Despite Vast Islamic Persecution, Youth Birth 'Awakening' in Iran - JESSILYN JUSTICE CHARISMA NEWS

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran.REUTERS/Caren Firouz/File Photo

Despite Vast Islamic Persecution, Youth Birth 'Awakening' in Iran

JESSILYN JUSTICE

Dec, 3, 2016 charisma news

Iranian youth have sparked an "awakening" among their countrymen, with hundreds being baptized recently. 

"The youth have become restless and have looked toward an alternative to the regime and Islam," CCM Ministries founder and CEO Mani Erfan tells Fox News. "The youth find Western culture and the Christian church very appealing.

"It's become a counter-culture. A counter-revolution to the [1979 Iranian] Revolution." 

ELAM Ministries estimates more than 200 Iranians and Afghans have been baptized since August.  

"News from Iran dominates our headlines, but behind the scenes God is building His church," according to the ELAM website. "Thirty years of Islamic revolution have made Iranians the most open Muslim people in the world to Christ. And it is only the gospel that can bring peace to Iranians and the whole Middle East." 

Shia Islam governs Iran, according to Open Doors USA, creating a devastating hostile environment for the country's 450,000 Christians.  

"Christianity is also considered a condemnable Western influence, an imminent threat to the Islamic identity of the Republic. Especially as their numbers are growing and, allegedly, even children of political and spiritual leaders are leaving Islam for Christianity," Open Doors reports. 

Jessilyn Justice is the assistant news editor for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor's family in Alabama, she went to Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She's passionate about the church, jogging, news and cupcakes not necessarily in that order. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.

