Will An Upsurge In Middle East Violence Trigger The Rise Of The Antichrist?
Why The Antichrist Will Originate From A Tiny, New Country Within Lebanon! — Why The United States Will Help Israel After It Is Invaded By Antichrist During His Rise To Power!
NOTE: Page was updated on Wednesday, 11/3/2004.
Extraordinary prophetic events are poised to explode throughout the Middle East area!
Because the Bible predicts that the Antichrist will "stand up" suddenly in response to crisis conditions and declare a tiny, new country into existence somewhere within a geographical area that was once a part of the old Roman, Grecian and Assyrian empires and the old Syrian Dynasty.
Moreover, additional scriptural and geopolitical considerations narrow the probabilities down even further to a tiny, new country within modern-day Lebanon.
So, it is not surprising to observe that political and security conditions in Lebanon have deteriorated to the point where popular Druze Muslim leader Walid Jumblatt, who probably will be the Antichrist, could soon declare a new, independent Druze country into existence!
Furthermore, whenever the Antichrist does stage his initial appearance upon the world scene, the Bible predicts that he will "wax exceeding great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land" (i.e., Israel) by "destroying wonderfully" as he subdues his enemies — with lightning speed — through the use of supernatural occult power from Satan!
Additionally, other biblical scriptures also confirm that the Antichrist will invade Israel and then give Jerusalem to the Palestinians at that time (even though he will invade Israel again, many years later, after the pre-tribulation Rapture has occurred).
That is one of the reasons why the Bible predicts that the Antichrist will NEVER pretend to be the Messiah to the Jews as some people suppose.
Although God has said that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews, the Antichrist will conquer Israel and try to give it to the Palestinians instead!
At that time, the Bible predicts that many incredible prophecies involving Israel will be fulfilled in a very dramatic and miraculous manner!
And it will be during this forthcoming crisis when the Bible predicts that the United States will help Israel regain their land after the Antichrist has given it to the Palestinians during his initial rise to power BEFORE the pre-trib Rapture occurs.
Furthermore, the Bible also predicts that the Antichrist will assimilate the countries of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and possibly even Russia into his new Middle Eastern empire during this period of time!
As further corroboration, the Bible likewise predicts that the Antichrist will conquer three "horns," i.e., three countries, within the geographical area of the old Roman Empire which are located south or east of Lebanon, i.e., Israel, Syria and Iraq.
In fact, the Bible even predicts that the Antichrist will become the "king" (i.e., the political leader) over the country of Iraq!
So, obviously these biblical prophecies strongly imply that political and security conditions in Israel and Iraq and the entire Middle East area apparently will deteriorate to very precarious levels!
Accordingly, all of these developments explain why the Bible predicts that the military conquests of the Antichrist, during his initial rise to power, will be so spectacular and astounding that people will believe him when he proclaims himself to be a god above all other gods!
Then after the Antichrist creates a new Middle Eastern empire,
the Bible predicts that the modern-day countries within the geographical territory of the old Roman Empire (i.e., the newly-expanded European Union) will voluntarily and collectively "give their power and strength" to the symbolic beast, Antichrist.
When Will These Bible Prophecies
Begin To Take Place?
There are a number of volatile developments in the Middle East area pointing to the imminent fulfillment of the biblical prophecies summarized above. For instance...
• Syria triggered a political crisis in Lebanon a few weeks ago when it strong-armed the Lebanese government into accepting an extended, unconstitutional term for its president despite widespread Lebanese and international opposition.
• As a consequence, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and his political allies resigned from the government in Beirut, and Jumblatt has vowed his relentless opposition and defiance towards the Syrian-sponsored regime and Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs.
• Druze leader Walid Jumblat has also branded the existing regime a "gang of gangsters ruling the country."
• The U.N. Security Council is demanding that the Lebanese government disarm the Hizbullah militia in southern Lebanon as quickly as possible, and for Syria to withdraw its military forces from Lebanon immediately. However, both countries remain defiant.
• Likewise, the U.S. is threatening severe sanctions against Syria if it does not withdraw its troops from Lebanon immediately.
• Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has also publicly accused Lebanese President Lahoud's regime of engineering the attempted assassination of his longtime senior political aide a few weeks ago. Jumblatt also stated that, "the (Lahoud) extension resolution...is likely to plunge the country in a whirlpool of political violence..."
• A war of words pitting Syria's allies in Lebanon against Druze opposition leader Walid Jumblatt has distracted attention from the hazards facing Premier Omar Karami's newly-installed government in Beirut.
• There is growing concern in Israel over the significant military threat posed by Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, and the need for Israel to take decisive military action very soon to eliminate that threat. Of particular concern are the 10,000 advanced Katushya rockets which are aimed at Israel's northern settlements.
• If a war breaks out in southern Lebanon between Israel and the Syrian-Iranian-Hizbullah terrorist alliance, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt could be forced into military action because his Druze homeland would be near, if not in, the center of conflict.
• Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's latest health problems come at a time of unprecedented political and security instability in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• The United States has sold 500 "bunker busting" bombs to Israel which are capable of destroying Iran's underground nuclear stores and laboratories.
