Egypt - A State of Revolt

[Mimi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12289475

I want to see an end to this dictatorship, 30 years of Mubarak is enough - we've had enough of the state of emergency, prices are going up and up”

[Wally]

Things have continued to deteriorate today.  The government has shut down the internet, and mobile phones.  Oil was up $5 a barrel today, based on fears of Suez Canal traffic interruptions.

This is a very bad situation in a very volatile part of the world.  It appears to me that the US has made the same mistake in supporting Mubarak for 30 years that it did when it supported the Shah of Iran.

What a mess!  The only bright spot is that God is still in control.

[Mimi]

I had to go to town just before Mubarak spoke. I was convinced he was going to resign ... but no. So what happens when the Egyptian army turns its guns on the Egyptian people? 

[Richard Myers]

Probably the same thing that happened in Iran. A Muslim dictatorship will take over that will treat the people in the same manner as they do in Iran. Democracies don't work very well in countries where the church and state are not separated. Shall we call for the overthrow of Jordan also? 

What we are witnessing is the destabilization of the Middle East. And how about Saudi Arabia? It is ruled by a king and one family.  A democracy requires an educated moral people to succeed. I fear that nothing good is going to come out of what is going on in the world. Politics is unable to resolve the conflicts because God does not figure into the thinking of those involved. Reference to God is not good enough. Biblical principle is what is needed. Killing people in the name of God is not the method God chooses to use today.

If we want to see an economic disaster around the world, let the extremists take over Egypt and the Suez Canal. Yes, the prices of food and fuel are going up around the world. Nothing that is done in Egypt is going to change anything in this respect. If anything, it will cause greater hardship when there is no stability in the region. Some will think Communism is the answer because free enterprise has not worked. But, here they err. Look at China and the mess they have made of their air and water by allowing free enterprise. Some of the poor in China are probably wishing for a return to Communism. Not that they are not Communists, for China is. There is no democracy there and look at how we support them by buying their products. When the Chinese begin building roads and eating steak, you can bet prices are going up. Money does not grow on trees, and neither do cows. If the 1.3 billion Chinese start eating cows, then someone else will have to eat less. That is a fact in any kind of an economic system. In a free enterprise system, maybe the Chinese will start growing more cows. They seem to be industrious. But, it requires energy which right now seems to be controlled. So, the price of energy goes up as the Chinese require a large share of the pie.

When the price of energy goes up, everything goes up including the price of food. It is a blessing to know that trouble was coming and to plant a large winter garden!  Now is time to start preparing for our summer gardens. Of course Australia is enjoying their summer gardens now and will soon be planting their winter gardens!  We hope that the difficulty in Egypt will be settled quickly and that there will not be great suffering. But, we live in the last days of earth's history and there is going to much suffering. May it lead some to Jesus.

[Mimi]

In Egypt, Adventist schools suspended this week, but church operations not affected
Small membership in country under spotlight
31 Jan 2011, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Ansel Oliver/ANN

Two Seventh-day Adventist-run schools in Egypt have suspended classes this week due to ongoing national protests. Otherwise, Adventist operations are not affected, according to latest reports from the region.

A day before the Internet was shut down in Egypt on Friday, the president of the small Adventist community there said church operations were not affected by national protests.

"There is no news at all that any of our 12 churches, 700 members and two schools are affected in any way," Llewellyn R. Edwards, president of the denomination's Egypt Field, wrote to ANN in a January 27 e-mail.

Some 100 people have reportedly died in nationwide protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak to resign. The unrest follows similar protests in Tunisia and Yemen.

Phone service in Egypt was working again this weekend after most communication was shut down Friday, reports said.

Tibor Szilvasi, executive secretary of the church's Middle East Union, with headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, has since been in contact with leadership by phone. There are no reports of any threats to members or church property, he said.

Both Nile Union Academy and Zeitoun Elementary school in Cairo have suspended school this week, Szilvasi said.

About 130 students attend the academy and some 800 attend the elementary school.

"Our members in Egypt, like the general Egyptian population, are somewhat apprehensive and waiting prayerfully to see what will happen," he said. "So far all are reported to be OK."

[Richard Myers]

What percentage of the population is Muslim?  Will this be a repeat of Iran?

[Mimi]

When the OFF switch on the web was flipped, a long-forgotten service was implemented and people scurried to get it: dial-up.  