What is “Apocalyptic Islam” and why is it so dangerous? - Joel Rosenberg

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

What is “Apocalyptic Islam” and why is it so dangerous? The research behind my remarks to the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. by joelcrosenberg Addressing the Jerusalem Leaders Summit on the threat of "Apocalyptic Islam." (Jerusalem, Israel) -- Eschatology is not a word that typically comes up in public policy forums. Yesterday afternoon, however, I had the honor of addressing the Jerusalem Leaders Summit here in the heart of the epicenter. My remarks focused on the rise of Apocalyptic Islam -- what it is, why it is emerging as a far more serious threat to the U.S., Israel, and the world than Radical Islam, and how Shia and Sunni eschatology differ immensely from Jewish and Christian eschatology. For the last several days, my fellow speakers -- including Members of the European Parliament -- and I have been meeting with Israeli government officials to share ideas on a range of economic and security matters. Yesterday morning, for example, we visited the Knesset (Israel's parliament) and were briefed by the Knesset Member Tzachi Hanegbi, chairman of the Foreign & Defense Affairs Committee, on the Iran nuclear threat and the current wave of Palestinian terror. In my remarks to the Summit, and in individual conversations with Israeli leaders, journalists and business leaders, I have been making the case that I have expressed in numerous forums in the U.S., Canada, South Korea and around the world. We cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to define. To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it. Evil, unchecked, is a prelude to genocide. That we are facing not one but two nation states right now (Iran & the Islamic States) whose leaders are motivated by a genocidal version of Islamic eschatology, or End Times theology. Far more attention needs to be paid by government leaders and public policy experts on the theology and eschatology driving our enemies. I noted that President Obama foolishly -- dangerously -- continues to adamantly refuse to acknowledge the threat of Radical Islam. It's both a concept and a term he rejects out of hand. He certainly refuses to acknowledge that there is a far greater threat emerging -- that of what I call "Apocalyptic Islam." Indeed, he and his administration are completely ignoring it, even as Iranian and ISIS leaders are becoming far more brazen in their public discussions of their End Times beliefs. On July 14th, President Obama expressed his full support for the Iran nuclear deal, saying, "Time and again, I have made clear to the Iranian people that we will always be open to engagement on the basis of mutual interests and mutual respect.  Our differences are real and the difficult history between our nations cannot be ignored.  But it is possible to change.  The path of violence and rigid ideology, a foreign policy based on threats to attack your neighbors or eradicate Israel -- that's a dead end.  A different path, one of tolerance and peaceful resolution of conflict, leads to more integration into the global economy, more engagement with the international community, and the ability of the Iranian people to prosper and thrive." Against all evidence, the President believes that Iran's regime just might be interested in taking "a different path," one that is peaceful and cooperative and tolerant. On August 8th, the President explained his thinking even further. In an address at American University in Washington, D.C, he quoted President John F. Kennedy and argued that his support for the Iran nuclear deal was predicated on the premise that he could achieve "a practical and attainable peace" with the leaders of Iran, "a peace based not on a sudden revolution in human nature, but on a gradual evolution in human institutions, on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements." The central question is whether the President is accurately reading the intentions of Iran's top leaders. Are they interested in taking "a different path, one of tolerance and peaceful resolution of conflict"? Is there any hard evidence that the attitudes and actions will become more peaceful as a result of this nuclear deal, and that we will see a"gradual evolution" in the behavior of the Iranian regime? The central task we have, then, is to examine carefully the speeches and actions of our enemies and seek to determine what they really believe, why, how those beliefs drive their actions, and whether we have any leverage to change their beliefs and thus change their actions. I argued at this Summit that the evidence strongly indicates that we are dealing with "true believers" in Iran and ISIS, men who believe deeply -- passionately -- in a cause few Westerners even comprehend, much less accept. Indeed, for the first time in human history, the top leaders of not just one nation state but two -- Iran and the Islamic State -- are being driven by Islamic eschatology, or End Times theology. Their particular brands of Shia and Sunni eschatology are driving them towards genocide. Why? Because they believe: that the End of Days have arrived that the Islamic messiah known as the "Mahdi" will appear at any moment that when the Mahdi appears, he will rule the entire Earth that Jesus will also return to Earth, but not as the Messiah, or Savior, or Son of God, but as the deputy to the Mahdi that Jesus will force all Jews, Christians and other so-called "infidels" to convert to Islam or be executed that the way to hasten the arrival and full establishment of the global Islamic kingdom or "caliphate" is to annihilate Jews and Christians, and specifically to annihilate Israel (which they call the "Little Satan" in their eschatology), and the United States (which they call the "Great Satan.") that time is very short, and they must move decisively because soon each Muslim will face the Mahdi face to face and be brought into judgment if they have not faithfully followed the Mahdi's orders. They discuss such matters often -- not in the shadows, but in public. Yet, Western leaders are not paying attention, much less carefully analyzing the implications of such beliefs. If my analysis is correct, there is no earthly chance the leaders of Iran -- or ISIS -- will change course. Rather, they are Hell-bent on committing genocide of historic proportions and totally destroying Judeo-Christian civilization as we have known it. Thus, our leaders must study the facts carefully and determine whether Iranian and ISIS leaders really believe such things, and formulate strategies to protect our people and neutralize such enemies accordingly. During my remarks, I promised to post several fact sheets so those attending the Summit and those watching the live streaming webcast around the world could study the issue more closely. Here they are. FACT SHEET: The Iranian Leadership's Apocalyptic Beliefs FACT SHEET: The Islamic State's Apocalyptic Beliefs FACT SHEET: Why Is The Iran Nuclear Deal So Dangerous? COLUMN: Islamic Extremists Are Trying to Hasten the Coming of the Mahdi Also, here is a link to an excellent new book by Brookings Institution scholar, William McCants, titled, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy & Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State. It is a work I highly recommend to government leaders, public policy experts and lay people, as well. Last key point for now: I noted at the Summit that devout, Bible-believing Jews and Christians also have End Times theologies. But neither hold that Jews or Christians are supposed to commit genocide. Rather, we believe from the prophets Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and others that the Messiah will come at the End of Days, conquer His enemies, and establish a global kingdom whose capital is Jerusalem. The Messiah will judge and conquer His enemies. That is not our job. Most Jews and Christians differ, of course, on the identity of the Messiah and whether His arrival on Earth to establish His global Kingdom will be His first visit, or His second. Still, neither Jewish nor Christian eschatology requires us to commit genocide. But the Iranian and ISIS versions of Islamic eschatology are genocidal in their very nature. When the video of my remarks becomes available, I will post it here and through social media. Hope you find this helpful. Please feel free to share this post with others. ——————————– To order The Third Target -- now in paperback -- please click here, or go to your favorite bookstore in your community. To pre-order The First Hostage -- my next political thriller that releases in North America on December 29th -- please click here. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg Receive every blog post automatically via the RSS feed. Invest in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution. joelcrosenberg | November 5, 2015 at 9:32 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3nS

