Major news continues to come from the Middle East.  Israel seems poised for a military invasion of Southern Lebanon for the purposes of eradicating the influence of Hezbollah there.  The Lebanese Prime Minister has threatened that the Lebanese military would defend its homeland.  The bombings continue on both sides.  Hundreds of civilians have died on both sides of the border.  Yet many of the stories go unreported.  For example:  we hear much of the Lebanese who are fleeing from Lebanon into Syria.  But we have heard nothing of the Israelis, living in the Galilee and in northern Israel, fleeing south to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  Their plight is as great as those of the Lebanese.  I also heard from a friend of mine in Israel - David Dolan by name, a former reporter for CBS Radio - that many of those fleeing Lebanon are, in fact, Syrians who had come to Lebanon to make a fortune during the days when Lebanon's economy was booming.  Now they are merely going back home to Syria, thus can hardly be called refugees.  The pressure is upon the United States to force Israel into another cease fire.  Historically, Israel has always been the loser in those cease fires.  Remember the cease fire that ended the Six Day War in 1967, or the one ending the Yom Kippur War in 1973.  And, by the way, both those cease-fires were brokered by the United States.  I applaud President Bush for not rushing into a cease-fire mentality. 

 

Who has been the aggressor in this situation?  The blame is cast upon Israel.  In 2000, Israeli forces vacated Southern Lebanon after 18 years of presence there.  Into that vacuum came Hezbollah, a radical Islamic terrorist group that was birthed in 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon.  Since 2000, the northern communities of Israel has lived under the constant threat of Katyusha rockets begin launched at them from Hezbollah.  Friends, it was not Israel who crossed the border into Lebanon and kidnapped some Hezbollah soldiers.  No - it was the exact reverse.  I think Israel is saying, "Enough is enough."  And, in the south, Israel disengaged from Gaza last August/September in the hopes that peace would come when the Palestinians ruled themselves.  But, what has happened?  Nothing short of chaos and more bloodshed.  And the Kassam rockets still are launched into Israel. 

 

What do we actually see happen here?  I believe that for the radical Islamic fundamentalists, the talk of peace is just that...talk.  It is a smoke screen to cover their real intentions - the complete destruction of Israel initially, and the destruction of western democratic civilization ultimately.  Europe is rapidly becoming Muslim in its makeup.  I have heard reports that by the year 2020, Europe will be controlled by Muslims in all phases of governmental leadership.  And we naively think that the Battle of Tours in 732 eliminated that possibility.  How wrong we were and are. 

 

And so we stand poised on the brink of what might escalate into another worldwide war.  It seems that the international community is taking sides, much like they did prior to World War II.  Hitler's plan was to dominate the world through conquest and through the elimination of those whom he considered to be the pariahs of society, namely the Jews.  The rhetoric coming from Tehran sounds strangely similar to the rhetoric that came from Berlin in the 1930's.  The international community was powerless to stop Hitler's advances until all out war began in September 1939.  And, I believe that the United Nations will prove to be as powerless if and when another world struggle breaks out.  You might know that nearly half of the present United Nations Security Council members are Muslim led-third world countries.  One can hardly count on their support or sympathy for the nation of Israel. 

 

So, what can a Christian do?  We can pray diligently for those in leadership positions within Israel.  Pray for Prime Minister Olmert and his cabinet.  Pray also for Prime Minister Abbas that he might change the mind set of the Palestinians.  Pray for President Bush and for Prime Minister Blair in Great Britain as they give counsel to the Israelis.  And pray that the Gospel might be advanced throughout the Middle East during these tumultuous days.  Finally, keep being encouraged that God is in control.  Nothing is happening without His permission. 

 

Introduction to Revelation

Well, I promised you that we would begin our study in Revelation this week.  This is the only prophetic book in the New Testament.  It was written by the Apostle John while he was in exile on the Island of Patmos, off the coast of present day Turkey.  He was there because of the persecutions of Christians that were taking place throughout the Roman Empire through the directive of its emperor, Domitian.  Interestingly enough, John outlived Domitian, and was freed from the Island upon Domitian's death.  God does have a sense of the ironic.  The purpose of the book was to reveal to John, through the glorified Christ, the things that would occur at the end of time.  And the purpose for this revelation was not to cause sensationalism, but to fortify the Church and to give encouragement to the saints. 

 

I believe the key verses of the book are found in Revelation 1:17-18.  Those verses also contain a rough outline of the book.  There we read: "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later."  The portion included in the "what you have seen" is Revelation 1 - the description of the glorified Christ.  The portion included in the "what is now" includes the letters to the seven churches, recorded in Revelation 2 and 3.  And the portion included in the "what will take place later" is the remainder of the book. 

 

I have outlined the Book of Revelation as follows:

    I.  Prologue (1:1-3)

    II.  Vision of the glorified Christ (1:4-20)

    III.  Letters to the seven churches (2:1-3:22)

    IV.  The throne in heaven (4:1-11)

    V.  The vision of the Lamb and the sealed book (5:1-14)

    VI.  The seven seals (6:1-8:1)

    VII.  The seven trumpets (8:2-11:19)

    VIII.  Chief characters during the great tribulation (12:1-13:18)

    IX.  Prelude to the end of the great tribulation (14:1-20)

    X.  Seven bowls (15:1-18:24)

    XI.  Last things (19:1-22:5)

    XII.  Conclusion (22:6-21)

 

Next week, the Lord willing, we will begin our study in chapter one, focusing upon the glorified Christ.  Let me encourage you to read that chapter this week.  You might want to read it from several different translations to get a sense of what John is describing.  Until then, keep on looking up...Jesus is coming!

 

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: A great oak is only a little nut that held his ground.

 

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