STATE OF THE EPICENTER: 2012

Joel C. Rosenberg

Text as prepared for delivery at the 2012 Epicenter Conference – Albuquerque, New Mexico

[Video will soon be posted at www.epicenterconference.com]

September 12, 2012

Good evening, and thank you, Skip. It is an honor to be here, and I am grateful to call you my friend. Pastor Skip Heitzig has a great love for the people of the Middle East, both Jews and Arabs. He has traveled extensively in the region and preached the Word of God in Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon. He’s also led more than 30 tours to Israel.

On behalf of The Joshua Fund board and staff, welcome to the 2012 Epicenter Conference — welcome to those of you here with us in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and to those watching this webcast from Israel and around the world. We are deeply honored that you would join us.

Over the next few days, you’re going to hear from Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian pastors and ministry leaders – Jews and Arabs – about how they see enormous threats and challenges….what they see God doing in the Middle East today….and what they think the future holds.

You’re going to hear from some of the world’s leading Biblical scholars on some of the most controversial and sensitive issues concerning the theology of the Land of Israel….the worldwide movement inside the Church known as “Replacement Theology.” What does it mean? How much of the Church believes it? Why does it matter?

What’s more, you’re going to learn about Biblical prophecies that speak to the future of the epicenter….and practical ways you can make a positive difference to the lives of real people in the region – Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Tonight, I have two objectives:

• First, to define the “epicenter.”
• Second, to describe the current “State of the Epicenter.”

Let’s begin.

DEFINING THE EPICENTER

What do we mean by using the term “epicenter”? It is a geological term. But I think it aptly describes the Scriptural place of Jerusalem, Israel and the Middle East.

• Ezekiel 5:5 – “Thus says the Lord God, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her.”
• Ezekiel 38:8,12 – “[I]n the latter days, you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely all of them….at the center of the world.”
• Acts 1:8 – The Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples, “[Y]ou will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
• Revelation 21:2 – “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”

The Bible is clear:

• Israel and its capital, Jerusalem, is the geographic center of the world from God’s perspective.
• Jerusalem is the birthplace of the Church, and thus the spiritual center of the world.
• Jerusalem is also the last city ever mentioned in the Bible, and the focal point of all human attention as we approach the end of history.

This is why the eyes of the nations are increasingly riveted on Israel and her neighbors, the epicenter of the momentous events that are shaking our world and shaping our future.

STATE OF THE EPICENTER

Now, what is the State of the Epicenter in 2012?

It pains me to report tonight that great darkness is descending on the people of the epicenter. Radical Islamic militants – both Sunni and Shia – are rising to power in one country after another….lawlessness is spreading….violence against Christians and Jews and Americans is intensifying….the global economic crisis is pushing millions of people in the Mideast further into poverty and causing them to struggle even more to make ends meet…..and the evidence suggests the most devastating war in the modern history of the epicenter could be just days or weeks away.

At the same time, amidst this darkness, there is hope.

First, the Lord God is still on His throne. Still sovereign. Always a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God, a wonder-working God. That’s why we have hope.

We saw two big answers to prayer this year:

For one, Gilad Shalit came home – Shalit is the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas 0n June 25, 2006. But God heard the prayers of His people. He showed mercy to Gilad and his family. He was released on October 18, 2011 after 1,940 days in captivity.

For another, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was released from an Iranian prison – Nadarkhani is an Iranian Muslim convert to Christianity. He faced a death sentence in Iran on charges of apostasy. But God heard the prayers of His people. He showed mercy to Pastor Youcef and his family. Youcef was acquitted on the apostasy charges. He was found guilty of sharing the Gospel with Muslims and sentenced to three years in prison. But was released in the last few days, having already served his time.

Many of you prayed for these men. Thank you. Keep praying for them. And let us take a lesson from Pastor Youcef’s example.

If you were arrested and charged with sharing the Gospel with Muslim – or anyone in or from the epicenter – would there be enough evidence to find you guilty?

Second, in Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” What’s more, Christ is coming back soon and all of us who is born again by faith can rest assured that we are going to spend eternity in heaven with the Lord. That, too, is why we have hope.

The Holy Spirit is moving powerfully in the epicenter. More Jews and more Arabs and more Iranians are coming to faith than any other time in the history of the world. As the darkness grows darker, Christ is shining more brightly, and many are being drawn to the Lord.