Ben Carson Exposes Islamic ‘Taqiyya,’ But There’s Even More You Should Know

Ben Carson

Ben Carson Exposes Islamic ‘Taqiyya,’ But There’s Even More You Should Know

By Raymond Ibrahim September 29, 2015 Breaking Israel News

Of all the points presidential hopeful Ben Carson made in defense of his position that he “would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” the most poignant was his referencing of taqiyya, one of Islam’s doctrines of deception.

According to Carson, whoever becomes president should be “sworn in on a stack of Bibles, not a Koran”:

“I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country,” Carson said, referencing the Islamic law derived from the Koran and traditions of Islam. “Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.”

Carson said that the only exception he’d make would be if the Muslim running for office “publicly rejected all the tenants of Sharia and lived a life consistent with that.”

“Then I wouldn’t have any problem,” he said.

However, on several occasions Carson mentioned “Taqiyya,” a practice in the Shia Islam denomination in which a Muslim can mislead nonbelievers about the nature of their faith to avoid religious persecution.

“Taqiyya is a component of Shia that allows, and even encourages you to lie to achieve your goals,” Carson said.

Considering that the current U.S. president has expunged all reference to Islam in security documents and would have Americans believe that Islamic doctrine is more or less like Christianity, it is refreshing to see a presidential candidate referencing a little-known but critically important Muslim doctrine.

However, the widely cited notion that taqiyya is only a Shia doctrine needs to be corrected. This is false, and it lets the vast majority of the world’s Muslims, the Sunnis, off the hook.

According to Sami Mukaram, one of the world’s foremost authorities on taqiyya:

Taqiyya is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it … We can go so far as to say that the practice of taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream … Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era.[i]

Taqiyya is often associated with the Shias because, as a minority group interspersed among their Sunni rivals, they have historically had more reason to dissemble. Today, however, Sunnis living in the West find themselves in the place of the Shia. Now they are the minority surrounded by their historic enemies — Western “infidels” — and so they too have plenty of occasion to employ taqiyya.

Making Muslims swear on Bibles would not be any defense against taqiyya. As long as their allegiance to Islam is secure in their hearts, taqiyya allows Muslims to behave like non-Muslims. Praying before Christian icons, wearing crosses, making the sign of the cross — anything short of actually killing a Muslim could be allowed. (In several instances, Muslims in the U.S. military exposed their true loyalties when they reached the point of having to fight fellow Muslims in foreign nations.[ii])

For those with a discerning eye, taqiyya is all around us. Muslim refugees have pretended to convert to Christianity (in the past and the present); an Islamic gunman gained entrance inside a church by feigning interest in Christian prayers. Examples abound on a daily basis.

Consider the following anecdote from Turkey. In order to get close enough to a Christian pastor to assassinate him, a group of Muslims — including three women — feigned interest in Christianity, attended his church for over a year, and even participated in baptism ceremonies. Said the pastor, Emre Karaali:

These people had infiltrated our church and collected information about me, my family and the church and were preparing an attack against us. … Two of them attended our church for over a year and they were like family.

If some Muslims are willing to go to such lengths to eliminate the already downtrodden Christian minorities in their midst, does anyone doubt that a taqiyya-practicing Muslim presidential candidate might have no reservations about swearing on a stack of Bibles?

Precedents for such treachery litter the whole of Islamic history, and begin with the Muslim prophet himself.

