Bombs over Persia

By Ron Graham

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:” Ezekiel 38:2-3. Are we seeing the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy God gave to Ezekiel? In the last few weeks the extreme rhetoric that has been tossed back and forth by Iran, Russia, the US, and Israel is striking to say the least. After my commentary entitled “Hybrids” was posted to the internet a few weeks ago people have been asking me “What’s next?” So what is next? Well, what’s the whole world witnessing today?

“Iran plans one-kiloton underground nuclear test in 2012” DEBKAfile Special Report January 10, 2012. First of all, the above statement should bring to a close all the debate as to whether or not Iran is developing a nuclear bomb. Secondly, most of us already knew they were in that process, we just didn’t know exactly where in the process they were – now we do. For those in the die hard “don’t confuse me with facts” crowd, uh, sorry but the facts are obvious. So, what’s next? I believe all the world would do well to come to grips with the fact that Iran means to wipe Israel off the proverbial world map – that truth is obvious and is seen as being their only intent for acquiring the bomb. Therefore the Jewish people around the world now stand at a precipice not seen since WWII – and they have a decision to make. Do they allow Iran to achieve their goal of perfecting a nuclear bomb – do they even allow Iran to test that bomb? Or do they strike Iran and bring the playing field of nuclear bomb holder nations back to pre-nuclear Iran days? By the way, Russia (Magog) has made it plain, striking Iran is a no-no.

More than anything else, Iran wants to push the Nation of Israel off its God given land and into the Mediterranean Sea – to be swallowed up, and forgotten forever. Then as they are reeling from that accomplishment and feeling vindicated and powerful they’d like nothing better than to see to it that the U.S. of A. takes a similar plunge. Clearly something must be done to stem the advance of a nuclear Iran, and it probably should have been done yesterday. Make no mistake, no matter what decision is made it will be costly.

Just how close are we to the prophesied Second Advent of Jesus Christ? That depends. If Iran fires a nuke at Israel, certainly earth’s Christian populous would be in a heightened state of expectation. Israel will not be annihilated, God will not allow that scenario to come to pass; He will intervene for His people Israel. The United States of America, on the other hand, is a different story. There is no promise from God to save America from annihilation save, of course, the promise He made to Abraham. “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:” Genesis 12:3. Although the United States of America has partnered with Israel to this point, with the vehement rhetoric coming from our fearless leader concerning Israel, perhaps Christian, it’s time to start looking up.

There is a verse in Ezekiel that seems appropriate for insertion here. “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 39:6. Obviously God is adamant about what the future of Magog holds. Then God refers to “them” in the same thought. Who is God referring to when He says “I will send a fire…among them that dwell carelessly in the isles?” The Hebrew word translated to English as “carelessly” can also mean in safety or security. The Hebrew word used here actually denotes a sense of false security or a confidence that is unrealistic. Israel will be in this same mode of false security when Russia (Magog) and her allies come against them. In the “isles” means region or country. So who is it that God is referring to? What county has been dwelling carelessly in their own country for some time now? Could it be that God has His sights on the good old U.S. of A., as we as a nation turn our backs on Him and more specifically on His people Israel?

Persia (Iran) is prophesied to move against Israel in the last days, but according to God’s word, Persia will be defeated. Now this is a very interesting scenario since Russia is telling the world that an attack on Tehran, Iran, is an attack on Moscow. Well now, that changes the dynamic somewhat. If Israel launches a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Russia is going to be drug into the fray as though someone placed a hook in its jaw. “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army…” Ezekiel 38:4a.

The whole idea of a nuclear Iran is beyond belief, not to mention comprehension. Yet for those of us who’ve studied the word of God, and believe what we read, we’ve no doubt that Iran (Persia) will do everything it can to destroy Israel in these last days. They will fail, but of course Iran doesn’t see it that way. Right now their leadership is bent on bringing together all the elements necessary to create global conflict. They believe this scenario will usher in the Twelfth Imam. Christians, if we were still here, would know this guy as the antichrist. We know he’s bringing an evil which hasn’t been seen before into the world. But the Muslims believe he is the one who will usher in global peace and harmony. They are chomping at the bit to get this guy on the scene and in control.

Where we once only read prophecy and waited for the appearance of any sign, we can now lay those prophecies over current events, and there has never been a time when they’ve fit so perfectly. The Nation of Israel will take Iran’s nukes out no matter what else happens. They will eliminate that particular threat to their existence. The U.S. will retaliate against Israel by pulling all our financial and military support and by issuing sanctions against our longtime ally. But none of that will matter to Israel as they will have attained a sense of security which will placate their people because of the now nonexistent threat from Iran (Persia). That security will be short lived as they will then find themselves entrenched in a fierce running battle for their very existence; a battle which will be fought on many fronts.

Syria, Lebanon’s Hezbollah (and of course Gaza’s Hamas) will unite with the other warring factions such as the Palestinian PLO’s Fatah army in the West Bank and they will invade Israel. There will be thousands of rockets fired at Israel and some will undoubtedly hit their mark. No other nation will come to the aid of Israel; they are on their own. Well not exactly – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still looking out for the tiny Nation of Israel. Once the Church has left its pretty white buildings behind, Israel will again become God’s main focus.

There is talk that the United States will jump in and stop the nuke production in Iran before Israel has the chance. But if that does happen then there will be a response from Russia and/or China that will not be pleasant for Americans. Remember, Obama agreed to eliminate most of our nuclear arsenal with a treaty he made with Russia. But for those who think Russia eliminated their nukes on the same level as the US, well, I believe they’ll be surprised.

The leaders of every nation on earth know full well that Israel cannot just sit by while Iran completes their nuke program. Don’t misunderstand, most of the nations of this world are demanding Israel do just that. But Israel has other plans. Israel’s leaders and their populous are in agreement; there will never be another Holocaust in Israel’s history. Therefore they have only one option and that is to stop Iran before they test the bomb of all bombs.

This is a very exciting but also a dangerous time period. Dangerous in that if we don’t know who Jesus is, if we haven’t placed our faith, hope, and trust in Him as Savior and Lord and the only way to the Father, then dangerous becomes our fatal flaw since the rejection of Jesus Christ only leads to destruction. But for those of us who do believe, exciting is an understatement – we’re watching God’s prophetic word unfolding daily. Every Christian should be on the edge of their seats right now. What’s going on in Iran, Syria, Egypt, Israel, Russia, and the rest of the Middle East can only be described as prophetic scripture coming to pass.

So what should we do while we wait on the Lord? Stock up on guns, ammo, and a ton of survival gear? I understand that mindset better than most as I was operations manager for a national magazine which specialized in the promotion of self-reliant living and preparedness (living off the land, and off the grid, and returning to doing things the way our grandparents or great-grandparents did them). But the mindset that promotes “self-anything” is not the Christian mindset, or at least it shouldn’t be. There’s nothing wrong with planning for tomorrow, but we have no need to worry about tomorrow because God is our Father and He takes delight in providing for the needs of His children. The Father loves His children; it’s as simple as that. We walk by faith not by sight. I see all the worldwide woes approaching but it only heightens my resolve to occupy till He comes. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32.

God bless you all,
Ron Graham