Blog to discuss the book "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" and current events that point to the events described therein.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Ten Horns of the Beast
The real threat to Saudi stability is Iranian aspirations, Kedar said in a telephone interview. The Arabs understand that the Iranian claim of wanting to destroy Israel is only a cover-up for their real intentions, which are to take over the Gulf States. There are two motivations for wanting to do so: Tehran wants to unite the Shiites in the Gulf and for the oil, Kedar said.
In Apocalypse - Letter by Letter, the author depicts the Ten Horns of the Beast as ten monarchies that reside in a region likely including the Arabian peninsula and the gulf states. Since most of those countries are still monarchies, and since they comprise a great deal of oil wealth, what goes on there bears watching. The book claims that ten kings will hand over their power to anti-Christ. In the article above it is posited that Iran is eyeing these countries for an all Shiite kingdom. Kingdom of the beast?
Reagan Defense Official Testifies on 'Islamofascism'
(CNSNews.com) - America's "Islamofascist" adversaries have successfully established a well-funded and expansive "fifth column" throughout the United States that is devoted to a radical view of Islam. That's according to a former Reagan Defense Department official. Muslim leaders dispute the allegations by Frank Gaffney, who was an assistant secretary of defense for international security policy in the Reagan administration.
Muslim leaders dispute the allegations by Frank Gaffney, who was an assistant secretary of defense for international security policy in the Reagan administration.
Muslim fundamentalists have attacked a Catholic church in West Java while an Iraqi Chaldean church was hit by rockets for the second time in three days in the latest in a series of attacks on churches across the Asian continent.AsiaNews reports that no one was injured in the rocket attack yesterday against the Chaldean Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, a Sunni stronghold in northern Iraq.
The proper response when someone does something for you is reciprocity. Here are some examples of nice things people did.
In the early 1980's there was a terrible civil war in Lebanon. Christians and Muslims were slaughtering each other. The UN, with US troops sent peacekeepers to stop the bloodshed. Terrorists used a truck bomb to kill 300 US Marines in Beirut and the US left.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait and proceeded to rape their women and kill their men, some led off never to be seen again. The US led a coalition of forces to free the Muslim people of Kuwait. Usama Bin Laden used the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia to justify the terror attacks that ensued throughout the 1990's culminating in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.
In 1995, NATO with a strong US presence sent peacekeepers to stop the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims. Strong leadership by the US president brought the bloodshed to an end.
In 1998, the US led a force to stop the genocide of Muslims in Kosovo. Nearly a million Muslims had been forced from their home and their villages burned. The strong action by the US allowed for the return of the Muslims to their villages. In return, they proceeded to initiate a reverse ethnic cleansing of Christians, burning down their churches.
In 2004, there was a terrible tsunami in Indonesia that killed thousands and leveled many villages. The US rallied to send billions of dollars in aid. Our military sent ships and planes to aid in the relief effort. Within a month the Indonesian government demanded that all US troops leave their territory.
In the 1980's and 1990's and right up to present there have been major earthquakes in Iran that have always resulted in massive aid from US government and private sector. The Iranian government calls us the "Great Satan" and is working to build a nuclear weapon.
So, the question remains. Does the concept of gratitude exist in Islam? What do I expect a civilized people would do? How about allowing religious freedom in their countries for Christians who are largely there to help their people? How about letting them openly express their faith and build churches? How about not beheading people for freely converting?
I think this is what the Pope may have been referring to when he brought up reciprocity.
When one thinks about radical Islam, images of the Taliban and their strict religious control and cruelty often emerge. And of Iran and its theocracy and strict observance of religious decrees.
But a strange trend has also emerged with these so-called religious extremists - their willingness to mingle with the more paganistic or secular cultures when it suits their aims.
Witness the alliances between Iran, China and North Korea on missile technology. And weren't Chinese weapons used in the recent Hezbollah attacks on Israel? The Scud used by Iraq on Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel in Gulf War I were likewise of Chinese-Korean origin.
The book makes the claim that the kingdom of anti-Christ will include the lands currently Islamic in alliance with all anti-Christian forces from further east, China and company.
Do we not see the shadows of an emergence of a worldwide alliance of secular and atheistic totalitarian governments along with Islam today?
If it weren't so sickening, it would be farcical: A line in the pope's speech suggests that Islam has a dark history of violence, and offended Muslims vent their displeasure by howling for his death, firebombing churches, and attacking innocent Christians. One of the points Benedict made in his speech at the University of Regensburg was that religious faith untethered by reason can lead to savagery. The mobs denouncing him could hardly have done a better job of proving him right. - Jeff Jacoby
"And the dragon gave him his own strength, and great power." Apoc 13:2
That is, Satan gave anti-Christ his own power. In 2004, the president of Iran addressed the UN as he is again doing today. It is claimed that some in attendance saw a "halo" of light over his head. Now the president of Iran occupies the area where the book Apocalypse-Letter by Letter anticipates the rise of anti-Christ. However, his name does not currently transliterate into six hundred sixty-six, and other events that precede the rise of anti-Christ have not come to pass.
Still, one must keep a watchful eye on this man as he seems to mesmerize the world body politic while ignoring their resolutions and edicts. He also has stated that he believes he has an apocalyptic mandate. He believes he is the angel of the end times.
The question remains. Is this man an historically evil precursor of anti-Christ, or just a common political thug that the world seems to churn out from time to time?
The Lay Voice Reclaiming the Apocalypse, September 17, 2006
Reviewer: Vincent Ferrer (Pennsylvania, USA)
The great good of this book is that it is written by someone who does not owe his first born to academia or some dicastery of the Church. This is the voice of a layman during this hour of the laity, to borrow from Pope John Paul II.
His insights seem fresh and new, and indeed some are like long lost treasures brought out once more into the light. On occasion he makes a declaration or takes a decision one may wish he did not. But no one should be looking for infallibility in this work. What one will find is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit touching the author with a reading of the Revelation to St. John that is a great help to all us during the times in which we live.
I no longer esteem the works of Biblical literary critics or those who must grind out verbiage in order to keep their niche in academia. This account is far more trustworthy because it is honest about what it is and because it is far more concerned about being faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church than serving some earthly-minded agenda.
Not surprised in the least by the recent media-created controversy over the Pope's talk at a German University nor by the violent reaction of the thugs and miscreants of the Islamic World. Most striking was the degree to which the pope's sworn defenders, The College of Cardinals, hid in their offices and palaces and remained largely silent through all of it.
Defense of the Pope came from strange quarters like Time Magazine, the EU and a few Catholic publications.
In reading Apocalypse-Letter by Letter, one does not question that militant Islam will be a part of the kingdom of anti-Christ. Rather what gets questioned is if the Church will be up for the battle. We're clearly losing today...
