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WWIII and the Beginning of Sorrows
Copyright 2010 by Raul E. Lopez, MD, MDiv
With these key players in mind, one can make a sketch of a possible sequence of events in the seventieth week. First of all, It is possible that these event are triggered by an event which is difficult to place within the seventieth week and might take place before that time. This is the invasion of Israel by Gog, Magog, Persia and their allies. There is also an end time invasion which is called the invasion of God and Magog which takes place after the millennium. However, this postmillenial battle seems to be a second attempt by Satan to accomplish waht he was not able to accomplish during the first battle. The details associated with this battle are very different from those described by Ezekiel so it is unlikely to refer tot the same event. Since this is a long passage, we did not included here, but we ask the reader to look at Ezekiel 38-39 in his copy of the Bible.
It is beyond the scope of this treatise to analyze this passage in detail, but some interesting things stand out. First of all, this seems to be an invasion of peoples from central and eastern Asia, and eastern Europe, and Northern Africa. They possibly include Russia, the former Soviet Republics of central Asia, Germany, Turkey, Iran, Ethiopia and Lybia among others. It does not seem to include people from the Orient or from western or southern Europe. In fact, it seems that there is a group of nations which expresses strong opposition to this invasion. This is a group led by Tarshish.
Many scholars believe that Tarshish is the ancient city of Tartesus in Southern Spain. Therefore, it is possible that Spain, Portugal and their former colonies in Latin America, as well as some Arab nations which feel threatened by such a massive invasion close to their weakly defended and sparsely populated but wealthy countries all rise in protest against this invasion. It seems however, that they are powerless to oppose it, and in the end they do not have to take any action because God himself takes care of the invader using natural forces and the unleashing of the natural enmity and competitiveness between the various disparate groups which make up the invasion, causing them to turn against each other. Notice that the group divides naturally into Moslem and non-Moslem nations. The non-Moslems divide into Germanic and Slavic, and the Moslems into Sunni Arabic and Shiite non-arabic (such as Iran).
This could be the much predicted World War III. This massive defeat changes the balance of power by eliminating one superpower, or power block, and leaving the next most dominant power unrivaled, in a way similar to the unrivaled super power status enjoyed by the United States after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It is possible that a loose European federation has been forming under the influence of the Vatican before the beginning of the seventieth week. Rome and the Vatican, would, thus, play the role of "mystery Babylon", the religious or the mystery aspect of Babylon. The Vatican may regain much of its former power and exert it over a weakly united Europe. In the middle east an Islamic federation may arise under a religious leader located in Baghdad. Then, at the start of the seventieth week an American leader arises as the president of a powerful United Nations. He exerts his influence from the UN headquarters in New York. It is possible that New York may even be declared a world federal district independent of direct US control. This would be "Babylon the great" mentioned in Revelation 18.
Initially the Antichrist cooperates with the Vatican because it helps him consolidate his power. Since the armies of those who oppose the Jews were the ones recently defeated, he uses this as an opportunity to side with the victorious Jews, bringing peace to the middle east, and allowing the Jews to worship freely in their new temple. It is possible that this world leader might even be an Israeli leader. Israel might might take this opportunity to anex some of its neighbors, becoming a larger more powerful country. This land has been promised to them in the Old Testament. In the past, men who were descendants of David were often presided over the Jewish Sanhedrin with the tile of Nasi, or prince. This body might be reestablished, and the office of Nasi formalized. If such a leader, who would have a possition combining the roles of a titular king and the speaker of the house, might also have the right to be Israel's ambassador to the UN. This would give him the opportunity of being elected to preside that body.
World War III probably creates great devastation, so the counties of the world are ready to give up some of their political independence in exchange for a permanent peace. At that time many probably see the invasion of Gog and Magog as the battle of Armageddon and some start to see parallels between the achievements of the world leader and the predictions associated with the coming of the messiah. An initial period of world peace might persuade many Jews and many nominal Christians that this is the fulfilment of prophecies regarding the millennial reign of the messiah.
However, after a short period of peace and recovery, the first half of the seventieth week is then characterized by the results of the political and economic mis-administration of the world government. Apparently, after the initial euphoria of apparent peace subsides, many countries and political groups are unwilling to loose their independence to the foreign cabal which dominates the world government and civil wars erupt all over the globe. This stage is represented by the red horse in Revelation 6. Scarcity and famine are the result of an attempt to institute a planed world economy. This is followed by a collapse of the health and sanitation infrastructure leading to death through starvation, plagues, and diseases. These are represented by the black and pale horses of Revelation 6.
In the end, the power of the Papacy becomes an obstacle to the power of the UN The Papacy has always wanted power for itself, and by claiming to be God's representative on Earth, the Vicar of Christ, demands submission of the secular to the sacred. The vestiges of Christianity in Romanism also irritate the Antichrist. Therefore, in the midst of the seventieth week drastic rearrangement of power occurs. This is probably triggered by a somewhat successful assassination of the UN president possibly by an agent of the Vatican.
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