A 
storm is gathering against America, Israel and the Church, yet so many of our leaders seem to be asleep — unaware of the threats or unwilling to deal with them decisively.
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE (Sat): Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Is Dead
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE (Fri): “The Obama administration has decided to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year after failing to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government that would have left several thousand troops there for special operations and training,” reports the Washington Post. More details and coverage from CNN.
Fox News reported last month that “senior [military] commanders are said to be livid at the decision [to remove U.S. troops from Iraq], which has already been signed off by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told Fox that reducing the troop presence in Iraq “would put at risk all the United States has fought for in Iraq.” Graham added: “The biggest winner of a U.S. decision to move to 3,000 troops in Iraq would the Iranian regime. The ayatollahs would rejoice.”
The administration’s move — combined with the precipitous drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan — increasingly creates a vacuum in the Middle East that the mullahs in Iran are eager and able to fill. Indeed, one of the most serious threats facing us now is the prospect of the mullahs in Iran building nuclear weapons and using them against us and our allies, based on their genocidal End Times theology. This is why I wrote The Tehran Initiative, to help people imagine some of the worst case scenarios if we don’t take decisive action to neutralize the Iran threat. Though the book is fiction, the issues at the heart of the novel, unfortunately, are all too real. Indeed, this week brought more sobering news of how steadily Iran is moving towards that day. Consider the latest developments:
- “Iran’s nuclear program is struggling with low-performing enrichment machines but it would still be able to produce material that could be used for atomic bombs, according to a U.S. think tank,” Reuters reports. “In a report coinciding with rising tension between Iran and the West, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) also said tougher sanctions could make it more difficult for the Islamic state to obtain key parts for its uranium enrichment work.
- “A widely referenced Washington Post story from Monday has got folks feeling complacent about the parlous state of Iran’s nuclear program,” notes J.E. Dyer, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst. “The [Washington Post] piece, crediting Stuxnet and sanctions, speaks of a ‘sharp decline’ in the output of low-enriched uranium (LEU) at the Natanz enrichment facility, along with the aging and low-performing condition of Iran’s original Pakistani-design centrifuge cascades. Meanwhile, sanctions have apparently made it impossible for Iran to import high-strength maraging steel, forcing the Iranians to manufacture their newest centrifuges from less reliable carbon fiber….But there is more to the story.”
- Dyer noted that “one of the most important facts is that, according to the September 2011 IAEA report, Iran had — as of mid-August 2011 — piled up a total of 4543kg of LEU. By Western intelligence estimates, that is enough for 4 nuclear warheads. LEU production began in February 2007, and the rate of production can be crudely gauged by noting that (again, according to IAEA reporting) Iran had 630kg of LEU in November 2008, 1763kg in October 2009, and 3135kg in October 2010.”
- That said, an Israeli newspaper is reporting on new efforts to stop Iran without using military force. Ynet News: New virus threatens Iran’s nuclear program: After the Stuxnet computer virus that wreaked havoc on Iran’s nuclear program, a new virus named ‘Duqu’ threatens similar consequences
- Here is the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear activities (September 2011).
- Recent article from Great Britain: New UN fears over Iran nuclear threat: The UN nuclear agency is “increasingly concerned” that Iran is still secretly developing a nuclear payload for a missile.
Inexplicably, President Obama is not taking decisive action to neutralize the Iranian threat. None of the GOP presidential candidates have given a major policy address focused on the Iran issue, either. But two NATO allies are speaking out.
- “We must not be distracted from it by the momentous events of the Arab Spring. We must not ignore the steadily more urgent threat of Iran’s nuclear program,” said British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Tuesday during a tour of North African countries. “I think this [Iran nuclear] issue will become more urgent over the next year.”
- “We have no quarrel with the Iranian people, but the regime in Tehran represents probably the most significant threat in the world to global peace and security,” said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week after the revelations about the Iranian plot to launch terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C.
As most of you know, tomorrow — Saturday, October 22nd — we are airing a national simulcast entitled, “The Gathering Storm: An Urgent Call To Prayer, Fasting and Repentance for America, Israel and the Church in the Light of Bible Prophecy.” While we had originally hoped to do the event live, for several logistical reasons we had to pre-tape “The Gathering Storm” event during the first weekend in October to be aired tomorrow. In my talk, I discussed seven geopolitical and spiritual storms facing America, Israel and the Church. Then I fielded nearly two hours of excellent questions from the audience and from Facebook participants all over the country. Obviously, the events of the last few days regarding Gaddafi and the Iranian terror plot weren’t covered as they hadn’t happened when we pre-taped. But these events just further illustrate “The Gathering Storm” continues to become ever more serious.
I hope you can join us for this remarkable event. There is still time today for your church to sign up to host this simulcast in your church. Please note that this event can only be viewed at churches hosting the special simulcast, or for home fellowship groups or small group Bible study groups who register for the event. Details are available by clicking here, including a list of churches around the country that are hosting the simulcast. The event won’t be available on for individuals to watch on the web tomorrow.
Whether you can watch or not, please keep our country, the nation of Israel, and the Church in your prayers.
- Pray for wisdom for our political, business, community and Church leaders.
- Pray for the security against terror attacks and for the Iranian Bomb to be thwarted.
- Please pray for a Third Awakening in our country, a sweeping spiritual revival that brings us back to a healthy and holy walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
- And please pray for the spread of the Gospel throughout the world and especially throughout the Middle East and North Africa where so many desperately need the forgiveness, peace and eternal salvation and security that only the Lord Jesus Christ can provide.
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