Daniel 2 and the last world empire

Daniel was given a dream interpretation which detailed Israel's long-term future. Specifically, Daniel saw a great statue which consisted of different metals. There were four distinctly different metals in this statue. The head of the statue was made of gold, the chest and arms were silver, the belly and thighs were made from bronze and the legs were made of iron.

This would be confusing and difficult to understand, but Daniel was given a full explanation of the meaning of this statue in Daniel 2:36-49. These four metals represented the 4 gentile empires that would rule over Israel, successively through time:

Gold Head: Babylonian Empire (626 BC - 539 BC)
Silver Chest/Arms: Medo-Persian Empire (539 BC - 330 BC)
Bronze Belly and Thighs: Greecian Empire (330 BC - 63 BC)
Iron Legs: Roman Empire (63 BC ->)

Note that Daniel was told that only 4 empires gentile empires would rule over Israel. Daniel was also told that the last empire, the Roman Empire, would ultimately be destroyed by Christ at the Second Advent (Daniel 2:35-49). Because this epic event - the Second Coming of Christ hasn't occured yet, it can only lead to one conclusion: The Roman Empire must regathered in some way, just before the Second Coming of Christ. The Roman Empire, in some form, has to be in existance at the time of Christ's return.

We also get some additonal details from Daniel 2. Iron was a fitting description to describe the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus. The Romans occupied cities and indeed ruled like "iron". Additionally, the two legs are considered to represent the split that took place in the Roman Empire, into an Eastern half (Constantinople) and a Western half (Rome).

However, Daniel saw the Roman Empire evolve over time, and at the time of the Second Coming, this representation of "iron" changed. What we believe represents the regathering of the Roman Empire at end times, is shown on the statue as the iron legs changing into a mixture of iron and clay. This shows the evolution of the Roman Empire from the time of Christ (iron) into something like "iron and clay" at the time preceeding the Second Coming.

"Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom...And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united." (Daniel 2:41-43)

So, we have a description of the revived Roman Empire just before the Second Coming. Most prophecy watchers who are taking a literal view of prophecy believe that this evolution of the European Union - into the new Mediterranean Union, now with 43 member nations, does indeed represent the long awaited "Revived Roman EMpire". A map of this union is virtually sumperimposable over maps of the ancient Roman Empire. It seems clear that the EU/Med Union represents the regathering of the Roman Empire, just as predicted.

Unlike the first Roman Empire, this current regathering of nations certianly resembles a mixture of "iron and clay", just as Daniel 2 predicted. As seen in the link provided above (see map), the northern half of the Mediterranean Union is predominately Roman Catholic. The southern half of this union is predominately Islamic. Iron and clay indeed. In fact these stark differences haven't been ignored and lawmakers have searched for ways to unite these two vastly different religions and people.

The Mediterranean Union has indeed found a way to deal with this problem - and it fits the prophetic scriptures perfectly. Recall that there are two feet in Daniel's statue - feet consisting of iron and clay. Also recall that the two legs of iron on the statue, represented the ancient east and west divisions of the Roman Empire (prophecy is THAT specific).

Now we search for a similar division of the Mediterranean Union, a division that will explain the two feet of iron and clay in Daniel's statue. Somehow, the Mediterranean Union will have to fractionate into two divisions, for Daniel's statue to be completed.

In breaking news this week, we discover that the Mediterranean Union has formally broken into two halfs, just as seen by Daniel. In order to recognize the vast cultural and religious differences in these people, the union has decided to break up into two halfs: a northern half and a southern half.

France is reporting here that such an agreement has now been reached. The foreign ministers of the Mediterranean Union have announced a formal division of the Mediterranean Union into TWO HALVES.

We will have a northern Mediterranean half, with a president representing these nations, and
we will have a southern Mediterranean half, with a president representing these nations.

We now have our two feet of Daniel's statue. Just as the two iron legs represented the east-west division of the first Roman Empire, the two feet have now been formally defined for the revived Roman Empire - by this northern and southern division of the Mediterranean Union. We also have the iron and clay mixture of people who will have great difficulty uniting (Daniel 2:43). The description in Daniel 2 fits these current developments perfectly.

