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other end of the Red Sea, Italy has now acquired possession of Abyssinia, and
consequently, as things are at present, in time of war the Suez Canal would become a
death-trap. In these circumstances it is not to be wondered at that the eyes of those who
have the control of these things have turned to Cyprus, lying as it does so near to
Palestine and within easy reach of the Suez Canal. The following is quoted from an
article by Philip Jordan in the News Chronicle for 12th June, 1936:--
"What had been British strength is now British weakness. A menaced Red Sea means,
perhaps, an untenable Mediterranean; for you cannot blow up one part of a by-pass
without making the whole of it unfit for traffic."
"Outside home waters British naval strategy was based on the Mediterranean as a
highway for sea traffic; but it may well prove that Italian tactics have turned it into a lake
from which, in time of trouble, British ships will find it difficult to leave in safety, for
between Gibraltar and the Canal is a narrow channel separating Sicily from Tunis. It is
guarded in the middle by Italy's fortified island of Pantellaria."
"The times are out of joint for pre- and post-war naval strategy. The Mediterranean,
once a flowing tide of ships, may become the focal point in another war. In such a war
the British fleet would suffer damage that might be irreparable. Its danger lies in its
comparative immobility: its safety in the impregnable air base which lies at the eastern
end of that land-locked sea. For Palestine is the hope of its salvation. Behind that narrow
country lie the immeasurable deserts of biblical antiquity: before it, the sea."
"Operating from a base out of range of any hostile navy or air force, the wings of
Britain could spread themselves, rise and destroy and then return comparatively
undamaged. Under the aegis of those wings now falls the safety of the Suez and of the
wealth of Egypt; and under their aegis, in future, the Mediterranean must operate."
The reader will see that it is inevitable that Palestine must figure largely in the future
plans of the great conflicting nations of the earth.
There are several references in the Scriptures to a place called "Chittim". This is the
ancient name of the island of Cyprus, and is probably used in Scripture much as we use
the term "The Levant", including not only Cyprus itself but some of the coast-land of the
adjacent countries. For the moment, however, we will leave the wider sphere and
concentrate upon the island of Cyprus itself.
The references to Chittim are six in number: Num. 24: 24, Isa. 23: 1, 12,
Jer. 2: 10, Ezek. 27: 6, and Dan. 11: 30. Of these references, the last is of most
importance to us at the moment. The context speaks of the day when the "vile person",
who comes in peaceably and obtains the kingdom by flatteries, shall return from battle
against the King of the South. And in verse 30 we read:--
"The ships of Chittim shall be against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return
and have indignation against the holy covenant" (Dan. 11: 30).
The next verse, which speaks of the "abomination that maketh desolate", fixes the
time as being that of the end. It would appear that some sea power, associated with
Cyprus, is to be an antagonist of this "vile person", who is opposed to the holy covenant.