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Note: This is an Archive of Terry’s portion of the weekly commentary Nearing Midnight, which appears on the website http://www.raptureready.com and is reproduced here by permission. This archive page covers Nearing Midnight, from January 13, 2003 through January 2, 2006 and appear in chronological order. If you would like to read Nearing Midnight from dates beyond January 2, 2006 click the link in the upper right hand corner of this page. 

 

Prayer FOR America

 

O, LordGod, there is none other but you. Your strength, and power, your might cannot be contained or measured. You make and break universes with a wave of omnipotent thought. You deliver nations, and you put them down with your immeasurably strong hand. You alone hold knowledge of and power over things present and things yet future.

 

O, Lord God, Your mercey is without comparison. Your compassion defies  human understanding. Your Love and Grace are infinetly beyond the comprehension of this fallen world.

 

O, Lord God, Your Righteousness is pure and Holy. Your Truth is absolute Authority that cannot be changed. Your Judgment is terrible, and final, but it is cleansing, restorative, and perfect.

 

O, Lord God, Your people in America have sinned against You greviously. Your people have for the most part remained silent, while Your enemy has, because of Your people’s apathy,  murdered millions of  babies in their mothers’ wombs. Your people have grown rich compared to people of  every other nation on earth, while the enemy has, through Your peoples’ entertainment-mad,  sinn-filled  slothfulness, perverted your ordained directives in every fascet of life in this nation.

 

O, Lord God, we, your people, must repent. Your people must turn from the wickedness of which we have become an unholy part through living our day by day lives in uncaring disinterest for your call to Holiness. Help us to again seek your face, O, Lord God. Help us turn from our wicked ways. Help us back on the Righteous, faithful  course upon which you first set our founding fathers.

 

O, Lord, our God, as Your people turn to You and humble ourselves and pray, Hear from Heaven, forgive our innumerable sins. Heal our land, O Lord God. Use your power, Righteousness, Mercy and Love to overcome Your enemy, who is also our enemy.

 

O, Lord, our mighty God, based uponyour people's repentance,  turn your terrible judgment from our nation, and preserve the rights and liberty you alone have granted. Give our nation’s leaders wisdom to use America’s strength only in accordance with your omniscient and Holy will.

 

In the mighty and majestic name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Who created all things, by whom all things are held together, and Who is coming again in great power and glory –to Him, the Savior, the Lamb Who takes away the Sins of the world, Your people of America pray. Amen.

 

       --Terry James

 

For Monday, January 13, 2003

The Threat from North Korea

Memories of America’s involvement in the Korean Conflict have faded, but are being revived by current news reports. An uneasy truce has existed since 1953 between the divided Koreas that occupy the peninsula.

After all these years, the same basic problem that prevented the U.S. from winning that “police action”--as termed by the diplomats who refused to call it a war--once again rears its ugly head. Its the nuclear monster that must be put back in its cage. Failure to confine the North Korean atomic threat, more and more news analysts outspokenly fear, will reap a more destructive whirlwind than will the failure to eliminate Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction threat.

North Korea’s Master

Truth is, North Korea’ s blustery threat to build nuclear weapons is but one more piece of the end-time puzzle. North Korea, that third leg of U.S. President George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil,” remains, like during the Korean Conflict of half a century ago, under the thumb of a truly “Evil Empire.”

The People’s Republic of China holds sway over the hapless millions of North Koreans as surely as did the Soviet Union when America lost more than 27,000 people in the war U.S. leaders refused to win. It is China’s--and probably Russia’s—threats, not North Korea’s nuclear threat, that prevents a military solution to the nuclear extortion North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, defiantly waves under the noses of Uncle Sam and the United Nations.

This isn’t giving away any classified information or top secrets. Any reasoning observer of world geopolitical realities must come to the same conclusion. The real players in the North Korean problem, as well as the power struggle for who will ultimately control Planet Earth, are presently the U.S., Russia, and China.

North Korea will likely continue as it is –under the oppressive thumb of Red China, its gigantic bully-neighbor of more than a billion and a half people. It pains me to say that America’s position in the world, relative to the Asian colossus (China and those Asian neighbors under China’s hegemony), seems prophetically destined to disappear or melt into the sea of western nations.

