Is the Middle East Ready to Explode?

What an incredible week this is turning out to be! Hang with me as we try to work through the major prophetic news items in just the past three or four days.

First, elections toward a new parliament in Egypt began on Monday. Thousands of Egyptians participated in the first of several steps involved in the first truly free elections in Egypt in over 60 years. The first day went peaceful, but I read this morning that yesterday a few demonstrators got violent and out of control. Who will be the big winner in these elections to be ultimately decided by late spring 2012? Most pundants see the Muslim Brotherhood coming out on top. And you remember that one of their top initiatives is the total destruction of Israel. I look for increase tensions in the coming months along the Egyptian-Israeli borders in the Sinai. I also look for a continued emboldening of Hamas in the Gaza Strip as they are granted less restrictions by the Egyptian military government.

Second, the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate significantly. Over the weekend the Arab League imposed some strict economic sanctions upon President Assad. Their concern was the mounting death toll of Syrians who have opposed the Assad regime. There has been no response fr9m Damascus, but yesterday four Katyusha rockets were fired from Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon into northern Israel. With tensions mounting the United States has ordered the evacuation of all Americans from Syria and has placed a carrier group off the Syrian coast. Many feel this is a sign of an American-led NATO military operation against Assad, like what the European Union and NATO did against Libya that brought down the regime of Qaddafi.

Here comes the interesting question: What will be Iran's response to any attack upon Syria - its proxy in the region? You can rest assured that Israel is rather nervous right now.

Speaking of Iran, have you been following the series of mysterious explosions that have been occurring on their military bases? So far each one has been labeled as an accident, but a series of accidents? Stay tuned for further news on this front.

Meanwhile, all is not quiet on the Jordanian frontier either. A steady stream of refugees from Iraq and from Syria are crossing the borders. That, coupled with the increasing presence of the Muslim Brotherhood, creates a climate where King Abdullah and his government are rather nervous. One worry that the Jordanians have was expressed this way by Oded Eran of the Institute for National Securities Studies: "The U.S. final withdrawal from Iraq may cause anarchy there, which in turn will increase the flow of Iraqi refugees to Jordan." Another concern the Jordanians have is the prospect of a unity government in the West Bank between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA). One of the consequences of such a unity government would be the inevitability of another Palestinian Intifadah against Israel, resulting in many Palestinians fleeing to Jordan for refuge.

Can any one say "Psalm 83 War?" I wake up each morning expecting to hear the headlines on the 6 o'clock news saying that war has broken out in the Middle East. I keep wondering how long the tides of war there can be held back. Yet I know all things are in God's hands. He is still the Sovereign God of His universe. But another Middle East war between Israel and her neighbors is inevitable because He has said it would happen. So now we just watch the pages of God's calendar turn day by day. Of course, we have a lot to do as we watch. Our mission for Christ has not changed just because the earth is unraveling. We are still to go and make disciples of all nations. May we do this faithfully and prayerfully as we wait patiently.