One horror displaces another.  Now we have something else to be torn up about.  Out of the clear blue, a mass shooter steals the headlines.  If somebody in the bowling alley had been carrying, a whole bunch of people would still be alive and there wouldn’t be swarms of law enforcement personnel scouring the woods. These guys better hope this lunatic never had access to any military firepower.  

Israel seems to be taking a very cautious approach to invading Gaza on the ground. No doubt their top echelon have been counseled by American diplomats who’ve warned of every scenario. We heard that a ground invasion was “imminent” two weeks ago, as if Israel was going in guns blazing in a fit of righteous fury. Not that it wouldn’t have been justified.

But there are hostages.  Very few have been released.  This game could go on for years at this rate.  The mainstream networks are really impressed with the supplies that have been afforded the hostages.  From personal experience, the Arab culture is one of the most gracious you’ll ever come across.  Maybe to a fault.  It’s probably different when you’re a hostage.

It’s the same old story.  “People go crazy”.  That’s the argument.  “It’s Israel’s fault they’ve gone insane, but that’s what happens. Yes there are atrocities, but they’ve been driven crazy under the occupation of the Zionists!”

There have been demonstrations all over the world, but most notably here in the United States.  People came out in droves to chant the talking points and defend the invasion.  Personally, I don’t want to see the pictures or body-cam footage of what these soulless bastards did.  But these people waving the flags in the street and chanting about occupation need to see them.  Maybe they can see what they’re defending.

History has already been written.  We’re not going to go back to 1947 and rescind the UN resolution that created Israel.  It’s too late.  War against Israel by the Arab states has never yielded the desired results.  But this is a new generation.  They weren’t alive during the Six Day War, and have been taught an altered version.  All that history means nothing to the newly minted zealot.  

We in this office are not equipped to follow every twist and turn.  Things are happening too fast.  The pieces are not all in place for this to be the last conflagration on earth before the return of the Savior.  But that could change.  We’re told to watch so we’re not caught unprepared in every conceivable way.  Who knows?  Would-be prophets have predicted the end of the age forever.  Most of them are long dead, and here we still are.  Herbert W. Armstrong thought it would be in 1975, and who dared dispute him?  None of these guys who predict the end of the age think it could happen without them.  Who could have imagined what it would be like in 2023, or that we’d have survived the predictions of the truly educated? It was a long time ago, but some of us remember.

How many wars are going at once?  The whole Middle East is on the verge of a vast conflict.  We were already trying to ascertain what in the world is going on in Ukraine.  We had to send them armaments and money.  Lots of money.  Now the U. S. is vowing to support Israel, in the first decision made by this clown show that seemed sound.  We’ve got aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean in case Iran gets any big ideas.  Iran claims it had nothing to do with the sneak attack. Other than supplying all the weaponry and money, they’re completely innocent.  And they better stay that way.

Meanwhile the U. S. has carried out airstrikes in Syria.  Apparently they’ve attacked U. S. bases, and F-16’s have reportedly hit weapons caches.  The talking heads are worried that the action will be linked with Israel’s Gaza response.  U. S. diplomats say this is a completely unrelated affair.  But everybody knows this thing could spread.  And why not?  Up until now we’ve projected weakness.  Nothing encourages bad actors like weakness.  Now we’ve got the likes of Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin to navigate what weakness has wrought.  Biden has inspired a lot of confidence, especially in our enemies.

They want us freaked out about global warming, and repeating phrases we’ve heard on TV, but the subject has been changed.  Now it’s about global conflict, and people can just get over their hurt feelings.  It’s serious now.  Everybody better treat it that way. 

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – October 27, 2023 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.