Why Is the Middle East Always in the Headlines?
Dear Good News Magazine Subscriber,
Have you noticed how often news from the Middle East dominates the headlines?
In just the last 24 hours I've seen articles about Iran's nuclear program, continued wrangling between Israel and Arabs in the West Bank, conflict between Egypt and the terrorist group Hamas over smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, and the ongoing breakdown of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel.
 And that's not even counting the everyday issues that have become so routine that they're only so much background noise, such as the ongoing violence in Iraq, the rising cost of oil and its impact on the world economy and the bloody wars and strife in and along the borders of the Islamic world.
Why does it seem that this part of the world is always in such turmoil?
Having visited the area several times, I can tell you that there's little there that the rest of the world would view as worth fighting and dying for. Living in the arid American West, I'm in a lush and verdant paradise compared to much of the Middle East. Parts of my state are so dry and desolate that the federal government couldn't even give the land away, but in the Middle East land that's equally bad or worse has been routinely soaked by the blood of those fighting over it for centuries. (By one count the northern Israel site of Megiddo—the Armageddon of the Bible—has seen more than 200 battles over the years!)
What's behind this area's unending turmoil?
Oil is one obvious answer. An estimated half of the world's oil reserves lie beneath those barren Middle Eastern sands. Oil is the lifeblood of the world's economies, and without affordable oil, they grind to a halt, shudder and die. It's little wonder this region holds the attention of the entire world.
Religion is another answer. The Middle East is the birthplace of the world's three great monotheistic religions—Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Each has shaped the world in powerful ways. Each will affect it more in the months and years ahead, as foretold in Bible prophecy, in ways both predictable and highly unpredictable.
In this perpetually unstable and volatile area, one thing is certain—that developments there and originating from there will shock and stun the entire world. Bible prophecy reveals that a new world war will break out in this region and ultimately bring the world to the brink of the ultimate abyss.
How? When? And why? We don't have all of the answers, but Bible prophecy teaches us a great deal. You can discover much of what it reveals in the next issue of The Good News.
The May/June issue, arriving in U.S. mailboxes any day now, contains several eye-opening articles to help you understand what will happen in this crucial part of the world in the coming years.
I'm sending this message to alert you so you'll be sure to watch for it when it arrives. You can't afford to miss out on this priceless information!
Scott Ashley
Good News managing editor
PS: You can take a look at the articles now or download the entire issue and begin reading it right away. Just visit our Web site at www.GNmagazine.org. Thanks for letting us be of service to you!
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