Information Related to "World News and Prophecy - Sep 1998"
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UNITED CHURCH OF GOD, an International Association
Vol. 1, No. 2
SEPTEMBER, 1998
United Church of God
Contents
Key to the Middle East-Seek First to Understand
by Darris McNeely
End-Time Scenario Not Possible Until Now
by Melvin Rhodes
by Donald Ward
More Heated, More Divisive Than Ever
by Cecil E. Maranville
by John R. Schroeder
and Cecil E. Maranville
This Is the Way... Brick By Brick
by Robin Webber
The United Church of God provides World News and Prophecy (WNP) as an educational service for interested persons. The purpose of WNP is to help readers discern the times and increase their awareness and understanding of current events in the light of Bible prophecy. Although the staff strives for truth and accuracy in its reporting, analysis, and Bible commentary, WNP is not a doctrinal publication. Articles do undergo both an editorial and a review process.
Key to the Middle East-Seek First to Understand
America is fighting a war against terrorism. This type of warfare is far more sinister and elusive than conventional warfare yet just as deadly when it strikes from the shadows. America's air strikes targeted two of the many middle eastern nations which harbor terrorist activities. Most of today's terrorist activity is directed against the United States and threatens to pull it into a global morass that seethes with animosity toward U.S. interests. America is the world's policeman, and bears a historical burden in a uni-polar world. The burden that comes with that role will tax a nation to its limits.
In This Issue...
In this issue of WNP we take an in depth look at key Bible prophecies concerning Jerusalem and the Middle East. In Matthew 24 Christ made a central statement about the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel. Donald Ward gives an in-depth analysis of Daniel 11 and some interesting developments to note concerning attempts by Jewish groups to restore sacrifices on the temple mount. Melvin Rhodes traces the historic context of the region and considers a possible scenario of end time events.
Understanding the context of the Middle East today is important in helping us discern what is going to take place in the future. As written in Matthew, "whoever reads, let him understand" (Matthew 24:15). Terrorism is the major issue at present. Whether it involves Palestinian attacks against Israeli or American interests, we find this to be a continual manner in which those who seek redress for real or imagined wrongs strike.
A Nineteenth Century Lesson
To understand today's dilemma it is helpful to look to the past. In the nineteenth century, Sudan was a hotbed of Islamic fanaticism, just as it is today. The Muslim leader, known as El Mahdi, managed to unite the tribes in an attempt to throw off Egyptian rule. Egypt at that time was a colony of Great Britain. The Mahdi succeeded in capturing the capital of Khartoum, which was held by a garrison commanded by British officer General Charles Gordon. Gordon's forces were slaughtered two days before the arrival of a British relief force commanded by General Garnett Wolseley. Thirteen years later, September 2, 1898, Britain conquered the entire Sudan in the famous battle of Omdurman, scene of the last cavalry charge in history, (also participated in by a young Winston Churchill). Britain stayed in the Sudan until 1956.
Afghanistan was the scene of another British entanglement, this one more protracted. Beginning in 1839, Britain, already entrenched in India, decided that Afghanistan was a threat that should be subdued in typical imperial fashion. The army marched on Kabul, capital of the country, deposed the leader, and installed a puppet government. In 1841 a revolt flared against the occupying British and when it was over the 4,500 man Anglo-Indian army was annihilated. Another round of British retribution followed.
In 1878 the Afghanis concluded a treaty with Russia which provoked another intrusion by the British from India. This time the British sought to impose a treaty that would give them control of all Afghan foreign policy. The fiercely independent Afghans resisted this effort and fought off another British army, forcing them into another long retreat that ended in disaster. This foreign policy tug-of-war lasted until 1919 when Afghanistan finally won control over their own foreign policy.
The British learned what Russia would learn in the 1980s, that Afghanistan, as well as many other Islamic countries, did not welcome foreign intervention in their internal affairs. This has not changed today. But the technology has changed. Today, these countries, or those they shelter, can reach out with more sophisticated weapons and strike at their enemies virtually anywhere in the world. As America has found, its embassies in Africa and its buildings in New York, can be bombed by those who perceive it to be a foe. During the last half of the twentieth century America has replaced Britain as the world's policeman. Today, America is the chief target of international terrorism.
"Seek first to understand…"
America is on the verge of being drawn into a "war on terrorism" that most of its citizens simply do not understand. The problem lies not in the bombings and the endless cycle of retaliations, rather it is the failure to understand the perceptions of the Islamic world toward those nations, like America and Israel, who are involved in their part of the world. This clash of western interests, such as oil, and the culture and values of an ancient people will never be solved without a willingness to fully understand the deep human needs that go unfulfilled in this part of the world.
These fundamental issues were outlined in an article written by Graham Fuller, a former vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA. "Broadly speaking, most Muslims feel helpless, weak and resentful in the face of external power at work in their region. The Middle East, center of world civilization for several millennia, is now beset with masses of poor citizens (apart from the oil states), bad social services, poor education, absence of democracy, constant abuse of human rights, widespread corruption, police states, often brutal rulers, and no voice over their own fates. They are victims of truly bad governance in most states of the region. And what do they perceive? U.S. support for almost any rule willing to protect U.S. interests-routinely identified in Washington as oil and Israel. They see a Washington unwilling to act evenhandedly in the Arab-Israeli peace process and infinitely tolerant of a hard-line government in Israel that denies Palestinians land, dignity and statehood. They perceive double standards that allow Israel to violate U.N. resolutions, but not Iraq. Israeli nukes are O.K., but not nukes in Muslim hands. They see routine use of U.S. unilateral military power against Muslim targets that is unparalleled elsewhere in the world. They see themselves routinely humbled by use of overwhelming Israeli military power. They see U.S. military forces in the Gulf as being there to protect ruling families and not populations-the essence of Osama bin Laden's charge" (International Herald Tribune, August 27, 1998).
What we perceive is our reality, whether it fits all the facts or not. Many in the Muslim world perceive their cultures as being maligned and attacked by a western world that they in turn do not fully understand. The article goes on to mention these perceptions. "They see Iraqi children dying of disease and starvation and blame it on U.S. sanctions. They perceive widespread caricaturization and demonization of Islam in Western media and films. They point to colonial regimes in the past seeking to weaken Islam and traditional Muslim culture. They point to Muslims under siege in Palestine, Chechnya, Russia, Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan), Bosnia, Kosovo, Kashmir, Eritrea, the Philippines and India, and often treated as second-class citizens in Europe. The list goes on" (ibid.).
Our counter argument is that American values do not promote starving children in any country, regardless of the religion or politics. But that does not matter when starving children are the reality, and those who would use that tragedy to seek their own ends can shape the psychological backdrop to perpetuate misunderstanding.
