This is an historic address worth studying carefully. Read full speech text here. Read my analysis here.

Israeli leaders literally draws a “red line” before world leaders at U.N. (photo credit: Chang W. Lee/New York Times)

UPDATED WITH DETAILS FROM FULL SPEECH TEXT:  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders Thursday that Iran is 70 percent of the way to building its first nuclear bomb, and could significantly complete its work by spring 2013, or by summer at the latest. 

In a powerful, sobering address to the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu said it was getting “very late” to stop “Iran’s apocalyptic leaders” from getting The Bomb. He called for the world to impose a clear “red line” on Iran, stating precisely at what point Iran’s actions would provoke a military response. He said he did not have confidence that even the best intelligence agencies would know exactly when Iran had built its first nuclear warhead. The goal, he insisted, has to be to stop Iran from enriching enough uranium to be able to build its first warhead. Time to accomplish that, he made clear, is running out fast.

Netanyahu’s reference to Iran’s “apocalyptic leaders” was a direct response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the U.N. on Wednesday in which he called for the end of the “hegemonic” powers of the United States and Israel — whom he described as “the uncivilized Zionists” — and said the world would ”soon” see new “global management” by the Twelfth Imam, also known as the “Mahdi,” and his deputy, Jesus Christ.

As Netanyahu told the world leaders: “Iran’s apocalyptic leaders believe that a medieval holy man will reappear in the wake of a devastating Holy War, thereby ensuring that their brand of radical Islam will rule the earth. That’s not just what they believe. That’s what is actually guiding their policies and their actions.”

Does this mean war is imminent? It depends, I guess, on one’s definition of imminent. Israel may or may not launch an “October Surprise.” But by indicating Iran could be dangerously close to having the Bomb by next spring, it does appear as if the Israeli leader was laying down what could be a final marker before he orders his forces into battle.

“The relevant question is not when Iran will get the bomb,” said the Israeli Prime Minister. “The relevant question is at what stage can we no longer stop Iran from getting the bomb.”

Reports the New York Times: “Netanyahu of Israel told the United Nations on Thursday that he believes Iran’s ability to make an atomic weapon will be irreversible by next spring or summer — a far more specific time frame than he had asserted before — and he argued that a “clear red line” must be drawn to warn the Iranians they must halt their nuclear fuel enrichment before then.”

To read the full text of the speech, please click here.

See video clips from the speech here. Read key excerpts of the speech from ABC News:

• The world must immediately draw a clear “red line” to prevent Iran from completing a nuclear weapon as soon as next spring, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned today in an address before the United Nations. “To be credible a red line must be drawn first and foremost in one vital part of their program, on Iran’s efforts to enrich uranium,” said Netanyahu, who considers a nuclear Iran a threat to his country.
• The premier said it was already getting “very late” to stop Iran, a regime that he said backs terrorist organizations and attacks around the globe.
• Using a magic marker to literally draw a red line on a diagram of a bomb, Netanyahu said Iran was already 70 percent of the way towards developing a bomb. He said the international community must stop Iran before it could complete another 20 percent, a process of creating medium enriched uranium. The final 10 percent could be completed in a few short weeks, he said.  Once the uranium enrichment was completed, he said, Iran could easily assemble the necessary fuse in a secret location no bigger than a classroom.
• The international community, he said, knows where to find the enrichment centers, and Iran cannot be given enough time to assemble the bomb in secret.
• “Iran is 70 percent of the way there and … well into the second stage. By next summer, at current enrichment rates, they will have finished the medium enrichment and move on to the final stage,” Netanyahu said. “From there it is only a few more weeks before they have enriched enough for a bomb.”
• “Some say a nuclear armed Iran would stabilize the Middle East. Yeah right. That’s like a saying a nuclear armed Al Qaeda would usher in world peace,” he said.
• Netanyahu compared the situation to Europe’s unwillingness to confront Germany’s Hitler in his early aggressive moves. “Those who opposed that fanaticism waited too long to act,” he said.

