(OPINION) The ever-restless drums of war are sounding ever more rapidly. Mankind’s enduring addiction to violent conflict is sure to reach a crescendo as nuclear weapons in the hands of despots signal a certain ending to hopes for peace.
China’s frenetic expansionism, the North Korean madness, Russia’s return to forceful USSR-sized collectivism, and wooing of Islamic acolytes such as its current military support of Kazakhstan’s Moscow-educated strongman are but the beginning.
Stir in the rebirth of Turkey’s desire to re-establish its Ottoman glory days while adding huge gulps of Islamic suicidal deism and we begin to understand the depth of the threat. And it doesn’t end there.
As Iran quickens its march to nuclear Armageddon, other elements of the former Persian Empire will be drawn into the fray via financial as well as religious hegemony. The final serving will engulf at least a fourth of all mankind in a like-minded brew of hatred and warfare.
Given these logistics, it’s easy to accept the numbers promised in the book of Revelation wherein a third of mankind will be killed (Rev. 9:15-18). Once again, tiny Israel is a swivel point of conflict sure to also bring North America, Australia, and the now-strengthening Japanese and European nations into the global maelstrom.
Even we casual Bible readers have recently joined the scholars in clearly detecting and deciphering biblical prophecies of end-times readiness. ‘Tis the season! It is not an accident that I recently discovered some very scholarly and level-headed studies of the so-called Dead Sea scrolls, fragments, bits, and pieces.
Upon recovery of these writings over the years 1947 to 1956, a plethora of eager fortune seekers, egomaniacs, and grifters, along with well-meaning amateur researchers and students of archaeology research, engendered a bewildering mix of disinformation and falsehood lingering to this day.
But truth now reigns as qualified (sometimes overqualified) scholars spun from prestigious halls of learning have had enough time to complete their studies and issue reasonably accurate reports on the findings from Qumran (the region of Israel in which the storage caves and niches reside). Disagreements remain, of course, but the bulk of what they report is solidly graven truth. READ MORE