Bible prophecy yet future speaks specifically of “the kings of the East” (Revelation 16:12). Prophecy also has much to say about the region we know as Russia. (Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39). But America is mentioned, if at all, only obliquely as “the young lions” of the “merchants of Tarshish” (Ezekiel 38:13).

North Korea, as presently configured, falls, prophetically, under the “kings of the East” category. That region of the world will likely be a part of the invasion force that rages unstoppably into the Middle East as the nations gather for Armageddon (Revelation 9:16; 16:12, 16).

North Korea –the Near Term

World conditions and, more importantly, prophetic considerations seem to dictate that the time is not yet at hand for North Korea or another rogue state to start something that the United States would almost certainly be forced to stop with nuclear weaponry. Such action could escalate quickly into a global war. Therefore, China will probably play the “good guy” for international community consumption. Chinese leaders will likely choose to give the impression that they are pressuring their North Korean friends to cool it so that the world peace process can proceed.

All eyes can then again focus fully on the U.S.-led assault on the dictator Hussein. Bible prophecy foretells, however, that the real points of contention will continue to be the Islamic/Palestinian unrest, Jerusalem, Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount), and Israel in general (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Armageddon Awaits

Bible prophecy indicates that three power blocs will meet for the long-feared Armageddon battle. Almost certainly, one of the three will include constituent parts of the region we know now as Russia. Second, those nations that will make up a revived Roman Empire will come into the region . I believe this force will consist largely of the European Union as it will then be configured. The third will be that awesome force of 200 million demon-possessed soldiers that will come from China and surrounding Asian nations. People from the region where North Korea presently sits will most likely be among that juggernaut force.

For Monday,, January 20, 2003

Iraq’s Super Weapons

The thought gnaws at the back of the mind. Saddam Hussein could have a horrific surprise in store for America, George W. Bush, and the 200,000-plus U.S. military troop contingent now moving into place in northern Kuwait and other areas near Iraq.

Very similar thoughts ran through the minds of many Americans just before George W. Bush’s father sent U.S. forces into harm’s way during “Desert Storm” 12 years ago. Much hand wringing by the pacifists and liberal, anti-Republican, Democratic leadership; and the media rises to the occasion, like it did preceding the liberation of Kuwait of that earlier Gulf War.

Saddam has had more than a decade to work on weapons of mass destruction, which the present U.S. administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair assures the world the Iraqi dictator possesses. These weapons likely include chemical and biological components, and very possibly nuclear components to some extent. Recent discovery of a number of empty shell casings, suitable for packing with mass destruction-type agents, seem to confirm Bush’s and Blair’s contention that Saddam plans something well beyond conventional warfare against Israel and other neighbors of Iraq.

American soldiers and troops of any coalition forces that choose to join a U.S.-led assault to remove Saddam Hussein from power must be well outfitted with protective clothing and equipment. Any equipment, however, will be useless against a nuclear explosion in the midst of or near where our forces are deployed. I am confident--to the extent one can be confident in such circumstances as our nation now finds itself--that the present team of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld comprise the best team available today for conducting the likely upcoming campaign to oust the Iraqi tyrant.

It is not Saddam’s probable chemical and biological weapons--or even his possible nuclear weapons--that should be of primary concern, however. He has on his side a much more dangerous weapon of mass destruction. That weapon controls Hussein, rather than Hussein controlling it.

Satan is the name of the weapon I’m talking about. God’s Word, the Bible, warns of the awesome forces that control not only Saddam Hussein, but every hate-filled dictator alive today.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

These “powers and principalities” make up not a natural super weapon, but a weapon that is supernatural. Lucifer, the fallen angel, and the rebellious angels who followed him continue to infect all the armies of the world. These beings, in concert with the evil minds of men, wage war on all who would prefer to live in peace.

It is the supernatural force at Saddam’s black heart with which our leaders should concern themselves--with which we should all concern ourselves.

This force of potentially world-destroying capability cannot be defeated by the mere weaponry of man. Thankfully, there is a Force infinitely more powerful than Saddam’s supernatural weapon. His name is Jesus Christ, and, all who oppose Him are called “Antichrist.” Antichrist forces are doomed, because Jesus is God.

