03.00000. Foreword and Introduction
Foreword In the Middle East today there are two half brothers who have been engaged in a continuous war with one another for over forty years; and though this war has been fought mainly in one part of the world, repercussions have been felt worldwide. The war involves the rightful ownership of a particular piece of real estate (the land of Palestine), a particular city within that piece of real estate (Jerusalem), and a particular place within that city (the Temple Mount).
Both brothers lay claim to Palestine, the city of Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount on the basis of their common descent from Abraham and that which their individual religious faiths teach -- Islam for one, and Judaism for the other. The claim by both, thus, has roots going back four millenniums in human history. And in order to understand the problem or deal with the problem after any fashion, one must go back to the days of Abraham and begin at this point. It is a religious problem involving two world religions and two sons in one family -- sons having the same father but different mothers.
FOCUS ON THE MIDDLE EAST begins at this point, brings the matter down into modern times, and then projects everything out into the future. This thus allows one to view current events in the Middle East from two perspectives -- from the perspectives of Bible history and Bible prophecy. And viewing Middle East events from these two perspectives is really the only possible way they can be properly understood.
Introduction The Gulf Crisis, which began August 2, 1990, and the Gulf War, which began January 16, 1991, captured the attention of the world after a fashion which really had no precedent in history. These events, from the perspective of Bible prophecy, were occurring at the right time (at the end of the sixth millennium of Man’s Day) in the right place (the Middle East, particularly the Persian Gulf area) with the correct nations present (nations which, according to Bible prophecy, will play a major role in end-time events in the Middle East).
Military personnel being sent to the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia were asking questions which many of them had never asked before. Military chaplains were being so deluged with questions about Bible prophecy and the Middle East that special classes had to be established in order to deal with them, and numerous other Bible classes began to spring up within military groups.
All at once the Bible seemed very relevant, for hundreds of thousands of military personnel suddenly found themselves being sent into a part of the world where, according to Scripture, the most bloody wars in history are about to be fought, concluding with a battle in which blood will run to the depth of "the horse bridles" (Revelation 14:20).
Books on Bible prophecy became very popular almost overnight, and some Bible scholars found themselves hurriedly updating previously written works in order to meet the demand and answer questions which Christians were asking. In order to understand what has occurred and is presently occurring in the Middle East, one must possess an understanding of two things: 1) Bible history, and 2) Bible prophecy. Conditions are as they presently exist because of events in history, and, through rapidly changing events, conditions are about to merge into that time foretold by the prophets.
FOCUS ON THE MIDDLE EAST deals with the matter from this twofold perspective, with Israel occupying center-stage in everything which occurs.
Arlen L. Chitwood, The Lamp Broadcast, Inc., Norman, Okla.
E-mail: alchitwood@icnet.net.