CHAPTER XV

PART 1:
GOD'S LOVE FOR ISRAEL IS
BASED ON GRACE, NOT ON WORKS

THE GOTTERDAMERUNG

At first glance, it would seem that Hitler's Holocaust is a nightmare that could never be repeated. The Götterdämmerung in which Hitler's Valhalla went up in flames in a Wagnerian Twilight of the Gods should have consumed this horrible disease - AND PUT TO AN OPEN SHAME ALL THOSE WHO HATE THE JEWS. But like a nightmare which won't go away, like a cancer which goes into remission - feigning a cure - only to reappear again in some other part of the body and in a more virulent form, anti-Semitism is once more rearing its ugly head - and Jews have very REAL reasons to fear for their lives.

To a very large extent, today's anti-Semitism revolves around the existence of a new and UNEXPECTED phenomenon: the reappearance in world history of the state of Israel, a phenomenon which the Jews felt they had no other choice but to FORCE on the world in order to forestall their own eventual extermination. The Jews have learned through grievous experience that unless they act to save themselves, unless they hold their own fate in their own hands, they are powerless to fend off the world's hatred against them - and no assurances to the contrary (even when proffered by the liberal democracies of the West) can ever suffice to make the Jews believe otherwise. The Jews have learned how truly WORTHLESS such assurances are.

For example, in May 1938, as Germany's "orgy of hatred" against the Jews was reaching new heights of sadism, the governments of Great Britain, France and the United States protested. While the world might not remember what happened next, the Jews certainly do: although Hitler was annoyed at this protest, he convened the Evian Conference and offered "his Jews" to the "international community," and to Great Britain, France and the United States in particular. He knew the offer would be refused. And that's precisely what happened: the nations of the earth - and in particular the "Western Democracies" - refused to take them.

German opinion smirked at the hypocritical posturing of the "Anglo-Americans." Goebbels laughed! - had he not known all along that no "civilized" nation would ever accept that "accursed" race? A German newspaper of that era commented,

"One likes to pity the Jews as long as one can use this pity for a wicked agitation against Germany, but no state is prepared to accept even a few thousand Jews. The conference [i.e., Evian] serves to justify Germany's policy against Jewry."

FORCING ISRAEL ON THE WORLD

It is precisely the remnants of these people - the people the world turned their back on at Evian and later during the Holocaust - who, as frightened hordes of desperate refugees fleeing from Hitler's death camps, arrived in Israel to build a sanctuary against the unrelenting HATRED of the world. They knew at the time they were dispossessing people who had been there for centuries, BUT THEY HAD NO WHERE ELSE TO GO. No other nation - not even the United States - wanted them. If they were going to live, they would have to force the issue.

They came as the outcasts of Europe; the downtrodden of the shoddy Jewish ghettos of the Near East and North Africa; people with childhood memories of the sound of hammers boarding up doors and windows against the unrelenting pogroms directed against them in Russia, Hungary, Poland, etc.; they came as the remnants of Hitler's death camps and as people fleeing the indifference of the French, the Belgians, the Dutch, the Swedes, and all the other "do-gooder" nations of the earth to their plight - people who had at last been driven to frantic desperation to hold their OWN fate in their OWN hands for a change, which meant having their OWN nation and their OWN army with which to defend themselves - again, even if that meant forcing themselves onto the people of the Middle East and dispossessing Arabs from land they had inhabited for generations.

The Jews were seeking a place of refuge where, when all else fails, Jews could flee to without having to depend on the capricious consent of other nations and peoples who experience had shown were at best indifferent to their fate!

THE NEW ANTI-SEMITISM

A place of refuge; of shelter; of asylum, of sanctuary! - that's what Israel means to the worldwide Jewish community. AND IT'S A PLACE WHOSE IMPORTANCE IS ONLY GROWING IN THE FACE OF A RESURGENT WORLDWIDE ANTI-SEMITISM. Indeed, Donald G. McNeil, Jr. of the New York Times reports that in France there is a rising tide of anti-Semitic incidents. In Marseilles the Orthodox Jewish Or Aviv synagogue was burned to the ground. An additional three other French synagogues were set on fire over the Passover-Easter weekend, and a synagogue in Strasbourg had its doors set ablaze the day after an anti-Israel demonstration there. In addition, in Lyon, 15 masked men crashed two cars through the gates of a synagogue and set them afire. Finally, shots were fired at a kosher butcher shop in Toulouse, and a young Jewish couple were badly beaten in Villeurbanne in the Rhone region. [And it should be noted in this connection that none of these acts were organized and abetted by Muslim immigrants – all stemmed out of France's historical antipathy towards the Jewish community.]

The Central Jewish Consistory in Paris, in a statement sent to Agence Frence-Presse, called the weekend's attacks "the beginning of a new Kristallnacht, with the government totally passive about what was happening." Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass," on November 9, 1938, was named for the sweeping attacks that the Nazis incited on Jews and Jewish shops and places of worship.

In the face of all this, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced that 1,110 additional police officers would be deployed to guard France's synagogues and Jewish schools - and, as a result, police officers, some carrying submachine guns, now are posted outside dozens of synagogues and Jewish schools throughout the country.

THE JEWS ARE FRIGHTENED

This is a shocking development for Jews in France. Until recently, leaders of France's 600,000 Jews have believed that they were living in a country where they were safe from the scourge of anti-Semitism. But with the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents, they no longer believe that's the case - especially in light of the fact that when they have publicly complained about the attacks, there has not been any genuine public outcry to stop them.

They just keep on occurring, ranging from anti-Semitic graffiti that is appearing on walls all over the country, to threatening phone calls received by rabbis, to shootings, to burnings, etc. Similar incidents have occurred in Belgium where five firebombs were thrown at a synagogue. And it's not just in France and in Belgium that this new anti-Semitism has taken hold. The fact is, it's happening all over Europe: in Germany, in Austria, in Denmark, in Italy - everywhere!

THE REBIRTH OF THE "BLOOD-LIBELS"

In addition to all this, Newsweek Magazine reports that there has been a marked revival of all the old "BLOOD LIBELS" against the Jews - including stories that the pastries used in the Jewish Purim festivities contain human blood; and that at Passover the blood of Christian children under the age of ten is used in the rituals. And while these stories are still confined to the fascist fringe in Europe, they are REGULAR FARE in the Middle East and throughout the Islamic world.

Indeed, devotees of these stories and myths can be found not just among the uneducated there, but among the university-trained elite as well. Take Dr. Umayma Ahmad al-Jalahma of King Faisal University Hospital in Saudi Arabia: Newsweek reports that she believes that at Passover,

"A needle-studded barrel (in which the Christian or Muslim child-victim is locked into) is used (to obtain the blood). The victims suffer dreadful torment - torment that affords the Jewish vampires great delight ..." [We URGE you to read our detailed account of these "blood-libels" in our article, "Pat Robertson, ILLUMINISM, and the New World Order."]

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Finally, as if to add insult to injury, a venomous anti-Jewish press has re-surfaced "big time," and is peppering the world with anti-Semitic CONSPIRACY THEORIES. In Egypt, according to Newsweek, the press regularly features stories denying the Holocaust and accepting as fact the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. [Please see our article, "The Origins of the Illuminist Myth: The Fabrication of the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion."]

There has also been a marked revival of all the old "BLOOD LIBELS" against the Jews - including stories that the pastries used in the Jewish Purim festivities contain human blood; and that at Passover the blood of Christian children under the age of ten is used in the rituals.[Please see our article, "The Business Right and The Christian Right An Alliance Made In Hell" for an interesting historical discussion on the intersection of interests in anti-Semitism between the American business community and the Religious Right; finally, please see our short article on "Holocaust deniers" entitled, "The Institute for Historical Review."]

Even the oft repeated story attributed falsely to Benjamin Franklin that the Jews would take over America if allowed to immigrate to the United States - a theory concerning the so-called "squalid" and "immoral" effect of Jewish power that most in the Religious Right in this country already subscribe to (see below) - is standard reading throughout the Middle East.

This particular theory is a popular one because it seems to give an answer to many Muslims (and not a few Christians as well) concerning what many perceive to be America's slavish and unreasonable devotion to the Jewish state; a theory predicated upon a belief by many in the existence of a NEW YORK-JERUSALEM AXIS controlled by a mysterious cabal of Satan-worshipping Jewish financiers associated with the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations.

JEWS AS THE HIDDEN-HAND
BEHIND THE ATTACK ON THE WTC

And these stories just keep on coming. For instance, the events of September 11th have given rise to the theory that Israel was the "hidden hand" behind the attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon - a theory that was given a certain amount of "legitimacy" in Pakistan a few days after the attacks when General Rashid Qureshi, the public-relations chief for President Pervez Musharraf, told Newsweek that the attacks were carried out by the Israeli Mossad, and that all the Jewish employees of the WTC had mysteriously failed to show up for work on the day of the attack. [In fact, Jews suffered far more deaths from the attack on the WTC than any other group in relation to their percent of the population.]

These stories - and many others beside - give evidence to the fact that anti-Semitism is making a big "comeback" not only in the world at large, but in this country as well. The truth is, a great many Americans today would not find it particularly difficult to agree with Daniel Bernard, France's ambassador to Great Britain, when - according to Newsweek - he was overheard to say at a private dinner party in London:

"... that shitty little country [i.e., Israel]! Why should the world be in danger of World War III because of these people [i.e., the Jewish people]?"

BILLY GRAHAM AND THE JEWS

Indeed, one of the great "open secrets" of today's America is that there remains a HUGE reservoir of anti-Jewish hostility in this country, especially in the Religious Right; and this hostility is clearly reflected in their hate-filled rhetoric against the ACLU. [Please see "The Republican Party And The Jews."]

Why? - because, in the artful phraseology which has over the years come to surround anti-Semitism in the United States, THE ACLU HAS BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN A CODEWORD FOR THE JEWS. The truth is, there are a lot of Christians who would have little trouble echoing Billy Graham when he told Richard Nixon that the Jews had established a stranglehold on the country, and that -

"This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's GOING DOWN THE DRAIN."

Pretty harsh stuff! Going down the drain! - i.e., that the Jews are responsible for ruining the United States! Wow! Nonetheless, if words are to be taken at their face value - that's what Graham was saying here! - i.e., that Jewish influence in the United States was ruining the country. That sounds like something Hitler, or Goering, or Goebbels, or Himmler would have said about Germany sixty years ago. And, indeed, it is! [Please see "The Jews, The Minorities And The Multicultural Imperative."] Graham continues,

"... there is a powerful bloc of Jews in this country that are putting out the pornographic stuff."

Plainly, Graham believes that Jews are responsible for America's lapsed morality. This, of course, is what Hitler et. al. believed too. Graham persists with even more caustic remarks about the Jews,

"A lot of Jews are great friends of mine. They swarm around me and are friendly to me ... THEY DON'T KNOW HOW I REALLY FEEL."

Since these remarks surfaced as a result of recently de-classified and released Nixon tape recordings from the National Archives, a great number of "Graham-experts" and apologists have been hauled out to cite Graham's "unstinting support" for Israel over the years and to "write off" Graham's anti-Semitic remarks as something that "should not be taken out of context" - in other words, what people should do is ignore the implications of Graham's "unguarded" White House "table talk."

WE NEED TO BE HONEST ABOUT GRAHAM

But come on now! What is more likely to be representative of the REAL Graham? - his "unguarded" remarks about the Jews to close confidants and friends? Or his carefully contrived public statements? Come on! - be honest here! Alexander Cockburn of Counterpunch Magazine believes that such thinking is very representative of the white, country club kind of Christian that - SADLY - Graham has come to mirror over the years. Cockburn writes knowingly and very sarcastically,

"Don't people know that this sort of stuff is consonant with the standard conversational fare at 75 percent of the country clubs in America, not to mention many a Baptist soiree. Nixon thought American Jews were lefty peaceniks who dominated the Democratic Party and were behind the attacks on him. Graham reckoned it was Hollywood Jews who had sunk the nation in porn."

