VOA: ‘1 Year After Declaring Caliphate, Islamic State Remains Strong.’ Tunisia killings are related proof

Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel, Tunisia (Tony Hisgett)

Voice of America reported the following:

1 Year After Declaring Caliphate, Islamic State Remains Strong

June 29, 2015

Monday marks one year since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State group, declared what he called an Islamic “caliphate” stretching across eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq, now one of the deadliest areas on Earth and the focus of an international effort to combat extremists.

The statement calling for Muslims to support the effort vocalized the aspirations of the Sunni militants who have beheaded hostages, conducted suicide bombings, fought Iraqi and Syrian soldiers, and claimed responsibility for terror attacks abroad while drawing in thousands of foreigners to their cause.

They took advantage of the Syrian civil war and political chaos in Iraq to seize major cities across the region including their de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria, as well as Mosul, Ramadi and Fallujah in Iraq.

Their arrival in Syria complicated a now four-year fight between government forces and a wide array of rebel groups, setting off new fronts with the army, militants and rebels all battling for the same territory as the death toll surged past 200,000 people and millions more fled their homes.

Violence in Iraq also spiked, with deaths among the country’s overmatched security forces jumping 350 percent from May to June last year. In all, 2014 was by far the deadliest in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops, and this year is on pace to easily surpass that total.

In response, the United States began leading a broad coalition of countries conducting airstrikes against Islamic State targets, beginning in Iraq in August and a month later in Syria. In 10 months, warplanes have carried out 4,800 combined airstrikes, according to Pentagon data, in missions that officials say have helped Iraqi troops and fighters in Syria reclaim some territory from the militants.

But progress has been limited with the Iraqi military still unable to achieve widespread success on the ground in reclaiming major northern and western cities. They have been aided by Iranian-backed militias and Kurdish fighters in operations such as the ongoing effort to take back Anbar province. So far, President Barack Obama has resisted calls to send U.S. ground troops back to Iraq, instead deploying advisors and trainers to try to boost the Iraqi troops.

The Islamic State group’s ideological focus has been to go after Shi’ites, whom they consider heretics and apostates, while also killing Coptic Christians in Egypt, Druze in Syria, and Yazidis in Iraq. Their claimed terror attacks include those last week in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as others in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. http://www.voanews.com/content/after-declaring-caliphate-islamic-state-remains-strong/2841206.html

June 29, 2015

Tunisian authorities are searching for potential accomplices in connection with Friday’s mass shooting at a beach resort that left 38 people dead.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui told reporters Sunday that while a single Tunisian militant carried out the attack, officials are sure he had help beforehand.

Aroui said the gunman’s cell phone has been found and his family has been questioned.

Many of those killed were British nationals, while others were citizens of Germany, Ireland, Belgium and Portugal. …

Tunisia is mobilizing 1,000 extra police officers to tourist sites and beaches by Wednesday, and Prime Minister Habib Essid said about 80 mosques known for radical preaching would be shut down.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Tunisia attack, as well as the mosque bombing in Kuwait. http://www.voanews.com/content/tunisian-authorities-seeking-accomplies-in-mass-shooting/2841179.html

The USA indicated that it had diminished the impact of the Islamic State–but a year later it is strong according to Voice of America, a US government funded news source. The hotel that was the target of the terrorist in Tunisia last Friday is shown at the beginning of this post. The killings there demonstrate that the Islamic State has strength outside of Iraq and Syria–and it controls about 1/2 of Syria as well.

Here is some additional information about the group calling itself the Islamic State:

When the caliphate was proclaimed, ISIL stated: “The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organisations becomes null by the expansion of the khilafah’s [caliphate’s] authority and arrival of its troops to their areas.”This was a rejection of the political divisions in the Middle East that were established by Western powers during World War I in the Sykes–Picot Agreement. …

ISIL is a Salafi group. It follows an extreme interpretation of Islam, promotes religious violence, and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels or apostates. According to Hayder al Khoei, ISIL’s philosophy is represented by the symbolism in the Black Standard variant of the legendary battle flag of Muhammad that it has adopted: the flag shows the Seal of Muhammad within a white circle, with the phrase above it, “There is no God but Allah”.Such symbolism has been said to point to ISIL’s belief that it represents the restoration of the caliphate of early Islam, with all the political, religious and eschatological ramifications that this would imply.

