Why Do the Nations Rage?

The title of the sermon today is, Why Do the Nations Rage? The title is taken from Psalm 2. In Psalm 2, we see that what the psalmist has written here about things on this world. The world is in turmoil on many different fronts today. The Israeli-Palestinian turmoil. We could say that's one theater, one front. The Iraq theater. The situation in Iraq is far from settled. The Shiites, backed by the Iranians, continue to make inroads into southern Iraq. And our waging war, a civil war to some degree, continues in Iraq against the Sunnis. The Sunnis are the predominant political party in Iraq. They were the ones that backed Saddam Hussein. They make up about 80% or more of the population. But the Shiites are being armed and they are being aided and abetted by Iran. So we have turmoil still in Iraq.

You have the war, over 10 years war in Afghanistan, spilling over into Pakistan. And now we have the war in Libya. We have revolts throughout the Middle East. Africa, as we mentioned in the announcements, from the Ivory Coast in southwest Africa, all the way up to Libya, Egypt, into Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Jordan. And the world is aflame with so many different problems, not to mention the earthquakes and all the great turmoil. You know, there was an earthquake in Myanmar this week that killed 70 people. And it's like it didn't even happen. You may not even heard about it on the news. In Psalm 2, why did the heathen rage, or why did the nations rage?

And the people imagine a vain thing. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the eternal. Now they don't do this openly. They don't sit out and say, let's revolt against God, because many of them wage their war in the name of God. So the Islamic world, they're waging their war in the name of their God, Allah, and many of the Christian fundamentalists in this country go to war in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

There's something else in other spiritual forces we shall see. So the rulers take counsel against the Yaveh, the Eternal, and against his anointed. The anointed one is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us.

This led us, the nations are saying, let us break asunder the bands of God and Jesus Christ, the anointed one. We don't want God to rule over us. What does God say? He that sits in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them a derision. You know, it says in the book of Isaiah that the nations are like a grasshopper before God.

They're like a drop in the bucket. The nations are. They are so impotent and so puny in the sight of God. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sword as pleasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. There is nothing that is going to stop God. The two greatest causal factors of the world's current turmoil. What are those two causal factors of the great turmoil that is in this world today? Number one, Satan is on an insatiable quest to be worshipped.

You read in Ephesians 6 beginning with verse 10 that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against wicked spirits in high places. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God. Satan is determined to be worshipped. Remember the great temptation after Jesus Christ was baptized. He went into the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. The tempter came to him with three great quotations. The last one being taking him up onto a high hill and saying, if you will bow down and worship me, I will view the kingdoms of this world.

Showing what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4, 4, that Satan is the God of this world. So we're reading here Matthew 4, verse 8. Again, the devil takes him up into an exceeding high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and says unto him, all these things will I give you, he will fall down and worship me.

Satan is determined to be worshipped. Then says Jesus unto him, get you hence, Satan, for he is written. You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. So Satan is on this quest to be worshipped. Satan eventually is going to realize his quest for a season, for a period of time. The world will be so deceived. Everyone whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We note here in Revelation 13, verse 4.

And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast. They worshiped the beast saying, who is like unto the beast? See, the dragon is that old serpent, Satan the devil, who is deceiving the whole world. Revelation 12, 9. Who was able to make war with him? And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and overcome them.

And power was given to him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. This is the Word of God. This is not ward makeup or any other person who might stand before you and teach or preach. This is what Almighty God says. Vision that was given to John. The revelation of God who gave it to Christ, who gave it to the angel, who gave it to John. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. Yes, God and Christ knew that humankind was going to sin, and that Jesus Christ was as good as dead.

They would have to come and redeem and pay for the sins of the world. Of course, this introduces the religious dimension that you don't hear about in world affairs today. Historically, most commentators believe the false prophet will be a Catholic Pope. But if you go to the great churches of Europe today, they are basically empty. The only churches that are thriving in Europe today are Protestant churches, and not many of them. In fact, Pentecostalism and Seventh-day Adventists probably have the greatest church attendance per capita, that is, of those on their membership role than anybody else.

