What in the World is Happening? ~ Greg Laurie

What in the World is Happening? (#WorldWarIII?)

There is no question in my mind that we are living in the last days.

All around us are signs of the times that Christ’s coming is near, even at the door. As we read the Book of Revelation, we see a violent, murderous world in the end. Jesus said it would be like Noah’s time, which was marked by murder.

We were all horrified by the attack in Paris, killing 130 people. Now it has come to our doorstep in America. San Bernardino is now the site of the largest terrorist attack since 9/11.

Terrorists Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14, and left another 21 wounded. San Bernardino law enforcement responded quickly and killed these two wicked people. Tashfeen Malik pledged her loyalty to ISIS on Facebook and ISIS takes credit. It appears that Tashfeen radicalized Syed.

We have never faced a terrorist group like ISIS before. Sebastian Gorka is an expert on ISIS. He works very closely with US Army special commands and the intelligence community. He proposes that ISIS is far more dangerous than Al Qaeda.

Among his findings-

ISIS is the richest group of its type in human history, with enough cash to level about 1,600 terrorist acts equivalent to 9/11.
He describes their ability to recruit as mind-boggling.
They have recruited 19,000 foreign fighters in in the last nine months.
They do this largely through social media.

A CNN report says, “ISIS has the most sophisticated propaganda machine of any terrorist organization, a global communications strategy that has stumped counterterrorism officials while making significant inroads among US sympathizers.”

Another article states, “The digital age has helped terrorists do a better job of not only recruiting members but also inspiring sympathizers to carry out attacks on their own, thinking globally but acting locally.” In other words, they radicalize people online that have no digital footprint. Thus, they are not necessarily being monitored by authorities. They do not have to be authorized by ISIS or anyone else. They get radicalized and they act. There are special links to training videos that show people how to create acts of terrorism. They use encrypted technologies that hinder the ability of authorities to intercept and analyze information. This was not even possible until the last 10 years.
It is my opinion that these are all “signs of the times.”

ISIS is also aggressively pursuing chemical weapons. They have set up a branch dedicated to research and experiments with the help of scientists from Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere. Australian intelligence has just warned that ISIS has enough material to build weapons of mass destruction and have seized enough radioactive material to build a large “dirty bomb.” ISIS’ butchers have gone after Christians in particular, torturing and crucifying them. There have been seemingly countless beheadings that they film.

What is the objective of ISIS? They want to produce a global caliphate.

Radical Islam has its own version of the end times. They even have their own messiah that they call the Mahdi. More than half of Muslims believe they will see the return of the Mahdi. As my friend, Joel Rosenberg has written, “The way to serve Mahdi is to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization and, in so doing, establish God’s kingdom on earth, known as the caliphate.”

This is accomplished through jihad, establishing “sharia law.” Sharia law is the rule by the Koran, which is the bible of Islam. This comes about by either conquest or infiltration and is referred to as “Islamification” in the West. The ultimate goal is a global caliphate.

To make things more complex, Islamists are not just at war with the western world, they are at war with themselves. Two main branches of Islam exist today: Sunni and Shia. Sunnis comprise about 90% of Muslims; Shia make up the remaining population. ISIS is Sunni. Iran has a majority of Shia Muslims. If ISIS is dangerous, Iran is even more dangerous!

Iran is taking a longer view to accomplish their objectives. Through their development of nuclear weapons, they want to bring chaos. That’s because they believe their messiah will come only when the world is engulfed in chaos and carnage. They openly vow to annihilate the United States and Israel. Iran is intent on obtaining nuclear weapons, and it appears she will succeed.

Iran just carried out a new medium range ballistic missile test in breach of two United Nations Security Council resolutions,according to a senior U.S.official.

Olli Heinonen, a 27-year veteran of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran could have up to five times more advanced centrifuges than previously admitted. This is why Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that to defeat ISIS and not disarm Iran is to “win the battle and lose the war.”

Iran makes no secret of their desire to destroy Israel. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei recently tweeted, “Israel must be annihilated.” One of Iran’s leaders says, “The destruction of Israel is the idea of the Islamic revolution in Iran and is one of the pillars of the Iranian Islamic regime. We cannot claim that we have no intention of going to war with Israel!” Major General Ayatollah Salehi, commander-in-chief of the Iranian army, said, “The army of Iran can by itself destroy Israel.”

God is in control.

You might be thinking, “Thanks for the encouragement, Greg. Now I’m even more frightened!” But let me now give you a biblical perspective: God is in control.

The Daily News does not agree. They put out a cover story titled, “God Isn’t Fixing This.” Actually, He has and He will. No politician will fix it, nor will some new law. God will ultimately fix it when Christ returns to establish His kingdom.

The message of the angels in Luke 2:14 seems so relevant today. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Yet, we look at this war-torn world, and wonder, “Where is the goodwill?” We look at horrific acts of terrorism and wonder, “Where is the peace?”

A clearer translation of the verse explains, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” The issue is that so many do not live lives that please God. Sin has permeated our world. And the only lasting hope is Jesus Christ. One day there will be peace on earth. But that day is not here yet. Our job in the meantime is to introduce people to the Prince of Peace. Know this: everything is going according to plan—God’s plan.

Israel is the key.

This is what is amazing: this was all foretold by the Hebrew prophets. The prophet Ezekiel was told to stand over a valley of dry bones. Then God asked him a question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” Then the bones came together and flesh returned to the bodies and they came alive.

Ezekiel 37:11–12: “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!”’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.’”’”