SCHIZOPHRENIA, THE JEWS,
AND THE EVANGELICALS

Moreover, one should not be thrown off track with regard to Graham and the many others like him in the evangelical Christian community because of their "unstinting support" for the state of Israel.

While it's true that there is a lot of support from evangelicals like Graham, Robertson, Falwell, etc. for Israel, that does not seem to detract a great many of them from their disgust of the Jewish people in general. Evangelicals are SCHIZOPHRENIC on this point - and that SCHIZOPHRENIA has a lot to do with their view of the Jewish people as "Supermen" or Obermenschen (or sometimes as Untermenschen) [Please see "Pat Robertson, Illuminism, And The New World Order."].

Like the nursery rhyme about the "little girl with the cute little curl in her forehead," evangelicals somehow or other believe that when the Jews are "... good, they are very, very good, but when they're bad, they're horrid" - i.e., that when Jews accept Christ, they become almost superhuman in their Christianity, but when they reject Him, they become anti-Christs in their hatred of God. But the Bible doesn't admit to this kind of distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles; on the contrary, the Bible says:

"For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ..." (Rom. 3:23)

And it goes on to say:

"... there is NO difference between the Jew and the Greek (i.e., the gentiles) ..." (Rom. 10:12)

A PERPETUAL HATRED

All this talk about American anti-Semitism, is to say nothing about the very obvious PERPETUAL hatred that the Islamic world has developed for Israel - a hatred that is poised to finish what Hitler tried to do: Drive the Jews of Israel into the ocean and TOTALLY annihilate them.

A PERPETUAL HATRED

Sadly, there exists today a very obvious PERPETUAL hatred that the Islamic world has for Israel - a hatred that is poised to finish what Hitler tried to do: Drive the Jews of Israel into the ocean and TOTALLY annihilate them.

There is no bridging this hatred; no way to resolve it. There is no longer any room for common ground between the Islamic world and the Jews.

Even if Israel were to withdraw to its so-called 1967 borders, give up its defensive positions along the Jordan River, withdraw from all its settlements on the West Bank and Gaza, that would probably still not be the end of it. This is what Hussein Ibish and Ali Abunimah, both Palestinians, believe. They write:

"... the occupation is only one of two major issues standing in the way of an end to the century-old conflict. The denial of the right of millions of Palestinian refugees, those displaced in the 1948 and 1967 wars and their descendants, to return to their homes and land is also a fundamental obstacle. Unlike the occupation, it is an issue which has never been seriously addressed or properly understood in the U.S. All recent American and Israeli proposals for Israeli-Palestinian peace have been predicated on an unworkable and disastrous concept: that the world's largest group of refugees would renounce or be denied this basic human right."

But if the Israelis grant the Palestinians the "Right of Return," it will mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state. Contrawise, if the Jews refuse to grant the Palestinians this concession, the suicide bombings will no doubt continue endlessly into the future. As Newsweek suggested last week,

"Israelis know - as should the rest of the world - that the real division among Palestinians is not between those who want peace in the Western sense - i.e., as a point after which the world lives free of tensions with a consciousness of reconciliation. In reality, the number of Palestinian leaders holding this view is minuscule. THE FUNDAMENTAL SCHISM IS BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANT TO BRING ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL BY CONTINUING THE PRESENT STRUGGLE, AND THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT AN AGREEMENT NOW WOULD BE A BETTER STRATEGY TO RALLY FORCES FOR THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN LATER ON."

Either way, Israel will eventually have to go if the Islamic world is to be satisfied!

If Israel grants the Palestinians the "RIGHT TO RETURN" it would mean the end of the Jewish state.

I WILL SAVE THEE

All these things - the anti-Semitism, the anti-Zionism, the irreconcilable differences between the Muslims and the Israelis over Israel's presence in the Holy Land - have conspired together to produce a feeling of dreadful PARANOIA in the Jews regarding how the rest of the world feels about them, and a parallel sense THAT WAR WITH THE PALESTINIANS (AND INDEED THE ENTIRE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY) IS INEVITABLE. The very real fact of the matter is, Israel's back is up against the wall, and so much so that Jewish historian Amos Elon writes:

"I'M IN SUCH DESPAIR BECAUSE I FEAR IT IS TOO LATE. AND I HAVE ONLY TOLD YOU HALF OF WHAT I FEAR."

But the Bible says:

"And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; SO WILL I SAVE YOU, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

"So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: FEAR YE NOT." (Zech. 8:13-15)

SET THY FACE AGAINST MOUNTSEIR

And so God warns Israel's enemies, and most especially those Muslim nations in the Middle East who have arrayed themselves against Israel's presence in the Holy Land:

"Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir [i.e., those nations that immediately surround Israel], and prophesy against it,

"And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I AM AGAINST THEE, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.

"I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD." (Ezek. 35:1-4)

Listen brothers and sisters: it is a fearful thing for someone to hear those words from God, "I AM AGAINST THEE." There can be no more frightening thing in all the world, because we are dealing with God here. The Bible says:

"... fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him [i.e., God] which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28)

And why is it EXACTLY that God is against Mt. Seir? The Lord explains:

"BECAUSE THOU HAS HAD A PERPETUAL HATRED [against Israel], and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword ..." (Ezek. 35:5)

Now I ask you, Who is it today that has A PERPETUAL HATRED against Israel? Is it not CLEARLY those who are carrying out the suicide bombings in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, in Natanya, etc? SUICIDE BOMBING! - now that's hatred!

The Bible says that God is AGAINST THEM [i.e., all those who hate Israel in this way] and He will PURSUE THEM UNTO BLOOD!

Specifically, the Bible says:

"Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith [since] thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.

"Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.

"And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.

"I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezek. 35:6-9)

SOMETHING DREADFUL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

Listen to me: you do not want to be found on the "RECEIVING" end of these verses for any reason! God is warning you! Get away, and get away fast! He is warning all those that are "round about" Israel - all those who will hear Him out on this matter - get away as quickly as possible. SOMETHING DREADFUL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, and you do not want to be around when it occurs.

All you believing Arabs who dwell in the vicinity of Mt. Seir, all you who believe and are "called according to His purpose," get away - and get your friends and families away too. A great calamity is coming. Something horrible is about to happen: all those who today say that Israel has no right to be where she is; all those who think that the Jewish people are trespassing on Palestinian land, you SHALL BE DESTROYED:

"I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee." (Ezek. 35:6)

What's that say, then, about those who believe that Israel has no right to the so-called "West Bank?" Who say that they are going to drive Israel into the sea? Who say that Israel should negotiate with the Palestinians? Who say that Israel should give up East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount? Who hate Israel with a PERPETUALHATRED?  It says that God -

"... will even do according to thine anger [i.e., HATRED], and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy HATRED against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee." (Ezek. 35:11)

In other words, what the Bible is saying here is that God will hate these people to the degree that they have hated the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

WHO ARE YOU TO SAY TO GOD WHAT'S FAIR?

God is going to HATE them to the degree that they hated Israel? Wow! You say that that's not fair? - well, I tell you something, WHO ARE YOU TO SAY TO GOD WHAT'S NOT FAIR?

The Bible says:

"Nay but, O man, WHO ART THOU THAT REPLIEST AGAINST GOD? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" (Rom. 9:20-21)

We must understand something here! HE IS THE POTTER AND WE ARE THE CLAY. There is nothing more to be said - and God help those who would dare to say otherwise and challenge God's UTTER and TOTAL supremacy and sovereignty in this matter! The Bible says:

"Who is this (i.e., man) that darkeneth counsel by words WITHOUT knowledge?

"Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me (if you can).

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

"Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

"When the morning stars sang together ...?

"Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

"When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

"And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

"And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

"Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

"That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

"It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

"And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

"Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

"Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

"Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

"Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

"That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

"Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

"Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

"Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

"Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

"Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

"Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

"Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

"Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty (if you can)." (Job 38-22, 31-33, 40:2, 6-9)

"DECK THYSELF NOW WITH MAJESTY AND EXCELLENCY; AND ARRAY THYSELF WITH GLORY AND BEAUTY ..." if you can?

Of course we can't!

GOD CHOSE ISRAEL ON THE BASIS OF GRACE

Again, I say: He is the Potter, and we are the clay. But one should be perfectly clear here: God certainly did not choose the Jews because the they were somehow or other congenitally better than any other people on earth; or because they were a people morally superior to the people who surround them; or that they possess some kind of innate spiritual DNA that predisposes them toward God.

He chose them in order to make an open show of His MERCY - i.e., that His dealings with man are based on UNMERITED FAVOR (i.e., GRACE) and nothing else. That's what the Bible says:

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

"For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

 "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." (Ps. 103:10-14)

GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS

And His mercy toward Israel is an OPEN and PUBLIC demonstration to that affect - a historical display of His KINDNESS and COMPASSION for ALL to see who seek after God - for the Bible says that with regard to this matter (i.e., His mercy), He is - as Peter says:

"... NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS:

"But in EVERY nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted by him." (Acts 10:34-35)

And the Bible goes on to explain what it means here by the word "work:"

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)

What's that mean?  It means that our relationship with God - whoever we are - is based on His mercy toward us and not on any innate righteousness on our part; that if we try to approach God on the basis of anything we can do, we will surely fail. The Bible says:

"... we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Is. 64:6)

And again, the Bible says:

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

"They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Rom. 3:10, 12)

WHOSOEVER WILL

And so it is that we must trust in God's mercy to clothe us with His righteousness. But what assurance do we have that He will do so? For those of us who believe, we have, of course, the assurance of the Written Word:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER [that surely includes everyone, no matter who they are or what they've done] believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

And the Bible goes on to say:

"For by GRACE [i.e., unmerited favor] ARE YE SAVED through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

"NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)

And Israel is God's OPEN and very PUBLIC demonstration in the HISTORICAL RECORD and IN THE EVENTS OF TODAY, that God saves man on the basis of His mercy alone, and not on the basis of any righteousness we think we possess. After all, if God can remain faithful to Israel despite all that Israel has done, and all that she has failed to do, He can remain faithful to ALL those who call upon His name - and that He will fulfill ALL the promises He has made to us and bring us safely through to the end.

GOD'S MERCY TO ISRAEL AND
THE JEWISH PEOPLE WILL NOT FAIL

Contra wise, if God's promises to Israel fail on the basis of Israel's unfaithfulness, than we also stand in jeopardy of our future - for surely the church has been as unfaithful to God as Israel has been - OR HAVE YOU BEEN READING OUR MATERIAL FOR NAUGHT? The very real truth of the matter is, the church's historical record is every bit as tawdry and cheap as is Israel's, and to think otherwise is to reveal yourself as an IDIOT.

It's for this reason that those who condemn Israel because she supposedly is no different from any other nation are so wrong. While THEY ARE RIGHT that she possesses no higher innate morality than do the Palestinians, no greater virtue, no higher sense of decency and purity, they are still very wrong because THAT'S NOT THE POINT!

The point is UNMERITED FAVOR - i.e., GRACE. That's the point - and if God can save Israel on that basis, He can also save you on that basis as well - whether you are Jew or Arab, Iranian or Turk, Russian or Chinese (China, of course, is today the home of more REAL Christians than anywhere else on earth, despite the fact of their unrelenting persecution by the Chinese government) - whoever you are! All this to say that God will surely save NATIONAL Israel, for the Scriptures say that on THAT day,

"... THEY (i.e., Israel) SHALL LOOK UPON ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED [very obviously the Lord], and they shall mourn for him [i.e., Jesus], as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness [i.e., great sorrow] for him [i.e., Christ, whom they rejected], as one that is in bitterness [i.e., great sorrow] for his firstborn." (Zech. 12:8) [Please see our sidebar on the subject of "Jewish National Salvation."]

