IRAN'S NUCLEAR THREAT
 

      By  Gene Creech

     The sounds of wars and rumors of wars hang like a cloud over the Middle East.  Almost everyday, new threats and charges are in
 the news.

     Iran in particular has gotten a lot of the world’s attention.  The Iranian government led by President Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad is building up its military, and purchasing billions of dollars worth of war machines from Russia.  Plans to erase Israel
from the map, and to annihilate the United States are among the threats to the free world.

     Homeland Security was recently advised that Iran could be planning to attack the U. S. by launching a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) missile from a merchant ship.  A nuclear missile exploded 400 miles above the ground surface in a strategic spot could knock out the electricity in most of, if not all of the United States.  Only specially shielded devices would survive.  Without electricity, the United States would be devastated.

     Possibly considered the biggest threat from Iran is that Iran is in the process of developing the capability to produce a nuclear bomb.  Some say Iran will have this ability within one year if they are not stopped.  Israel is being forced to consider this option.

     Iran’s support of Hamas and Hezbollah puts Israel in greater risk of being attacked.  An alliance between Iran and Sudan has added an army of 120,000 soldiers to Iran’s threat.  Syria already has a pact with Iran for mutual assistance if either falls under attack.

     Recently Israel conducted, what could have been, a practice run of an operation to bomb the facility in Iran that could produce the nuclear bomb.  Twenty-seven years ago, Israel responded to the threat of nuclear attack from Iraq by attacking and destroying a reactor there.  More recently, Israel destroyed a nuclear plant in Syria.  With the failure of the United Nation’s sanctions to persuade Iran to cease it’s effort to enrich uranium that could be used to produce nuclear weapons, Israel may have no other choice but to bomb this nuclear site as well.  Israel will do whatever it must do to survive.
 

     Israel needs the support from the United States.  The recent election in the U. S. may impact our support for Israel greatly.  The possibility exists that Israel will bomb Iran in the very near future.  If Israel does attack Iran, the world could feel the impact, especially in the United States.  Sleeper cells are said to be in this country and in other countries awaiting instructions to move.  Their ability to disrupt and destroy is not fully known.  There could be wide spread devastation in areas throughout the world.  Iran has moved missile launching pads to their border with Iraq.  Our military stations there could come under heavy missile attack fired from Iran, as well as ground attack.  Iran also has missiles within striking distance of a nuclear facility in Israel.

     If attacked, Iran could have an alarming effect on the economy of the rest of the world.  It could exercise control of the Persian Gulf.  Iran is one of the world’s largest oil producers, and over fifty percent of the oil marketed to the world passes through the Persian Gulf.  Disruption of the worlds oil supply would have unimaginable affects on the global economy.  It would appear that no country would escape at least a portion of the threat that Iran poses to the world.
 

WHAT IS BEHIND SUCH A DESTRUCTIVE PLAN?

     What would make Iran want to carry out such a destructive plan that would be so devastating to the world?  We must look to the Bible to find the answer to that question.
 

Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
 

     Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is determined to have nuclear capacity to destroy Israel, the United States, and threaten the rest of the world because of his religious belief.  His goal is to remove all of the Jews from the world, and everyone else that does not convert to Islam.  He has made it clear many times that he is looking for the return of the Mahdi who Shiites believe disappeared hundreds of years ago.
 

Muslims believe that shortly, ... the Mahdi or 12th Imam will make his long awaited appearance on the world stage. This is the prophet that is the Muslim Messiah, as it were. According to their teachings, the Mahdi  disappeared as a young boy of about 12 years old, several hundred years ago, and went into hiding in a deep well. But he will shortly come out of his hiding place and proceed to lead Muslims in a succession of victorious apocalyptic battles over their enemy and establish Islam as the predominant world religion.

     The Shiites  believe that the Mahdi is the 12th Iman of Shiite Islam.  They believe he will return in the heat of a world wide battle.  The Mahdi is believed to bring peace and tranquility to the world.  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is determined that he will make this happen at any cost.

     One may think that this cannot happen in today’s world.  That people today will not accept this belief, in another god, as the same as their own belief.  But, in 37,000 adult Americans surveyed, 70 percent affiliated with a religion said they believe that many religions can lead to eternal life.  Tolerance has become the religion of today.  Americans don’t feel the need to support Israel like our Bible reading fathers before us, but Israel will survive any attack, because God is not through with Israel.  We must continue to support and pray for this tiny country.  The survival of the United States may depend upon it.
 

     God who cannot fail promised Israel: (Genesis 12:3)   And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: