The Invisible Foe
The current policy of all news organizations is that acts of terrorism by Muslims are now reported without mentioning the names of the actors or what religion they belong to. The media have decided that the primary motivation behind Islamic terrorist attacks is the perpetrator seeking fame for himself. Some terrorists do post notes on social media, but in most cases, hatred seems to be the primary motivation.
A couple weeks ago, we had a major test of their media blackout when a man drove a camper van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant in the German city of Muenster, killing two people. There was no mention of his name. The regional interior minister would only say he was known to the police and he appears to have had mental health problems.
A few days ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced to condemn a street assault in Berlin on two young men wearing Jewish skull caps. In a surprising twist, one of the victims of the attack told German TV that he wasn’t Jewish, but an Israeli from an Arab family. He had just worn the skullcap to see what would happen to him. The press passed on the chance to make this a teachable moment by saying it was a Muslim ironically attacking another Muslim.
It is just insane that European authorities would go to this level to protect Islamic terrorists. It was bad enough when they knew who the attackers were and they did nothing to solve the problem. Now Muhammad’s minions can kill without any fear of shame coming to their religion.
There are clear indications that silence is a horrible way to manage violence committed by Muslims. The citizens of London have made a huge mistake in electing Sadiq Khan as mayor. Because this man is a Muslim, he has had a head start on the failure to react to crime carried out by fellow Islamists. The city’s crime rate has exploded.
Data from the London Metropolitan Police showed a sharp rise in acid attacks in 2017 when authorities recorded the record number of 465, up from 395 the previous year and 255 in 2015. The murder rate in London has surpassed New York City’s homicide rate for the first time. According to the latest statistics, the Met Police has launched 56 murder investigations in 2018 so far.
In response to the rising levels of violence, Khan has announced a crackdown on knives and other sharp objects. People are being stopped on the street and searched for items like screwdrivers and pliers. The mayor wants to block the sale of cutlery and acid. He came up with this weird idea for the public placement of black box containers that have a slot for people to turn in their knives—weapons.
I can only wonder if this Campaign had the advisement of the Monty Python comedy troupe. The boxes have the sappy slogan “Only Cowards Carry.” Also on the boxes is a picture of the Cookie monster, and one of the weapons pictured for turning in is a broken wine bottle. Anyone foolish enough to deposit a good knife into these boxes might find himself later being stabbed with his own utensil.
An odd voice of reason in London is Morrissey, the former frontman for the 1980 group the Smiths. The singer said: “London is second only to Bangladesh for acid attacks. All of the attacks are non-white, and so they cannot be truthfully addressed by the British government or the Met Police or the BBC because of political correctness.”
Morrissey also declared the term racist is now meaningless:
“But of course, we are all called racist now, and the word is actually meaningless. It’s just a way of changing the subject. When someone calls you racist, what they are saying is ‘hmm, you actually have a point, and I don’t know how to answer it, so perhaps if I distract you by calling you a bigot we’ll both forget how enlightened your comment was.’”
The invisible foe I’m most concerned about is Satan. If he has become powerful enough to blind people to the source of most of the world’s terrorism, then he is only a few steps away from taking full control of the earth. Once the Church is gone, London’s official crime rate may go to zero.
“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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:12-13).
–Todd
The Isaiah 17 Question
Inevitably the questions came. They came in various derivations of: “Do you think this bombing of Damascus is leading to Isaiah 17: 1?”
President Trump’s decision to keep his promise to Bashar al Assad that if he used chemical weapons again, there would be a price to pay. It was a promise kept to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well. He told the Russian leader that the missiles were coming. They would be “shiny” and “smart.”
Trump’s actions were a far cry from his predecessor’s drawing “red lines” in the Middle-Eastern sand. Time after time, the tyrants of the region crossed Mr. Obama’s lines with no consequences forthcoming.
It quickly became obvious that at least one leader believed he was dealing with a different sort of president. Putin wasted little time removing eleven of his ships from harm’s way–from the warm-water port in Syria he had connived to secure for his navy. This achievement–a warm-water port for Russia’s navy–of course, had been one long desired by the Soviets and by Russia, once the USSR fell during Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika time as Soviet leader.
So, Damascus, Syria, has long been in the thinking of the geopoliticians of all stripes. The Assads, both Hafez and his son Bashar, ruled with iron fists, just as Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq. They ruled with more or less autonomy until, in my opinion, the rush of prophetic times overtook them.
And, who among any watchman on the wall, observing stage-setting in the Middle East (and around the world, for that matter) can deny that the crush of issues and events on a global scale has destroyed normal geopolitical equilibrium, opening the end-times door to prophetic fulfillment?
Israel is in headlines every hour. Russia, Iran, and Turkey, the Gog-Magog force leaders, according to Ezekiel 38-39, are coalescing due north of the Jewish state the prophecy says these diabolists will attack. China is already the king of the kings of the East and growing more powerful and hegemonic with each passing news cycle.
And now, Damascus is on the front pages of newspapers, Internet headlines and every other news venue, with smoke still rising from the damage the 100-plus cruise missiles inflicted.
The question, or derivatives thereof: “Do you think this bombing of Damascus is leading to Isaiah 17: 1?” is relevant.
The reason for the question, of course, is the prophecy that is one yet future, scheduled for the time near Christ’s Second Advent:
“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1). It is a prophecy, considering the aforementioned prophetic stage-setting realities, that rightfully makes the student of eschatology take notice–and, take notice they have–since even before the attack of April 13.
So, I’ll address the question of whether the attack by the America, Britain, France coalition is leading to the Isaiah 17 prophetic fulfillment.
I am of the conviction that everything going on in and around that whole region, and Damascus in particular, has prophetic significance. There can just be no doubt about it. I, however, like anyone, can’t say specifically at what stage of the stage-setting for the Damascus Isaiah 17 destruction we are in at present.
My own thinking always gets back to Jesus’ words about the days of Noah and days of Lot (Matthew 24:36-42 and Luke 17:26-30). I believe there will be no world-rending prophetic fulfillment–such as the Gog-Magog attack, such as the total destruction of Damascus–before the Rapture of the Church.
Jesus tells us in the prophecy that things will be going along as usual–particularly with emphasis on a good-performing economy– at the time He catastrophically intervenes into the affairs of mankind.
He said that the cataclysm will fall the very day He intervenes. I believe it is just after the Rapture that these specific, horrendous prophecies are fulfilled.
Keep observing and asking the questions. This is incumbent upon the true Bible prophecy student. But, keep looking up at the same time (Luke 21:28). That’s the prophecy we truly wish to see fulfilled!
–Terry