God’s Word says about Him:

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:3-4).

Satan is “he that is in the world.” He controls the fallen minds of men in the matter of warfare as in all other aspects of life. Only Christ can change the human mind to rid it of the desire to get what belongs to others through warfare.

Whether America is safe from the superweapons of Saddam, of North Korea, or of any other “axis of evil” is a point of worry and uncertainty. America’s turning to the God of Heaven for safety, however, is another matter altogether. Turning to Christ guarantees protection against the supernatural weaponry of the enemy.

Pray to God for personal deliverance from sin. Pray that we personally and collectively as a nation are not found among Antichrist forces. Pray, too, that our leaders will seek the Almighty’s counsel by invoking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ during these days of preparing for a war that offers some frightening, uncertain outcomes.

 --Terry James

For Monday, February 3, 2003

 

Israel’s Deadly Decisions

Decisions made by any major nation today can profoundly affect people of other countries around the world. Economies are intricately linked, and alliances of military nature can turn nonconfrontational situations into confrontational status. Nation can rise against nation in short order due to the instant communications technologies and lightning-like military capability in today’s geopolitical interaction.

For example, in the looming war against Saddam Hussein, nations like Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Australia will likely join the U.S., even though the UN might resist as an organization. America has the clout to influence these countries, which might otherwise prefer to remain outside observers of the war, should it begin. They would rather join than risk injuring relations with the U.S. America’s decision to remove the Iraqi dictator is a decision of crucial consequence for the entire world.

As powerful as the U.S. is in today’s world, however, the influence of America’s decisions pale in comparison –in biblically prophetic terms—to decisions made by the tiny nation occupying the sliver of land in the heart of the Holy Land called Israel.

Israel’s decisions can be deadly, not only for the people of that country and her hostile Arab/Islamic neighbors, but for every nation on the planet. Bible prophecy foretells that, at the time just before Israel’s Messiah returns to earth, Jerusalem and Israel will cause the nations of the world to come to a raging boil. God, Himself, will see to it!

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Every decision that Israel’s leadership and its people make influences how the future will unfold for all nations. To understand the truth in that previous statement, consider what is at the heart of the desire to rid Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction.

The Palestinian leadership, as well as practically every Arab regime in the world, wants Israel erased from the Middle Eastern region. Islam is the glue that binds their hatred against the Jew.

Hussein wants to be the Nebuchadnezzar of his time. He needs super weapons to accomplish what conventional weaponry hasn’t a chance of accomplishing –the complete destruction of Israel.

Israel’s decisions are deadly no matter which way they go. If they were to turn to the Labor Party’s all-diplomacy, land for peace negotiations-type pacifism, Arab leaders, who for the most part understand only strength and force, would push until there is no land left to give. If Israel chooses to defend itself with whatever military means necessary, the decision is also a deadly one.

For now, Israel has chosen the latter. The following news excerpts tell the story.

Israel Re-elects Sharon

NewsMax.com Wires

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003

TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party won Tuesday's national elections and might be able to form a right-wing religious coalition even without the most problematic parties in that bloc.

According to Channel 1 TV's exit poll, the Likud won 36 mandates in the 120-member Knesset.

Sharon could have a coalition of 62 members if he forms an alliance with the religious parties - Shas, the National Religious Party and Torah Judaism - and with the right-wing Russian immigrant party Israel Baliaya. The hawkish Ihud Leumi could add eight mandates. The dovish Labor Party won 18 mandates, according to Channel 1 TV, 19 according to Channel 2, and 17 according to Channel 10. The dovish Meretz Party, which had 10 seats in the outgoing Knesset, will have five to eight mandates, the polls showed.