The latest Reuters story adds these important facts:

• “A red line should be drawn right here, before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb, before Iran gets to a point where it is a few months or a few weeks away from amassing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon,” he said.
• “Each day that point is getting closer, and that is why I speak today with such a sense of urgency and that is why everyone should have a sense of urgency….
• Netanyahu added that “the red line must be drawn on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program because these enrichment facilities are the only nuclear installations that we can definitely see and credibly target.”
• Netanyahu was referring to Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity, a level it says is required for medical isotopes but which also brings it close to bomb-fuel grade.
• An August report by U.N. inspectors said Iran has stockpiled 91.4 kg of the 20 percent material.
• According to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, around 25 kg of uranium enriched to a 90 percent purity level would be needed for a single nuclear weapon.

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• Help The Joshua Fund care for the poor and needy in Israel, teach the Word of God in the epicenter, educate and mobilize Christians around the world to bless poor and needy Israelis, train pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt, strengthen the believers in Syria, and prepare for a possible major new war in the epicenter — please prayerfully consider a generous, tax deductible financial contribution to The Joshua Fund.
• Follow Joel on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg
• Read Joel’s latest political thriller — The Tehran Initiative — about an American President pressuring an Israeli Prime Minister not to launch a preemptive military strike against Iran. More than ever it feels ripped from the headlines.

The Iranian leader speaking at the U.N. on September 26, 2012.

4PM EASTERN UPDATE: WORLD NET DAILY PUBLISHES THIS ANALYSIS, “Ahmadinejad’s ‘end times’ address to U.N.”

3PM EASTERN UPDATE: PM NETANYAHU RESPONDS (SEE BELOW)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday called for the end of the “hegemonic” powers of the United States and Israel, whom he described as “the uncivilized Zionists.” He said the world would “soon” see new “global management” by the Twelfth Imam, also known as the “Mahdi,” and his deputy, Jesus Christ. 

This was Ahmadinejad’s eighth and likely final annual address to the opening fall session of the United Nations General Assembly. He is expected to finish his second term in office in June 2013. In each of his past U.N. speeches, he prayed for the soon coming of the so-called Islamic messiah. This time he went much further, offering his most detailed explanation to date of his Shia Islamic eschatology (End Times theology) and his understanding of the coming rule of the Twelfth Imam. 

Ahmadinejad told the leaders of the world gathered in Manhattan that he had come this time “to voice the divine and humanitarian message…to you and to the whole world.”

“God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and loves  absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam Al-Mahdi,  a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ, peace be upon Him, and the righteous,” he said. Calling the Mahdi “the Ultimate Savior,” Ahmadinejad said his arrival on earth “will mark a new beginning, a rebirth and a  resurrection. It will be the beginning of peace, lasting security and genuine  life.”

Ahmadinejad said the coming reign of the Twelfth Imam on earth “will bring about an eternally bright future for mankind, not by force or waging wars but through thought awakening and developing kindness in everyone.” The Iranian leader did not offer a specific timetable, but he did say the “sweet scent” of the Mahdi’s global reign “will soon reach all the territories in Asia, Europe, Africa and the U.S.”

Despite his insistence that the Twelfth Imam’s reign would come without war, Shia eschatology experts say the opposite is true. As I document in my non-fiction book, Inside The Revolution, and dramatize in my most recent political thrillers, The Tehran Initiative and The Twelfth Imam, Islamic theologians say Muslim political leaders today are supposed to set into motion the annihilation of Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it and create the conditions of chaos and carnage to hasten the arrival of the Twelfth Imam. Then the Mahdi is supposed to turn all these wars and killings to his advantage and establish justice and peace. As I have both described and documented in my books, it is this Shia End Times theology that is driving Iranian foreign policy today. This is why the mullahs in Tehran are working so hard to pursue nuclear weapons and the means to deliver the, to prepare the way for the rise of this Islamic kingdom or caliphate. 

