When Lawlessness​ Abounds: Farrakhan Predicts Revolution at 'Your Door'

By Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry



Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan delivered his four hour annual "Savior's Day" speech to followers in Chicago on Sunday. The Chicago Tribune reports that Farrakhan told his followers that revolution is imminent in America:

"What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt ... Libya, in Bahrain ... what you see happening there ... you'd better prepare because it will be coming to your door."

The Tribune said Farrakhan delivered the prediction in a booming voice, with thousands of followers cheering in response. Farrakhan called on the current president to allow protesters to march, urging him not to attack innocent people when they do.

Farrakhan is an admitted admirer of the current president, calling him at one time the "Messiah." So when Farrakhan, a long time radical and considered by many a racist toward Caucasians, says there is going to be a Middle East style revolution in the United States, more than Homeland Security should take notice. Labor Unions - translated socialist activists - in Wisconsin already have started this protest movement over a financially troubled state wanting public employees to pay their fair share of health insurance. Duly elected legislators have gone into hiding to block legislation that mandates the cuts. In other words, they are violating their oath of office to side with those who wish to undermine the "democratic" process.

This is also occurring from the White House, who not only is supporting the Wisconsin protests, but also has gone against the democratic process and is breaking the law. The White House has said it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The White House has ignored court decisions that the socialist health care law is unconstitutional and is proceeding with its implementation. The White House has ignored a court order to allow offshore drilling for oil by refusing to issue permits. Congress voted down a White House proposal for an economic advisory committee, so the president established it by executive order. This list of lawlessness is not a short one.

The Washington Post reported on February 18, that the president's "political machine worked in close coordination Thursday with state and national union officials to get thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals." What separates the American experiment in representative government is the rule of law, not the rule of those who shout the loudest.

Jesus said of the latter days in Matthew 24:12,

"And because lawlessness abounds, the love of many shall wax cold."

He is speaking of the lawlessness of sin and iniquity, the non-compliance to God's law. Can you see the parallel to what is coming to your door?


Related Links

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Farrakhan: Mideast-Like Revolution Headed for US - NewsMax.com
Socialism is Not Compassionate, and Why This Should Matter to Christians - FaithFacts.org
Government Unions: It’s About the Money - Heritage.org
Obama Administration Responsive to Gay Lobby - The New American (Daniel Sayani)
Obama Nixes Safe Drilling - American Thinker (Jeffrey Folks)

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Bible Prophecy and the Future of Libya

By Joel C. Rosenberg
JoelRosenberg.com



It is so painful to watch the horror show underway in Libya right now. Estimates tell us that at least 1,000 Libyans are dead. Many more are wounded. Some 100,000 people have apparently fled Libya in recent days as the situation goes from bad to worse.

The first sentence of a new Time magazine article asks, “Is it the End of Days for Libya?” The article looks at the rising death toll as Gaddafi continues using his army to slaughter the Libyan people desperate for change. It also asks the question of whether Libya will experience peace even if (or when) Gaddafi is deposed. Dirk Vandewalle, a Libyan expert at Dartmouth University, told Time:

”Both sides, both the population, and the security organizations, know exactly what’s at stake. If government militias [are to] win, they will have to kill many more, and if the security organizations lose, then the people, the regular people in Libya are going to take their revenge…. Either way we’re going to see a terrible blood bath.”

David Mack, a former deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, told Time that the worst possible outcome would be a widespread lawlessness in which Libya degenerated into a kind of “Somalia on the Mediterranean.”

What does the Bible tell us? Libya is referred to numerous times in the Scriptures, both directly and indirectly.

• In Matthew 27, for example, we learn that it was a Libyan man — Simon of Cyrene (a part of ancient Libya) – who carried the cross for our Lord Jesus.
• In Acts chapter 2, we learn that God-fearing men from Libya were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and heard the Apostle Peter preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Some 3,000 people that days repented of their sins and became fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. It is likely that Libyans were among them since they are mentioned in the text.
• In Acts 11, we learn that Libyan (Cyrene) followers of Jesus Christ helped bring the gospel to Antioch, Syria, and made disciples for Jesus there.
• In Acts 13 we learn that a Libyan man — Lucius of Cyrene — becomes one of the leaders of the church at Antioch, helping send out Barnabus and Paul to take the gospel to Asia and Europe.

Again and again in the Scriptures we see that the Lord loves the people of Libya. He wants them to know Him and receive His free gift of salvation.

That said, Bible prophecy also tells us the government and many of the people of Libya will be engaged in great evil in the End of Days.

