There is a test that is happening today that should deeply concern every single citizen of the United States.  The concern should not be because of the stated purpose of the test.  The concern should be the power grab that it represents – and worse – the power that now is in the hands of an unelected official who serves at the behest of the president of the United States. 

The first amendment to the United States Constitution states that there is the freedom of speech and of the press.  That is a right that should not be infringed upon by our government.  But a test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on November 9th at 1:00 CST will give federal authorities a power that has never existed before in our country.  On this day there will be the first ever test of the EAS on a national level.  For three minutes this test will allow the Director of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Authority) to effectively shut down all television, radio, cable television, satellite radio and television and wireline video broadcasters.  Why is this viewed as such a serious thing?  This is being done to make sure that in an emergency one message can be sent to people about what the emergency is.  Why all the fuss?

What this means is that the authority to seize control of all television and civilian communication has been taken by the executive branch of the United States government and handed to a government agency.  The problem is that for the first time in history – the government can absolutely control information and speech in our country.  They can do so with a simple flip of a switch.  Today the switch will only be activated for a 3 minute test.  But that power should never be put into the hands of any one branch of government – without serious precautions and limits to their ability to use it.  There should be very serious laws governing the use of this – and even more serious penalties should it ever be misused for ANY purpose outside of a BRIEF alert of the populace. 

What many are concerned about here is the ability of a partisan entity (of any party or group in existence now or in the future) to suddenly CONTROL the flow of information to the American people.  If anyone decided to misuse this power they could have ABSOLUTE CONTROL over all the information the people of the United States received – with no way to rebut false information.  The power it gives the presidency was NEVER meant to be wielded except in the most extreme of circumstances.  Our founders would be terrified to know that a political entity of any kind, party, or distinction could do this.  They would know that such power is what ultimately destroys a nation – not helps it.

Just yesterday we looked at Iran and their most recent terrorist plot.  We wondered out loud, “What was Iran thinking,” and looked at some of the ramifications of their actions – even looking into the longer term future at what could happen as a result.  Today, we are going to look at this again, yet from the angle of Iran’s worldview.  This is important for us to do because unless we grasp the worldview that Iran is working from, we will tend to misjudge not just their previous actions – but we will also be caught off guard again and again as to their future ones.  Unfortunately for us in the United States the current leadership, as well as the vast majority of thinkers from both sides of the aisle in Washington, are unwilling to wake up to just what this worldview is.  Their unwillingness to do this has led, and will continue to lead us in directions that will leave us totally unprepared for what is coming in the days and months ahead.

What was Iran thinking when they attempted to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States?  To those in Iran’s leadership, they were following a logical course of action spurred on by their worldview.  Some might want to restate this as their “religious” worldview but this does not recognize that they do not dichotomize their lives into the religious and the secular like we do in the West.  Their worldview is Muslim from every possible vantage point.  What is driving them is the logical conclusions of Islam and the teachings of the Koran as interpreted by their religious leaders.  This is what drives them religiously, politically, legally, and socially.  This is exactly what led them to every action they’ve taken from their political repression of opposition movements to their pursuit of nuclear weapons to their incendiary statements about wiping Israel off the map. 

Iran’s spiritual leadership as well as their current political leadership believe in the classic version of Islamic eschatology (end-times doctrine).  That doctrine centers around two basic things.  The first is the return of the 12th Imam who is called the “Mahdi.”  He is an apocalyptic figure who, according to their teachings, will come up out of a well in Iran – and will lead the Islamic world to reinstate the Caliphate.  The Caliphate is the term used for a one-world government/religious system based on Islam and worldwide Shar’ia law.  The Mahdi will be the supreme leader of this movement – Islam will be its religious basis – and Koranic Shar’ia law will be its political vehicle for ruling the world.  Our governmental leaders desperately need to grasp this worldview and how it motivates the actions and attitudes of the current Iranian leadership. 

The Mahdi will come in the midst of worldwide chaos and disruption.  Some might state that this is not a whole lot different than the view of the Bible.  The Bible does state that in the last days there will be wars and rumors of wars.  The major difference in worldview between these two though is that for the Biblical Christian – we are merely watching these things happen.  For the “Twelfth-er” Muslim, they sek to do all they can to encourage these disruptions and problems.  They want war, political problems, and worldwide chaos.  This is what will help bring the Mahdi back – it will aid in his return to set up the worldwide Islamic Caliphate.