During the Battle of the Trench (627 AD), which pitted Muhammad and his followers against several non-Muslim tribes collectively known as “the Confederates,” a Confederate called Naim bin Masud went to the Muslim camp and converted to Islam. When Muhammad discovered the Confederates were unaware of Masud’s deflection to Islam, he counseled him to return and to try to get his tribesmen to abandon the siege. “For war is deceit,” Muhammad assured him.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/61-RaymondIbrahim-600WIDE.jpg

Masud returned to the Confederates without their knowledge that he had switched sides, and began giving his former kin and allies bad advice. He also intentionally instigated quarrels between the various tribes until, thoroughly distrusting each other, they disbanded and lifted the siege, allowing an embryonic Islam to grow. (Here, a Muslim site extols this incident for being illustrative of how Muslims can subvert non-Muslims.)

If a Muslim were running for president of the U.S. in the hopes of ultimately subverting America to Islam, he could, in Carson’s words, easily be “sworn in on a stack of Bibles, not a Koran” and “publicly reject all the tenants of Sharia.” Indeed, he could claim to be a Christian and attend church every week.

It speaks well about Carson that he is aware of, and not hesitant to mention, taqiyya. But that doctrine’s full ramifications regarding how much deception it allows, and its practice by all Muslim denominations, not just the Shia, still needs greater awareness.

The chances of that happening are dim. Already “mainstream media” like the Washington Post have, incorrectly, taken Carson to task for “misunderstanding” taqiyya – that is, for daring to be critical of anything Islamic. These outlets could benefit from learning more about Islam and deception per the below links:

• My expert testimony being used in a court case to refute “taqiyya about taqiyya.”
• The even more elastic doctrine of tawriya, which allows Muslims to deceive fellow Muslims by lying “creatively.”
• My 2008 essay “Islam’s Doctrines of Deception,” commissioned and published by Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst.
• Recent examples of formerly good Muslim neighbors turning violent once they grow in strength and numbers.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/49811/ben-carson-exposes-islamic-taqiyya-but-theres-even-more-you-should-know-opinion/#7OTrC5ojcRsMpZBS.99

Three existential threats facing America - Joel Rosenberg

Three existential threats facing America. (My address to the National Religious Broadcasters convention.) by joelcrosenberg

Addressing the NRB Convention.

(Tucson, Arizona) -- Last month, I addressed the closing dinner of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville. Last night, I addressed a conference of pastors and ministry leaders here in Tucson. The message here was nearly the same as at NRB. People have been asking me to share my notes because of the urgency of the subjects I discussed. So I am posting them here tonight.

The following is the formal message I prepared for the NRB Convention. While I did not deliver the speech verbatim, you will get the essential points I made that night.

WHEN YOU SEE A SWORD COMING:Three Existential Threats Facing America

• Joel C. Rosenberg
• Address to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention
• Nashville, Tennessee
• February 26, 2015

My text tonight is Ezekiel chapter 33, verses one through nine. It is a famous passage -- one that you all know -- about the role of the "Watchman on the Wall." I believe it is deeply relevant to our times.

33 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’

⁷ “Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. ⁹ But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.

More than 2,500 years ago, the Lord spoke these words to the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel.

• A man of God
• Born in Israel
• Exiled and living in Iraq
• Amidst grave dangers rising

What was Ezekiel commanded to do? The text is clear.

• Listen to God
• Watch for threats
• Warn the people, come what may

This was a divine calling – an enormous responsibility. And God was clear. Some would listen to Ezekiel’s warnings. Some would not. Ezekiel was not going to be held responsible for the decision others made to obey the Lord or not. He would be held responsible for obeying the Lord, teaching people the Word of God and warning the people when God told him to speak. Fortunately, Ezekiel was faithful to the task.

As followers of Jesus Christ -- and as pastors and ministry leaders and religious broadcasters -- each of you are, in our modern times, also watchmen on the walls. In many ways, you have the same calling. The same responsibility.

