[soc.religion.christian] A New Threat!?

grossg@patriot.rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) (06/06/91)

Here is a summary of an article that appeared in the magazine Charisma
& Christian Life, "The threat of a new Islamic alliance," by George
Otis. (See the April 1991 issue, pages 52-57)  The views expressed
herein are those of the writer of the article and do not necessarily
reflect my personal views, nor those of the denomination to which I
belong.  I post them here to provoke conversation and debate.

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While world communism is crumbling, it seems that new global concerns
have arisen.  As can be seen in the realignment of political forces in
Central Asia, ancient Islamic ideology is reasserting itself in a new
and threatening manner.  Leaders like Saddam Hussein and the Iranian
ayatollahs have been inciting Muslim aggressiveness recently, which
prompted a University of Texas professor who specializes in Islamic
affairs to predict that populist Islam will be the most powerful
ideological force in the world during the next few decades.

In light of Biblical prophecy (Ezekiel 38-39), some even believe that
this new alignment of powers is moving toward the alliance that
Ezekiel spoke of in the prophecy.  Many in the West are not aware of
the ongoing Islamization of significant portions of the Soviet Union.
Muslims already account for one out of five Soviet citizens and their
numbers are expected to incrrease by 70% before the year 2000.  In
only 30 years they could constitute an absolute majority in the Soviet
Union.  Countries like Iran and Syria have been aggressively
encouraging this Muslim resurgence.  These trends are causing people
who have always assumed that the Gog and Magog of Scripture was the
Soviet Union to reconsider.  Gog and Magog might, in fact, refer to
southern regions of the Soviet Union that split off to form a new
alliance of Islamic nations.  There are some Muslim leaders who have
called for a united Arab jihad against Western forces, and the efforts
of radical Jewish groups to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem could well
trigger such a reaction.

Not only are satanic supernatural forces at work in the Middle East
these days, but reports of miracles and mass conversions in the region
indicate that God is moving in a mighty way.  Even under the Islamic
regieme in Iran more people have come to Christ in that country in the
last ten years than in the previous ten centuries combined.

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