On Sunday upon arriving in New York City, in fact, Ahmadinejad wasted no time in announcing that Israel must be “eliminated” from the earth. He dismissed any concern about a possible Israeli preemptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. What’s more, he also refused to distance himself from – much less disagree with – the statement of a senior Revolutionary Guard commander in Tehran who said earlier that day that for the first time Iran itself is actively considering a preemptive military strike against Israel and an attack on American military bases and personnel, and that a war with Israel could turn into “World War III.”

In a CNN interview with Piers Morgan, Ahmadinejad appeared to speak directly to the coming doom of the U.S. and Israel. Speaking of America’s role as the world’s only superpower, he said he believe an “historic period in the world is coming to an end, an era during which power has set the first and last word. Those holding the keys to power have set the fate of many populations. That era is coming to an end.” He later added that the State of Israel is “at the end of the line.”

Few world leaders are taking Ahmadinejad’s eschatology seriously. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, understands it. I’ve discussed it with him personally. Indeed, it is why he and his senior advisors in Jerusalem are seriously contemplating preemptive military action, to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of Ahmadinejad and men like him who are members of an apocalyptic, genocidal death cult determined to bring about a nuclear holocaust and the End of Days.

Just before leaving Israel for New York to address the U.N., Netanyahu reacted to Ahmadinejad’s speech. “On the day that we pray to be inscribed in the Book of Life,” the prime minister said in reference to Yom Kippur, “the authoritarian Iranian regime takes every opportunity to condemn us to death.” He added: “The Iranian oppressor chose to call in public, in front of the entire world, for our disappearance… That is a black day for those who chose to to remain in the room and listen to these accusatory words.” The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu said his own speech on Thursday would constitute “our response,” and also pledged to “use every possible means” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Mr. President, Friends and Dear Colleagues,

Creating peace and lasting security with decent life for all, although a  great and a historic mission can be accomplished. The Almighty God has not left  us alone in this mission and has said that it will surely happen. If it doesn’t,  then it will be contradictory to his wisdom.

— God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and  loves absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam  A1-Mahdi, a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ  (PBUH) and  the righteous. By using the inherent potential of all the worthy men and women  of all nations and I repeat, the inherent potential of “all the worthy men and  women of all nations” he will lead humanity into achieving its glorious and  eternal ideals.

— The arrival of the Ultimate Savior will mark a new beginning, a rebirth and  a resurrection. It will be the beginning of peace, lasting security and genuine  life.

— His arrival will be the end of oppression, immorality, poverty,  discrimination and the beginning of justice, love and empathy.

— He will come and he will cut through ignorance, superstition, prejudice by opening the gates of science and knowledge. He will establish a world brimful of  prudence and he will prepare the ground for the collective, active and  constructive participation of all in the global management.

— He will come to grant kindness, hope, freedom and dignity to all humanity as a girl.

— He will come so mankind will taste the pleasure of being human and being in  the company of other humans.

— He will come so that hands will be joined, hearts will be filled with love  and thoughts will be purified to be at service of security, welfare and  happiness for all.

— He will come to return all children of Adam irrespective of their skin  colors to their innate origin after a long history of separation and division  linking them to eternal happiness.

— The arrival of the Ultimate Savior, Jesus Christ and the Righteous will  bring about an eternally bright future for mankind, not by force or waging wars  but through thought awakening and developing kindness in everyone. Their arrival  will breathe a new life in the cold and frozen body of the world. He will bless  humanity with a spring that puts an end to our winter of ignorance, poverty and  war with the tidings of a season of blooming.

— Now we can sense the sweet scent and the soulful breeze of the spring, a  spring that has just begun and doesn’t belong to a specific race, ethnicity,  nation or a region, a spring that will soon reach all the territories in Asia,  Europe, Africa and the US.

— He will be the spring of all the justice-seekers, freedom-lovers and the  followers of heavenly prophets. He will be the spring of humanity and the  greenery of all ages.

— Let us join hands and clear the way for his eventual arrival with empathy  and cooperation, in harmony and unity. Let us march on this path to salvation  for the thirsty souls of humanity to taste immortal joy and grace.

