Soon after the civil unrest in Egypt began, and new flames of protest began   
   to erupt in other countries of the Middle East, I stated to my readers that,   
   in my view, there was/is only one of two ways in which this will all end:   
   Either the corrupt, oppressive governments of the Middle East will acquiesce   
   to the will of their people, and embrace democratic reform, or else they   
   will brutally attack and oppress their constituents in a bloody wave of   
   violence. My hunch was that it would be the latter. Sadly, that has now   
   turned out to be the case.   
      
   As I said before, make no mistake. After the "Jasmine Revolution" resulted   
   in the fall of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and the "January   
   25th Revolution" resulted in the fall of Egyptian dictator Muhammad Hosni   
   Mubarak, the corrupt leaders of the Middle East were shaking in their boots.   
   They all realized that they could be next, and that is why a few of them --   
   such as King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Mahmoud Abbas of the   
   Palestinian Authority, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, etc. -- made   
   half-hearted efforts to convince their people that they were open to   
   democratic reform, and that they were willing to address the complaints of   
   their constituents.   
      
   It is now plain to see that it was all a farce, and a poor one at that. From   
   Tunisia, to Libya, to Egypt, to Jordan, to Yemen, to Iraq, to Iran, to   
   Bahrain, every single one of these governments has reacted in the same way   
   to the demands of their people; and that can be summarized in three words:   
   violent, brutal crackdowns!   
      
   As I write these lines, people are dying by at least the dozens, or by the   
   hundreds, at the hands of pro-government forces in each of these lands. From   
   Benghazi, Libya to Tehran, Iran, blood is being spilled by the military, by   
   the police and by pro-government supporters of corrupt leaders who refuse to   
   step down.   
      
   For now, there appears to be no end in sight to the bloody violence which   
   has enveloped the Middle East. The more blood that is spilled, the more the   
   people become enraged. But the question is: How much more are they willing   
   to take? How many more people will be willing to sacrifice their lives in   
   order to bring down their corrupt governments? Will they endure as the   
   people of Tunisia and Egypt have endured, or will they be mercilessly   
   crushed?   
      
   Speaking of Tunisia and Egypt, while the key initial phase of their   
   revolutions may be past, don't think for a minute that the objectives of the   
   people have been fully met. For example, in Tunisia, the people are still   
   demanding that the interim government resign, but without success; while in   
   Egypt, reports have surfaced of continuing imprisonment and torture by the   
   military AFTER Hosni Mubarak's fall. These acts have only served to fuel   
   suspicions regarding the true intentions of the Egyptian military.   
   Personally, from the little that I know, I still don't trust them, and I   
   continue to suspect that they are playing one shrewd game with the populace;   
   but I am not Egyptian, I don't live there, and I don't personally know the   
   people who are involved . . . but I do know human nature, because God's Word   
   -- the Bible -- sums it up for us quite well when it says the following:   
      
   "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can   
   know it?"   
   Jeremiah 17:9, KJV   
      
   Before concluding this commentary, I do feel that it is important that I   
   clarify my own position regarding the current violence and unrest in the   
   Middle East. As my long-time readers already know, I am not a man of   
   violence. I don't support violence of any kind, for any cause, no matter how   
   noble that cause may seem in the eyes of the secular world. As Jesus Himself   
   said to Peter on that fateful night:   
      
   ". . . Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the   
   sword shall perish with the sword."   
   Matthew 26:52b, KJV   
      
   And there are many other verses in the Bible -- which I share in my many   
   articles -- which support my position of non-violence.   
      
   I also believe that God raises up the leaders that He wants in place for a   
   time, in order to fulfill His Divine Purposes, whatever they may be, even   
   evil rulers. This position is likewise supported by a number of verses in   
   the Bible. Consider these example verses:   
      
   "Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion   
   cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God   
   is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another."   
   Psalms 75:5-7, KJV   
      
   "Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for   
   wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he   
   removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and   
   knowledge to them that know understanding:"   
   Daniel 2:20-21, KJV   
      
   Such was the case with King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, for example. He   
   was a pagan, evil, violent king; and yet, he served as an instrument in   
   God's Hands, to punish the wayward, backslidden Jews of Judah about 2,600   
   years ago.   
      
   So, I firmly believe that God gives people the government that they deserve,   
   and apparently need. In fact, sometimes these cruel, oppressive governments   
   serve to break and humble their people, particularly when they are in   
   rebellion against the Lord, as the vast majority of the people of the Middle   
   East currently are. Let's not forget that aside from the small minorities of   
   oppressed Christians who live in some of these countries, the vast majority   
   of the people of the Middle East are Muslims who soundly reject the   
   Messiahship of Jesus Christ. As I point out in my articles, similar to the   
   Jews, they don't even believe that God has a son.   
      
   In short, we should not question the workings of the Lord, even if we do not   
   understand them. If anything, we should pray that through their suffering,   
   some of these people will truly come to know the God of the Bible, and the   
   Salvation which He offers them through the atoning Sacrifice of His dear   
   Son, Jesus Christ.   
      
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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