts 17:1-10). But Paul thought it important to teach these brand new Christians about Biblical prophecy, and he taught them in some detail.

b. And now you know what is restraining: For now, Satan and the man of sin are being restrained. The principle of their working is now present (the mystery of lawlessness is already at work). But at the right time, the Holy Spirit (He who restrains) who restrains their full revelation will be taken out of the way.

c. Taken out of the way: We should not think that the Holy Spirit would leave the earth during the Great Tribulation. He will be present on the earth during the Great Tribulation because many are saved, sealed, and serve God during this period (Revelation 7:3-14 and 14:1-5), and this can’t happen without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, not removed.

i. “The phrase is used of any person or thing which is taken out of the way, whether by death or other removal.” (Alford)

ii. Some see this as the end of a dispensation: “The special presence of the Spirit as the indweller of saints will terminate abruptly at the parousia as it began abruptly at Pentecost. Once the body of Christ has been caught away to heaven, the Spirit’s ministry will revert back to what he did for believers during the Old Testament period.” (Thomas)

d. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work: This great principle of evil is already present in the world. It will be ultimately unveiled in the man of sin, but he does not introduce a new wickedness into the world, only a intensity of prior wickedness.

i. Right now, this lawlessness is a mystery – that it is, it can only be seen and understood by revelation. Otherwise it is hidden. “It is not open sin and wickedness, but dissembled piety, specious errors, wickedness under a form of godliness cunningly managed, that is here meant.” (Poole)

e. And then the lawless one will be revealed: Paul states two certain facts about the man of sin, here called the lawless one. First, it is certain that the lawless one will be revealed when the Holy Spirit removes His restraint. Second, it is certain that the lawless one will be destroyed by the mere brightness of Jesus at His coming.

i. Paul probably has Isaiah 11:4 in mind: He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. The Isaiah passage refers to the Lord – to Yahweh – but Paul freely used it of Jesus, recognizing that Jesus is Yahweh.

ii. Whoever the man of sin is, he has not had his career yet. We know this because at the end of his career, the man of sin is destroyed by Jesus Christ Himself.

Presently, the world is obsessed with resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict but it isn't going to happen, on any lasting basis at least, until the Rapture of the Church occurs, which will see what Jesus Christ Himself called the "light of the world" in Matthew 5:14 removed from this wicked world, leaving only darkness to fill the void. It is within this darkness that the ultimate human embodiment of evil, the Antichrist, will deceive the entire world into trusting him through peacemaking of all things, starting the seven-year countdown to Jesus Christ's visible, physical, bodily return to the earth at the battle of Armageddon.

Day by day, second by second, piece of evidence piled on top of piece of evidence, it is becoming more and more clear that Jesus Christ's return for His Church is drawing near and is, potentially, at the very door! BE READY!

In an hour when it will be anything but expected, Jesus Christ is going to descend from heaven with a shout! If you're here when that happens and you don't hear it when it comes, many people, all of whom will have had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in common, are going to mysteriously go unaccounted for in a blink of an eye - and that will be but the start of what is to come! Something to think about - and seriously! The aftermath of the Rapture of the Church is going to be horrendous to endure for those left behind as my Post-Rapture Survival Guide indicates.

If you don't take the information presented in this commentary seriously and you're content to roll the dice where your eternal soul is concerned, remember this website and get to it as soon as possible should the Rapture take place anytime soon. Print off as many copies of the Post-Rapture Survival Guide as you can and give them to those you care about most as both you and they will need to adhere to it very closely if you're to have even a slim chance of making it to heaven at that point. I say that because many who refuse to believe the truth of Bible prophecy now will still reject Christ, in spite of all the warnings given and even solid evidence that the Rapture of the Church has taken place! Oh yes, it's true. Why? Because God is going to allow a strong delusion to fall upon the world in the aftermath of the Rapture of the Church that will blind the eyes of many who are presently rejoicing in their unrighteousness!

2nd Thessalonians 2:11-12: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

If you don't have Jesus Christ in your life, today is a THE day to get Him there! Tomorrow, particularly in light of what is going on in the world around us today, may be too late! Consider yourself warned, as well as loved.

Jesus Christ loved you enough to die a cruel and terrible death on the cross of Calvary in your place that, through Him, you might be forgiven of your sins and be saved. Want to know what you need to do to set things right with Jesus today, guaranteeing yourself a brighter tomorrow? Click HERE if so.