Here is where we come to what the Iranians were thinking when they did what they did recently.  They were thinking that by causing disruption and even war – they will bring back the Mahdi.  This is why we need to wake up and realize what we are facing.  Too often our press and our political leaders tell us that Islam is a peaceful religion – that we can peacefully coexist with them in love and harmony.  But the fact is, that at least with Iran’s brand of Islam (and I would argue all sects eventually), they do not want peaceful coexistence and harmony.  They want Islamic domination and worldwide Shar’ia law.  They want the world to be ruled by the Mahdi – and for all nations to be under the Islamic Caliphate. 

What we are doing now in seeking a diplomatic solution is futile.  It is a repeat of the negotiations that England and France sought to have with Hitler.  There is no negotiating with those who seek worldwide domination and rule.  Chamberlain would have been better off to have met with Hitler’s Germany and let them know that if they continued to aggressively seek European domination – they would face stiff opposition and eventually war.  Hitler did not listen to appeasement.  He saw it as weakness – and sought to exploit it to his advantage.  The Iranians see our penchant for “sanctions” and our constant appeal to the U.N. for their wonderful intervention (please read this as sarcasm – actually more like rampant sarcasm) as weakness.  They exploit our useless efforts to rein them in – and see it as a gift of more time to plant additional operatives whose goal is the destruction of the “great Satan.”  One would think that the reality of that name alone would wake us up.  But our response is to retract in Freudian political horror – and blame ourselves for their actions, attitudes, and worldview.

What should we do?  How should we act in this situation?  Politically, we need to elect those to office who are not beholden to the view that Islam is a peaceful, cooperative worldview with our own.  Some would blame president Obama for the current state of affairs, but to do so would be to ignore at least 6 years of appeasement under the Bush administration.  We have a “State Department” problem.  Those who are responsible for our foreign policy think that we can win over the Islamic world by gradually abandoning our evil western ways – oh, and also by also gradually abandoning our support for our faithful ally Israel.  They are fools for thinking this.  This is not a PR problem – it is a worldview problem.  Therefore, IF we are to reverse the trends that currently make us weak and vulnerable to future attacks, we are going to have to accurately define and deal with Islamic designs for the world.  That will involve a much more aggressive stance toward Iran – and any other Islamic state that threatens our nation – and our way of life.  This is the political solution to our problem.  Now, having stated this, I have the unpleasant task of informing you that most likely this will not happen until the next couple of attacks have taken place.  The other unfortunate truth is that most likely the next major attack will make the Twin Towers attack look like child’s play.  In light of this I remind myself that the kingdom of God is not of this world.  Therefore as a patriot, I hate this development – but as a Christian, I realize that my faith is not based on what governmental system rules the country in which I live. 

There is a far greater responsibility that I have in light of all these things.  That responsibility is as a Christian.  My responsibility is to live for the glory of God by continuing to do the will of God.  That means that regardless of the threat to my country, I am to love my enemies and pray for them.  I am not to fear or hate Muslims, but love them and seek for every opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.  Therefore as the world continues to move toward the confrontation of the Islamic worldview and the view of the Western world – I am to preach Jesus no matter what the cost.  In the end, my concern is not ultimately what the Iranians are thinking as they act politically.  My concern is to affect their thinking and worldview by preaching that there is salvation in no other name except Jesus Christ.  My ultimate task does not change with the winds of political fortune.  The authority from which my task has been commanded will never be overthrown by the schemes and political actions of mankind.  God was seated upon His throne before mankind ever existed – and He will continue to be seated on his throne long after the last political schemes of mankind have ended.  Remember this and know that whatever Iran was thinking, it will not ultimately affect God’s will and purpose from being accomplished.  All things will be summed up in Jesus Christ.  Every knee WILL bow and every tongue WILL confess that JESUS IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER!  May these two facts give you hope and confidence to live for Jesus in the midst of our chaotic world. 

What is the world is going on with Iran?  Over the past week we've learned that the Iranian KUDS forces (which is the equivalent of our special forces) were involved in a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States.  Allegedly, the plot involved working with Mexican drug cartels in an effort to hire professional assassins to carry out the plot.  As more and more details of this plot become known, it is clear that the Iranian government was involved in this effort. 