That is a very specific prophecy. God was saying that Israel would be scattered and regathered. When this happened, it would be a super-sign of the end times. After the death of 6 million in the Holocaust, many Jewish people lost hope. Yet despite the worst tragedy ever, they realized they must return to their homeland. Against all odds, they started (or restarted) the nation Israel on May 14, 1948. The dry bones were alive and the prophetic was clock ticking.

In the 1950s, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion stated, “Ezekiel 37 has been fulfilled, and the nation 

Israel is hearing the footsteps of the Messiah.” On Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2010, in Auschwitz, Poland, Benjamin Netanyahu made this amazing statement: “We have returned to our homeland . . . from every corner of the earth . . . The Jewish people rose from ashes . . . Dry bones became covered with flesh, a spirit filled them, and they lived and stood on their own feet.”

This regathering of Israel was predicted in Ezekiel 37:21–22, among other places.He “will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone.”

He “will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.”
He “will make them one nation in the land.”

1. God promised that in the last days, He would gather the Jewish people from all over the world, from the different nations where they had been scattered. Has that happened? Yes, it has.

2. God promised the Jewish people that He would gather them to a specific place. Has that happened yet? Again, yes! The land of Israel.

3. God promised the Jewish people that not only would He gather them to Israel, but He would make them into a nation once they arrived in the land.

4. God promised the Jewish people He would give them back the city of Jerusalem

Check, check, check, check.

So, this whole conflict we see today in the Middle East is just as the Bible predicted. It’s really amazing when you think about it, this fascination with Jerusalem and Israel. This tiny little sliver of land, which at one point is only nine miles wide, is not accidental. The entire country is only about the size of New Jersey, with a population of 8 million. The nation Israel is 154th among the nations in land (you could fit 32 Israels in the state of Texas). Yet you cannot read a newspaper, watch TV, or look at a news website without some reference on almost a daily basis of what’s going on in this tiny piece of real estate. Why is this?

The answer to this question is really quite simple: Israel is at the eye of the hurricane of the great events of the end times. She occupies center stage in God’s drama of the ages. She, and the other players are “behind the prophetic curtain” hitting their marks. Soon, the curtain will be drawn and the final chain of events will transpire.

Yes, it was all predicted long ago by the Hebrew prophets. And all who have sought to destroy Israel have paid a price, as they are God’s people. God has promised a blessing on those that bless Israel, and a curse on those that don’t. Throughout history, the judgment of God has fallen heavily on Israel’s oppressors: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and in more modern times, Spain, Germany, and perhaps very soon, possibly Russia and Iran.

One of the reasons God has blessed the USA is because of our support of Israel. But the Bible tells us that in the last days, Israel’s supporters will be largely gone. And Jerusalem will be the hotspot of the globe. Ironically, the name Jerusalem means “city of peace.” Yet more battles have been fought at her gates than any other city on earth.

It’s Jerusalem,stupid!

Remember years ago when the saying was “It’s the economy, stupid!” In current international politics we could say, “It’s Jerusalem, stupid!” Yet, from her very beginning, she has been attacked again and again. Israel has been the target of Islamic extremists since her birth as a nation. Now, more than 65 years later, she is still under attack.

Israel sits today on much of the biblical Promised Land despite facing continual threats from Islamic extremists on nearly every border. Clearly, this is to happen after the regathering of the Jewish people to their homeland. So, this is in our future, perhaps our near future. It also mentions a number of times this is in the latter or last days.

The Bible says the final conflict of man will be centered on Jerusalem and the Middle East—not Washington DC, Moscow, Beijing, or London, but Jerusalem. That is why the Bible student will always pay attention to a mention of Jerusalem. As Luke 21:20 says, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. This has all been predicted in Scripture.

Zechariah 12:2–3 says, “I will make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to all the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world.” One of Iran’s leaders said, “We must spare no effort in liberating holy Jerusalem and cutting off the hands of the infidels from this holy site.”

So, we see the regathered nation Israel, hostility toward her, as Scripture predicted. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. After Ezekiel 37 is Ezekiel 38. It speaks of a large nation to the north of Israel, along with a number of allies, invading Israel. They are identified as Gog from the land of Magog.

Any map would show that Russia is north of Israel. What is even more remarkable is that Gog’s allies are Persia, Libya, and Gomer (which may be modern-day Turkey). Russia has dramatically increased her military presence in the Middle East. Persia is modern Iran.

It was not that long ago that there was very little connection between Iran and Russia, but that has all changed recently. We now have a nightmare scenario: a military powerhouse with a massive nuclear arsenal aligning itself with Islamic terrorists who are hostile to America and Israel.

This Russian-Iranian alliance is propping up the regime of Syrian dictator Assad. There are now 2,000 Iranian and Iranian-backed fighters in Syria. This is backed by Russian air power. Such an alliance has never existed, yet it was predicted in Scripture 3,000 years ago.

Listen to these headlines from one week ago. They sound as though they were ripped from the pages of the Bible!

Russian ground troops arrive in Syria in unprecedented military action.

First Iranian fighter jets over Syria alongside Russian bombers.
Iran guard simulates capture of Temple Mount from Israeli control.

Question: what would happen if Israel struck Iran’s nuclear reactors? Would Russia be forced to protect her ally? Will this or something like this be the “hook in the jaw” that pulls Russia in?

I am not saying this scenario will lead to the Ezekiel 38 showdown. But I would be a fool to not say it could lead to it.

Just the other day, the phrase “World War III” was trending on Twitter. It seems every time we turn around, there is some new catastrophe, act or terrorism, senseless act of violence, or even provocation of war. These events and others are clear “signs of the times” that Jesus is coming back.

Tomorrow,I will post part 2 of my message,”What in the world is happening?”  (see video below).

   

Here is part 2 of my message "What in the World is Happening"