2012 Alerts: March 5, 2010
Past “2012 Alerts” are available on the Newsletter page at www.2012apocalypsebook.com.
In This Issue:
Iran: The Ticking Time Bomb
What Will Stop the Ticking Clock?
Military Strike?
How This Scenario Could Bring Fulfillment of End-Times Bible Prophecy
What Does This Mean for Us?
Anti-Semitism & the End of the Age
Secret Global Deal & a One-World Government
Update on Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock
Iran the Ticking Time Bomb
As we have discussed a number of times in the “2012 Alerts,” Iran is racing to achieve nuclear capability soon. In last week’s “Alerts” we cited information indicating the rogue nation has enough enriched uranium for one bomb already and is potentially on course to have enough for two nukes by the end of this year. So why is that a problem?
Again, in past “Alerts” we have shown that Iran is a threat to Israel, to the Middle East, and to Europe. In addition, it is greatest supporter of terrorism in the world.
Just this week, articles were published which discussed the arming of Hizbullah by Iran. (In fact, the smuggling of weapons to Hizbullah has gotten so out of hand that the U.S. announced this week that it cannot stop Israel's possible attack of Lebanon.) Hizbullah, which has essentially taken over southern Lebanon, the neighbor to Israel to the North, is priming for war with Israel and has acquired 40,000 rockets with the help of Iran and Syria, along with anti-aircraft weaponry capable of bringing down Israel’s F-16 fighter jets. In fact, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is moving Hizbullah to war against Israel in order to deflect attention from his own unpopularity at home.
In addition, Iran is keeping the Assad government in Syria afloat, which nearly completed a nuclear reactor before Israel leveled it. But Syria (which borders Israel on the Northeast) will continue to seek nuclear weaponry with Iran’s help.
Finally, due to the fanatical nature of the leadership’s religious beliefs, Ahmadinejad and others are seeking to create global chaos with nuclear weapons in order to bring on the scene the twelfth Mahdi, the Shiite Muslim Messiah, at which point they believe Nirvana (to coin a term from another religion) will be achieved with Islam ruling the world. It is this final reason that creates the greatest fear among those who truly understand.
This week, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, stated that a nuclear Iran will create global instability. For it will endanger the region—not only the Middle East—but Europe and Asia, as well (since Iran is seeking to put nuclear warheads on missiles that reach Paris and Moscow), disrupt Middle East oil supplies, and empower Iran’s terrorist allies.
What Will Stop the Ticking Clock?
So why hasn’t something been done to try to stop Iran from achieving nuclear capability? Well, as we have discussed in past “Alerts,” the U.S. attempted for months to negotiate with Iran on this issue only to lose valuable time in the process, time which Iran used to advance its nuclear process. After Iran ignored three different deadlines laid down by the Obama administration, the U.S. leadership is now pursuing sanctions against Iran. However, China, which carries veto power with the U.N. Security Council, still says no to sanctions. In addition, two other Security Council members, Russia and Brazil, are refusing to go along with sanctions which will cause the U.S. to dilute the power of sanctions that are being proposed. Also, two other key U.N. Security Council members, Lebanon and Turkey, are resisting sanctions.
Though some of the European nations have begun to talk seriously about sanctions, the reality is, Iran is threatening to cut off natural gas to Europe if it goes through with sanctions. This is a real threat since Iran is the world's fourth-largest exporter of crude oil and sits on 16 percent of the world's natural gas reserves—second in the world only to Russia—and has also threatened to cut off the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz through which around forty percent of the world's oil supply crosses. In other words, it is unlikely that Europe will risk the real possibility of sitting in the dark and in the cold by pursuing sanctions against Iran.
Thus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week announced that it could take months for U.N. sanctions against Iran to take effect. And if sanctions are employed against Iran, incremental sanctions will only embolden Iran in its pursuit of nukes; thus, only a major, unified, and powerful thrust in regard to sanctions will do any good at all. But there is the added problem that Iran has been dodging sanctions already in existence.