• In Ezekiel 38-39, we learn that Libya is one of the nations that joins the Russian-Iranian alliance against Israel in “the last days.” In this prophecy, Ezekiel uses the name “Put.” The first century historian Flavius Josephus wrote in his famous book, The Antiquities of the Jews, that “Put” or “Phut” is “ancient Libyos.” Ancient Libyos, we know, certainly included the territory of the modern nation state we refer to today as Libya, but also included Algeria and possibly Tunisia. This tells us the no matter what the near term outcomes of the revolutions underway in North Africa are, in the not-too-distant future Libya for certain and possibly her neighbors will have virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Israel leadership who will eagerly join a coalition bent on destroying the Jews and occupy the land of Israel.
  
  Gaddafi, of course, is already such a leader. Perhaps he will ride out this storm and stay in power. Perhaps someone worse will rise up after him. Hopefully Gaddafi will be deposed and a more moderate leadership will rise up for a season before the prophecy of the “War of Gog and Magog” comes to fulfillment. Either way, the Church should be using this window of time to do everything possible to get the gospel into Libya and to strengthen the persecuted believers in Libya before the country faces God’s judgment for attacking Israel.
  
  
• In Daniel 11, we learn that Libya is one of the countries that will be under the control and direction of the Antichrist in “the last days.” The Hebrew Prophet Daniel tells us that “a despicable person will arise” during “a time of tranquility” and will seize global power “by intrigue” and by “overflowing forces” in the End Times. This person, known in Christian theology as the Antichrist, ”will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.”
  
  The Bible tells us the Antichrist “will enter the Beautiful Land” — that is, Israel — and “will stretch out his hand against other countries.” Eventually, the Antichrist will gain control of the entire world and force all people who haven’t received Christ as Savior and Lord to bow and worship him or be beheaded. But the Bible specifically notes that the Antichrist ”will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians [the people of "Cush," which includes modern Sudan, Ethiopia and possible Eritrea] will follow at his heels.” It is not entirely clear why the Bible points specifically to “Libyans” and “Ethiopians” as among those who will follow and serve the Antichrist, but this is what the Lord tells us in advance will happen.

This is all the more reason the Church must seek to reach all of North Africa with the gospel of Jesus Christ before it is too late. Please be praying faithfully for Libya and all of North Africa at this critical hour.


Related Links

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Libyan Christian clergy vow to stay on amid violence - Eurasia Review
Appeal for prayer as Middle East faces uncertain future - ChristianToday
U.S. Military Repositions Forces in Preparation for Libya Response - FOX News
Ezekiel 38 and 39 (Part 24) - Pre-Trib.org (Thomas Ice)
Libyan Government Criticizes UN Sanctions - Voice of America

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Multiple Fronts

By Jim Fletcher
Prophecy Matters



This weekend I travel to Nashville for the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention. Part of my activities there will be attending a prayer breakfast for Israel.

It will be good to be among friends.

This week is a good opportunity for me to practice what I preach: that God watches over Israel, and also over the rest of us, and in His provision for the Jews of Israel, we see Him moving powerfully in our own day.

There are very ill winds blowing.

On the one hand, watching events unfold in the Middle East is breathtaking, as Joseph Chambers so aptly puts it. Yet, we also know that the political demise of Middle East strongmen has an effect on oil prices. I do not think we have yet seen the ceiling on gas prices, and we all know how that can affect a fragile economy. Those kinds of “adjustments” cause us to look at what we eliminate. For too many people, that will be food vs. medicine.

And what about truckers? Food prices? The ripple effect on the “democracy revolutions” in the Middle East greatly affects the rest of the world. As David Kupelian of WorldNetDaily explained it, Libya is an OPEC country, and many of us remember the long gas lines, due to OPEC nations boycotting the U.S. support of Israel.

Today, though, the most depressing aspect of all this is the fact that America is moving toward Israel’s enemies. I well remember Avi Lipkin discussing his dinner with Texas oilmen two decades ago, in which they told the Israeli that America was through bailing-out Israel, especially if oil supplies were affected.

On a personal level, I had two depressing conversations with pastors this week, two men who work against Israel. Then a good friend who is an articulate and passionate defender of Israel pointed out the growing efforts from famous Christian leaders to marginalize Israel. I suspect I will see some of them at NRB (although historically, the group has been strongly pro Israel).

I am very excited about seeing some new friends in Nashville, ZAKA (the Israeli disaster-relief group — www.zakafamily.org). The prayer breakfast will be nice. There will be other meetings.