This is important for two main reasons. 1) It shows the amazing accuracy, specificity and literal nature of Biblical prophecy, and, 2) Daniel's statue, as you move from head to toe, is actually a representation of moving through time. We just witnessed another jump in time, as we move down the statue. The division of the revived Roman Empire has now been formally divided into two parts. Amazing.

In fact, all that remains now is the further evolution of the Mediterranean Union (aka "Revived Roman Empire") into the "ten toe" stage and the subsequent rise of the anti-christ. The ten toes representing "ten kings" will rule with the anti-christ during the Tribulation (Daniel 7:24, Rev. 17:12). It is these "kings" along with the anti-christ that will be destroyed at the time of the Second Coming (Daniel 2:44).

Therefore, the next awaited stage in this progression through time will be the ten toes - as a representation of the 10 Kings. These kings will have one purpose, and one purpose only: to serve the anti-christ (Rev. 17:13).

This is an amazing prophetic development. Not only do we now have a revival of the Roman Empire, even with details including a "mixture" of people who can't unite, as described by Daniel - but we now have a formal division within this Mediterranean Union into two parts, exactly as predicted by Daniel's dream. We are moving rapidly through time and the rate of speed seems to be increasing daily.

It is difficult to know if we will see the next anticipated stage: the "ten kings" of Daniel's statue, (from which the anti-christ will arise). We may or may not be here to witness this. The Rapture can occur at any moment, but it will most definitely occur before the Tribulation.

Keep looking up as we approach the very end of this age. We are clearly in the last days.

Luncurkan Buku di Awal Tahun 2009

“BANGKIT INDONESIA:
MENAKLUKKAN TANTANGAN, MERAIH HARAPAN”

Alhamdulillah, bersamaan dengan masuknya awal tahun baru 1430 H dan 2009 M, saya dapat meluncurkan buku terbaru yang berjudul “Bangkit Indonesia: Menaklukkan Tantangan, Meraih Harapan”. Rencananya Buku ini akan diperuntukan sebagai kenang-kenangan buah pemikiran saya kepada para Sahabat, Kolega, Mahasiswa dan Pengambil Kebijakan di Tanah Air, serta dikhususkan kepada kedua Orang Tua saya dan generasi muda Indonesia, sebagaimana tertuang dalam lembar Pembukanya yang berbunyi:

"Buku ini saya dedikasikan untuk
Ayah-Bunda tercinta, dan

Dipersembahkan khusus kepada
sesama Generasi Muda Indonesia
tulang punggung negara"

(halaman v)

Saya mengucapkan rasa terima kasih yang setinggi-tingginya kepada segenap pihak yang telah memberikan bantuan baik moral maupun spiritual atas terbitnya Buku ini. Untuk menyebutkan beberapa diantaranya, yaitu kepada Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie, S.H. (Guru Besar Hukum Tata Negara Universitas Indonesia), Dr. Adyaksa Dault, M.Si. (Menteri Negara Pemuda dan Olahraga RI), dan Honorable Excellency Mr. Biren Nanda (Duta Besar Indonesia untuk Indonesia) yang telah memberikan Sekapur Sirih dan Kata Pengantarnya, serta kepada Lembaga Penerbit Pustaka Indonesia Satu (PIS) bekerjasama dengan Konstitusi Press (KonPress).

Melalui buku ini saya berharap akan muncul ragam gagasan yang bersifat evaluatif-solutif di tengah-tengah pusaran pewacanaan umum, semata-mata demi perbaikan bangsa dan negara kita tercinta. Syukur-syukur buku ini dapat dijadikan sebagai sumber inspirasi oleh berbagai kalangan, khususnya kaum muda Indonesia, untuk sama-sama turut melahirkan karya pemikirannya untuk kepentingan bersama.

Untuk melihat secara ringkas isi yang terkandung di dalamnya, berikut saya sampaikan ulasan dari Penerbit dan beberapa komentar yang tetulis di cover belakang buku tersebut.