But putting aside all of that, sanctions will not sway Iran from achieving its goal of nuclear weapons. In addition, to the role nukes play in the regime’s fanatical apocalyptic focus, the Iranian leadership believes nuclear capability is necessary for the nation to become an important and powerful global player.
Some hope that a collapse of the current government by opposition forces within Iran will solve the issue; for if there is a regime change, it will be replaced by a more peaceful, more democratic government. However, Yossi Baidatz, the head of the Israel Defense Force's research division of Military Intelligence (in this writer’s humble opinion, the best source of intelligence in the world on Middle East matters), revealed this week that the collapse of the Iranian regime is not imminent—at least not if left to its own results.
Military Strike?
It would seem that a military strike is the only viable option left. (Interestingly, many Americans agree with my assessment on this. In a Fox News Poll released Tuesday of this week, 60 percent of American voters believe it will take force to stop Iran.) However, as reported in a recent “Alerts,” Secretary of State Hillary announced the U.S. had pulled that option from consideration. But, as I have shown in past “Alerts,” Israel has not.
As reported this week in an Israel publication, Israel's past will move it to strike Iran. This free and democratic nation has determined that it will never again suffer the ravages that Jews did during the holocaust. Thus, because it sees the threat of destruction proclaimed again and again by the Iranian leadership, it will act before it is too late. And when it does, the military strike will produce a regime change in Iran.
How This Scenario Could Bring Fulfillment of End-Times Bible Prophecy
The kind of military strike Israel will have to bring upon Iran to take care of its nuclear facilities—and to protect the region (including American soldiers in the region) from retaliatory attacks from Iran—will have to be very significant in nature, which is the very thing which could lead to an overthrow of the Iranian government.
If that occurs (and I fully expect it will), it will also affect terrorism in the region. (Remember that Iran is the largest progenitor of terrorism in the world today.) In addition, by subjugating Iran, Israel will be seen as a “hero” to Arab nations which fear and detest the Persian nation. (A New York Times article this week touched on this. It mentioned: 1) a regional peace treaty will not solve anything without dealing with the Iranian problem; 2) Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been at the forefront working on the Iranian problem [with Israel, though the article does not directly state this]; and 3) Arab nations will be more than relieved to have the Iranian problem solved [and if Israel solves it, will be beholden to the Jewish state].) This newfound respect toward Israel will likely affect a Middle East peace deal; for (five) Arab nations, which have offered no real help on a Middle East peace treaty up to this point, will work with Israel on a regional peace plan, along with five European nations. This will be a seven-year treaty in fulfillment of Daniel 9 (though it will later be broken after three and a half years). As a result of what will appear victory over terrorism, with the quashing of Iran’s terrorist regime and the supply of money and arms to support other terrorist entities in the region, and the serious announced work on the regional treaty, world leaders will begin to proclaim we have achieved “peace and security” in fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 5:3. (For more information on all of this, see Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock—What Does the Bible Say?)
What Does This Mean for Us?
As I have argued in Apocalypse 2012, the initiation of this seven-year treaty between Israel and ten other nations will begin the final seven years before the return of Christ to the earth. However, the Bible reveals that Jesus will come in the air to take to Himself all who have believed Him for eternal life (life with God forever) on the very day this treaty goes into effect. (Again, see my book for much more information on this.) Since the scenario I have presented above regarding Iran could occur very soon, we need to “get our affairs in order”.
The first step toward doing that is to believe Jesus’ offer of the free gift of eternal life; once received by simply believing Him for it, one is guaranteed he or she will be with Him forever. But further preparation to meet Jesus is in order, since He desires to greatly reward—forever—those believers in Him who faithfully follow Him. This begins with learning from His word, the Bible, and with seeking His help through prayer. It continues with involvement in a good church which accurately teaches His word and where there are other followers of Christ.
