COMING ATTRACTIONS IN WORLD AFFAIRS
Coming Attractions In World Affairs - Jack Kelley - www.gracethrufaith.com
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." (Psalm 2:1-3)
At the prophetic level, the results of the recent US election make perfect sense. Think about it. The Bush Administration's vision for the Middle East was a string of robust democracies from Lebanon to Iraq with leaders chosen in free elections enjoying the popular support of newly prosperous citizens who after generations of oppression feel like they're finally in control of their own destinies, and who desire nothing more than to live at peace with their neighbors. You can almost taste the sense of freedom and dignity they'd all enjoy. Kind of like the US was sixty or so years ago.
If President bush had been able to maintain the loyalty of his allies abroad and the members of his government at home, we'd be well on our way to making such a beautiful dream come true.
But where would that have left us in the prophetic scenario? No leader, no matter how charismatic, could gain the traction necessary to take over the world in those conditions. God's plan for the End of the Age, already in motion, would have been set back a generation or more.
No, the President's vision, no matter how attractive, failed to take one major factor into consideration. It's not what the Lord had in mind. So once again, a leader who professes a relationship with God has forgotten the chain of command. God is not on our team. If we're careful and humble enough, we sometimes get the chance to be on His, but as soon as we start calling the plays ourselves instead of taking His direction, He'll bench us just like that.
It's been said that on several occasions the White House has hosted well known prophecy scholars to get a sense of what the Bible says about the End Times. It's also said that the President and his closest advisors are so steeped in Replacement Theology that they treat Israel's situation as a mere political problem, not a Spiritual one, and therefore have totally missed the message of prophecy. I don't know how true those statements are, but it sure looks like they could be.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD (Isaiah 55:8)
I can understand them charging ahead over the objections of Islamic leaders, who would pay any price to prevent another free democratic society in their midst. That's a classic battle between good and evil. But to fly in the face of clear prophecy that calls for increasingly frequent wars in the Middle East that will soon blossom into a nuclear exchange before finally involving the whole world is another story. How does one reconcile a string of thriving western style Moslem democracies with that reality?
So the Lord had to throw a monkey wrench into the works to get their attention. It wasn't hard, not with the amount of pride and arrogance on display in the halls of government today. I'll bet that Satan didn't even need a personal conversation with the Lord like He did with Job. A quick text message is probably all it took to get permission to step in and mess things up.
The cut and run scenario already fashioned by our newly elected Congressional leaders is just what he needs. According to the intelligence and news services I read, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and others have begun implementing their plans for life after America's now certain departure from the Middle East. These services also report that the US and Iraq both know that Iraq's government will fall and the country will be split up into several autonomous regions, probably along Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish lines. That King Abdullah of Jordan has spent the past several months in seclusion with his troops preparing them to guard their border with Iraq against the attempt he knows is coming to topple his government next. That the Saudis know their days may be numbered, too. That Israel is planning for another war with Hizbollah within six months and knows that Syria will line up against them too. That the Lebanese government will likely fall and be replaced by one loyal to Hizbollah. That Israel's Asst. Defense Minister has promised to prevent Iran going nuclear "at all costs." That Russia's intention to become the dominant player in the region is made clear by recent actions in Syria and Lebanon that we've already covered. (See Isaiah 17 Countdown.)
So, with the dismantling of the Bush Middle East Strategy things will soon be back on track. I know that I sound like the worst kind of negative thinker according to world standards, but we have to realize that God is well into the process of bringing His own peace plan to fruition in the Middle East, and His plan is by far the best. The Bush plan, like all the other plans before it, was actually a hindrance to God and would have the effect of delaying the very thing it was designed to produce. A lasting World Peace. The reality that all of man's plans have tried unsuccessfully to avoid is that it's going to take one more really horrific war to get it. God harbors no such delusions.
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (1 Cor. 1:19)
Those who disagree with students of End Times Prophecy call us defeatists, but we're actually on the side of victory. They want man to solve the world's problems because that way they don't have to depend on God. Depending on Him makes them responsible to Him, and in their view that's something to be avoided at all costs.
They don't realize that man is not equal to the task. History shows us that the 20th century can be characterized as a century of war interrupted by brief periods of peace. Each new war has been made necessary by man's failure to address the problems created in the previous one. Now, in the 21st Century, only God can solve the world's problems and until we realize that, things will only get worse.
Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
With the recapture of Jerusalem, the Times of the Gentiles are over. God has promised to step back into the picture now to resolve His issues with both Israel and her enemies so that peace can follow, and although it sounds counter-intuitive, sidelining America removes a major obstacle to that goal. America has been too powerful an ally of Israel's to leave any room for God to work.
America's decline must continue until Israel's enemies no longer fear any US opposition to their efforts to destroy the Jews. As soon as that happens, they can attack and God can insert Himself into the equation on Israel's behalf.
As Christians we need to remember that the only Earthly nation promised a place in God's Kingdom is Israel. Obviously there will be others around, but Israel will occupy center stage. America has been blessed only because as a people we've been on God's side, not because He's been on ours. But those days are over. There is simply no Biblical reason to believe that God has favored America with a role in End Times prophecy. For if God's own nation Israel could be cast adrift for disobedience, how much more so a nation that is not his.
In the absence of Israel, the church has been God's kingdom here, not the USA. American believers get confused about that. And even the Church has been characterized as aliens in a foreign land. Our homeland is in the New Jerusalem, not Earth, and soon we'll go there while God completes the restoration of both His nation Israel and the planet we've nearly destroyed.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." (Psalm 110:1)
Meanwhile, as believers, we're neither Republicans nor Democrats, but Monarchists awaiting the return of our King. While we wait we need to fight for the values we uphold in a climate that's becoming more hostile to these values by the day. That means supporting anyone we can find who espouses them, and just as importantly, not supporting those who don't. And when those we've depended upon betray us, as they will, we have to hold them accountable. It's a losing battle, fraught with disappointment, but it's only for a while.
And don't forget. We're part of the problem too, because we've become way too comfortable with the ways of this world. Remember, we're supposed to be in the world but not of the world. For those with one foot in the world and one in the Kingdom, the next little while might be pretty frustrating since it will require increasing levels of compromise to get along.
It's long past time for us to stop depending on our paychecks, our government, even our constitution for our security, and start looking to the author and perfecter of our faith again. He's the only one you can neither leave nor lose. He's the only one who is faithful and true. And He's the only one who has promised to see to our needs. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
___________________________________________________________________
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." (Psalm 2:1-3)
At the prophetic level, the results of the recent US election make perfect sense. Think about it. The Bush Administration's vision for the Middle East was a string of robust democracies from Lebanon to Iraq with leaders chosen in free elections enjoying the popular support of newly prosperous citizens who after generations of oppression feel like they're finally in control of their own destinies, and who desire nothing more than to live at peace with their neighbors. You can almost taste the sense of freedom and dignity they'd all enjoy. Kind of like the US was sixty or so years ago.
If President bush had been able to maintain the loyalty of his allies abroad and the members of his government at home, we'd be well on our way to making such a beautiful dream come true.
But where would that have left us in the prophetic scenario? No leader, no matter how charismatic, could gain the traction necessary to take over the world in those conditions. God's plan for the End of the Age, already in motion, would have been set back a generation or more.
No, the President's vision, no matter how attractive, failed to take one major factor into consideration. It's not what the Lord had in mind. So once again, a leader who professes a relationship with God has forgotten the chain of command. God is not on our team. If we're careful and humble enough, we sometimes get the chance to be on His, but as soon as we start calling the plays ourselves instead of taking His direction, He'll bench us just like that.
It's been said that on several occasions the White House has hosted well known prophecy scholars to get a sense of what the Bible says about the End Times. It's also said that the President and his closest advisors are so steeped in Replacement Theology that they treat Israel's situation as a mere political problem, not a Spiritual one, and therefore have totally missed the message of prophecy. I don't know how true those statements are, but it sure looks like they could be.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD (Isaiah 55:8)
I can understand them charging ahead over the objections of Islamic leaders, who would pay any price to prevent another free democratic society in their midst. That's a classic battle between good and evil. But to fly in the face of clear prophecy that calls for increasingly frequent wars in the Middle East that will soon blossom into a nuclear exchange before finally involving the whole world is another story. How does one reconcile a string of thriving western style Moslem democracies with that reality?