PART 2:
A CONTRIVED HATRED

INTRODUCTION

Yes! - God has set His face against Mt. Seir because of the Islamic world's PERPETUAL hatred against Israel and the Jewish people. But this hatred was not always so. Indeed, the so-called "Islamic Revolution" - which now has become the main instrumentality through which the Arab people hope to destroy Israel - is nothing more than another American invention that the U.S. helped to create and nurture as a movement to counter what it considered fifty years ago to be the main threat against U.S. interests in the Middle East: RADICAL SOCIALISM. That's what Nasser in Egypt, Quadafi in Libya, and the Baathist parties in Iraq and Syria were all about.

A PERPETUAL HATRED

Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Mohammed Ahmen Ben Bella of Algeria and Ahmed Hassan Bakr of Iraq: These were the revolutionary leaders that freed their respective nations from colonialism - AND ALL WERE RADICAL SOCIALISTS (secularists), not Islamists.

To the U.S., Islam was seen as a religious "counter-weight" to the influence of socialism and the Soviet Union. The fact is, all of today's radical Islamic groups that are presently "bombing the hell" out of Israel are creations of the United States, from the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt, to the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan and Iran, to Hamas and Herzbollah in Lebanon and Palestine. Every single one of these groups were originally funded with U.S. money and CIA backing. It is precisely this kind of maneuvering that has made war between Israel and her Arab neighbors all but inevitable - and so much so that the Bible says that it has - sadly - become a "PERPETUAL HATRED." (Ezekiel 35:5) [Please see our article, "Radical Islam."]

Yes! - God has set His face against Mt. Seir because of the Islamic world's PERPETUAL hatred against Israel and the Jewish people.

PROVOKING HATRED BETWEEN
ISRAEL AND THE ARABS

Seen from this perspective, the relationship that exists today between Israel and the United States is kind of like the relationship that would exist between a person (the United States) who surreptitiously "bonged" someone (Israel) over the head, blamed it on one of his friends (the Arabs), and then offers to hold his friend's (Israel's) coat when the fight breaks out - which pretty much describes the relationship that the Bible says will exist between "prophetic Babylon" and Israel at the "end of the age. Specifically, the Bible says:

"And he [i.e., the "King of Babylon" - again, please see our article, "In Search of Babylon; What do the Scriptures Say?"] shall confirm the covenant with many [Israel] for one week [seven years]: and in the midst of the week [after three and a half years] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Dan. 9:27a)

The living Bible translates this passage thus:

"This king ["Anti-Christ, King of Babylon"] will make a seven year TREATY with the people [Israel], but after half that time, he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and their offerings; then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the enemy [Antichrist] shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God [which is to say, he shall commit the Abomination of Desolation]." (Daniel 9:27a LB)

J. Dwight Pentecost writes:

"According to Daniel 9:26-27 the prince of the Roman empire [i.e., the West, called Babylon] will make a covenant with Israel for a seven year period. This covenant evidently ... guarantees Israel's integrity [is a defense pact] ... [and] also is a Satanic imitation of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant which ... [guaranteed] Israel title deed to the land. This action is pictured by John [in the Apocalypse] (Rev. 16:2) as a rider going forth to conquer [as the first horseman in the Apocalypse] ... This condition exists for three and one-half years, after which the covenant is broken by the ... [Antichrist]."

A DEFENSE PACT

ISRAEL MAKES A DEFENSE
PACT WITH THE UNITED STATES

But the bible says: Your [i.e., Israel's] covenant with death and
your agreement with hell shall not stand.

The treaty will be in the form of a defense pact between Israel and Prophetic Babylon (i.e., the United States) and will be directed against Israel's enemies - again, no doubt a coalition of Islamic fundamentalist states in the Middle East.

One of the most eminent scholars on "Last Things," Sir Robert Anderson, says that the signing of this treaty will signify the beginning of the Seventieth Week - i.e., the "Tribulation Period!" Anderson writes:

"... the Seventieth Week [the seven year period of the Tribulation] will be a definite period of time, of which the beginning, the middle, and the end are definitely marked [by certain well defined events]. [Just as the beginning of the first sixty-nine weeks were signified] ... not by the return of the Jews from Babylon, nor yet by the rebuilding of their Temple, but by the SIGNING OF THE PERSIAN DECREE [TREATY] which restored ... [them], so also the beginning of the Seventieth Week will date not from their restoration to Judea [May 14, 1948], nor yet from the future rebuilding of their shrine, but from the SIGNING OF THE [DEFENSE] TREATY BY THE COMING PRINCE [ANTICHRIST]."

THE UNITED STATES IS NOT ISRAEL'S FRIEND

BUT THE UNITED STATES IS NOT ISRAEL'S FRIEND! The fact is, the Bible calls the country with whom Israel has covenanted with here (i.e., the United States) an "OVERFLOWING SCOURGE." Pretty heavy! - and it warns Israel that this "overflowing scourge" will eventually BETRAY it:

"... your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the OVERFLOWING SCOURGE shall pass through, THEN YE SHALL BE TRODDEN DOWN BY IT." (Is. 28:18) ["Overflowing scourge?" - this is certainly a pretty good description of the United States: just ask the peoples and nations of the world that the U.S. had reduced to "client-state" status - for example, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guatemala, the Congo - the list is endless.]

PART 3:
A CONTRIVED HATRED
PRODUCES A CONTRIVED WAR

We have said that the relationship between Israel and the United States is similar to the kind of relationship that would exist between a person (again, the United States) who sneakily hit someone (again, Israel) over the head, blamed it on one of his friends (again, the Arabs), and then offers to hold his friend's (again, Israel's) coat when the fight breaks out. Just as this analogy pretty much describes the contrived nature of the hatred between Israel and her Middle Eastern neighbors, it also pretty much describes the contrived nature of the coming Gog / Magog War. The sad fact of the matter is, Israel and her opponents are allowing themselves to be maneuvered into it - and its the U.S. that has done the maneuvering.

One might fairly ask, what's driving all this maneuvering? GREED! Naked AVARICE! Michael Parenti - one of the most astute observers of today's "world condition" - writes in the magazine Covert Action Quarterly:

"The goal of conservative rulers around the world, LED BY THOSE WHO OCCUPY THE SEATS OF POWER IN WASHINGTON, is the systematic rollback of democratic gains, public services, and common living standards ..."

Parenti calls those who are a part of this "ruling class" (i.e., the "conservative rulers" in Washington D.C. - and most specifically, the Republican Party and their lapdogs in the Christian Right) a "RABIDLY ... (anti-leftist) PLUTOCRACY."  [NOTE: a plutocracy is an oligarchy that measures its worth by the money it possesses (and isn't this what today's corporate culture is all about? - the corporate culture of Bernie Ebbers, Ken Lay, etc.]

Parenti goes on to say that the only thing this plutocracy wants is "EVERYTHING:"

"All the choice lands, forests, game, herds, harvests, mineral deposits and precious metals of the earth; all the wealth, riches, and profitable returns; all the productive facilities, gainful inventiveness, and technologies; all the surplus value produced by human labor; all the control positions of the state and other major institutions; all public supports and subsides, privileges and immunities; all the protections of the law with none of the constraints; all the services, comforts, luxuries, and advantages of civil society with none of the taxes and costs. Every 'ruling class' has wanted only this: all the rewards and none of the burdens."

SECURING THE OIL WEALTH OF IRAQ
FOR THE AMERICAN OIL ELITES

It is PRECISELY this kind of rapacity - the kind that Parenti describes above - that motivated the Bush Administration to make war on Iraq. What this "elite of greed and avarice" wants is to secure the oil wealth of Iraq for itself. That's what this elite is really after; that's what the war in Afghanistan is really all about - i.e., grabbing the oil wealth of Central Asia for the American oil companies; and that's what the coming Gog / Magog War will be all about as well - grabbing the oil riches of the Middle East. [Please see our article on this subject, "The War in Afghanistan: It's Not What You Think."]

The truth of the matter is, as everyone knows now, Iraq posed no real threat to the United States per se. Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction. All the talk about nerve gas, anthrax, nuclear weapons, Iraq's supposed connection to al-Qaeda, etc. was just that - TALK. It was a smoke-screen to hide what was really driving the American government - capturing the oil wealth of Iraq, and eventually the oil wealth of all the Middle East.

And make no mistake about it, the stakes in Iraq are enormous from a monetary standpoint. There are more than SEVENTY known oilfields in Iraq, only fifteen of which have been developed. AMERICA IS MANEUVERING FOR AN "END GAME" THERE, and they are being driven by the MAGNITUDE of the prize that Gulf and Central Asian energy reserves and markets represent. This has resulted in a BOTTOMLESS DEPTH OF DETERMINATION INSOFAR AS THE AMERICAN ELITES ARE CONCERNED TO GAIN CONTROL OVER THEM (i.e., the oil fields) REGARDLESS OF THE COST.

A WAR AIMED AT
DE-POPULATING THE MIDDLE EAST

All this to say that, in a very real sense, the real target of U.S. hostility in the Middle East is the populations that inhabit that area. Stephanie Reich reports -

"THAT THE U.S. [ELITES] WOULD PREFER TO REDUCE IRAQ [AND THE REST OF THE MIDDLE EAST] TO A SPARSELY POPULATED, POLITICALLY COMPLIANT, OIL-PUMPING ... [AREA]."

If that's the case, all the talk by opponents of the war that widening the war in Iraq could destabilize the Middle East and lead to the further radicalization (and, ipso facto, the Izlamization) of the populations there, falls on deaf ears. Why? - because that's what the U.S. elites are aiming at: it would give them an excuse to permanently DEPOPULATE the area, especially if American policies in the Middle East radicalize the people there to such an extent that they are "revved up" to the point that they brashly attack Israel or create another 9/11 event in the United States. In either case, such an attack would undoubtedly lead to a MASSIVE retaliatory response. In the case of Israel, it could very well be a nuclear response - which would serve "nicely" to depopulate the area, exactly what the U.S. elites want.

DEPOPULATING THE MIDDLE EAST

And isn't that PRECISELY the kind of outcome the Bible says will occur as a result of the Gog/Magog War? Of course it is! Read the Scriptures for yourself. The Bible says:

"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth [after the war], and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and THEY SHALL BURN THEM WITH FIRE SEVEN YEARS: [Now think about that, SEVEN YEARS: it gives you an idea of the extent of the victory - i.e., that it will take seven years to clean up the mess, which, interestingly, is the length of the Tribulation.]

The Scriptures continue:

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.

"And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.

"Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.

"And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search." (Ezek. 39:2, 3-5, 7-9, 11-14)

THE GOG / MAGOG WAR: A war of annihilation aimed at killing off the people of the Middle East so as to give America's oil companies free access to the oil wealth of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

THE BREATHTAKING CRIMINALITY
OF AMERICA'S GAME HERE

That all of this (i.e., all this carnage and destruction) isn't just "happen-chance" and the result of "irresistible historic forces" between the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Isaac, but rather the result of the evil machinations and maneuvering of a small cabal of greedy, self-centered, avaricious American oil elites is BREATHTAKING in its CRIMINALITY!

But surely, you say, this is not what the United States wants. Oh, really? MIT professor Noam Chomsky believes so. In his view, what the United States really wants in the Middle East is so CRIMINAL that most people could not help but reject it as simply too iniquitous an undertaking for anyone to take seriously. [Please see our article, "Israel and the Renewed Struggle for the Holy Land."]

