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Islamic Caliphate or Something Else? by Chris Schang, Posted August 16, 2014
An offshoot of al Qaeda which has captured territory in Iraq and Syria has declared itself an Islamic "caliphate" and called on factions worldwide to pledge their allegiance, a statement posted on Islamist websites and Twitter said on Sunday. The move poses a direct challenge to the central leadership of al Qaeda, which has already disowned it, and to conservative Gulf Arab rulers. The group, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has renamed itself "Islamic State" and proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as "Caliph" - the head of the state, the statement said. "He is the imam and khalifah (Caliph) for the Muslims everywhere," the group's spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said in the statement, which was translated into several languages and read out in an Arabic audio speech. Another article shows that the anti-Assad rebels have taken over 95% of the Syrian held Golan Heights that is disputed between Israel and Syria. Of course, the land rightfully belongs to Israel, but the Islamic mindset will never allow for that so the area is hotly contested these days. But I believe all of this could change very soon. The Times of Israel reports: Almost the entire Syrian side of the Golan Heights is now under the control of rebel forces, including radical Islamist groups, a senior Israeli military commander in the area said Friday. Only the Quneitra border area is still in the hands of forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, Lt.-Col. Anan Abbas, deputy commander of the Golan Brigade, told Israel's Channel 10. About 95 percent of the Syrian side of the Golan is in the hands of anti-Assad rebels, including radical Islamic groups such as the Al-Nusra Front, affiliated with al-Qaeda, a rival of the burgeoning Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, better known as ISIL or ISIS. One of two Syrian army brigades that used to control the area has completely disappeared, the officer said. At present, the Islamist groups in the area are focused on the war against Assad, he said, "but we know their goal is to harm Israel; we've seen their propaganda material." These interesting developments show in my mind that the conditions on the ground are becoming ripe for the coming fulfillment of the Isaiah 17, Pslam 83, and the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecies. While some lesser known Bible prophecy teachers suggest that the Islamic hordes are going to create an Islamic Caliphate across the Middle East and that the so called "Islamic" Antichrist will eventually rise out of this Islamic Caliphate, the truth is the Lord has given us firsthand knowledge in the Bible to know better than that. You see, the Bible tells us in Daniel 9:26 that: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. - Daniel 9:26 Here we see that the coming "prince" of the people who destroyed the city and sanctuary, which of course were the Romans in 70AD, will indeed arise from the Roman geographical area that was in place in 70AD. This area of the Roman Empire does not include the "Eastern" portion of the Roman Empire that later grew to include Western areas of the Middle East. The Romans who destroyed the temple and city included only Roman soldiers, none where battalions or other groups of people from the Middle East as some "Islamic Antichrist" proponents try to argue. The truth regarding the "make-up" of the Roman armies who were involved where in the destruction of the temple and city was accurately explained by a poster on our forums. This poster made the insightful comments that follow: The Antichrist cannot be Islamic - period. He will come from the same genetic stock as his prophetic forerunner, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Macedonian-Greek European. His ethnicity will be in exact fulfillment of Daniel 9:26b. Everybody knows that the Roman legions which destroyed the 2nd Temple and the city of Jerusalem were Legio X Fretensis (from the Straits of Messina between the Italian mainland and Sicily), Legio V Macedonica (which obviously was from Macedonia), and Legio XV Apollinaris which was stationed on the Danube River near what is present day Austria and Slovenia. These Roman legions were all staffed by Roman (European) citizen soldiers from the lowest all the way up the chain of command to General Titus Flavius Vespasian. These comments show the factual and historical truth of the events that played out in 70AD. Today, we have modern day "booksellers" who do nothing more than try to re-write history to sell books and promote other nonsensical theories in order to deceive God's people from being watchful in these end times. If you are active on the Bible prophecy field you have no doubt heard about these "theories" that are easily debunked and put to rest. But if the events on the ground are not leading to an enduring "Islamic Caliphate", then what in the world is going on? Well, let me explain. It is my belief that what we are watching happen right now in the Middle East is the preparation for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy; in particular I believe that we are witnessing the stage being set for the fulfillments of Isaiah 17, Psalm 83, and Ezekiel 38-39. How is that so? As we see one dictator after another being removed from power in the Middle East, we see them being replaced by fanatical leaders and regimes. This in turn will cause the atmosphere in the region to go downhill which will cause fanatical elements such as Al-Qaeda and the ISIS to rise and make a move on Israel. As we have seen from the newspaper articles above, we know that the bottom line goal for these terrorist groups is to destroy Israel. But what these groups plan to do and what actually happens is a very different story. To get the truth, we look at the Bible where we are given information in the scriptures that shows that Israel will ultimately defeat her immediate border enemies (inner-ring) during the Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 prophecies. Then at a later date, we will see Israel soundly defeat the invading Moslem enemies (outer-ring) through the divine intervention of God as described in Ezekiel 38-39. All of this is currently in some sort of fulfillment as we speak. We see Russia (Magog) and Iran (Persia) aligning themselves together through military, economic, and scientific projects. The time is getting shorter and the prophetic puzzle pieces are being put in action. I want to encourage everyone to stick to what the Word of God says, rather than theories and unbiblical ideas being put forth by "false teachers" out there in the Bible prophecy community. We can rely solely on God's Word in order to know where and what to watch for in these end times. As we see these things coming closer and closer into view, we need to keep looking up, as our redemption is drawing nigh! God bless. More articles and bio for Chris Schang… Related  A Special Invitation to You 
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With all eyes on the Middle East and the gains being made by the fanatical Islamic terror group the ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) across Iraq there have been a few interesting developments that show that the Bible prophecy puzzle pieces are being put into place on the world stage. The ISIS group declared an "Islamic Caliphate" across areas that they had over-run recently. The 