If you seek to prepare for His coming in these ways, you will soon be very glad you did!
Anti-Semitism & the End of the Age
Now we turn to another subject that has potential impact regarding end-times Bible prophecy. According to an annual Jewish agency (the Agency and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs), there were more global incidents of anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2009 than any year since World War II. It is not surprising that global anti-Semitism (hostility or discrimination toward Jews) is on the rise since the Jesus announced that within the last three and a half years prior to the return of Christ to the earth (to establish God’s kingdom), Jews—and in particular, Jewish followers of Christ—will be hated by the entire world (Matthew 10:22; Luke 21:17). It seems that the increase of anti-Semitic incidents globally signals we are getting nearer to the end of the age and may indicate we are not far from it.
Secret Global Deal & a One-World Government
The Bible predicts that “the end of the age” (more specifically, the last three and a half years before the return of Christ to the earth) will culminate with a one-world government. I came across two highly interesting articles this week in that subject area.
Documents from talks regarding a secret global treaty have leaked online and reported by PC World. According to these documents, if this global treaty is enacted, ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) will be compelled to sift through their customers’ data looking for copyright transgressions. The French government has already introduced such a measure. If this goes global, it will enable ISP’s to access and reveal to governing sources the personal information of everyone who uses a computer. In addition, it could be a preparation for a one-world government—with one man as the global ruler—which the Bible predicts will be in place during the last three and a half years before the return of Christ to the earth. This treaty would enhance that type of global control due to the ability to gather all manner of personal information. This is one more indicator that the fulfillment of end-times prophecy could be near.
Based on an article this week, the United Nations is still pushing for global environmental control. In fact, the world body has chosen a time and place for the culmination of the process—a World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in (guess what!) 2012! According to U.N. documents obtained by Fox News, the Rio summit will conclude with a “focused political document” presumably laying out the framework and international commitments to a new Green World Order. Last week, a 58-nation “Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environmental Forum,” which oversees the United Nation Environmental Program’s operations, was conducted in Bali, Indonesia to determine what this new world order will look like and the immense financial commitments that will be needed to carry it out.
It has been reported in a past “2012 Alerts” that global environmental control could be a significant avenue for global control. This could lay the framework for the coming one-world government. Since environmental control could touch on every area of people’s lives, this Green World Order would make global control much easier. In other words, this seems to be one more signal that a one-world government is on its way.
Update on Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock
The publisher revealed to me this week that the scheduled shipping date on my order (a thousand copies) of the book is March 18—two weeks from now! I still have a number of copies not reserved, so if you would like one or more autographed copies, you can order them by sending a check in the amount of $16 per copy (plus $3.99 shipping per copy) to:
John Claeys
2709 S. Garrett St.
Marshall, TX 75672
With the book’s arrival, I will need to line up book signings, etc. At this point, we hope to make appearances with the book in Texas, Iowa, and possibly North Carolina, and we are open to others as time allows. If a local bookstore in your area, or your church, would be interested in hosting me, I will consider it. You may contact me about it via email (jrclaeys@yahoo.com).
Just this week, a friend of mine was in Books-a-Million in Longview, Texas and mentioned my book coming out. The manager indicated an interest and asked if I would contact her about arranging a book signing there; in addition, she said she would order copies for the store.
It is that simple. If you wouldn’t mind, one great way to promote the book is to mention it at a local bookstore, like my friend did. If several people (and in some cases, if one person) ask for the book, the store will order copies to place on shelves.
Another way to promote it is to forward the “2012 Alerts” to others on your email list. Let them know it is a free, weekly e-letter they can receive by simply emailing me.
I need to email this now as we are about to head to the Tejas Festival in Rockdale, Texas. I will be one of the featured authors at the festival and will be giving a talk on the book tomorrow morning (so if you think about it, pray for me).
Thank you for your support! Don’t forget to . . . keep looking up!
John