03.07. Part 6.7

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 two-fold perspective, with Israel occupying center-stage in everything which occurs.