The Iranian government have announced their intentions to put a satellite into orbit, following yesterday's successful launch of a rocket which is capable of carrying a payload into space. The news was met with criticism from Western nations, who believe that Iran could use the same technology to deliver a nuclear payload to another country such as Israel. Iran is facing a fourth round of economic sanctions after failing to abide by a United Nations resolution calling for a halt to its Uranium enrichment process. Israeli intelligence experts believe that Iran could possess enough Uranium to build a nuclear bomb as early as 2009 if the country is permitted to continue developing its nuclear programme. Israel recently carried out a massive air exercise in preparation for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. And last week the Iranian government announced that they had upgraded the range of their aircraft, bringing Israel within range of a possible counter-strike, although Israeli officials have downplayed those claims. 

Quote: ""The Safir (Ambassador) rocket was successfully launched. All its systems...are Iranian-made," Reza Taghipour, head of Iran's space agency, told state television, adding that a "test satellite was put into orbit." "We have paved the way for placing a satellite in space in future," state television said, showing images of the pre-dawn rocket launch which was attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Yesterday's launch of the Safir rocket also fell on the anniversary of the birth of the Imam Mahdi, who is said to have disappeared down a well in the 8th century and is prophesied to reappear as the Islamic messiah. President Ahmadinejad thinks it is his role to prepare Iran and the Muslim world for the appearance of the Mahdi, who he believes should arrive any time soon. Muslims believe that the Mahdi will appear during a time of great trouble on earth. According to Islamic tradition, the Mahdi is to come from a city in Iran, and will join an Islamic army that will march on Israel. The Mahdi will conquer Israel and many of the Jews will be killed. He will rise to prominence following a peace agreement between the Arabs and the West which will be mediated by a Jew, and he will rule over the world from his headquarters in Jerusalem for a period of seven years. 

Despite President Ahmadinejad's claims of peace, it is Islamic ideology that is the driving force behind Iran's development of nuclear power and its hatred for the Jewish people. And when the Antichrist does finally arrive on the scene, Muslims will welcome him with open arms, for he will appear to fulfill all their requirements. It's not that Islamic prophecies are accurate or should be trusted. These were originally Bible prophecies that Satan has twisted in order to deceive people into worshipping himself. When you examine the creation stories of other religions, you will find that in many cases the bad guy in the Judeo-Christian account becomes the good guy. Often you will find that the serpent that is honoured in these creation stories rather than being viewed as the deceiver. For example in Hinduism, there is Vishnu and the serpent, who helped to create the world. Likewise in modern gnosticism, it is Judas who is portrayed as the hero instead of the traitor. And it seems that in Islam, it is the Antichrist who is portrayed as the messiah figure rather than Jesus Christ. As you can see, the stage is being set for the appearance of the Antichrist. But we are not looking for him. We are waiting for Jesus Christ, who is coming to take all those who have trusted in Him for salvation, to be with Him in heaven. Are you ready to meet Him? Jesus Christ said that if we remain in our sins, where He is we cannot come (John 8:21). You need to have your sins forgiven if you ever intend to be in heaven. Jesus Christ bore God's punishment for your sins when He died upon the cross. And through His sacrifice on the cross, all who believe on Him for salvation can know the forgiveness of sins and have everlasting life. Trust in Jesus Christ for salvation today.

John 6:40
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Source BreitBart, YNet News, Africa Asia, Answering Islam

Britain's Sunday Times newspaper has reported that Iran is making preparations for war with Israel in the event that a military strike is carried out on its nuclear facilities. According to defence sources quoted in the report, Iran is positioning its Shihab-3 missiles to be ready for launch, and that Israel's Dimona reactor is one of the prime targets that have been selected for attack. The chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards warned yesterday that Israel is within reach of Iran's Shihab-3 rockets, which have a range of around 1250 miles. He also said that one of Iran's first acts in response to the destruction of its nuclear facilities would be to seize control of the Straits of Hormuz, through which sixty percent of the world's oil is transported. A former head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad remarked that Israel has just twelve months to deal with the Iranian nuclear problem or face the threat of a nuclear attack themselves.