This is a radical move on the part of the Iranian government - even a game-changing event.  It has led to several things that are happening presently in our own government reaction to this attempt on the Saudi Arabian Ambassador.  The first is that the Obama administration is seeking what they call, "crippling" sanctions against the Iranian government.  The problem with this action is that it will require countries like China and Russia to comply as well.  Since we do not do any business with Iran, our ability to directly affect their economy is fairly limited.  The second action, which is not receiving hardly any attention involves Israel and the sale of 55 advanced bunker-busting bombs to their military.  This was something that was allowed by the Obama Administration.  To give a little insight on this action, the Bush Administration was asked to do the same thing - and did not do it.  It was viewed as too controversial a decision, and one that would come back to haunt them if Israel used these weapons to destroy Iran's nuclear program.

What does all this mean for our world.  It actually means a great deal.  One of the things Israel absolutely had to have to deal with Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons was bunker-busting bombs.  Now that they have them - an attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure is far more possible.  This would cause a huge disruption of the delivery of oil throughout the world.  Those who understand the ramifications of this say it might cause the cost of oil to surge to 6-8 dollars a gallon - or more.  This would send an already fragile world economy over the edge into full scale collapse.  Such a collapse would put our world into financial chaos.  It would be a perfect scenario for a world leader to rise to help solve such an issue - not to mention to lead the world toward a one-world currency or system that would be easily be transformed to a cashless economy.

There is also the problem of military reprisals for Israel taking out Iran's nuclear weapons program.  If such an attack were to take place, there is a good possibility that the world would be set on fire.  Russia, Syria, and Turkey all have mutual defense pacts with Iran.  If Israel were to attack Iran - what would these countries do?  It could easily cause the region to erupt with protests - and eventually a military action against Israel from nations throughout the region.  That would fit the view of the Gog-Magog conflict of Ezekiel 37-38 being an event which happens before the rapture of the church and the beginning of the 7 year tribulation period of the book of Revelation. 

The situation with Iran is fluid at the moment.  Much of what I've written today has yet to happen.  We do not know what sanctions will be put on Iran.  We do not know how effective they will be.  We do not know how Iran is going to react to such things.  We do not know how the rest of the Middle East will react to Iran's actions.  But the one thing we do know is that Israel now has the ability to penetrate the bunkers which hide much of Iran's nuclear facilities.  The question will be what Israel will do with them?  The other thing we also know is that these events have done nothing to lessen the political pressures that are rising in the Middle East.  We will need to stay tuned to learn what will happen.  But in the mean time we also need to stay on our knees and continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, because these events have made that peace that much more difficult.

I’m on vacation presently – but as I’ve taken the time to keep up with the news I’ve had a sense of destiny in the things that I am reading.  Let me explain by making reference to the book of Revelation and the things we see happen in that amazing prophecy of last things. 

In the book of Revelation we see some astounding things happening in the world prior to the return of Jesus Christ.  Among them is a world leader who arises promising peace, but delivers something far different.  We see war on a scale possibly unknown to mankind.  We see horrific events involving famine and plague that seem almost out of the realm of possibility.  We see a world system of finance that no longer involves a currency or currencies of the nations of the world.  All these things seem so far fetched that many have written off Revelation as either a book that is to be interpreted non-literally – or as the rantings of a crazed prophet or worse.

Yet, as I read the news I cannot help but watch the stage being set for the return of Jesus Christ.  We are watching our own nation on the edge of a financial Armageddon – not because of the debt ceiling debacle in Congress, but because we have $14.2 trillion in debt and actually think that more borrowing is not a bad thing for us.  Because of our position in the world as the largest consumer nation, if we fall the world is coming with us.  There is such an inter-connectedness in economies in our world today that a failure in the United States will bring down the world with it. But the debt crisis is not just in the United States alone.  European countries who have embraced the lies of socialism are coming to their own day of reckoning as their ability to handle a debt explosion are coming upon them.  Not only is the U.S. economy going to implode, but Europe’s as well – and they may get there first. 

Consider the implications of all this.  Two of the world’s largest economies are going to implode.  With that we will see a collapse of the U. S. farming community as well – because without financial backing, the system we’ve maintained for our farming will fall apart as well.  That will bring a lack of food the likes of which the world has not seen in modern times.  With it will also come the looming specter of famine as one of the largest producers of food in the world suddenly will be struggling with feeding themselves as economics prevents the growing of food. 

