We concluded Prophecy Update Number 33 after a full exposition of Ezekiel 38:14-16, and then aligned it with the fanatical act of horror inflicted on America by the Islamic terrorists.  We will continue with our exposition in Ezekiel 38:17 and, once again, will connect it with the events of the past two weeks.

Ezekiel 38:17   [17] Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

This verse makes it clear that the antichrist prophecy was not a new thing introduced for the first time by the prophet Ezekiel.  God clearly proclaims his prophets had been crying out for many years that in the last days a great man of sin would be brought against Israel.  This man of sin is Gog (see prophecy archives at top of this update).  Gog is the antichrist of Satan, and will manifest himself in a country immediately to the north of Israel, and since Syria now exercises control over Lebanon, I will simply say, in Syria.

For ten days I have been besieged with phone calls and e-mails asking my opinion what this unspeakable terrorist act would produce “on down the road aways.”  What follows is consistent with all prophecy updates I have issued since the very first one.  Click into the prophecy update archives at the top of this update and look at updates 32A and 33, then go back and check out the rest.  So here is my belief as to what this latest act of war will produce:

Belief Number One – It has made all nations aware of just how burdensome a stone the nation of Israel has become internationally.  It has been as a trembling voice spreading a fear of war rather than of peace.  It has been instrumental in producing a pain in the stomach pit of men’s souls like a woman feels in childbirth.  It has made many aware that the tribulation period, the terrible time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble cannot be too far away.

Zechariah 12:3 + Jeremiah 30:4-7 + Matthew 24:21  [3] And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. [4] And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. [5] For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. [6] Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? [7] Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. [21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.               

There are other subsidiary reasons for this horrific act of terror, but the main reason we had this unholy act of war perpetrated against us was due to our support of Israel.  It is also true it was done because America used the country of Islam’s birth, Saudi Arabia, as a staging area to launch our attacks against Iraq, a brother nation of the Islamic faith, but that was not the main reason.

Well, what will the events of the past 10 days cause, or add to, as we “go on down the road aways?”  As we are extracting justice for the vicious Islamic terrorist attack, it will, during that time frame, draw 10 of the many Islamic nations into an even greater hatred of Israel and the “western devils” that support her.  It is not easy to get all Islamic nations to proclaim a joint, united Jihad (Holy War) against a formidable force.  During all of this present activity some will draw closer to us, some will try to maintain a course to stay out of harm’s way, and some will meet behind closed doors to plan a future Jihad.  I suppose among the most likely to be a part of this future Jihad are Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.  I am of the opinion these nations are the most likely to answer the call for a united Jihad.  But I am certain that within the next four years 10 Islamic nations will draw into a Jihad planning frame of mind.  

Revelation 17:12,13  [12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

This Jihad, which they will initiate “on down the road aways,” will end at the Battle of Armageddon some three to four years after it begins.  It is the final battle in which the Lord is involved during this age.

Revelation 17:14  [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Belief Number Two – Since the best way we can stop Islamic terrorist attacks against us is for peace to come to the Middle East, we will put more and more pressure on Israel to give more concessions to the Palestinians on the West Bank territory issue, and to the Syrians on the return of the Golan Heights.  In the end, “on down the road aways,” you will finally see a false peace arrive in the Middle East for a brief period.  The countries that control the terrorist groups will keep them at bay during this supposedly genuine peace.  They will promise the terrorist groups that a full blown Jihad is coming, during which they will be allowed to slaughter Jews to the last man.  If you will read our previous prophecy updates in our prophecy update archives at the top of this article, you will see how I believe this false peace will come to pass.  And, if you will consult all the previous prophecy updates from one to thirty-three, as well as all birth pang updates from one to 14A, you will find outlined how the false peace will abruptly end, and what will follow in the tribulation period.

Belief Number Three – Concerning the economy: One of the purposes of the twin towers act of war was to disrupt the “western devil’s” capitalistic system.  The attack has done that quite well, but its disruption is only temporary.  In a few months the economy will recover.  However, it will never reach the previous highest peak, and it will be subject to wild fluctuations.  How long will it continue to recover?  I am persuaded, that at a point in time after 2003, but before 2005, it will take a fantastic plunge, from which it will not recover before the return of the Lord.

While serving in the military, during the fifties, sixties, and early seventies, I attended institutional structures with Islamic military personnel from Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Saudi Arabia.  I was also used as an instructor at times.  In order for an analyst to perform his function properly it is imperative that he understand both his present and potential foes.  So I  studied the Koran to better understand the religious temperament of the followers of Islam, and am well acquainted with the daily practice of bartering among them.  Two of the finest officers I have known were from Pakistan.  The Koran, which I have discussed in detail in previous prophecy updates, is a very interesting book.  It is, according to the Muslims, the inspired word of Allah through his prophet Mohammed.  Within the faith there are three basic types of followers: (1) The groupings that are passive.  They tend to have religious leaders who concentrate their preaching and teaching on those parts of the Koran that emphasize compassion, love, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness.  (2) The groupings made up of extremists.  They have religious leaders who teach and preach from the militant sections of the Koran that emphasize making war on the infidels that live around them, the final victory of Islam over all the other faiths, the punishment of Allah upon those who refuse to fight for Islam, fighting for the cause of Allah by devotion to him, and the great rewards awaiting those who give their lives in martyrdom while fighting for Allah.  (3) Those groups that are moderate.  They tend to select leaders who teach all of the Koran without emphasizing any one section of it over another.  We are not making war on the passive, the moderate, or the extremists. We are making war only on the terrorists who have arisen from among the extremists.  It is not a war against another faith.  It is a war against ungodly murderers who incorrectly use the Islamic faith as justification for their non-religious acts.