Yet I feel heavy and burdened today — just being honest — about where things are. It’s one thing to see avowed enemies of Israel saber-rattling. It’s another to talk with American Christians who feel that the Jews deserved the Holocaust, that they foment violence in the Middle East, etc.

What a weird, weird time to be alive. Israel not only battles close enemies, but other fronts have opened. The growing evangelical coldness is the most recent and most depressing, on a personal level. If it is this depressing now, what will it be like in two years?


Related Links

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Boehner Tells Religious Broadcasters National Debt a Moral Issue - Christian Post
High gasoline prices rattle both drivers and businesses - Evansville Courier & Press
Israel Through The Eyes Of Scripture - SpiritandTruth.org (Tony Garland)
Blaming Israel, Ignoring Radical Islam at J Street’s National Conference - Pajamas Media
Russia sells missiles to Syria, potentially arming Hezbollah’s arsenal in Lebanon - Ya Libnan

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Saudi Arabia's Fall on Our Radar?

By Bob Maginnis
BobMaginnis.com



Saudi Arabia controls the world’s largest oil reserves, and if that spigot is shut off by Mideast chaos, the global economy could be devastated. That is why the West must encourage the Saudis to mitigate their vulnerabilities, but be prepared to respond if the kingdom falls.

The Saudi monarchy is preparing for the worst case. For the first time last week, a Saudi youth group connected with others by social media to plan a peaceful demonstration in Jeddah expressing solidarity with anti-government protesters in Libya. Fortunately for Riyadh, that demonstration and another among Shiite citizens in the Eastern province weren’t violent like the protests in Egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen.

But Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz’s perception of the growing threat of social unrest prompted him to throw money at the problem. Last week he announced a $37 billion benefits package to create 1,200 new jobs, raise cost-of-living allowances, grant interest-free home loans, and more.

The king should be concerned about the spreading unrest because Saudi Arabia has striking similarities with countries already racked by chaos. For example, the king runs Saudi Arabia with the same autocratic style that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak used, and the Saudi monarchy bases its political system on family and tribal links, as in Yemen.

But these similarities are somewhat mitigated by Saudi differences. Much of the discontent expressed in neighboring countries is attributed to high unemployment and living costs, which the Saudis address by shoveling money at their difficulties.

Saudi Arabia is also different because it is a country of tribes connected by marriage, creating a land unified by family ties. Also, the House of Saud, the ruling family, is not the typical isolated monarchy. Rather, it has 30,000 members, including thousands of princes who are integrated throughout society.

The House of Saud also has a very unique relationship with the country’s religious leaders. The 18th century Saudi ruler Abdallah bin Muhammad bin Saud married his son Abdul Aziz to the daughter of Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of the puritanical Wahhabi movement. That union created the First Saudi State and explains the royal family’s advocacy for both Salafi Islam and unification of Saudi Arabia.

But these distinctives may not vaccinate the monarchy from four vulnerabilities.

First, the House of Saud is vulnerable because it hoards wealth and governing power. Saudi citizens are growing angry with their government as the population expands, per capita income drops, and young people lust for more liberty. That discontent is feeding a groundswell of calls for jihad against the royal family.

The rage and regional chaos may collide to form a tipping point for the kingdom. The monarch and his top princes are very old, and new blood must be installed. That reshuffling will remind anxious Saudis of Mubarak, who tried but failed to install his son as president. Saudis will ask themselves, too, why they must tolerate dictators.

Saudi citizens are also understandably impatient after having submitted petitions calling for a constitutional monarchy — a form of government in which the monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution. Calls for a constitutional monarchy and the kingdom’s pending leadership shuffle could become the tipping point that ends the House of Saud’s dynasty.

Second, the regime is vulnerable because it fails to treat political reform seriously. Last week Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, a grandson of the founding king of Saudi Arabia, wrote in the New York Times, “Unless many Arab governments adopt radically different policies, their countries will very likely experience more political and civil unrest.”

He labeled Arab political systems “outmoded and brittle” and said, “Arab governments can no longer afford to take their populations for granted, or to assume that they will remain static and subdued.” But Saudi Arabia’s monarch is only half listening to reformers.

Saudi King Abdullah responded to calls for reform by instituting a “National Dialogue” process, which allegedly provides Saudi citizens the means to criticize their government. But some citizens who used the process to identify grievances were arrested and detained, creating doubt about the royal family’s reform commitment.

Similarly, in 2005 the Saudi monarchy hosted elections for municipal councils, which were granted nominal powers to oversee local governments and make recommendations to national leaders. But as with the National Dialogue process, the municipal councils were ignored or not sufficiently empowered to do their jobs.