 

Prophecy Update

Israel Today

January 31, 2003

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s Likud party has padded its landslide victory with one more seat in the 120-member Knesset. The Central Elections Committee
released the final results, giving the Likud 38 seats, compared to 37 in the initial count. Other parties remained unchanged: the dovish Labor party took
19 seats; the anti-religious Shinui, 15; the ultra-Orthodox Shas, 11; Israeli Arab parties, 9; the far right National Union, 7; the ultra-dovish Meretz,
6; the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism, 5; the pro-settler National Religious Party, 5; the workers party Am Ehad, 4; and the immigrants party Israel B`Aliyah, 2

 

Deadliest Decision in the Future

Israel has chosen for the moment to put up a strong defense. With a formidable nuclear arsenal at its disposal, the nation is by far the most powerful in the Middle East. Even the vicious Iraqi dictator respects the kind of horrific destruction Israel would rain down on his head, should he attack with his chemical and biological warheads. It will take a much more subtle methodology to achieve Israel’s downfall. Israel’s “Samson Option” (total nuclear retaliation) will have to be removed in the same way Delilah removed Samson’s great strength –through seduction.

 

Israel’s most deadly decision will be made, Bible prophecy foretells, when the rider on the white horse of Revelation 6:2 rides upon the world diplomatic stage. He will likely seduce Israel into giving up its nuclear arsenal with the guarantee that he, Antichrist, posing as the greatest world leader of history, will protect the nation and bring peace at last.

God’s Word declares judgment on that deadly decision Israel will make to sign the seven-year peace treaty, found in Daniel 9: 26-27.

“Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves” (Isaiah 28:15).

The Lord, speaking to Israel, says further:

“And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it” (Isaiah 28:18).

Israel’s deadliest decision, to trust Antichrist rather than God for its defense, will invoke the Almighty’s wrath. The last seven years of human history before Christ’s return will begin to unfold from that point. It will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (see Jeremiah 30:7).

Israel’s deadly decision will involve all nations of the world. God, in His righteousness, will make war on the incorrigible rebels of earth through 21 specific judgments, in a series known as the seals judgments, trumpet judgments, and vials or bowls judgments.

The truly wise will make the decision to accept [believe on for Salvation] Jesus, God’s Son. Christ is the only way to redemption, and the only protection from God’s righteous judgment, which must ultimately fall on all who do not repent of sin.

--Terry James

Terry’s article for Monday, February 10, 2003

 

Middle East Deceit

 

Deception flows from the Middle East more freely than does the oil from its bowels. Much of the so-called “civilized” world, represented by the United Nations, is willingly its victim.

 

France and Germany are particularly willing to swallow Saddam’s boldfaced lies, even though Secretary of State Colin Powell unmasked Iraqi deceit at the UN last week for the whole world to see. These, America’s supposed allies, apparently want to avoid war at any cost for now, even knowing such avoidance means, almost certainly, war on a much larger and possibly nuclear scale at some future date. The analogy has been drawn, and rightfully so, linking today’s leaders of France and Germany to memories of Neville Chamberlain and his worthless “peace in our time” attitude toward another megalomaniac –a guy named Adolf Hitler.

 

Powell’s satellite reconnaissance presentation showed Iraqi trucks and buildings with large vents, clearly tipping the intelligence gatherers that Saddam Hussein’s regime is building and testing long-range weapons that could carry mass destruction-type warheads. The photos then showed the trucks quickly being loaded and leaving the area only hours before the UN inspectors arrived. Obviously there were –and continue to be— leaks in the inspection itinerary keepers’ midst.

 

Saddam’s intelligence operatives have from the beginning of the inspection process had the inspectors’ hotel and meeting rooms bugged with snooping devices, according to reliable reports. Since the world community of diplomats and media –but for rare exceptions-- haven’t called the dictator on these violations, is it any wonder he continues to deceive and make fools of those who insist that the inspection process continues in order to avert war?

It is clear to President Bush, Secretary Rumsfeld, and now, even Secretary Powell, that time for playing games with Saddam Hussein is over. As a matter of fact, Mr. Bush has made the statement that the “game’s over”--a statement of frustration for which France’s president had scathing denunciation. It seems no amount of proof that Iraq is deceiving the inspectors and the world is sufficient to warrant military action in the view of the French and German leaderships.

 

Roots of Deception

 

Deception began in the geographical area now known as Iraq. Deception continues to bubble from that land, and, like it did with Adam and Eve, it is working well on today’s willingly gullible diplomatic world, for the most part.

 

This is no surprise to the student of the Bible. It is particularly not surprising to the student of biblical prophecy. About Satan, and those who are deceived by him, God’s Word says: “Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

 

Satanic deception is leading mankind toward the final war of this Earth Age –Armageddon. However, Jesus gave His followers down through the ages the words of comfort: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6).

