In a March 8, ’02 Denver Post article which headlined, "Iraq - U.N. talks end; April session set" it was reported that, "Iraq and the United Nations ended their first talks in more than a year on Thursday. With little more to show than an Iraqi pledge to give back some stolen Kuwaiti property and an agreement to meet again in mid-April, after an important Arab League summit-level meeting…Thursday’s talks were held with the threat of American attacks hovering in the background."

It appears that Iraq has special expectations from this summit which will benefit it in future dealings with the United Nations.

The important Arab summit-level meeting scheduled during the last week of March 2002 in Beirut, Lebanon was initially presented by Arab foreign ministers as an opportunity to present a unified Saudi Arabian peace proposal to Israel. News reports leading up to the summit have taken on an increasingly different slant as noted Arab voices call for a united declaration of war against Israel.

Weather or not the outcome of this summit will prove to be the fulfillment of the deadly war of Psalm 83 when Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians are prophesied to take crafty counsel and declare "Come and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more" (verse 4), will surely be made known in the near future.

With this very real prospect in mind and the eyes of the world focused on the growing Israeli/ Palestinian violence we will be sharing our two part 2001 Rapture Watch Messages #254 & #255 titled, "Chaldeans, Philistines, Assyrians & Egyptians."

The Chaldeans of Iraq, the Philistines of Gaza, the Assyrians of Syria, and the Hagarites of Egypt are no longer antiquated entities of the Old Testament, but are headline subject matter in 2001. The first months of 2001 brought forth intriguing, prophetically related news and the increased possibility of a major Middle East war in the not to distant future.

God prophesies of this war in such passages as Psalm 83 & Chaps. 13-19 of Isaiah. The Arab/Israeli war of these prophecies is shown starting in Isa. 13 with Babylon, Iraq. Verses 4 & 5 describe the involvement of numerous nations in the defeat of Iraq. Verses 6-13 then reveal that it will be an expanding war which will affect the entire world.

In Jeremiah 51:19-24 God makes it known that it will be His people of Israel (Jacob) who will take center stage in this war against Iraq and in future wars to come during the Tribulation period. We quote, "The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things; And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of hosts is His name. "You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms; With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider; With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider; With you also I will break in pieces man and women; With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden; With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers. And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion in your sight," says the Lord."

Looking at current events related to this prophecy, we will quote from a Feb. 1, ’01 ABC News article which headlined, "Is Saddam Gunning for Another War?" "Reports of activity, recent statements coming out of Baghdad, and recent high-level meetings between Iraqi, Syrian and Palestinian leaders, have stirred a debate about whether Saddam Hussein is hoping to stir up an Arab war against Israel and possibly join in. Saddam could be hoping, for some analysts say, that a conflict would bring an end to the 10-year-old United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Persian Gulf War…Recent Iraqi Moves Could Provoke Violence - On the January 17 anniversary of the Gulf war, Saddam threatened to "bombard" Israel every day for six months, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. "Could Israel resist uninterrupted artillery shelling for six months?" he asked. Iraq alone could do the shelling "even if the Arabs just encourage Iraq, saying ‘we support you,’" Saddam said according to INA. This was followed Tuesday by a statement from the Iraqi army’s artillery commander that Iraq’s "heavy artillery" is ready and waiting for orders from Saddam to start bombarding Israel. The Iraqi dictator - as he did during the 1991 Persian Gulf War when his forces fired more than 40 Scud missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia - is again positioning himself as the champion of the Palestinians in their new intifada or uprising against Israel…In recent months the Washington Post reported Tuesday, representatives of Saddam have tried to deliver $10,000 checks to families of every Palestinian in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip killed in violence against Israelis. Saddam has one of the largest armies in the Middle East and is suspected of rearming with chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons."

Then from the Jerusalem Post article of Feb. 7, ’01 which headlined, "Iraq slams Israel, sets up fighting unit" we read, "Saying it did not recognize any Israeli government, Likud led, or otherwise, Iraq lashed out at Israel today according to media reports. "’No’ to a regime for the Zionist entity (Israel) in the heart of the Arab nation and ‘no’ to the existence of Zionism in the Arab nation." Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council member General Ali Hassan al-Majeed said today in response to yesterday’s election of Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon. "You should not ask me about a Zionist regime, you should have asked me about a Palestinian state," Majeed snapped at reporters when asked his opinion of Sharon’s election. Majeed made the statements at the inauguration of a new military unit of the ruling Baath Party in Baghdad. "This is the first unit we are setting (up) as part of the al-Quds (Jerusalem) army to liberate Palestine," Majeed said, referring to the unit, reportedly made up of thousands of Iraqis volunteering to fight with the Palestinians against Israel in a wider conflict." Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was then quoted by the Iraqi media as saying that all Jews who immigrated to Israel after the 1948 War of Independence should leave, while Jews who lived there before that date could stay.

Next we will consider the Philistines, the modern-day Palestinians. Verse 7 & 17 of Psa. 83 tell us that the Palestinians will be involved in the approaching Middle East war and will be defeated along with all their allies. An article from the Feb. 7, "01 Jerusalem Post which headlined, "Palestinian responses to Sharon win" verified the anticipated reaction from the Palestinians over the election of Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister. We quote, "’The election results show the Israeli public is not yet ready for peace,’ Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in reaction to Likud leader Ariel Sharon’s massive win last night over Prime Minister Ehud Barak in the premiership race. "As far as I am concerned, the peace process is non-existent," Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti said, promising to escalate the intifada. Hamas leaders said "The Jihad (Moslem holy war) would continue," and the ascent of Ariel Sharon to the premiership would serve to "unite the Palestinian ranks." Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s group, Fatah, took a militant stand against Sharon, calling on the Palestinian leadership to refuse to deal with him because of his history of military and political steps against the Palestinians. A Fatah leaflet said that ‘In the wake of the election of the killer Sharon, we are calling for escalation of the uprising.’"

In Psa. 83:8 Assyria is mentioned as joining in the approaching war against Israel. The ancient name of Assyria refers to a confederation comprised of northern Iraq (Babylon) and Syria. Syria’s position in 2001 on the possibility of war with Israel in the near future was succinctly described in the Feb. 7, ’01 Jerusalem Post article titled, "Syria: Sharon win is declaration of war." We quote, "’The election of Ariel Sharon is a declaration of war,’ the Syrian government newspaper alBaath said in a preliminary reaction to last night’s 25-percent election victory by Ariel Sharon over Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The newspaper continued, saying, "Israel has chosen a path of escalation and terror. This is the most dangerous situation the region has found itself in since the beginning of the ArabIsrael conflict. There is no room for negotiations for the time being." The newspaper called on the Palestinians to continue the intifada. "Sharon is a man of blood," the head of the Syrian press agency said, adding, ‘Peace will only be achieved if Syria is strong.’"

In part two of this message we will be focusing on Egypt. Events are escalating towards the fulfillment of Psa. 83 and today is the day to acknowledge your need for the Savior and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Very soon Christ will return for His Church as is promised in I Thess. 4:15-18 and the world will enter the darkest days of history. Don’t be left behind.