• To listen to the Word of God, found in the Bible
• To speak the Word of God -- to tell people the bad news and the good news according to the Scriptures
• To warn people of threats that are rising
• To speak the truth in love, come what may

God warned Ezekiel -- as He warns us today -- that if He speaks and we don't share His Word with others, we will be held to account. What's more, if we see threats rising, and we do not warn people, we will be held to account.

Tonight, as I look out America, I see three existential threats.

• Threat #1 -- What if America is not simply in a season of decline but heading towards collapse, towards implosion?
• Threat #2 -- What if America is not simply at rising risk of attack by Radical Islam but heading towards the risk of annihilation by Apocalyptic Islam?
• Threat #3 -- What if America is not simply entering a season of strained relations with Israel but heading towards total abandonment of the Jewish State?

Let’s take those one by one.

IMPLOSION

Threat #1 -- What if America is not simply in a season of decline but heading towards collapse, towards implosion?

In 2012, I wrote a non-fiction book called, Implosion: Can America Recover From Her Economic & Spiritual Challenges in Time? I commend it to your attention because every passing day I believe the analysis is proving to be true and its message is becoming more urgent. The nation – and the Church – must know how much danger we are in. If we are silent, or if we soften it around the edges, we will be held to account before the Lord.

In the State of the Union address in January, the President covered a range of issues and challenges that we face, but this was his central case. “No challenge -- no challenge -- poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change."(SOTU, January 20, 2015)

I respectfully disagree. There is a long list of reasons America faces implosion, but I can sum it up in one number: 58 million.

Since 1973, Americans have aborted 58 million babies. Think about that -- 58 million. It is a staggering number. And if something doesn’t happen soon to change course, in less than two years we will hit 60 million.

If this happens, we as Americans will have murdered ten times more human beings than the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis.

We know the judgment of God that fell upon Nazi Germany. What do we think is going to happen to a nation that exterminates ten times more people than the Nazis?

The judgment of Almighty God is coming. There is no way out. The souls of 58 million babies are crying out for justice – and they will get it.But for this to happen we need to be pleading with God to have mercy on us. We need to be calling people to prayer, fasting and above all repentance.

I’m grateful for pastors like Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Bible teachers like Anne Graham Lotz who are calling the Church to precisely this. May their tribe increase.

As watchmen, are you warning America of the coming implosion? Are you calling the Church and nation to prayer and fasting and repentance? Is there more that you can do? Let us be found faithful, for I believe our time is running out.

RADICAL ISLAM AND APOCALYPTIC ISLAM

Threat #2 -- What if America is not simply at rising risk of attack by Radical Islam but heading towards the risk of annihilation by Apocalyptic Islam?

There are two core themes in my books, both novels and non-fiction:

1. To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blind-sided by it.
2. Evil, unchecked, is the prelude to genocide.

On December 7, 1941, we were blindsided by an evil we did not understand.

It happened again on September 11, 2001.

The 9/11 Commission Report stated that the attacks perpetrated by al Qaeda were “not a failure of intelligence but a failure of imagination.” Despite all of the data that was pouring in, our leaders in Washington simply never imagined that such an attack were possible.

Fourteen years later, we have a President who refuses to define “Radical Islam” as the source of the threat we face in the Middle East and North Africa.

• Running in 2008, said Iran was a small country and did not pose a serious threat to us
• January 2014: said ISIS was a “jayvee” squad, not a serious threat
• August 28, 2014: “We don't have a strategy yet” to defeat ISIS.
• January 20, 2015: didn’t mention Islam or Islamism or AQI in his SOTU address

My friends, we cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to define.

The threat of Radical Islam is a very serious threat to us and our allies.

Consider the words of Jordan's King Abdullah, not only a Muslim but a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

• we are in a “Third World War”
• “This is a war inside Islam. So we [Muslims] have to own up to it. We have to take the lead. And we have to start fighting back.”
• “This is a Muslim problem. We need to take ownership of this. We need to stand up and say what is right and what is wrong.” (interview on CBS 60 Minutes, December 5, 2014)

The King and his senior advisors get it. They aren’t Radicals, but Reformers. And they are actively engaged in fighting the Radicals militarily, diplomatically, politically, financially, and even theologically.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also gets it. He, too, is a Muslim – and he, too, is engaging the fight on multiple fronts.