 

Let us continue to pray that America’s leadership will not be deceived by the dark forces at work in today’s world. Let us continue to pray for ourselves, individually, that we will strive to be on the side of God’s right, justice, and truth in these very troubled times.

--Terry James

 

Monday February 17, 2003

Prophetic Implications of NATO Rift

 

Three European nations that were at the heart of the reviving Roman Empire in the Treaty of Rome process in 1957 have started a geopolitical snowball rolling that might have quickly growing prophetic implications.

 

The following news bite highlights the story:

 

NATO Allies Won't Lift Veto on Iraq Plan

 

Tue Feb 11, 2:01 PM ET

 

By PAUL GEITNER, Associated Press Writer

 

BRUSSELS, Belgium – France, Germany and Belgium refused Tuesday to unblock U.S.-backed plans to bolster Turkish defenses against a possible Iraqi missile attack despite mounting pressure from allies and fears that NATO’s credibility was at risk…

 

France, Germany, and Belgium, by refusing to agree to come to the aid of Turkey, should that country be attacked by Iraq in the event of war, have begun driving a wedge in the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) that could lead to its dissolution.

The prophetic implication is that America’s almost total influence over other NATO nations, which are mostly European, could be greatly diminished if not all but dissolved. The upshot of such a thing could lead to a much stronger European Union, the headship of which France and Germany aspire to attain.

 

Much speculation has been blown about by the hot winds of media pundits the past week. Most seem to feel that the Franco-German-Belgian refusal to agree to militarily defend Turkey in any upcoming American-led war with Saddam Hussein resides within the following reasons:

 

1)      France and Germany, in particular, have economic ties in the form of trade –especially concerning oil— and are afraid that an Iraq with someone other than Hussein in control might change things to their detriment.

 

2)      They genuinely are afraid that their involvements in such action against Saddam’s regime would result in a horrendous Islamic upheaval. Both countries have tremendously growing Islamic populations. An attack on an Islamic, predominantly Arab nation might, France’s Chirac and Germany’s Schroeder fear, bring uncontrollable internal chaos to their countries.

 

3)      The three European nations, particularly France and Germany, have, possibly, for economically advantageous reasons, sold weaponry under the table to the Iraqi dictator. An attack that unseated Hussein, so such speculation puts forth, would lead to the uncovering of their despicable collusion with Saddam.

 

All three reasons might lie at the heart of this “axis of undermining” trio. But viewing their act of defiance in the NATO matter from a prophetic perspective, the more observant student of Bible prophecy is inclined to wonder if this could be the beginning of an attempt to rearrange the balance of power: North America versus Europe.

 

If so, the final prophetic outcome appears to be a considerable way off at this juncture. The revolt against NATO stands at: Germany, France and Belgium (with a few tiny other European states) against the rest of NATO, including all other European nations.

 

This being the case, one is struck, nonetheless, by the prophetic scenario given to the prophet Daniel:

 

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things (Daniel 7:7-8).   

 

Daniel was desperate to know the identity of the fourth beast, the likes of which he had never imagined or heard described. The heavenly messenger gave the prophet the following answer to his question about the terrible beast of the vision:

 

Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings (Daniel 7:23-24).

 

Those who interpret that these prophecies will be literally fulfilled believe that the European Union is the fourth beast –the ancient Roman Empire--reviving. This is not to propose that the present monkey wrench that France, Germany, and Belgium have thrown into NATO cohesion is the three-nation instrument Antichrist will use to form the revived Roman Empire as outlined in the Scriptures above and in Daniel 9:26-27. But it is fascinating to consider that these three nations were at the heart of the modern effort to begin bringing Europe back together.

 

Like Humpty Dumpty, Rome fell apart, and its fractured pieces have fallen into and thus influenced many other areas of the world, especially the western world. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, however, although all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t bring Humpty together again, there is coming a “king of fierce countenance”(Daniel 8:23) who will bring fractured Europe back together.

 

We learn more about this prophecy as follows:

 

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority (Revelation 13:1-2).