Third, the regime is vulnerable because social reform could fracture the stabilizing monarchy-Wahhabi relationship. The Saudi monarchy maintains its legitimacy among conservative constituent groups by carefully managing changes that could affect established religious practices, even though the lack of change stifles democratic reform.

The Congressional Research Service’s 2010 report on Saudi Arabia states, “Since 2006, significant public debates have occurred on social issues such as the powers of religious police, education reform proposals, and the roles and rights of women and the integration of Shiites into Saudi Arabia’s predominantly Sunni society.” Wahhabi clerics oversee these issues, and any challenge to that authority could split the unique state-religion relationship, which might radicalize the Saudi clerics who allegedly support terror groups such as al-Qaeda

Finally, the rise of Iran and its Arab Shiite allies is a Saudi vulnerability. King Abdullah believes Iran stirs up Saudi’s Shia minority — 15% of the population — much as it is said to be doing in next-door Bahrain.

Last week King Abdullah met with the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to discuss the Shia political uprising there. These Sunni leaders accuse their Shiite populations of loyalty to Iran, a charge Shiites say is used to stoke sectarian tensions and justify opposition to democracy.

But Saudis feel threatened because they are encircled by Shia-leaning governments — Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and possibly soon Bahrain. Alireza Nader, an expert in international affairs, told the New York Times, “They worry that the region is ripe for Iranian exploitation. Iran has shown that it is very capable of taking advantage of regional instability.”

There is a history of tensions among Saudi Shiites. Two years ago, Saudi police launched a search for Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr, who suggested in a sermon that Shiites could one day form their own separate state. That secessionist threat followed clashes between the Sunni religious police and Shiite pilgrims near the tomb of Prophet Muhammad in Medina.

The Saudi Shia last rose up in mass civil disobedience in the intifada of 1979, inspired by Iran’s Islamic revolution. Recently, Tehran openly endorsed the “rightful demands” of the Arab protest movement, which supports the Saudi view that Iran is attempting to create a Mideast “Shia Crescent” to become the hegemonic force in global oil.

The Saudi royals can avoid collapse by mitigating vulnerabilities. But if the monarchy falls, the West must be prepared to step in, militarily and otherwise, to stabilize the country, keep Iran at bay, and sustain the oil flowing.


Related Links

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False Rumor that Saudi King Will Buy Facebook to Stop Protests - Arutz Sheva
Leading Saudis call for constitutional monarchy - Sydney Morning Herald
Middle East stock exchanges plunge - Gulf Daily News
Krauthammer warns ‘all hell is breaking loose’ if major unrest occurs in Saudi Arabia on March 11 - Daily Caller
Saudi king chairs cabinet, no sign of reshuffle - Reuters

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Tough Times for Arab Dictators

By Todd Strandberg
Rapture Ready



Across the Middle East, people weary of repression, poverty, and corruption have taken to the streets, calling for revolution and reform. Since most dictators only envision their subjects as having absolute adoration for them, the sight of massive crowds calling for their downfall must come as a huge shock.

The first to go was Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He fled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in mid-January. Some reports say he had a stroke, fell into a coma, and may have died.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has managed a more graceful retirement from office. After conceding to protesters, he settled in the Egyptian Red Sea coast resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Many of the Persian Gulf states have managed to hold on to power by offering up token concessions to their countrymen:

• Bahrain - The nation of Bahrain has reshuffled its cabinet. Bahrain's king has decided to give $2,650 to each family on the Gulf island.
• Kuwait - The ruler of Kuwait has announced the distribution of $4 billion and free food for 14 months to all citizens. Each of the 1.12 million native citizens will get $3,572 in cash until March 31, 2012.
• Algeria - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said the state of emergency, in force for the past 19 years, is to be lifted. The announcement followed pressure from government opponents who demanded the emergency powers be scrapped.
• Saudi Arabia - King Abdallah returned to Saudi Arabia after recovering from back surgery. He immediately announced $10.7 billion in benefits. The king also said he would give a 15-percent pay raise to state workers, fight inflation, and provide more money for housing and studying abroad.

Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi is likely to be the next to fall. He is rapidly losing control of that nation. Eastern Libya is now being administered by a loose alliance of tribal leaders. Many of Gadhafi's government officials have joined the opposition.

The unrest in Libya has been the bloodiest. Gadhafi has ordered his military to fire on protestors. He even had jets bomb unarmed crowds. The foreign minister of Italy, Franco Frattini, said more than a thousand people have been killed in the uprising so far.

