A Step Closer in Prophecy - And a Stern Warning From Jesus

I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? [Luke 12:49-52, 56, 57]

The world just became a bit more dangerous overnight as Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian elections. The headline from CNN is more than just words - it is likely a chilling foretaste of what is to come. For all that Hamas stands for, the Palestinian people might as well have voted in the Nazi party.

Obviously this is quite a controversial topic between those who believe Hamas to be a bunch of freedom fighters and those who believe Hamas to be a bunch of terrorists. I think you can figure out where I stand, and I base my opinion from these generally undisputed facts:

• Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist group that wants a Palestinian state.
• Its military wing, Izzadine al Qassam, has claimed responsibility for many terrorist operations, including suicide bombing in Israel, as well as attacks on Israeli troops and Jewish settlers in Gaza and the West Bank.
• Hamas has called for the destruction of Israel, but that demand was not central to its platform in the Palestinian elections. However, it continues to refuse to recognize the right of the state of Israel to exist.
• In its election campaign Hamas portrayed itself as an alternative to the corruption-plagued Fatah -- the group founded by Yasser Arafat and now led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that has dominated Palestinian politics for decades.
• Hamas runs humanitarian activities in the West Bank and Gaza -- building schools and hospitals as well as social projects.
• Its fighters have mostly observed a cease-fire for the past year.
• The United States, the European Union and Israel consider the group a terrorist organization.
• Previous leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in 2004.
• In Arabic, the word "hamas" means zeal, but it's also an Arabic acronym for "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya" or Islamic Resistance Movement.
  

[Sources: CNN, U.S. State Department. Emphasis placed by myself]


Certainly we can draw our own conclusions to the above statements, but before I'm accused of being a Zionist pig or some other Islamic (or bleeding-heart liberal) term of endearment, I ask you this: Am I missing something?

Yes, Hamas fighters have been pretty quiet lately. Perhaps there really was some authority behind the Palestinian Authority - I must admit I'm pretty impressed with the efforts of President Abbas. But now that Hamas is the authority, it should be interesting to see if the nuts run the nuthouse or if Hamas can really act civilized. I wouldn't bet on the latter.

Meanwhile, prophecy appears to be unfolding - as prophesied. The Bible says Israel will become a flashpoint at a time near the end. Has the match been struck?

Keep watch, my brethren. Be vigilant.