Nuclear Iran

Last week, Governor Sarah Palin quoted an excerpt of what Sen Joe Biden said will happen if Obama became President of USA that within six months of coming into office, there will be at least one international crisis to test him. Well, do we really need that long?

The situation in the world today is so fluid that situations do develop so very quickly we do not need to wait to see if that prediction would come true. Just yesterday there is this article in Israel Today stating that Iran did some underground nuclear tests over one weekend and the tremor was felt by the USGS monitoring stations and everyone thought it was an earthquake in South Iran.

Thursday, October 30, 2008 Israel Today Staff
Iran says it tested nuclear bomb

An senior Iranian source has told Israel Insider that a weekend earthquake in Iran measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale was actually an underground nuclear bomb test.

The source, who claims he is a scientist aiding Iran's uranium enrichment efforts, also said that the tremor was the second in a series of nuclear tests. He said the first was recorded as a 4.8 earthquake on October 21 with its epicenter just three miles from the center of the more recent seismic event.

He said that China and North Korea have helped Iran accelerate its nuclear program far beyond where Western powers believe it stands. The source went on to reveal that Iran now has two nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles ready for use against Israel, possibly in the coming months.

Well, you interprete for yourselves whether you want to believe the article or not. The truth of the matter is that the world is pushing towards a confrontation and are we prepared for the outcomes?

The USA Presidential Elections

You might be wondering why I am commenting on the outcome of the USA Presidential Elections when I am a Singapore; what is the connection? This coming elections (happening in 13 days) on November 04, 2008 will be a watershed in more ways than one.

If Obama wins, he will be the first non-white US president and his leanings towards many issues will impact the world economies at large.

If McCain wins, he will be the oldest elected sitting president and with his maverick style, the world will also go through many unprecedented changes - for good or for bad.

So who would I prefer to be in the White House? Without prejudice, I honestly prefer John McCain, not because his policies are better but because I want a man who seeks after the heart of God to lead especially in these turbulent times.

For one, he will be more forthright in his dealings with the Israelis compared with Obama. His experiences as a veteran would be put to better use than one who has seen neither war nor had experience negotiating with another country. After watching rounds 1 & 3 of the presidential debates, I came away with the perception that he will not support Israel the way best for them and I dread to think of the consequences of his actions.

So will I be gluing my ears to the radio or watching the count on CNA on November 5th afternoon to hear the results? You can say that I am interested but not that crazy as to lose sleep over it. Yes, the opinion polls have been totting for Obama and giving him good margins over McCain but then again, one must not forget that the Lord is more Sovereign than one would like to admit. Ultimately the outcome will be determined by the Lord's hand and we can then know where the world will be heading.

Jewish Feast of Tabernacles

Monday (Oct 13) was the start of the eight important days of the Feast of Tabernacles which starts on Tisri 14 until Tisri 21. During this festival, the Jews were encouraged to build 'booths' or tents and stay in there as a reminder of their forefathers' journey from Egypt into the Promised Land.

The Feast was to remind the Hebrews of the Lord dwelling in their midst as they journeyed through a harsh land before they reached the Promised Land and how appropriate that our Lord Jesus Christ could have been born during this feast and not during Christmas on Dec 25. More research had been done and more and more people are coming to the conclusion that our Lord could not have been born in December during winter as it would have been too cold for the shepherds to be out in the fields looking after their sheep; a more likely time would have been autumn (as is now). Also it would be so like God to fit everything according to what He had already spoken beforehand in the written word of the Bible.

So what would the Jews be doing during this time while living in their tents? Lets look at Deuteronomy 31:9-13

9 So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.
10 Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles,
11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing.
12 Assemble the people--men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns--so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.
13 Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."

So the whole week of the feast days were to be dedicated to the Lord in the reading of the word of God. And how appropriate that we read in John 7:37-38,

37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

Isn't it so like Jesus to pick the exact timings and make the most profound of all statements for the occasion? What is my point? Jesus referred to the streams of living water flowing from within as the Holy Spirit Who indwells all the children of the Lord and He will guide us as we go about our daily lives and He will remind us of our position in Christ - sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father and joint-heirs with Christ in His kingdom.