But the great mainline churches, and basically, Europe is Catholic through and through. So, basically, we have believed the commentators through the ages that the false prophet would be a Catholic Pope. Jesus said that if it were possible, this is Matthew 24, 24, if it were possible, the very elect would be to see. That's how deceptive this thing is going to be. The only way that any religious leader would be able to pull off this deception will be through miraculous signs and wonders.

And indeed, the Bible prophesies that that's exactly what's going to happen. Deception through miracles. We're reading now from 2 Thessalonians 8. Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. Signs and lying wonders. So powerful that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.

Your defense, which we don't have down here, is verse 11. That is, the love of the truth. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness and unrighteousness, and them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth, but they might be saved.

Brother, you have to love the truth and you have to keep your nose in the Word of God. Oh, all of us may think, I cannot be deceived. But that which is coming will be so deceptive that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. So this deception through miracles. We go now to the book of Revelation. It talks about this.

In Revelation 13, beginning in verse 11, And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. So he feigns to be spiritual because in Revelation 5, Jesus Christ is depicted as the Lamb of God. So this one has two horns like a lamb, but he speaks as a dragon. In fact, he's energized by the dragon, that old serpent, Satan the Devil, as we read from verse 4 already.

Revelation 13, 4. He exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them to dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. See, it's about worship. Who are you going to worship?

And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.

And continuing in verse 14, and deceives them to dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them to dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword and did live. You have a type of this going back to the days of Daniel, when Nebuchadnezzar ordered that a great statue be made, and that the peoples would bow down and worship that statue. You know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, how that they were challenged because they didn't bow down and worship. They were thrown in the fiery furnace because they didn't bow down and worship. And God supernaturally protected them.

Even though this fire was many times hotter than most fires, on a hair on their head with a sedge, they were delivered. God will deliver some in the great tribulation. Some will have to give their lives. He had power to give life into the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast, should be killed.

So, a great test. If you're alive at that time, you may be called on.

How would the religious figure rise to power in a secular world? We look at the world today, there's no talk basically about God or anything spiritual, except among, quote, religious folk.

My speculation is, the world will become so chaotic, that people will cry out for a deliverer. See, what has happened in recent years, especially since 9-11, and this furor about the war on terror, that people want to be safe, so that we had the Patriot Act passed, we had other laws passed, that's supposedly going to keep you safe from the terrorist.

And people willingly give up their freedom, in order, quote, to be safe. See, every time that I try to get on an airplane, I have to go the full nine yards, because I have a hip replacement. I mean, they search everything I got. And when I went through the line the last time, up in Cincinnati, there were crippled old people in their 80s, I'm quite sure, who were going through the same routine that I did.

So, people, if things become so chaotic, they do most anything to, quote, save themselves. And people will even betray one another. It says in Matthew 24, they will betray one another, trying to save themselves. The current revolts are spreading like a deadly contagious disease throughout the nations in the Arab world and in Africa. And it is predicted that these things will spread to Europe, and eventually to the United States. Whether or not we know they're having trouble in London today.

The UN intervenes, the UN is the so-called great international body to protect the world, make it safe for democracy, to relieve the world of wars, and to bring about peace. Of course, we probably had more wars since the inception of the UN in 46, than we have had before that time. When conditions become chaotic, or when world leaders want to bring a nation of, or a situation that obviously should be or, or situation into harmony with their agenda, they pass a resolution. So a resolution was passed to intervene in Libya for the purpose, quote, of protecting the civilian population. resolution, UN resolution 1973. We've already talked about four or five extensions, including Germany, Russia, and China.

The second greatest causal factor for nations raging. So that first one, Satan is behind this. Satan is behind it, and he stirs up people. The prince of the power of the air that works in the children of disobedience. Don't ever discount that factor.

The second factor is human nature, greed, the love of money. And you have taken gifts to shed blood. You have used usury and increase. You have greedily gained of your neighbors by extortion. And have forgotten me, says the Lord God. So the principal reason in the human realm, we've forgotten God. God's not in the picture. Man's going to save man from himself. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you are rejecting knowledge. I will also reject you that you should be no priest, and me seeing you have forgotten the longer God, I will also forget your children. And that is where our nation is, and for that matter, is where the whole world is going at the present time. Here's where we find the world. The world has been in this situation, basically since World War II. Of course, World War II saw a rapid development in the technological sense of armaments, in aircraft, bombs, the atom bomb. The war was basically already won, and we dropped two bombs on Japan, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, killing thousands of people. And the nation's superpowers scrambled that they would have the bomb. Many of them now have the bomb. Those who couldn't get the bomb, try to get everything they could in the way of armaments. Is that in the Bible? Yes, it is. We'll read it right here, Joel chapter 3 verse 9. Proclaim you this among the nations, the ethnos, the gentiles. Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords. The very opposite of the millennium. And your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong.