So the Lord had to throw a monkey wrench into the works to get their attention. It wasn't hard, not with the amount of pride and arrogance on display in the halls of government today. I'll bet that Satan didn't even need a personal conversation with the Lord like He did with Job. A quick text message is probably all it took to get permission to step in and mess things up.
The cut and run scenario already fashioned by our newly elected Congressional leaders is just what he needs. According to the intelligence and news services I read, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and others have begun implementing their plans for life after America's now certain departure from the Middle East. These services also report that the US and Iraq both know that Iraq's government will fall and the country will be split up into several autonomous regions, probably along Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish lines. That King Abdullah of Jordan has spent the past several months in seclusion with his troops preparing them to guard their border with Iraq against the attempt he knows is coming to topple his government next. That the Saudis know their days may be numbered, too. That Israel is planning for another war with Hizbollah within six months and knows that Syria will line up against them too. That the Lebanese government will likely fall and be replaced by one loyal to Hizbollah. That Israel's Asst. Defense Minister has promised to prevent Iran going nuclear "at all costs." That Russia's intention to become the dominant player in the region is made clear by recent actions in Syria and Lebanon that we've already covered. (See Isaiah 17 Countdown.)
So, with the dismantling of the Bush Middle East Strategy things will soon be back on track. I know that I sound like the worst kind of negative thinker according to world standards, but we have to realize that God is well into the process of bringing His own peace plan to fruition in the Middle East, and His plan is by far the best. The Bush plan, like all the other plans before it, was actually a hindrance to God and would have the effect of delaying the very thing it was designed to produce. A lasting World Peace. The reality that all of man's plans have tried unsuccessfully to avoid is that it's going to take one more really horrific war to get it. God harbors no such delusions.
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (1 Cor. 1:19)
Those who disagree with students of End Times Prophecy call us defeatists, but we're actually on the side of victory. They want man to solve the world's problems because that way they don't have to depend on God. Depending on Him makes them responsible to Him, and in their view that's something to be avoided at all costs.
They don't realize that man is not equal to the task. History shows us that the 20th century can be characterized as a century of war interrupted by brief periods of peace. Each new war has been made necessary by man's failure to address the problems created in the previous one. Now, in the 21st Century, only God can solve the world's problems and until we realize that, things will only get worse.
Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
With the recapture of Jerusalem, the Times of the Gentiles are over. God has promised to step back into the picture now to resolve His issues with both Israel and her enemies so that peace can follow, and although it sounds counter-intuitive, sidelining America removes a major obstacle to that goal. America has been too powerful an ally of Israel's to leave any room for God to work.
America's decline must continue until Israel's enemies no longer fear any US opposition to their efforts to destroy the Jews. As soon as that happens, they can attack and God can insert Himself into the equation on Israel's behalf.
As Christians we need to remember that the only Earthly nation promised a place in God's Kingdom is Israel. Obviously there will be others around, but Israel will occupy center stage. America has been blessed only because as a people we've been on God's side, not because He's been on ours. But those days are over. There is simply no Biblical reason to believe that God has favored America with a role in End Times prophecy. For if God's own nation Israel could be cast adrift for disobedience, how much more so a nation that is not his.
In the absence of Israel, the church has been God's kingdom here, not the USA. American believers get confused about that. And even the Church has been characterized as aliens in a foreign land. Our homeland is in the New Jerusalem, not Earth, and soon we'll go there while God completes the restoration of both His nation Israel and the planet we've nearly destroyed.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." (Psalm 110:1)
Meanwhile, as believers, we're neither Republicans nor Democrats, but Monarchists awaiting the return of our King. While we wait we need to fight for the values we uphold in a climate that's becoming more hostile to these values by the day. That means supporting anyone we can find who espouses them, and just as importantly, not supporting those who don't. And when those we've depended upon betray us, as they will, we have to hold them accountable. It's a losing battle, fraught with disappointment, but it's only for a while.
And don't forget. We're part of the problem too, because we've become way too comfortable with the ways of this world. Remember, we're supposed to be in the world but not of the world. For those with one foot in the world and one in the Kingdom, the next little while might be pretty frustrating since it will require increasing levels of compromise to get along.
It's long past time for us to stop depending on our paychecks, our government, even our constitution for our security, and start looking to the author and perfecter of our faith again. He's the only one you can neither leave nor lose. He's the only one who is faithful and true. And He's the only one who has promised to see to our needs. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
___________________________________________________________________
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