War in the Gulf: A Biblical Perspective, Part 2

Selected Scriptures

     As you know, last week I began a special series entitled The Biblical Perspective on the War in the Gulf, and I'm going to continue that series this morning.  And then, because so much has come to light through the pages of Scripture and in the events of what is occurring, I want to carry on that series beyond today.

     For today, just a very obvious reminder that psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors of all kinds are having currently a run on their services, because people are experiencing heightened fear and anxieties and confusion over the scary chaos that is occurring in the Middle East.  There is a certain frightening uncertainty about everything that has come in just the last few days, few weeks. 

     The course of the direction of the world seems to be changing dramatically.  In fact, just when we thought we were getting over the unnerving threat of Russian aggression, when we were finally over the issue of fearing that the Russians would drop a nuclear bomb on us, the worldwide collapse of Communism and perestroika in Russia made us believe that that particular threat was no longer in existence, and we were beginning to feel comfortable and rest, and enjoy maybe a little bit of safety and sanity, all of a sudden a new source of terror developed, and it feels like we might be on the brink of World War III, and, indeed, that is a real possibility.

     The chaos that is occurring now in the Middle East has certainly ripped up the comfort of many people, who have traded in their soap operas and sitcoms for some heavy doses of real death and destruction, and their false emotions for some real emotions.  The world seems to be so totally unpredictable, so utterly insecure, so very threatening. 

     We know that, as Christians, Jesus said that the kickoff signal for the end time would be wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and the Bible also is very clear that the final world war, the final massive holocaust, will occur in the Middle East.  It will be a massive war of the world that will end with Christ's return in glory to set up His kingdom.

     In fact, that war is called, in Revelation 16:14, the war of the