So, they said, I'm Hussein, tries to hold the world at bay.

Now, I told my home, Khomeini in Iran, tries to hold the world at bay. Don't you mess with us. If we do, you'll be sorry. And it goes on and on and on with the little nations saying that they are strong.

The arms merchant of the world. The United States of America is the arms merchant of the world. In the latter years of Dwight David Eisenhower's presidency, he made a speech. I started to put it on here, but I want to take the time to read it. If you have any interest in world affairs or military-industrial complex, you put in Eisenhower in the military-industrial complex. You'll read that quote from Eisenhower, where he warned the nations about what was going to happen if they let the military-industrial complex run wild. And it has run wild.

American arms manufacturers have two major channels through which they can sell their weaponry to foreign countries. It's called FMS, foreign military sales, in which a government-to-government agreement is negotiated by the Pentagon. So, for example, President Obama went to India not all that long ago and quote negotiated an arms deal. There was another big arms deal that was negotiated with Saudi Arabia, mounting into the billions. And then you come back and you sell it to the American people, and then you turn to the military-industrial complex to rayon, into Boeing, into many others to manufacture these bombs and these weapons, aircraft, whatever it might be.

In which industry negotiates directly with a purchasing country and must apply for license from the State Department. The United States government also transfers arms to other countries by giving away weapons from U.S. military stocks for free or at greatly reduced prices classified as excess defensive articles, EDAs. The United States also provides military training to many foreign countries. These transfers are also managed by the Defense Department. For more information about types of U.S. arms transfer, read the Ways and Means chapter, and this is from the Federation of American Scientists. It is not from any right-wing conspiracy kind of truth is truth, whether it is or not. The facts are what they are. Now, on the other hand, Russia and China are doing somewhat the same thing. A lot of their outdated material and aircraft, bombs, missiles, and so on, they pass on to various Arab countries into their puppet satellite nations. Much of Libya's equipment came from the Soviet Union. And on the other hand, you think about the war in Libya. Well, it's like as soon as a thing ended in Egypt, oh, Libya and the rebels are making great gals. Where did they get the arms? Who planned it? They all just get up a vigilante crew overnight and rush out? Well, no, you could read about the International Crisis Group that I sent to you yesterday.

The U.S. defense budget compared to other nations. In a graph form, you can't see the heading, but you can see that at the top.

U.S. bins, this is 2008. It's more than this now. The latest one I could find was 2008. The defense budget for the U.S. was $607 billion. Next largest, China, $61 billion. Britain, United Kingdom, $60 billion. Japan, $47 billion. France, $41 billion. Germany, $40 billion. Saudi Arabia, $38 billion. Surprisingly, Russia, of course, Russia, Russia used to be comprised of what's called the U.S.S.R., the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that included Russia and the satellite provinces. They spent tons of money. In fact, they spent themselves to the poorhouse trying to keep up with U.S. and the arms race. South Korea, $29 billion. India, $25 billion. Now, I could speakiously absent from this list would be who? Israel. How much does Israel spend? Israel has some of the most sophisticated weaponry on the face of the earth. Also, not only that it lives, is it ruined. Interestingly, because the U.S. economy is so large, the U.S. spends 4% of its gross domestic product on armaments, whereas these other nations spend a lot more of their gross domestic product. Take North Korea, for example. A very poor country may be spending up to 30% to 40% of its gross domestic product on armaments. And one of the big articles came out this week again, and I think the situation's worse, they are starving to death in North Korea.

