Re-Post: "The Devil's Middle East Playground" from Rapture Alert

The Devil's Middle East Playground
by Michael G. Mickey
(2-4-06)

Is the Middle East the devil's playground or what? The closer the world gets to the return of Jesus Christ, the more obvious it's becoming that the final showdown between good and evil is shaping up there - and swiftly at that!
As the Bush administration continues to get hammered by the liberal media for entering an "unjust war" in Iraq due to the fact there were no weapons of mass destruction found there, sources continue to indicate that Saddam did, in fact, have a weapons of mass destruction program - one he moved to Syria prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom beginning.
CNS News is reporting in text, as well as video, that a former Iraqi General is saying "Saddam Hussein transported weapons of mass destruction out of the country to Syria aboard several refitted commercial jets, under the pretense of conducting a humanitarian mission for flood victims." Could it be?
Former Iraqi General Georges Sada, presently serving as Iraq's national security advisor, indicates in the story that two commercial jets, a 747 and 727, were converted to cargo jets in order to carry raw materials and equipment related to WMD projects to Damascus after an irrigation dam collapsed in Zeyzoun, Syria in June of 2002, under the pretense of transporting "humanitarian aid" to the area as stated earlier.
Sada indicates the passenger seats, galleys, toilets and storage compartments were removed and new flooring installed in the aircraft. Once this was accomplished, Sada's story goes, two sorties a day were flown between Baghdad and Damascus until a total of 56 were completed. That's a lot of "humanitarian aid" for a regime not known for its kindness.
If Sada's story is true, it would lend a great deal of credibility to a World Tribune article dated 12-20-05 which indicates Syria has signed a pledge to hide Iranian nuclear weapons and materials should Tehran come under United Nations sanctions. Why would Assad's Syria not do for Iran's Ahmadinejad what he did for Iraq's Hussein, if Sada's story is true? After all, they all have a common foe and goal - the elimination of the nation of Israel.
Assuming for a moment that Damascus is housing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program, along with providing safe harbor to many of the world's top terrorist organizations, what would be the end result if it were discovered that Damascus had a newly-created Iranian nuclear weapon hidden on its soil? One can only wonder, but the prophet Isaiah's warning concerning Damascus, recorded in Isaiah 17:1, continues to run through my mind as these issues take center stage: "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap."
Jordan's King Abdullah and ecumenism
The Washington Times is reporting that "King Abdullah II of Jordan quoted from the Bible and the Koran in a brief speech to a lunchtime crowd of 2,000 mostly evangelical Christians" on 2-2-06 "invoking "our Judeo-Christian-Islamic heritage" and urging moderates of the three great religions to unite."
Among Abdullah's comments made were the following, which are noteworthy given the fact Bible prophecy indicates a day will come when the world will unite under one system of religion whose "god" will be the prophesied Antichrist to come, as seen in Revelation 13:4, 8, 12,14 and 15:
"At this point in history, our service to God, our countries and our peoples demands that we confront extremism in its myriad forms. To overcome this common foe, we must explore the values that unite us, rather than exaggerating the misunderstandings that divide us."
Covering all his bases, Abdullah used six verses from the New Testament, eight from the Koran, two from the Old Testament and remarks from Martin Luther King to make what amounted to a plea for the three religions to start singing off the same page of sheet music.
How did the evangelical community respond to this? Reverend Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, said, according to the article: "The king's message of finding common ground resonated. I think it's important we evangelicals get the message out that we support this man. The king's courage was acknowledged by all in the room."
Evangelical Christians should signal their support of Abdullah who seeks a uniting of Islam, Judaism and Christianity? Evangelical Christians invoking a Judeo-Christian-Islamic heritage?
Is the stage being set for prophetic fulfillment to occur or what?
What about Israel's weapons of mass destruction?
Bloomberg.com is reporting that the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has delayed voting on a resolution to send Iran to the UN Security Council over its atomic program because some countries, led by Egypt from what I'm reading, want the measure to declare the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone. Former UN weapons inspector David Albright is quoted in the article as saying, "This is code for dealing with Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal." Anyone shocked by that?
As Iran, a dangerous regime which recently called for Israel to be wiped off the face of the earth, continues blatantly defying the international community concerning its nuclear weapons program, one mention of a measure that could potentially pressure Israel to disarm itself of its nuclear weapons stockpile stops the international community dead in their tracks. Reason? Although Israel is surrounded on every side by enemies bent on destroying the Jewish nation with the only thing holding them back being Israel's nuclear deterrent, the international community is convinced the root cause of terrorism is being fueled by the Islamic nations of the Middle East's deep hatred of Israel, of course! Appease the Muslim world and end terrorism or so the logic goes.
How will it all play out from this point forward?
What will take place, at least in the short-term future, is anyone's guess.
Some have written me stating that they think the United Nations will pass a resolution calling for a WMD-free Middle East, giving the Gog-Magog alliance of Ezekiel 38 & 39 a reason to attack Israel for not disarming, the United States having set precedent for such an action to take place in Iraq. Personally, I don't think this is scripturally possible, at least currently, as we find Israel will be dwelling in a perceived state of safety it isn't even close to experiencing presently when this event takes place, as seen in Ezekiel 38:11.
Regardless, the days and months ahead are going to be dramatic to be sure, demonstrating to us that the Word of God is perfectly accurate in telling us what is going to take place leading to the visible, physical, bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth.
Stay tuned to RaptureAlert.com, where I'll be trying, as best I can, to point out the signs indicative of Christ's soon-coming return to a lost and dying world - sounding the alert that Jesus Christ is coming soon to as many as I possibly can this side of the Rapture of the Church!Keep looking up!
Within literally minutes of me completing the above commentary, I found Haaretz had started reporting the United States caved in to Europe, Russia, and China, agreeing to add a clause to the resolution on taking Iran before the Security Council which will cause the resolution to read that reporting Iran to the Security Council is necessary in "recognition that a solution to the Iranian issue would contribute to global nonproliferation efforts and to realizing the objective of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, including their means of delivery."
The following is found in the Haaretz article as well, noteworthy to those of us watching for prophetic fulfillment to occur:
"Israel's traditional stand has been that it does not oppose a nuclear-free Middle East, but that such a move should only follow peace agreements with the Arab states."
If the Antichrist is out there - and I wholly believe he is - the stage may be being dramatically set for his advent through this latest development, should the international community begin applying massive pressure on Israel to disarm, as well as on the Middle East enemies of Israel to make peace with them that nuclear disarmament take place.
By the minute, the picture becomes clearer, doesn't it? What's next?