• The Tehran Initiative: A Political Thriller
• The Twelfth Imam: A Political Thriller
• Epicenter 2.0: Why The Current Rumblings In The Middle East Will Change Your Future (non-fiction)
• All the messages from the 2012 Epicenter Conference are now posted online at www.epicenterconference.com. Watch them on demand, any time, day or night, for free. You can also download an Epicenter Conference mobile app to watch or listen to the messages on your iPhone or Droid for free.
• Help The Joshua Fund care for the poor and needy in Israel, teach the Word of God in the epicenter, educate and mobilize Christians around the world to bless poor and needy Israelis, train pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt, strengthen the believers in Syria, and prepare for a possible major new war in the epicenter — please prayerfully consider a generous, tax deductible financial contribution to The Joshua Fund.
• Follow Joel on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg
• Are you saved? If you died tonight, are you 100% certain you would spend eternity in heaven? Here’s a clear, concise explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

>> Next year in Jerusalem: Come with The Joshua Fund on a “Prayer & Vision” tour through Israel and to the 2013 Epicenter conference in the Holy Land

My colleagues at The Joshua Fund and I are praying for our Israeli friends and Jewish friends around the world as we observe Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. We’re praying for the Lord to bless you and draw you close to His heart. We’re praying that more Israelis this year become hungry to read the Holy Scriptures and to know God who inspired His Word to be written down and given to us. We’re praying, too, for the peace of Jerusalem, and for peace for all who live in the epicenter.

“Israel came to a virtual standstill at sundown Tuesday as Jews began observing the start of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, the 25 hours of fasting and contemplation known as Yom Kippur,” reports Haaretz. “Israel’s security establishment and emergency services have been put on high alert Tuesday ahead of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. The IDF and Israel Police beefed up patrols in cities, and around synagogues, and officers were also stationed at the entrances to towns….The fast will begin in Tel Aviv at 5:11 P.M., and end at 6:09 P.M. on Wednesday. In Jerusalem, the fast begins at 4:56 P.M., and will end at 6:07 P.M. on Wednesday. In Be’er Sheva, fasting begins at 5:14 P.M., and ends at 6:09 P.M. In Haifa, the fast begins at 5:02 P.M, and ends at 6:08 P.M. As the fast begins, synagogues throughout Israel will open their doors for ‘Kol Nidrei’ prayers.”

Psalm 121 — “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.”

• Please join the conversation and follow on Twitter @joelcrosenberg
• My spiritual journey — how did my parents and I come to faith in Jesus Christ?

This weekend, Janet Parshall and I produced a 2-hour “Implosion Radio Special.” It was one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in recent years about the fate of our country and the problems inside the Church and some the Scriptures I’m reading these days to gain insight on whether there is hope for us, or not. We discussed America’s desperate need for a massive, game-changing spiritual revival, and the prospects for a Third Great Awakening. We also had a fascinating discussion about whether Christians should or should not get involved in politics and the five principles about this that I laid out in the Implosion book. The special will air on 1,500 radio stations between now and Election Day. But you can listen to the podcast of the full special on-line — just click here.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the U.N. in 2010.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 55, has arrived in New York City to speak at the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly saying he does not take seriously the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Currently serving his second term as president, Ahmadinejad — a believer that the Twelfth Imam is coming soon to annihilate the U.S. and Israel and to set up a global Islamic caliphate — is expected to leave office in 2013. This may be, therefore, the Iranian leader’s last address to the U.N. in his current role. He has spoken about the imminent arrival of the Twelfth Imam or “Promised One” in every  U.N. speech so far. Will he go further this time? He is certainly projecting self-confidence in the face of a possible war with Israel.  “Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists,” Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York this morning. “We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves.”

