As I write this blog entry, violence continues to escalate in the lands of   
   the Middle East, particularly in the North African country of Libya where   
   pro-government security forces, the police and the military have killed at   
   least hundreds of people over the past five days. According to the latest   
   news reports, even funeral mourners have not remained immune to the   
   violence. As they have marched in their processions, carrying their dead   
   from the previous days' violence to their final resting place, they have   
   been attacked and killed by government forces loyal to long-time dictator   
   Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi -- or al-Gaddafi as some people prefer to spell   
   it.   
      
   While the current unrest originally centered in the eastern Libyan city of   
   Benghazi -- which is not only Libya's second largest city after Tripoli, but   
   also a long-time political trouble spot for Colonel Gaddafi -- it has now   
   spread to other Libyan cities as well, including the capital of Tripoli   
   itself.   
      
   As has occurred in other Arab and Muslim nations in recent weeks, in an   
   effort to appease the angry masses, the government of Libya made lukewarm   
   offers of reform. In a late-night televised speech, Gaddafi's son and   
   heir-apparent, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, disclosed the particulars of the   
   reform package; but his speech was repeatedly highlighted by a strong   
   warning that "Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt".   
      
   The message was clear; Colonel Gaddafi will not allow to happen in Libya,   
   what has already occurred in Libya's neighbors to the East and to the West.   
   The government will fight back and crush the opposition. As Seif al-Islam   
   el-Qaddafi stated during his speech, "We will fight until the last man,   
   until the last woman, until the last bullet".   
      
   When Libya's democracy revolution began last week, I was rather dubious that   
   the Libyans would be as successful as the Tunisians and the Egyptians appear   
   to have been. The events of the past few days -- which have been marked by   
   so much government-supported violence -- seemed to bolster my belief.   
   However, according to the latest news reports, there is a glimmer of hope,   
   and it may possibly be that the tide is beginning to turn against Colonel   
   Muammar el-Qaddafi.   
      
   For example, it is being claimed that in Benghazi, certain "special forces"   
   assisted the protesters -- even lending them their tanks -- so that they   
   were able to overcome the local headquarters of the state security services.   
   Furthermore, the well-known pan-Arab satellite television station, Al   
   Jazeera, is reporting that two of Libya's most powerful tribes -- the   
   al-Warfalla and the al-Zuwayya -- have turned against Colonel Gaddafi, and   
   are now demanding that he leave the country.   
      
   So while Gaddafi and his thugs continue to try to overpower the people   
   through fear, intimidation and brutal violence, all they are doing is   
   creating new enemies for themselves, amongst those who were once loyal to   
   them.   
      
   The brutal violence that is now occurring in Libya is totally unacceptable.   
   That any leader would be so desperate to hold on to power that he would be   
   willing to kill his own people is an absolute disgrace and a crime. Colonel   
   Muammar el-Qaddafi has been in power for forty-two long years. What more   
   does he want? It is time for him -- and his family -- to step down now, and   
   to allow the people of Libya the opportunity to forge their own democratic   
   way forward, without fear of brutal government reprisal in any form.   
      
   But there is a much larger question looming here, and that is: What is God   
   doing?   
      
   As I have mentioned before, I have no doubt that He is doing something. No   
   one -- not the governments of the Middle East themselves, or Western   
   analysts -- could have foreseen or predicted the current wave of protest   
   which is sweeping the lands of North Africa and the Middle East. As some   
   news agencies are reporting, even a few months ago, such events were totally   
   unthinkable. They simply weren't on anyone's radar at all. But then,   
   suddenly, with just one small spark -- and it was indeed a literal spark   
   when a man set himself on fire in Tunisia in protest of his dire financial   
   situation -- a raging fire of protest has been ignited.   
      
   So I have no doubt that there is a supernatural element, a Divine Element,   
   to all of this. To think that people only armed with their desire for   
   freedom, and their conviction for change, could overcome two powerful   
   governments which were armed to the teeth, defies the imagination. If the   
   people of Libya also beat the odds -- and it may possibly happen -- then I   
   will become even more convinced that God has set some unseen plan in motion,   
   and I suspect that it may have a lot to do with the final events of the   
   Endtime.   
      
   So keep your eyes on the Middle East, folks; because as I have stated   
   before, God's Word indicates that it is there where the final events of the   
   Endtime will unfold. The players are taking the stage, soon the curtain may   
   drop, and what will we then behold?   
      
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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