Benghazi declared an ‘Islamic emirate,’ while fighting continues in Libya

Ansar al-Sharia Logo

The Libyan portion of the group called Ansar al-Sharia declared Benghazi an ‘Islamic emirate,’ while fighting continues there:

August 2, 2014

Tripoli, Libya – Libya’s newly elected parliament is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the dwindling security situation threatening to tear the country apart.

The House of Representatives (HoR), elected in May, will hold a meeting on Saturday morning in an attempt to set a political framework, and guide Libya out of the pit of violence that has raged for weeks in certain parts of the country. The first official HoR session in scheduled for August 4…

With militia fighting raging in most of the country’s main cities, Saturday’s meeting will be held in Tubruk, 1,300km east of the capital, Tripoli. Tubruk is considered to be one of the few cities where all 188 HoR members could meet safely…

Meanwhile, the Ansar al-Sharia armed group, thought to be responsible for the 2012 attack on the US consulate, has declared Benghazi an Islamic Emirate, a move that resulted in hundreds of people taking to the streets on Wednesday night in an attempt to reclaim their city. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/libya-parliament-hold-emergency-meeting-082729784.html#tRGobXW

Libya’s Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia has said that it seized complete control of Benghazi late on Wednesday, declaring the city an “Islamic emirate,” the group’s representative said.

Ansar al-Sharia is blacklisted by the United States over its alleged role in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, eastern Libya.

An official representative for the armed group told a local radio channel that Benghazi is now under its control.

“Benghazi has now become an Islamic emirate,” said Mohammed al-Zahawi, the spokesman, to Radio Tawhid.

However, Khalifa Haftar, a retired, renegade former army general who earlier this year launched a self-declared campaign to clear the city of Islamist militants, denied the group’s claims.

“The national Libyan army is in control of Benghazi and only withdrew from certain positions for tactical reasons,” Haftar told Al Arabiya News Channel.

“The claim that Benghazi is under the control of militias is a lie,” he said.

Ansar al-Sharia’s declaration comes a month after jihadist militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) announced an “Islamic caliphate” over their territory. http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/31/Libya-s-Ansar-al-Sharia-declares-Islamic-state-in-Benghazi.html

August 2, 2014

The weekslong violence in Tripoli and in Libya’s second-largest city of Benghazi have killed more than 200 people and wounded almost 900. The violence has forced diplomats to flee and close their embassies while foreign nationals and Libyan citizens streamed into neighboring Tunisia searching for safety.

A Libyan official at the National Safety Agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said the oil depots caught fire Saturday after three others caught fire last month. http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Oil-depots-again-catch-fire-in-fighting-in-Libya-5664202.php

August 2, 2014

Libya is on the brink of collapse and becoming a failed state as the security situation has severely deteriorated due to ongoing deadly clashes between rival militias that threaten to tear the country apart. In the vacuum of Libya’s political chaos, major armed militia groups have tried to seize control of vast areas.

After Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants declared their plan to establish a caliphate over territories stretching from northern Syria to Iraq, Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan militant group also declared an “Islamic caliphate” and claimed complete control of the restive eastern city of Benghazi after defeating army units loyal to renegade army general Khalifa Belqasim Haftar. “Benghazi has now become an Islamic emirate,” said Mohammed al-Zahawi, the spokesman of the Ansar al-Sharia militia, according to Al Arabiya news. http://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2014/08/02/libya-on-the-brink-of-becoming-a-failed-state

The situation in Libya is one that the USA helped create as the Obama Administration bombed Libya a few of years ago as part of its efforts to overthrow the ‘elected’ government of Muammar al-Gaddafi back in 2011 and support a group with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. It has had a lot of violence since, and there are various factions controlling different parts of it.

Notice also the following:

Citizens of the West have little understanding of the depth of the sufferings unleashed on the peoples of North Africa, Palestine, Syria and Iraq since the United States and NATO launched wars against the peoples of this region…

It was three years ago when NATO had declared the end of the NATO mission, loudly announcing that the NATO mission to Libya had been ‘one of the most successful in NATO history.’ Despite this declaration of success there were clear signs of the remnants of the NATO suborned militias fighting for control of Libya. Today, that fighting has engulfed all of Libyan society to the point that the militias that had been deployed by NATO are now out of control while the funders of the militias are caught in the wider disputations over the future of the Africa, Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula. Calls for the United Nations and for the African Union to militarily intervene in Libya must now be accompanied by the call for ensuring that none of the current members of the UN Security Council who were participants in the NATO intervention can be part of any UN force to demilitarize Libya to disarm the out of control militias. …