The breathtaking CRIMINALITY of the American elites in fomenting the Gog / Magog War in order to secure the oil wealth of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia!

PART 4: DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN THE
GOG/MAGOG WAR AND ARMAGEDDON

That there exists a clear distinction between the Gog/Magog War and Armageddon there can be no doubt! As J. Dwight Pentecost has pointed out, there are a number of considerations which make it very plain that we are dealing with two great wars rather than one during the Tribulation.

• In the Gog/Magog War, definite allies of Gog are mentioned as opposing Israel - "Magog," "Mescheck," "Tubal," "Gomer" (TURKEY), Ethiopia, Libya, (see Ezekiel 38) and EGYPT (see Daniel 11:42], while at Armageddon all nations are engaged against Jerusalem (Joel 3:2; Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 12:3; and 14:2).

• Gog comes from the North (Ezek. 38:6, 15), while at Armageddon, the armies come from out of the whole earth.

• Gog is the head of the armies at his invasion (Ezek. 38:15), but at Armageddon, the Beast is at the head of the invasion (Rev. 19:19).

• There is a protest against Gog's invasion (Ezek. 38:13), but at Armageddon there is no such protest because all the nations of the earth have joined themselves with the Beast in his attack against Jerusalem.

• Gog is overthrown by divine intervention through the convolutions of nature (Ezek. 38:22), but the armies at Armageddon are destroyed by the sword which goes out of Christ's mouth (Rev. 19:15).

• Gog's armies array themselves in the open fields (Ezek. 39:5), while at Armageddon they are seen in the city of Jerusalem.

• Gog's armies are destroyed outside of Jerusalem on the mountains and in the valleys (Ezek. 39:2-4), while the Beast and his armies are destroyed in the city of Jerusalem itself (Zech. 12:2; 14:2).

• The Lord calls for assistance in executing judgment on Gog (Ezek. 38:21), while at Armageddon He is viewed as treading the winepress alone (Rev. 19:15; Isaiah 63:3-6).

• The invasion by Gog will be sudden and will come with relatively little warning (Ezek. 38:11), while Armageddon will be no sudden and unexpected event.

Thus, as Dwight Pentecost has suggested,

"Two diverse movements (wars) must be acknowledged."

SOMETIME BETWEEN NOW AND THE
BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION

Moreover, to suggest, as some NINCOMPOOPS do, that the Scriptures that reference the Gog/Magog War refer to some sort of event that occurred in antiquity is pure nonsense. The truth is, NO prior invasion of the land of Israel is sufficient to be the fulfillment of this prophecy. There have been invasions in the past that have wrought hardship on the land and the people of Israel, but NONE answer to the details given here. The destruction of the Temple in AD 70, for example, was accomplished by the Romans who came from the west. But the invasion described here comes from the direction of TURKEY and Persia to the north, and EGYPT, Ethiopia and Libya from the south.

These passages, then, can only refer to some as yet future event in Israel's history - and this is clearly indicated by the phrase, "... in the latter years." (Ezek. 38:8) This fact is attested to by almost all Orthodox Jewish scholars (who themselves consider these prophesies to be as yet unfulfilled).  Dwight Pentecost, Robert Duncan Culver, and David L. Cooper agree with the Orthodox Jews. For example, Cooper writes,

"... it is utterly impossible to locate the fulfillment of this prediction [i.e., the Gog/Magog War] after the Millennial Age. It cannot be placed at the beginning of the Millennium, nor at the end of the Tribulation. It must, therefore, be located [at the beginning] of the Tribulation, because there is no other logical place for it to occur since the three other dates are impossible ... There will [thus] be a time between now and the beginning of the Tribulation when [this war will occur which will initiate the seven years of the Tribulation Period]."

Again, this thesis is substantiated in a somewhat backhanded way by Ezekiel 39 when the prophet reveals that a full SEVEN years will be needed to clear away the wreckage of the Gog/Magog War:

"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons ... and they shall burn them with fire SEVEN years ..." (Ezek. 39:9)

The seven years referred to here by Ezekiel could be none other than the seven years of the Tribulation Period - since no such seven years will follow Armageddon; after Armageddon, the beasts of the field and the fouls of the air will clear away the wreckage - and that by divine direction and in a short period of time. Then the Millennium will begin - there is no seven year interval here. Thus, the Gog/Magog War will immediately precede the events of the Tribulation period. There is, as Cooper suggests, simply no other place to put it which will conform to the pertinent Scriptures.

The Gog/Magog War, then, will precede the Tribulation and will act as a catalyst for the great events of that period, while Armageddon will bring to a conclusion the events of the Tribulation Period. A FAIR READING OF THE PASSAGES IN SCRIPTURE THAT DEAL WITH THESE GREAT WARS WILL YIELD NO OTHER RESULT.

PART 5: GATHERING ALL THE "PLAYERS"
TOGETHER FOR THE GOG/MAGOG WAR

HATE AND GREED DRAW THE "PLAYERS" TOGETHER

Greed is the Fuel that Drives the Engines of War

Now one must understand something about the Gog/Magog War: It's a war of GREED - and while the leaders of today's American Church will try to tell you differently as the storm clouds gather - i.e., that it's a war that aims to "bring democracy to the peoples of the Middle East;" a war that aims to "break the power of Islam so that Christianity can once again bloom in its ancient heartland" - it's, nonetheless, purely and simply, a war about GREED, as are ALL wars. To say otherwise is to fly in the face of the clear teachings of the New Testament. Jesus said:

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

"And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

"And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

"But I say unto you, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THEM THAT CURSE YOU, DO GOOD TO THEM THAT HATE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THEM WHICH DESPITEFULLY USE YOU, AND PERSECUTE YOU;

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

"For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matt. 5:38-46)

There is no such Thing as a "Just War"
in the Teachings of the New Testament  

There is no such a thing as a "Just War" in this world and in this life; that the church is authorized to participate in a such a war is a concoction of the Medieval Church which used that concept to justify its murderous participation in the crusades and its bloody conquest and subjugation of the "New World."

The Medieval Papacy

The concept of the "Just War" is a concoction of the Medieval Church that used this notion to justify the West's murderous participation in the crusades and its bloody conquest and subjugation of the "New World" as well as Africa and much of Asia - all in the name of the "Prince of Peace."

The Bible instructs us that wars result from COVETOUSNESS:

"From whence come wars … ? come they not hence, even of your lusts … ? (James 4:1)

What the Bible is saying here is that, ultimately, wars are not about ideology or God, or any other such things. These are just the masks behind which those who indulge themselves in the rapacity of war hide themselves. In the end, it's all about GREED and AVARICE:

"Ye lust, and have not: [so] ye kill, and desire to have [more], and cannot obtain:[so] ye fight and war [all the more] …" (James 4:2)

In the case of the Gog/Magog War - the war that we are examining now - its about the oil elites' effort to hold on to their ill-gotten gain in the Middle East: the fabulous oil riches of that area. It's about preventing the people of the Middle East - the rightful owners of this wealth - from taking back those riches and expelling America from the region.

The Twin Purposes of Radical
Islam (Gog) in the Middle East

There can be, of course, no question as to the gathering storm in the Middle East; it's plain enough for anyone to see who wants to see (Mark 8:18); one doesn't even need the Bible to see what's going on: Specifically, that the forces of Islamic Radicalism are gathering themselves together to -

• Destroy Israel.

• Drive America out of the Middle East.

Clearly, what the leaders of Islamic Radicalism are seeking to do is reestablish a single Islamic Caliphate over the entire area - one that stretches from Morocco in the west (including possibly even the Iberian Peninsula) to Pakistan in the east (and possibly farther east to Malaysia and the Philippines). [Please see our article on the origins of Radical Islam, "Radical Islam;" please also see our articles, "The Coming War in the Middle East" and "Israel and the Renewed Struggle for the Holy Land."]

HATE DRAWS GOG DOWN ON ISRAEL

Insofar as the Scriptures are concerned, we can plainly see Gog's primary purpose regarding Israel (#1 above) in Ezekiel 38:10-12:

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind [i.e., Gog's mind], and THOU SHALL THINK AN EVIL THOUGHT:

"And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of UNWALLED VILLAGES [i.e., Israel]; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

"To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and UPON THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GATHERED OUT OF THE NATIONS [again, Israel], which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land." (Ezekiel 38:10-12)

"Thou shall think an evil thought?" Ezek. 38:10) - clearly, Gog's primary purpose here is to destroy Israel, "The people that are gathered out of the nations." (Ezek. 38:12) If there is some spoil to be had in the process, that's all well and good - but what really is driving Gog is HATE: HATE FOR ISRAEL!

GREED DRAWS IN THE "MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH"

Art Thou Come to Take a Spoil?

Then the Bible says something very interesting that reveals Gog's secondary purpose (#2 above) - the elimination of America's presence in the Middle East (which will bring the wrath of America down on Gog). IT ALSO REVEALS WHOSE OX IS REALLY BEING GOADED BY THE FORCES OF ISLAMIC RADICALISM, AND WHO REALLY IS BEHIND WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MIDDLE EAST - i.e., THE CEOs OF AMERICA'S MULTINATIONAL OIL COMPANIES, companies who are more than willing to sacrifice America's sons and daughters for the sake of their "bottom lines." [Please see our article, "The Coming War in Iraq; What It's Really All About."]

And how exactly do we know that this is so?  The Bible leaves us a plethora of clues which anyone who has "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" (Mark 8:18) can pick up on. We can begin by examining Ezekiel 38:13 which follows hard on the heels of the verses we have just examined (Ezekiel 38:10-12):

"Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee (i.e., Gog), ART THOU COME TO TAKE A SPOIL? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezek. 38:13)

NOTE

THE GREED OF THE MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH

It's interesting to note in this connection that for a time Israel proved itself useful to Tyre's own selfish ends; but eventually Tyre came to view Israel as an impediment to its continued aggrandizement. The parallel to what's happening today with Israel in connection to the United States and what happened centuries ago between Israel and Tyre should be plain enough for anyone to see. AND THAT'S PRECISELY WHY THIS CONNECTION IS MADE IN THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES.

Tyre was driven by GREED, and when it eventually turned on Israel, there was nothing particularly ideological or theological in its "breach of faith" insofar as Israel was concerned. Israel had become an obstacle to the riches that Tyre wanted to take unfettered possession of. For that reason Israel had to be expunged, much as a robber would brush aside a yelping puppy that stood in his way of burgling a house - which is precisely what America will do to Israel shortly after the Gog/Magog War.

The question that fairly begs to be asked in connection with this verse is Who exactly are "Sheba" and "Dedan," and the "Merchants of Tarshish" who raise a protest against what Gog is doing? Evidently, they're not particularly interested in Israel per se; what they're interested in is the SPOIL that will accrue to Gog if his attack proves successful.

Sheba, Dedan and the "Merchants of Tarshish

Sheba, Dedan, and the "Merchants of Tarshish" are all mentioned in Ezekiel chapter twenty-seven as merchants of great wealth who made the ancient kingdom of Tyre "roll and go."  Speaking to the king of Tyre, the prophet says:

"TARSHISH WAS THY MERCHANT by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

"DEDAN WAS THY MERCHANT in precious clothes for chariots.

"THE MERCHANTS OF SHEBA … they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

"The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. (Ezekiel 27:12, 20, 22, 25)

IN OTHER WORDS, THESE MEN WERE, SO TO SPEAK, THE CEOs OF THE GREAT "MERCHANT HOUSES" OF THEIR TIME; men of "high finance" - the "Robber Barons" who made the Kingdom of Tyre (again,, the kingdom referenced in Ezekiel twenty-seven) the wealthiest nation of its day. THE "KINGDOM OF TYRE" AND THE "MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH" ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED TOGETHER IN HOLY WRIT.

