I also quoted Lt. General Thomas McInerney—former assistant vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force and author of Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror—who told me that the Iranians were near or past the point of no return in developing a nuclear bomb and that Bush had a narrow window of time to shut down the mullahs’ military capability and decapitate the regime.
McInerney’s insights turned out to be quite prescient, as my readers would soon find out. Eleven days after I sent out that FLASH TRAFFIC, Iran announced that it had successfully enriched uranium and had joined the nuclear club. The following day a high-ranking State Department official warned that once Iran could perfect the use of 50,000 centrifuges, it could produce a nuclear bomb in sixteen days.
A year earlier, my wife and I had the wonderful privilege of attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, for the first time. It was a remarkable event, with 4,000 guests from all over the U.S. and around the world, and we were moved by what we saw and heard. When I got home that afternoon, I wrote a FLASH TRAFFIC to describe the importance various leaders were placing on the power of prayer during a time of war and terrorism. In the dispatch, I quoted from leaders of both political parties, including President Bush and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat, who read from the writings of the Hebrew prophet Micah.
But the most interesting talk of the morning was given by Tony Hall, the former Democratic congressman from Dayton, Ohio, who had been appointed by the president to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies, based in Rome. In his gentle, understated way, Hall urged religious men and women of both parties not to be shy about bringing their faith to the office and letting it be part of who they are in public. In fact, he described a trip he took to an Islamic country where he was greeted by the U.S. ambassador at the airport.
“Congressman Hall,” said the unnamed ambassador, “I just want to remind you that you’re in a Muslim country. Please don’t talk about religion, or it could really set back what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
Hall said he just nodded politely, but when they arrived at the office of the king, he was asked by the king why he had come to the country.
“I would like to be your friend,” Hall replied. “I would like our countries to be friends. And I would like to invite you to the National Prayer Breakfast, in the name of Jesus.”
The U.S. ambassador went pale. But the king got very excited. He slapped his knee and said, “That is remarkable. You have come all this way to be my friend and to talk to me about Jesus. That is wonderful. My mother used to talk to me a lot about Jesus when I was a child. We should talk about Jesus more often.” And then the king turned to the ambassador and said, “Why don’t you talk about Jesus?”
The audience howled, as did my wife and I, and though his remarks were not reported in the major news media, I thought Hall’s point was one worth passing on to my readers: those who say they are followers of Jesus Christ should never be ashamed of speaking his name. Nor should they be hesitant to bless people in his name or invite them to church or to a prayer breakfast or to read and study the Scriptures together. After all, they may be surprised just how interested even presidents, prime ministers, and kings—not to mention their own friends and neighbors—are to hear Christ’s message of hope and love, especially during times of great turmoil and unrest.
GETTING READY
In his book Saddam’s Secrets, Iraqi general Georges Sada cites an Arab proverb that says, quite bluntly, “Don’t be a mute Satan.” As Sada explains, “It means, if you have important information that may help someone in a difficult situation, say something. Don’t be a devil and keep silent when you can say something to help.”352
I would feel remiss, therefore, to walk you through these ten headlines and explain how such events will change our lives forever without providing some practical suggestions of ways that you and your family can act on such intelligence and be ready when these dramatic events occur. Allow me, then, to conclude with three simple points.
First, have an exit strategy.
Regardless of precisely when the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38–39 occurs, none of us have any guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow morning or even make it through this day. You may feel healthy and vibrant at any given moment, but the truth is you don’t know how much time you have left in this life, and neither do I. Anything can happen. It is, therefore, vitally important that we have an exit strategy, that we know with absolute certainty where we are going to go when we die.
The good news is that the Bible says we can know for certain that we are going to heaven if we put our faith in Jesus Christ. One of the clearest explanations of this good news or gospel message that I have ever read—and one that had a great impact on my parents and me—was written by Dr. Bill Bright, one of the twentieth century’s most prominent evangelical Christian leaders. In The Four Spiritual Laws, Bright explained that “just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, so there are spiritual laws which govern our relationship with God.”353
Law One: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Jesus said, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus also said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,” that it might be a full and meaningful life (John 10:10, NASB).