• Iran has reiterated its determination to continue its uranium enrichment program which is seen as a crucial step towards making the bomb.
• Iran recently added a new "strategic missile'' to its military arsenal, apparently a new version of the Shahab-3 rocket with a nuclear warhead design, and it is capable of reaching Israel and U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East.
• Iran continues to upgrade its arsenal of missiles with a more accurate version of the Shahab-3 missile.
• The development of the Shahab has raised fears in Israel about possible attack by the Iranian government, which strongly opposes the Jewish state's existence.
• Israel continually maintains that it will consider "all options" to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons.
• The U.S. State Department calls Iran the world's "most active state sponsor of terrorism" because it continues to provide funding, weapons, training, and sanctuary to numerous terrorist groups based in the Middle East and elsewhere.
• Syria likewise provides a tremendous amount of assistance to terrorist groups, especially to the terrorists fighting in Iraq.
• In a new videotape, Osama bin Laden threatened American voters living in the "Bush-supporting" states if they continue to stand behind U.S. President George Bush's Middle East terrorist policy, and made several specific threats against George Bush and members of his family.
• However, the new videotape by Osama bin Laden probably indicates that the very aggressive, preemptive war launched by President Bush against the terrorists and terrorist-supporting regimes in the Middle East has been effective despite setbacks and mistakes made in Iraq.
• Apparently, al Qaeda lacks the resources and infrastructure to send any bombs against the U.S. mainland, so bin Laden has been reduced to sending a threatening videotape.
• A man identified only as al Qaeda member, “Azzam the American,” threatened America with a new wave of terror at any moment in a videotape obtained by ABC News from a source in the Pakistani tribal region. Its magnitude will make the U.S. “forget 9/11,” he said.
• The Sunni Muslim triangle area in central Iraq continues to be an exploding cauldron of violence and chaos and terrorism.
• American and Iraqi military forces are gearing up for a major campaign to wrest control of Fallujah from insurgent control before the January elections are scheduled to be held.
• Ret. Lt. Col. Bill Cowan, military analyst for Fox News, just returned from an extensive visit to Iraq, and reports that the security situation in Iraq is much more dangerous than it was a year ago. Furthermore, most Iraqis are very frustrated over the lack of any significant reconstruction progress in the country.
• Controversy continues to swirl around the issue of what happened to a very minute fraction of the explosives that were scattered throughout Iraq at the time of the American invasion.
• The Pentagon has released photos of large trucks hauling away cargo from storage bunkers just before the war began, so it is obvious that huge quantities of lethal weapons and materials, possibly even WMDs, were removed from Iraq before U.S. forces arrived.
• That would be consistent with the satellite photographic evidence that U.S. intelligence has in its possession which shows a large convoy of trucks from Iraq (presumably) hauling WMDs into Syria just before the American invasion of Iraq began.
• On the other hand, perhaps some or all of the "missing" explosives were among the materials that were destroyed by American military personnel soon after their arrival in Iraq.
So, will terrorism and violence continue to escalate in Iraq as the tentative January elections draw near?
Or will the country fragment into a civil war?
Will the Antichrist become the political leader of Iraq by capitalizing on the horrific security and economic conditions that continue to plague the country?
Will the widening rift between Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and the Lebanese and Syrian governments eventually prompt him to declare political independence before driving the Syrians out of Lebanon through military force?
Will violence escalate between the Israelis and the Palestinians?
Will war break out in southern Lebanon between Israel and the Syrian-Iranian-backed Hizbullah?
Will Syria withdraw all of its military forces from Lebanon voluntarily as U.N. Resolution 1559 demands?
Will the Lebanese government force the Hizbullah terrorist militia in southern Lebanon to disband?
Will Iran surprise the world sometime soon by announcing it now has nuclear bombs in its arsenal?
Will Israel launch a desperate attack against Iran's nuclear facilities in an attempt to preempt an Iranian attack on Israel?
Regardless of the exact scenario that unfolds in the weeks or months ahead, however, the Bible is quite clear on what will happen next after those events occur!
Because as we saw earlier, the Bible predicts that the Antichrist will suddenly rise to power in a tiny, new country within Lebanon, and then conquer numerous armies and countries located south or east of Lebanon, including Israel.
At that time, the Bible also predicts the Antichrist will assimilate the countries of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and possibly even Russia into his new Middle Eastern empire!
Moreover, the Bible predicts that he will accomplish these extraordinary feats with lightning speed through the use of satanic, supernatural power.
In other words, the Antichrist generally will accomplish in very dramatic fashion what U.S. President George Bush had hoped to do, i.e., demolish the terrorist-supporting regimes and terrorist strongholds in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and then install non-threatening governments in their place.
However, after the Antichrist has achieved his amazing campaign of military conquests, the Bible predicts that he will deceive and destroy people (spiritually) through peace and prosperity BEFORE the pre-tribulation Rapture takes place!
Thus, the Antichrist will appear as a man endowed with satanic supernatural power BEFORE the pre-trib Rapture even though he will not be "revealed" as Satan incarnate until immediately AFTER the Rapture.
As further corroboration, the Bible also predicts that the empire of the Antichrist will be in existence BEFORE the pre-trib Rapture occurs! |