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DARI PENERBIT:

Setiap penerbit memiliki alasan dan pertimbangan sebelum memutuskan untuk menerbitkan suatu buku. Pertimbangan itu, biasanya, tidak jauh dari tiga hal, yaitu faktor penulis, isu yang diangkat, dan kemungkinan pasar. Kalau mau ditambahkan, seberapa besar kemungkinan andilnya terhadap proses perubahan. Penulis adalah faktor penting, demikian juga isu yang dijadikan tema pembahasan. Kelompok sasaran pembaca yang luas menjadi daya tarik tersendiri sebagai faktor pasar yang menggairahkan.

Meskipun untuk pertama kali kami menerbitkan buku karya Pan Mohamad Faiz, S.H., M.C.L., pertimbangan di atas akan membuktikan di hadapan para pembaca, di mana sebenarnya posisi penulis dalam peta pemikiran kontemporer Indonesia. Dari dialog panjang dengan realitas dan keprihatinannya yang mendalam serta refleksi yang dilakukan, penulis tergerak untuk melakukan sesuatu yang dapat menegakkan kembali mental bangsa yang runtuh akibar deraan berbagai kesulitan. Dan “sesuatu” yang dimaksud itu, antara lain, tercermin dari gagasan yang termuat dalam buku ini.

Salah satu point yang dapat disimpulkan dari gagasannya adalah ide Triumvirat Asia dengan memproyeksikan lahirnya Cindonesia (Cina, India dan Indonesia) sebagai adidaya ekonomi baru. Bagaimana Indonesia dapat mengejar ketertinggalan dari Cina dan India yang telah berhasil lebih dahulu mengelola trend global dan sukses mengunduh hasil panen globalisasi. Di dalam negeri, penulis mengajak kita memikirkan kembali banyak hal dengan tetap mempertahankan kearifan budaya dan nilai-nilai kemuliaan dalam praktik kehidupan sosial yang bermartabat. Antara lain mengajak untuk melihat ulang keberadaan kita sebagai bangsa, memikirkan kembali masa depan, soal krisis kepemimpinan, juga meminta kita untuk meninjau kembali berbagai prinsip dan hakikat persaingan. Semua itu demi Indonesia yang damai, sejahtera dan demokratis sebagaimana cita-cita awal berdirinya negara bangsa Indonesia.

Sebagaimana dikatakan sendiri oleh penulisnya, buku ini merupakan bentuk partisipasi kaum muda untuk turut serta bertanggung jawab terhadap kondisi bangsa yang kian memperihatinkan. Semakin termarginalkannya posisi Indonesia dalam percaturan dunia, lemahnya komitmen pembangunan pendidikan, hilangnya rasa kebersamaan dan pemahaman antar anak bangsa, carut-marutnya dunia peradilan dan penegakkan hukum, absennya proses regenerasi kepemimpinan, terjadinya pembajakan nilai demokrasi dengan mengatasnamakan rakyat, merupakan masalah utama bangsa Indonesia yang menjadi topik bahasan dalam buku ini.

Semoga buku ini bisa menjadi saksi hadirnya wacana baru yang dinamis, komprehensif dan mencerahkan dalam gerobak perubahan yang melambat dan dapat membantu memikirkan kembali masa depan bangsa sebelum masa depan itu menentukan wujud bangsa kita. Akhirnya, jika buku ini meretas jalan lapang untuk masa depan Indonesia yang lebih baik, barangkali itulah harapan yang sempat terselip dalam niat awal penerbitan buku ini. Selamat membaca.

Jakarta, Penghujung 2008
Penerbit

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“BERAGAMA ide, gagasan, dan percik pemikiran yang kini telah disusunnya sebagai bunga rampai patut memperoleh apresiasi positif dari kita semua. Ragam topik yang disajikan pun tidak saja terbatas untuk bidang hukum, namun juga turut menyentuh bidang hubungan internasional, ranah pendidikan, dan kepemudaan. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa penulis mempunyai daya reflektif yang cukup luas untuk usianya yang relatif terbilang cukup muda. Buku ini dapat dijadikan sumber inspirasi bagi khalayak banyak, khususnya kaum muda Indonesia.” – Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie, S.H., Guru Besar Hukum Tata Negara, Fakultas Hukum Universitas Indonesia –