The world runs on petroleum and its derivatives. Nearly all non-consumable goods are derived from petroleum. There are a few things that are not, but even those things that you might think that are not in an indirect way, you think about the clothes you wear. Many of them are manufactured from petroleum products. Or you talk about the natural fabrics like cotton or silk, but yet it takes, to produce the cotton or the silk, it takes the fertilizer or the pesticides, the energy to run the machinery to transport it, and on and on it goes. Nearly all consumable goods, food stuffs, are produced with the aid of petroleum. Nearly all transportation depends on petroleum. It's said that if the transportation industry were set, were shut out on a city like Houston, within three to five days, the grocery store shelves would be bare, basically. And you've seen some of those bare shells in Japan. This tragic situation that they're facing is far from over. So nearly all transportation depends on petroleum. Nearly all energy sources depend on petroleum. You cut off the energy supply. We go back to the horse and buggy days. You go back to kerosene lamps and the candles and that kind of thing.

Top consumers of oil in the world. This is an interesting comparison here. On a daily basis, the United States uses 19,500,000 barrels of oil today. Almost 20 million barrels of oil today, followed by the European Union, comprised of 27 countries, uses 14,400,000 barrels of oil a day.

Control black gold and control the world. To a large degree, that's what it's all about. Who's going to rule over man? Who's going to be in charge? The Middle East and African in Africa contain a large percentage of the world's black gold. A large percentage of the petroleum products is centered in these regions. So naturally, the nations in the world want to control that area, especially the superpowers, and especially nations who do not have those resources. Now, the United States has the resources, if they mind, to attack them. The Anwar region up in Alaska, offshore, the shale oil in the Rockies, the natural gas in the Virginias and Carolinas and so on, contained under some of those in coal. But big corporations, politicians, lobbyists, you have to defeat a whole army to change anything.

The world isn't war. Many of us don't even recognize it. It's like we're sitting around and we're waiting. Oh, we're waiting for the United States of Europe to unite and do this or that or the other, and not realizing that the world is going up in flames at the present time. The world is at war and the goal is to control the gold. The goal is to control the gold. The gold is black gold, the petroleum.

Control the gold literally and the monetary system. The real wealth consists of material goods.

You know, you talk about the Great Depression. Go back to 1929, the crash.

You come up to various crashes, one in the 80s and more recent times. During those times, the natural resources were not any less.

The infrastructure, in a lot of cases, is still there. But the means of moving that, the medium of exchange, you see, if you control that medium of exchange, the monetary system, you can shut things down with that.

The exchange of goods and services depends on a medium of exchange which is measured in dollars and cents at the present time. At the present time, the petroleum in the world is traded in US dollars.

Many say the reason, the principal reason, that we invaded Iraq was Saddam Hussein said, we're going to start trading in euros and other currencies. Iran has said the same thing. China is crying out for a new monetary system. Russia joins in. Now, George Soros, as we read in the article, says, let's have a new Bretton Woods. Let's have a new monetary system.

And even if you have a new monetary system, you still got to have the real thing. That real thing is beneath the earth, like gold. The new monetary system is coming before the end of the age when Satan realizes this insatiable quest be worshipped. Revelation 13 verses 16 and 17. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. No man might by ourself say he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. So that's a new monetary system. Don't believe you mean that is coming. The two sides we've already referred to in the announcements. There are many smaller regional wars with the two major sides are east versus west.

You know, you look at the world from a historical point going back for centuries, going back to the time of Abraham. Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees. You read in your history books, they'll go back and they'll start usually with Mesopotamia. They'll say that civilization began in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is that area we call Iraq. Abraham or that modern Iraq. Abraham crossed the Great River at Tiger Shefrates, came into the Promised Land. Basically, the history of the Bible revolves around Israel. And most of that history is from the Middle East back west. Now, there have been attempts to send missionaries and so on to the Orient. But the Orient still, to a large degree, is unconverted and un-Christianized, even in the nominal sense, much less in the truest sense. Now, of course, there are some Christian outposts in the Orient.

You read about Peter and 1 Peter written from Babylon. So missionaries did go out. They might have gotten as far as Iran, might have gotten as far as modern-day Afghanistan, but hardly tapped India, hardly tapped China, or Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, those countries in Southeast Asia. And they're basically still not even nominally Christian today. So in the broad sense, today we see NATO versus China and Russia. Of course, there are many satellite and allied nations in all this. With some nations, it's always trying to play both ends against the middle, most notably in the current thing in Libya, Germany, and Turkey. Of course, Russia and China, they abstained, they've already said, cease firing, get out.