One of Iran’s top military leaders went further over the weekend, however. He spoke not of his nation’s ability to defend itself from an Israeli attack, but of its potential desire to strike first — at Israel and at American military personnel and facilities. “Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state were preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday,” Reuters reports. “Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran’s state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television, according to a report on the network’s website. ”Iran will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it,’ Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander. Hajizadeh said any attack on Iranian soil could trigger ‘World War Three.’ ‘We cannot imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America’s support. Therefore, in case of a war, we will get into a war with both of them and we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases,’ he said. ‘In that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen and it could turn into a World War Three.'”

President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu also address the U.N. this week, as does new Muslim Brotherhood leader turned Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. It’s going to be an interesting week in the Big Apple. Let’s be praying.

• The Tehran Initiative: A Political Thriller
• The Twelfth Imam: A Political Thriller
• Epicenter 2.0: Why The Current Rumblings In The Middle East Will Change Your Future (non-fiction)
• All the messages from the 2012 Epicenter Conference are now posted online at www.epicenterconference.com. Watch them on demand, any time, day or night, for free. You can also download an Epicenter Conference mobile app to watch or listen to the messages on your iPhone or Droid for free.
• Help The Joshua Fund care for the poor and needy in Israel, teach the Word of God in the epicenter, educate and mobilize Christians around the world to bless poor and needy Israelis, train pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt, strengthen the believers in Syria, and prepare for a possible major new war in the epicenter — please prayerfully consider a generous, tax deductible financial contribution to The Joshua Fund.
• Follow Joel on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg
• Are you saved? If you died tonight, are you 100% certain you would spend eternity in heaven? Here’s a clear, concise explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A wrecked Israeli tank during the early days of the Yom Kippur War (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/Times of Israel)

>> Implosion Radio Special to air on 1,500 stations nationwide — details here.

————

Thirty-nine years ago this month, Israel was surrounded by enemies threatening to annihilate her. But Israeli leaders did not take the threats seriously enough, and did not order a preemptive strike to neutralize the enemy’s military capabilities. Instead, the Jewish State was blindsided by a surprise attack in 1973 on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Now, newly released documents reveal the depth of the massive intelligence failure that almost led to the destruction of the Jewish State. Make no mistake: current Israeli leaders are weighing decisions about a possible war with Iran in light of the tragic mistakes made in ’73, especially in view of the Iranian leaders vowing to annihilate Israel to bring back the so-called Islamic messiah known as the “Twelfth Imam.”

“The Israeli Mossad intelligence agency knew a full week in advance that Egypt was planning to launch a surprise attack on Yom Kippur 1973, but did not pass the information on in an orderly and explicit way to Prime Minister Golda Meir’s office, according to formerly classified information released Thursday,” reports the Times of Israel. “The findings come from the commission tasked with investigating the war. The warning indicated that Egypt was going to attack under the cover of a military drill….The five-member Agranat Commission, chaired by American-born Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Shimon Agranat, was appointed by the government to examine the failures leading up to and during the early stages of the war. The new papers, kept under wraps for decades, were released just ahead of the 39th anniversary of the war.”

A separate Times of Israel story reported that “The Yom Kippur War, in Israel, marked the end of the age of innocence. Generals, previously untouchable, were stripped of their commands. The prime minister was ousted from office by popular demand. The tremors of the debacle eventually pried open the grip of the Labor-led left and, for the first time in the history of Zionism, ushered in an ideologically right-wing leadership. Thursday’s revelations from previously classified testimony to the Agranat Commission, which investigated the war, fill in the already grim picture of October 1973 — of arrogance tinged with ineptitude at the very top, which produced, for some, a lack of faith in leaders that endures to this day. The commander of the northern front, Yitzhak Hofi, testified to the Agranat Commission that despite the evidence of an enormous armored presence near the border, and despite explicit information passed on to him from the command’s chief intelligence officer, he was told, just days before the war, that the chance of war was low and that the reports were insignificant. When he called military intelligence headquarters, Hofi told the commission, none of the relevant officers was on duty. They were at home. Only at six in the morning on Yom Kippur, October 6, was he told that war would break out and even then the stated time was six in the evening rather than the actual two in the afternoon. Alfred Eini, an aide to Mossad chief Zvi Zamir, shocked commission members when he said that Zamir apparently “didn’t get” the urgency of a midnight cable from the Mossad’s man in Cairo. He told the five commission members – two former IDF chiefs of staff, two sitting Supreme Court justices and one state comptroller – that “never before” had the man asked for an urgent personal meeting with the head of the Mossad and that Zamir seemed drowsy, even though it was the Mossad that had been warning of imminent war for days….”