Law Two: Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, people cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for their lives. The apostle Paul wrote, “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), that is, eternal separation from a holy and perfect God.
Law Three: Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for sin. Through Christ you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life and be assured of going to heaven. Jesus died on the cross in Jerusalem—the epicenter of the epicenter—in our place, and the Bible says that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Jesus also rose from the dead. The apostle Paul wrote, “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve [disciples]. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time. . . . Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). What’s more, Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Law Four: We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Only then can we know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. The Bible says, “To all who believed him [Christ] and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). We receive Christ through faith. “God saved you by his grace when you believed,” wrote the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9. “And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” When we receive Christ, we experience a new birth, as Jesus described in John 3:1-8. And we receive Christ by personal invitation. “Look!” Jesus said. “I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20).
Bright explained that “receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.”
What was particularly helpful about The Four Spiritual Laws for me and my family was that it concluded with a very simple and clear explanation that you can receive Jesus Christ ri
ght now through prayer. “God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart,” Dr. Bright noted. And then he offered a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.
My father, Leonard Rosenberg—an Orthodox Jew— prayed that exact prayer in 1973 and thus accepted Jesus as his Messiah. My mother, Mary, did too. I prayed a similar prayer a few years later. It transformed our lives. We didn’t become perfect. Nor did our personal troubles and trials disappear. To the contrary, in many ways they have increased, as they will continue to do as we rapidly approach the end of days and the War of Gog and Magog. But now we have God’s love and forgiveness to protect us. Now we know God’s purpose for creating us and the plan he has for us to honor him in these last days. And now we have this prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God in our hearts and at our sides as we head into mankind’s darkest days.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, I encourage you to pray it right now. If you do, Jesus Christ will come into your heart, forgive your sins, and give you eternal life, just as he promised. Then you can know for certain—beyond any shadow of a doubt—that you are going to heaven when you die. In fact, the apostle John explained that the New Testament was written for this very reason. “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
When we receive Christ as our Savior, we receive absolute assurance that we will spend eternity with God. That assurance gives us the hope and the courage to endure sorrow, disappointment, and dangerous, difficult times. The Bible puts it this way: “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls” (Hebrews 6:19). It assures us, “Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4, NASB). And it gives us the comforting promise that God really does have a wonderful plan for our lives, no matter what lies ahead: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
As soon as you receive Christ as your personal Savior, start reading the Bible and talking to God in prayer every day. I recommend beginning with the Gospel of John and then reading Matthew, Mark, and Luke to really get to know the life and person of Jesus Christ. Also, begin attending a good church that preaches the salvation message of the Cross, teaches the Bible, and can help you learn how to become a fully devoted follower of Christ.
Second, have a neighborhood strategy.
As important as it is to know what storms are coming and make sure we and our own families are spiritually prepared, this is only the beginning. Compassion must also compel us to share what we know with those around us so they can become informed and prepared. Both Moses (Leviticus 19:18) and Jesus (Matthew 22:39) said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Such an instruction certainly applies to the times in which we live. Here are a few suggestions:
Invite your neighbors to your home for a four- or five-week study of Ezekiel 38–39 and its implications in light of current events. Remember, the goal is not to persuade people that these events are going to happen but to help them understand such events through the third lens of Scripture and become spiritually prepared.
Begin a weekly prayer meeting in your home. In times of “war and rumors of war,” gathering for prayer is a wonderful way to draw on the strength of God and build a strong community. Certainly pray for each other—for wisdom, for courage, and for each other’s practical needs and spiritual growth. Pray, too, for the president, his advisors, Congress, our military, and leaders around the world to make wise decisions during these difficult hours. The apostle Paul urges: “Pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
If Epicenter has been helpful to you, consider giving a copy to your pastor, rabbi, or imam. Arrange some time to discuss it with them and get their take, especially in light of current events in Russia, Iran, Israel, and throughout the Middle East. Consider, too, discussing the themes of this book with friends, neighbors, classmates, colleagues at work, and your extended family; ask them for their feedback, thoughts, and opinions. You may also consider suggesting that Epicenter be part of your next book-club discussion. Again, remember that the key is to encourage discovery and dialogue, not dissension and debate.
