"Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Pro. 27:11Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1)) may appropriately be written over against all men, even the great ones of the earth. In only a few days at the end of July three of the world's rulers were suddenly and adversely affected:
In a surprise coup by some of the younger officers of the Egyptian army, King Farouk of Egypt was given six hours to leave his country. With the army against him, resistance was useless, so the young king sailed away to exile.
Iran which has been seething with unrest and political turmoil for some time, was rocked by a revolution. It was climaxed by the return to power of Premier Mossadegh, and a curtailing of the power of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi. The young ruler was forced to sign over to the premier the control of the Iranian army, so at the whim of the premier the Shah might have to go the way of the King of Egypt.
Eva Peron the wife of, and co-dictator with, Juan D. Peron of Argentina, died at the age of 33. Thus terminated one of the most colorful and unusual careers in history.
What the resulting effect on the world at large will be from these happenings, remains to be seen. The whole world is like a very great and very complex puzzle which is being put together with a master hand. We now and then see one of the pieces of the puzzle being moved, or being put into place, but we know that our Father is the One who is so skillfully arranging everything. When the time comes for His beloved Son to take the reins of world government in His hand, and to put down all His enemies, the whole complicated maze of world fragments will be in the places He has decreed. And while the changes go on, we confidently wait for Him who said, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3).
The Near East (so designated by the U. S. National Geographic; Society) where these upheavals in Egypt and Iran have taken place is where Africa, Asia, and Europe meet. Truly it is where East meets West." That area is destined to become the world battleground again, as it was for so many centuries. To that section will all the kings of the earth with their armies gravitate. They will converge on Palestine "the glory of all lands" which is at the center of the Near East, and there will they fall, when the King of kings and Lord of lords comes with the armies of heaven to execute His righteous judgment.
General Mohammed Naguib, the new strong man of Egypt, was one of the officers in the Egyptian army when it suffered to most humiliating defeat by the fledgling nation of Israel in 1948. For this defeat he blamed King Farouk and the high officers surrounding him, because the Egyptian army was ill-equipped and much of the ammunition supplied it was defective. General Naguib, still smarting under the inglorious defeat, seems destined to nurse a hatred of Israel, and to build Egypt into an antagonist of the Jewish nation.
That we are approaching "the time of the end," there can be no doubt. A decade ago it would have seemed that an independent nation of Israel was impossible, but it is there today in readiness for the antichrist. Egypt has already made war against it, only to receive a stinging defeat and thus provide fuel for a' lingering hatred which will bring them against Israel at the end.
The turbulent state of affairs in Iran points up the danger. For Israel at "the time of the end" from the other side, from the north. There will be a fierce king in that general area, an implacable foe of the Jews, who will also invade Palestine, take half the city of Jerusalem, and go on down against Egypt. "And the king of the north shall come against him [the antichrist] like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown.... And the land of Egypt shall not escape," etc. Dan. 11:40-4240And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. (Daniel 11:40‑42). See also Isa. 28:18-2018And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 20For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. (Isaiah 28:18‑20) where the Northern invasion is described.
Apparently the real master behind the strife and trouble in Iran is a man called Mullah Kashani. He is the leader of Moslem fanatics in the Near East countries of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, besides Iran. He talks of organizing an army of 5,000;000 men to throw out Western influence, and to dominate the whole area. He operates much like the sinister Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who has fomented anti-Jewish and anti-Western trouble foil a long time. They may be working together.
At the time of the end a strong personage will arise among these Moslem nations of the Near East We read in Dan. 8 of this man: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce. countenance, and understanding. dark sentences [or, dealing ire mysticism], shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his land; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up; against the Prince of princes; but: he shall be broken with His hand." vv. 23-25. 4
So today we see insurgent Moslem unity and power with: fanaticism paving the way fa the kings of the north and of the south to war against the apostate nation of the Jews when it is' headed up under the antichrist. Palestine is destined to become their battleground again as it was in the days when the northern king Seleucus Nicator and his successors contended with the Ptolemies of Egypt for possession of the land. Therefore the events of recent weeks in that area take on added significance in the light of the prophetic scriptures. The pieces of the great puzzle are being moved and readied for the time of the end.
A few words might be added about the death of the young and influential wife of Dictator Peron of Argentina. Only nine years ago she was a comparatively little known actress in Buenos Aires seeking some way to climb the social ladder to fame and wealth. After meeting the then Colonel Peron her rise was rapid; soon she married him and rose to heights of political power with him. She even helped to accelerate his acquisition of unprecedented power in that country. Eva Peron became the most powerful woman of the 20th century. She was not merely the "power behind the throne," but a power out in front with a daring that even her husband did not possess. How many persons would give their all for her power, influence, wealth, and personal charm! But, alas, it was very short-lived. She enjoyed it only a few years; now she is gone, never to return. With all her wealth, and with every human power to lengthen her life within her reach, not one thing could be done to stay the hand of death. She was taken away in the prime of life.
And the greatest calamity of all would be if she left this world without Christ, to be ushered into a lost eternity. We cannot speak positively about her, but how many great ones of the earth have passed away from it and all their honors to await the judgment of the great white throne, where the dead, both great and small, shall stand to be judged. We are reminded of the Lord's words in Mark 8:36, 3736For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36‑37):
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"