Hi Daryl,

SA>It is not the "Zionist regime" that is heading for annihilation;
SA>rather, it is Iran that is preparing for the battle of Gog and
SA>Magog (Yajuj wa Majuj) which will result in the destruction of
SA>Iran's invading forces, among other things.

 DS>   I've heard some speculations that Russia, the Muslim nations
 DS> (Iran, Iraq, etc.), and possibly Germany...if not other
 DS> nations...will attempt to attack Israel at the start of The Time 
 DS> Of Jacob's Trouble (the Great Tribulation)...and they will be
 DS> destroyed on the mountains. They also speculate that the Beast 
 DS> will appear at that time as well...and claim that he destroyed 
 DS> the invading armies...and not God Himself. 

Those speculations are reasonable, and I am quite comfortable with
them, though of course I don't know all the "players" or the date;
events (wars & rumors of wars in the news) do seem to be pointing
to a major war involving Iran and Islamic nations and Israel & the West.
Some Islamic sites claim that the next Indo-Pak war will precede Gog
and Magog, with Dajjal (a sort of Islamic antichrist) appearing to be
defeated by Imam Mahdi (sort of Islamic Messiah). It gets murky as to
what the Beast will claim, and why he will be believed ... it may be
the result of the "strong delusion" that God will send in 2 Thess. 2
that will cause people to believe a lie. 

It is already widely put about by political & religious figures that
the God of Islam is the same as the God of the Bible ... if someone 
(Beast, energised by satan) wanted to be accepted as a Saviour or
messiah-figure of various religions, he might play on this confusion
by claiming to be Jesus Christ / Messiah / Imam Mahdi / Maitreya
Buddha / Krishna & thus appeal to the major religions. This is implied
by Benjamin Creme / Share International in their writings & web sites
devoted to "Maitreya" as "World Teacher" for all
humanity & who will
inspire humanity to create a sane and just world for all.

 DS>   Unless God has willed it to occur, I don't think U.S. President
 DS> Bush can politically afford another war, with massive casualties
 DS> (around 2500 U.S. troops have perished in the current Iraq
 DS> war)...and his popularity is below 40%.

I don't know what will happen to the US in Iraq, or in any war with Iran.
The coalition of the willing removed Saddam & his Baathist regime, but
paved the way for Iran to invade Israel - it is more likely Iran will
march through Iraq & Jordan when it invades Israel, rather than go
around. This implies that the US will not be present in Iraq, or will
be unable to stop Iran ... while it seems likely that the US will remain
in Iraq for some time, and will remain as a potent superpower capable of
restraining Iran, the Iran attack on Israel must take place according
to Ezekiel when the time is right.

 DS>   Just my 2 cents worth. :)

Always value for money. :)

Cheers, Steve..

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