These headquarters are eventually set up in Jerusalem.

I gave a sermon in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, in Bible study, and I made this statement. And as soon as I made it, a guy raised his hand and says, where does it in the Bible that says that? I don't believe it says that. And here it is. The tidings out of the east, now the north, shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. Time after time, we refer to Israel as the holy land, to Jerusalem as the holy city.

Glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Now we take a look at the Middle East after the death of Alexander. In Daniel 8, verse 21, and the rough goat is the king of Grisha, Alexander the Great, interpreting this vision in the first part of Daniel 8.

The great horn that is between his eyes as the first king, now that being broken, Alexander died an untimely death, about age 33. Whereas four stood up for it, Alexander's kingdom was divided into four regions among his four principal generals after his death. Four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his own power. What power is behind it? Not in his own power.

Here's a map of the four divisions.

I don't guess this I could never possibly hold that gold that you see out there to the right, and right over here. That's the Seleucid Empire, what came to be known as the king of the north. It extended from Syria all the way to India, and it included all the various little ministans that we talk about today. That area of gray, which extends down Saudi Arabia, and mainly the darker gray to your left there at the head of the Red Sea, Egypt was given to Ptolemy, and then Lysimatius and Cassander controlled those other parts there to the east, I mean to the west, extending from Greece into Asia Minor.

The four generals, Cassander, Lysimatius, Seleucus, and Ptolemy, two principal ones that the Bible deals with, and extensively deals with this in Daniel chapter 11.

So after the death, the empire divided between the four generals, which we've talked about.

The Ptolemies were incestuous in that the Ptolemies, they were given, Ptolemy was given Egypt.

So they adopted a lot of the customs of the Egyptians, and one of the great customs of the Egyptians was that the king would marry his sisters. So the Ptolemies married their sisters, and so it was very hard to, very difficult to sort out some of the family lines because, you see highlighted in red, Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters.

So the Ptolemies continue. The most notable of the female Ptolemies would be Cleopatra.

So the king of the north and the king of the south arise from the divisions of Alexander's empire, Seleucid empire known as the king of the north from Syria to India, the Ptolemaic empire known as the king of the south, Egypt and Palestine.

Now a type of the abomination of desolation occurred in circa 168 BC.

Tyre's Epiphanes, he was a Seleucid king, and he defeats the Ptolemies, and he takes over Palestine.

And in him taking over Palestine, he eventually came into the temple and sacrificed swine on the altar and put swine's blood in the holy of holies. And in the face of that, the Maccabees arose. You've heard of the Maccabees and the Maccabean revolt. The Maccabees arose, and they eventually, under Judas Maccabees, was able to drive the Seleucids out. And for a period of time, the Maccabees were able to set up some true worship, that is true worship as under the old covenant in Israel or Palestine once again. And then, of course, not so long after that came the Romans. 64 BC, the Roman general Pompey arrived in Antioch and eventually took over the Middle East. Well, notice the type of end-time abomination of desolation in Daniel chapter 11 and verse 31. An arm shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate. So remember, last week we had the handout that talked about the rules of interpretation.

One is symbolism, type, anti-type. Another, of course, has to do with duality. This happened once in the past. It seems that it will happen again. To happen again would probably necessitate the Jews at least building an altar on the temple mount or a temple. Now, the Temple Institute has prepared all of the accoutrements to restore sacrificial worship as practiced under the terms of the Old Covenant. So, arms shall stand on his part, they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, shall take away the daily sacrifice, they shall place the abomination that makes desolate. And such is due wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries, but the people that do know their gods shall be strong and do exploits. That could be dual as well in the sense that at that time when the entire did this, the Mac of these were strong and filled with faith and they did great works and they drove the psalusages out, drove the pithonies out.

Jesus confirms Daniel's prophecy. I had another one of those calls last week in which a lady calls me and says, has the great tribulation begun? I said no. I don't think, no, I'm sure it hasn't because I don't see any evidence of abomination, desolation being set up unless this abomination, desolation is so deceptive we don't really know what it is.

