Iran, Hezbollah Intentionally Hasten Islamic View of Armageddon? August 10, 2006
Posted by endtimesjournal in The Beast/Antichrist, Theology/Eschatology, Timelines.1 comment so far
In his commentary on Philly.com (Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial) on 8/4/2006, Omar Fadhil explores the possibility that Hezbollah and Iran have been driven by a desire to bring forth the Islamic view of Armageddon, thereby exporting “the Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East.”
Fadhil writes:
“As an observer of the conflict from Iraq, I see the signs that Iran may be starting to launch the mullahs’ version of an Armageddon, exploiting the religious beliefs of devout Shiites in the region. While this may sound more the stuff of prophecies than international relations, it is important to understand – especially in countries such as Lebanon and Iraq that have large Shiite populations.”
Fadhil describes the return of the “Imam” foretold in Shia Islam, which Christians could argue sounds suspiciously like the Beast outlined in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible.
“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran and the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq are both devout believers in the “Imam” of Shia Islam. Also known as “Imam Mehdi” – hence the name of Sadr’s militia, the Mehdi Army – he was the 12th grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. According to certain branches of Shia Islam, the return of the “hidden Imam” must be prepared by his followers, in a particular sequence of events. Chaos and rampant violence in the region are supposed to be among signs leading to the main battle in which the Imam will return to lead Shiites to victory.”
In fact, preparations and anticipation for the arrival of their perceived savior-figure, Imam, have already begun to surface in Iraq.
“In eastern Baghdad, where Sadr’s militias are based, there has been a sudden appearance of banners and writings on the walls carrying religious messages that refer specifically to Imam Mehdi. A large number can be seen near the Interior Ministry complex, home to police forces loyal to Sadr. And reports are surfacing that Sadr’s militia is recruiting fighters to travel to Lebanon.”
“In this case, it looks like the way is being paved for the “imminent” arrival of the Imam to be announced through the Mumahidoon (those who pave the way for the Imam), which is how Sadr and his followers describe themselves.”
Wouldn’t belligerent, military actions to hasten the return of the “Imam” be opposed by other less hostile Arab nations? Fadhil explains that recent destabilization of pan-Arab nationalism has caused Islamic fundamentalism to gain momentum.
Note: Omar Fadhil (itmblog@gmail.com) is a member of Friends of Democracy, a Baghdad-based organization to promote democratic values, and cofounder of the blog Iraq the Model (www.iraqthemodel.blogspot.com).
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Messianic Jewish Thoughts on the End Times August 8, 2006
Posted by endtimesjournal in Theology/Eschatology.add a comment
Comprised of both Messianic Jews and Gentiles who follow Jesus, the Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael, located in Franklin, TN (just outside of Nashville), offers an intriguing and incredibly in-depth of summary of their beliefs about End Times events as well as which events they believe have already been fulfilled. It’s a fascinating read!
http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/end1.htm
Make sure you view all of the presentation documents (links) on the page to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Explanatory Note: Jews who have chosen to become followers of Jesus Christ are called “Messianic Jews” within their communities.
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Left Behind Author Discusses End Times with Newsweek August 2, 2006
Posted by endtimesjournal in Theology/Eschatology.add a comment
Co-author of the Left Behind series, Tim LaHaye, recently sat down with Newsweek in an article published 7/28/2006 to discuss whether or not we’re living in the End Times.
Interesting excerpts:
Tim LaHaye: Biblically speaking, the very nations that are mentioned in prophecy—and have been mentioned for 2,500 years as occupying the focus of the tension of the last days—are the very nations that are involved in the conflict right now. That may be one of the reasons there’s a sudden interest in bible prophecy because all of a sudden they realize end-time events could possibly take place and break forth right now.
Couldn’t almost anything then be taken as a clue that any point in history might be the end times?
Tim LaHaye: Down through the years that’s true. But never the accumulation of events as we have today. I have often said that no one knows the day nor the hour that Christ will come, but no generation has had so many signs of the times as our generation. We have more reason to believe that Christ could come in our lifetime than any generation before us.
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Become a Prostitute or Lose Benefits? August 2, 2006
Posted by endtimesjournal in Misc., World Gone Mad.add a comment
In this chapter of “World Gone Mad,” we’ll look at another red flag signaling the deterioriation of ethics in Western culture.
Can a woman in Western culture really be pushed into the sex industry? Check out this article by Clare Chapman in the Telegraph (UK) dated 1/30/2005:
Under Germany’s welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job – including in the sex industry – or lose her unemployment benefit. Last month German unemployment rose for the 11th consecutive month to 4.5 million, taking the number out of work to its highest since reunification in 1990.
The government had considered making brothels an exception on moral grounds, but decided that it would be too difficult to distinguish them from bars. As a result, job centres must treat employers looking for a prostitute in the same way as those looking for a dental nurse.
When [a] waitress looked into suing the job centre [for trying to "place" her in a brothel], she found out that it had not broken the law. Job centres that refuse to penalise people who turn down a job by cutting their benefits face legal action from the potential employer.
“There is now nothing in the law to stop women from being sent into the sex industry,” said Merchthild Garweg, a lawyer from Hamburg who specialises in such cases. “The new regulations say that working in the sex industry is not immoral any more, and so jobs cannot be turned down without a risk to benefits.”
Miss Garweg said that women who had worked in call centres had been offered jobs on telephone sex lines. At one job centre in the city of Gotha, a 23-year-old woman was told that she had to attend an interview as a “nude model”, and should report back on the meeting. Employers in the sex industry can also advertise in job centres, a move that came into force this month. A job centre that refuses to accept the advertisement can be sued.
Miss Garweg believes that pressure on job centres to meet employment targets will soon result in them using their powers to cut the benefits of women who refuse jobs providing sexual services.
“They are already prepared to push women into jobs related to sexual services, but which don’t count as prostitution,” she said.
“Now that prostitution is no longer considered by the law to be immoral, there is really nothing but the goodwill of the job centres to stop them from pushing women into jobs they don’t want to do.”
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