Is Government the Issue?
Mr. Fuller stated the crux of the issue when he said that most in the Middle East "are victims of truly bad governance." The first duty of any government is to promote the welfare of its citizens. When more than half of the people live below the poverty level and are not provided decent medical and sanitation services something has failed. They are victims of the age-old template of bad government which when overlaid upon a people retards the development of their full potential. The history of the Middle East is full of corrupt monarchies, dictators, and autocratic rule. Conquering armies have brought a mixture of both good and bad influences that in the end must be evaluated as incomplete when it comes to securing a peaceful existence.
It is in this context that we must seek to understand the climactic events foretold by Daniel and Jesus Christ. The Middle East, and Jerusalem in particular, will see the rise of additional powers who seek ideological and political control of this region. The powerful elixir of religion will provide the binding element that tries to produce a final "peaceful" solution to age-old conflict.
Whoever "desolates" the holy place will ignite a conflagration unlike any yet seen and will take the world to the brink of annihilation. The poor of the world will suffer one more time before Christ intervenes with His form of government that will bring a lasting and secure peace.
Christ once wept bitter tears as He pondered the fate of first century Jerusalem. Understanding the causes of today's strife brings tears of frustration to any that can see problems and yearn for lasting solutions. As we ponder the powerful events ahead remember the Psalmist's request, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6). v
End-Time Scenario Not Possible Until Now
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 over Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan. The British also dominated the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia.
It took another world war to drive the colonial powers out of the area. France lost control of both Lebanon and Syria while she was occupied by German forces during the war.
Britain saw its influence gradually decline in the years immediately following victory over the Axis powers. Jewish resistance to British rule in Palestine led to the establishment of the state of Israel (May 1948). Britain continued to be the major power in the Middle East for another ten years, maintaining influence through the various conservative monarchies that ruled over the Arab countries. Egypt was the first country to overthrow its king in 1952, after which Egypt had a native Egyptian ruling the country for the first time in almost 2000 years. This led to a dramatic rise in Arab nationalist feelings and led to the seizure from Britain and France of the Suez Canal in 1956. America's intervention stopped the colonial powers from taking back control, leaving them considerably reduced in power and influence.
Two years later, inspired by events in Cairo, the king of Iraq was overthrown, an event which led eventually to the rise to power of Saddam Hussein. Libya's king Idris was overthrown in 1969, with the resultant loss of British and American bases. Radical regimes were now in power throughout the area. The Gulf remained fairly conservative until the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979. Since then, radical Islamic movements have grown in power and influence.
Most people are aware that Israel's borders are a constant source of conflict in the area. So also are those of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and others. The major reason for this goes right back to the Ottoman Empire. Kuwait and Iraq for hundreds of years were in the same administrative region, thereby leading to Saddam's claim to control of his oil rich neighbor. Lebanon and Syria were similarly governed in Ottoman times. Lebanon has been in continual ferment for over twenty years as various factions have tried to take control, aided or opposed by neighboring Syria, looking for territorial advantages. A border dispute between Iraq and Iran led to one of the bloodiest and longest wars of this century in the 1980s.
It is, without a doubt, the most volatile area of the world. But it wasn't that way until the colonial powers were driven out after World War II.
In this context, it is interesting to note some Bible prophecies. Daniel 11:40-43, indicates there would be a number of different military powers in the region as end time events unfold, not just one big empire. Hosea 5:5 prophesies the fall of Judah, Ephraim and Israel (the dominant nation of which today is Manasseh), all at the same time. Judah did not exist as a separate nation until 1948, calling itself Israel. See Isaiah 48:1-2.
Prophecies in the gospels of Jerusalem being trampled by gentile armies immediately prior to Christ's return would also suggest that immediately prior to that the city would be ruled by Israelites. (Revelation 11:1-2 and Zechariah 14:2 indicate that Jerusalem will be divided, with one part being ruled by the gentiles. This came about with Britain's liberation of Palestine in 1917and continued through Jewish domination after the birth of modern Israel in 1948.
It is also interesting to note that no further dramatic border changes are necessary for end time events to be fully played out. All nations are firmly in place for the final act.
The exact role the United States will have in the final prophetic scenario is uncertain. The prophecies of Daniel show that other major powers will arise to play a key role in the Middle East, and Jerusalem in particular. Like other nations who have played historic roles in this region, America, too, may fall victim to events beyond her control.
Until the late 1950s the British dominated the region. America moved in exactly forty years ago when it invaded Lebanon. America's involvement in the region was a result of the policy of "containment" (containing the spread of communism). The Soviets moved into Egypt as the British moved out, so America moved in to the area to stop Soviet influence from spreading. Today the escalating threat of terrorism adds a new dimension to America's will to maintain it's role as the world's policeman.
More interesting still is the new direction of America's military policy following six years of reduced military expenditure under the Clinton administration, part of the "peace dividend" made possible by the collapse of the Soviet Union. America's military capabilities have been reduced by an estimated 40 percent. The current paradigm in the Pentagon is based on four basic principles as discussed recently in The New Republic (5/25/98 "Battle Wary" by Andrew J. Bacevich and Lawrence F. Kaplan). Excerpts follow:
"The paradigm has four basic principles. The first is faith in technology…. The second principle is confidence in the potential of a militarily dominant power to overawe would-be opponents…. When threats do not suffice, the U.S. uses force as a precision instrument: this is the third principle…. The final principle…is to employ ground forces only as a last resort. This principle manifests itself in an inclination to intervene reluctantly, late in the game, and then on a massive scale. It also manifests itself in tendencies, once troops deploy, …to seek withdrawal at the earliest conceivable opportunity."
Many of you will have seen the movie, "Saving Private Ryan," in which American troops are sent to rescue a certain Private Ryan, whose three brothers have already died in combat. Following the tragic real-life loss of all five Sullivan brothers when their submarine was torpedoed, it was decided that no family should have to lose all of its sons serving the country's military needs. A fine humanitarian gesture.
Today, few families have more than one son. How politically acceptable would it be for America to fight a long, protracted land war today? How long would Americans (or Britons) tolerate watching their sons dying every night on the news in some far away country that most could not find on the map? The number of American troops in the Gulf was decreased this summer from 32,800 to 19,650, in spite of increased intransigence from Saddam Hussein and the extremely volatile political situation.
America today leads a strong NATO organization and is the only nation that can effectively project force into any part of the world. Economically, no other country can match its depth of resources which continue to help so many others. At the same time it is the world's largest market for goods. Yet, prophecies indicate that the picture will change significantly enough to allow a collection of other powers to enter the scene at the close of the age.