“BUKU yang membuka wawasan ke depan dan penuh optimisme ini perlu dibaca oleh seluruh lapisan masyarakat, khususnya generasi muda, agar mengetahui sendiri karakter dan pemikiran cerdas seorang Faiz, salah satu rising star, calon pemimpin masa depan Indonesia.” – Dr. Adhyaksa Dault, M.Si., Menteri Negara Pemuda dan Olahraga RI –

“WE have similar challenges and aspirations. There is much to learn from each other’s experience and best practices. Mr. Faiz’s book contributes to this process from his unique vantage point of an Indonesian Scholar who spent time in India and wrote his book while he was studying at Delhi University. The book is an important contribution to the comparative literature of development studies related to India and Indonesia” – H.E. Mr. Biren Nanda, Duta Besar India untuk Indonesia –

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Demikian informasi singkat mengenai Buku tersebut. Akhir kata saya ucapkan, “Selamat Membaca Buku Baru di awal Tahun Baru”. Semoga Tuhan YME selalu memberikan rahmat dan karunia-Nya kepada kita semua. Amin..

Jaya Indonesia!

Salam Hangat,
Pan Mohamad Faiz

The situation in Israel and upcoming elections

Most prophecy watchers are following the developments in Israel very closely, for many of the reasons stated thus far.
Isaiah 17 suggests that we would see Israeli cities appear to be evacuated - prior to the complete destruction of Damascus.
We now see this vision of Israeli cities as "deserted" and "abandoned".

A recent update by Joel Rosenberg reveals that this is already happening. We can see where Beersheba, for instance, appears empty, as an estimated 40% of citizens have fled to safer cities because of the ongoing missile threat from Hamas. According to the London Times, there is little sign of the 186,000 inhabitants of the city - exactly fitting the description seen in Isaiah 17.

I'm not saying that this is the same - specific - vision that Ezekiel recorded, just prior to Damascus' destruction (although this possibility certianly exists). However, it does confirm the concept that Israeli cities can and will appear "deserted" or "abandoned" in light of incoming missile attacks - we now have proof that such a scenario is not only possible, but it is happening, and happening now.

Only a few weeks ago, it was hard to envision a situation that would force Israeli cities to become desolated - but here we are, seeing it happen as we watch. Its amazing how rapidly prophetic developments can fall into place.

What does this have to do with the Israeli elections?

Because of the current conflict, the Likud party is surging in the polls, only a few weeks before the Israeli elections. Benjamin Netanyahu, their party's leader is well-known as a "hawk". Based on his constant rhetoric, over the past several years, it is clear that he will take a very different approach towards Israeli enemies, and the surrounding terrorist groups.

More importantly, it is assumed that if he wins the election the odds increase dramatically that Israel will launch an attack against the Iranian nuclear facilities - before they have time to assemble a nuclear weapon (if they haven't already). Mr. Netenyahu has made these intentions very clear; he will not tolerate a "nuclear Iran". Period.

The political landscape in Israel will change significantly if Mr. Netenyahu gets elected to the top position in Israel. The election is approximately one month away. All during a time of major conflict in the region, a conflict that shows no sign of slowing down.

Things seem to be happening very rapidly at the moment. I can't help but to focus on some of Jesus' last words regarding these overall, end-time prophecies:

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)

Or, we could turn to the last words found in the book of Revelation:

"Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.
Amen."

Israel, Syria and Isaiah 17

The world is now watching the conflict raging between Israel and Hamas.

It appears that Israel will not immediately withdraw from this conflict, despite enormous pressure to do so. Israel's position is that they will complete this mission - a mission of destroying the missile launching capability of Hamas, in order to give Israeli citizens safety from the daily missile attacks which have been coming from Hamas, within the Gaza strip. Not an unreasonable goal. Imagine the reaction of the United States, if Cuba was launching approximately 100 missiles into southern Florida, on a daily basis.

There is one additional, interesting, dramatic prophecy that may come into play. This prophecy doesn't receive much attention, outside of prophecy circles, but its certianly worth watching.