This coming economic Armageddon will also affect the nation that has done more to promote world health than any other on the planet.  That work will come to a grinding halt as the companies that have pioneered much of the innovation and advance of medicine also implode.  Medicines that have been readily available will soon find shortages popping up all over the world. 

With this kind of financial meltdown will also come the inevitable showdowns between nations who are now facing dire choices as the shortages grow.  Historically this has led to war between nations – because contrary to biblical truth – wars are primarily not engaged in because of political differences.  James tells us that the reason for wars is because we want and we cannot have – so we argue and fight on a local level – but on a geo-political scale such arguments become wars.

Now add to this the growing problem of an Islamic radicalism that is wanting world domination and you have a recipe for a worldwide conflagration that is coming soon to a planet near you.  Some will read this and commence hand-wringing as they try to figure out how to stop it.  But the fact is that you will not be able to stop these kind of events when Christ’s return is imminent.  When I look at the things that are happening now – I see two things.  First I see that when a world sows to the wind, they will reap the whirlwind.  Our world has been in rebellion against God since Adam’s fall in the garden.  This rebellion seems to be reaching a critical mass in our day.  The godlessness in our world only knows one other context historically and biblically – and that is the days prior to Noah and the first destruction of the earth by water.  Just as the pre-flood world had to face the consequences for their sin and rebellion, so does ours – and that host of consequences seems to be knocking at our door.  The second thing I see is possibly an engineering of all this as God is sovereignly working in our world.  Please understand I do not see God as the author of such sin and wickedness.  He is not responsible for the sin and rebellion – yet He is still sovereignly working through it toward the ultimate end of His eternal purposes.  That eternal purpose has as its goal the summing up of all things in Christ Jesus – the ultimate punishment of the wicked – the ultimate reward of the righteous – and then the penultimate reign of His Son for all eternity. 

So where does that leave us – you know, the ones who are still on this planet as these things hurtle toward their horrific conclusion?  It leaves us where we have always been – redeemed ones of Jesus Christ who have a task before us.  That task is to continue making disciples of all the nations – preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth – and preparing our own hearts for the return of our glorious Lord and Savior.  The days and years will continue to be piled upon the past – until He comes and our salvation is completed as we are glorified in heaven.  But no matter whether this end comes in days or years – or decades – or centuries – our task is the same as our brethren right after the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Preach Jesus – live Jesus – lead others to Jesus – disciple them for Jesus – and love Jesus until the end . . . whether it is an end as we die on this earth – or one where we greet Him in the clouds in a glorious reunion as He comes again!

Recently while in Sudan teaching I came across a couple of verses in Habakkuk that arrested my attention.  This, along with several things that happened while overseas, has brought me to the place where I want to write about what is soon coming to a nation near you.  What is coming soon to the United States is a complete meltdown of our entire financial system.

Habakkuk 2:6-7 "Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him and say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with loans?  Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.“

These are the two verses I read while in Sudan, and immediately the Lord nudged me in my spirit and gave me a sense that these were going to come upon the United States very soon.  Unfortunately I do not have an exact time table for what very soon means – but if history is any indicator – it would be my guess that we have less than 2-3 years until this happens (and I would not be shocked if this happens before the end of this year). 

Let me explain first biblically, and then with a reference to history.  First we turn to Habakkuk and the warning that he offers to where God’s people were then – and honestly, where we are now.  God told Habakkuk to stand and watch for the vision He gave him.  That vision included a rebuke for their drunkenness – and the lack of self control it brought about in them.  They were focused as a consumer culture – and part of that consumer mentality was to become “rich” by the use of loans.  God rebuked them for this and told them though a person may look rich by becoming rich with loans, the question one should ask is, “For how long?”  The problem with becoming rich through debt is that it is an illusory wealth that you have.  The ones who are truly rich are your creditors – the ones to whom you owe the money.  These people are collecting interest from you – and what you thought cost only $100 – is costing you far more.  In the end, if you cannot pay your debt, your creditors will, “rise up suddenly” and “You will become plunder for them.”  You don’t actually own anything – they own you.    For God’s people during the time of Habakkuk, this was a huge problem – for they were blind to what was about to happen to them.  But whether they were blind or not, this was going to happen.