After World War II, with the formation of the European Common Market (a confederation of six nations banded together for economic prosperity), a teaching, that when they reached ten in number, the antichrist would rise in Europe to lead them, became extremely popular.  Prior to WWW II most teachers had indeed brought him out of the old Roman Empire, but not the northern section.  They brought the antichrist out of the southern flank of the ancient Roman Empire, which, at its greatest extent, for a brief time under Trajan, stretched westward from Morocco in Africa, across Iran, and to the most western tip of the Afghanistan border under a treaty with the Parthian Empire.  I have always been of the old school, in that I have always taught these 10 horns were Islamic nations that would come together to attack Israel from Syria during the Tribulation Period.  Even believing that this had to be the case, it was still difficult to understand what God would use to actually draw the 10 horns into a Jihad (Holy War) confederation.  I thought he might use a defaming of one of their four Holy Sites at Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina, or Hebron to draw them into a Jihad.  I never doubted God would do it, but I did not understand what he would use to bring it to pass.  What made it so difficult for me to understand?  Having associated with them in the military, I knew that there was no love loss between Syria, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, and Egypt.  I have observed violent personal confrontations between their military personnel.  They dislike each other almost as much as they hate Israel.  Now I am confident as to what will cause them to surrender their power to John’s beast (antichrist), who will rise out of Syria.  For many years Islamic terrorist groups have killed thousands of citizens of Israel, both in-country and abroad.  They hoped it might finally cause Israel to return the entire West Bank and Golan Heights and, after again having these in their possession, they would thereby gain a most advantageous strategic foothold to launch a united Jihad.  This would accomplish what their objective has been from the very beginning, to drive Israel out of ALL the land from Dan to Beersheva.  

However, after more than fifty years, Islam has not been successful in realizing their goals.  The Islamic nations of Syria, Jordan, and Egypt attempted to accomplish these goals in 1948, 1967, and 1973, and you know the result.  Now Egypt and Jordan are at peace with Israel, and the State of Israel still exists in the land.  So what will finally bring the 10 horn coalition together behind closed doors in secret meetings?  THE CURRENT WAR AGAINST ISLAMIC TERRORISTS!  The war against Islamic Terrorists by America, and those nations assisting her, will be successful to the extent that terrorism will be greatly diminished. This will lead the Islamic nations to choose another way to eventually drive Israel out of the land from Dan to Beersheva.  They will plan to lull Israel, and the western world, into a false sense of security.  The coming attacks, whether they be military, or political, or psychological, or economic, will severely limit the effectiveness of the terrorist cells, and this will cause 10 of the Arab nations to come together in secret meetings to plan a united Jihad.  They will partially be able to conceal their growing hatred because of these attacks on their Islamic brethren, knowing eventually they will have their revenge in a Jihad.  I believe 8 of the 10 will be Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the so-called Palestinian State (Palestinian Authority).  The others will be either Tunisia, one of the 5 Islamic states on the southern flank of the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, or Morocco.

Especially since last January, I have watched terrorist groups, which once acted almost independently of each other, draw closer together with a much more zealous union of cooperation and coordination.  A first meeting in Iran, some nine months ago, was followed by three others, and set the stage for the horrific terrorist attack on America on September 11, 2001.  I had no idea that an attack of such magnitude could be carried out against the United States within its borders.  I did point out, in several of my previous updates, how the terrorists were growing closer together, and becoming more confident in their ability to conduct their activities, but I had not the slightest notion it would be as ungodly an activity as they perpetrated against us.

I, along with many other Americans, am confident that the vigorous activity, now been planned and conducted, will be successful. I am convinced it will eventually cause a peace agreement to be reached between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the nation of Syria.  At some point in time, probably in the year 2002, I expect a false peace to begin in the Middle East.  And I believe it will last for a couple of years.  Terrorists will be called off by their sponsoring nations by a secret promise of a future Jihad.  But at some point in time, probably between 2004 and 2006, the false peace will be broken by a lightening blitzkrieg strike from the north.  I believe Syria and Lebanon will lead the attack, along with troops from Iraq and Iran, which were smuggled gradually into the Palmyra fold valleys of southern Syria in advance of the strike.  Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and all Arab nations that have had friendly relations with the western world, will not be included in the secret meetings of the 10 horns of the beast of John’s Revelation.  If you will review all my previous updates you will see that over and over I cried the same thing, “Watch the Terrorists,” because they are the key to the forthcoming events in the Middle East.

These next six years are going to be the most fast moving we have ever experienced in this country in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  I hope that you can count yourself as being among those who have the characteristics of those who come with Christ the Lamb in Revelation 17:14.

Revelation 17:14  [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.