Abomination of Desolation
Where will the abomination of desolation be placed? Christ states that it will be placed in the Holy Place. Daniel states that the sanctuary will be polluted and the daily sacrifice will be taken away. He addresses the polluting of the sanctuary and taking away the daily sacrifice in Daniel 8,9,11 and 12. So where is the holy place, where is the sanctuary and what is the daily sacrifice? Three principal scenarios have been articulated in an attempt to answer these questions. We need to examine all of these.
First of all, we should define the word "holy." The Hebrew word for holy is qodesh. The Greek equivalent is hagios. Both words refer to setting apart and separateness because God's active presence is in, or upon, holy things or persons. Moses was instructed to take off his shoes, "for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5b). God's presence was manifested in the tabernacle after it was raised up in the wilderness. It was manifested again in Solomon's temple on the day it was dedicated (Exodus 40:35; 2 Chronicles 5:13,14). Even though God's Spirit did not openly manifest itself in the restoration temple, He inspired Haggai to write: "According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!" (Haggai 2:5).
Today, God's active presence, His Holy Spirit, is in each converted person. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Furthermore, in Stephen's inspired sermon, he stated that, "the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48). Based on the fact that the physical temple has been destroyed, and that God does not dwell in temples made by hands, some have reasoned that the Holy Place that Christ referred to in Matthew 24:15 is the church of God. But the spiritual temple is composed of spirit-led Christians who are scattered around the world. It is not a place.
What is the Holy Place?
So where is the Holy place that Christ refers to in Matthew 24:15 ? The Bible calls things what they were at the time the prophecy was written. Moreover, it can refer to what existed in the historical sense. For example, Jerusalem is called the Holy City in Isaiah 52:1. But in Revelation 11:8, it is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt.
At the time that Daniel recorded his visions, the Holy Place was the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem because God placed his active presence in the Temple. Therefore, the prophecies that were given to him concerning the abomination of desolation, the pollution of the sanctuary and the taking away of the daily sacrifice, refer to the temple site. Christ stated that the abomination of desolation would be placed in a definite place. The Greek word for place is topos. Strong defines topos as place; any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding space. "Topos" can also be used metaphorically. However, Christ clearly states that the abomination of desolation would be seen in a definite place.
The fact that Christ states that the abomination of desolation will be placed in a definite place, and that it can be seen, negates any notion that it can be the church or a false teaching in the church. Furthermore, a false teaching in the church does not pollute a place (sanctuary) or take away the daily sacrifice. It is true that Christians are supposed to offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5), but can a person(s), or the action of any person(s), prevent a Christian from offering spiritual sacrifices?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were thrown into the fiery furnace. Daniel was placed in the lion's den. But they cried out to God and were delivered. No person or action of any person(s) can prevent one from offering spiritual sacrifices.
Thus, we can conclude that the abomination of desolation will be placed in a definite "holy" place, a place that can be seen. Moreover, the place is the "sanctuary" where the daily sacrifices were offered.
An Altar at the Western Wall?
Since the area (Temple Mount) where Solomon's temple and the restoration temple were built, are now under control of the Arabs, some people have speculated that the Jews might build an altar at the western wall (wailing wall) of the old city. Since this is as close as the Jews can get to the "holy" place.
There are two principal factors that legislate against such speculation. First of all, before the priesthood was established, and before the tabernacle in the wilderness was raised up, and before Solomon's temple was built, the patriarchs built altars in various locations and offered sacrifices. But after the priesthood was established and the tabernacle and temple were constructed respectively, sacrifices could only be offered by the Levitical priesthood at those altars. Those who varied from these instructions were swiftly and severely punished. Secondly, the priests and the temple area had to be purified before sacrifices could be offered. The book of Leviticus explains these rules of purification in great detail.
In view of the reasons stated above, the building of an altar and offering sacrifices at any place other than the Holy place, on the Temple Mount, would constitute an egregious breech of the Holy Scriptures. Religious Jews are well versed in the consequences associated with disobeying the Scriptures. The Temple Institute, as we shall see later, has dedicated much of its resources in fulfilling the Biblical requirements for restoring temple worship. This includes building a third temple, preparing temple vessels, securing an acceptable red heifer from which the ashes are used in purifying the temple site and training young men to serve as Levites. There is virtually no evidence to support the Jews building an altar or offering sacrifices at any site other than the temple mount.
According to the Jewish Chronicle of July 31, 1998, there are groups in Jerusalem who have never visited the area around the Temple Mount for fear of sacrilege. A Jewish text, the Rambam, clearly states that "even though they are desolate, the sanctuaries retain their pristine holiness." The ground is so holy that it would take special preparations, including the sprinkling of the ashes of the red heifer, and the re-institution of the priestly duties-to make even this minimal act (set foot on the area) feasible for many halachically observant Jews. Halachic thought is against the restoration of the temple by man.
The text of Rambam insists that it will be restored only by the Messiah (Hichot Melachim 11.1). Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, expressed similar reservations regarding the possibility of rebuilding the Temple before the appearance of the "sacred spirit" (ruach hakodesh) among the people of Israel.
Despite these views, interest in the restoration of temple worship is flourishing. This same issue of the Chronicle states that this in nowhere more tangible than in the Temple Institute. The Institute is very near the Temple Mount. "The Institute founded in the 1980s is dedicated to spreading an awareness of what the Temple service looked like." On display at the Institute's richly endowed museum, are life-size models of some 60 out of the 90 known Temple vessels-the menorah, lavers, saucepans, spice boxes, and priestly garments, including the High Priest's breastplate. It also shows computer-generated animated films of what a Temple service might have looked like. Although the Institute's stated mission is one of education, they have prepared many of the items needed for the restoration of Temple Worship.
The Chronicle story titled, "Visionaries Prepare for Third Temple," continues by showing the link between the government and religious leaders in promoting the building of a third Temple. "Rabbi Chagi Yekutiel, a lawyer, works as an assistant to the National Religious Party leader and Minister of Education, Rabbi Yitzchak Levy. Yekutiel, a graduate of the army's yeshivat hesder program, openly promotes the immediate rebuilding of the Temple next to the al-Aqsa mosque, seeing no problem in sharing the ground between the two religions that hold it sacred.
"Temple-mania also includes the raising of red heifers in Kfar Chasidim, and on a farm near Eilat" (Jewish Chronicle July 31, 1998).
Jewish mystical traditions say the sacrifice of the red heifer took place nine times, the last being some 2,000 years ago. The tenth sacrifice will precede the rebuilding of the sacred Temple in Jerusalem, allow the purification of the Jewish people, and signal the coming of the long awaited Messiah.