Does anyone in Washington get how serious this is? We are on the road to fiscal implosion. “Sunday will mark the start of the 100-day countdown to ‘Taxmageddon’ – the date the largest  tax hikes in the history of America will take effect,” reports Americans For Tax Reform. “They will hit  families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2013.” Here’s a list of the tax increases scheduled to be imposed if President Obama and Congress don’t take action quickly. This weekend, I’ll do a 2-hour “Implosion Radio Special” with Janet Parshall. We’ll discuss the  economic & spiritual threats to America. We’ll also discuss possible war between Israel and Iran. The special will air on 1,500 radio stations, some live, some tape-delayed. Details will be posted soon at www.joelrosenberg.com. Updates will be posted regularly. Join us.

>> UPDATE: Top Iranian general says “war with Israel will eventually happen.”

An apocalyptic, genocidal death cult is in power in Iran. The mullahs in Tehran believe we are living in the end of days and that the way to hasten the coming of their so-called Islamic messiah known as the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it. I’ve been writing and speaking about this for years, trying to help the West understand how a fanatical version of Shia End Times theology is driving Iranian foreign policy. Now we have fresh evidence that this is not fiction; it is all too true.

“For the first time, Iran’s highest-ranking military official has tied the reappearance of the last Islamic messiah to the regime being prepared to go to a war based on ideology,” notes Reza Kahlili, the former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officer turned spy for the CIA. “‘With having the treasure of the Holy Defense, Valayat (Guardianship of the Jurist) and martyrs, we are ready for a big war,’ Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, according to Mashregh news, which is run by the Revolutionary Guards. ‘Of course this confrontation has always continued; however, since we are in the era of The Coming, this war will be a significant war.’ Shi’ites believe that at the end of time great wars will take place, and Imam Mahdi, the Shi’ites’ 12th imam, will reappear and kill all the infidels, raising the flag of Islam in all corners of the world.”

Kahlili, as you may recall, is now an American citizen and is the author of a book about his life in the CIA. Last year, in an article Reza published on his blog and sent out around the world, he renounced Islam and explained that he had become a follower of Jesus Christ. Reza’s latest article is important and I encourage you to read the full version. You should also watch the video at the end of the article that is an excerpt from an Iranian documentary called “The Coming.” It explains how recent geopolitical events are, in the view of Shia eschatology experts, signs that we are living in the last days and that the Twelfth Imam or “Mahdi” is coming to earth at any moment to establish a global Islamic kingdom or “caliphate” to rule the world. 