Isaiah 17 provides us with this prophecy. It begins with an announcement:

"An oracle concerning Damascus: See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins"

The term "no longer be a city" is also translated to mean "cease to exist as a city".

This is relatively easy to see as a future prophecy, because currently Damascus IS an existing city. In fact, Damascus is considered to be the oldest inhabited city, period. And to repeat - it still exists. Therefore this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. Something will happen to completely destroy Damascus as a city.

There is ample speculation regarding how and why this prophecy will unfold, particularly in light of the current conflict. We may have some assistance with subsequent scriptures.

"The cities of Aroer will be deserted...." (Isaiah 17:2)
(This is a reference to the Israeli region just to the east of the Dead sea)

"The fortified city will disappear from Ephriam..." (Isaiah 17:3)
(This is a reference to the old "northern kingdom" of Israel, where today, large Israeli cities exist).

To add to these scriptures we see similar verses:
"In that day the glory of Jacob will fade" (17:4), another reference to Israeli taking an initial "hit".

These two scriptures appear to refect the fact that Israel will most likely receive an attack. Referencing verses 2-4, its easy to see how cities will appear "deserted" during a time of regional conflict. In todays conflict, many areas of Israel have already seen the population hiding in their safe-rooms, and the streets seem empty at times, resulting from the ongoing missile attacks. As missile attacks escalate, one could even envision evacuations as well, leaving the Israeli cities as seemingly "deserted".

But Israel will respond:

"In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!" (Isaiah 17:14).

In other words, whatever destruction comes upon Damascus will be sudden - within the span of a night.

There is always speculatiion as to how this will happen. From a brief overview of this chapter, it appears that certian Israeli cities will appear evacuated - whether this is from a literal evacuation, or simply, how the cities appear "deserted" because so many Israeli citizens have retreated to their safe-rooms and are in hiding within their homes, etc. This process is already starting because of the missiles coming in from Gaza into Israeli cities.

"Damascus" has become symbolic of Syrian's anti-Israeli stance, plus it harbors a safe-haven for all surrounding terrorists groups, particularly Hezbollal. It is also rumored to have a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical-tipped missiles and biological weapons. There has also been much speculation that Iraqi arms were shipped to Damascus prior to the current Iraqi war.

Syria has also threatened Israel with "gas" loaded missiles, which would create massive terror and destruction in Israeli cities, if used. It would definitely lead to the evacuation of Israeli cities, as described in Isaiah 17.

In turn, Israel has stated that they view use of such missiles the same as a nuclear attack - in other words, Israel will respond as if hit by nuclear missiles - should Syria decide on such chemical/biological attacks. Certianly, if Syria sends in such missiles, its not hard to envision Israel eliminating Damascus.

There are of course, other potential scenarios. Any attack from Hezbollah will be considered as being directed from Damascus. Its also possible to envision some kind of biological or chemical accident which would leave Damascus desolate. Perhaps the destruction of Damascus is part of the Ezekiel 37-38 scenario that we've discussed so many times.

Its hard to know exactly how or why this will happen - but it will happen. Whether it fits into the current conflict (or subsequent escalation) or not, is anyone's guess. But whenever we have significant warfare in the region, its worth remembering this prophecy.

Things are moving rapidly right now. At the same time, we have seen an ominous increase in ebola outbreaks. There are more concerns about spread of the "bird-flu", and human-human transmission. A severe form of Rotavirus is hitting the UK hard this year and spreading. Earthquakes and volcanoes are making the news daily - From Russia to Yellowstone Park, which is considered to be a "supervolcano"; we have also seen quakes in highly unusual places during the last month. The impending conflict between Pakistan and India is making daily news. Russia is moving south again, further into Georgia. There are too many links to post.

It looks like the earth is experiencing another birth pain - just as described by Jesus.