Our country is over 14 trillion dollars in debt.  We’ve decided to become rich through loans – but the time is quickly coming upon us where we will have to pay for our illusory wealth – and it is going to cost us dearly.  The past two times we’ve heard reports from the FED, they have told us that everything is fine – as they are “monetizing” our debt.  What this means is rather than paying the debt and tightening our belts as Americans, our foolish leaders have decided to print money at rates that are alarming.  This is destroying the stability of the United States dollar.  This has led to a meeting that has never happened before in modern history.  Recently, all the major economic players in the world met together – and did NOT invite the United States to the meeting.  What they discussed at the meeting is that they are strongly working toward removing the dollar as the world currency of choice.

Recently, while in Amsterdam, I experienced what is happening in our world first hand.  The businesses in that city were very forthright in telling me that they did not accept U.S. dollars.  I had to trade them in for Euros.  What was even more shocking to my sensibilities was that there were only two places where you can still do this – the Forex booth at Central Station – and at the Central Post Office in Amsterdam.  This did not match what I had been told even as late as March of 2011.  But the reason for this is because the monetizing of our debt is destroying the value of the dollar. 

Now for the history lesson.  Prior to WWII, the German Weimar Republic also decided that the way to deal with their debt problems was to print money.  This quickly destabilized their paper money – and it led to a devaluation of their money – and to a meteoric rise in interest rates.  Before long it almost took an entire wheelbarrow filled with money to buy a loaf of bread.  Today, when I share this with people they scoff and think that this was long ago.  Such things cannot happen today.

In 1967 the Labour Party in Great Britain decided to lead their country in a decided socialist direction.  In order to pay their bills (as they gave away everything to everyone) they decided to devalue the British currency by 14% overnight.  The result was that everything suddenly became much more expensive.  In the late 1970’s this situation led to what had been called the “Winter of Discontent.”  During this time things got so bad that there were strikes among numerous workers and at one point hospitals were reduced to accepting emergency patients only.  Also they saw inflation explode 26.9% in one year!  In 1974 businesses and homes were forced into a “three day week” where electricity was given for only three days, broadcasting on television was shut down at 10:30 p.m. each night – and there were constant shortages of food – and even candles as people struggled to live.  This same kind of situation has happened recently in Yugoslavia and most recently in Greece. 

The truly frightening thing that I see right now is that there are currently 46 states in the United States who are nearing bankruptcy.  This has led to Arizona selling most of their public buildings – and California to release almost 11% of their prison population because they cannot afford to keep them in jail any longer.  Another interesting development is that in parts of Massachusetts they are no longer accepting U.S. dollars to pay for goods any longer.  They are asking for Euros instead.  There are reports that in Texas some stores are preferring Mexican Pesos to American dollars for payment.  Since the U.S. dollar has devalued 11% in 2010, the world is seeing the writing on the wall – and is planning to abandon the U.S. dollar. 

Here is the prophecy part of all this.  What Habakkuk saw IS going to happen in the United States.  Soon we are going to see inflation and the devaluing of our dollar run completely rampant.  Commodities are going to skyrocket in price to where we will hardly recognize prices at our grocery stores.  The price of gasoline  will most likely shoot up to European prices (around 6-7 dollars per gallon).  We will watch unemployment reach record levels very soon.  All this is happening for two reasons – first we are not following God’s principles when it comes to debt and how we manage the money God has given to us.  The second reason is that God in His sovereignty is working through this disobedience toward His eventual end – which I believe Scripturally will involve a financial collapse – and a subsequent one world financial system not involving countries having individual currencies. 

So what do we do about this?  First, we read and follow God’s Word when it comes to our financial dealings and practices.  Study the book of Proverbs to understand more about wisely handling the money God gives you.  Turn from this world’s view of money, and adopt God’s instead.  Second, realize that no matter what you do, that some aspects of the financial meltdown are inevitable.  God is moving toward His ultimate goal of bringing down the pride of man and exalting Christ alone in the end.  Don’t take a fatalist view of things – do what you can – but also don’t think you will be able to escape what happens in this world unscathed as God moves toward His future works.

Events surrounding our military actions in Libya are being viewed with a collective yawn in many parts of our country.  Yet what has happened and the way that it was done send shivers down the spines of those who realize that protections that our constitution are supposed to give us - and the way that it is not being followed.  Yet for me, the danger here has been a long time coming - and has very little to do with our constitution.

