I hate to be "that guy" but... about the US, Israel and Armageddon

We don't like to repost our own stuff but as the American-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth day we can't help but think that we've seen this movie before. Or maybe this is just the latest version of the long-running franchise. 

Let's rewind to "Scrapping the Iran deal: another milepost on the road to Armageddon", WWW 10/5/18. To save you clicking on the link [but go ahead if you want! Ed.], the main point of that post was that President Trump was right to scrap the Obama deal with Iran. 

He did that because "Iran is a danger to us, to our allies, to freedom. We stand alongside you in ending the dangerous appeasement of Iran and making all and any action required to stop Iran going nuclear, help its people, halt its spreading of terror and achieve peace and stability in the Middle East and among all peoples and nations."

Inevitably, the Democrats, liberals and one-worlders disagreed with Mr Trump. The Prez called the decision to screap the Iran deal "misguided". The deal was negotiated on his watch and he took credit for it, as befits the winner of a Nobel Peace. What else would he say.

Walt wrote: What the doves never explained was why, if the Iran deal was such a great game-changer, peace didn't break out in the Middle East the minute it was signed. The object was to prevent Iran from developing a nuculer (giving it the American pronunciation) weapon, and stop them from mucking around in Syria and other Muslim civil wars -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, etc etc -- by bringing them (Iran) back into the world economic community. So how did that work out?

The Prez and all the other one-world, appease-the-Muslim wienies have responded to POTUS' decision to scrap the Iran nuke deal by saying that his decision has moved us closer than ever to a full-scale war, yea a veritable nuclear holocaust! So if the Middle East explodes, it's all Trump's fault. Right?

Errr, no. My point was that we were on the road to Armageddon well before the Iran deal! See "3 portents of the coming Armageddon", WWW 26/8/14. Scrapping the deal makes no difference other than to immanentize the eschaton. 

The years passed. The Biden interregnum brought was marked by the ignominious retreat from Afghanistan and other triumphs of Democratic diplomacy. The Iranians, emboldened by the defeat of the Trumpster, carried on with their nuclear program and with raising Islamic terrorist hell in the Middle East and around the world.

Now the Donald is back in the White House and can see that the mad mullahs who rule Iran are just as keen as ever on destroying the "Zionist entity" to their south -- note the direction: it's important! -- and imposing their brand of the Religion of Peace(TM), complete with Sharia Law, on the Middle East and however much more of the world the craven Western powers allow.

Time now to explain why we're naming this version of the old movie "The Road to Armageddon". Here's a Biblical (DRV) reference: "And the Lord saidto me: From the north shall an evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. Jeremias 1:14 (DRV). 

Now take a look at a map of the Middle East.  If the "families of the kingdoms of the north" come once again to attack the gates of Jerusalem (1:15), the road they will take goes right past... or through... a little place called Megiddo, indicated with the red marker on the map..

That's "Megiddo" as in "Mount Megiddo", which is not really a mountain but a "tell", a city built on top of a city built on top of another city, and so on for 5000 years. During the Bronze Age, Megiddo was an important Canaanite city-state. During the Iron Age, it was a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel.

Megiddo is mentioned only once in the New Testament of the Bible, but has sixteen mentions in the Old Testament, notably in Chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Judges.

Among the judges, the only female, and the only one to be called a prophet is Deborah (aka Debbora), a decisive figure in the defeat of the Canaanites. This is a victory told in two accounts, a prose narrative in Judges 4 and a poem, known as the Song of Deborah, in Judges 5. At Judges 4:6 "she sent and called Barac...and said to him: The Lord God of Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army." 

And so he did. In the 15th century B.C., God gave the victory at the battle of Megiddo (Judges 5:19) through those who are willing to follow His lead. 

For Christians the word Megiddo is synonymous with the end of the world as mentioned in the Apocalypse of Saint John the Apostle (aka Revelation) 16:16. Other battles, besides the one mentioned in Judges, were fought at Megiddo, as recently as World War I. 

"Har-Megiddo" (Hebrew for the "mount" of "mountain" of Megiddo) or Armageddon, will be the site of the Final Battle.

At that time, according to Apocalypse 6:1-8 (DRV), God will release onto the world four horsemen -- the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The Four Horsemen appear with the opening of the first four of the seven seals that bring forth the cataclysm of the Apocalypse. 

The first horseman, a conqueror with a bow and crown, rides a white horse.

The second horseman is given a great sword and rides a red horse, symbolizing war and bloodshed.

The third carries a balance scale, rides a black horse, and symbolizes famine 

The fourth horseman rides a pale horse and is identified as Death.

It's hard to look at the events unfolding right now without wondering if the Final Battle has not begun. I'm afraid to repeat my usual "Stay tuned."

Armageddon soon?

Here is the stack-4 headline on this morning's Breitbart News landing page: 

Report: Khamenei Orders Direct Strike on Israel 

On the Brink: Possibility of Iran-Israel War Looms 

White House Claims No Knowledge of Strike on Hamas Leader

Surrogates Speak, But Where Is Biden?

Walt's answer to BN 's question: Biden's hidin'!

No doubt Senile Joe is wondering if maybe he should have resigned the presidensity as well as his moribund candidacy. I, for one, am glad his finger, rather than Hawk Tuah's, is on the panic button. Chances are he'll be too tired or shy to press it!

