Cut and Run or Re-deploy...
I am going to present a scenario for what I feel could happen in the next few years if we cut and run away from Iraq and the middle east. We know from scripture that in the last days there is going to be a great and final battle fought between Israel and her enemies in the valley of Meggido; the battle of Armageddon. At the end of this battle, when Israel is backed up against the Mount of Olives, Christ will appear and split the mountain that Israel can escape their enemies. When the Jews see the Messiah they will praise him as the promised deliverer, and then they will question him concerning the marks in his hands and his feet. He will respond to their inquires by saying, "These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." Then they will recognise their promised Messiah as Jesus Christ whom their fathers crucified.(D&C 45: 52, Zech. 13: 6) What has me puzzled is what will bring this battle to pass; what will be the impetus for this great war. I am not talking about the scriptural reasons for the war, those reasons began before the foundation of the world, I am talking about the temporal events that will bring all of this to pass. We know from the words of John the Baptist at the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood that the priesthood was not to be taken again, "until the sons of Levi do offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."(D&C 13: 1, see also: D&C 128: 24) So the sons of Levi will, prior to the second coming of the Messiah, offer again the burnt offerings again at the Temple in Jerusalem. That these offerings will be the same as those during Old Testament times is indicated by the "restoration of all things" revealed since the beginning of time. In order to accomplish this, the nation of Israel will need to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. The biggest problem with this is that there is a building in the way right now; the dome of the rock. I will now present a scenario to you, and I am in no way saying that this is what WILL happen, but rather my opinion of one way that these events might come to pass. If it does come to pass in the way that I describe, let's just consider that it was a coincidence, and not ascribe it to anything other than luck. In other words, these are opinions, not prophecies. =) The beginning of woes, in my opinion, is going to happen in Iraq. If our new President pulls out the troops too quickly, and before the Iraqi people are able to secure their own borders and their people, it will provide an opportunity for the insurgents to take control, the way they have in Syria and Iran, and turn Iraq into nothing but a training ground for terrorists. We already have a regime in Iran that is calling for the destruction of the nation of Israel, these attitudes would permeate through all the peoples of Iraq that feel that America has abandoned them. In addition, if the new President and Congress cut support for Israel at that time, Israel could, and rightly so, feel that they have to take matters into their own hands and shut down Iran's nuclear ambitions with dramatic force. Let us assume that these things happen, Israel feels abandoned, Iran, Iraq and Syria are funding attacks on Israel through Lebanon and Jordan, look for Israel to seal their borders and expel Arabs from within as well. With the Palestinians and Arabs expelled from Jerusalem, what is to stop Israel to from demolishing the dome of the rock and reconstructing the Temple. Were this to happen, the Muslim outrage and fury would be unimaginable. Make no mistake, this would be ample reason for war, or even for them to seek the entire destruction of the Israeli nation and people. The Israelies are well aware of this, but if they feel abandoned by their allies, they might feel that they have no other choice but to rebuild the Temple and seek the blessings of their Lord and Messiah. Of course, this could happen under Obama, or maybe it will happen under the next president, or maybe not at all. It is just one thread in the possible tapestry that is the dispensation of the fulness of time. Just a thought...