What on Earth is Happening: Wars and Rumors of Wars

War is not a subject most people like to talk about. Even though I was an Army volunteer during the Vietnam era, and my grandson has followed suit with the US Marines, it's not my favorite subject. Yet we cannot avoid the fact that wars are being fought all over the planet, and the intelligence community is abuzz with information concerning wars that might soon take place. Some will say that this has been the case for several millennia, giving little or no credibility to Jesus' prophetic words in Matthew 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." However, there has never been a time in history like now when we can be informed about war just about anywhere in an instant. Beginning with the Vietnam conflict and becoming more and more graphic with each passing decade, the actual battlefield can be beamed right into our living rooms.

Debka File (http://www.debka.com/) Feb. 1, 2010 reported "Exclusive: US Intelligence Finds 5,000 Hezbollah Trained To Seize Galilee Towns." The training came from Iran's Revolutionary Guard instructors. A second news article today in Press TV (http://www.presstv.ir/) headlines: "Iran will deliver telling blow to global powers February 11." The significance of the date is that it marks the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Couple this with the words of Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, as reported last Wednesday by AFP, "Surely the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime" and it certainly sounds like trouble is brewing. In Ezekiel's prophecy, chapters 38-39, we read about a great horde of troops coming against Israel, among them - Persia (present day Iran, Ch. 38:5). However, God declares that He will intervene, saying: "I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel." (Ezekiel 39:7)

You may remember that in a previous blog I referred to Jerusalem as the epicenter of end-times events, and that Jesus gives us a pretty detailed description of those events. In Luke's account of this prophecy from Jesus, an event with both near and long term implications is mentioned. "....Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21:24) "Gentiles" includes all of the non-Jewish people and nations. In AD 70, General Titus and the Roman Army laid siege to Jerusalem and ultimately conquered it, devastating the city and totally destroying the temple. Since that time, Jewish worship has not included any form of animal sacrifice. A new temple is needed for that, and the Bible states that in the last days, a third temple will be built. Revelation (the last book of the Bible), in the first two verses of Chapter 11 refer to this temple and the fact that the city of Jerusalem will be Gentile ruled for 3-1/2 years. The Temple mount is a point of volatile controversy and is a conundrum that that needs to be resolved if a Middle East peace treaty is going to be effected. Stay tuned.....