While ISIS expands, so does Iran’s nuclear program.
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

While our attention has recently been focused on ISIS, Iran has continued to expand

Hassan Rouhani

Hassan Rouhani

its nuclear enrichment and weapons development programs, largely due to President Obama’s empty and ineffective strategy of trying to negotiate with the rogue Shiite state. While Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, appears to be running the show, he is merely a figurehead. The real power is wielded by the Ayatollah Khamenei, the head of the “Twelvers cult,” the sect of Shi’ism that controls the politics of the nation.

Ayatollah Khamenei

Ayatollah Khamenei

Its followers believe that its mystical leader, the Mahdi, will return after disappearing about 1,000 years ago. He will return to save the day when a great apocalyptic war throws the earth into mass chaos. When this happens, the world’s 300 million Shiites will unite in a religious war waged first against the Saturday people-the Little Satan-the Jews, and then against the Sunday people-the Great Satan-America.

mahdi

The Mahdi

The unification will take place as the caliphate is established to rule over the “Nation of Islam,” which will be in direct opposition to all non-Islamic nations. The goal is world dominance, starting with the Gulf States. The unified Islamic nations will be a combination of religious ideology and political strategy aimed at defeating Western culture and values, replacing them with servitude to the new Nation of Islam.”

Known as the “Twelvers,” this largest branch of Shi’a Islam is named after twelve supposedly divinely appointed leaders known as the twelve imams. They fervently believe that the twelfth of these imams known as the Mahdi, will return.

AS I SEE IT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently warned the world that aNorth Korea nuclear test - Copy nuclear Iran would be no less dangerous than a nuclear al-Qaeda. Militant Islam has many branches, but they’re all rooted in the same soil-the soil of intolerance toward all differing and conflicting ideologies. He sees no greater danger to his country than a nuclear Iran.

I have taken this brief historical look back so we can better understand Iran’s action on the world stage. The Iranian leaders really believe that a worldwide apocalyptic war is a religious and political necessity, and once they perfect their nuclear weapons, they will make bring about such a war.

Since the Iranian leaders have been very clear regarding their intentions, it seems to me that allowing them to continue their weapons-building programs is lunacy of the highest order. Who in their right mind would wait until their enemy is fully armed before dealing with the threat against your existence?

ISIS territoryThings are happening so fast in the Middle East that failing to understand or at least follow the action would be suicidal. We’ve watched ISIS take shape and conquer a large swath of territory across northern Iraq and Syria in a matter of weeks, enabled by the lack of an American military presence in Iraq. We’ve watched as a caliphate has been declared, bringing to fruition the Islamic dreams that began nearly a hundred years ago (with the birth of the Muslim Brotherhood). The problem for Islam worldwide, however, is that the Sunnis have claimed victory over their fellow Muslims, the Shiites. At the moment, it appears that a unified Islamic nation is not possible. However, we have seen that things can change in a hurry. All sorts of things we never dreamed possible are happening before our eyes and it seems like we are powerless to change anything.

So, what are the likely possibilities regarding how things will play out? One possibility is that somehow, the two sides will unite. This would be devastating for the rest of the world. Another possibility is that tensions escalate to the point that a major regional Sunni vs. Shiite war envelops the entire Middle East. Alliances based on political expediency would result in a war that is merely a prelude both Armageddon and the war against Israel and America. Israel, being in the center of all the action, could be temporarily spared, or become a common enemy to both sides, in which case, she would be forced to pull out all the stops to defend herself.

Map US-Terroist-Camp

Terrorist Training Camps

America could easily be drawn in as all the sleeper cells and terrorist training camps would be given orders to complete their missions. Our failure to do anything about these internal threats could very well leave us vulnerable to catastrophic devastation.

The good news is that everything is going to play out exactly as our sovereign God has determined. He is in the process of equipping His soldiers for what lies ahead. He could easily intervene and change everything. We have no idea what’s going to happen, but we can be ready if we pay attention to what’s happening, understanding the times in which we live, and submitting ourselves to the complete authority of the One True God, Who has promised that He will never leave or forsake those who are His.

For Insight regarding the role Islam may play in the last days, I recommend Islam and the Last Days.

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
A closed mouth gathers no foot.