Is war on the horizon in the Middle East?  Iran is certainly arming for one.  In fact, what we are witnessing now could potentially be considered the greatest military buildup in the history of the Middle East.  Basically what Iran has done is they have pushed all of their chips to the middle of the table and have decided that they are going to develop nuclear weapons no matter what.  Now they are arming themselves to the teeth for the confrontation with Israel and/or the United States that they know is coming at some point.  We all know that there will be wars in the last days, but when war erupts in the Middle East, things are not going to be pleasant – especially if nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are used.

Iran and Israel are caught in a bizarre game of chicken, and Iran is showing no signs of blinking.  In fact, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered his country’s nuclear agency to begin the production of higher enriched uranium.  Iran seems to have no fear of sanctions or of anything else.  Perhaps they realize that Obama has absolutely no interest in a war with Iran.  Or perhaps they are just crazy.  In any event, Iran’s leaders have set their course and they seem to have no intention of altering it.

In fact, they are arming themselves as if a coming war with Israel is inevitable….

*An Iranian air force commander said on Monday that Iran will soon unveil a domestically-made air defense system with at least the same capability as Russia’s very powerful S-300 anti-aircraft hardware.  If this is true, it will be a major change in the balance of power.

*Iran has begun producing very advanced unmanned drones capable of carrying out devastating assaults “with high precision”.   

*Iran has also announced that they officially started production of two new kinds of conventional missiles on Saturday.

*There are even persistent rumors that Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially carry nuclear warheads.  If that ever comes to fruition, the United States would be in much greater danger.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that Iran is desperately trying to develop strategic weapons that will enable it to close the gap somewhat between itself and Israel and the United States.

There is no way that Iran can achieve strategic parity with the United States military right now, but if they can put enough of a hurt on the U.S. and Israel they know that the politicians in those two nations will think twice before striking.

And that could buy time for Iran to make nukes.

After all, the destruction of Israel is one of the stated goals of the Iranian government.

In fact, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that he believes that the obliteration of Israel “is certain”.

That is dangerous talk.

Tensions are rising all over the Middle East.  It is being reported that one Syrian government official recently said that Syria is ready for either peace or war.

And war seems more likely by the day.

According to one new report, Egyptian maritime sources say that the Israeli navy has deployed two missile ships to the Persian Gulf.

Not that there is anything too unusual about that, but it is yet another move that is raising tensions in the region.

As noted above, we all know that war is inevitable in the last days.  But we are also instructed in the Scriptures to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  So let us pray for peace even as things move ever closer to war.

Even as Israel hands even more land over to the Palestinians, there are persistent rumors that Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Lebanon are preparing for war against Israel.  According to one disturbing new report by DEBKA, U.S. intelligence has discovered 5,000 Hezbollah terrorists that have been trained to take over and seize towns in Galilee during a future invasion of Israel.  Apparently the invasion plans that have been drawn up involve sending five Hezbollah brigades sweeping across the Israeli border to seize key towns in the region of Galilee.  Hamas would open a second front in the West Bank and Gaza, and Syria would then step into the conflict at that point.

Think that it can’t happen?

The truth is that Hezbollah has been arming to the teeth since the last war.  Hezbollah has acquired chemical and biological warheads since then, and there have been reports that they have stockpiled over 40,000 rockets near the border of Israel.

Just in the past few weeks, Hezbollah has deployed advanced Syrian-made surface-to-surface M-600 missiles which have the range to cover the entire nation of Israel.

Hezbollah militants regularly receive training in Syria and Iran and the terrorist organization is essentially in control of large areas of Lebanon at this point.  They are a highly organized and increasingly dangerous military threat.

The United States government is even beginning to take notice.  U.S. State Department official Jeff Feltman said in remarks published on Sunday that the U.S. is concerned that the continued flow of arms to Hezbollah could prompt a war between Israel and Lebanon.

For years, Syria and Iran have used Hezbollah to wage a proxy war against the state of Israel, and Israeli officials are starting to get sick and tired of it.

In fact, one top Israeli official recently made it perfectly clear that in the event that a war between Israel and Lebanon does break out, Israel would hold Syria just as responsible.