 

Regarding the Antichrist and his kingdom, John the apostle, under divine revelation, foretells further:

 

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast (Revelation 17:12-13).

 

God’s prophetic handwriting is all over the pages of today’s headlines. “Coincidence” is not in God’s vocabulary. There are no surprises in God’s economy of things. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given His prophetic Word so that those who are truly attuned to His will–those who have hearts and minds tuned to His righteousness—can discern the signs of the times.

 

Assuredly, like matters involving Israel, most all things that happen within Europe these days have prophetic significance. Such signs as are on today’s world scene point to the thrilling probability that Christ’s coming suddenly to rapture believers must be near indeed!

--Terry James 

 

For Monday February 24, 2003

 

Peace that Destroys

 

There is a cry for peace across the world today. Millions of people, if the global news reports are to be believed, are, through their protests, proclaiming that there is safety in peace. That the United States should stop war mongering and give peace with Saddam Hussein a chance – again and again, and again ad infinitum.

 

The call for the Iraqi dictator and his regime to comply with more than 12 years of U.N.-imposed requirements cannot be found amongst the protest signs. The dangers of the present hour, according to the protesters and the world news media, reside within the oil-hungry George W. Bush and the evil, money-grubbing men advising him to go to war against a leader who just wants to mind his own business.

 

Despite U.N. resolutions demanding that Saddam produce proof that his weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed, the U.N. itself is at the same time acting as if its inspectors and the United States Bush Administration must prove Saddam still has the weapons. If such proof cannot be produced, an attack by America is unwarranted, the peace-minded U.N. diplomats cry almost in unison.

 

Never is Hussein commanded by the protesters to “come clean”—to stop preventing the inspectors from carrying out their duties without interference. The peace lovers, in streets of major cities in America and around the world, never protest the fact that there are armed guards who intimidate inspectors wherever they are allowed by Hussein to inspect. Never do the protestors declare Saddam in violation of every human right imaginable, despite credible horror story after story by those who have barely escaped with their lives from the dictator’s regime. Stories that tell of women and little girls raped, of young boys used for target practice, of men considered Saddam’s enemies being cut into a thousand pieces and brought to the front doors of the widows.

 

Never do the news network-appointed gods of reporting analyze the nature of a beast who would burn his people’s source of national wealth (Iraqi oil fields), and who would put Iraqi children, women and all other citizens between him and forces who intend to end his reign of terror. To make the tyrant look like, well, a tyrant, would, after all, be a detriment to preserving the peace in the region –and possibly world peace as well.

The protestors and the media as a whole must believe it is better to trust. Just trust Saddam, that he really doesn’t have the weapons of mass destruction, that he has no design on his neighbors and that which belongs to them. Saddam, we must trust, has no ties to Al Qaeda and to Islamic terrorism throughout the world.

 

Such “love of peace” is the sort that engulfed Europe, then the rest of the world, in all-out war in World War II. It is the type of “peace” that God’s prophetic Word says will again engulf the whole world, this time concluding with Armageddon. That “peace” will be perpetrated by a dictator who will make Saddam Hussein look like good neighbor Mr. Rogers of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

 

The Scripture says about Antichrist: “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify [himself] in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand” (Daniel 8:25).

 

The peace lovers of the sort that are deludedly protesting action against a man who is just waiting his moment to blow Israel off the map and the U.S. and all others who would oppose him are crying “peace and safety” to their ultimate doom.

 

The Scripture says further: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

 

There is but one sort of peace that will bring an end to the threat of war in this fallen world. It is the peace Christ will bring when He returns to put an end to Armageddon.

Meanwhile, madman after madman has proven to –or should have convinced—all people everywhere who hate war that in this cruel world, where dictators still rise to power on the blood of the defenseless, the wise strive for peace only from the position of great strength.   

        --Terry James

 

For Monday March 3, 2003

 

War Looms! –An Overview

 

War against Saddam Hussein’s regime of terror looks inevitable, if not imminent. So many factors now populate that war setting that it is perhaps time to try to get an overview perspective and think about possible prophetic scenarios.

 

The Main Players

Iraq, the United States, the United Nations, Europe, and North Korea are the primary protagonists, at least on the surface.