Despite the best efforts of the United States’ State Department and NATO to present a so called ‘transition’ process with the procedural democratic rituals such as elections, the role of the militias has been the dominant feature of the warfare and destruction. When the Libyan human rights activist Salwa Bugaighis was slain in Benghazi last month, both Samantha Powers (US Permanent Representative to the United Nations) and Hilary Clinton (former Secretary of State) issued statements denouncing her murder but these two architects of the destruction of Libya remain indicted in the court of public opinion for their roles in creating the present conflagration. http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/08/01/the-united-states-nato-and-the-destruction-of-libya/

Americans tend to remember Benghazi because of the deaths caused at its embassy there in 2011 (see also Benghazi, American General Lovell, and Hillary Clinton).

The Obama Administration is spending $500 million more to oppose Syria’s Assad this year, while it is trying to support Iraq’s Malaki who is fighting ISIS, while ISIS is also fighting the Assad regime. Some of the money to oppose Assad may end up with supporters of ISIL/ISIS (which has renamed itself the Islamic State). This has put the USA in a difficult situation at best. Yet, those in Libya, Iraq, etc. have truly been suffering. ISIS, the remainder of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Ansar al-Sharia are all attempting to install a Sunni Muslim empire that seems similar to what the Bible tells of, in several places, such as Daniel 11:40-43, Psalm 83:2-8, and Ezekiel 30:2-8.

As far as Libya goes, there are various references to that word in the Bible. However, many of the translations are questionable as sometimes a word for an old area of Persia (Phut) is translated as Libya. Basically Strong’s (from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) words 3864, 3865, & 3866 means people from the interior of Africa and seems to include the areas west of Egypt. Here are three prophetic passages that refer to it with Strong’s words 3864, 3865 & 3866, respectively:

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)

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. 9 On that day messengers shall go forth from Me in ships To make the careless Ethiopians afraid,And great anguish shall come upon them,As on the day of Egypt;For indeed it is coming!” (Ezekiel 30:2-9)

1 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations…
9 Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!
And let the mighty men come forth:
The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield,
And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
A day of vengeance,
That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.
The sword shall devour;
It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood;
For the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice
In the north country by the River Euphrates. (Jeremiah 46:1,9-10)

In Ezekiel 30:5 and Jeremiah 46:9 it is the words translated as Lydia and Lydians, not those translated as Libya and Libyans, that appear to be referring to the people in the area of modern Libya.

All the wars and fighting in the Arabic regions will ultimately result in a leader rising up that the Bible refers to as the final King of the South. And that will not end well for those who truly support his end time confederation per Daniel 11:40-43. Yet, it likely will take even more war, as well as at least one peace treaty (cf. Daniel 9:27), for that leader to rise up. That being said, there is war and destruction prophesied for those associated with Libya in the Bible.

Jesus told His followers to watch, related to prophetic events, in Mark 13.

Watch the Middle East.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia in Prophecy What is ahead for North Africa? What does the Bible teach?
The Prophesied ‘Islamic’ Confederation Where is an Islamic caliphate prophesied? Will one happen? Should you be concerned about it? Here is a link to a related video video: Will an Arabic Calphiphate Destroy the West?
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.
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy What does the Bible teach about Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians?
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.
The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation.
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There is also a YouTube video titled Iran in Prophecy. Here is a related video Iran In 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.between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2014, 2015, or 2016? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2013 o 2014? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
Wars, rumors of wars, and the Apocalypse Jesus foretold a time before the end where there would be wars and rumors of wars. The Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) warns of the red horseman of war. Now, even secular writers, like Larry Edelson, are worried that wars and rumors of war are the most menacing problem that now haunts the earth? Are they right? What is the solution? This is a sermonette-length video.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future What does the Bible say about Jerusalem and its future? Is Jerusalem going to be divided and eliminated? Is Jesus returning to the area of Jerusalem? There is also a related YouTube video you can watch titled Jerusalem To be divided and eliminated.
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.
Prophecy Obama: Prophecies of Barack Obama? Reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. This article includes many biblical and non-biblical prophecies, from around the world, that seem to discuss Barack Obama. Did Nostradamus predict Barack Obama dealing with the Antichrist? Might Barack Obama set the stage for the kings of the North and South as at least one Shiite prophecy suggests? Read it and decide for yourself if President Obama seems to be fulfilling various prophecies. Watch also the YouTube Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.