The truth is that someday a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah will involve Syria and it will be an incredibly destructive war.  Let us just hope that it does not happen any time soon.

Meanwhile, Israel just keeps giving away their land to the Palestinians.

Under what is being called “intense” American pressure, Israel has silently agreed to allow the Palestinian Authority to open official institutions in eastern sections of Jerusalem.  This is an intermediate step towards officially giving the Palestinians East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

In addition, Palestinians sources said Sunday morning that Israel has agreed to hand over additional West Bank areas to the Palestinians as a trust-building measure.  Apparently the intent is to coax the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

But don’t these politicians understand that they are cursing themselves when they giving away the land of Israel?

Israel should not be giving away one square inch of the land that God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

But they are going to continue to do it.

In fact, a Palestinian state is almost certainly on the way.

But it won’t stop the war that is coming.

Israel will not ever achieve peace at the negotiating table.  It is impossible.

The only time that Israel will experience lasting peace is after Yahshua (Jesus) the Messiah returns.

What do you all think about these recent developments?  Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion….

Prior to World War 2, Adolf Hitler made all kinds of inflammatory statements, but most world leaders dismissed them.  They simply refused to believe that the madman was actually serious about what he was saying.  We can look back now and see what a big mistake that was, but the truth is that current world leaders have not learned from the mistakes of the past.  Today Iranian leaders continue to publicly state over and over that they look forward to wiping Israel off the map, but over and over world leaders do not seem to be taking these statements seriously.

For example, the official website of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is reporting that he just told Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz that one day the Islamic nations of the world will witness the absolute destruction of the state of Israel.

Considering the fact that Khamenei is the most powerful person in Iran, you would think that someone would be alarmed by that statement.

The following is an English translation of an excerpt from Khamenei’s statement….

“Surely, the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime… when the destruction happens will depend on how the Islamic nations approach the issue.”

It is this kind of talk that is bringing the world ever closer to World War 3, and yet most of the world yawns when they hear statements such as this apparently because they don’t believe that we should take people like Khamenei seriously.

But this is a nation that has one of the most powerful militaries on the planet and that is on the verge of getting nuclear weapons.

For religious madmen who openly sponsor and support terror groups to possess nuclear weapons is a combination that will endanger the entire world.

And they are religious madmen. 

For example, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is claiming that the United States is purposely attempting to block the return of the Mahdi.

Most politicians in the West simply cannot identify with this kind of thinking and so they just dismiss it and don’t take it seriously.

But things are about to get a whole lot more serious.  Iran recently announced a plan for 10 new industrial scale uranium enrichment facilities and has earmarked approximately 20 million dollars for terrorist groups fighting the West.  Iran has also successfully test long-range missiles and there were recently reports that Tehran was close to reaching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan.

These boys are quite serious about getting nukes.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel will retain some parts of the West Bank forever.  That will surely not sit well in Tehran.

A confrontation between Israel and Iran is coming.  Iran is obsessed with getting nukes and with wiping Israel off the map.  Israel is absolutely determined to prevent that from happening.  Anyone who thinks that the current state of affairs can continue indefinitely is in a complete state of denial.

For more on why Israel must do something about Iran’s nuclear program, please see the following article….

Why Israel Simply Cannot Allow Iran To Have A Nuclear Weapon

Iran is reportedly close to reaching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan.  This deal would be in direct defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions.  Reports also indicate that Iran is willing to pay approximately 450 million dollars for the shipment.  The price for the shipment was apparently so high because of the need to keep the deal secret and because of the risk that the world community would find out about it.  But now the world community has found out about it.  

So why is Iran willing to defy United Nations sanctions to get their hands on more uranium?

Well, the truth is that Iran is probably running out of it and needs more uranium in order to continue their nuclear program at the same pace.

This comes at a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed a year end deadline set by the Obama administration and the West for Iran to accept a UN-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

The United States and the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have threatened Iran with new sanctions if it did not accept a compromise deal by the end of this year.

According to the plan brokered in October by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran is supposed to export low-enriched uranium to Russia and France which would conduct further enrichment for them.

But Iran has publicly announced that they intend to do the additional enrichment themselves.