An example of the purification steps that are necessary for the restoration of Temple Worship are described in 2 Chronicles 29 and 30. After Hezekiah opened the doors of the Temple, the Levites were instructed to sanctify themselves, the Temple, the vessels and the congregation. Hundreds of animals were sacrificed and their blood was sprinkled on the Temple, the altar, the vessels and the people in the purification process.
The development of an acceptable breed of red heifer is an amazing story that goes by way of Canton, Mississippi. The story was recently chronicled by Joe Atkins in the Clarion Ledger July 26, 1998. One evening nine years ago, while reading Genesis, Clyde Lott-a Pentecostal Evangelist and cattle farmer-from Canton, Mississippi, was struck by the importance of unblemished animals in offering sacrifices. Then he read God's command in Numbers 19 concerning the role of the ashes from a red heifer in the purification ceremonies of Temple Worship. Clyde Lott knew he was the farmer who could provide such an animal.
According to Atkins, Lott contacted Rabbi Chaim Richman, author of the book, The Mystery of the Red Heifer: Divine Promise of Purity, and a religious leader whose Temple Institute in Jerusalem devotes its energies toward the restoration of the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Moslems view the site of these mosques as the third most sacred place on earth.
Over the next several years, Lott and Richman developed plans to raise Red Angus cattle on Lott's ranches and ultimately in Israel. In a dramatic November 1994 visit described in detail by writer Lawrence Wright in The New Yorker magazine recently, Richman, looking every bit the Orthodox Jewish Rabbi with his beard, glasses, cap, black jacket and white shirt, came to Canton, met with local evangelicals and saw the red heifer that Lott calls Dixie. Richman put his hand on "Dixie" and said, "This is the one. This is the mother."
Lott took Richman to various evangelical Churches across the Deep South to raise funds for their joint cause. Lott also went to Israel, where he and Richman have reached an agreement with settlers in the West Bank to raise some of the cattle on that much disputed territory. Lott and Richman hold vastly different views on the significance of the red heifer. Lott believes the Jews must build a temple before Christ returns and the red heifer will play an important role in helping the Jews to restore Temple worship. Richman, on the other hand, believes strictly in the Old Testament and that the Temple movement is preparing the Jewish people to move into the Messianic Age.
Since the Temple Mount contains two mosques that are very sacred to Moslems, the building of a Jewish temple on that site has far reaching geopolitical implications. Therefore, very strategic and sensitive negotiations must take place before the Jews would be allowed to build a temple on that site.
In the technical sense, the Holy of Holies was located several feet north of the Dome of the Rock. It is possible to build a small edifice and altar in that area without destroying the Dome of the Rock.
But, regardless of the technicalities as to whether the Jews must gain control of the entire Temple Mount, or only a portion of it, dramatic changes have to take place before any Jewish altar or temple can be constructed on that site. There are two basic ways to gain the desired access to the Temple Mount. One way is through political negotiations. Such negotiations would lead to various signed agreements in which the negotiating parties are assigned specific areas of control.
In Revelation 11:1-2, John is instructed to measure the temple of God, the altar and those who worship there. But he is told to leave out the court which is outside the temple, because it has been given to the gentiles and they will tread it under foot for forty-two months. These verses can of course have spiritual implications for the church because the people who worship there are measured also. People are measured or judged by the word of God. But the church is not the "gentiles" and they do not tread down the holy city for forty-two months. So this prophecy definitely points to future dividing of the city. Zechariah 14:2 sheds additional light on this: "For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city." It is interesting to note, that half of the city goes into captivity, but the remnant shall not be cut off from the city. The term "remnant" nearly always refers to God's people. Both of these prophecies clearly indicate that Jerusalem is going to be divided into two sectors before the second coming of Christ.
Such agreements would probably require a third ("neutral") party to enforce the agreements. In recent times, that "neutral" enforcement agency has been the United Nations (U.N.). Troops under the banner of the U.N. have been deployed as a peacekeeping force in various sensitive areas around the world.
Some have suggested that the Temple Mount will be taken by war. Even if the Temple Mount were taken by war, the international community would have to enforce any kind of "negotiated" peace that might be achieved after such a war is over. In other words, for the Jews to erect a place of worship on the Temple Mount, and restore any elements of temple worship, there must be a period of peace. The book of Daniel clearly indicates that the person who is responsible for taking away the daily sacrifice, comes to power in the name of peace. Then after a period of "pseudo" peace, the truce is broken. Then with the aid of Satan and powerful armies, this person places the abomination of desolation and takes away the daily sacrifices.
We need to examine the Scriptures that describe how this person comes to power and his activities before he places the abomination of desolation. Daniel 8 describes a vision of a ram with two horns (the kings of Media and Persia) pushing westward, northward and southward. No nation or person was able to stand up against the ram. Then suddenly out of the west a goat with a notable horn (Alexander the Great) runs into the ram and crushes its horns. The notable horn is broken, and in its place four horns stand up. Out of the four horns arises a little horn. This little horn waxes exceedingly great toward the east, the south and the pleasant land. This person exalts himself against the heavenly host, pollutes the sanctuary and takes away the daily sacrifice (Daniel 8:1-12).
After Daniel receives the vision, he seeks to understand it. Eventually, Gabriel comes to him and explains the vision (Daniel 8:16). In verse 17, Gabriel informs Daniel that the vision refers to the time of the end. The significance of verse 17 should be duly noted. Some Bible commentators believe that Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled this prophecy in 168 B.C. when he offered swine's blood on the altar and placed a statue of Jupiter Olympus in the Holy of Holies. The actions of Antiochus can obviously be viewed as a type of fulfillment. But the angel Gabriel reiterates in verse 19 that the vision is for the end time: "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be."
In verses 20-22, Gabriel identifies the ram with the two horns as the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn is its first king (Alexander). The broken horn (Alexander the Great), met an early untimely death. No king succeeded Alexander to the throne. The four notable horns that stood up after Alexander died represent four divisions of his empire that were placed under the jurisdiction of four of his principal generals.
In verse 23, the prophecy moves forward to the end time. "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes." The king of "fierce features" is the little horn of verse 9 that grows out of one of the divisions of Alexander's empire. So at the end of the age, a person from one of the four divisions of Alexander's empire comes to power. This person is energized by a power (Satan) greater than himself. He uses deceit to corrupt the holy people. His strategy brings about prosperity and this causes people to be destroyed (corrupted) in their prosperity. This person is on the scene during a time of pseudo peace and prosperity. Furthermore, he is on the scene when Christ comes again: "He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means" (Daniel 8:25b). This verse parallels Revelation 17:13-14; "These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." Thus the "king of fierce features" described in Daniel 8 is equated with the beast of Revelation 17. In Daniel 8:26, the angel Gabriel instructs Daniel to seal the vision "for it refers to many days in the future."
