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.

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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.

“Some 3.5 million visitors arrived in Israel in the past 12 months of Hebrew year 5772, 3% more than in 5771. Of this number, about 3 million are tourists who stayed more than one night in Israel (2% increase compared to last year),” reports Ynet News. “The greatest increase was registered during the Hebrew month of Iyar which includes the Passover holiday, with 354,000 visitors….The fact that 5772 was a record year for incoming tourism is a great achievement given the severity of the global economic crisis (especially in Europe, which is the source of the largest countries providing tourism into Israel) and in light of the problematic geopolitical situation in the region. Once again, tourism has proved itself to be an engine for positive economic growth  this year. Revenue from incoming tourism stands at NIS 18 billion (about $4.6 billion), an increase of 10% and NIS 2 billion ($500 million) on last year….’Against the background of the geopolitical challenges and the global economic crisis, the achievements are even greater,’ says Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov. ‘We will continue to work in the coming year to make a vacation in Israel more accessible, cheaper and more attractive for Israelis and tourists alike.’ The Tourism Ministry is currently preparing to welcome over 300,000 visitors who are expected to arrive in Israel over the period of the Jewish holidays.”

Have you been to Israel? Would you like to go? Please prayerfully consider coming on The Joshua Fund’s next “Prayer & Vision Trip to Israel.” It will be held June 25 through July 7, 2013 and includes admission to the 2013 Epicenter Conference. On behalf of the entire Joshua Fund team, I cordially invite you and your family to join us.

Yes, I certainly realize that war clouds are building in the Middle East. Yes,  my team and I understand full well that the chance of a major war between Israel and Iran soon is growing. We realize that will discourage some. But we are moving forward with plans for next year’s trip to Israel and Epicenter Conference. Why? Because we believe that more than ever it’s vitally important for sincere followers of Jesus Christ to be traveling to Israel, praying for Israelis and Palestinians, encouraging believers in the Land, studying the Word of God in the Land where much of it was written, worshipping the Lord in Jerusalem, and demonstrating our unconditional love and unwavering support for Jews and Arabs in the epicenter in real and practical ways. That’s why I’m asking those of you who truly love Israel and are truly “prayer warriors” to pray about this. If the Lord gives you the “green light,” then please register and plan on coming to Israel with us next summer. This trip is not for everyone. It is for those who know the Lord is telling them to participate. To learn more — and to register – please click here.

“Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday morning launched a large-scale surprise exercise in the north of country, on the orders of IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, amid rising chatter of a possible conflagration with Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah,” reports the Times of Israel. “The commander of the Artillery Corps, Brig. Gen. Roy Riftin, was overseeing the exercise, which involved standing troops from the Northern and Central commands, the Israeli Air Force, as well as reserve soldiers who simulated the emergency call-up routine. Toward the end of the day, forces from the Central Command were to be helicoptered to locations on the Golan Heights to take part in a live-fire exercise, according to the IDF Spokesman. The drill also comes amid growing concerns over the deteriorating situation in Syria and the fate of President Bashar Assad’s sizable chemical weapons stockpile. The IDF said that the exercise was a scheduled test of the army’s readiness to respond to a sudden attack on the country. On Wednesday, a defected Syrian general who was once in charge of the country’s chemical weapons said that Assad had drawn up plans to transfer the weapons to Hezbollah. A similar surprise exercise was held by the IDF last year. Earlier this month the IDF held a large exercise in the neighboring Galilee region and Gantz also observed another, smaller exercise on the Golan Heights.”

>> Haaretz: Former Syrian general: Assad planned to transfer chemical weapons to Hezbollah

“Every so often, the veil is lifted on the shadowy war of sabotage being waged against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Another of those moments arrived yesterday when Fereydoun Abbasi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, disclosed that his country’s most sensitive nuclear facility was targeted last month,” reports the London Telegraph. “On August 17, the power cables serving the Fordow Enrichment Plant were severed by an explosion, said Abbasi when he addressed the International Atomic Energy Agency. These power lines apparently run between Fordow and the nearby city of Qom.”

An Israeli news site reports: “Iran has accused the IAEA of reporting information that allowed ‘terrorists’ to cut electricity to centrifuges at its Fordow nuclear plant in mid-August. The Islamic Republic’s official news agency quoted Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), as saying, “We found a tiny explosive material placed inside the vacuum equipment of a centrifuge, aimed to damage the centrifuge. ‘Iran bought 200 vacuum items from overseas markets four years ago and the saboteurs waited until this equipment could be installed on the centrifuges.’ The Fordow nuclear plant is buried deep under concrete in the mountains of Iran, making it difficult if not impossible to destroy by an aerial attack. Assassinations of nuclear scientists, mysterious crashes of airplanes carrying physicists and generals, and cyber attacks have been carried out the past three years, presumably by agents working for Israel, to disturb Iran’s nuclear development.”