WATCHMEN ON THE WALL

Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel 33:1-6.

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^‘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, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people,  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.  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. 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.”’”

Two important questions emerge from this passage:

1. Will you and I be watchmen on the wall able and willing to see the threats rising, or will we turn a blind eye?
2. In light of such rising threats, will you and I act with love and honor and compassion and courage, or will we keep silent?

Since the last Epicenter Conference last summer, I’ve taken two trips that moved me deeply. Last November, I traveled with several pastors to Poland to visit the death camps in Auschwitz. A few weeks ago, Lynn and I took our boys to visit the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor. I went to these places to remember what happens when people ignore emerging threats and don’t take decisive action.

To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it.

We didn’t understand the threat posed by Adolf Hitler and the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany in the 1930s, and we were blindsided by the invasion of Europe and the death camps of the Holocaust.

We didn’t understand the threat posed by Imperial Japan in 1941, and we were blindsided by the attack at Pearl Harbor.

We didn’t understand the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda in 2001, and we were blindsided by the attacks of September 11^th.

Today, too many in governments around the world – and too many in the Church – either don’t see the evil rising in Iran, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and throughout the epicenter, or refuse to take action.

Tragically, the Arab Spring has been a catastrophic failure. All hope of the rise of free nations with free elections and free economies and freedom of speech and worship have been dashed. What are rising instead are dangerous Radical Islamic regimes that will oppress millions of people and foment violence and war.

Libya

• The new leaders of Libya are Radical Islamists – members or allies of the Muslim Brotherhood.
• They are committed to creating an Islamic republic and imposing Sharia law on the people of Libya as part of the Islamic caliphate.
• They have a deep hatred for Israel and the United States.
• Yesterday, Islamic militants attacked the American consulate in the city of Benghazi. They murdered U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. They murdered three other U.S. diplomatic staff.
• The Libyan government did precious little to defend the lives of Americans.

Egypt

• The new President of Egypt – Mohammed Morsi – is a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
• He hates Israel, despises the United States, is committed to holy war against all infidels, and has stated clearly he’s going to turn Egypt into an Islamic republic under Sharia law.
• Morsi gave a speech at Cairo University in May: “The Qur’an is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path, and death in the name of Allah is our goal.”
• Last month, Morsi became the first Egyptian leader in a generation to visit Iran and begin rebuilding ties to the radical mullahs in Tehran.
• Yesterday, some 2,000 radical Muslim militants stormed the U.S. embassy grounds, tore down the American flag, raised the flag of Islam.
• The Egyptian security forces did precious little to stop them.
• This is a country to which the U.S. provides $1.5 billion in foreign aid annually.

Syria

• As of December 2011, some 3,500 Syrians had been killed in the revolution.
• Today, more than 25,000 Syrian Arabs have been killed. A number of those are Syrian military forces. But most are civilians, many of whom have been massacred – slaughtered, even – by the Assad regime.
• Today, there is growing concern that the Assad regime may use its stockpiles of chemical weapons against its own people, or allow its WMD to be transferred to terrorists groups, or lose control of its WMD and see those stockpiles fall into the hands of Israel’s enemies.

And then there is Iran.