And it seems that what entire of the Epiphanes was a type of what is to come. Hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 24, 15. When you therefore shall see the abomination, desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso reads, let him understand. So Jesus Christ confirms Daniel's prophecy. You also read from Daniel chapter 12 that from the time and the setting up of the abomination, desolation, a countdown begins. A countdown of 1335 days.

Blessed is he who comes to the 1335 days. We look at this map, we see Israel's neighbors.

There's a little brown speck there in the corner where that bug is buzzing around or something yet right there. Maybe somebody's pointing. Israel, it's a little brown speck compared to the neighbors. You see Egypt there, you see Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, immediately to the north. Israel's immediate neighbors.

Now one of the things that most people don't understand or know is in the strictest sense, Middle East does not include Africa. I'm saying in the strictest sense. Of course, it's a locked end in today's world. But we'll notice this. See, this is the Middle East's proper. It's in gray.

Middle East, Asia, the Middle East. You see all of those nations. It does not include any of Africa. The westernmost nation in the Middle East is Turkey.

Then it extends back to Pakistan. Pakistan would be considered Middle East. Now we will notice those countries alphabetically, Afghanistan, Bahrain. Bahrain is an island just off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Not all that big a population of under a million, but the U.S. Fifth Fleet is stationed there. You have Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yebekistan, and Yemen. That is the Middle East proper.

Now the willful king, as Daniel is starting in Daniel 11.36, begins to describe this willful king who is, in all probability, the beast.

So, historically, that's modern-day Jordan, and Edom. Now some people believe that Turkey is Edom. I do not. I believe Edomites are still in that part in teacher in that area down in southwest Jordan.

And a lot of the Edomites came into Palestine and intermarried with the Jews during the days of Herod. In fact, one of the Herod was an Edomite. It's interesting that these countries, especially Jordan, has been friends with Israel to a large degree. But see now, they are rioting in Jordan against King Abdullah.

Mr. Armstrong had quite a relationship with Abdullah's father, King Hussein, and we continued that to some degree even after the death of Mr. Armstrong. I was over there once visiting in that area entertained by the, quote, royal family.

It seems, well, according to Bible prophecy, it says that these escape out of his hand.

Moab and Hemin. Of course, the capital of Jordan is called Amman, or Hemin, and that's one of the main places that they are demonstrating yesterday and probably today. Notice this.

Of course, that's the identity which we've already talked about.

All three of these people settled in modern-day Jordan. The Edomites control the area of Mount Seer or Petra. It says that they shall be, these countries shall be overthrown. The word overthrown means to stumble, to stagger, to totter, to be made to stumble, to bereave.

And here are these countries that will be overthrown. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. Egypt has had their revolt.

They've already developed a constitution and passed it. How could you possibly develop a new constitution and pass it in the length of time, unless it was already a foot?

He shall outpower the treasures of gold and of silver and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians should be at his steps. So the war is raging in Libya right now. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this is the fulfillment of this. It's just to show you the countries in that area and what is going on, and that warfare is being waged. The implications of Egypt subject to beast. Egypt is the largest, most influential Arab country. Now listen to this. Some of the speculation that some of the fundamentalists have about maybe Egypt or the Islamic world being the beast. See, the beast power overthrows Egypt and Libya. Therefore, Egypt and Libya are not the beast. Egypt is 90% Muslim Sunni. Therefore, Islam is not the beast powered. Islam does not take over Jerusalem or countries in the Middle East. We just read from Daniel 42 and 43.

He shall have power, the willful king. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver and the precious things of Egypt, the Libyans, and the Ethiopians should be at his steps.

So Egypt, Islam cannot be the beast.

Now, conquer versus control nations through food, trade, and currency. The beast power controls all aspects of trade and commerce. We've already talked about that, and we've read Revelation 13. The revolts in the Arab countries. The Arab countries are revolting in the name of liberty.

The main revolt in Cairo took place at Tahrir Square. Tahrir means liberty in Arabic.

Islam is not a religion of liberation. So there's an inherent contradiction between the cry for liberty and the tenets of Islam. Yet these countries where this revolting is taking place initially are Islamic.

So possible revolt implications.

In fact, the revolutions of these countries are not being organized or driven by Islam.

Liberty and Sharia law are mutually exclusive.

The New World Order of People views many of the Arab countries as non-integrating countries. That is, they have not been integrated in the global economy and the overall goals of globalism.