This week, Dr. Dobson’s “Family Talk” radio program is airing several interviews that we taped in August concerning my recent book, IMPLOSION: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time?  It was a fascinating conversation that covered not only how much trouble America and the Church are in today, but also hopeful stories from the First Great Awakening in the 1700s, and the Second Great Awakening in the 1800s, and whether there’s any prospect for a Third Great Awakening today. I hope you and your family will take some time to listen. Then, please share your comments with me either on our “Epicenter Team” page on Facebook or on Twitter (@joelcrosenberg). Thanks and please keep praying for revival for our country!

To listen to the first broadcast, “Is America Imploding? — Part One,” please click here. — The Family Talk website frames the broadcast this way: “With a federal debt over 16 trillion, and 54 million babies murdered through abortion, many wonder: ‘How much longer can America last?’ Joel Rosenberg addresses how to fix our economic irresponsibility and moral depravity.”

To listen to the second broadcast, “Is America Imploding — Part Two,” please click here. — Family Talk: “Last time, author Joel Rosenberg and Dr. James Dobson discussed the possibility that America could be on the edge of implosion, and how our only hope for survival is true revival. Hear more about how our nation got to this point, and how we can fix our problems.”

(Albuquerque, New Mexico) — Shana Tova! The Jewish New Year — known in Hebrew as “Rosh Hashana” — began last night. I can’t wait to get back home to Washington, D.C. later today and have some apple slices dipped in honey with my family. That’s a Rosh Hashana tradition, symbolizing the hope that the year ahead will be one of peace and sweetness and blessing for Israel and the Jewish people, as well as all of the people of the epicenter. That’s my prayer, and I hope it is yours as well.

As we end the 2012 Epicenter Conference and begin the new year, however, the news out of the Middle East looks grim. “The Iranian regime is ‘moving very rapidly to complete the enrichment of the [uranium] they need to complete a nuclear bomb,’ Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told CNN’s Candy Crowley on Sunday. ‘In six months or so they’ll be 90 percent of the way there.'” On NBC’s Meet the Press, Netanyahu noted that, “They’re in the red zone, in the last 20 yards, and you can’t let them cross that goal line, score a touchdown, because that would have unbelievable, grievous consequences for the peace of us all.” I interpret the Prime Minister’s comments to suggest that war could be coming in the next few days or weeks unless there are dramatic changes to the dynamic, such as the sudden fall of the current regime in Iran, or a sudden new and decisive willingness by the U.S. to take action to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat.

That said, I’d like to share with you four stories of hope in Israel, some rays of light amidst so much darkness. These are four stories that were told at the Epicenter Conference, two by Arabs, and two by Jews, whose lives were transformed in the most unexpected and remarkable ways. One of them is a story of a young Jewish man hooked on drugs, selling drugs, stoned out of his mind, living on a dilapadated house boat, when he made the most incredible discovery of their lives: a supernatural encounter with Jesus that changed him profoundly, even though he fiercely resisted it at first. Another one of them is the story of a Palestinian Arab who grew up in Jerusalem and hated the Jewish people and joined the “intifada” — the Palestinian revolution against Israel — in the late-1980s. He was arrested seven times by the police and the Israeli Defense Forces. He was beaten and imprisoned. He was a heavy smoker and drinker. He was a wild man, lost and alone. But then something happened that changed his heart in ways he could never have imagined. He met Jesus Christ in a totally unexpected way, and he not only began to change his attitude towards God, but his attitude towards Israelis began to change as well.

By far, this was my favorite session of the Epicenter Conference, hearing these four men speak. Some of them were incredibly funny as they shared their stories. All of them were deeply moving. It’s impossible for me to capture this in print. So here is the link to the video of these four testimonies. I hope you find them as amazing and as encouraging as I did.

After each brother shared his story, Pastor Skip Heitzig then interviewed them further on a panel about what God is doing in the lives of others in the epicenter. You can watch that video by clicking here.

Here, too, is the link to all the different messages that were shared at the conference. You can watch them at any time, day or night, on demand and for free.

A special thanks to Pastor Skip Heitzig and his wonderful church staff for hosting us here in New Mexico. They were absolutely amazing.

Finally, by way of update, I’m so encouraged that we’ve received more than 58,000 visits to our conference website. More than 29,000 videos have been downloaded. And people have been watching the conference in all 50 states and in 99 countries around the world. Thank you so much for watching and sharing these messages with your family and friends. May God bless you and draw you close to  you as this new year begins.

>> 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.