According to some observers, ISIL emerged from the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, the first post-Ottoman Islamist group dating back to the late 1920s in Egypt.It adheres to global jihadist principles and follows the hard-line ideology of al-Qaeda and many other modern-day jihadist groups.However, other sources trace the group’s roots not to the Islamism of the Muslim Brotherhood and the more mainstream jihadism of al-Qaeda, but to Wahhabism. …

One difference between ISIL and other Islamist and jihadist movements is its emphasis on eschatology and apocalypticism, and its belief that the arrival of the Mahdi is imminent. ISIL believes it will defeat the army of “Rome” at the town of Dabiq in fulfilment of prophecy. (Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant accessed 06/29/15)

The Church of God has long taught that religious unity of sorts is needed for some of the prophesied political unity to occur in Europe and parts of the Muslim world. And that one called the Mahdi might be the same person as the ‘king of the south‘ of Daniel 11:40-43 (cf. The Arab World in Prophecy. Plain Truth, December 1979, pp. 11-12).

While there have been secular backlashes, particularly in Egypt, but also in Tunisia, the goal of an Islamic caliphate remains real, despite the Islamic State’s claims to be it.

Now, because of the group calling itself the Islamic State, many Western and Muslim leaders are encouraging the formation of a caliphate, less radical than ISIS, as the ‘solution’ to the problem of Islamic extremism.

The Bible shows that a league of states that are currently Islamic will form, but that it will not turn out well for them:

2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’ 3 For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. 4 The sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt, And they take away her wealth, And her foundations are broken down.
5 “Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Those who uphold Egypt shall fall,And the pride of her power shall come down. From Migdol to Syene those within her shall fall by the sword,”Says the Lord God.
7 “They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste. 8 Then they will know that I am the Lord, When I have set a fire in Egypt and all her helpers are destroyed. (Ezekiel 30:2-8)

40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. (Daniel 11:40-43)

Notice that the above includes countries in North Africa and the Middle East who are predominantly Islamic. And that this prophesied confederation will end in disaster for many of the peoples in it. I would also add that according to Daniel 11:39, the USA will be destroyed before the coming apparently Islamic caliphate King of the South confederation will be.

While I do NOT believe that the Islamic State is the final King of the South caliphate that the Bible tells of, I do believe that it is getting those in the Islamic world and the West to be more willing to support a pan-Arabic confederation that will be.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Iraq, the King of the South, Armageddon, and Prophecy What will happen to Iraq? Is it the prophesied Mystery Babylon? What is Armageddon and how does that have to do with Iraq? Here is a related video Iraq, Armageddon, & Prophecy.
Is the Future King of the South Rising Up? Some no longer believe there needs to be a future King of the South. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi or Caliph? What does the Bible say? A YouTube video of related interest may be: The Future King of the South is Rising.
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Rise of the King of the South The Bible tells of the formation of a power of nations that are in the Middle East and North Africa that are part of the final “King of the South” (Daniel 11:40-43) The Muslim Brotherhood wishes to have an Islamic empire with basically the same nations. This YouTube video explains what to expect from such a confederation.
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
The Prophesied ‘Islamic’ Confederation Where is an Islamic caliphate prophesied? Will one happen? Should you be concerned about it? A related video is Will an Arabic Calphiphate Destroy the West?
Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia in Prophecy What is ahead for North Africa? What does the Bible teach?
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy What does the Bible teach about Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians? Here is a link to a related video: Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Damascus and Syria in Prophecy Will Bashar Assad hold power as he has it? Does the Bible show that Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed? What will happen to Syria? Will the Syrians support the final King of the South that the Bible tells will rise up? Which scriptures discuss the rise and fall of an Arabic confederation? Does Islamic prophecy predict the destruction of Syria. This is a YouTube video.
Egypt in Prophecy Does Egypt have a special role in end time prophecy? Will Egypt rise up and then be defeated. What does God teach will happen to those in Egypt? Here is a link to a YouTube video titled Egypt and End Time Prophecy.
How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About? Can humans bring peace to the Middle East? Here is a link to a related video: Middle East Peace? When?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.