On Monday night, President Obama, in his first White House press conference, said his administration is reviewing U.S. policy towards Iran, but made it crystal clear it will be sharply different than that of the Bush administration. “I think there’s the possibility, at least, of a relationship of mutual respect and progress,” said the President, but added that “it’s time now for Iran to send some signals that it wants to act differently.”

It is certainly prudent to review U.S. policy, but it is wishful thinking to expect signals of a desire from Iran’s leadership that they will act differently. It is critical that the new administration carefully analyzes the eschatology — or End Times theology — of Iranian Supreme Leader Khameini and President Ahmadinejad. It is impossible to develop an effective strategy to deal with Iran until one truly understands this eschatology.

In my forthcoming non-fiction book, INSIDE THE REVOLUTION (March 10th, Tyndale), I explain their eschatology in great detail and quote both of them at length. In the meantime, here are some quick points to keep in mind about what Khameini and Ahmadinejad believe:

1. The end of the world is near and the Islamic Messiah known as the Mahdi or the 12th Imam is coming soon.

2. The Islamic Messiah will only come when the world is engulfed in chaos and carnage.

3. Islamic leaders can hasten the arrival of the Islamic Messiah by annihilating two countries — Israel, “the Little Satan,” and the United States, “the Great Satan.”

4. It is not just possible, it is the God-given mission of Iran’s leaders to destroy Jews and Christians or force them to convert to Shia Islam.

5. Iran must rapidly acquire the technology necessary to accomplish genocide — namely nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

6. Israel’s “defeat” by Hezbollah and Hamas and Israel’s divided election results indicate the Jewish states is increasingly weak and prepared for destruction. The severe economic crisis in the U.S. shows America is about to collapse as well.

7. With the U.S. and Israel so weakened and their collapse imminent, there is no incentive to truly negotiate with “Satan” and give up Iran’s pursuit of advanced nuclear technology.

8. However, there is an incentive to buy time until Iran builds, buys or steals the weapons it needs to accomplish its genocidal, apocalyptic objectives.

One thing is clear after the press conference: President Obama does not currently understand what is driving Iran’s leaders. What’s more, he has no intention of even seriously considering military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and the intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them to Israel, Europe and the United States. This means Israel’s next Prime Minister will be the last leader on the planet in position to stop Iran.

We absolutely must be praying, therefore, for great mercy on the U.S. and Israel and great wisdom for her leaders.

The big question: who will win Israel’s elections today and emerge as the next Prime Minister of the Jewish State, and will he or she be willing to stop Iran from getting The Bomb, if no one else on the planet is so willing or able?

Glenn Beck has invited me to come back on the show today to discuss these issues in more depth. Currently, I’m slated to be on at about 5:30pm-ish eastern. Hope you can join us. I will update this post after the show, explaining in more detail what the President and his national security team need to understand about the religious beliefs of Iran’s current leadership.

By the way, also worth keeping an eye on: as predicted in Epicenter 2.0, an Israeli company has recently discovered an “historic” amount of natural gas off the coast of Haifa. And they’ve just announced that actually the reserves are 61% larger than they had previously thought. This means Israel has some five trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Could massive discoveries of oil occur soon, too?

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Exit polls forecast Livni over Netanyahu in Israel (NOTE: could be true, but the exit polls are notoriously unreliable — stand by)
• Jerusalem Post: Livni may not be able to form gov’t due to large right-wing bloc
• Haaretz: Netanyahu says, I will be the next prime minister of Israel
• Israeli petroleum company says “historic” discovery of natural gas off the coast of Haifa is actually 61% larger that previously estimated
• Ahmadinejad of Iran suggests talks with U.S.
• UN chief encourages Obama to talk to Iran soon