As the startling events continue to unfold in North Africa and the Middle
East -- the latest being the United Nations' invention in the nation of
Libya, as well as widespread protests in Syria and the Syrian government's violent reaction to the same -- I would like to once again remind my readers
of what Jesus said in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew,
which is also repeated by Mark in the Gospel of Mark. Concerning some of the events which would precede the end of the known world, Jesus said in part:

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
Matthew 24:6, KJV

While many Christians remember that Jesus said that widespread war would be
one of the signs of the Endtime, what I find even more interesting is the
fact that He said "wars and rumours of wars". Both the historical record, as well as the Biblical record, reveal that wars have been a part of the human struggle since the Book of Genesis. For example, in Genesis chapter
fourteen, we find the Patriarch Abraham aligning himself with some of his friends in order to liberate his nephew Lot and his kin, who had been taken captive by the Babylonian -- Shinar -- and Elamite kings. Consider this:

"And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; That these
made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab
king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the
salt sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings
that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the
Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. And there
went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and
Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. And the vale of Siddim was
full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they
took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew;
for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and
brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in
his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people."
Genesis 14:1-16, KJV

As I point out in a number of my political articles, there is rarely ever a justifiable reason to engage in war. As the Bible informs us, most wars
result from greed, a lust for more power, or some other selfish motivation;
and then the oppressed classes choose to fight back in order to regain what
has been lost. Some wars are even fought as a result of wounded pride, or
some sports events.

But returning to the Lord's words, He said "and rumours of wars". If there is one thing that the Gospels reveal about Jesus, it is that He certainly knew the evil heart of man. Thus on one occasion He said:

". . . For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
Mark 7:20b-23, KJV

Rumours of wars is obviously one by-product of the evil heart. We all know
what a rumor is. According to Apple's built-in Dictionary utility, a rumor
is "a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth".
In short, a rumor may or may not be true, and only honest investigation will reveal which it is.

While we could interpret Jesus's words as meaning that He was referring to claims of wars which may not even really exist -- I believe this tactic is
used in British author George Orwell's "1984" -- I suspect that the Lord may have been inferring something deeper by His words; in other words, the war propaganda machine.

Let's face it; war propaganda is all around us today, and is as old as war itself. For example, in the latest events in Libya, mad Colonel Moammar al-Gaddafi claims that no civilians have ever been killed, while the rebels claim that dozens and hundreds of civilians have been killed throughout
Libya. Gaddafi insists that there have been no protests in Tripoli and that
the people love him, while at the same time, news journalists discover
telltale signs of protest in certain neighborhoods of the city. On one hand, Gaddafi claims that the rebels are simply doped up terrorists who are
supported by al-Qaeda, while the Western powers and the rebels themselves
claim that they are freedom fighters.

In the tug-of-war that is war, one side claims certain victories, while the opposing side says that it just isn't so. We see these very same tactics
being employed in nation after nation all across North Africa and the Middle East at this current time, and it has been like this with every war that has ever been fought throughout the world -- "wars and the rumours of war". This tactic -- war propaganda -- is obviously meant to confuse people, and to obfuscate the facts on the ground for the sake of tactical and strategical advantage. Jesus most certainly knew it, and He prophesied that it would happen.

So the point of this post is this: Don't believe everything that you hear
and read, because everyone has to exaggerate the truth in order to win
public support. The United Nations and Western powers have to convince us
that they are winning and achieving their objectives -- with few human casualties -- lest we turn against them; and the oppressed classes have to exaggerate the level of violence and deaths, so that the world will come to their aid. It is psychological warfare, propaganda and manipulation through
and through on both sides of the fence.

As I have said before, personally, I am convinced that there is a hidden
force at work which is influencing the ongoing events in North Africa and
the Middle East. Given the suddenness and scope of these events, I simply do not believe that they have occurred naturally and on their own. It is as if
the pressure cooker has just suddenly blown its lid off, and all of the seething anger within has been liberated.

While it is no doubt true that the oppressed classes of some nations are suddenly realizing that if they don't act now, by rising up against their repressive leaders while the momentum is strong, and while they still have
the world's support, it will never get done, I still think that there is
more going on here than what at first meets the eye.

In fact, I have been waiting and watching to see if and how soon the Syrians would likewise rise up against Bashar al-Assad. Considering the murderous
acts of his father -- Hafez al-Assad -- in years past, it is no surprise
that it took the Syrians this long to reach the point where they are willing
to publicly protest and demand change in Syria. As you have probably already heard, Bashar al-Assad has chosen to follow the very same pattern as other Middle Eastern tyrants, and has resorted to violence in order to quell the public protests. If the recent events in other Middle Eastern nations is any indication, al-Assad is merely hastening his own downfall by taking such a violent approach.

So, while there may possibly be an invisible human hand at work here which
is influencing all of these recent events, I remain convinced that above and beyond that, there is a Divine Hand at work. For reasons which are only
known to Him, I believe that God Himself has chosen this particular time for these events to unfold, in order that His Divine Purposes might be accomplished.

Just remember what Jesus said. Despite the wars and rumors of wars, "the end
is not yet."

Finally, please be mindful of the fact that nations don't help out each
other just to be nice. There is always some hidden objective. Ultimately
there is always some price to pay; either an economic price, or a military price, or a strategic price; something. The Iraqis have discovered this, and the Libyan rebels will no doubt find this to be true as well.



Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files. We Use Hermes II


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