Christians,
If you are not actively praying for God to prevent an attack on Iran, please start doing so now. It will likely lead to a draft of our children and grand children, have a profoundly negative impact on oil prices... which effects everything, and will escalate a Middle East war into something out of (our) control. (I understand the sovereignty of God and that is not the issue here. Our responsibility is the issue.) We must be praying about this impending attack regardless of your opinion of the justification for preemptive war. Our leaders have made it clear it is the preeminent (only) option to them.
Listening to Shawn Hannity on my way home yesterday was sickening as he almost gleefully (and I mean he sounded excited about it) announced to his listeners that on the Hannity and Colmes Show last night they would "layout" in detail the upcoming US attack on Iran, like a pre-game football show or something. And Hannity is not the only one beating the drums of (more) war. A few of you may remember, it has been almost two years since I wrote to my representative, Howard Coble, about the desire of this administration to attack Iran. The drum beat has only gotten louder in neo-conservative as well as liberal circles. Please Pray about this!
This week Iranian President Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University along with his UN visit, providing both liberals and neo-conservatives all kinds of juicy talking points and sound bites to fan the flames of war fervor. But hold on a second. We can't let this "megalomaniac" develop nuclear technology because he will blow up our troops in Iraq or worse, Israel, right? So the Pentagon has been authorized to use a nuclear first strike on Iran to prevent them from gaining nuclear tech, err... weapons technology. (By the way, the CIA says that Iran is conservatively ten years away from having a nuclear weapon, not to mention an effective delivery system. The CIA says this!) Yes Ahmadinejad is a crazed dictator guilty and capable of all kinds of atrocities, but this week's visit to the US should serve as an eye opener to all thinking Americans.
Why did we not apprehend Ahmadinejad while he was here?
Think about it, the main justification for attacking Iran is this guy and the charges are:
- he has said he wants to destroy Israel for good (we Bible believers know that is impossible, right?)
- and that he is helping Al-Qaeda in Iraq with weapons and bomb making support.
... so we must bomb Iran? PRAY
But the big news yesterday was that Ahmadinejad should not have been given a platform to speak here, even though Fox News helped spread his speech at the same time they were reporting how bad it was to give him a platform in America. Does that make any sense at all? Fox News aired the translated speech of the madman, live, the madman that Fox and others were so adamant about saying he deserves to not be heard (why carry him live then? Fair and balanced I guess.) Makes a lot of sense. Don't you see what is going on? Wake up! PRAY
So why was there not an outcry to arrest this "criminal against humanity" while he was here instead of criticizing the University (we know where most colleges stand)? The only thing discussed by the news was whether he had a right to speak or not (of course he does not have a right to speak here, he's not an American! He has no rights here, not as a citizen.) Don't tell me diplomatic immunity afforded him as a UN member to not be arrested and to travel freely in our country. According to us, he is an enemy combatant. Not only that he is the source of the threat, right? Why was he not arrested while he was here to prevent a huge world war? We are way beyond the UN excuse. We only follow the UN rules when it benefits us (or when enforcing UN resolutions allows us to take military action), normally. Plus, this guy is killing our troops, right? He should have been arrested as soon as he set foot here. That would be worth preventing an actual war with Iran to supposedly accomplish the same thing.
At the very least why was Ahmadinejad not invited to meet with the President at the White House for talks? The answer to that is obvious, sanctions on Iran don't end with goods going into the country, it extends to talks with the leader. Nation Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has openly stated that we will not be talking to Ahmadinejad. What a missed opportunity.
So the thinking American now knows what the real goal is, if they were paying attention: Indefinite conflict in the Middle East. I propose that the results will be disastrous. Iran is completely different than Iraq (you do know they're Persian not Arab, you'd be suprised how many don't even know this) and they are allies with and customers/suppliers of China and Russia. Although Iran does not have much of a military, attacking Iran has the potential to set off all kinds of trouble worldwide. And Americans are o.k. with this? A draft will likely have to be instituted, more money will have to be borrowed (and the dollar depreciated) from China and others (this is how we are paying for Iraq now?) So I say again, why was Ahmadinejad not apprehended by the US on this trip. Think, think, think. No, pray, pray, pray.
Let me mention one other point. Sometimes I get my hair cut at a place where there is an employee who is from Iran and has family in Iran. She has told me that much of Iran is very modern (boy is that gonna change) and westernized with cities, particularly Tehran, much like American cities. Something interesting was her comparison of the public school systems. She says that kids actually learn much more in Iranian schools than here. She has kids in school here and she is disappointed at how little they actually learn while at school and how much she has to teach them at night doing homework. When I ask here about the situation she says that her family there knows little about the danger of attack by the US and this has her worried. I could only tell her that I'm praying that an attack will be averted. PRAY
If you can't see what is going on, believer, pray first that God will give you desire to know, then desire to understand. then pray that an attack will be averted somehow.
Please pray, pray, pray in Jesus' name.
Now for those who would say that this is all end time prophesy being fulfilled and that we must roll with it, read on...
God's prophetic timetable is not in question by me. What I question greatly now is evangelical Christian's willingness to ignore the responsibilities laid out both in scripture as well as in our Constitution, both of which are being ignored and trampled by "end-times justifies the means" thinking. Yes we can understand the times and yes Jesus' return is the hope that we all have to look for and be ready for, but nowhere in scripture are we given the authority or permission to act contrary to the character of God as revealed in His Word based on what dispensation we "interpret" ourselves to be in. To do so is to yoke ourselves with the problems rather than solutions. For too long modern believers have been misguided and many times downright deceived by this way of thinking. It has made many lazy, ignorant, and ripe for bondage of all sorts.
We must be like the people of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 "which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" and the psalmist: "I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts." (Psalms 119:100) It does not say "because I think your about to return".
The Church used to ascribe to the Christian "Just War Theory" first developed by Augustine (Calvinists listen up) where war was the extreme case last resort and only for the self defense of the nation itself. This was the position of the founding fathers as well, partly because of the Just War Theory. But we find ourselves policing the world and nation building, neither of which are authorized by the Constitution, not even in the name of "the War on Terror".
Reading assignment: Look up "Letter of Marque and Reprisal" the Constitution's answer to terrorism that did not require a declaration of war (which we didn't do as required either.)
I know that in our country it is difficult to know what's right but we have a Constitution, many writings from the guys that wrote and signed it and more importantly, that document is based on and consistent with the Bible. Turn to those sources for understanding and guidance and please PRAY that our elected representatives will as well or be stopped in the globalist, anti-American policies that are destroying this nation.
Pray
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:13) " to stand" is a military term much like to hold the ground, not retreat, defend the position. In the spiritual sense we give up that ground if we justify our actions, or our country's actions (we are a Representative Republic... look up the people's responsibility) based on anything other than or ignoring scripture or the Constitution.
Troy Perkins
p.s. If anyone can give me a good reason why it didn't make sense to apprehend Ahmadinejad here instead of bombing Iran soon, I welcome your reasoning. Please.