As I explain in my two recent novels, The Twelfth Imam and The Tehran Initiative, Shia Muslim leaders are convinced that the Mahdi’s arrival and reign is imminent and that the way to hasten or accelerate his return is to either: A) annihilate Israel (which they call the “Little Satan”) and the U.S. (which they call the “Great Satan”); or B) to acquire the nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles necessary to annihilate Israel and the U.S. and then let the Mahdi finish the job when he arrives. These two recent novels explore what it would look like and feel like if the Iranian leadership’s vision of the future were to begin to come to pass. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I know that Islam is a false religion. Thus, if someone claiming to be the Twelfth Imam emerged on the scene in the Middle East, he wouldn’t actually be the true messiah. Rather, he would be a false messiah. I can’t say whether this will happen, but the Bible indicates that it could happen. The Lord Jesus warned in Matthew 24 that in the last days before His return we would see “wars and rumors of wars” as well as the rise of “false messiahs.” In fact, Christ warned that the some false messiahs would come and would be able to do “great signs and wonders” in order to mislead as many people as possible, and even try to mislead Christians. In The Tehran Initiative, I also explore a scenario in which an American President puts enormous pressure on an Israeli Prime Minister not to launch a preemptive military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, but the Israeli leader launches the war anyway. I’m getting a lot of emails and Twitter messsages from people who have read the book and feel like it’s ripped from today’s headlines. What’s more, they wonder what else in the novel might come true — especially the various Biblical prophecies that I refer to — given how realistic the novel feels. If you haven’t read these books, I think you might find them interesting right now. They’re both in paperback now at all general and Christian bookstores. They’re also out in e-book formats, like on Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Most importantly, please pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Please also pray for peace for everyone in the epicenter. After all, the Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matthew 5:9). We don’t want the mullahs in Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, but we would be so grateful if the Lord neutralized the Iranian nuclear threat in any way other than war. That said, if the Lord does allow war to come for His own sovereign reasons, then let’s be praying faithfully for all the followers of Jesus in the region to be bold and courageous in such hard times. Please pray, too, for The Joshua Fund and other Christian ministries to be as prepared as possible and to have the wisdom and courage to serve the victims of war and terror with the love and compassion of Christ Himself. Thank you so much and may the Lord truly bless you as you seek to be a blessing to the people of the Middle East in the name of Jesus.

Panel on “Replacement Theology” at the 2012 Epicenter Conference with (left to right) Joel Rosenberg, Pastor Skip Heitzig, Dr. Michael Rydelnik, and Dr. Michael Vlach.

Today, unfortunately, there are millions of people who believe that God has rejected Israel and the Jewish people. Some don’t believe the Old Testament Scriptures ever indicated that God sovereignly chose Israel to bless her, and chose to make her a blessing to all the families of the earth, and that He also sovereignly promised to give the Jewish people the land of Israel as an “everlasting possession.” Others believe that yes, the Old Testament made those promises, but that the New Testament changed or modified or even abrogated those promises. Such views are known as “Replacement Theology,” or “supercessionism,” or sometimes as “fulfillment theology.”

Tragically, such thinking among church leaders in Germany in the early 1900s created a poisonous, anti-Semitic environment which Adolf Hitler latched onto, rode to power, and then manipulated for the “Final Solution” and the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Replacement theology won’t necessarily lead to genocide. But it can, and it has. Not all who hold various forms of Replacement Theology are anti-Semitic. Some are just misinformed or misguided. And misguided bad theology can lead to misguided actions.

At The Joshua Fund’s 2012 Epicenter Conference, we invited some of the world’s foremost Bible scholars and theologians in these areas to walk us through these sensitive and controversial issues. I’m so grateful to report that not only did they do a brilliant job, they also communicated in a way that was easy — even enjoyable — to understand. Here are links to three important videos from the conference on these issues. I hope you find them helpful and will pass them along to others to watch and consider, as well.

• What does the Old Testament say about God’s plan for Israel and the Jewish people? — taught by Dr. Norman Geisler.
• What does the New Testament say about God’s plan for Israel and the Jewish people? (does the NT change the OT plan, or reaffirm it?) — taught by Dr. Michael Rydelnik.
• Joel Rosenberg leads Q&A with Dr. Geisler and Dr. Rydelnik regarding their messages.
• Panel Discussion on Replacement Theology: Joel leads conversation with Dr. Rydelnik, Dr. Michael Vlach, and Pastor Skip Heitz on what Replacement Theology is, why it matters, and why it is flawed.

>> All the messages from the 2012 Epicenter Conference are now posted online at www.epicenterconference.com. Watch them on demand, any time, day or night, for free. You can also download an Epicenter Conference mobile app to watch or listen to the messages on your iPhone or Droid for free.

>> Help The Joshua Fund care for the poor and needy in Israel, teach the Word of God in the epicenter, educate and mobilize Christians around the world to bless poor and needy Israelis, train pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt, strengthen the believers in Syria, and prepare for a possible major new war in the epicenter — please prayerfully consider a generous, tax deductible financial contribution to The Joshua Fund.