Quote: "General Mohammad Ali Jafari, chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, has issued a new warning against Israel not to attack it, saying the country is well within range of its missiles, the Iranian Jam-e Jam newspaper reported on Saturday. "This country (Israel) is completely within the range of the Islamic republic's missiles. Our missile power and capability are such that the Zionist regime, despite all its abilities, cannot confront it," he said. "There is the possibility that by attacking Iranian nuclear sites the enemy wants to delay our nuclear activities, but any interruption would be very short since Iranian scientific ability is different from that of Syria and Iraq."

Another Revolutionary Guards commander has stated that orders have been given to dig 320,000 graves in Iran in which to bury enemy soldiers. Brigadier General Mir-Faisal Baqerzadeh did not elaborate on which enemy would occupy the graves, but warned that he did not "wish the families of enemy soldiers to experience what Americans had to go through in the aftermath of the Vietnam War". While it's not clear how much of this is simply rhetoric designed to intimidate their enemies and how much is actual preparation for war in the Middle East, I thought the news concerning Iran apparently giving orders to dig the graves of enemy soldiers was extremely interesting. For the Bible states that this is exactly what will come to pass. Only it won't be Iran that is burying the bodies of their enemies following a foreign invasion. We know that the coming Israeli-Arab war mentioned in the book of Ezekiel will include Iran (Ezekiel 38:5). Prior to the Iranian revolution in 1980, Iran had relatively good relations with Israel. So it seems that only within the past twenty years could this prophecy have really been fulfilled. And President Ahmadinejad's repeated calls for the destruction of Israel adds further weight to that theory. But Iran's graves will lie empty, for it is Israel that will have to give Iran a special place in the land to bury their fallen... 

Ezekiel 39:11-16
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

As you can see, all the signs of Christ's coming are falling into place. And that is why we go to the bother of commenting on these things. We don't rejoice at seeing calamity in the world, nor do we long for it as some claim. This isn't the way God intended for it to be. But we do rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ is returning to make all things new. That is our "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13). Do you have a blessed hope? Or are you like most people in the world, their "hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth", Luke 21:26? Do not be afraid. You too can have peace of mind and know peace with God. Jesus Christ has already made peace between God and man through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20). He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Trust in Him for salvation today.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Source YNet News, LA Times, YNet News

The New York Times reported today that the Israeli Air Force have undertaken a massive exercise to prepare themselves for the eventuality that military action against Iran becomes necessary. Around a hundred F-15 and F-16 fighter airplanes took part in the drill, which involved flying around 800 miles over the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Greece. The pilots practiced manoeuvres that would be used in a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, including mid-air refuelling and flight tactics. Iran is located a thousand miles to the east of Israel, and Iran's nuclear facilities are spread across the country. Israeli officials declined to comment on the exercise, but US sources have stated that Israel is seeking to send a signal to America, Europe and Iran that they are prepared to take matters into their own hands if Iran cannot be persuaded to halt its nuclear programme.

Quote: "A Pentagon official who the Times said was briefed on the exercise, said one goal was to practice flight tactics, aerial refuelling and other details of a possible strike against Iran's nuclear installations and long-range conventional missiles. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a second goal was to send a clear message that Israel was prepared to act militarily if other efforts to stop Iran from producing bomb-grade uranium fail. "They wanted us to know, they wanted the Europeans to know, and they wanted the Iranians to know," the Pentagon official said, according to the Times. "There's a lot of signalling going on at different levels."

When it comes to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the tiny nation of Israel has saved the world many times over. On the 7th of June 1981, the Israeli Air Force sent six F-15 escort fighters and eight F-16 bombers to destroy the Osirak reactor in Iraq. And in September of last year, the Israeli Air Force sent a similar number of fighters into Syria to destroy a nuclear reactor in that country. Both governments have supported terrorist organizations that are bent on the destruction of Israel, and there is no telling what would have happened if these groups had managed to acquire nuclear weapons. Israeli intelligence experts believe that Iran will have nuclear weapons capability by 2009 at the latest. And with the Iranian President having repeatedly called for Israel's destruction, Israel is sending a message to the world that they are not prepared to stand idly by and watch that happen. But President Ahmadinejad has not counted on one thing. Israel may be a tiny nation, but they have a big God. The Mighty God of Jacob...