 

·         Iraq

Iraq has defied every resolution in one way or another since losing the Gulf War 13 years ago. It continues to do so. Saddam Hussein has refused to produce even one-tenth of the agents of mass destruction and the delivery vehicles (missiles and long-range artillery) Iraq is known to possess.

 

Even while he discusses destruction of the al-Samoud missiles, which have been found to have a greater range than the 93 miles allowed by UN resolution, Hussein is, according to good intelligence, building them secretly at a frenetic pace.

 

The dictator intends to totally dominate his neighbors; he proved that when he invaded Kuwait, and, before that, when he tried to destroy Iran. He is intent upon wiping Israel and every Jew off the Middle East map; he, along with other terrorists in the region, has flatly stated that to be his ultimate objective.

 

The United States

President George W. Bush has declared Hussein a terrorist and Hussein’s regime a part of the “Axis of Evil.”

 

Bush, and now even the formerly reluctant Secretary of State Colon Powell, have declared Hussein to be a growing threat to the U.S., to Saddam’s neighbors, and to the whole world. If the Iraqi madman sufficiently develops his weapons of mass destruction and vehicles capable of delivering them, the conflict that would eventually confront those who want peace would be much more dangerous than the war that threatens in the immediate future.

 

In short, Bush does not intend to let things go that far. With or without a consensus coalition, Saddam Hussein and his murderous cronies must be eliminated. There should not, in this writer’s view, be any vestige of Hussein’s regime to take up where the deposed dictator leaves off.

 

United Nations

The United Nations does not yet view the Iraqi regime as a global threat. Or does it?

It all depends. Sometimes the UN does seem to consider Hussein a worldwide threat; sometimes it doesn’t. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, doesn’t seem to know what position his increasingly irrelevant organization should take. Same with his chief disarmament inspector Hans Blix. One minute Saddam is out of compliance, and time is running out. The next minute, Saddam produces a weapon he says they had forgotten about, says he will do away with it, and Blix believes great strides are being made, thus his inspection teams need more time for inspections.

 

The European Union

European Union leaders are divided, a most troubling thing to occur just when the EU seemed poised to surpass America as an economic power. France, Germany and Belgium are in bed, commercially, with the unsavory likes of China, Russia, and –arguably—Iraq and North Korea. The union is in a precarious circumstance, the likes of which Lincoln would have recognized.

 

Still, Europe, along with the UN, calls for additional time, more inspections, and in the case of several EU countries, yet another UN resolution. They demand that such a resolution is necessary in order to validate the previous resolution authorizing action against Iraq.

 

Fact is, the US got total permission to take whatever action necessary against Hussein in the first resolution. But for British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s sake, the Bush Administration is allowing a UN vote on a second resolution to take place. Mr. Blair has proven to be a noble friend, and deserves that political consideration, as it is supposed to help him back home. But the U.S. must win at least 9 of 15 votes in the UN Security Council to get approval through a second resolution.

 

The thinking is, as of this writing, that Mr. Bush will get the resolution, but that Russia, Germany, and France will abstain from voting up or down.  

 

North Korea

North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Il is a dangerous thug, with, seemingly, a child’s mentality. He threatens a nuclear temper tantrum if the U.S. doesn’t send money and food. Money and food that will, like all times before, go straight to himself, his brutal military personnel, and those who produce and sell the makings of nuclear weaponry. Evidence shows more and more that these suppliers might include the likes of France and Germany. It is known for certain that these upstanding allies of America have supplied Saddam’s regime with illegal military help. But the U.S. has itself been guilty of doing so in the past.

 

Such extortion –giving food and money for North Korea’s promises not to proliferate the spread or use of nuclear weapons -- is, unfortunately, currently being given consideration by the Bush team.

 

North Korea is no doubt up to much mischief, thinking the U.S. is preoccupied with the looming war against Iraq. The North Korean extortion, along with quasi-extortion by some of our friends –e.g., allowing U.S. forces to stage militarily in return for billions of dollars and agreeing to vote on the second UN resolution to make war on Saddam for even more billions of dollars—opens Mr. Bush up for some legitimate questions.

 

Do we ever hear the diatribes from liberals and the “peace at any price” crowds!