Meanwhile, a maverick Iraqi politician is warning that Iran could “go nuclear” within weeks.

In an interview earlier this month, Iraqi parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi made the following statements….

“We are receiving information which says Iran is so close to producing an atom bomb.”

“All the international community, they don’t realize how close [the Iranians] are to the goal… The Iranians will surprise us one day [soon] and say, ‘We have it.'”

Those are sobering statements.

Especially when you consider the implications.

The truth is that Israel simply cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.

The Israeli government is keeping a close eye on the situation in Iran and realizes that they cannot allow Iran to proceed with their nuclear ambitions forever.

In fact, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said recently that the year 2010 will be a decisive year for Iran and its nuclear plan.

A decisive year?

Could that mean war in 2010 or 2011?

What would happen if Israel did strike Iran’s nuclear program?

Well, according to one new report, Iran would launch a counterattack on Israel and on all U.S. bases in the Gulf region if Israel does strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

If Iran did that, it could spark a massive war that could engulf the entire Middle East.  The consequences of such a war would be mind boggling.

But before resorting to a military strike, it is likely that the governments of the West will continue to try to promote an internal revolution in Iran.  Changing the regime in that manner would be a lot “easier” for Western nations than a full scale war.  However, the prospects for a successful internal revolution in Iran at this point seem dim at best.

What does seem clear at this point is that Bible prophecy will continue to be fulfilled in 2010.  We are truly living in the last days, and there are times when it will be absolutely terrifying, but who wouldn’t want to live during one of the most exciting times in all of human history?

As Barack Obama and the United Nations twiddle their thumbs, Iran is aggressively moving towards the development of a strategic nuclear arsenal.  Not only has Iran successfully tested a long range missile that can hit targets well over a thousand miles away, but new intelligence documents show that Iran is actively working on some of the key components necessary for a nuclear bomb.  The truth is that Iran knows that once they have an arsenal of hundreds of nuclear warheads, nations such as the United States and Israel will be much, much more hesitant to attack them and they will be able to do pretty much whatever they please on the world scene.   

The fact that Iran greatly desires to become a strategic military power was underlined just the other day when Iran successfully test fired a long range missile that can reportedly hit targets 1,250 miles away.  This will now give Iran the capability to easily hit Israel, U.S. bases in the Gulf, and most of southeast Europe.

The Pentagon is so concerned about these developments in Iran that they will actually test its core missile defenses for the first time in January against a simulated long-range Iranian attack.

The reality is that it is now only a matter of time until Iran develops even longer range weapons that will be able to directly target the United States.

In “Surat al-Fil” (“The Elephant”), one of the Qur’an’s shortest chapters, Allah sends a flock of birds to destroy the followers of Sultan Abraha.  In the story these followers of Sultan Abraha were to be destroyed because they were plotting to destroy the Kaaba.  So, according to the story, Allah equips these birds with baked clay stones, which they end up hurling at the elephants of Sultan Abraha, supposedly stopping his advance toward the city.

Imagine having the continued existence of your family each day depend on an Ayatollah over in Iran deciding not to press a button.

And the truth is that Iran is much closer to being able to produce a nuclear bomb than ever before.

On Tuesday, Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin said that Iran has now accumulated enough materials to create a nuclear bomb.

So will they?

Well, confidential intelligence documents obtained by one U.K. newspaper clearly show that Iran is working on testing a key final component for a nuclear bomb. 

In particular, the documents reveal plans by Iran to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion.

Uh oh.

Why haven’t we heard more about this on the news?

David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington is quoted in The Times as saying the following about this trigger….

“Although Iran might claim that this work is for civil purposes, there is no civil application.”

The mention of UD3 in the documents is of particular concern to intelligence analysts.  UD3 is commonly used as a neutron source – the trigger to the chain reaction for a nuclear explosion.

But of course Iran continues to insist that they are developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes only.

If you believe that, we have a bridge to sell you.

While there are some politicians around the globe who seem to be buying into Iran’s nonsense, fortunately the government of Israel seems to be acutely aware of what is going on.

In fact, Israeli experts are now saying that “the point of no return” for Iran’s nuclear program may be only six months away.

Only six months away?

Could there be a war in 2010?

Let’s hope not.