The "Vile Person"
The activities and strategy of the person in Daniel 8 is very similar to that of the "vile person" who is described in Daniel 11:21-45. A careful reading of Daniel 11 will show that the "vile person" introduced in verse 21 is the same person who places the abomination of desolation in verse 31. He is the willful king of verse 36; the "him" of verse 40 who is attacked by a king of the South and a king of the North; the "he" or "him" of verses 41-44. He is the one (verse 45) who plants his tabernacles between the two seas.
It should be noted at this point that various Bible commentators and historians attempt to make the activities of Antiochus Epiphanes fulfill verses 21-35. Antiochus may have been a type of what is to come, but when Christ referred to the placing of the abomination of desolation, he was referring to a future event. We have already noted in Daniel 12:11 that the placing of the abomination of desolation marks the beginning of the countdown of twelve hundred and ninety days. So there will be another person who comes on the scene at the "appointed time" who will be the anti-type of Antiochus. This person's activities will lead to the final fulfillment of these verses.
In verse 21, we see the "vile person" comes in peacefully and seizes the kingdom by intrigue. His personality and ability to deceive are so strong that he becomes strong with a small people (Hebrew gowy which is translated 374 times as "nation" and only 11 times as "people"). Even though Antiochus, as a king of the North, may have been a type of the vile person who will come on the scene at the end of the age, Daniel 11:40 reveals that the antitype will be attacked by the king of the North and the king of the South. At that time in history, Syria was a respected military power. Antiochus was never popular with the Jewish people. But the person, who is the anti-type, becomes strong with a small nation.
In verse 24, we see him entering into the richest places of the province, peaceably (Hebrew, shalvah). "Shalvah" means quietness, ease, prosperity. So he enters into the best places of the province and gains favor by giving the people some of the riches he has acquired. He begins to make plans against the strongholds (Hebrew, mibtsar, fortified city.) Bible prophecy reveals that Jerusalem will become one of the most fortified cities in the world. Some military analysts now believe that the nation of Israel is the second greatest military power on earth.
Verses 25 and 26 describe warfare between the "vile person" and the king of the South. The king of the South is not able to stand against him. Then in verse 27, we see the "vile person" and the king of the South sitting at a table, in apparent peace negotiations. But they are speaking lies to each other. So the peace does not prosper i.e., endure. Because there is more to happen at "the appointed time."
In verses 28, we note that after the peace negotiations, he returns home but his "heart shall be moved against the holy covenant." After some time passes, the "vile person" mounts another campaign toward the south, but he is met with ships from Cypress (Hebrew kittiy) a general term referring to all the Islanders of the Mediterranean Sea. He is grieved at being turned back and is enraged against the holy covenant. He returns and forms an alliance against those who forsake the holy covenant. He gathers a great army and defiles the sanctuary, takes away the daily sacrifices and places the abomination that makes desolate (Daniel 11:29-31).
We can now clearly see that the strategy and activities of the "king of fierce features" of Daniel 8 and the "vile person" of Daniel 11 are identical. Each one comes in peacefully and gains the kingdom by flatteries, each one corrupts the holy people, each one pollutes the sanctuary, each one takes away the daily sacrifice, and each one is on the scene at the end time. There can be no doubt that the "king of fierce features" and the "vile person" are one and the same person.
The seventy weeks prophecy is also relevant in describing events that lead up to the placing of the abomination of desolation. Daniel 9 describes how he seeks to understand the seventy years of desolations of Jerusalem spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah. While Daniel was praying for understanding, God sends Gabriel to give him understanding (Verses 20-23). Gabriel tells Daniel that: "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy" (Daniel 9:24).
A literal translation of "seventy weeks" is "sevens," or seven times seven. In Bible prophecy a day represents a year. There are seven days in a week. So seven times seventy equals four hundred and ninety years. The angel Gabriel specifies certain intervals of weeks (years) as the various items of the prophecy are fulfilled. The seventy weeks have a definite starting point. "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks" (Verse 25).
A great deal of controversy has surrounded the date of the giving of the command to build Jerusalem. The date most widely accepted is 457 B.C. The prophecy states the Messiah will appear after sixty-nine weeks (7 times 69 equals 483 years). When 457 is subtracted from 483, the difference is 26. There is no year zero. One year must be added to twenty-six. In 27 A.D., when Jesus was about thirty years old, he began his public ministry.
Verse 26 states that the Messiah will be cut off after sixty-two weeks (literally sixty-nine weeks, since the seven weeks from verse 25 must be added). "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined." This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified after sixty-nine weeks and when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the sanctuary (temple) in 69-70 A.D.
This brings us to the controversial verse 27: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate" (margin, desolator). The controversy centers around who is the "he" of this verse. The nearest antecedent of the pronoun "he" is the prince (ruler) who is to come of verse 26. Some commentators attempt to make the word "Messiah" in verse 26 serve as the antecedent for the pronoun "he" in verse 26. The attempt to make this connection centers on an attempt to link a Wednesday crucifixion with the expression, "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering" (Verse 27a).
Let's examine the facts. The pronoun "he" refers to the nearest antecedent noun, the prince who is to come. This prince destroys Jerusalem and the sanctuary. Jesus did not confirm any covenant with anyone for a week. The Hebrew states that this person confirms (Hebrew, gabar meaning to prevail, have strength, be strong) a covenant for one week. Christ perfectly fulfilled the conditions of the Old Covenant, but He did not come to confirm the Old Covenant. He came to install and mediate the New Covenant. He established the New Covenant on the night of the Passover before his death. He did not confirm any covenant with anyone for one week. Moreover, the death of Christ did not cause the sacrifice and oblation to end. The Jews continued to offer sacrifices until the Romans destroyed the temple. Furthermore, the last part of verse 27 states that on a wing of the temple shall be one who makes desolate. In addition, this abomination remains on the wing of the temple until the consummation is poured out on the desolator i.e., the one who make it desolate. Jesus does not place an abomination on the wing of the temple. But of more significance, the returning Jesus Christ is the one who pours out the consummation on the desolator. Christ is surely not the "desolator."