Consider his speech on January 1, 2015 at Al Azhar University in Cairo:

• “Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the world's inhabitants...so that they themselves may win? Impossible.”
• “We are in need of a religious revolution. You imams are responsible before Allah. The entire world is waiting for your next move.”

The President insists that we are not at war with Islam. Obviously. The vast majority of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims are not a danger. But research shows that 7% to 10% of Muslims worldwide do support violent jihad. That's upwards of 150 million people. If it were a single country -- the Islamic Republic of Radicalstan -- it would the world's 9th largest, just ahead of Russia (146 million).

But the threat we face is not simply from Radical Islam. Indeed, it not even primarily from Radical Islam at this hour.

The most serious threat we face in the Middle East and North Africa is what I call “Apocalyptic Islam.”

This is a term each of needs to become familiar with and begin to teach others.

For the first time in all of human history, we have not just one but two nation states who rulers are driven not by political ideology -- or even mere religious theology -- but by apocalyptic End Times eschatology.

• The Islamic Republic of Iran today is ruled by an apocalyptic, genocidal death cult.
• So is the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
• The former are Shia. The latter are Sunni.
• Both believe the End of days has come.
• Both believe their messiah – known as the “Mahdi” -- is coming at any moment.
• Both are trying to hasten the coming of the Mahdi.
• Yet each has entirely different strategies.
• ISIS wants to build a caliphate.
• Iran wants to build The Bomb.
• ISIS is committing genocide now.
• Iran is preparing to commit genocide later.

In the near term, ISIS is more dangerous. Why? Because ISIS is on a jihadist rampage right now. Robbing. Killing. Destroying. Enslaving. Raping. Torturing. Beheading. As Americans, we dare not turn a blind eye to this threat. If we don't defeat the jihadists over there, they are coming here. We must act, and act now.

That said, as Christians we have different responsibilities. The government’s job is to defeat and destroy our enemies. Our job as Christians is to love our enemies, and all those who are living under their reign of terror.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must not be blind to the enormous suffering inside the Muslim world, nor deaf to their cries for help, nor dull to the tyranny we face. Christ commands us to love them, to serve them, to bless them, to tell them the good news that they may have life. We must act, and act now.

Longer term, Iran is the most dangerous, especially if the President approves this nuclear deal that is emerging. Why? Because the apocalyptic leaders of Iran are biding their time to build a nuclear arsenal capable of killing millions of people in a matter of minutes.

Far too few people in the West truly understand the nature and threat of Radical Islam, much less that of Apocalyptic Islam. Indeed, many dismiss these concerns all together. But it is empirical fact that a deep and widespread belief exists within the Islamic world that we are living in the End of Days.

According to a 2012 report by the Pew Research Center, “in most countries in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, more than half or more of Muslims believe they will love to see the return of the Mahdi.” That's more than 750 million Muslims.

• Egypt -- 40% of Muslims believe the return of the Mahdi is imminent.
• Jordan -- 41%
• Palestinians -- 46%
• Iraq -- 72%

What’s more, the report found that an enormous number of Muslims believe that Jesus is coming back to earth (to serve under the Mahdi.)

• Jordan -- 29% of Muslims believe Jesus is coming back to earth
• Egypt -- 39%
• Palestinians -- 46%
• Iraq -- 64%

Apocalyptic Islamic eschatology is a photographic negative of Biblical eschatology. The leaders of Iran and ISIS believe the way to hasten the coming of the messiah to kill as many people as possible. The followers of Jesus Christ, on the other hand,  believe the way to hasten the coming of the messiah is to save as many people as possible. (Matthew 24:14)

Which brings me back to you -- the watchmen on the wall.