Iran

• In the summer of 2009, millions of Iranians turned out on the streets to protest their wicked government and seek a peaceful, moderate democracy. Sadly, the U.S. government did nothing to help them, and their movement was crushed.
• Meanwhile, the mullahs are on a steady march to building the Islamic Bomb. The latest IAEA report provides more evidence that Iran is developing nuclear warheads.
• Iran has enough enriched uranium for at least five nuclear warheads.
• Iran has doubled its uranium enrichment capacity at its most secure, hardened, underground nuclear facility at Fordow, near the religious city of Qom, despite all of the economic sanctions.
• The stakes are high. If the Ayatollah acquires nuclear warheads and the high-speed ballistic missiles to deliver them, he could do in about six minutes what it took Adolf Hitler six years to do, and that is kill six million Jews.
• Keep in mind, it’s not just Israeli Jews at risk. Israeli Arabs are at risk. Palestinian Arabs are at risk. Jewish and Arab believers in Jesus are at risk.
• The most dangerous corridor on the planet right now is the corridor between Tel Aviv and Tehran. Everyone who lives in this corridor is currently is grave danger.
• That said, Iran does not seem to be taking seriously the prospect of an Israeli preemptive strike. Indeed, many in Israel and throughout the epicenter think all the talk of war is just bluster and “saber-rattling.”
• Like you and millions of other Christians around the world, I’m praying for the peace of Jerusalem. And I know that we serve a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God, a wonder-working God.
• God has heard our prayers, and I’m grateful that an Israel-Iranian war that seemed like it might break out any time in the past few years has not yet happened. This is an answer to our prayers, and we should keep praying.
• But the Bible is clear: Sometimes God allows wars to happen. 
• In Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus taught us that in the last days, we will see a rise of wars, rumors of wars, revolutions, violence, and lawlessness.
• Yet He also promised that amidst all this bad news, “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end shall come.”
• War and revolution can create the conditions by which hearts are more ready to hear the Gospel and receive Jesus as Messiah.
• We don’t want war. We are commanded in Scripture in Psalm 122 to pray for peace. But sometimes God says “no.” Sometimes He allows war. What man plans for evil, God can turn for good.
• In this context, I must report you tonight that I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu could be just days away from ordering a full scale attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
• I pray there is another way. Events can change things suddenly. Nothing is impossible with God.
• But evidence is rapidly mounting that Israel is going to war with Iran.
• Israel’s Security Cabinet met last week for a 10-hour meeting to discuss the latest intelligence on the Iran nuclear threat and consider Israel’s military options. The Jerusalem Post noted that this was the first time the full Security Cabinet has met for such an in-depth discussion of Iran in several months.
• A senior advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu said last week: “We are entering the most fateful 50 days Israel has faced since, perhaps, the similarly fateful days prior to the Yom Kippur War.”
• Troubling is that relations between the U.S. and Israel are deteriorating rapidly. Indeed, we have reached, in my view, an all-time low in this once solid alliance.
• On Sunday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly announced the U.S. is “not setting deadlines” for Iran to stop illegally enriching uranium in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and to stop developing nuclear weapons.
• President Obama and his senior aides have – thus far – refused to establish “red lines.”
• Now, we learn that the President has turned down requests by Prime Minister Netanyahu to meet either in New York City during the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, or in Washington. The White House said there simply wasn’t time on the President’s busy schedule.
• The President is, however, making time to appear on “The Late Show” with David Letterman while he’s in NYC.
• This is very disturbing behavior for an American President who says that America “will always have Israel’s back” and claims Israel is one of America’s “greatest allies.” The President should always make time for an ally facing the growing threat of a nuclear holocaust. A Wall Street Journal editorial on Wednesday morning said the White House message to Israel seems to be, “You’re on your own, pal.”
• Netanyahu’s response: “‘The world tells Israel: ‘Wait. There’s still time.’ And I say, ‘Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RESPOND?

How, then, should Christians respond? We must pray for peace, but prepare for war.

I want to take a few minutes now before we close this first session of the conference to share a video of what The Joshua Fund has been doing to prepare.

[Run video] 

A few other points on how The Joshua Fund is preparing. Over the past few years we have:

1. Established and are assisting 12 relief distribution centers throughout Israel.
2. Providing humanitarian relief to both Jews and Arabs.
3. Equipping local believers to show God’s love and compassion in a practical way.
4. Purchasing trucks and vans for local believers to help them minister to the poor and needy.
5. The Joshua Fund warehouse staff in Israel purchases and ships/distributes approximately 45 tons per month of food and relief supplies to the poor and needy.
6. From inception, TJF has shipped 989 tons through our warehouse. By the end of October, we will hit over 1,000 tons.
7. In addition, we have helped another Christian organization in Israel purchase and distribute more than 500 tons of food and relief supplies in recent years.

Is this enough? No.

Is it more than was happening in the Land six years ago before TJF began? Yes.

Do we take any credit for the progress made? Not at all.

We are servants of a great and mighty God. We are trying to be faithful in a few things and if we are faithful, perhaps He will put us in charge of being more helpful.

The key is that God is sovereign. He is holy. He is moving powerfully. He is remembering the Jews and Palestinians that are poor and needy….and living in harm’s way….and in need of the prayers and encouragement and equipping of Christians from all over the world.