A brief word of explanation is in order.  Recent events in Libya have drawn the attention of our government.  It is no shock to anyone conversant with history to know that the president of Libya is an insane thug who rules by the unjust use of power, torture, and intimidation of his people.  It is just that recent events have drawn our attention to the mental unstability of Khadafi.  Those events involved his people rising up and challenging his authority.  As things quickly turned toxic in his nation he began to do greater and greater injustices to his people - and eventually he began using his air-force to bomb his enemies into submission.  At that point the UN decided to jump into the fray - being urged by Europe to do something.  What is not truthfully being reported to us is that Europe gets a large amount of their oil and gasoline from Libya - but for now we will leave that hot potatoe alone.  To make a long story significantly shorter - the UN authorized a no-fly zone to be put into place.  Sound military strategy and theory mandated that in doing this Libya's air defense capability be destroyed - as well as aspects of their air-force as well.  This steamed ahead - and resulted in our country using its military to strike with its air-force to start the operation.  Here is where things get sticky consitutionally.

What the constitution requires for us to act militarily is a declaration of war.  This is to be done by the Congress - who then turns the operations of the war itself over to the presidency - who then prosecutes the war toward victory.  Over the past couple of decades this whole aspect of our constitutional process has gotten foggy to say the least.  More and more we have chosen to have Congress approve military action short of a declaration of war.  But, even in these situations, we at least followed aspects of the Constitution having Congress involved in the decision making process.  But, this time, under our current administration, this process was completely ignored - and the president authorized an action on his own.  He did so on his own authority - and apart from any true submission to the ruling documents of our country.  Again, as I said at the beginning of this article, outside of a few statements, our country has used the ends (a crazy dictator killing his own people) to justify the means (our president ignoring the law and acting on his own).  But this action - along with countless others bode very ominous things for our country.  Let me explain.

Jesus made a very interesting and ominous comment in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said, that if the salt has lost its savor - it is good for nothing any longer, except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men."  Throughout the history of the world this has happened again and agian as nations that began with Christian principles and ways, turned from them.  In each and every situation what happened was that a godless ruler arose and pretty much crushed the church as a dictatorship developed in that country.  Now some reading this may not be putting two and two together, so let me make this far more plain to you.

We currently do not have any political party that is willing to truly put moral issues at the forefront of its platform.  Some might protest saying that the Republicans have a platform opposing abortion.  This is true, but I do not think anyone is under the delusion that they truly have acted to DO something about it.  In addition to this I have watched with a broken heart as this country (and both parties) have done nothing about the growing homosexual agenda.  Homosexual marriage is gaining ground every year - as our elected officials have done little more than posture for votes about the issue.  In the TRUE picture of our nation it is NOT the economy stupid - it is our morals - and our penchant to ignore and overlook the call of Scripture to be a godly nation that matters.  Some decry the foolish decisions being made in the highest levels of our government.  They wonder why decisions are being promoted that in effect are weakening and destroying our nation.  Yet, none of these things are all that strange to me any longer.  They are not strange because I am watching the evangelical movement in the United States leave God.  They have decided that the moral issues of our day are global warming, social justice, and painting Israel as an evil state that is hurting the Palestinians.  They do this while we continue to exterminate 4000 babies a day - and call what God considers an abomination - not so bad. 

The "Ominous" truth that I see on our horizon is that of Matthew chapter 5:13 where Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.  We've lost our saltiness and have become as tasteless as the world around us.  We no longer speak with any biblical relevence to our society - because we are fear speaking the things said in the Bible.  Therefore we will continue to watch our governing officials make no sense whatsoever.  They will continue to weaken our nation.  They will continue to ignore the Constitution and rule on their own authority.  In fact, one day, unless we repent and return to God with all our hearts, I believe we will watch as our Constitutional Republic goes down in flames and is replaced by a dictatorship or an Oligarchy of the few.  In that day - in light of how unpopular true biblical Christianity is becoming, we will then watch the systematic persecution of the church in America.  I know that to some this may sound borderline crazy - but the more I study the Scriptures - the more I see it rising on the horizon of our own historical context. 

How can we stop this from happening?  First of all, I am not sure we can - nor am I convinced that God may not be engineering such a thing in His providence.  The issue is if it is too late for us to truly "turn our nation around."  But the real question here is not whether we can salvage our nation - but whether we are going to salvage our testimony in the midst of it.  That is the real question to answer here.  The church needs to repent - you and I need to repent.  We need to return to Biblical Christianity - that puts the gospel and the glory and honor of God first and foremost in our lives.  That would be a start.  Then we need to turn from our sin and boldly preach and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This may actually speed up the persecution in our nation.  If we begin boldly proclaiming the gospel - people may become very offended with it.  But that is not really the issue is it.  THE issue for us is whether we are going to hold fast to the truth - preach it - live it - and if necessary - die for it.  When the church begins living this way - it will return to its true roots.  And those roots are not set in the protection of any one nation or people - but are firmly set in working for a kingdom that is not of this world.