We have already noted in Daniel 8 and 11 that a person comes in peacefully. He makes a league with certain parties and then behaves very deceitfully-breaks the covenant and in each case and winds up defiling the sanctuary and placing the abomination of desolation. So in Daniel 9 we see the how the last week of the 70 weeks prophecy will be fulfilled. A covenant is made (a peace covenant) and in the middle of the week (after three and one-half years), the covenant is broken. He causes the sacrifices and offerings to end. An abomination is placed in a wing of the sanctuary. This action parallels Daniel 11:31. The placing of the abomination of desolation marks the countdown of the final twelve hundred and ninety days. This includes the final 1,260 days of the seventy weeks prophecy.
We can now see how vital the peace negotiations are between the Arabs and Jews over the question of Palestine and Jerusalem. We can also why the Matthew 15 is such a pivotal prophecy. We should keep our eyes on the peace negotiations and the attempts to rebuild the temple and restore temple worship. The abomination of desolation will not be placed until temple worship is restored.
World affairs will be filled with events that are relevant and critical to the fulfillment of placing the Abomination of Desolation. According to CNN, some of the recent terrorist activities of Osama Bin Laden were directed against the United States since they appear to be in support of what he calls "the ever increasing encroachment on the Islamic Mosques located on the Temple Mount." As a result he and his followers have declared "Holy War" against the United States. Whether or not the United States' bombing of terrorist facilities in the Sudan and Afghanistan will precipitate an all out war in the Middle East remains a question. This is indeed the time to watch and pray.
The Abortion Debate-
Dominating the headlines and capturing the imaginations of thousands is the ongoing FBI manhunt in North Carolina for fugitive Eric Rudolph. Rudolph-a virtual folk hero to some and the embodiment of evil to others-is accused of bombing an Alabama abortion clinic in January of this year, killing a policeman and injuring a nurse.
Reaction to the Rudolph case demonstrates how sharply split the country-including its churches-is on the subject of abortion. "The search for an abortion clinic bombing suspect...has created a moral dilemma for local clergy who feel a mixture of support and disdain for fugitive Eric Rudolph. At least one religious leader said he would understand if someone helped the 31-year-old survivalist elude authorities" (© 1998 The Associated Press).
In July, other extremists dumped butyric acid at three clinics in Houston where abortions are performed. This "terrorism in the name of morality" mimics similar attacks on abortion clinics in Florida and Louisiana earlier this year.
An egregious act committed at a Phoenix abortion clinic in late July fueled the already complex controversy as Dr. John Biskind attempted to abort a fetus that was 37 weeks along-nearly full term. The baby was delivered alive, but with skull fractures and lacerations.
A New Component-Untouched by Federal or State Laws
Pro-life and pro-choice arguments have gone beyond the political arena into that of private health care. Numerous mergers and affiliations between Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals have taken place in the United States in recent years, resulting in the Catholic health care system being responsible for 16 percent of all hospital admissions annually (RCRC Publications, © 1996 the Coalition, "Merge With Care").
Private health care facilities are untouched by federal or state laws on public policy about abortion. Free to set their own policies regarding reproductive health care, the Catholic facilities uphold Catholic principles for their hospitals and beyond. "Directives for Catholic healthcare personnel are frequently imposed even beyond hospital walls, at clinics, auxiliary facilities, and even private practice offices" (ibid.).
What lies ahead? "In the next two or three years, thousands of hospitals-run by communities as well as various religious organizations-will affiliate with Catholic facilities and consolidate services in an effort to provide more cost-effective health care." So this new component in the abortion debate will only grow.
This trend has alarmed pro-choice lobbyists and community activist groups such as "The Coalition" quoted above in an attempt to counteract it.
Chinese Émigré's Testimony Fuels Flames
Thirty-seven-year-old Xiaoduan Gao fled China in fear of undergoing forced sterilization for secretly adopting an abandoned young boy-an act that violates China's one-child rule. Her interview on ABC World News Tonight with Brian Ross added passion to the ongoing debate.
Mrs. Goa, herself the former director of a so-called planned birth center in China, shocked ABC's viewers by confirming interviewer Ross' statement that she, "has now come forward to say...that women who defy the country's one child per family policy routinely face sterilizations and forced abortions-including women as much as nine months pregnant" (© 1998 ABC NEWS and Starwave Corporation).
Horrifying as it is to contemplate, Mrs. Gao said, "The child can still be alive when he comes out of his mother's womb and as soon as the child cries, the doctor will give it another injection and the child will die" (ibid.).
Mrs. Gao's gripping testimony brings pathos to perhaps otherwise dry statistics released this summer from Atlanta's Center for Disease Control. Legal-induced abortions in the United States for 1995 totaled 1,210,883 (© 1998 American Medical Association).
Work with those numbers and add some humanity to them! They represent 1,210,883 mothers and 1,210,883 fathers. Some will immediately argue that many fathers are neither in the picture nor part of the decision making to abort. That's worth further comment later in this article. But arguably, at least one other concerned person-mother, father or friend of the pregnant woman-is affected by the decision to abort those 1,210,883 pregnancies. That's a minimum of 2,421,766 lives that are touched in a powerful way by physiological and spiritual forces.
Inevitably brought into the debate are the unnamed and unseen, those 1,210,883 that are never born. This is a controversy not easily put to rest.
Everyone Has "Rights" But Who Has Responsibility?
Women's rights enter the controversy. Is abortion a choice that only the pregnant woman can and should make? A modern dictionary defines abort as "to bring forth a fetus from the uterus before the fetus is viable; miscarry" (Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996 by Random House Value Publishing, Inc.). So the disputants of one side point out that a uterus is the unique property and concern of the pregnant woman and therefore the decision to abort is solely hers to make.
Without argument, there are truly tragic and extreme cases, but abortion is not the only alternative. A bumper sticker on the issue reads "If it's not a choice, it's called a child." How tragic that there are many couples-unable to have children-anxious to adopt at the same time as others are aborting their children. Free counseling programs exist in most communities to provide encouragement and information to the pregnant woman who wants to take responsibility for her child, not take its life.
Debaters argue with equal passion for the rights of the unborn. Do "fetuses" have rights that are being overlooked? (Why is it, do you suppose, that the progenitor of the unborn is called "the father" and the one whose body carries the unborn is called "the mother" but there seems to be so much debate over whether the unborn is actually a child? Hmm.)
Then there's the argument over father's rights? Do they have any say in the decision to abort? What about societal or community rights? Should the community at large determine whether or not abortions can be performed? And the arguing goes on and on.
Reframe the Discussion
It is a mistake to debate the issue of abortion in isolation. The broader question is, "How did our society become saddled with this controversy?" A sweeping prophecy in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 speaks to those wider concerns. They include rejection of moral values, rejection of the traditional family, a lack of good judgment, an addiction to pleasure seeking, selfishness and a failure to take personal responsibility.