The Lord is raising up a movement of Christ-followers around the world – including many of you – who are committed to loving Israelis, because Jesus loves Israelis….and loving Palestinians because Jesus loves Palestinians….and loving Arabs and Persians throughout the epicenter because of Christ’s love for them.

This is how the Body of Christ is supposed to work – those who have praying, caring, serving those in need, and doing so in the name of Jesus Christ with unconditional love….and unwavering support.

We are to be watchmen on the walls. When we see threats, we need to warn people. We need to stand up and speak out. We need to act in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians may have very little geopolitical influence, but we are not powerless.

We can pray. We can preach the Word. We can proclaim the Gospel. We can encourage and equip our brothers and sisters in the epicenter. We can show Christ’s love and compassion to all in the epicenter.

Jesus commands us: Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. And love one another. At its core, that is what this conference is all about.

If we don’t obey the Lord, and love the Jews and Arabs and others in the epicenter, and shine as a light in the darkness, who will?

— End —

>> 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.

• Participate in the 2012 Epicenter Conference set for Sept 12-16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico — it will be webcast worldwide
• Sign up today for The Joshua Fund’s 2013 “Prayer & Vision” trip to Israel and 2013 Epicenter Conference — this trip isn’t for everyone; we’re looking for Christians who truly love Israel, are “prayer warriors” and are ready to put their faith in action by going to Israel to bless her despite of — or because of – the threats of war.
• Please join the conversation and follow on Twitter @joelcrosenberg
• My spiritual journey — how did my parents and I come to faith in Jesus Christ?

With tensions skyrocketing in the Middle East, the 2012 Epicenter Conference opens in Albuquerque, New Mexico, tonight. Over the next few days, our speakers will examine some of the most challenging and sensitive issues facing Israel and her neighbors. We will examine the likelihood of war between Israel and Iran. We will examine the  status of U.S.-Israeli relations. We will look at the status of the Arab Spring. We will look at the status of the believers in Jesus Christ in the region. We will look at what the Bible says about Israel and her neighbors, and consider how the Church should respond to the pressing crises of our time in the Middle East. Please join us in Albuquerque if you possibly can. The conference this year is free and no tickets are required. If you can’t get here ini person, please join us via the Internet.

The live webcast at www.epicenterconference.com begins tonight at 9am Eastern time, 7pm Mountain time, and 6pm Pacific time. Once the messages are completed, they will also be archived on the website. You can watch on demand from wherever you are in the world at any time, day or night, free of charge.

Please join us, and please invite others by Facebook, Twitter, email and text messages to join us as well. Please also pray that the Lord would use this Conference to accomplish His purposes and touch, train and equip the lives of many in the epicenter and aroudn the world. Thanks and God bless you.

>> Netanyahu to address U.N. on Sept. 28, but Obama refuses to meet despite war looming; President has time to appear on Letterman, though

>>U.S. AMBASSADOR TO LIBYA & 3 DIPLOMATS KILLED: U.S. facilities in Libya, Egypt attacked

American diplomatic facilities in Egypt and Libya have been attacked by crowds of Islamic militants. “The U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other American diplomats were killed when suspected Libyan religious extremists stormed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi late Tuesday, according to Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagour,” reports the Wall Street Journal. At the same time, UPI reports: “Egyptian demonstrators Tuesday took down the U.S. flag from the U.S. Embassy  in Cairo to protest a short film they say demeans the Prophet Muhammad….Protesters climbed atop the embassy walls and got into the embassy’s garden,  the report said, where they removed a U.S. flag and replaced it with one bearing  the Islamic declaration of faith: ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the  Prophet of Allah.'” Please pray the families of those killed and wounded & for calm and order.

UPDATED: Signaling a new low in U.S.-Israeli relations — especially with a possible major war in the Middle East so close at hand — President Obama turned down two possibilities for a personal meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the Israeli premier comes to the U.S. later this month. Obama aides say the President simply doesn’t have time on his schedule for Netanyahu. The President reportedly will have time to appear on “The Late Show” with David Letterman while he’s at the U.N. meetings, however. A Wall Street Journal editorial on Wednesday morning said the White House message to Israel seems to be, “You’re on your own, pal.”

