Worthy Christian News Blog

I recently received an email which was wondering why I believed so strongly that a strike against Iran was inevitable?  There’s more than a few reasons, but I thought I would take the time to answer this Biblically.

There’s a unique passage of Scripture in Jeremiah that I believe really points to the current events of our day in relation to Israel and Iran.

Jeremiah 49:34-39  The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.   For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

The first question, you must ask — “Who is Elam?”  This is a brief description of Elam from Wikipedia.

Elam is the name of an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Archaeological evidence associated with Elam has been dated to before 5000 BCE.  According to available written records, it is known to have existed beginning from around 3200 BC — making it among the world’s oldest historical civilizations — and to have endured up until 539 BC. Elam was centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province (which takes its name from Elam), as far as Jiroft in Kerman province and Burned City in Zabol, as well as a small part of southern Iraq. — Source - Wikipedia

So Elam is the modern state of Iran!  So the next question you need to ask — when is the timing of this prophecy?  If you look at verse 39, you’ll see the phrase “shall come to pass in the latter days”.  The phrase “latter days” in Hebrew is “ahreet-yomim” which can be literally translated, “in the end of days”.

As we read this passage, the first act of God is to break the bow of Iran.  What’s interesting to me about this phrase, is the absence of arrows.  Could this be breaking the “threat” of weapons?  Of course this interpretation is totally up for debate and I’m by no means dogmatic about it!

The next aspect we see, is the scattering of the people of Elam.  Most people don’t realize that in 1979 when the Shah was overthrown and an Islamic constitution was instituted that nearly 4 million Iranians fled Iran and settled around the globe.

Then the prophecy states that the sword of the Lord will be sent, and then the establishment of the throne of God in Iran.

Right now, we’re seeing an explosion of the gospel in Iran! There’s nearly a million believers in Iran meeting in underground churches and when these events take place there’s more than enough believers in Iran to bring a full blown revival just as the prophecy states, “and I will set my throne in Elam!”  But right now, there’s an Islamic barrier to the gospel, but God says He will remove these barriers by “destroying from thence the king and the princes”.  It appears the fall of the Iranian government, the mullahs and the Ayatollah Khomeini are predicted!

While this prophecy may be connected to the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38, I’m leaning to the connection of this prophecy with Psalm 83.  For the purpose of war in both passages is to bring forth revival!  For example, Psalm 83:16 says, “Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.”

I believe we’re closer to the fulfillment of these prophecies than most people realize, and by no means am I dogmatic about the timing of these prophecies — but I would have to completely ignore the news and the current events of our day not to see the possible connection!

Until next time…

This was absolutely precious — one of my favorite moments while watching both the Democratic and Republican conventions.

Agence France Presse reported today,

“The Russian company building Iran’s first nuclear power plant has renewed a commitment to complete the project, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday…

The Russian contractor said in December that Bushehr would not come on line before the end of 2008, amid repeated delays in construction, contractual disputes and international tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme.”

As I’ve said previously, I believe the key to understanding when a strike may take place in Iran is when the Bushehr power plant comes online.

Now it appears the reactor will not come online until after 2008, so the window of opportunity seems possible between November and January.  Chris Mitchell of CBN reported yesterday,

“The Israel newspaper Ma’ariv reported within the past few days that Israel had made the strategic decision to “take whatever means necessary” to stop Tehran.

If Israel did act, one of the most probable “windows,” according to a former senior Israeli official we spoke with Monday, would be between November and January. The time frame has less to do with logistics than politics. This is the time between November’s U.S. presidential election and the inauguration of the next President on January 20th.”

Until next time…

Last year, we helped feed, clothe, and shelter over 70 Sudanese Christians fleeing the Darfur region where thousands upon thousands of Christians have been raped and slaughtered over the past few years. We witnessed the horrors, heard the stories, wept and rejoiced with our Sudanese brothers and sisters — so we have a unique perspective of what’s happening in Sudan.

After years of massive destruction by Islamic militants in Sudan, the UN supposedly was going to end the slaughter by sending in peacekeepers — yet only 9,000 of the promised 26,000 troops have been sent thus far!  Now the Sudanese government has launched another massive offensive on August 12th armed with Chinese and Russian weapons — and once again — it’s being ignored by the media which is distracted by the Olympics and the war in Georgia.   So how many more people need to die before the world cares again?

