Of Bullies and Worse Bullies…

Remember the school bully? The big, bad guy, who believed himself stronger, or at least more intimidating, than the other kids. He made a point of throwing his weight around, at times just threatening, at times actually fighting. The goal was classic: to be the king of the playground, the “bad boy,” the one whom no one dared challenge, the one who was free to help himself to the other kids’ candy.

On rare occasion the school bully got dethroned. Another kid, bigger and more threatening (or at least appearing to be), came along and won either a psychological battle or perhaps a real one. Either way, the effect was the same: Gone was yesterday’s bully; and here now was today’s, in appearance at least, even worse than the former.

World geopolitics is often like that. Witness the latest news from Arab nations. Gone are such unsavory “bullies” as Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Others, such as arch bully Muammar Gadhafi of Libya, are being challenged. Still others, such as the Syrian regime and the Sunni leaders of little Bahrain, appear vulnerable.

But who will replace these bullies? Will the new “tough guy” be worse, perhaps even more repressive, even more brutal, than the one he succeeded?

On Saturday, March 19, Egyptians approved amendments to their constitution that would move the country away from the old, heavily controlled sham democracy of the last 30-plus years toward something resembling Western-style democracy. Over 40 percent of the Egyptian electorate voted, with 77 percent of those approving the new constitution. Among other things, the new constitution limits the presidency to a maximum of two four-year terms (Mubarak was in power for nearly 30 years) and removes restrictions that effectively prevented independent candidates from running for president.

Yet who will benefit from these reforms? The only two significant organized political groups in Egypt are the Muslim Brotherhood, which advocates sharia law and opposition to the peace with Israel, and the remnants of Mubarak’s own National Democratic Party. Many of the young, middle-class opposition, who were glad to see the end of the former regime, now fear a takeover by the Islamists. They lobbied for a delay in polling so that centrist democratic parties would have time to organize, but to no avail. Will Egypt end up with an even worse bully?

Meantime, as I write, one of the worst of the Middle East’s bullies is under extreme pressure. Colonel Muammar Gadhafi, Libya’s violent and brutal leader, is now on the defensive. Having countered the initiative of the Benghazi-based opposition and successfully pushed many of their forces back eastward, he suddenly faces a huge challenge in the form of a no-fly zone imposed by France, Britain, the United States and others.

If anyone can be characterized as a bully, Gadhafi surely can. Recall the vicious bombing attack against Pan Am flight 103 back in December 1988, which killed all on board, including 243 passengers and 16 crew members, as well as 11 more innocents on the ground. The bombing, dubbed the Lockerbie bombing because of the Scottish town where the jet came down, was reported to have been personally ordered by arch bully Gadhafi.

Recent news reports feature pictures of explosions in Libya resulting from the allied bombings. Mr. Gadhafi’s own compound in Tripoli is reported to have been hit, and the unpredictable leader’s whereabouts are unknown.

But will one arch bully be replaced by a worse? Libya’s opposition is even less organized than Egypt’s, creating a vacuum into which a new bully may walk.

Ongoing protests in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain and other Arab countries all add into the mix of a region whose future is volatile and unpredictable. Many of the leaders of these Arab nations have ruled with intimidation and repression; but who will succeed them?

The fact of the matter is that liberal democracy and Islam have not usually mixed well, despite the wishful thinking of the United States. Witness Iraq and its weak, divided government. Plagued by tribalism and sectarian strife, Iraq’s central government appears ineffective and unstable.

But let’s turn to a less speculative source: Bible prophecy, which clearly indicates there will be an end-time leader of an alliance of nations in this part of the world, termed the “king of the South” (Daniel 11:40). Likely an even worse bully than those currently being overthrown, he will utilize religion to unify his kingdom. His influence will be very bad for the west, especially Europe, which will oppose him under the leadership of an even more violent bully: the end-time “beast” power or “king of the North,” mentioned in many Bible prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments.

It’s been said that bullies turn into cowards when confronted by a bigger bully. This will be the case in the last days with the king of the South, who will be decisively outgunned and overrun by the king of the North as he swoops down from Europe. This king of the North, also a bully of the first order, will, in turn, be overcome and removed by the One who will have supreme power to overcome all the bullies of this world: Jesus Christ the Messiah. This One, the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” will bring justice to the weak and disenfranchised. He will only be seen as a bully by those He defeats. However, He will be seen as a Champion, Savior and Deliverer by those who suffered at the hands of all the earlier bullies.

It all bears watching. And it ends well!

Farewell to all bullies!