Following is just a wire story about the continuing violence during the funeral.
For those interested in my views of the prophecies, I just thought it worth noting how such events (not necessarily this one) could play into the prophetic timetable.
According to the prophets the coming Rex Mundi (Antichrist/Dijal/Little Horn) will rise to power in Europa during its reunification (i.e. from within the EU) -- Dan 2:44:
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. "
That he will arise from Western Europe appears certain based on several prophecies.
There are also interesting prophecies such as:
Isaiah 10:5,6: O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger... I will send him against an hypocritical nation [i.e. Israel], and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge...
And again,
Micah 5
1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting [i.e. the coming Moshiach].
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth [comp. Rev 12:2]: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
5 And this man [Moshiach] shall be the peace, when the Assyrian [Rex Mundi/Antichrist] shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men....
The ancient Assyrian Empire reached up into the Greek Isles and I have always thought it likely (NOT CERTAIN) that Rex Mundi will rise from there. Currently there are approximately 8,000 Assyrians living in Greece -- http://www.aina.org/aol/peter/brief.htm -- and events SUCH AS the current riots that are taking place in Greece could easily be manipulated to inspire the rise of one of these Assyrians to political authority.
I am NOT saying this has happened during these riots... I am merely reminding those interested in biblical prophecy of the potentially vital role Greece may play in coming events.
The story:
Violence breaks out during Greek teen's funeral
ATHENS, Greece – Riot police fought running battles with mourners Tuesday after the funeral of a teenager whose shooting by officers set off waves of rioting that have sent Greece's already unpopular government reeling.
Opposition socialist leader George Papandreou called for early elections, saying the governing conservatives were incapable of defending the public from rioters.
The government has a single-seat majority in the 300-member Parliament and opposition parties blame hands-off policing for encouraging the worst rioting the country has seen in decades.
"The government cannot handle this crisis and has lost the trust of the Greek people," Papandreou said. "The best thing it can do is resign and let the people find a solution ... we will protect the public."
High-school and university students joined elements of mostly left-wing and self-styled anarchist groups to rampage through the capital and several other cities overnight. Gangs of masked youths roamed the streets erecting burning barricades and pelting riot police with rocks and bottles.
On Tuesday, police fired tear gas to dispel dozens of youths throwing stones and sticks and setting trash cans on fire near the funeral for 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, whose death Saturday sparked the rioting. Dozens of local residents gathered on the streets, shouting at police to stop firing gas in the residential area.
Some 6,000 people attended the funeral, applauding as the body was carried out of the church in a flower-covered white coffin.
Schools and universities across Greece were closed and hundreds of teachers, university lecturers and students rallied in central Athens, where hundreds of teenagers threw rocks and scuffled with officers. Fighting also continued in Thessaloniki.
"Everyone has let our children down ... Every day I see that students are becoming more hostile toward us and figures of authority," said Christos Kittas, who resigned as the dean of Athens University after the rioting spread to campuses.
Tension between security forces and leftist groups is deeply rooted in Greece, dating back to the seven-year military dictatorship that was toppled by a student uprising in 1974.
The groups have now evolved into various factions that claim to fight trends ranging from globalization to the growth of police surveillance cameras.
Their impact is usually limited to graffiti and late-night firebomb attacks on targets such as stores and cash machines.
But the latest riots have besieged the administration of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who has faced a wave of discontent and sometimes violent demonstrations over policies including unpopular reforms to the country's pension system, privatizations and loosening state control of higher education.
"It's very simple — we want the government to fall. This boy's death was the last straw for us," Petros Constantinou, an organizer with the Socialist Workers Party, said after a protest in central Athens. "This government wants the poor to pay for all the country's problems — never the rich — and they keep those who protest in line with police oppression."
Even if the opposition Socialists were to come to power, they would find themselves faced with pressure to reform the economy and pensions.
Police said rioters damaged or destroyed 200 stores and 50 banks in Athens overnight, while 20 buildings were damaged by fires, including downtown hotels that were temporarily evacuated late Monday. A further 100 stores were damaged in Thessaloniki.
There was also rioting in Crete, the holiday island of Corfu, and in other areas around Greece.
Riot police used tear gas when attacked by youths but stood back as they smashed windows and torched stores along Athens' main commercial streets.
Greece's interior minister insisted police had successfully protected human life, and Karamanlis said there would be no leniency for rioters.
On Tuesday, the Bank of Greece announced a 12-month delay on interest payments for loans by shopkeepers affected by the rioting. But the Athens Traders Association encouraged its members to sue the government, saying police had failed to protect them.
The circumstances surrounding Grigoropoulos' shooting are unclear, but the two officers involved have been arrested; one has been charged with murder and the other as an accomplice. A coroner's report shows the boy was shot in the chest.
____
Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros and Menelaos Hadjicostis contributed to this report
No comments:
Post a Comment