Conflict in Israel: The "rules" of engagement

We've seen this scenario too many times to count. The "rules" of engagement - "rules" which have been determined by a combination of the media and the Islamic terrorist groups; "rules" which follow a predictable pattern. Before looking at these rules, we must remember one important fact: there is no desire for peace by these terrorists - only the desire to completely destroy Israel, so that it no longer exists. This is not a secret, because the terrorist groups in the region, namely Hezbollah, Hamas and Fatah make their intentions quite clear.

The terrorist groups and the media have set up these rules of engagement, and it goes something like this:

1. The terrorist groups launch missiles into Israel. Over and over. Last week alone, to cite one such example, approximately 80 missiles were launched from Gaza, into Israel, every day. Yet this fact received virtually no coverage in the mainstream media. No one seemed concerned that missiles were being launched into Israeli cities, farms and children's schools every day.

2. The terrorist groups launch these missiles from locations that are embedded in their communities, ensuring civilian deaths should Israel take any action to prevent these missiles from being launched. In other words, the terrorist groups set up a scenario that will certianly lead to civilian deaths. They do this for a purpose (see below).

3. Israel warns the terrorist groups (in this most recent example, from Gaza, courtesy of Hamas) over and over to stop the missile strikes or Israel will have to take action. Hamas ignored the pleas, while expecting, at some point, a response from Israel. Hamas then places more civilians in harms way, also known as "human shields" (their words, not mine). The mainstream media ignores the Israeli pleas for Hamas to stop the missile attacks.

4. Israel finally takes action, and destroys the Hamas missile assembly locations and the missile firing locations. As expected, some of those civilians in the immediate area are hurt and/or killed, just as Hamas planned. The media and the Muslim population becomes "outraged" and goes public with the breaking news of Israeli "occupation".

5. The world condemns Israel for their "aggressive action".

In these last days, the truth seems elusive. Prophecy watchers have been observing the recent missile attacks against Israel on a daily basis, with almost no media attention. Now that Israel has finally taken action, we see the predictable "outrage" and media coverage of Israeli's response - as if Israel just decided to "invade" the region, unprovoked.

This most recent conflict may differ from previous conflicts however in a few important ways. Of course, the predicted media/Muslim response has gone according to the usual plan, aka the "rules of engagement", but Israel may ignore the media this time:

There is much speculation that Israel will continue into Gaza with ground troops, which would ensure a broader and longer lasting conflict.

Additionally, Iran has publically made a call to all Muslims to enter the region and fight along with the Hamas terrorists
(article here). This sounds very similar to the build up preceeding the predicted epic battle described in Ezekiel 38-39, and represents another step towards further escalation.

Hezbollah has also threatened to invade Israel from the north, and as a result, if this does happen, Israel has threatened Syria (who backs Hezbollah, along with Iran) with military action. This marks a much more aggressive approach by Israel, than the usual limited response.

This situation could spiral out of control quickly. With every passing day, if this conflict continues to escalate we may see one or both of the following scenarios - all potentially significant prophetically:

- Creating more public attention and pressure towards confirming a peace plan in the middle-east; a situation always ripe for the anti-christ to arise and finally "confirm" such a plan, according to Daniel 9:27.

- Creating the scenario predicted in Ezekiel 38-39, which will involve a massive, epic invasion of Israel by the surrounding Muslim countries, as led by Iran and Russia - only to be supernaturally and dramatically ended by God Himself.

Whatever happens with this current conflict, will most likely result in either a small "stepping stone" towards a greater prophetic fulfillments, or, this conflict could actually result in a specific, dramatic prophetic fulfillment (as stated above). At this point its hard to know.

Either way, we'll be watching.

UPDATE: Joel Rosenberg's Weblog is providing some excellent updates on this stutation blogspot here

Conflict in Gaza: Is this the beginning?

Despite repeated warnings and pleas from Israel to the terrorist group Hamas, missiles have continued to land on Israeli soil from Gaza. Hamas ignored these warnings and finally Israel took action.

Israeli air strikes have now destroyed several Hamas
buildings and the death count in Gaza already exceeds 150 according to
a reuters article, as the Israeli military targeted the Hamas infrastructure and pledged more strikes if necessary.