• Are you warning the nation of the “coming sword” – the threat of both Radical Islam and Apocalyptic Islam -- and explaining to people their similarities and their differences?
• Are you urging the Church to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching the gospel and making disciples of all nations, including Muslim nations?

Let us not simply tell the bad news. Let us tell the good news. And there is much good news. Since 1979, more Muslims have come to faith on Christ and renounced Islam than in the last 14 centuries of Islam combined.

So now is not the time to cower in fear. Now is the time to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit -- with courage and conviction -- because “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.”

ISRAEL

Which brings me finally to Threat #3 -- What if America is not simply entering a season of strained relations with Israel, but we are heading towards total American abandonment of the Jewish State?

• Genesis 12:1-3 -- God says He will bless those who bless Israel and the Jewish people, and curse those who curse them.
• Joel 3:2 -- God warns the nations that He will judge all who divide the Land of Israel.
• Ezekiel 38-39 -- God warns that a group of nations will attack Israel in the "last days" but no nation will come to Israel's defense.
• Revelation 16 -- God warns that all nations in the End of Days will attack Israel.

The Bible teaches us that all nations will turn against Israel in the last days -- and all nations will face judgment for it -- but woe into us if it happens on our watch.

Have we come to that fateful moment? It is not yet clear. Still, we are watching the President:

• negotiate an incredibly dangerous deal with Iran
• refuse to share the details of this detail with Israel, America’s most faithful and trusted ally in the region
• refuse to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister when he came to address a Joint Session of Congress on matters of existential importance to both of our nations.
• send the VP and Secretary of State out of country to avoid seeing the Prime Minister
• send his political strategists and operatives to defeat the Prime Minister and his party in Israel’s elections (March 17^th)

This is the most dangerous moment in the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

What do the next two years hold?

I’m not sure. But this much I know: on top of all America’s national challenges and sins, we dare not also abandon or turn against Israel and the Jewish people. If we do, we will seal our fate with God.

Which brings me back to you -- the watchmen on the walls.

Are you warning the nation and the Church of the dangerous road the President has us on vis-à-vis Israel?

Are you mobilizing Christians to love and bless and pray for and stand with Israel and the Jewish people in this critical hour?

CONCLUSION

I am afraid I cannot tell you whether God will grant America a Third Great Awakening and/or raise up a King like Josiah (see 2 Chronicles 34-35) and thus forestall the coming judgment.

I cannot tell you whether the American government will do its job to protect us and our allies from Radical and Apocalyptic Islam before it’s too late.

Or whether the Church will do her job in fulfilling the Great Commission and standing with our persecuted brothers and sisters in the epicenter.

Or whether America and the Church will stand with Israel and bless her and the Jewish people.

All I can tell you is that you and I have been called to be watchmen on the walls.

Our job is to:

• Listen to and study and know the Word of God
• Teach the Word of God
• Watch for threats
• Warn the people, come what may

We are not going to be held responsible if people do not listen to us or to the Word of God. We will be held to account if we fail to speak and act when the Lord commands us to do so.

Much is hanging in the balance. May you and I be found faithful to the task.

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• Podcast of my interview with NBC’s Kathie Lee Gifford on the Prime Minister’s speech & The Third Target. (Episode 68)
• Podcast of my interview with Tony Perkins on the Prime Minister’s speech and the Iranian threat.

• >> How serious is the threat of ISIS & Radical Islam? I’m doing a special simulcast event for churches on Sunday evening, April 19th. Please register today.
• >> I’m excited to announce The Joshua Fund’s 2015 “Prayer & Vision Tour of the Holy Land.” Come visit Israel & Jordan and pray for the peace of Jerusalem in October. Here are the details.

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• To order a copy of THE THIRD TARGET — a novel about the rising threat of ISIS and its apocalyptic beliefs — please click here. It is now available in book stores across the U.S. and Canada in hardcover and audio book formats . It is also available in e-book formats like Kindle, Nook & others.
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joelcrosenberg | March 12, 2015 at 5:46 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3f6