The kingdom of Tyre and the "Merchants of Tarshish" 

That, of course, brings us to the matter of Tyre's empyreal ("spiritual") identity; what Tyre was really all about in the ancient world. Concerning Tyre, the great Bible expositor, J.N. Darby writes :

"TYRE … REPRESENTS THE WORLD AND ITS RICHES, in contrast with Israel as the people of God; and rejoices [over the destruction of Israel] not like the other nations of the world from personal hatred, but because, having opposite interests, the destruction of that which restrained its career gave free course to its natural selfishness."

What Darby is saying here is that unlike most other peoples of the ancient world who hated Israel with an open and very PERSONAL hatred, Tyre had a hidden distaste for Israel; but not out of any PERSONAL animosity, but simply because Israel hindered Tyre from its quest for worldly wealth. [Please see our article, "The Real Enemy of Israel; It's Not What You Think;" please also see our article, "The Republican Party and the Jews."]

Tyre was driven by GREED, and when it eventually turned on Israel, there was nothing particularly ideological or theological in its "breach of faith" insofar as Israel was concerned.  Israel had become an obstacle to the riches that Tyre wanted to take unfettered possession of. For that reason Israel had to be expunged, much as a robber would brush aside a yelping puppy that stood in his way of burgling a house; OR better yet, much as a criminal would turn on his former comrades when it came to dividing up the spoil of their mutual plunder - which is precisely what America will do to Israel shortly after the Gog/Magog War.

America has been corrupted by the greed and avarice of its business elites such as the Bank of America's Ken Lewis.

In the Scripture, TYRE IS TO AMERICA AS THE "MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH" ARE TO THE CEOs OF AMERICA'S GIANT MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS. BOTH VIEW ISRAEL AS NOTHING MORE THAN A USEFUL TOOL WHICH CAN BE THROWN AWAY AFTER ITS USEFULNESS HAS PASSED.  Hence God's warning to Israel concerning its alliance with America:

"… your COVENANT WITH DEATH shall be disannulled, and your AGREEMENT WITH HELL shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then YE SHALL BE TRODDEN DOWN BY IT." (Isaiah 28:18)

THE KING OF TYRE

I Sit in the Seat of God"

And now - in case anyone has missed the point - the Bible very clearly draws the parallel forward to today and links the King of Tyre to the AntiChrist, and it does so in a most marvelous way. The prophet begins by first addressing the kingdom of Tyre as a whole:

"The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

"Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;

"And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate in the … [midst] of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I AM OF PERFECT BEAUTY.

"Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, THY BUILDERS HAVE PERFECTED THY BEAUTY. (Ezekiel 27:1-4)

And then the prophet turns his attention to the king of Tyre:

"The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

"Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I AM A GOD, I SIT IN THE SEAT OF GOD, IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

"Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:

"With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

"By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and THINE HEART IS LIFTED UP BECAUSE OF THY RICHES:

"… thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God …" (Ezekiel 28:1-6)

Up to this point, it could be said that the Bible is describing a man - a very impressive and remarkable (though extremely egocentric) man - but still a man.

The King of Tyre as a Picture of the AntiChrist

Then, however, the Bible goes beyond what could be the description of a mere mortal - way beyond:

"Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; THOU SEALEST UP THE SUM, FULL OF WISDOM, AND PERFECT IN BEAUTY.

"THOU HAST BEEN IN THE EDEN OF GOD; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

"THOU ART THE ANOINTED CHERUB THAT COVERETH; and I have set thee so: THOU WAST UPON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF GOD; THOU HAST WALKED UP AND DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE." (Ezekiel 28:12-14)

These are words that could not possibly be said of a mere man:

• "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."

• "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God."

• "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth."

• "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God."

• "Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."

We're No Longer Talking about a Mere Man 

Obviously, we're no longer talking about a mere man. The great Bible expositor, C.I. Scofield, writes:

"Here, as in Isa. 14:12, THE LANGUAGE GOES BEYOND THE KING OF TYRE TO SATAN, the inspirer and unseen ruler of all such pomp and pride as that of Tyre. Instances of thus indirectly addressing Satan are: Gen. 3:14, 15; Matt. 16:23. The unfallen state of Satan is here described … The vision is not of Satan in his own person, but of Satan fulfilling himself in and through an earthly king who arrogates to himself divine honours, so that THE PRINCE OF TYRUS FORESHADOWS THE BEAST (i.e., the AntiChrist - Dan. 7:8; Rev. 19:20)." [Please see "George Bush, the Promise Keepers, and the Principles of Messianic Leadership."]

Darby writes:

"In chapter xxviii [28], it is the prince and the king of Tyre that are judged for their pride. Verses 1-10 set Tyre before us the prince of this world's glory as a man, exalting himself and seeking to present himself as a god, having acquired riches and glory by his wisdom. Verses 11-19, while continuing to speak of Tyre, go … much farther, and disclose, though darkly, the … ways of Satan, become through our sin the prince and god of this world. The prince of Tyre represents Tyre and the spirit of Tyre. The verses which follow (11-19) are much more personal. I do not doubt that, historically, Tyre itself is referred to; verses 16-19 prove that. But … the mind of the Spirit goes much farther [toward Satan]."

Corrupted by the Search for Wealth

The Bible continues concerning the king of Tyre:

"Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

"BY THE MULTITUDE OF THY MERCHANDISE THEY (i.e., SHEBA, DEDAN, AND THE "MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH") HAVE FILLED THE MIDST OF THEE WITH VIOLENCE, AND THOU HAST SINNED: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

"Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

"THOU HAST DEFILED THY SANCTUARIES BY THE MULTITUDE OF THINE INIQUITIES, BY THE INIQUITY OF THY TRAFFICK; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

"All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (Ezekiel 28:12-19) [Please see our article, "The Elite, Money and the End of Days;" please also see our articles, "Greed, Avarice and the Coming Dictatorship" and "The Measure of a Man's Worth."]

The Search for Wealth Invariably
Leads to the Use of Violence

Tyre and the prince of Tyre had defiled themselves, and one should take careful note of the manner in which they did so:

• "By the multitude of thy merchandise they (i.e., Sheba, Dedan, and the "Merchants of Tarshish") have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned."

• "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick."

What's the Bible saying here? - it's saying that Tyre and the Prince of Tyre have been corrupted by the GREED and COVETOUSNESS of their business leaders. When the Bible speaks here of "traffick," it's speaking of "economic activity." Believe me when I tell you that the Bible wasn't blowing smoke when it said:

"They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, WHICH DROWN MEN IN DESTRUCTION AND PERDITION.

"FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL …" (I Tim. 6:9-10a) [Again, not some evil, but ALL evil.]

Moreover, the Bible sets up a kind of formula here, a social equation, as it were: The search for wealth - i.e., "the ceaseless quest for money to make still more money," as Michael Parenti puts it - leads INVARIABLY to VIOLENCE. That's what the Bible is saying when it says, "They [i.e., Sheba, Dedan, and the "Merchants of Tarshish] have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned."

PARALLEL WORLDS

The Parallel between the "Merchants of
Tarshish" and the American Business Elites 

Come on now! - is it that hard to see the parallel between Tyre and the "Merchants of Tarshish (on the one hand) and America and her business elites (on the other hand)? The fact is, in today's world, the American business elites stand in exactly the same place to America as the "Merchants of Tarshish" stood in relation to the kingdom of Tyre - AND IT IS, THEREFORE, NOT WITHOUT PURPOSE THAT THE BIBLE DRAWS THIS PARALLEL FORWARD TO TODAY'S WORLD IN EZEKIEL CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Those who have "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" (Mark 8:18) will easily make the connection.

And make no mistake about the centrality of the American business elites to the way America (and, ipso facto, the world) is run today. The late Professor C. Wright Mills of Columbia University has written:

"... in this particular epoch a conjunction of historical circumstances has led to the rise of an elite of power ... the men of the circles composing this elite, severally and collectively, now make such key decisions as are made; and that, given the enlargement and the centralization of the means of power now available, the decisions that they make and fail to make carry more consequences for more people than has ever been the case in the world history of mankind." [Please see our article, "Greed, Avarice and the Coming Dictatorship."]

The fact is, THE RICH IN AMERICA ARE NOTHING MORE THAN CRIMINALS IN BUSINESS SUITS, But unlike the Mafioso (who have, in relative terms, only a few "hit men" at their disposal to enforce their will), the CEOs of General Electric, Ford Motor Company, Haliburton, Exxon-Mobil, etc. have the entire U.S. military at their disposal to enforce their will. AND SO WE NOW UNDERSTAND THE CRYPTIC REFERENCE TO "SHEBA, DEDAN AND THE MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH" IN EZEK. 38:13: "Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee (i.e., Gog), ART THOU COME TO TAKE A SPOIL? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezek. 38:13)

Mills Continues:

"The pursuit of the moneyed-life is ... [the elite's] commanding value, in relation to which the influence of other values has declined, so ... [THAT THEY HAVE] EASILY BECOME MORALLY RUTHLESS IN ITS PURSUIT..."

"[They have] narrowed the meaning of 'success' to big money and in these terms condemn [financial] failure as the chief vice, raising money to the plane of absolute value."

"Whenever the standards of the moneyed-life prevail, the man with money, NO MATTER HOW HE GOT IT, will eventually be respected. [In America], it is not only that men want money; it is that their very standards are pecuniary. In a society [i.e., the American society] in which the money-maker has ... no serious rival for repute and honor, the word 'practical' comes to mean 'useful for private gain' and 'common sense', 'the sense to get ahead financially'."

Criminals in Armani Suits

Just as the moneyed elites of Tyre filled Tyre and Tyre's tribute states with bloodshed and violence, so also America's moneyed elites have filled America and her "client-states" with violence and bloodshed, except it's not called that when America's business elites "traffic" in it. When they rob the poor, dispossess them of their land and houses, pollute the environment, ship their jobs overseas to "slave-labor factories," instead of calling it what it is - i.e., "criminality" - they call what they are doing "sound business practices." [Please see our article, "The American Empire and the New Global Elite;" please also see "The American Empire and the U.S. System of Client-States."]

And its just not that they openly practice such things; they then buy up legislators, take control of the judiciary, co-opt the administrative organs of the government, and buy up the electoral process in order to insure that they are immune from the consequences of their felonious acts. Commenting on the kind of "democracy" they have created for themselves in America, Michael Parenti writes that as things stand now, the American people -

"... might better think of [their system of government] … as a dual political system. First, there is the symbolic political system centered around electoral and representative activities including party conflicts, voter turnout, political personalities, public pronouncements, official role-playing and certain ambiguous presentations of some of the public issues which bestir presidents, governors, mayors and their respective legislatures. Then there is the substantive political system, involving multi-billion dollar contracts, tax write-offs, protections, rebates, grants, loss compensations, subsidies, leases, giveaways and the whole vast process of budgeting, legislating, advising, regulating, protecting and servicing major producer interests - now bending or ignoring the law on behalf of the powerful, now applying it with full punitive vigor against heretics and 'troublemakers'. The symbolic system is highly visible, taught in schools, discussed by academicians, gossiped about by newsmen. The substantive system is seldom heard of or accounted for."