The moral code of Islam is the Quran and Sharia law.

The moral code of the New World Order of People is to subjugate people in the name of liberty to a strange god. I'll read about that in Daniel 11, verse 39.

And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god. Shall speak marvelous things against the god of God. Shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.

For that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers.

Nor the desire of women. Nor regard any god. For he shall magnify himself above all. Remember it says in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 3 and 4, that he sits in the temple of God saying that he is God.

Therefore he exalts himself above all that is called God. But in his estate shall he honor, but in private in his estate shall he honor the god of forces.

With a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.

Thus shall he do in the most strong halls with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory.

And he shall cause him to rule over many, and he shall divide the land for gain.

Some people look at this and talk about the so-called peace negotiations that are going on in the Middle East now, where Israel has given up land on several occasions in the name of peace.

And that is still like the carrot for the Palestinians.

You guys lay down your armaments, stop the terrorist attacks, we'll give you a Palestinian state.

A paradox of Satan's deception.

The peoples of the Middle East are revolting in the name of liberty, but the outcome will be subjugation and tyrannical control over them.

Satan promises liberty while making those who are deceived by his tactics slaves.

Satan rules by oppression.

Pentagon's plan.

Now, a lot of people do you think, you know, we have people in the church who think, probably maybe even ministers who think, well, there are really no conspiracies in the world. Things just...

You can call them conspiracies. You can call them plans.

The Pentagon has a five-year plan, a ten-year plan. The government has a five-year plan, ten-year plan.

The Church of God has a five-year plan, a strategic plan, and a ten-year plan, and so on.

According to the Club of Rome, according to its model, the world is to be divided into ten regions.

As illustrated below, any...

It's a major premise of the report regionalize an adaptive model of the global world system. Of course, you could look that up and read that on the internet.

They have laid out the world according to ten regions.

Since this was done, they merged Mexico into it, and proposing the Pan-American Union of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

See it a little more clearly there, and far more clearly in color.

What is being proposed, the only thing that Mexico there under the U.S. would be merged with number one.

Number two would be, of course, the European Union, and so on. Israel and Jerusalem.

In Revelation 11, verses 1 and 2, There was given me a reed like a dew rod, and the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar of the dead that worship therein. But the court, which is without the temple, leave out and measure it not, for it is given unto the nations, and the holy city shall they tread under foot, for forty-two months.

So, we've already read Daniel 11, 44, 45, it says that the beast power plants its tabernacles, its palaces, in the glorious holy mount.

I've just quoted that, Daniel 11, 44, 45, and the two witnesses come on scene during this time.

I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy 1260 days, clothing and sackcloth. These are the two holly trees we talked about last time, Zachariah's vision, Zachariah 4. The two candles stick standing before the God of the earth.

Any man will hurt them if a fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies.

Any man will hurt them he must be in this manner killed.

They are killed by the beast power. Their dead bodies lie in the streets for three and a half days, then they are caught up in the air. While they're lying there in the streets, the nations of the earth rejoice because they think these are the bad guys. These are the ones that have brought all the plagues on the earth. Really, these are the good guys. You see how the world, hopefully you see the great deception that is coming. The stage is being set for the climatic apocalyptic events in the book of Revelation. The tragic earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, and the fallout is hardly a drop in the bucket compared to what is coming on the sons of men because they have forgotten God. So why did the nations rage?

And the leaders make plans against God and his anointed.

Why? They do it for the same reason that Israel demanded a king.

The Lord said unto Samuel, harken of the voice of the people and all that they say unto you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

So who will you choose? Who will I choose to rule over us?

Will we choose God, or will we choose man?

Know you not to whom you yield your self service to obey, his service you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness.

God says, choose life.

I'll call heaven and earth today I hit a wrong button. This is the last scripture.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you.

This is Deuteronomy 30 verses 19 and 20.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have said before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey his voice, that you may cleave unto him, for he is your life, and the length of your days that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Brethren, I think we know after this why the nations rage, and why they make plans against God and his anointed. Satan is on an insatiable quest to be worshipped, and the sons of men are filled with lust and greed and envy and carnal mind. But God is sent before us, life and death, and he's told us to choose life. So let's choose life.