Let me get to the Armageddon part. Safe in my bunker just up the road from Fort Mudge, I have been thinking about what Sacred Scipture has to say about the Last Days. If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, truly desires to immanentize the eschaton, he's certainly got his sights fixed on the right target. 

Use this map to keep track to keep track of the latest news from the Muddle East. All the key places are there: Jerusalem, Gaza, Damascus, and -- indicated with the red marker -- a little place called Megiddo.

That's "Megiddo" as in "Mount Megiddo", which is not really a mountain but a "tell", a city built on top of a city built on top of another city, and so on for 5000 years. 

During the Bronze Age, Megiddo was an important Canaanite city-state. During the Iron Age, it was a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel.

Megiddo is mentioned only once in the New Testament of the Bible, but has sixteen mentions in the Old Testament, notably in Chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Judges.

Amont the judges, the only female, and the only one to be called a prophet is Deborah (aka Debbora), a decisive figure in the defeat of the Canaanites. This is a victory told in two accounts, a prose narrative in Judges 4 and a poem, known as the Song of Deborah, in Judges 5. At Judges 4:6 "she sent and called Barac [aka Barak!!! Ed.]...and said to him: The Lord God of Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army." 

And so he did. In the 15th century B.C., God gave the victory at the battle of Megiddo (Judges 5:19) through those who are willing to follow His lead. Deborah sings her song boldly to the Lord Himself (Judges 5:1–4). She is echoed by Barak and the people of Israel. She describes God as moving from outside of the land of Canaan into the land, bringing earthquakes and rainstorms with Him.

For Christians the word Megiddo is synonymous with the end of the world as mentioned in the Apocalypse or Saint John the Apostle (aka the Book of Revelation) 16:16. Other battles, besides the one mentioned in Judges, were fought at Megiddo, as recently as World War I. "Har-Megiddo" (Hebrew for the "mount" of "mountain" of Megiddo) or Armageddon, will be the site of the Final Battle.

At that time, according to Apocalypse 6:1-8, the God will have released onto the world four horsement, which we now call the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The Four Horsemen appear with the opening of the first four of the seven seals that bring forth the cataclysm of the Apocalypse. 

The first horseman, a conqueror with a bow and crown, rides a white horse.

The second horseman is given a great sword and rides a red horse, symbolizing war and bloodshed.

The third carries a balance scale, rides a black horse, and symbolizes famine, one might think the Four Horsemen 

The fourth horseman rides a pale horse and is identified as Death.

Looking at what's happening in the Holy Land (or once-holy land) are here already. Are we now witnessing the Final Battle? I'm afraid to repeat my usual "Stay tuned."

3 portents of the coming Armageddon

Walt has written several times about Armageddon -- not the movie but the place in present-day Israel which the Bible tells us will be the site of the final battle between good and evil, between God and Satan. See the 16th chapter of the Apocalypse (or Revelation). See "The coffin of civilization", posted here almost two years ago.

Yes, there is such a place -- Tel Megiddo. Since it's more of a plain than a mountain, the prophetic vision of Apoc. 16:16 should not be taken too literally. The traditional view is that "Armageddon" symbolizes the progression of the world toward the "great day of God, the Almighty" in which the great looming mountain of God's just and holy wrath is poured out against unrepentant sinners, led by Satan, in a final confrontation which results in the literal end of the world.

Yet it seems not unlikely (to Walt, at least) that the Armageddon could take place at Megiddo. Look at the map. Even if you believe, as many do, that the actual battle will be at Jerusalem, Apoc. 16:16 tells us the armies will gather at Armageddon... not so far away.

When is this going to happen? Walt suggests that you not make any plans for Thanksgiving! Well, OK, maybe that's a bit extreme, but when you look at current events you have to wonder just how much longer God is going to hold His hand. Here are three items from this week's news which, individually, don't look like much, but added together make me think we're now playing in "extra time".

Item 1: USAF U-2 spy planes and drones have been flying over eastern Syria, most of which is held by the ISIS jihadists. It is thought the Prez may call in an air strike or two, to go with the attacks on ISIS in Iraq. This will be more than a bit embarrassing for Mr. Obama, as he will be obliged to ask permission from Basher Assad, whose regime he (Obama) was talking about overthrowing less than a year ago. Making common cause with the Syrian government will put an exclamation point on the failure of US foreign policy in the Middle East.

Item 2: Last week "unknown" military aircraft made a strike [or a spare, at least. Ed.] against Islamic extremists who were attacking the Tripoli (Libya) airport. The terrorists took the airport anyway, but the news here is that the air strike came as a complete surprise to to the USA and other western nations who, it seems, were not consulted or even notified in advance. Whodunnit? Today we learn it was jets of the United Arab Emirates, operating out of a base in Egypt. The threat here is that if these fractious Middle Eastern states start attacking each other without the involvement of the West, war could spread across the entire region like wildfire.

Item 3: Some would say that war has already started, referring to the fighting between Israel and Hamas. It seems only a matter of time before some other power jumps in -- overtly or covertly -- on the side of the Palestinians. Like who? Like Iran, that's who. Just yesterday the Iranian National Guard announced that it had shot down an Israeli drone which was intercepted flying over an Iranian nuclear facility. The other shoe could drop anytime... with a bomb attached.

The Church tells us to "despise not prophecy". Time to start "cramming for the finals"! If you haven't got time for the entire Bible, just read the Gospel of St. John, to which you may profitably add Crucial Truths to Save Your Soul, reviewed here earlier this month. The time is coming!