All nations are firmly in place for the final act.
by Melvin Rhodes
When we consider the end time scenario
of events that lead to the return of Jesus
Christ we cannot help but notice
that the main area of conflict is going to be the Middle East. At the
same time, it is easy to overlook two very interesting facts about
this period, one historical and the other contemporary.
Looking at the historical map of
the region, what stands out is that the prophesied apocalyptic events
would not have been possible one hundred years ago. It wasn't, in fact,
until fifty years ago that nations and alliances were in place that
made today's situation possible.
At the turn of the twentieth century
the Mideast was dominated by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. The Turks
had dominated the region for over 400 years. Before them, various other
Islamic powers were in control, and before them the Eastern (Byzantine)
Roman Empire. The Jews (Judah) were out of the picture from the
second century on.
The Turks had been a major European
power as well as dominating the Middle East. Only 300 years ago they
reached the gates of Vienna, frightening western Europe with fears
of a Moslem invasion. They ruled what is now the Balkans. The decline
and fall of the Ottoman Empire led directly to the divisions that now
consume the Balkans and, therefore, directly and indirectly to the
two World Wars that devastated so much of the world in this century.
Allying itself with the Kaiser's
Germany in World War I, the Turks lost to the Allies. Most notably,
the British took control of Palestine in 1917 and helped Arab nations
come into being through successfully aiding rebellion against the
non-Arab Turks . The British had
already moved into the Middle East, taking control of Egypt in 1882
and of the Sudan in 1896. Aden had come under their control earlier
in the nineteenth century. The end of World War I saw the British and
French carving up the former Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence.
The French took control of Lebanon and Syria, while the British ruled