In some of his strongest comments to date (comments that struck me as suggesting the Israeli leader may be so fed up with the White House that he is ready to go it alone against Iran), Netanyahu told reporters on Tuesday that because the international community refuses to set “red lines” for Iran’s nuclear program or even a deadline for diplomacy and economic sanctions to be effective or be terminated, the world has “no moral right” to tell the Israeli government it cannot take military action to defend her people.

On Wednesday night at the opening of the 2012 Epicenter Conference, I will speak on the “State of the Epicenter,” discuss the implications of these tensions between the American and Israeli leader, and analyze how close Israel and Iran are to an actual war. The conference will be webcast live at  9pm eastern at www.epicenterconference.com. It will also be available for viewing on-demand any time day or night from anywhere in the world.

ABC News reports: “An Israeli official told ABC News that Netanyahu’s office requested a meeting with Obama but was told that because of the president’s tight schedule it wouldn’t be possible. The official admitted that with just a day and a half open, the window wasn’t very big, although the official said the Israelis did offer to go to Washington if a meeting in New York was not possible. The meeting was requested when the trip was made official more than a week ago and was declined “in the last few days,” according to the Israeli official. This will be the first time Netanyahu has visited the United States as prime minister and not met with Obama.”

“Netanyahu is traveling to the U.S. to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Obama is expected to address the UNGA on September 25, while Netanyahu will speak in New York on September 28,” reports Ynet News.

This is very disturbing behavior for an American President who says that America “will always have Israel’s back” and claims Israel is one of America’s “greatest allies.” The President should always make time for an ally facing the growing threat of a nuclear holocaust. A Wall Street Journal editorial on Wednesday morning said the White House message to Israel seems to be, “You’re on your own, pal.”

“In a blistering response to a Sunday statement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States is ‘not setting deadlines’ for Iran to abandon its alleged weapons program, Netanyahu said that if no ‘red line’ is established, Iran will continue to pursue an atomic bomb,” reported the Washington Post. “‘The world tells Israel: ‘Wait. There’s still time.’ And I say, ‘Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel,” Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem.”

Rather than meet in person, the two leaders spoke by phone on Tuesday.

>> Washington Post: Disappointing Israel, Clinton says US won’t set deadlines for Iran

• 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.
• Participate in the 2012 Epicenter Conference set for Sept 12-16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico — it will be webcast worldwide

“The U.N. atomic agency has received new and significant intelligence over the past month that Iran has moved further toward the ability to build a nuclear weapon,” reports the Associated Press in an exclusive story. “They say the intelligence shows that Iran has advanced its work on calculating the destructive power of an atomic warhead through a series of computer models that it ran sometime within the past three years. The diplomats say the information comes from Israel, the United States and at least two other Western countries and concludes that the work was done sometime within the past three years. The time-frame is significant because if the International Atomic Energy Agency decides that the intelligence is credible, it would strengthen its concerns that Iran has continued weapons work into the recent past — and may be continuing to do so. Because computer modeling work is normally accompanied by physical tests of the components that go into a nuclear weapons, it would also buttress IAEA fears outlined in detail in November that Tehran is advancing its weapons research on multiple fronts….”

>> BREAKING: Mideast crisis heats up as Israeli PM Netanyahu says U.S. has no has no right to block Israel on Iran if U.S. won’t establish clear and solid “red lines”

Today we remember the heroes of September 11, 2001 — all the policemen, the firemen, the medics, the military, all the first responders, and those on board the flight that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Thank you so much to all of you for your courage and sacrifice. I also am grateful for President Bush and all those in the federal government who managed the crisis, shut down the skies over the U.S. so quickly, and then began the hunt for the terrorists and the measures to protect our nation from further attacks.

Eleven years later, it is right for us to ask several questions: 1) Was it a wake up call for America?; and 2) How has the nation responded? How have you responded?

Let’s be clear: God didn’t cause the horrific events of 9/11 to happen. Fanatics devoted to the false teachings of Radical Islam caused 9/11 to happen. But I have no doubt that the True and Living God – the God of the Bible – let it happen to shake America. To get our attention. To wake us up. Were we listening? And where do we go from here?