Or let us hope that it is delayed as long as possible.

But the truth is that Israel cannot let Iran have nukes. 

If you do not understand this yet, please read this article: “Why Israel Simply Cannot Allow Iran To Have A Nuclear Weapon“.

So if Iran does not change course, they will be attacked.

But one key question is this….

If Israel attacks Iran, will Syria attack Israel?

If Syria does attack Israel that could spark a war that engulfs the entire Middle East. 

In fact, there are rumors that Iran and Hezbollah could be preparing for a pre-emptive war.

So what are Barack Obama and the U.S. government doing about all of this?

Not much.

In a move that was supposedly designed to deter Iran from pursuing its nuclear program, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation to impose sanctions on foreign companies that help supply gasoline to Iran.

Do you think that the Iranian leadership is shaking in their boots over that?

The truth is that this is one of the most bizarre games of “chicken” in the history of the Middle East.  Whoever shoots first is going to be at a great disadvantage in terms of world opinion, but the truth is that Israel simply cannot wait forever.

These developments represent just another indication that we are really living in the last days before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In yet another sign of how mentally unstable he is, Al Arabiya television is reporting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is claiming that the United States is attempting to block the return of the Mahdi. Shi’ite Muslims (and some Sunni Muslims) believe that the Mahdi will be revealed during a time of great crisis and will rid the world of error, tyranny and injustice alongside Jesus.  Ahmadinejad has spoken frequently of the Mahdi in the past.  He is apparently a true believer in this messianic figure.  Now Ahmadinejad has taken things to an entirely new level by claiming that the United States government is actively trying to block the arrival of the Mahdi. 

Fox News is reporting that Ahmadinejad made the following remarks about the United States during a speech on Monday….

“We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world”.

They are also reporting that Ahmadinejad stated that the United States is coming against Iran because “they know” that Iran is the nation that will prepare the way for the Mahdi’s coming….

“They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule”.

So, according to Ahmadinejad’s way of thinking, what would be the logical thing to do about a Satanic nation that is actively trying to prevent the arrival of the savior of mankind?

Would it be logical to do everything possible to destroy them?

Of course.

This is yet another reason why Iran cannot be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons.

You see, Ahmadinejad is obsessed with the coming of the Mahdi and will do whatever he can to help bring it to pass.

According to Wikipedia, Shi’ite Muslims “believe that the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth and last Imam, who was born in 868 AD and was hidden by God at the age of five.”

They believe that he is still alive somewhere on earth and will be revealed when the time is right.

Ahmadinejad is convinced that the time for the arrival of the Mahdi is near.

It would be a huge mistake to underestimate what Ahmadinedjad is willing to do in order to “prepare the way” for the Mahdi.

But Ahmadinejad is not the only world leader with expectations that a messianic figure will soon arrive. 

As we covered in our recent article entitled “Will The Messianic Expectations Of All Major World Religions Pave The Way For Antichrist?”, all of the major religions of the world are expecting “a messianic figure” to arrive soon.

Could the Antichrist one day exploit these expectations to establish his rule over the entire world?

We are truly living in the last days.  Praise God that we get to live during this time when Bible prophecy is literally coming to life right before our eyes.

Iran is becoming bolder and more aggressive by the day as the U.S. government continues to show absolutely no willingness to do anything about either their nuclear program or their sponsorship of terrorism.  In a dramatic escalation, Iran has officially announced a plan for 10 new industrial scale uranium enrichment facilities and has earmarked approximately 20 million dollars for terrorist groups fighting the West.  As we have written about previously, Israel simply cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.  Iran may be emboldened by the seeming weakness of the United States at this present time, but the reality is that Iran’s actions are putting them on an inevitable path towards war – an end result which the majority of their population surely would not want. 

The biggest new development is the Iranian government’s approval of a plan on Sunday to build 10 industrial scale uranium enrichment facilities.  This represents a massive expansion of their nuclear program, and is in direct defiance of U.N. demands that it halt enrichment.

This action by the Iranian government comes only days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency censured Iran regarding its recent actions and demanded that they halt the construction of a recently revealed uranium enrichment facility.