Let’s be sure to keep our brothers and sisters in Sudan in our prayers.

Until next time…

Whenever I’m reading the news, I’m trying to read between the lines — because the truth is often between them!

So where does the truth lie in the Georgian-Russian conflict?  Well, the American news media seems to neglect the fact that the Georgian government started this conflict and it appears the Russians are not quite ready to end it!

Last week, a mass incursion of Georgian troops and armor into Southern Ossetia began the conflict and in the midst of the its attack twelve Russian peacekeepers were killed.  The Russians responded by launching an offensive of their own against Georgia.

So you must be asking yourself — What is Ossetia?  Well, the Ossetians are a unique group of people that considers itself neither Russian or Georgian — yet it finds itself divided by geographical and political borders.  The northern part of Ossetia lies inside of Russia, while the Southern part lies in Georgia.

Let me give you just a little background of Southern Ossetia.  On November 12, 2006 over 98% of South Ossetians approved a referendum to declare its independence from Georgia.   In spite of the fact that South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia and has been since the 1990s it remains part of Georgia.  Nevertheless Georgia has routinely and brutally attacked South Ossetians since the 1990s in order to drive them into North Ossetia and thus trying to claim its land as their own.

Now it appears the real motive for the advance of the Russian army may not be just “protecting” the Ossetian people — but to destroy the democratic government of Georgia and securing its Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which serves as the only oil and gas route that bypasses Russia’s stranglehold on energy exports in the region.

Let’s face it — the Georgian army is no match against the Russian military machine.  According to Jane’s Defense Weekly, Russia’s army totaled 641,000 compared to Georgia’s 26,900 troops. Russia has over 6,700 tanks compared to Georgia’s 82.  Russia has 7,550 pieces of heavy artillery compared to Georgia’s merger 95 pieces. Let’s face it — Georgia is seriously outnumbered and outgunned in the conflict!

If we really want to be balanced in analyzing the situation, we need to reprimand Georgia for oppressing their own people — and we need to strongly blame the Russians for escalating the violence to what appears now to be a full blown war!  The truth is the Ossetian people are the real victims of this conflict as they are being squeezed between Russia and Georgia!

Until next time…

The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S. was sending two more aircraft carriers into the gulf to accompany the two U.S. naval battle groups already in the region. I find it amazing that this story wasn’t picked up the the U.S. news media! I waited before posting this blog to see if the U.S. would confirm or deny the story — it hasn’t done either.

It certainly appears that the U.S. and Israel are preparing for war.   The war drums are beating so loudly that Europe is doing all it can to prevent a full blown war in the region — so it imposed yet another round of sanctions on Iran yesterday.  But how effective can sanctions be when Russia and China are more than willing to profit when the world tries to strangle Iran financially?

For example this past spring, China’s state-run oil company announced it would move forward on a $70 billion contract to purchase liquefied natural gas and develop the Yadavaran oil field in southwest Iran. Russia continues to sell Iran billions of dollars worth of nuclear technology as well as some of its most advanced radar and anti-aircraft weaponry.

With a war is breaking out in Georgia now — I’m wondering how much will this preoccupy Russia? Along with the situation in Georgia — China is hosting the Olympic Games for the next few weeks. So now, I’m pondering the Russian and Chinese factor — how will this play into the minds of military planners?

Until next time…

Over the past few months, I was beginning to wonder if anyone was noticing how much weaponry Israel is purchasing.  Finally Newsweek reported this today,

The Jewish state has purchased 90 F-16I fighter planes that can carry enough fuel to reach Iran, and will receive 11 more by the end of next year. It has bought two new Dolphin submarines from Germany reportedly capable of firing nuclear-armed warheads — in addition to the three it already has. - Source: Newsweek

It’s amazing how the purchase of 2 more nuclear submarines went under the radar by the media. I was relaying to a friend of mine recently — it’s interesting that the media doesn’t talk about Israel’s naval capabilities. Five nuclear powered submarines capable of being armed with nuclear weapons is no small fleet considering the firepower they can carry!

Is Israel preparing for a strike? It appears so.  Now the real question I’m pondering isn’t whether Israel will strike…but when?

Until next time…