The death toll may climb dramatically higher before Gadhafi is removed from power. He has already proven himself to be a cold-blooded killer. Some of the statements made in recent days have reinforced the long-held belief that he is mentally unstable.

When rumors circulated that he may have fled the country, Gadhafi made an address while sitting in a car, holding an umbrella out the door.

“I am here to show that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Don't believe those misleading dog stations.”

In one speech, Col. Gadhafi told Libyans that the protesters were fueled by drinks spiked with hallucinogenic drugs and were acting on the orders of Osama bin Laden.

“Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe,” he said in a telephone interview with Libyan state television.

Speaking from a historic fort overlooking Green Square, Col. Gadhafi told a paid group of supporters to strike against protesters, saying “retaliate against them, retaliate against them,” and “dance, sing and prepare. Prepare to defend Libya , to defend the oil, dignity, and independence.”

As the crowd waved flags, Gadhafi said:

“I am in the middle of the people in the Green Square. … This is the people that love Moammar Gadhafi. If the people of Libya and the Arabs and Africans don’t love Moammar Gadhafi, then Moammar Gadhafi does not deserve to live.”

Times might be tough for dictators, but don’t look for a wave of freedom to sweep over the Middle East. The most likely course is for the situation to go from bad to worse. The political void may soon be filled by Islamic militants. Compared to them, Hosni Mubarak and Moammar Gadhafi might as well be George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. During the past few decades, they maintained a peace with Israel.

The upheaval is very bad news for Israel. Since Bible prophecy predicts that someday the Jewish state is going to be attacked by several of her Arab neighbors, stability has been Israel’s friend. The changes we are seeing now could be an indication that time is running out.


Related Links

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With Qaddafi 'In the Bunker,' U.S. Officials Split on Mental Health of Libya's 'Mad Dog' - FOX News
Oman protests intensify as Sultan struggles to appease demonstrators - Christian Science Monitor
Bahrain prince seeks dialogue amid protests - France24
Kuwait key opposition group calls for PM ouster - Breitbart.com
Could the next Mideast uprising happen in Saudi Arabia? - Washington Post

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Painting a Bullseye on Damascus?

By Michael G. Mickey
RaptureAlert.com



According to Israel National News, Western intelligence agencies have detected another nuclear plant in Syria – in a Damascus suburb. (Keyword: Damascus)

In bible prophecy, Isaiah 17:1, we read of a terrible fate that is to befall the city of Damascus - one so terrible that Damascus will no longer remain a city in its wake. Rather, it will be left a "ruinous heap."

Isaiah 17:1: The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

While some believe this prophecy to have been fulfilled in the distant past, Damascus is considered by many experts to be the longest continuously inhabited city in the world. Thus, I have long suspected this prophecy holds significance for the future as well.

That Syria has constructed another nuclear plant, after Israel leveled its last known one in September of 2007, comes as no surprise to me. What is striking to me, however, is the Syrians have chosen to place their new facility in perfect position for Israel to bring to Damascus a severe destruction in keeping with Isaiah's prophecy, the fact that Iranian warships recently passed through the Suez Canal en route to Syria only serving to heighten tensions.

Do the Math

Let's do the math on all of this, shall we?

According to United Press International, a U.S. intelligence report indicates Iran has resumed work on obtaining a nuclear weapon, refuting a 2007 report that the Iranians had ceased in their efforts.

Add the new Syrian nuclear facility with Iran's ongoing quest to obtain nuclear weapons as well as the arrival of military vessels from Iran in the Mediterranean en route to Syria and an ominous picture emerges.

Prior to the 2007 Israeli attack on the last Syrian nuclear facility, a ship from North Korea arrived carrying what Israel believed to be nuclear equipment. At a moment like this, one can't help but wonder what may have been onboard the Iranian warships bound for Syria.

Could it be another military showdown is about to occur between Israel and Syria, Iran having played a role in creating the confrontation? No one knows for sure, but a miscalculation on either side of such a conflict could result in a nightmarishly deadly exchange - one that could swiftly add up to the fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1.


Related Links

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Obama Pressed to Penalize Syria Over Alleged Atomic Site - Global Security Newswire
'Israeli intelligence aware of Syrian nuke facilities' - Jerusalem Post
Syria's nuclear prowess underestimated - UPI
Isaiah 17 - An Oracle Against Damascus - BPB (Jack Kelley)
Satellite Photos: More Nuclear Sites in Syria - Arutz Sheva

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