Tonight, the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) TV network will re-air a special event that Anne Graham Lotz and I spoke at last year, “A Wake Up For God’s People.” The event is a call to the Church to turn to fasting, prayer and repentance, to a deeper walk with Christ, more hunger for His Word, and boldness in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew Prophet Joel wrote: “Wake up and weep!” Why? “For the Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.” (Joel 1:5, 2:1) Today, I am deeply concerned that most Americans have not truly woken up and that we are facing economic and cultural implosion. We urgently need a Third Great Awakening, a series of sweeping, transformative spiritual revivals that change hearts by the millions.

This is the text of the message that I delivered: “Four Reasons Why God Is Shaking America & The World: Text of ‘Wake Up’ Call Sermon.”

At the same time, one of the lessons of 9/11 is this: To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it. We didn’t understand the threat posed by Imperial Japan in 1941 and we were blindsided by the attacks on Pearl Harbor. We didn’t understand the threat posed by al Qaeda and Radical Islam in 2001 and we were blindsided by these four coordinated hijackings and homicide plane attacks. Today, new threats are rising. Iran, for example, is feverishly seeking to build nuclear weapons. It has vowed to annihilate the U.S. and Israel. Will our President take decisive action to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat before we are blindsided by an attack? If he doesn’t, will Israel take decisive action? This war is not yet over, and these are some of the issues we will examine as the 2012 Epicenter Conference begins on Wednesday night. I hope you will join us as we consider the lessons of 9/11, and the rising threats in the Middle East, and ask how Christians should not simply remember tragedies in the past but prepare for and respond to coming wars.

Excerpts from an NRB Network release: “‘God’s people need revival,’ says evangelist Anne Graham Lotz on ‘A Wake Up Call For God’s People,’ a two-hour 9/11 special featuring Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, and best-selling author Joel Rosenberg. The program, which includes music from the four-time Dove-award winning worship team Selah, airs Tues., Sept. 11, at 8 pm and midnight ET. While America ‘woke up to evil’ on 9/11, ‘we, as God’s people, need to wake up in our relationship with God,’ says Lotz on the special which originally simulcast on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. Rosenberg, the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, including The Last Jihad and Epicenter, discusses biblical prophecy and current events that point, he believes, to the soon return of Jesus Christ. Lotz issues a stirring challenge, urging the church to ready itself for the return of Jesus by repenting of sin and recommitting to the proclamation of the Gospel.”

>> 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.

• Participate in the 2012 Epicenter Conference set for Sept 12-16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico — it will be webcast worldwide
• The Tehran Initiative
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• (NEW) The Invested Life: Making Disciples Of All Nations One Person At A Time (with Dr. T.E. Koshy)
• Please join the conversation and follow on Twitter @joelcrosenberg
• My spiritual journey — how did my parents and I come to faith in Jesus Christ?

On behalf of The Joshua Fund board and staff, I want to wish all of my Jewish and Israeli friends a blessed and peaceful Rosh Hashana which begins this coming Sunday evening. As we celebrate the beginning of the Jewish New Year, all evidence seems to point to a major war coming soon between Israel and Iran. It is a war that could also engulf much of the Middle East. Is there a way out of this mess? Honestly, humanly speaking, there does not appear to be. But nothing is impossible with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If He wills it, there can be true peace and security.

Please join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, for the peace of all people in the epicenter, and for wisdom for the leaders of the region, as well as for U.S. leaders. Please also join me in praying for the followers of Jesus Christ throughout the epicenter — for courage to stand for the Lord in the darkness, for boldness to preach and teach the Word of God, for the faithfulness to share the good news to people who keep hearing bad news day by day, and for love and compassion for their neighbors and their enemies.

We will begin the 2012 Epicenter Conference on Wednesday night by celebrating Rosh Hashana and examining the enormous challenges facing Jews, Arabs and Iranians in the year ahead. I hope you will join us in person here in Albuquerque, or on the live worldwide webcast. God bless you.

>> Listen to 1 hour podcast of my conversation with Janet Parshall about Implosion, The Invested Life, the future of America and the urgency of rediscovering the importance of making disciples.

Evidence continues to mount that an Israeli preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear program is increasingly likely before the U.S. elections in November. In just five days, the 2012 Epicenter Conference will begin. There, I will deliver the opening address on “The State of the Epicenter,” review what we know about the Iranian nuclear threat and the prospect of war, brief you on the steps The Joshua Fund has taken to prepare for war, and discuss what Christians can and should do to stand with Israel at this critical time. Please make plans to attend the Epicenter Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, next week — or watch the conference live (or on demand) at www.epicenterconference.com.