As usual, its difficult to know if this most recent conflict will escalate
into something bigger, involving more of the surrounding terrorists
groups, or if yet another "cease-fire" will be created. We know from
biblical prophecy that one of these conflicts will escalate into a
broader war - one that will be supernaturally and dramatically ended by
God (Ezekiel 38-39).

Another article from Jerusalem reveals a number of reasons that this
most recent conflict may escalate.

Prophecy watchers will be paying close attention to this situation in the Middle-East.

Israel is also in the midst of their election cycle, with elections to be held in early Feburary. This election will determine how Israel will react to the terrorist groups and, more importantly, how Israel will deal with Iran as they enter the "nuclear club"; those nations who possess nuclear weapons.

These are certianly interesting times in Israel. Any noteworthy change in and around Israel is potentially loaded with prophetic implications. This recent incursion into Gaza, combined with new political leadership in Israel, in a matter of weeks, could make subsequent developments very interesting.

Christmas Season

During the Christmas season, we focus on the amazing, miraculous birth of Jesus. It is a wonderful time for a Christian, as we consider the enormous impact of the birth and life of Christ Jesus. It is a time of reflection and celebration. As glorious and prophetic as the birth of Jesus was, evil still lurked. We know from the scriptures that King Herod, upon learning of Christ's birth, immediately began a process of trying to have Him killed:

"...Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." (Matthew 2:13).
"...and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem." (Matthew 2:16).

This process hasn't changed in over 2,000 years. As we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, evil still lurks in this world.

The New York Times, hardly a biblical prophecy news site, has declared that Iran now has enough nuclear fuel for one nuclear weapon. This "tipping point" is something that prophecy watchers have been waiting to see. Many of us believe that the last remaining prophecies will fall like dominoes - once the "powder-keg" is ignited. This "powder-keg" could very well be Iran's development of nuclear weapons.

At the same time, we see renewed calls for the total destruction of Israel. Hamas Cleric Muhsen Abu 'Ita, representing Hamas, a puppet organization for Iran, has again called for the "annihilation" of Israel.

At the same time, Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - a leader who controls the use of nuclear weapons in Iran, again declares that "Israel is at the end of its life".

Connecting those dots doesn't take a lot of imagination. The person responsible for the development of nuclear weapons in Iran is also calling for the total destruction of Israel.

Just as Herod could not succeed in killing Christ Jesus, those who oppose the God of the Holy Bible, and those who reject the fact that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords - will not succeed in their efforts.

While we celebrate the Christmas season, the other side plots evil. Just as Herod attempted to eliminate Christ, in an effort to destroy God's plan, we see the same form of evil again attempting to thwart God's plan. This is nothing new. Throughout history, we see efforts to divert God's plan - only these efforts ALWAYS fail. God's overall plan marches on, completely unaffected by such feeble, human efforts.

Their threats, their attempts to instill fear, their efforts to divert God's plan - all should be of no significance to us. We know how the story ends. Just as Herod failed, so will today's terrorists fail. The best they can do is to attempt to instill fear. But we should have no fear:

"I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (Psalm 23:5). What an image. The symbolism of this image is profound. In the very presence of our enemies, we can literally rest assured that God's plan will prevail - and we should have no fear - to the point of comfortably sitting at the table, prepared for a meal - in the literal presence of the enemy.

At the time of Jesus' birth, evil rose and attempted to destroy Christ, and in turn, God's plan for mankind. Similarly, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, the same evil plots against, and opposes the God of the Holy Bible. Just as Herod failed, so will today's efforts to eliminate God and His plan.

As we sit at our tables this Christmas, we should remember the promise issued in Psalm 23. Evil will not prevail. The forces opposing Christ Jesus will not prevail. Only God will prevail. As we celebrate Christmas, we should also remember God's promises. At the conclusion of Psalm 23, we know our fate:

"...and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23:6).

Our ultimate fate. It will not change, nor will it be diverted by the evil that exists on earth today. The birth of Christ ultimately led to the sequence of events, over the next 33 years, that ensured us of this fact:

We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

God's plan. It will not be changed nor diverted, despite the feeble efforts by evil men.

Thank you Father, for the miraculous, divine birth of Christ Jesus, and everything that He did for us.