The point of final ignition according to Islamic & Christian eschatology will be the advent of a charismatic leader in Islam who will have the ability and the wisdom to unite the warring factions. When that happens we had better all start studying survivalist methods. Until then, we can continue to live in our accustomed apathy.
Hello rjp,
I find very little in your posts that I'd disagree with, but I wouldn't put any weight in "Islamic" eschatology, beyond the ability of radicals to make their false prophecy happen. Mohammed was an anti-Christ, his religion is delusional and demonic in origin. The Koran has elements drawn from the scripture, but always twisted to Mohammed's point of view and the abuse of God's word, which has always been Satan's method to deceive and cause men to sin. Israel is certainly the prophetic focus of "end time" events, but the bible is the only reliable source that we can use to interpret those signs (and this by the illumination shed by His Spirit in our hearts and minds.)
When I enlisted in the USAF, back in 1982, I agreed with my recruiter to initially sign up for an MOS of "cryptologic linguist specialist" because it was extra points for him and easy to transfer out of later. When asked my choice of language, I selected Arabic (most were going to school for Russian.) When asked why, I said that our next war would be in the middle east. I was wrong if you want to count our rescue mission on Grenada, but not long after I was discharged from the service (as a ground radio troop) our military "liberated" Kuwait and stopped short of going into Bagdad during operation "Desert Storm." Since I've always had some small skill in writing and wanted to write professionally, I used the free time that I had during flights in my third civilian job, working on a book that was a collection of reminiscences and short stories that was a bit on the dark side (I hadn't been born again yet). In that unpublished book I included a somewhat sarcastic and pessimistic parable about the worship of the "almighty dollar" and the hard lessons being taught to the Arabic world about what the west genuinely values, and by our "military industrial complex." The story ended with the Arabic world putting an end to their tribal warfare, deploying all their remaining weapons at us with a concomitant thermal nuclear response and a very long winter. I should hope that the story was not prophetic, but it certainly presented a possibility of a chain of events.
I took a look at some of the on line information about the nasty little cruise missile package that appears to be in the hands of some of the Arabic nations and as troubling as such stuff is: Most of the witnesses of the first strategic deployments of nuclear weapons are either dead or in nursing homes. 500 kilotons of destructive power is no joke, but pales behind the yield of the lithium deuteride bombs that we developed during the cold war (Hydrogen bombs). The thing is, any large scale Nuclear war would (theoretically) throw enough dust and ash into the atmosphere to cause a "nuclear winter." We can already observe a similar phenomenon going on now due to the large amounts of volcanic ash that has been released into the atmosphere over the last few years (which appears to be currently dominating global weather patterns.) We don't actually find anything like a nuclear winter in the scripture, and since the scripture is true, I don't really anticipate one.
Tactical nukes might be used in another war, but the risk of escalation through retaliation (or in perceived self defense) tends to decrease the odds of them being used. Its true that fanatical Islamic factions might jump at the opportunity to use one, but if they set one off in their backyard (so to speak, Palestine is geographically a very small region, and the surrounding nations are closer than most of our states are to one another) its unlikely that it'll happen twice in the same generation.
The reason that we're here now is God's grace, but in the sixties and during the Cuban missile crisis God's grace was made manifest by fear in the hearts of those who had witnessed the destructive power of the weapons that we'd developed, and backed down from their military posturing. To my knowledge, we've never come closer to total global annihilation than that. While the Bible tells us that there will be "wars and rumors of wars," it also tells us that most of the life on earth will be destroyed in events which sound like natural occurrences (though the plagues could certainly be caused by the accidental or intentional release of modified biological agents.)
Also, I don't think that people in our nation are particularly apathetic (though those in the church may be.) My observance among coworkers is that they are growing increasingly fearful, but know that they are powerless to do anything about what they see happening around them. Some are becoming increasingly resentful of our nation's support of Israel, as they see this making us more of a target in the eyes of the Arabic world and the more liberal media is portraying Israel as the aggressor and oppressor of the Palestinian people. When I have opportunity to share my opinions, I try to present a scriptural understanding of events and encourage men to put their faith in God and in the person of His Son (how this is received is not readily apparent.)
Lately I've been hearing some preachers of popular radio ministries claiming that they see signs of real spiritual revival or awakening, and if this is so, I can't help but think that the Lord is pouring out grace upon people to save as many as possible prior to His return. It seems unlikely in a nation like ours, so consumed with violence, perversity, and the image of ourselves in the closest mirror, but where sin abounds, grace abounds the more.
Don't let your heart grow cold brother. I'm preaching to myself here as much as to you or anyone else. We've received grace when we never deserved it, so it isn't unreasonable to go on extending it to others who don't deserve it. I'm encouraged by your posts more than you might imagine and I hope and pray to be an encouragement to you. Keep on standing, in the choir loft or on the ground. You may not be invited speak in your congregation, but you have a pulpit here and anywhere public discourse remains a freedom. How we are received may sometimes be hurtful, but when we stand our ground with a witness of His grace on our tongues and His Spirit burning in our hearts, we have the assurance that He hears us, even if no one else does. Ultimately, He is the only One we need to please and we do please Him every time we stand in faith, and with every inch that our hearts move toward a greater love for Him who first loved us and gave His life so that we might live.
I'm not in the choir loft, but I do hope to be singing with the congregation in the morning, so I bid you good night and may grace and peace abound all the more to you when the next day breaks.