The fact is, THE RICH IN AMERICA ARE NOTHING MORE THAN CRIMINALS IN ARMANI SUITS; but unlike the Mafioso (who have, in relative terms, only a few "hit men" at their disposal to enforce their will), the CEOs of General Electric, Ford Motor Company, Haliburton, Exxon-Mobil, etc. have the entire U.S. military at their disposal to enforce their will. AND SO WE NOW UNDERSTAND THE CRYPTIC REFERENCE TO "SHEBA, DEDAN AND THE MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH" IN EZEK. 38:13:

"Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee (i.e., Gog), ART THOU COME TO TAKE A SPOIL? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezek. 38:13)

It is a protest that will act as a catalyst to America's presence in the Middle East and - again - it reveals whose ox is really being goaded by the forces of Islamic Radicalism (i.e., the CEOs of America's multinational oil companies), and who really is behind what's going on in the Middle East (i.e., these very same rapacious oil companies who - again - are more than willing to sacrifice America's sons and daughters for the sake of their "bottom lines").

THE PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL AND
DANIEL CONCERNING THE GOG/MAGOG WAR 

The Prophet Ezekiel

We have now gleaned about as much as we can concerning the Gog/Magog War from the prophet Ezekiel. This much has been made clear:

• A group of Radical Islamic nations shall descend on Israel in the "latter days" to destroy Israel and "take a spoil."

• As foretold in Ezekiel 38:4, it will be a massive invasion. Persia (the land that is today occupied by modern Iran) and TURKEY will join in the attack. Ethiopia and Libya (ancient lands which today bear these same names) and others will evidently coordinate with the northern confederation in an attack from the south.

• There will be a protest from Sheba and Dedan and the "Merchants of Tarshish" - i.e., America's business elites - that will spur the United States into action against Gog.

But, having said this, little else can be gleaned from Ezekiel concerning the Gog/Magog War except that Gog will be almost totally annihilated. But how will the war unfold? Are there other "players?" How exactly does the AntiChrist become involved? These and other questions are left unanswered by Ezekiel. Instead, Ezekiel passes over these questions, bypassing the rest of the Tribulation Period, and moves directly into a picture of a restored Israel during the Millennium.

The Prophet Daniel

We must take up the rest of the Gog/Magog story (where Ezekiel left off) in Daniel chapter eleven. [Please see Daniel and the Latter Days (Moody Press) by Robert Duncan Culver for an excellent treatment of these and other passages.]

Daniel 11:36-39 begins the prophecy with a description of the Antichrist and compares him with Antiochus Epiphanes [the Greek (by ethnicity) not Syrian ruler of the ancient Selussian Empire] who desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem in the Second Century B.C. (Daniel 11:21-35). Among other things, he (Antichrist) is described as a man who shall corrupt with flatteries (Daniel 11:32), and a man infatuated with military power and glory. Daniel goes on to say:

"And at the end time [same as "in the latter years" - cf. Daniel 11:40 and Ezekiel 38:8] the king of the South [the leader of the southern confederation, i.e., EGYPT, Libya, etc.] will collide with him [i.e., the Antichrist - please see Daniel and the Latter Days by Robert Culver], and the king of the North [Gog] will storm against him [again, the Antichrist] with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he [Antichrist] will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through.

"He [i.e., the Antichrist] will also enter the Beautiful Land [i.e., Israel], and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon [i.e., that portion of land east of the river Jordan which sweeps in a large arc (with the Dead Sea as the fulcrum) from about 30 miles northeast of the Dead Sea southward to about 50 miles due south, southeast of the same sea - a barren and desolate wilderness devoid of any significant vegetation. Mt. Nebo is located in this area where it is reputed that Jeremiah hid the "Arc of the Covenant" in order to prevent its capture by the Babylonians - and there are some scholars today (mainly Orthodox Jews) who believe that it is still there (Numbers 35)].

 "Then he [i.e., Antichrist] will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of EGYPT will not escape.

 "HE [i.e., Antichrist] WILL GAIN CONTROL OVER THE HIDDEN TREASURES [i.e., THE OIL OF THE MDDLE EAST] AND OVER ALL THE PRECIOUS THINGS ...

"But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him [i.e., Antichrist], and he [Antichrist] will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.

"And he [Antichrist] will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain …" (Daniel 11:40-45a)

"HE [i.e., Antichrist] WILL GAIN CONTROL OVER THE HIDDEN TREASURES [i.e., THE OIL OF THE MDDLE EAST] AND OVER ALL THE PRECIOUS THINGS ..."

As described here, the Gog/Magog War will be initiated by a "push" from the king of the south (i.e., the leader of the southern confederation, probably the leader of EGYPT) against the Antichrist, whose forces are at least partially located in the "glorious land" [Israel] - probably as a result of a defense pact between Israel and Babylon, the nation which he leads. Shortly thereafter, the king of the north [Gog] - leading the combined forces of TURKEY, Iran, etc - will launch his attack, and between them, the king of the north and the king of the south will attempt to trap the combined forces of Israel and Babylon in a giant pincer movement. The attack of the king of the north [Gog] has been referred to in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Now new detail is given. Ezekiel 38 and 39 had mentioned the fact that Ethiopia and Libya would join Gog in this attack; now a third nation is added – EGYPT. (Daniel 11:42)

Recapitulating and Combining the
Prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel

As a result of the information contained in the above verses and those in Ezekiel, we have now -

• An outline of how the war will unfold.

• An idea of where U.S. forces will be situated just prior to the beginning of the war, specifically in the environs of ancient Babylon and close to Israel.

• A final list of the MAIN "players" in the war: Israel, the United States, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt.

• The consequences of the war: The occupation of the land of Israel by American forces, and the annihilation of most of the people of the Middle East.

Matters Pertaining to Turkey and Egypt

This, at last, brings us to the matter of Turkey and Egypt; specifically their decline into the fires of Islamic Radicalism. The submergence of both countries in these fires will take place in an atmosphere of increasing turmoil and confusion in the Middle East as the forces of Islamic Radicalism (on the one hand) and America and her client-state, Israel (on the other hand) maneuver for advantage in the upcoming struggle for control of the vast oil riches of the area. In this struggle, both sides will be radicalized because - in the end - only the radicalized elements of each camp are prepared to endure the horrors of the clash that lie ahead; only they possess the esprit de corps (as it were) and the kind of intellectual (really, religious) rigor necessary for such a contest.

[We urge you to see our article,And So It Begins …" for a more up-to-date assessment of what's going on in both Egypt and Turkey as well as elsewhere in the Middle East.]

Egypt

As the struggle continues, both sides will be progressively driven back to the ancient springs from which their cultures first drew breath; in the case of America, Christianity; and in the case of the Muslim people of the Middle East, Islam. There is no room on this battlefield for the "faint of heart," which in this case means the religious "moderates" on both sides. All this bodes ill for the "moderate" governments of Turkey and Egypt. Indeed, what's happening in both countries is that their "moderate" underpinnings are rotting away under the impress of Islamic Radicalism. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood - a radical Islamic group that has been banned for years. 

Turkey

In Turkey, the same rot is extant as in Egypt. All that's needed to push the "moderates" out in Turkey is the rejection of their bid for E.U. membership - a bid that looks increasingly shaky. For example, Valery Giscard d'Estaing of France recently asserted in an interview with Le Monde that Turkey has no business in the E.U. It's not a "Western" country at all. He continued:

"Turkey's capital is not in Europe, and 95 percent of its population is outside Europe. It has a different culture, a different approach, and a different way of life … E.U. membership for Turkey would mean the end of Europe."

And Giscard d'Estaing is not alone in his sentiments. His comments have been echoed by West Germany's former chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, who publicly voiced fears that the admission of Turkey -

"… would open the door for similarly plausible full membership of other MUSLIM nations in Africa and the Middle East. That could result in the political union degenerating into nothing more than a free trade community [without a common culture]."

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Valery Giscard d'Estaing, former premier of France and Helmut Schmidt, former chancellor of Germany; both believe that the admittance of Turkey, a Muslim nation, to the EU would destroy the unity of the European Union.

While the secular elites in Europe continue to press for Turkey's membership in the E.U., most of the differing populations of the E.U. member states are opposed to Turkey's membership for cultural and, yes, even religious reasons. The current population of Turkey is about 70 million; by contrast, Germany is the largest E.U. state with about 83 million residents, but it is shrinking by about 82,000 a year while Turkey's population is exploding.  That means that in a few years, Turkey would be the largest state - both in terms of geography and sheer numbers - in the E.U. What that could mean is that Europe could be flooded with Muslim immigrants who would be accorded unrestricted immigration rights under the E.U. Charter. That's something that sends shivers down the spines of most Europeans.

Should Turkey's bid for membership in the E.U. continue to stall, however, Turkey could irrevocably turn away from "moderation" and embrace Islamic Radicalism. Indeed, the current government of Turkey is made up in part from previously banned Islamic parties.

The leader of this coalition, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has warned that if things continue as they are, the Turks will look at the E.U. as "nothing more than a Christian Club" which is closed to Islamic participation.

AND THE FACT IS, THERE IS ALREADY A GROWING SENTIMENT IN TURKEY AGAINST BECOMING A "PARIAH" MEMBER OF THE E.U. WHEN IT COULD INSTEAD BECOME THE LEADING MEMBER IN A COALITION OF ISLAMIC STATES THAT WOULD STRETCH FROM MOROCCO TO THE PHILIPPINES

How Close Is the Collapse of the
Egyptian and Turkish Governments?

The question, now, that fairly begs to be asked is, How close are we to the collapse of the present "moderate" governments of Turkey and Egypt? The short answer is, very close! Indeed, both Turkey and Egypt stand in just about the same situation as the government of Iran did just prior to the fall of the Shah.

When the collapse of the Shah finally came in 1978 - which led to the Middle East's first Islamic government - it looked at the time to have come out of nowhere. But the social rot that led to the collapse of the Shah's government had been eating away at Iran's foundations for years. While the façade remained, the substance was gone; as a result, when the collapse came, it came suddenly. THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN VERY SOON NOW IN BOTH EGYPT AND TURKEY - AND NOTHING WILL BE ABLE TO STAVE OFF THIS COLLAPSE.

Moreover, this kind of rot is extant in almost all the "moderate" governments of the Middle East and North Africa - from Morocco and Algeria in the west, through Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria in the center - and even eastward through Pakistan, the states of Central Asia, and on into Malaysia. The fact is, all of these secular governments are rotten to their very foundations, AND THIS ROT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ALL AMERICAN CLIENT-STATES with very little popular support at the grass-roots level.

Ultimately, the "moderate" governments of each of these states owe their existence to the support of the U.S. military; and all of them are in league with the Americans in the rape of their respective countries by America's huge "multi-national" corporations - corporations such as Exxon-Mobil, Haliburton, Shell (which, despite its British and Dutch façade, is really an American-owned corporation), Conoco-Phillips, Dow, Union Carbide, etc.

But Egypt and Turkey are crucial in the fact that they - together with Iran - possess among themselves more than 80 percent of the population of the Middle East. That makes what happens to them crucial to what happens to the Middle East as a whole.

RESTATING THE FACTS ON THE GROUND

When Egypt and Turkey go, all of the Middle East will go with them! - AND, AGAIN, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME NOW. When that finally happens, ALL THE "PLAYERS" THAT ARE DIRECTLY MENTIONED IN THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES WILL HAVE GATHERED THEMSELVES TO WAR:

• TURKEY: Turkey is still a U.S. client-state, but is very close to collapsing into the frenzy of Islamic Radicalism. It should be noted here that when we speak of Turkey in the ancient scripts, we are speaking of Magog, Mescheck, Tubal, and Gomer. It should also be noted in this connection that none of these ancient lands extended northward into what is known today as Russia. RUSSIA IS NOT REFERENCED BY EITHER THE PROPHET EZEKIEL OF DANIEL; the names "Mescheck" and "Tubal" are NOT references to "Moscow" and "Tobolsk" as some have naively suggested. That's conjecture; the facts are these: Mescheck and Tubal are mentioned in ancient Assyrian inscriptions as being located in what is now known as the Transcaucasian Region - the extreme northern horizon of the Hebrews (Ezek. xxxviii. 15; xxxix. 2). This area encompasses what is now known as Azerbaijan, Dagestan, and Turkey. In addition, "ROSH" IS NOT A PSEUDONYM FOR "RUSSIA" as some have alleged; that, again, is conjecture; the facts are these: Rosh is an ancient designation for the tribes north of the Taurus mountains (i.e., in the Caucuses area) ..." [Please see the Biblical and Theological Dictionary and the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.]