Until then, here are some of the latest developments I’m watching closely:

1. Iran has doubled its uranium enrichment capacity at its most secure, hardened, underground nuclear facility at Fordow, near the religious city of Qom, despite all of the economic sanctions, according to a new IAEA report. Israeli PM Netanyahu says sanctions are hurting Iran’s economy but not persuading the regime in Tehran to stop pursuing nuclear weapons. Netanyahu this week warned the international community (and especially the U.S.) to make clear what its “red lines” are., the point at which negotiations and sanctions are deemed a failure and military action is required. “The Iranians are using the talks with the major powers to gain time in order to advance their nuclear project,” Netanyahu said. “I believe that the truth must be told — the international community is not setting Iran a clear red line and Iran does not see international determination to stop its nuclear project. Until Iran sees a clear red line and such determination, it will not stop the progress of its nuclear project — and Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.”
2. Israel’s 14-member Security Cabinet met on Tuesday for a 10-hour meeting to discuss the latest intelligence on the Iran nuclear threat and consider Israel’s military options. The Jerusalem Post notes that this was the first time the full Security Cabinet has met for such an in-depth discussion of Iran in several months. Developments in Syria and Egypt were also discussed in the meeting. Reuters reported that “Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s biggest-selling newspaper, had quoted an unnamed participant in the security cabinet’s discussions a day earlier as saying: ‘We heard detailed, disturbing and very troubling information regarding the progress of Iran‮‮‮’‬‬‬‎s nuclear program.'” It was reported that no vote was taken on operational decisions, but that could be disinformation to confuse Iran.
3. “Former Likud and Kadima member Tzachi Hanegbi said this week that he believed the fate of Israel’s conflict with Iran will be decided within the next 50 days,” reports the Israel Hayom news service. “Hanegbi, who is considered a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, later told Israel Hayom the assessment was his own and not based on specific information disclosed to him. ‘We are entering the most fateful 50 days Israel has faced since, perhaps, the similarly fateful days prior to the Yom Kippur War,’ Hanegbi said at a Likud conference this week, as quoted by the Makor Rishon newspaper. Hanegbi, who in the past served as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as well as minister in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2004 and Internal Security Minister in 2003, recently left the Kadima party and rejoined the Likud.
4. Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is confirming a report of an angry meeting between Israeli PM Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro in which Netanyahu made it clear the Israeli government does not trust the Obama administration to stop Iran’s nuclear program in time. Rogers described the meeting as “very tense. Some very sharp… exchanges and it was very, very clear the Israelis had lost their patience with the (Obama) Administration….There was no doubt. You could not walk out of that meeting and think that they had not lost their patience with this Administration.”
5. Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to be in New York City to address the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly from September 27 to September 30. If Israel has not launched an attack before then, and he does in fact make the trip, it would be expected that Netanyahu may give a final ultimatum to the regime in Tehran.
6. Canada has just shut down its embassy in Iran and will expel all Iranian diplomats from Canada in the next five days. With this move, Prime Minister Stephen Harper remains the most pro-Israel leader on the world stage. He also may be signaling he believes war is imminent.
7. That said, the left-of-center Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting this week that Defense Minister Ehud Barak may now oppose an Israeli strike against Iran before the U.S. elections in November. There is considerable buzz about this in Israel. But the question is whether this reporting is accurate, or whether this is disinformation designed to confuse the Iranian regime.

Here is the podcast of an hour-long conversation I had earlier this week with Janet Parshall on the Moody Radio Network. We talked about my new book, Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time in light of our $16 trillion debt, 53 million abortions, the explosive growth of the pornography industry and rampant adultery, divorce and imploding families. We also discussed the tragic fact that one of the reasons our country is in so much trouble that the American Church has experienced an epic failure of discipleship in recent decades. We have been failing to effectively transmit Biblical truth and godly, Christ-like living from one generation to the next.