Genesis 49:22-26
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

And for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, we can say the same. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New. Jesus Christ is that Good Shepherd (John 10:11). He was the Stone that was rejected by the builders of the nation of Israel (Matthew 21:42). He is the One who was separate from His brethren. He bore the punishment for our sins upon the cross. Is He your Shepherd? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Source YNet News, Jewish Virtual Library

Former Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has said that military action against Iran is now "unavoidable", and that sanctions have been ineffective in persuading the country to halt its nuclear programme. His comments come just weeks after Israeli intelligence experts revealed that Iran could be as little as a year away from possessing enough enriched Uranium to produce a nuclear warhead. Israel claims this intelligence is of a similar quality to that which led to the bombing of the Syrian nuclear reactor at the end of last year. That reactor was destroyed by IAF jets just a few weeks before it was scheduled to become operational. The Israeli government believes this information will cause the US to revise its latest National Intelligence Estimate, which stated that Iran had ceased development of its nuclear programme in 2003. Israeli analysts believe a US or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities could come after the US Presidential elections in November, and before the new US President is inaugurated in January of 2009. And if the Israeli intelligence on Iran is accurate, it looks like a third Middle East war is coming sooner rather than later.

Quote: ""If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective," Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable," said the former army chief who has also been defence minister.

Meanwhile, efforts are still underway to bring about a resolution to the Middle East conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have renewed their Annapolis pledge, to formulate a peace agreement before the end of President Bush's term this year. Although not much progress is presently being made, that is not through lack of trying. The Palestinian Authority recently rejected two separate maps drawn up by Israeli negotiators, which would have permitted the establishment of a state on 91.5% of the territories now claimed by the Palestinians. The remaining 8.5%, which comprises mostly of Jewish settlements in the greater Jerusalem area, would be traded for Israeli territory near the city of Hebron. But the Palestinians are only prepared to trade around 1.8% of the land, presumably enough territory to create a corridor between Judea and Gaza, thus dividing Israel in two and bringing them closer to their stated goal of the destruction of the Jewish state.

Quote: ""Our priority objective, which is also that of President Bush, To complete the negotiations by the end of 2008, "said Abbas, who is on an official visit to Tunis. He will be heading to Washington Tuesday. The Palestinians' he said, "hope to reach not an agreement of principles but a framework agreement to be used as the basis for the final agreement... the conclusion of such an agreement is the initial premise needed for peace between the Palestinians and Israel.

As you can see, the prophetic timetable that has been laid out in the Scriptures concerning the end times is 100% accurate. Now I am not sure if an Israeli strike against Iran will happen this year. And I am not sure if a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be formulated before the end of this year. But if these things were to happen, and if this were the fulfilment of prophecy, it would not contradict what the Bible states. For according to Ezekiel's prophecy, the Magog war is scheduled to occur at a time when Israel is at rest. Whether Ezekiel's war happens as a result of a US or Israeli strike on Persia, we cannot tell. But it will happen at a time when Israel is at peace with its neighbours (Ezekiel 38:11). Therefore we should expect that some sort of peace agreement will be reached before the war with Iran heats up. Whether this agreement is the same one mentioned in Daniel 9:27, I don't know. I think that perhaps the Israelis and Palestinians will reach some sort of 'shelf-agreement', which could be strengthened by the Antichrist at a later date. In any case, these are interesting days we are living in. We are seeing a number of prophecies being fulfilled. The high oil and food prices, a coming war with Iran, peace in the Middle East, lying signs and wonders being performed, the formation of a Mediterranean Union, earthquakes in diverse places. It can only mean one thing. It's time to lift up our heads, for our redemption draws nigh (Luke 21:28). Jesus Christ will soon return for His Church, and then again to set up His Millennial Kingdom upon this earth. But before that a time of trouble, when the Lord will punish the inhabitants of this earth for their wickedness. 

Isaiah 24:17-20
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [are] upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, [that] he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

These judgements await all those who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. But God is merciful. There is still time for repentance. The Bible says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance", 2nd Peter 3:9. Will you repent of your sins, and trust Jesus Christ for salvation? He exhausted God's punishment for our sins, when He gave Himself as a sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary. He lives in the power of an endless life, and intercedes on behalf of all those come to Him for salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

Source Daily Mail, BBC, YNet News, Haaretz