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WAR WITH IRAN: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." (Jer. 18:7-10) "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." (Psa. 75:6-7) I have a brief message today, only a simple three pointer, but they're good points that can help you, if you'll pay attention and receive them. Our text says that God is in charge of nations. Jeremiah 10:7 even says that he is the "King of nations." That's why Ben Franklin once said that God governs in the affairs of men and empires cannot rise with his aid. History is HIS STORY, and no one ever really understands world affairs without factoring in the unseen hand of God. Right now the entire world is watching a war with Iran with very few having even a clue what it all means. So, let's not be like them. Let's be wise and know what God is doing with this war and what it means. As always, from a political standpoint, it can mean lots of things, such as regime change, the free flow of oil at market prices, preventing the wrong people from having nuclear weapons, trying to establish peace in the middle east, etc., but viewing the whole thing through the lens of scripture, what does it all mean? That is, what do we KNOW to be true from God word? Let me give you three points to consider . . . I. IT MEANS WE'RE ON THE RIGHT SIDE No matter how many times we quote it and reference it, God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 is an UNCONDITIONAL promise that holds just as true today as it did the day that God spoke it. That's why it's in the book of Genesis, the book of BEGINNINGS that establishes the fundamental laws that govern society. One of those laws is the law that God has a chosen people who make up a chosen nation for a chosen purpose, and he'll curse anyone who gets in the way. That was true then, and it remains true today. Ecclesiastes 3:14 says, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him." Men SHOULD fear before him, but far too many do not. It seams these days that almost everywhere you turn someone has a problem with Israel. Well, if you do, then you have a problem with God, because God said to Abraham, "And I will make of thee a GREAT NATION (Do you see that?!!!), and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:2-3) We ought to be thanking God that our nation has traditionally had leaders who want to be friends with Israel, and we have been continual friends with Israel for the past 78 years. God said there's a blessing in that. During those 78 years, we have "legally" killed over 60,000,000 innocent, unborn babies while refusing to kill over a million murderers and rapists. Then we legalized sodomy in 2015, so now there are 1.6 million "legally married" sodomites living in our country, and to add insult to injury, we teach Darwinian evolution in our schools in all fifty states to ensure that people live like animals. Why on earth would God want to bless America? I can think of one one good reason: HE MADE A PROMISE! Call it luck, call it an accident, or call it divine providence, but we purchased a national insurance policy from God in 1948 by recognizing and befriending Israel, and a friend of Israel is a friend of God. Simple as that. By siding with Israel against Iran, we give God reason to continue his blessings on our nation. You can call that "Christian Zionism," if you want, but if you have good sense, you'll call it BIBLE. Don't believe all these nuts who say that God is all done with Israel and that the church is the new and true Israel. THAT'S HERESY, and it will bring far more curses your way than blessings. Israel isn't flawless, and there's enough bad politics to go around for everyone, including Israel and America, but she's still God's "great nation" and she's still covered by the promise of Genesis 12. WE might break promises, but God does not. Siding with Israel against Iran means that we are on the right side. II. IT MEANS BIBLE PROPHECY IS STILL RELEVANT Let's read the first twelve verses of Ezekiel 38: "And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 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: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land." This is speaking of a future invasion of Israel by this evil confederacy headed up probably by Russia, but also includes Persia. That is, Persia is sided with Russia against Israel. Now, if you don't believe Gog and Magog is Russia, no problem, because that's still somewhat debatable. But almost no one is debating about the identity of Persia. Persia is Iran, and the Elam of Jeremiah 49 is Iran. So, we have this 2,600 year-old prophecy unfolding as we live! That is, we are presently at war with Iran, a declared enemy of Israel some 2,600 years ago! That means YOU CAN STILL BELIEVE THE BOOK! You can believe what it says about Iran and Israel, and you can believe what it says about everything else. God is continually reminding us that his Book is true and relevant. If we're wise, we'll listen, and we'll start dusting off our Bibles and standing on God's promises. III. IT MEANS THE END IS ABOUT TO BEGIN Jesus said in Luke 21:9, "But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by." In other words, it's the BEGINNING of the end. The actual second coming, the second advent itself, is not going to happen this month or this year, but some of the things leading up to it might happen. It's the beginning of the end. It's like a football game where there are sixty minutes of playing time in total, but after 58 minutes the officials call a mandatory timeout, known as the TWO MINUTE WARNING. That's what God did in 1948, when Israel became an independent nation for the first time in over 2,500 years. He gave this entire world a WARNING that the game is about over and folks had better get on the winning side. Since that time, he has called our attention to the game clock many times, and each time there have been fewer seconds left on the clock. One of these days it will read "00:00," which is why Revelation 10:6 says, "there should be time no longer." What is Iran all about? It's part of God's two minute warning as the final seconds tick off the clock. If you have unfinished business, FINISH IT while you still have time. If you're lost, go ask someone to show you how to be saved. If you're saved but not living right, repent and set your heart and life in order. God has been gracious enough to give us a two minute warning. Don't ignore it.