The abortion issue has much to do with one taking responsibility for his/her actions. Argument about abortion is often buttressed with and bogs down in examples of extreme or rare scenarios. Let's take the debate back to before pregnancy occurs. Many decisions are made-some deliberately, some under pressure, and some by making no calculated choice to do anything other than let nature take its course. The decision to spend time with one of the opposite sex, often including the decision to drink alcoholic beverages and to use other drugs, the decision to touch and to allow touching in intimate ways, the decision to be "sexually active" are among them.
Consider further the decision to be "sexually active." Unmarried people make a decision to act contrary to the laws of God by deciding to engage in sex outside of marriage. And then seek to free themselves from the unwanted consequences-the men by shuffling away, the women by bringing "forth the fetus from the uterus before the fetus is viable."
When human desires are given free reign, there are undesirable consequences. Jesus put it this way: "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within...proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications.... All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:20-23). Human nature, left unchecked, will spawn the precise societal crises that exist at the heart of the abortion issue.
Note how many of "the works of the flesh"-human nature-are often part of the circumstances that lead to an unwanted pregnancy. "Now the works of the flesh are evident...adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness...drunkenness... and the like" (Galatians 5:19--21).
Existing Laws Already Cover the Abortion Issues
Where are the answers to the screaming questions surrounding abortion? Is violence in the name of morality the answer? In their passion against abortion some religious people have participated in terrorizing abortion clinics and medical personnel involved in performing abortions. To murder for the sake of stopping murder is inexcusable. "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:10-11).
Is lobbying for more or better-defined legislation the answer? Two clear laws that govern the abortion issue are already on "the Books"-you shall not murder and you shall not commit adultery! An incalculable positive change would sweep through society if people stopped choosing violence to force and enforce their opinions, if they started living sexually responsible lives. There must be a fundamental commitment to morality, to the Ten Commandments.
Moral living is, "summed up in this saying...'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:9-10).
Perhaps if all concerned-the "sexually active" men and women, the pregnant women considering abortion and the society at large-answered one simple question, the answers to the tougher ones would fall in place. The simple one is "Who is my neighbor?"
In Brief...
In tiny Israel the southern portion experienced 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Italy's heatwave has brought forest fires and dangerous increases in smog levels. Even the Russian Arctic has been affected by the heat, although welcome in this case.
Some observers blame global warming for the unusually hot weather around the Northern Hemisphere. Among those are Vice-President Gore who stated: "The data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration means world temperature records have been shattered every month since the beginning of the year. When you break the record seven months in a row it is really hard to ignore the fact that something is going on-and that something is global warming" (emphasis ours).
But some scientists are not so sure and have blown hot and cold on the threat of global warming, citing conflicting evidence from weather satellites. Whatever the truth of the matter, scorching heat from the sun will be one of the seven vials of punishment poured out on the earth in the future (Revelation 16:8-9).
Sources: The Daily Mail, August 11 (quotes by Al Gore); The Times August 3 and 13; Daily Telegraph July 31; Newsweek August 3; Jewish Chronicle August 14.
Largest Food Airlift in History
Operation Life Sudan is being mounted to save the starving. It will provide some 15,000 tons of food per month. But observers fear it will not be enough as varying estimates say that from one to two million or more Southern Sudanese are threatened with starvation after 15 years of civil war.
Many thousands have already died. The World Food Program estimates that 1.2 million are in serious danger of starving-four times the figure proffered just two months ago. Sheer size and difficult climactic factors (swampland) seriously hamper aid-transport efforts to the afflicted area.
Yet the war between the predominantly Muslim North and the mainly non-Muslim South drags on. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are already riding in microcosm in some areas of the earth. Famine usually follows war.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, July 13; The Express July 31.
The New Terrorism
In a chilling review of "the new terrorism," The Economist reported recently on the substantial efforts of the United States government to anticipate and prepare for terrorists using "weapons of mass destruction-the generic term for biological, chemical and nuclear arms." In black humor, the article is titled, "The New Terrorism, Coming Soon To a City Near You."
Contrasting the typical new terrorist with previous terrorists, the article summarizes the new as "vague about its long-term aims but utterly ruthless in its short-term intentions." New terrorists have no particular national loyalty and no particular cause other than destruction itself. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, "hallmarks of the new terror include 'amorphous religious and millenarian aims' and 'vehemently anti-government forms of populism, reflecting far-fetched conspiracy notions'" (The Economist). The likely main target for the new terrorism-the United States.
Illustrative of the mindset of the new terror is the anti-American cry from Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman: "Ruin their economies, burn their companies, destroy their benefits, sink their ships, shoot their aircraft and kill them on the ground, in the air and sea and wherever you find them. Take them, besiege them and cripple them completely. Kill all these infidels wherever you find them. You kill them and Allah will punish them through your hands" ("Clinton Gambles all on Revenge," The Sunday Times-UK).
Rahman is the blind cleric who is currently serving time in New York for his role in the bombing of the World Trade Center-an act of the new terror, financed, apparently, by Osama Bin Laden. Two of the preacher's sons are part of Bin Laden's entourage (ibid.).
How Bad Is the Russian Economy?
The Russian ruble has been devalued in the midst of some stark apocalyptic statements about the state of the economy. For instance: "Russia's financial crisis could spin out of control as banks collapse" wrote Garth Alexander in New York and Mark Franchetti in Moscow" (The Sunday Times,August 16.).
The European evaluation is even worse: "Thinking that a rise in fiscal receipts and a trimming of public spending will solve Russia's problems, as the IMF does, is to miss the self-evident point that the Russian economy is bust, plain and simple. All the statistics about economic activity are probably hokum. The foundation stones of a market economy-a legal structure to enforce mutual obligations, corporate responsibility and transparent accounting-are non-existent" (August 17-23).
Says American columnist Patrick Buchanan: "It is time for truth. The Russian economy is a corpse. That $15 billion, which comes on top of the $9 billion the IMF has already committed and on top of the scores of billions from Europe and the United States, will never be seen again. Russia is bust. Indeed taking out new loans to pay interest on old loans is a definition of bankruptcy" (The Washington Times, July 20-26).
But more than bad economics is at stake here. The world has a very heavy interest in Russian economic stability. The country still has too many nuclear weapons for comfort. And any temptation to sell weapons technology to unstable dictatorships for badly needed cash frightens the West.
In terms of Russian economic well being, too much was expected too soon. A nation pays a heavy price for 70 years of communism. The attempted conversion to a free market economy and a full free enterprise system has rocked the nation's social fabric. No wonder Gorbachev wanted to go slower.