• IRAN: Already a designated Islamic Republic; in the process of building a nuclear bomb.

• ETHIOPIA (including the Sudan): Already designated Islamic Republics.

• LIBYA: An enemy of the United States; though not yet a declared Islamic Republic, it is already a de facto one. [We urge you to inform yourself regarding Libya's current situation: "Libya: Lies, Lies, and More Lies" and "Libya: US-NATO Military Intervention."]

• EGYPT: Still a U.S. client-state, but - like Turkey - very close to collapsing into the frenzy of Islamic Radicalism. [As we have already indicated, Egypt's co-called "moderate" government has already succumbed. Again, please see our articles, "Confronting the Inevitable Collapse of America's Client-States in the Middle East" and "The Egyptian Revolution and the Growth of Radical Islam."

• ISRAEL: A U.S. client state and America's CAT'S PAW in the Middle East.

• THE UNITED STATES: Already ensconced in the land of ancient Babylon (i.e., Iraq), and is in the process of building fourteen SUPER-BASES out in the Iraqi desert away from Iraq's population centers and the prying eyes of the world press. In addition - and more ominously for Israel - the U.S. is also building a SUPER-BASE in Israel itself that is so huge that it is reputed to be half the size of the city of Tel Aviv.

PART 6:
ISRAEL'S AGREEMENT WITH HELL

DWIGHT PENTECOST ON
THE COMING DEFENSE PACT

There is only one other event before us that we have yet to examine in connection with the Gog/Magog War and the beginning of the Tribulation: The signing of a FORMAL defense pact between the United States and Israel. The Scripture calls this agreement between Israel and Prophetic Babylon as "YOUR [i.e., ISRAEL'S] COVENANT WITH DEATH" and "YOUR AGREEMENT WITH HELL:"

"Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord, ye ... men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

"Because ye have said, We have made a COVENANT WITH DEATH, AND WITH HELL [Prophetic Babylon] are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us ...

"[But] ... your COVENANT WITH DEATH shall be disannulled, and your AGREEMENT WITH HELL shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." (Isaiah 28:14-15, 18)

Why does the Bible use such strong language with regard to this covenant? - because it is an abomination to God for His people to trust in anything but the hand of God! It is a fearful thing for the people of God [be that people Israel or the church] to trust in gentile world power. God calls it "harlotry!"  Concerning this pact, J. Dwight Pentecost writes:

"According to Daniel 9:26-27 … [Babylon (i.e., the United States)] will make a covenant with Israel for a seven year period. This covenant evidently ... guarantees Israel's integrity [i.e., is a defense pact] ... [and] also is a Satanic imitation of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant which ... [guaranteed] Israel title deed to the land. This action is pictured by John [in the Apocalypse] (Rev. 16:2) as a rider going forth to conquer [as the first horseman in the Apocalypse] ... This condition exists for three and one-half years, after which the covenant is broken by the ... [Antichrist]."

SIR ROBERT ANDERSON ON
THE COMING DEFENSE PACT

Sir Robert Anderson elaborates on the prophetic circumstances surrounding this treaty and its connection to the Tribulation Period:

"... the Seventieth Week [i.e., the seven year period of the Tribulation Period] will be a definite period of time, of which the beginning, the middle, and the end are definitely marked [by certain well defined events]. [Just as the beginning of the first sixty-nine weeks were signified] ... not by the return of the Jews from Babylon, nor yet by the rebuilding of their Temple, but by the SIGNING OF THE PERSIAN DECREE [TREATY] which restored ... [them], so also the beginning of the Seventieth Week will date not from their restoration to Judea [May 14, 1948], nor yet from the future rebuilding of their shrine, but from the SIGNING OF THE [DEFENSE] TREATY BY THE COMING PRINCE [ANTICHRIST]."

This brings us to a particularly enigmatic portion of Scripture; specifically Ezekiel 38:11:

"And thou [i.e., Gog) shalt say, I will go up to the land of UNWALLED VILLAGES [i.e., Israel]; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates …"  (Ezekiel 38:11)

What strange, enigmatic words these are that God speaks to Gog, Israel's ancient, spectral enemy; strange especially insofar as their references to Israel as "a land of UNWALLED villages," and a people who "dwell WITHOUT WALLS."

"Unwalled villages?" People "dwelling without walls?" - it sounds like something out of the Song of Roland or Canterbury Tales. Something medieval and gothic! - especially in this day and age. No one builds defensive walls around towns and cities anymore. That went out with the advent of modern artillery more than five centuries ago - EXCEPT IN ONE PLACE: ISRAEL, WHERE CONSTRUCTION OF A "DEFENSIVE WALL" IS PROCEEDING WITH ALL POSSIBLE DISPATCH! - GIVING THE VERSES IN EZEKIEL 38:8-12 A NEW AND VERY OMINOUS MEANING. SUDDENLY, THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL DON'T SOUND QUITE AS "ANTIQUE" AS THEY HAD SOUNDED PREVIOUSLY.

Yes! There is a WALL in the land of Israel today. A "defensive" WALL. It is made up of concrete slabs up to 30 feet high in some places, razor wire, electrical fencing, ditches, trenches, roads, sensors, and surveillance devices; it is Israel's attempt to create a "defensible border" between itself and the Palestinians; between Israelis and the Intifada. The WALL creates a frontier between the Jewish nation and the Palestinians that has been "adjusted" to take into account Israel's defense requirements; a WALL that that is universally condemned by the so-called "world community." 

The problem, however, for those who oppose the WALL is that it works - at least insofar as Israel is concerned: The very real fact of the matter is, where the WALL has been completed, incursions by Palestinians into Israel proper bent on murder and slaughter have been reduced dramatically. INDEED, IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE TOO MUCH TO SAY THAT THE WALL REPRESENTS THE MOST "WORKABLE" AND "PRACTICAL" SOLUTION ISRAEL HAS BEEN ABLE TO CONCOCT TO DATE AGAINST ATTACK BY ITS ARAB AND PALESTINIAN ENEMIES. In light of this, one would have to ask, Why would Israel give the WALL up? It would be "nuts" for Israel to do so. And yet, very obviously, at the time of Gog's attack on Israel, the WALL is gone. That's what Ezek. 38:11-12 makes clear:

"... I (i.e., Gog) will go up to the land of UNWALLED villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling WITHOUT walls, and having neither bars nor gates ...

"To take a spoil, and to take a prey ..." (Ezek. 38:11-12)

So, again, the question that springs to mind is, Why would Israel sacrifice the security that the WALL had given them? - unless, of course, Israel had received something in EXCHANGE; something it considered more valuable: a DEFENSE PACT with the most powerful nation on earth - the United States!

Yes! - that's what has very evidently occurred, and it is EXACTLY this "Defense Pact" that the prophet Isaiah condemns as a "COVENANT WITH DEATH" (Isaiah 28:18) and as an "AGREEMENT WITH HELL" (Isaiah 28:18) [Please see our article, "The Wall: The Israeli/Palestinian Accords and Israel's Agreement with Death and Hell."]

PART 7:
THE CHRISTIAN RADICALIZATION
OF THE UNITED STATES

A RACE BACK TO THE DARK AGES

We have spoken of the radicalization of the Islamic nations of the Middle East and Central Asia, but the United States is also going through a similar process of radicalization: A CHRISTIAN radicalization. Those who get caught up in it will inevitably find themselves allied with the Antichrist and the power of hell!

That radicalization process is already far advanced and is apparent to anyone who has "eyes to see" and "ears to hear" (Mark 8:18). The fact is, CHRISTIANITY IN THE UNITED STATES IS IN A RACE BACK TO THE DARK AGES, THE DAYS OF POPE GREGORY VII AND THE CRUSADES, and this is made apparent not in the secret memoranda of the leaders of today's American Church, but in their public pronouncements. Again, we turn to the words of C. Peter Wagner, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and the father of the "Church Growth Movement" which has taken hold everywhere in American Christendom today; Wagner, who once considered President George Bush "GOD'S MAN ON EARTH," says:

"In God's providence, things have now changed in Washington. The election of 2000 [which brought George Bush to power] was a vital spiritual victory for our nation … Today we have leaders who desire a DIVINE CONNECTION BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH."

Wagner elaborates on what he calls this "divine connection between heaven and earth:"

"We must keep in mind that there are two important and interconnecting worlds, the visible world of the natural world and the invisible world of the spiritual world. God has established governments to set policies and execute strategies in the visible world. He has established the church to do likewise in the invisible world."

BLOOD, GORE AND MANGLED BODIES

The thoughts expressed here by Wagner are truly amazing - and are portentous of fearful things to come: of blood and gore and mangled bodies; of ruin and heartache; of orphans and widows; of tears and great sadness!

C. Peter Wagner is pulling the West back to the Dark Ages and the Medieval Church - a world filled with witches and demons and "things that go bump in the night;" a world where the church and the state - i.e., those twin powers of Regnum and Sacerdotium that governed the lives of Medieval Man - were co-equals in the affairs of mankind.

Wagner is pulling the West back to the Dark Ages and the Medieval Church - a world filled with witches and demons and "things that go bump in the night;" a world where the church and the state - i.e., those twin powers of Regnum and Sacerdotium that governed the lives of Medieval Man - were co-equals in the affairs of mankind. This doctrine was known to the Medieval Church as the "Doctrine of the Two Swords" (i.e., the "temporal sword" and the "spiritual sword"): To the Caesars of the state must be given some things, to the church of God must be given others.  Si Roma locuta sit, cause finita sit. [Please see our articles, "Apostasy: Christianity in the Service of a Religio-Political-Corporate Terrorist State" and "Political Christianity."]

Hildebrand (i.e., Gregory VII, pope from 1073 - 1085) wrote:

"... the spiritual [i.e., churchly] and temporal [i.e., civil] powers are entrusted to two different orders, each drawing its authority from God, each supreme in its own sphere, and independent, within its own sphere, of the other ... the king is subject to the bishop in spiritual matters, the bishop is to the king in temporal matters." [Please see our article, "Regnum and Sacerdotium."]

This is precisely what Wagner and others of his ilk believe.

Wagner believes that for there to be victory in the "visible world" (i.e., victory for the "American New World Order System" which he fervently believes is God's "Redeemer Nation" ordained by Him to conquer the world for "Christ and the church - please see our article, "Inside the American New World Order System") there must be victory in the "invisible world" (i.e., the church). That both spheres (worlds) must coordinate their respective efforts in order to bring God's Kingdom to earth. Wagner writes,

"It is our responsibility, as church leaders, to use the authority that God has delegated to us and to conquer the invisible forces of darkness ... THIS IS WHAT OPENS THE WAY FOR OUR GOVERNMENT LEADERSTO MAKE GODLY DECISIONS IN THE NATURAL REALM."

Wagner continues:

"We have enemies in both the visible world and the invisible world, and, ultimately, our enemies in the invisible world, under Satan as their Commander-in-Chief, influence our natural enemies such as the hijackers who commandeered the commercial jets which inflicted unthinkable destruction on our nation."

A HOLY WAR (CRUSADE) AGAINST ISLAM

And make no mistake about it, Wagner is plainly making a connection between Islam and the events of 9-11. Wagner is plainly setting up an equation here, as it were: Islam = Satan; and Christianity = God.

