MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Jack Smith

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow channel of water (thirty-four miles wide at its narrowest point) that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and from there to the oceans of the world.  The Strait is bordered by Iran to its north and the United Arab Emirates to its south. It is the only means of water tanker-shipping for Persian Gulf petroleum to the oil-thirsty nations of the world. On a typical day, 15.5 million barrels of oil are shipped through the Strait.

In recent days, Iran has threatened to close the Strait, by force, since the Obama administration has implemented expanded economic sanctions that will reduce Iran’s oil exports and oil revenues.  The United States Naval Fifth Fleet responded publicly by stating it will defend the Strait against any attempts by Iran to close it. On Thursday, 1/12/2012, the LA Times reported that the U.S. had recently increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf to include additional troops and warships (in Kuwait). The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, traveled to Israel on Saturday, 1/14/2012, to meet with Israel’s military leadership.  Further, Russia recently announced its opposition to additional economic sanctions against Iran, even if Tehran presses ahead with uranium enrichment. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitri Rogozin, stated that Iran is its neighbor; and, any military action against Iran would be considered a direct threat against Russia.  This post discusses whether Iran or the Strait of Hormuz, or both, have a significant role in end-times Bible prophecies. Read more…

By Jack Smith

We are all aware of the recent “lowering of the flag” by the United States military, symbolically ending almost nine years of conflict in Iraq. Not surprisingly, almost before American troops had landed on United States’ soil, sectarian violence erupted in Baghdad, resulting in 72 deaths.  The two predominant sects of Islam, the Sunnis  (approximately 85%-90% of the world’s Muslims) and the Shi’ites (approximately 10%-15% of the world’s Muslims), populate Iraq, along with the Kurds. In Iraq, however, Shi’ites, are the majority sect (60%) and Sunnis are the minority sect (40%); but it’s not like the two sects populate Iraq living side-by-side much like Baptists and Methodists do in the Bible belt.  The Sunnis populate most of Baghdad and northern Iraq, while the Shi’ites populate the eastern and southern Iraq (Kurds, the extreme north of Iraq, both Sunni and Shi’ite) (see map).  Under Saddam Hussein’s leadership, Sunnis controlled the country and Shi’ites were severely persecuted.  With the invasion of Iraq by the United States and other coalition forces, the Shi’ites replaced the Sunnis in leadership (Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is Shi’ite), and a fragile “democracy” was attempted in Iraq shared by Shi’ites and Sunnis (and Kurds).  With the exit of the United States military, the security vacuum in Iraq has occurred and violence has returned; and, the pre-existing divide within Islam so severe that the nine years of “relative” peace might more accurately be viewed as nothing more than Muslim sects “holding their breath,” while coalition forces were on Iraqi soil.  The question this post addresses is this: Does the sectarian violence in Iraq (and Islam) find its fulfillment in the Bible’s prophecies of the last days?

Daniel 2 is one of the most important chapters in Bible prophecy. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Babylon was the ancient capital city of Iraq) has a dream (Daniel 2:31f). A giant statue appears in the dream composed of a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet, partly of iron and partly of clay. The prophet Daniel saves the day and interprets the King’s dream. Each part of the statue represents a country that will have dominion over the prior kingdoms (the head of gold representing Babylon, the silver chest representing Media-Persia (defeated Babylon in 539 B.C.), the belly and thighs representing Greece (defeated Media-Persia in 331 B.C.), and the legs of iron representing Rome (defeated Greece in 146 B.C.). The last kingdom is represented by the feet, composed partly of iron and partly of clay; and, it is the identity of this kingdom that prophecy experts have divided on Read more…

By Jack Smith

I direct you to a very interesting article that came through one of the blogs that I subscribe to. The article reports on a sermon given by Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, to 2.5 million people on pilgrimage in Mecca (see also, http://www.kashmirtimes.com/news.aspx?ndid=20635). On this past Sunday, the Ayatollah called for the formation of an “international Islamic power-bloc” of all Muslims uniting against the non-Muslim world (specifically, “the West, the United States, and Zionism, which are weaker than ever before”). According to the Ayatollah, such a power-bloc “can change the destiny of the Islamic Ummah (nation),” and herald “a bright future accompanied with dignity and progress.”

It really doesn’t matter whether we label the Ayatollah’s call a “Revived Caliphate” or an “international Islamic power-bloc,” the point is that a Shia leader is calling for the uniting of all Muslims against the Infidels. This particular Shia leader is also the Ayatollah of Iran, the supreme spiritual leader, who “trumps” all other leaders in Iran, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president. Iran is the one country in the world where we continually read of its nuclear aspirations as well as its intentions to destroy Israel. To Sunnis, the majority sect of Islam, to unite under the banner of Islam at the call of a Shia leader is highly improbable. Shias are considered “unbelievers” by most Sunni Muslims. The Iranian Ayatollah’s call to the Arab world (and all Muslims) is uniquely timed to take advantage of the confusion, chaos, and vacuum of leadership commonly referred to as the “Arab Spring.” The Ayatollah describes this time as critical, and one in which Muslims must “make the most of this opportunity. . . .” He states that Islamic countries that are now able to hold free elections (previously led by dictators) will inevitably follow the lead of Tunisia, and elect Islamist leaders, and new constitutions based on Sharia law.

The tenuous political climate now present in the Middle East beckons Muslims to follow the call of the strongest voice. This is the underlying reason for the Ayatollah’s call for the Islamic power-bloc at this specific time in human history while 2.5 million Muslims listened while on religious pilgrimage. The West is perceived to be at its weakest point, and so the prospects of success seem greater than any time in the last four centuries. Read more…