Third, have a global strategy.
While it is vitally important to act locally, compassion must also compel us to act globally. After all, the events described in this book are going to affect those in other regions even more than those of us in North America, and we would be truly remiss if we did not find a way to help others understand what is coming and know God’s love and plan for the people who live in the epicenter.
One of the ways my wife and I are trying to do this is by founding the Joshua Fund, a nonprofit educational and charitable organization designed “to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, according to Genesis 12:1-3.”
Many wonderful and effective organizations with a similar passion are already working in Israel and throughout the Middle East. Over the years and through the writing of this book, we have gotten to know many of the leaders of such groups who are doing great work. Our goal is not to reinvent the wheel or duplicate their efforts but rather to draw attention and direct resources to such work. As such, one of the objectives of the Joshua Fund will be to identify worthy projects run by credible, Christ-centered organizations and then raise funds that will be invested into accomplishing those projects.
The Lord had said to Abram . . . “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
According to the Scriptures, blessing Israel means
praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6);
bringing good news of God’s love to the afflicted (Isaiah 61:1);
rebuilding the ancient ruins (Isaiah 61:4);
caring for the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11);
being a “light to the nations” of the Middle East (Isaiah 49:6, NASB)—that is, blessing Israel’s neighbors and her enemies, not just Israel herself.
The driving force of the Joshua Fund, therefore, is to help evangelical Christians
pray knowledgeably and consistently for Israel and the Middle East;
take vision trips to—and attend conferences in—Israel and other Middle Eastern countries;
invite speakers from Israel and other Middle Eastern countries to help your community, company, or church better understand the issues facing the epicenter;
publish Christian books and music in Israel and the Middle East that raise awareness of God’s love and plan for the epicenter;
print and distribute Bibles, copies of the New Testament, and copies of the Jesus film in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Russian, and other epicenter languages;
invest in the rebuilding of Israel to welcome more Jewish people back to their ancient, God-given homeland;
assist the poor and needy in Israel in the name of Jesus Christ;
support the evangelical church in Israel and the Middle East as the only true hope for peace and reconciliation.
If blessing the nations of the epicenter in the name of Jesus is an effort you and/or your family, church, or company are interested in helping with and investin
g in, please visit www.joshuafund.net for more information. You can also send a check payable to The Joshua Fund to
The Joshua Fund
P.O. Box 3468
McLean, Virginia 22103-3468
May God richly bless you for doing so.
CONCLUSION
The history of mankind began in the Middle East, and it will end there too.
The Garden of Eden was located in the land we now know as Iraq. The last two cities mentioned in the Bible before the second coming of Christ are Jerusalem and Babylon. And the prophets tell us that before Christ returns the earth will suffer through the War of Gog and Magog.
Though these events and prophecies were written thousands of years ago, they are as real and as relevant today as this morning’s headlines. Pick up any newspaper and you will find the countries of the Middle East shaking our world and shaping our future. You will find Russia and Iran forming a military alliance. You will find Babylon rising out of the deserts of Iraq. What’s more, you will find Israel at the epicenter of the world, Jerusalem at the epicenter of Israel, and the Temple Mount at the epicenter of Jerusalem.
This intense focus on the Middle East generally and on the State of Israel specifically will only accelerate in the days and months ahead. Those who view the world through the third lens of Scripture know it. The people living in the Middle East sense it too, though they may not always know why.
If you ever visit Saddam Hussein’s main palace in Baghdad, be sure to visit Saddam’s throne room and look up, for there you will see a large dome. Painted on this dome are images of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Beside these are paintings of horses attacking Jerusalem. Painted on the walls are Scud missiles pointed at Jerusalem. And at the center of it all is an image of Saddam himself, riding a white horse into the Holy City.
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