Now I do not know about you but I am certainly excited knowing my inheritance in the Lord and no amount of turmoil in this world can shake that super-abounding inheritance we have in Christ.

The Current Climate - Doom or Hope?

Talk about what is happening around us and many would give you that exasperated look and turn away to look at something else. Many are at a loss as to what exactly is happening around them and some think that avoidance is the best answer to the current situations; but is it really?

Burying one's head in the sand like an ostrich does not make the problems blow away. They are still there whether you want to acknowledge it or not. What is my solution? Well, allow me to confess that there is only one solution out of these mess - our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The sooner we all realized that and bring Him into the picture, the faster the answers will come. I don't have the answers by He certainly does.

Remember He multiplied the 5 loaves of bread and the 2 fish when placed in His hands; He raised two dead men back to life - Lazarus who had been dead for four days and the widow's sons in the village of Nain who had been dead for about 24 hours (the funeral party was on its way out to bury the young man). To humans like you and I, these acts were not possible but to our Lord, these miracles are easy stuff and He is more than willing to repeat them for us if only we allowed Him to do so.

So the choice is really yours to make - doom? or hope?
- When you refuse to seek His help and do it alone, hey, that's a ticket to doom as we are all fully aware it is way over our heads to resolve - even the 'experts' are saying they have never seen anything close to what is the current situation to even make headway out of them.
- As for me, I have decided to enlist the Expert on this. Who is better equipped to resolve everything than the Manufacturer Himself.

The Four Horses mentioned in the Book of Revelations

In Revelations 6:1-8, the Lord gave a description of what will be happening to the Earth before His return. There will be four beasts sitting on four different colored horses and each horse represents different calamities and horrors. And when one compares what is written in Revelations with Jesus' own words in Matthew 24:4-8, one cannot help but realize that we are indeed living in those times.

The white horse of Rev 6:2 warns us of the work of the Deceiver who goes around teaching false doctrines about Christ (he held in his left hand a bow). Some even give him the name of anti-Christ. Jesus called him the false christ (Matthew 24:4-5) since he goes around claiming that he is the one whom the world is waiting for.

The red horse of Rev 6:4 warns us of wars and bloodshed as the beast held in his right hand a drawn sword. Jesus prophesied in Matt 24:6-7 that there will be wars and rumors of wars before His return and indeed there have been more wars in the last century compared to the combined period since modern history records were kept. Every day we will hear of violence some where in the world and it is not letting up.

The beast on the black horse of Rev 6:5 had a pair of scales in his hands and his assigned task was to measure up the grains and the wine and the oil in the world - he represented famine and Jesus warned us in Matt 24:7(a) of the coming famine. I suppose we need not look far to realize that in the world there are many places where acute famine had crept in and with the current political and economic turmoil, this will not be hard to recognize.

The beast on the pale horse was called specifically Death in Rev 6:7-8. Jesus warned us in Matt 24:7(b) that there will be pestilences and earthquakes in many places before His return. Pestilences in this instance also encompassed plagues and diseases. I would also want to point out that there had been more earthquakes occurring over the past ten years than the sum total of all earthquakes taken together since records were kept and it should also be noted that the magnitudes of all the quakes have intensified - no longer are we experiencing the minor quakes of 3 and below on the Richter scale but tremors of 5.0 and above are common day occurrences.

And it should be noted that the order of occurrences of the four beasts had been revealed in that order as recorded for us in the Scriptures. And Jesus ended His prophesy in Matt 24:8 when He said that the signs were there only to signify the beginning of sorrows. So what am I alluding to? that all these signs were to take place to point to the end; it is still not the End yet but these will take place to warn us of His imminent return.

Will we all have to experience the period of sorrows? I believe in the interpretation that this is the period called the Tribulation in the Bible and that Christians will not go through this trying period as the Lord will come and take His Church away to be with Him and then Tribulation will set in. It will only be after the seven years are up will our Lord return as the reigning King of kings over the Earth and He will commence His millennial reign here on a new Jerusalem.

So until our rapture, brothers and sisters in Christ, we will just have to enjoy our time here sharing the love of our Savior with those around us and to point them to the Savior Himself so that they will also join us during the Rapture and not be left behind to endure the Tribulation.