Wagner goes on:

"... If our government leaders ... are to implement God's purpose here on earth, the church must be equally ready to move into a wartime stance and go on the offensive ... It is time to go to battle in the invisible world ..."

Wagner says that it is the duty of church leaders everywhere to prepare Christians for battle in the "invisible realm" in support of what the US is trying to accomplish in the "visible realm;" to that end, church leaders must thwart and defeat any "CLINTONESQUE (Wagner's word), PACIFISTIC, ANTI-WAR mood" from taking hold of the church; the unity of the church is paramount if pacifism is to be defeated, and anti-war sentiment successfully driven from the church. Accordingly, the saints must be brought UNDER THE DISCIPLINE OF THEIR PASTORS and elders, who in turn must SUBMIT themselves to the RULE (i.e., the government) of the "Apostles and Prophets." Wagner says,

"God has prepared us for this moment: Intercessors began to be recognized in the 1970s, prophets in the 1980s, and apostles in the 1990s. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH IS IN PLACE and we must be obedient ... [The apostles are now prepared to rule over the saints and prepare them for war]... the church leaders most responsible for MOVING BELIEVERS INTO WAR ARE THE APOSTLES ..."

According to C. Peter Wagner, Christians must make themselves ready for war - and not just "spiritual warfare," but "physical warfare" as well.

Wagner sees all this - i.e., the "recovery" of the ministry of "intercessors," "prophets," and "apostles" - as "divine preparation" for the coming war - a war that Barbara Wentroble prophesied about, saying -

"... Eat and drink and gain new strength. Rise up and GET READY FOR WAR."

Wagner says that "pacifism" in the church opens the door to "a spirit of fear." The "government of the church" must drive out that spirit by imposing OBEDIENCE on the saints - again, the kind of obedience that will culminate in church UNITY. This will then enable the church to take its place with America in what he calls "this great prophetic moment." [Please see our article, "Today's Church: Making Zombies out of Christians: The Prophets and Apostles Movement."]

Wagner goes on to say,

"I believe that we are on the threshold of entering into a season in which the power of God in prophecy, healing, miracles, strategic-level spiritual warfare ... will be widely manifested."

Pope Gregory VII couldn't have said it better. 

CAN ANYONE REASONABLY DOUBT?

Can anyone who is reasonably conversant with the Prophetic Scriptures doubt that this kind of thinking is the fulfillment of Revelation 17? - a picture of things in the "end of days" that portrays a religious system - a "Woman" - sitting on a "Beast" full of names of blasphemy (cursings, profanities, impieties and irreverence) towards God? And can anyone really doubt the twin entities that the Scripture has in view here? - the United States and the American Church?

Pentecost's description of these twin entities should erase any doubt on this matter. He writes:

"Turning then to the seventeenth chapter of the Book of Revelation, we see the whole stage filled with two personalities only: a "Beast" and a "Woman" ... these two ... picture ... the future prophetic earth ... there can be no argument or discussion as to this speaking of both the CIVIL [political, economic, and military] and ECCLESIASTICAL [religious] conditions that will rule and characterize that part of the earth that is within the limits or boundaries of Prophecy. The whole of it will be filled with what shall answer to this 'Beast' and this 'Woman'. The two [the 'Beast' (which answers to the Civil Power) and the 'Woman' (which answers to the Religious Power)] are thus indissolubly co-related, and tell us to what end all [this is] trending; and that is that there will eventually be a one World-Empire and a one World-Church, and these will cover the whole of what is now called CHRISTENDOM; the one Empire supporting the one Church, [as] the 'Beast' in the picture supports the 'Woman', and the 'Woman' is supported by the 'Beast' ... "

Church and state united together to take back the earth for Christ.

Come on now! - isn't that a precise picture of what's going on in the United States? Of course it is! Isn't this exactly the kind of America that Wagner and his ilk are pressing towards? Of course it is? And isn't this the kind of union between church and state that the right-wing of the Republican Party is encouraging as a result of their pandering to the Religious Right? Of course it is! Finally, isn't this dual system of church and state the exact kind of system that plunged the world into the holy wars that pitted Islam against the Christianity 1,000 years ago? Of course it is!

When we speak, therefore, of a race back to the Dark Ages we're not just blowing smoke! AND THIS NEW SYSTEM OF THINGS IS EMANATING STRAIGHT OUT OF AMERICA, and is spreading out and filling the world.

PART 8:
A FINAL RECAPITULATION

THE TIME OF JUDGMENT HAS ARRIVED

We have said that the Tribulation is a "time of testing" (Rev. 3:10) - a "trial" (so to speak) that will SEPARATE those who claim to be Christians and are not (the goats) from those who really are (the sheep). To a very large extent, this SEPARATION process will be based on how one relates to the American New World Order System and - ipso facto - his treatment of the poor and dispossessed of the world. (Matt. 25:44-46). The course of the Tribulation will be follows:

• The Tribulation Period will begin in war and will end in war; specifically -

• The Gog/Magog War will begin the Tribulation Period.

• Armageddon will end the Tribulation Period.

• The Trial (or "Process") will last for seven years and will be divided into two parts:

  1. The "Beginning of Sorrows" (the first three and a half years).

  2. The "Great Tribulation" (the second three and a half years).

• The dividing point for these two eras will be an event known as the "Abomination of Desolation" which will, in effect, rip the mask of Christianity off the face of the American New World Order System.

THE GOG/MAGOG WAR (THE BEGINNING
OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)

As we have already indicated, the Gog/Magog War will begin shortly after the consummation of a defense pact between Israel and the United States guaranteeing Israel's security in connection with an Israeli/Palestinian Peace Accord predicated on an Israeli withdrawal back to the so-called "Green Line" (Israel's 1967 Border) and the reduction of Israel's security wall. The hope here is that such an agreement will diffuse the frenzy of Islamic Radicalism in the Near East. The accord will fail; but the defense pact will remain intact.

Hostilities will commence as a result of a "push" from Radical Islamic forces to the south of Israel: Three Islamic nations are specifically mentioned as participants:

• Egypt.

• Ethiopia (including the Sudan).

• Libya.

Soon after the "push" from the south, Radical Islamic forces from the north will join the forces coming up from the south. Two Islamic nations are specifically mentioned as participants:

• Turkey.

• Iran.

These attacks will aim at:

• The destruction of Israel.

• The expulsion from the Middle East of the United States whose forces are located in the environs of ancient Babylon (i.e., Iraq).

• The forces of Radical Islam will be destroyed, and five-sixths of the population of the Middle East will be annihilated.

THE AFTERMATH OF THE GOG/MAGOG WAR

The U.S. will seize the oil fields [i.e., the "hidden treasures" (Dan. 11:43)] of the Middle East and take steps to place Israel under what will amount to be a permanent occupation, fulfilling the words of Scripture to Israel:

"The overflowing scourge (the military forces of the United States) shall pass through, then ye (Israel) shall be trodden down by it." (Isaiah 28:18)

Using its victory in the Gog/Magog War, the U.S. will then launch a ruthless and bloody struggle to erase all the opponents of the American New World Order System worldwide.

This bloody campaign will continue all through the first half of the Tribulation Period (i.e., The "Beginning of Sorrows") during which time the convoluted relationship between Israel and the church (on the one side) and the United States (on the other hand) will be unraveled - ending in the Abomination of Desolation at which time the AntiChrist will reveal himself as the enemy of both.

Chapter 14

Table of Contents

Chapter 16

CONTENT

THE INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW (IHR)

by: S.R. Shearer

The Institute for Historical Review (IHR), which is located in Costa Mesa, California , denies that the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews and other targeted groups ever took place; it is known to have sponsored conferences where notorious anti-Semites and racists were the featured speakers. Willis Carto (see page 8), the institute's principle founder, is a virulent hate-monger and conspiracist. Carto maintains offices just a few blocks from the Capitol in Washington D.C. where he produces the Spotlight, a newspaper which celebrates neo-Nazis, skinheads, the Waffen SS, armed anti-Semites, and other anti-democratic forces.

The principle purpose in founding the institute was to separate Hitler, Nazism and "white pride" from what they ultimately produced in the Holocaust - the death of over twelve million people in the ovens of Auschwits, Treblinka, Sobibor, etc..

And why this effort? - because the results of the Holocaust have gone a long way in silencing "white supremicists" both in the United States and throughout the world - a silence which, the IHR believes, has led to the phenomenon of multiculturalism and the displacement of the older majority white, Euro-centered, Christian-based culture in this country and in Europe.

The people connected to the IHR believe that fascism (Nazism) and Hitler have been grossly mis-represented to the American people. They believe that what Hitler and Nazism were really fighting against during World War II was athiestic communism and the inundation of Western Civilization and Christianity by the Soviet Union. They see Hitler, then, not as the monster he has been presented as, but as a Christian hero who - at great sacrifice to himself and his countrymen - had the courage to stand up against Russia, communism and the Jews which were behind it all. Hitler and Germany were beaten because the Jews - which controlled Wall Street and Roosevelt - brought the United States into the war against Germany. Moreover, they believe that the effort to portray Hitler as a "monster" rather than what he really was - a kind of Arthurian figure - is largely the result of the machinations of the Jewish lobby in the United States.

And just how far this kind of thinking has seeped into the American psyche is mind-numbing - the fact is, it's gone much further than liberals and the mainstream press seem prepared to grasp.There's a rage out there, a rage by whites against multiculturalism and economic globalism which is seriously being underestimated by the liberal elites in this country - a rage which is pre-disposing countless numbers of whites to the propaganda being generated out of the IHR.

And it's not only liberals and the mainline media which has underestimated this phenomenon. Right-thinking Christians are doing the same. Take one example, Maureen Salaman, a well-known TV personality on the Family Christian Broadcasting Network (FCBN). FCBN was started in 1982 by Ron Haus, a former Assemblies of God minister. Starting as a one-station operation, FCBN’s original signal area was limited to the San Francisco Bay area. Gradually, the network added repeater stations in Fresno and Sacramento. By the late 1980s, FCBN began syndicating some of its programs on other Christian networks. The most popular of these shows is "Accent on Health" with Maureen Salaman.

Salaman is known nationally as a veteran activist in Willis Carto’s Liberty Lobby (see page 8). In 1984, Salaman campaigned as the Vice-Presidential candidate on the slate of Carto’s fractious electoral front, the Populist Party. She is an ardent distributor of Carto's Spotlight Magazine (see above), a weekly tabloid which is devoted to a virulent fascist ideology - and one which portrays Hitler as a Christian, anti-communist crusader.1 

The story of Maureen Salaman is so bizarre and peculiar that one is tempted to "write it off" as an aberration from the norm. But that is simply not the case. Ron Haus certainly knows what Salaman is up to; it is fully within his power as owner of FCBN to put an end to her open involvement with Willis Carto and the Liberty Lobby. But he has apparently done nothing; quite the opposite, he has promoted her program at every opportunity.

And it doesn’t end with Haus. Dennis Peacocke is Ron Haus’s "pastoral advisor" or "shepherd." Haus works with Peacocke2  in the Coalition on Revival (COR). It is, thus, also fully within Peacocke’s power to end Salaman’s relationship with Carto and the Liberty Lobby. He too, however, refuses to do so. One is reminded of an old proverb, "Silence is the voice of complicity."3

1. Please see Sara Diamond, Spiritual Warfare, pg. 27.
2. In addition to being Haus’s "spiritual advisor" and working with him in COR, Peacocke also frequently guest hosts programs at FCBN which deal with foreign policy issues.
3. Please see Sara Diamond, Spiritual Warfare, pg. 246, footnote #100.