For the past several days we've watched on television as the country of Egypt has erupted with violence and protests against the existing dictatorship with Hosni Mubarak at its head.  There should be no illusion that Mubarak is a democracy advocate - he is not.  He is a brutal dictator whose actions have time and again suppressed freedom for the masses in his country.  That being said, the United States and others in the region see him as the lesser of two evils when it comes to our foreign policy in the region.  He is the typical Middle-eastern leader who speaks one thing to our leaders and the west - while making it clear that he will allow the "Arab-street" to voice their vitriolic hatred of Israel and the United States without much opposition.

It is interesting to watch this uprising because in some ways it reminds those of us who know history of the Iranian Revolution.  The people are taking to the streets in larger numbers over the past couple of days.  These crowds are not just gathering in the capitol, but in various places all over Egypt.  This protest also sports a cast of characters that, although not as strident and powerful as the Iranian ayatollahs, are nonetheless fairly radical in their Islamic orientation and philosophy.  So the question arises for us as we watch this situation develop, is this going to be another Iranian Revolution?

There are very clear differences in Egypt that will probably not make this Iranian Revolution, take 2.  First of all, according to several articles written by those watching these things from an Islamic vantage point, the protesters are rising up far more due to economic reasons, than religious ones.  The Mubarak regime is having similar problems with their economy that the rest of the world is experiencing.  Their problem is that many are so poor already that the only step downward is total destitution.  So for them, there is nothing left to do except riot and protest. 

Another difference is that there does not seem to be an overall leadership led by powerful religious figure-heads presently.  Mohammaed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN Atomic Energy Agency seems to be wanting to step us as a possible leader.  He has returned to Egypt to participate in the protests with the hope that he will receive support and be able to possibly head up an attempt to change the government.  We need to remember him as the one who did his dead-level best to tell the world that Iran did not have a nuclear weapons program - while they were establishing one in full sight of every western nation in the world.  He also is not a man we should consider as pro-western.  Another group who has supported the protests it the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamic group who, although they have not struck recently with terrorist activity, is still a very radical Islamic group in Egypt.   The Muslim Brotherhood seeks to transform Egypt into an Islamic regime that they hope will stand at the forefront of the global jihad.  They have grown closer in recent years to Iran, Hamax, and Hizbullah - actually having their attorneys represent their terrorists who were arrested in Egypt in 2009 for plotting to bring down the current regime with a series of spectacular attacks.

What does all this mean though for the prophetic picture painted for us in the Scriptures.  I believe the destabilization of Egypt would move a peace deal forward much more rapidly.  Unlike the terrorist groups that currently surround Israel, Egypt has a very, very powerful military presence that can threaten Israel on a whole different level.  The Mubarak regime who continued the peace deal initiated under Sadat - has  benefited from purchases of U.S. military materials.  They have an air force that boasts 300 F-16's, their army is outfitted with the M1A1 tank similar to ours, the largest navy in the region, an army twice the size of the IDF, and an air defense system that would cause the Israeli air force serious problems that would hamper their effectiveness greatly.  If the government were to fall into the hands of ElBaradai and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, there would be a radical Islamic group with this kind of military power at their disposal.  Israel would be far more motivated to sign some kind of regional peace deal than ever before.  This might play directly into the hands of a worldwide leader, who would come on the scene promising peace in a region so plagued with problems.  

As I watch, though, I see some serious problems with this happening without things getting far worse.  The military is still solidly behind Mubarak - and are starting to crack down with increasing severity.  All we can do is continue to look at what is happening - and hope that this nation does not fall into radical Islamic control like Iran did.  If that does happen, the region will be further destabilized (if that is possible).  Although this does not bode well for our current peacefulness and security - it may be another piece of the puzzle falling into place for the coming peace treaty between the Antichrist and Israel.  I would counsel us to watch and pray - as Scripture tells us to do.  Oh, and I would also advise us to take advantage of every opportunity to live for and share Christ with those around us.  Who knows - we may not have as much time as we think to do so.