Concerning these new facilities, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran will need to install 500,000 centrifuges throughout the 10 planned enrichment facilities in order to produce approxiamtely 250 to 300 tons of fuel per year.

But of course we all know that Iran has much more in mind than that.

The truth is that they want nuclear weapons and they are not going to stop until they get them.

Once Iran gets them, where will they end up?

That is the real danger.

You see, Iran is openly a state sponsor of terrorism and nobody seems to be willing to do anything about it.

Iran’s parliament passed a stunning new law on Sunday which earmarked approximately 20 million dollars to support terrorist groups fighting the West. 

Something does not seem quite right when we all have to be groped by airport security before we get on an airplane, but Iran can openly send 20 million dollars to terrorist groups fighting the U.S. and Israel and get away with it.

Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have just agreed on new oil and gas deals.

That is just one reason why economic sanctions will not work.

Russia and China will not go along with them, so any economic sanctions will be totally ineffective.

So what is the answer?

War?

War with Iran would be a total and complete disaster.  Iran has a far more advanced military and is much more powerful than Iraq ever was.  Iran would not be a pushover for anyone.  A whole article could be written about the horrible military and economic consequences of war with Iran.

But Israel cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.

Israel recognizes this and has publicly stated this over and over.

But Iran is refusing to back down.  Instead they seem determined to play this bizarre game of nuclear chicken.

If there is not a fundamental change by one side or the other there is going to be a military conflict.

Evangelical Christians tend to get excited about such a prospect, and even though we are to expect such developments in the last days, the truth is that war is always horrible.  If it comes many people will die and it will not be something to rejoice about.

Israel cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.  It is really just that simple.  The truth is that Iran funds and sponsors major terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah which are fanatically committed to the complete annihilation of the state of Israel.  Iran has not been shy about arming Hezbollah with extremely advanced weaponry with which to conduct its campaign of terrorism against Israel, and there is little doubt that once Iran develops nuclear bombs that they would give them to Hezbollah or to some other terrorist group dedicated to destroying the nation of Israel.

You see, Iran itself is absolutely committed to wiping the nation of Israel off the map.  No amount of diplomacy or negotiation is going to change that fact. 

If you do not believe this, the following quotes from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about the state of Israel should prove very revealing…..

“Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.”

“Remove Israel before it is too late and save yourself from the fury of regional nations.”

“The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land. As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map.”

“Israel is a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed.”

“Israel is a rotten, dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm.”

There is no doubt about how the president of Iran feels, and the truth is that his views are representative of the Islamic fanatics that run Iran.

They are obsessed with the destruction of Israel as a nation.

So when they develop nuclear weapons will they immediately launch them at Israel?

No, of course not.

You see, Iran is fighting its war against Israel through proxies.

The primary proxy that Iran uses is Hezbollah.

Iran arms, funds and helps train Hezbollah and then gets Hezbollah to do the dirty work while they sit back in safety.

When Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel, does the world blame Iran?

Of course not.  But they should.

What if those Hezbollah rockets were one day armed with nuclear warheads?

Or, what if Hezbollah agents started smuggling suitcase nukes into Israeli cities?

If a nuke suddenly went off in an Israeli city how could Israel hold Iran directly responsible.

They may not know who is responsible.

It would be a complete and total nightmare.

This is why Israel cannot let the nuclear genie out of the bottle in Iran.

It would inevitably lead to nuclear terrorism inside the state of Israel.

But Iran is now getting very close to developing a nuclear bomb.

Senior officials at the IAEA have concluded in a confidential analysis that that nation of Iran has now acquired “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” nuclear weapon.

The U.N. nuclear agency’s report presents evidence that Iran has done extensive research and testing on how to fashion the components of a nuclear weapon.

It is the open secret that nobody has wanted to talk about.

Iran wants the bomb and they are working feverishly to get it.

In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has handed the Kremlin a list of Russian scientists that he believes are helping Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Israel knows what is going on.

It is almost like Iran and Israel are playing some bizarre game of chicken and trying to see who will blink first.

Iran shows no signs of ending its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Israel has repeatedly said that it will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.

A military strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities appears to be inevitable.

Time is quickly running out, and each day it becomes clearer that the end result of all of this is going to be war.