That said, we didn’t just dwell on the bad news. Janet and discussed why I’m hopeful — excited even — that many Christians are beginning to wake up to the need for a Third Great Awakening and the need to rediscover the purpose and power of Biblical discipleship. We discussed the new book that Dr. T.E. Koshy (the pastor who discipled me at Syracuse University) and I wrote, The Invested Life: Making Disciples of All Nations One Person At A Time. What is a disciple? Have you have been discipled? Who is spiritually investing in you now? Who are you investing in? How does one begin the process of making a disciple? What is the “Great Commission” that Jesus gave His disciples, and how can we fulfill it in our generation?

Another important topic we covered: What role — if any — should Christians play in the political world? I described my political journey from voting for Al Gore and Michael Dukakis in 1988 to working for Rush Limbaugh and Steve Forbes in the 1990s. I also explained why I’ve now gone through “political detox,” and what I mean by that term. We also discussed five key principles that I write about in Implosion that every Christian needs to keep in mind when it comes to considering political involvement. I hope you’ll find the podcast helpful.

I sense a new focus is emerging — especially among some younger American pastors and ministry leaders — on the importance of making disciples. Sadly, the American Church has experienced an epic failure of discipleship in recent decades. But I have this sense that as the Lord Jesus prepares to return for His Church, He is going to call His people back to the centrality of obeying the Great Commission. Indeed, several interesting new books are out or are coming out that focus on the importance of discipleship.

• This week, the new book that I wrote with Dr. T.E. Koshy — The Invested Life: Making Disciples of All Nations One Person At A Time — was released nationwide.
• Last November, Pastor Hanna Shahin (a Palestinian Arab Christian who used to run TransWorld Radio’s Arab language division) released a wonderful book entitled The Master Disciple-Maker for which I was honored to write an endorsement.
• On November 1st, Pastor Francis Chan is releasing a book he wrote with Mark Beuving entitled Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples.
• On February 5th of next year, Pastor David Platt is releasing a book entitled Follow Me: A Call To Die. A Call To Live.

I’m encouraged by these books coming out now and in the next few months. And I’m intrigued by the fact God has put this message on hearts of younger authors. Francis, David and I are relatively young. Francis and I are in our mid-forties. David is in his mid-thirties. Perhaps this is a signal of a generational shift in emphasis from mass evangelism (which is still important) to more balance between evangelism and personal, one-on-one and small group disciple-making. For most of my life, I’ve heard pastors and ministry leaders talk about the importance of evangelism and world missions. Amen. But I haven’t seen much of an emphasis on understanding what a disciple is or how to make one. I think this is starting to change. I certainly hope so. Of Hanna Shahin’s book I wrote, “Making disciples is the heart of the Great Commission. Yet today, so few Christians really know what it means to make a disciple, much less have any fruit to show for it. How sad is this! What are people going to say when they get to heaven and have never made a single disciple? God bless Hanna Shahin, therefore, for writing this book! His love for God’s Word and for teaching people how to obey it shines through on every page. There is no formula for making disciples, but the principles Hanna lays out from the Scriptures and his own practical experience- — especially in North Africa and the Middle East — will help anyone seeking to obey the Great Commission in this generation.” I’m looking forward to Francis’ and David’s books, as well.

In this context, I would love to see each of you get involved in this emerging national conversation. Please blog and Facebook and email and tweet about the importance of discipleship. Let’s share with each other our answers to these questions: 1) Who is investing in you? 2) Who are you investing in? 3) Are you living the invested life? 4) How are you living in the invested life? 5) What works and what doesn’t?  I’d encourage you to post your reviews of these books (and similar ones) on Amazon and the Barnes & Noble site and other book sites. I’d encourage you to publish reviews (good ones and critical ones) of these and similar books and your views on the topic in Christian newsletters, websites, magazines and other publications. Consider inviting your small group Bible study, and home fellowship group, and Sunday School class, etc to do an in-depth study on the who/what/when/where/why/and how of discipleship. Pastors, consider preaching a series on what the Great Commission is, why is matters, and how to obey it. Now is the time to stoke a national conversation — and a global one — about discipleship. This, I believe, is the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I think He will be pleased as we reexamine and rediscover the Great Commission that He gave us.

• You can find The Invested Life: Making Disciples of All Nations One Person At A Time onAmazon’s Kindle. 
• You can also find The Invested Life on Barnes & Noble’s Nook.
• You can also find The Invested Life in many other Christian and general market bookstores.