What a Messy and Interesting World!

Saturday night riots erupted in Cairo, Egypt that quickly spread through the streets of that city reaching Tahir Square, the site of the Arab Spring revolution this past January. Unlike that protest which was peaceful, this one resulted in the deaths of 24 Egyptians, including 3 Egyptian soldiers. What made this protest so unusual was the initial participants. Coptic Christians had taken to the streets in protest of the lack of governmental intervention to the increasing attacks upon Coptic churches by Muslim radicals. And, furthermore, making this protest even more interesting was that many Muslims joined the protest. The target of the protests was the Egyptian military regime that has ruled Egypt since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak back in January. As one analyst said, the Egyptian military has tried to tread the middle ground, but it has not been working very successfully.

The Egyptian leadership has called for elections beginning in November. The process will take until at least March 2012 to complete (still shorter than the American election process). Speculation abounds that the Muslim Brotherhood could be the big winner...and I underscore the words "could be." Presently they are one of a few organized opposition groups to the military leadership in Egypt. We already know that one of the strong agenda items on the platform of the Muslim Brotherhood is the elimination of the State of Israel. But would they act immediately upon that threat? Would they threaten but show no response because of their need for the continuation of American economic aid to Egypt? Not sure I want to go out on the limb to make a guess as to what will happen, but I can assure you that it is imperative that Christians keep their eyes upon what is happening in Egypt. I believe it holds a key to the entire well-being of the Middle East.

On another front, this afternoon I was reading an article focusing upon a problem that I have not given much thought to lately. It is a re-visitation of the area of human cloning and genetic engineering. The thrust of the article written by Ken Klein was that we have very little idea of how the world of human cloning has evolved over the past few years. This past spring I had read an article about a genetic engineering firm in Britain that was experimenting with mixing human and animal genes. The goal was to develop a super human race that could withstand disease, etc.

In the article, based upon his documentary film titled "Trans-Humanism", Ken Klein develops upon the concept that God took centuries - beginning with Abraham, through David and Solomon down to Mary - to prepare the genetic line for the body that Jesus Christ was to inhabit here on earth. Could it be, Klein asks, that Satan is presently preparing a body for his representative, the Antichrist, to inhabit. This would not be a normal human body, but one that has been genetically prepared for him.

Honestly, I had never given this any consideration before. Still have lots of questions - sort of is too much science fiction for me. But the thought, I must admit, intrigued me. I will want to do some further study on this idea. We do know that there is experimentation being done today that borders on the absurd. Hitler wanted to create the super-race. Could it be happening once again? To be sure, it is not happening without being under the watchful eye of our Almighty God. He is orchestrating every thing that is happening with the express purpose of announcing the entrance of His Son and our Savior as the King.

So, friends, whether it is Egypt, Israel, Syria, the United States, Europe, or some genetic laboratory out in the middle of nowhere, God is working out His purposes. We may not fully understand them - in fact, let's just be honest - we won't fully understand them - but we must have a heart that trusts Him. The world may seem to be spinning out of control, but I can assure you that it is not! God still has it firmly in the palm of His hand. As the old spiritual says, "He's got the whole world in His hands." Amen!