World Events As Seen Through a Biblical Lens

Last week Marlys and I enjoyed some time in Florida with the families of two of our kids.  After months of bitter cold, it was so good to just sit beside a pool and soak in the sunshine.  I think I began to thaw out, only to come back to the cold of Minnesota.  We enjoyed many of the sites in and around the Orlando area, including a day at Epcot Center - the fireworks show in the evening was one of the most amazing I have ever seen; the Kennedy Space Center - I found it hard to imagine sitting in a little space capsule on top of one of those giant "bombs" ready to be blasted into space; and an afternoon along the shores of the Atlantic making sand castles and searching for shells.  Also got to watch some of the NCAA basketball tournament - especially following the Iowa State Cyclones.  "Go ISU!"

Yet things continue to happen around the world that draws our attention back to what God is doing to awaken us out of our slumber and to remind us that the days are getting shorter until His arrival.  I don't know if you have noticed the acceleration of earthquakes during March.  There were several the other day alone in Oklahoma.  And the recent quake off the northern California coast caused many to wonder if the "big one" was in the near future.  Then there was the tragic mudslide in the State of Washington causing an estimate of dozens of deaths and the destruction of an entire town.  From fires to floods, from bitter cold in Minnesota to the burning heat in Australia, it seems that the natural world is crying out.  Could it be that it is through these natural events that God is seeking to draw us to our senses so that we realize the imminence of Christ's return?  Friends, I believe there are simply too many such events to be coincidental.  Jesus reminded His followers that they were to discern the signs around them. 

Then there is the situation in Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula.  Russia has now annexed the Crimean and made it a part of Russia.  Now they have their eyes set upon a greater prize - recapturing parts of the Ukraine that were lost when Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union back in the early 1990's.  It was several years ago that I wrote in one of my first blogs that I believed that Vladimir Putin was one of the most dangerous men in leadership.  And that opinion has not changed any.  He is from the "old Soviet school" and has his sights set upon a greater Mother Russia as it was during the days of the Czars.  He knows the West will do virtually nothing to impede his goals of recovering for Russia what she lost.  After more then ten years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the world is tired of war.  The West threatens with sanctions, but, at least from the reports I have read, Putin has pretty much laughed those off.  In order for sanctions to work, there has to be some real strength behind them, and that strength is simply not there. 

Of course the question is often asked, "Could Putin be the Gog mentioned in Ezekiel 38?"  My response is, "I don't know for sure, but I do believe he is setting the table for whoever Gog might be."  We know that he has been actively involved with Iran even to helping the Iranians begin building another nuclear site.  We know that he has been actively involved with the military leadership in Egypt, entering into the vacuum that was created when the Obama Administration could not decide how to respond to the overthrow of Morsi last summer.  We know that Putin covets the return of those southern "-stan provinces" that are now rife with radicals.  We may not see the return of the Iron Curtain, but we definitely will see a return of a stronger Russia. 

Yesterday the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the case brought by Hobby Lobby regarding the Obama Care mandate that requires for-profit companies to provide health insurance coverage that includes abortion.  Hobby Lobby has sought to be excluded from that provision based upon the strong Christian principles of the company.  Now the Supreme Court will decide whether a for-profit company can be excluded because of religious principles.  I believe the case will be decided by the end of June.  This is a case that will certainly be worthy of watching.

Yesterday there was a very interesting article published at the CNN.com website: www.edition.cnn.com/2014/03/25/opinion/santorum-iran-hitler-holocaust.  The article titled, "Lessons of history: Americans fear 'second Holocaust' if Iran gets the bomb," was written by former Senator Rick Santorum and Joel Rosenberg.  The article begins by recounting the speech Adolf Hitler made on May 21, 1935, known as his infamous "peace" speech.  This was a speech given by a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing.  As the world now knows, Hitler was never interested in peace.  In 1935 he was simply buying time in order to be prepared for war.  Then the article quotes Iranian President Hassan-Rouhani's speech this past fall at the United Nations: "Let me say loud and clear that peace is within reach.  Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's security and defense doctrine, and contradict our fundamental religious and ethical convictions."  And so an agreement was reached between the P5+1 (Russia, the United States, France, England, China + Germany) on November 24, 2013.  The Iranian President said, "The Geneva deal means the surrender of big powers before the great nation of Iran."  I remember reading a copy of this accord after it was signed and then knew why the Iranians were so excited about it: They got the release of much of their frozen financial assets and in return were able to keep their centrifuges and even to continue enriching uranium. 

The article continued describing a recent poll that was taken.  The question asked of 1,000 likely U.S. voters was this: "Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: 'If the world does not take decisive action, and the Iranian regime is permitted to build nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, the Iranian regime will one day attempt to annihilate the State of Israel and bring about a Second Holocaust?'"  Of those asked, 80% agreed, only 16% disagreed. 

The article concludes with a quote from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: "Now you know how to get an agreement with Iran?  Not by relieving pressure but by adding pressure.  Pressure is what brought Iran to the negotiation table in the first place, and only more pressure will get them to abandon their nuclear weapons program.  Greater pressure on Iran will not make war more likely; it will make war less likely - because the greater the pressure on Iran and more credible the threat of force on Iran, the smaller the chance that force will ever have to be used."

Friends, we are living in a very complexly connected world.  America is losing its influence around the world.  Fifty years ago when the leader of the Free World spoke, the rest of the world sat up and paid attention.  Today few even care what our President says.  Putin is not listening.  The Iranian President is not listening.  The leaders of Europe only listen with cautious ears.  Perhaps there is a prophetic significance here as I do not see the United States mentioned within the prophetic scriptures.  Perhaps some of our influence has been lost because our nation has been slowly severing ties with our most dependable ally in the Middle East - Israel.  Perhaps some of our influence has been lost because, like the children of Israel of old, we have worshiped at the altars of gods of our creation: sexual perversions, political power, social status, addictive drugs, fatherless homes. 

Yes, I believe America is still great.  I still believe that America is good.  But it is not as great and good as it once was.  As I have been reading through the historical books in the Old Testament, I have become increasingly aware that the success or decline of ancient Israel was directly related to their walk with God.  When they were obedient to the laws and commandments God had given to them and served Him with all their hearts, then the nation prospered (days of Hezekiah and Josiah comes to mind).  But when they turned their backs on God saying that they did not need Him, then disaster came upon them (days of Ahaz and Ahab come to mind).  Let's be realistic, friends, our nation has turned its back upon God.  Those acts God has described as an abomination before Him, we have endorsed wholeheartedly.  The home - the foundation of society as established by God - has been willfully destroyed, in fact, through our welfare programs, I believe the destruction of the home has been hastened.  What made the days of Hezekiah and Josiah so special?  There is only one answer - both kings led their people in the reading of the Word of God and in turning their hearts back to God.  These kings were not perfect - there is no perfect leader until Jesus comes. 

Friends, I urge you to read through the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles and to see the story of America through its pages.  Yes, God does have a remedy.  "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins, and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).