[Richard Myers]

Sounds like they have a modern computer network in Egypt.  It appears that they have a standing army also. Who is stronger, Turkey or Egypt? Maybe I ought to say, was stronger?  Iran had some military might before the Mullahs took it over.

[Mimi]

10 February 2011 Last updated at 11:42 ET

Egypt's Mubarak 'may stand down'

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to make an address on national television, amid suggestions that he is preparing to step down.

A senior member of Egypt's governing party, Hossan Badrawi, has told the BBC he "hopes" Mr Mubarak will transfer power to Vice-President Omar Suleiman.

The US Central Intelligence Agency says there is a "strong likelihood" that Mr Mubarak will step down soon.

- BBC

[Mimi]

Interactive map: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12327995

[Mimi]

He is finally gone. The people rejoice. The Swiss banks have frozen Mubarak family assets. A new era begins. It is time to preach the gospel with fervor in Egypt!

[Richard Myers]

Are we going to be able to preach the gospel in Egypt? Who will take over?  In Iraq it did not work out very well. Most Christians are fleeing. It did not work out very well in Iran, or in Lebanon, or in the Palestinian Territory. Freedom is for those who want freedom. Some want Sharia law. Egypt is a Muslim nation and it may be that Egypt will become another Iran. If so, the Middle East may become a real power for Muslim power.  In an Islamic state, there is no freedom of religion. It may be tragic for Christians living in the Middle East.

Countries that may be in for Islamic states:  Tunisia, Yemen,  Jordan, Lebanan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

Egypt is now under military rule. Time will tell if there will be religious freedom in this Muslim land or if there will be a move to an Islamic state where converts have to fear for their lives. I tend to think that the Middle East is going to be continually moving towards Armageddon.

[Colleenhf]

I would appreciate comments on Pastor Roosenberg's ideas that Daniel 11 is being fulfilled by Islam....vs Christianity.
What he presents sure makes alot of sense especially with what is happening with Egypt.

[LindaRS]

An interesting article on the Muslim Brotherhood: Who Are The Muslim Brotherhood?

[Richard Myers]

Colleen, share with us in the Daniel Forum what you have been learning about Islam and Daniel.  Daniel Forum

[Richard Myers]

In Egypt, Church's Nile Union Academy Reopens

In wake of revolution, Adventists report new solidarity with community members
Feb. 18, 2011





Victor Hulbert/BUC/ANN staffKarin Edwards (left) celebrates with Egyptians outside the Adventist Church in Heliopolis, Cairo after the resignation of former national President Hosni Mubarak. Edwards, wife of the Adventist Church's president in Egypt, is leading a stress management course for community members recovering from weeks of unrest. [photo courtesy Egypt Field]

Following weeks of national protest and the recent departure of Egypt's president, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Nile Union Academy reopened Monday, February 21. The academy is one of two church-run schools that suspended classes last month due to ongoing political unrest in the country.

Alex and Kate Podbrezsky, both teachers at the academy, are reportedly on their way back to the country after an evacuation of non-essential expatriate staff and faculty at the school, local church leaders said.

Egypt Field president for the Adventist Church, Llewellyn Edwards and his wife Karin, both of whom stayed in Egypt during the revolution, said the event has strengthened ties between the country's small Adventist community and its neighbors.

Edwards, who stood outside the Adventist Church he pastors in Heliopolis on the evening former President Hosni Mubarak resigned, said many of his Muslim neighbors approached him, reminding him "this victory was for Christians as well" and "assuring us of their friendship."

The couple prayed together in the church, then joined the crowds, they said. "We stood in awe at what we were experiencing ... the jubilant deafening noise, flags waving, people leaning out of car windows, standing on top of cars and monuments, shaking hands an congratulating everyone around them," Karin said.

"It was surreal," she added.

As Egyptians shape the future of their country, the Edwards are soliciting prayers for a peaceful transition of government that results in freedom for all of Egypt's citizens.

"There are many forces -- internal and external, hidden and open -- who would seek to manipulate the future of Egypt," Edwards said. "Now is the time for prayer for God to ... bring about the freedom that would bless the good people of this country," he added.

In addition to prayers, the Adventist Church in Egypt is also offering practical support for community members who may be affected by the recent turmoil. The church is running a stress management course led by Karin at the church's Healthy Life Center.

Source: Adventist News Network