Why do we pick on the people of Iraq (they never include the butcher, Hussein, in their diatribes) yet not do anything about the more dangerous North Korean regime? And, the charge: “It’s blood for oil!”

 

Prophetic Truth

In biblically prophetic terms, all the tremendous geopolitical upheaval is about Israel and stage-setting for what will be the military campaign known as Armageddon.

It is Israel that Satan wants for himself--particularly, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. This is where he intends to set up his throne –right where the Ark of the Covenant once sat within the Holy of Holies at the center of the Temple.

The devil has put it into the hearts of Israel’s enemies to murder every Jewish man, woman and child on the planet. To see this in Scripture, read Revelation, Chapter 12, keeping in mind that the woman who produces the man-child is the nation Israel. Then read 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 2 and Revelation, Chapter 13, to get what happens when Satan succeeds for a time in his murderous mission, through a human dictator called Antichrist.

 

War is indeed looming. But the Armageddon campaign will not get officially underway until the Church is taken to heaven by Jesus (John 14:1-6). Also, the “prince that shall come,” Antichrist (Daniel 9:27), must first sign the covenant with Israel and her neighbor enemies--a seven-year agreement of peace, guaranteeing security for all concerned.

In considering an overview of the current build-up toward war and the dangers of an even greater conflict that might spin from it, it is wise to think about what effects such a confrontation as we now face might have in bringing about that covenant made with death and hell (Isaiah 28:15 and 28:18).  

      --Terry James

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For Monday March 17, 2003

 

Last Chance!

 

“All that we’re saying, is give peace a chance…”

The hippie/peacenik musical refrain from the 1960s and 70s has returned to the streets of Europe and our own nation with a vengance.

“Give peace a chance…” is a plea not heard by the tyrants of the world, however. That is not to say the refrain isn’t allowed in their presence –so long as it suits their up-to-no-good purposes. The dictator’s often order up such protests. It’s good for business!

The saddam Hussein’s of the world are all for peace, but they are for   one-sided peace. It must be peace on their terms. It must be peace that comes from an absolute lack of resistance to the murderous oppression they heap on their own hapless people, and their neighbors whenever they can do so with the knowledge that they can aggress without, or with relatively minimal,  military  interference from their victim, or from the so-called international community.

March 17 is the date for the last of Saddam’s seemingly numberless “last chances.” He must, finally, produce all evidence to show he has destroyed his weapons of mass destruction. Somehow, though, one senses that the last chance for peace came more than a decade ago, when, following the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein was allowed to completely get away with ignoring most all U.N. resolutions. His disregard for compliance, permitted by the globalists at that time, almost certainly assured that there would come the more volatile conflict we face today.

One senses, too, that President George W. Bush has, in his prayerfully-considered thoughts, reached the same conclusion. Now, the only thing between war and that deceptive peace under which a deluded international community has been laboring for the past 13 years, is the few remaining days it will take America’s military forces to achieve optimal readiness. The people of Iraq must be liberated. The weapons of mass destruction must be dug up from the desert hiding places and destroyed. The regime of rape, torture, and murder must be eliminated. A new, more civilized government must somehow be molded to stabilize the country and nation. The oil deposits must be secured.

Through all the rhetoric, argumentation, debate, and war-planning, comes the words of 1 Thessalonians 5: 3.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

Although this scripture is given for the people who will enter the Tribulation (the last 7 years of this earth age), the warning somehow rings in the ears of those atuned to God’s prophetic Word today.

God’s call for mankind to make true “peace” with Him, may be very near to having had its last chance, so far as His dealing with nations is concerned. Mankind has chosen to do things his own way, despite God’s many calls to repentance. The “Peace that will destroy many”, might soon be forthcoming, instituted by the world’s final fuhrer, Antichrist (Daniel 8: 25). The Tribulation hour might soon overtake the world in a furious whirlwind of false peace, followed by unprecedented warmaking. (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9: 27; Matthew 24: 21)

There is but one cure for the wars and rumors of war that plague mankind. He is a person. His name is Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”He deals with nations, it is true. However, His most intimate interaction is with individuals. He alone can give the inward peace that can take away all fear of what the future holds. The individual can have this inward peace. Simply do the following, according to God’s Word. Rom 10:9

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

         --Terry James