John R. Schroeder
and Cecil E. Maranville
This Is the Way...
Brick By Brick
How often have we read Isaiah 30:21 that says, "This is the way, walk you in it"? Have you ever noticed what proceeds it? Let's read Isaiah 30:20-21 in full. "And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." Is this only for the future or can we apply it today?
It is interesting to note how often Jesus alluded to examples of people who were "making a difference" and asked His disciples to learn or take note of their examples. One example is that of the Good Samaritan. Was the Samaritan remembered because he was a church member or for what he did? Jesus purposefully took an example far out of the common scope of accepted thinking of that time and simply said, "Learn!" It wasn't so much what the good Samaritan knew, like the priest or the Levite, but what he did. Jesus asks us to learn now to become teachers of a way of life. A way that is outgoing, away from self.
Today our world can look foreboding. The storm is coming and things will seem to be out of control. But God asks us to deal with our immediate sphere of influence and do what we can. This column's goal is to focus on various "teachers" in today's world-be they people, communities or nations-that are making a difference, examples that run contrary to the general course of a world that has turned it's back on God. It will then be our goal to make it personal, to encourage you to good works in your life. It is easy to point out the wrong or bad but there is also a time to point out the good.
Terror Strikes Again
It has often been said that the most appropriate definition of a terrorist is "simply an individual that is willing to give your all for his cause." Once again this became painfully true in two African cities thought to be far and away from the focus of international politics and the accompanying parasite of urban terrorism.
The August 17 issue of Time magazine depicts the latest episode in its article "Terror in Africa." "When terror strikes, it always tears through the comforting screen of normality. One moment, mid-morning shoppers and workers bustle along Nairobi's Haile Selassie Avenue at the downtown corner where a bronze eagle and a fluttering flag mark the five-story U.S. embassy. The next, the earth trembles as a thunderclap unleashes a mighty shock wave. Seconds later, black smoke plumes into the sky as the tarmac ignites, flashing fire to parked cars and passing buses. The blast shatters every window in a quarter-mile radius into lethal slivers, blows the bombproof doors off the embassy, sucks out ceilings and furniture and people, pancakes a seven-story building next door into a mountain of rubble. Thousands of innocent people are injured, and more than a hundred die, including 11 Americans. Nearly 450 miles away in Tanzania, at almost exactly the same time, a vehicle drives into the sunny grounds of the U.S. embassy in a residential quarter of Dar es Salaam and explodes, wrecking the entrance, blowing off parts of the building's right side and setting cars ablaze. Seven Tanzanians are killed, and 72 hurt. Two bombs with a single message: don't forget the world's superpower still has enemies, secret, violent and and determined. America is ever a target, it's embassies and installations abroad inviting symbols of its power. 'See,' say the bombers, 'despite your enormous wealth and strength, we can still inflict a great hurt.'"
Author Johanna McGeary concludes her report with the sober assessment, "That is the nightmare message the terrorists intended to stamp upon the minds of Americans. However hard you come looking for us, we will always be out there, planning and plotting to hit you again, sometime, someplace!"
Israeli Specialists Join
What truly makes this remarkable is the timing! Currently, Israel is suffering major diplomatic setbacks around the world-including Africa-because of it's perceived slow initiation of the Oslo Accords pertaining to its relationship with the Palestinians. No "welcome mat" is laid out on the African continent for the Israelis. Even more significant is the fact that both of the victimized countries have a large Muslim presence.
Some skeptics say the reasons for the Israeli entrance is merely political, while other kinder observers sense that it is a form of "payback time" to Kenya for long ago allowing Israel to use it as a base for the daring raid on Entebbe Airport to rescue Jewish highjack victims back in 1976. But as Marjorie Miller brings out in her article: "To the average Kenyans, the 'why' of the Israeli effort is beside the point. To them, the important fact is that about 200 Israeli soldiers arrived to help before anyone else did."
Unselfish Israeli Action
The Israelis' ability to serve others did not come all at once. The Los Angeles Times article goes on to share how they honed their skills after earthquakes in Mexico and Armenia, bombs in Argentina and scud missile attacks at home in Israel. Now, world experts at rescuing the living from rubble and recovering the dead, Israeli "know-how" has rescued three lives. "Know-how" cannot be overstated. As some front line rescuers shared: "Our first mission was to get them out. The situation was delicate. If you touch one beam, you can kill someone 5 meters away." Nothing came easily. There were no floor plans of the Ufundi building, but they studied a hand-drawn map of the top floor that someone had made, then brought in the dogs and heavy equipment. They raised lights that would allow them to work through the night and turned on listening devices so sensitive they could detect a buried finger tapping or the whispered cry of a dying man.
Making a difference does not come easily. One rescuer observed that many of the victims died from the sheer force of the blast. "It tears you up inside" was the lament of another rescuer. It also takes time and sensitivity. "Most of the digging you do by hand," Lt. Alon Seren said. "You have to dig by hand so you won't drill into someone underneath. I was digging by that ladder over there. I saw some blood, dug some more and saw some more blood. That's how you find people."
Not Heroes-Just Doing Their Job
Last Sunday one of the Red Cross volunteers shouted at the Israelis, "You are heroes." One of the officers, Major Ofer Pomeranz answered with a modest shrug, "We are not heroes. We are only working."
As Christians each of us have a work to do. Our good example always speaks louder than our good arguments. The apostle Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 2:15, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." Sometimes that doesn't happen over night. Sometimes it is built up over a period of time, "brick by brick," with the same caring sensitivity that the Israeli Rescue Team exhibited in dealing with the broken lives of those hurt in the terrorist blast.
Good relations don't happen overnight. The Israeli aid to Nairobi did not just happen. It developed over a period of time in Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv and Armenia. Their "know-how" was essential. They were ready, and more importantly they made themselves available. Zechariah 8:23 states: "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'" Why will they grab his sleeve? Will it be because of what he knows because of his training in the future Jerusalem, or will it be because of his practical ability to relate with the immediate needs of others? Let's notice that in the future it will not simply be individual Jewish men, but Israel as a nation will be in a goodwill alliance with nations that have been its historical enemies.
Isaiah 19:24-25 describes a different world order-the real New World Order-in which God is fully involved, "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria-a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My Hand, and Israel My inheritance.'"
What a wonderful time to look forward to when such acts of cooperation are not isolated, but will become the "norm" among nations. We see that what the Israelis and the Africans experienced is a type-a small type-of the reality of the world under the guidance of Jesus Christ.
©1998 United Church of God, an International Association.
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