Middle East Caught In 'Apocalyptic Fervor'
March 12, 2015
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The
wars and alliances prophesied in the Bible are beginning to take shape,
and even nonbelievers should pay attention, because the “entire Middle
East is being driven by apocalyptic fervor,” according to documentary
filmmaker and New York Times bestselling author Joel Richardson.
Richardson, whose work includes the stunning documentary “End Times Eyewitness,” the new release “When a Jew Rules the World” and the New York Times bestseller “The Islamic Antichrist,” told WND the geopolitics of the Middle East are beginning to resemble the broad outlines predicted in the Bible.
The focus, said Richardson, will be a huge alliance of nations against Israel.
“Satan is not done with Israel,” says Richardson, “and, therefore, God is not done with Israel. People need to understand that the main way Satan affects the world is through empires and armies. And his rallying cry at this time in history is for war against Israel.”
But the Bible prophesies that the great alliance against Israel will be preceded by expansion of empires opposed to the Jewish state, and Richardson says the key empire rising today in that alignment is Iran, which he links to the ancient Persian Empire.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Iranian leaders seem to share the same vision of creating a new Persian Empire that will challenge other powers for regional supremacy. Iranian presidential adviser Ali Younesi proclaimed at a March 8 forum in Tehran that Iran had returned to its historic role as an empire and proclaimed sovereignty over Iraq.
Younesi proclaimed the “geography of Iran and Iraq cannot be divided” and boasted that “Iraq is not only the bastion of our civilization, it is also our identity, culture, and capital,” the Times of Israel reported.
Younesi also claimed that “greater Iran” includes everything within the Iranian Plateau, which he defined as “countries from the borders of China and the Indian subcontinent to the north and south Caucasus and the Persian Gulf.”
Younesi, a former minister of intelligence in the Iranian government, declared that the country could not afford to disregard the region and that “there is no dismantling our borders.”
Perhaps most importantly, the Iranian official pledged to defend people from what he called “the new Ottoman regime [Turkey]” and the “Wahhabi regime [Saudi Arabia]” before listing the final threats as the West and Israel.
Under heavy criticism from the Arab media, Younesi later clarified his comments. But the hostility expressed against Turkey and Saudi Arabia is not surprising nor does it contradict current Iranian policy.
The Iranian government has been heavily involved in fighting ISIS and supporting the Shiite-Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, drawing the ire of Turkey.
And Iran believes its Shiite form of Islam is superior to the Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, which Younesi called colored by “Arabism and racism.”
Turkey in recent years has been pursuing policies that some experts believe are designed to resurrect the grandeur of the Ottoman Empire. Part of the plan includes quietly working with the terrorist group ISIS to establish influence over the Middle East.
Richardson believes that contemporary Turkey and Iran may be acting out the parts laid out in the Scripture.
“Down through history, we see the same pattern essentially playing out over and over again,” Richardson explained, pointing to cycles of conflict from the Greeks confronting the Medo-Persian Empire to Rome facing Parthia to the Ottomans warring with the Safavids.
Today, Richardson predicts that “we are just before that period of seeing Turkey clash with Iran.”
“And in fact, if you just simply look at the reality on the ground right now, there’s some fairly strong reasons to believe that these two nations are desiring to control the region.”
As evidence, Richardson points to the already existing conflict between ISIS (a de facto proxy of Turkey) and the Iranian-backed Syrian government and Iraqi Shia. The next step, says Richardson, will be a full-blown military effort by Iran to take over the region.
Richardson now is getting new attention over his 2004 book, “The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast,” appearing in paperback.
“The Islamic Antichrist” details the Muslim eschatology built around the figure of the “Mahdi,” an ideology which is now driving Iranian foreign policy.
The book is currently the No. 1 best-selling title in the category of “Islamic theology” on Amazon.com, as well as the No. 2 title in Christian eschatology and the No. 3 title in Christian prophecy.
Richardson says he feels vindicated.
“‘The Islamic Antichrist’ was ahead of its time,” he told WND. “Eschatology is driving policy in the Middle East right now and if you are in the military or a strategy buff, you simply need this information.”
Richardson, whose work includes the stunning documentary “End Times Eyewitness,” the new release “When a Jew Rules the World” and the New York Times bestseller “The Islamic Antichrist,” told WND the geopolitics of the Middle East are beginning to resemble the broad outlines predicted in the Bible.
The focus, said Richardson, will be a huge alliance of nations against Israel.
“Satan is not done with Israel,” says Richardson, “and, therefore, God is not done with Israel. People need to understand that the main way Satan affects the world is through empires and armies. And his rallying cry at this time in history is for war against Israel.”
But the Bible prophesies that the great alliance against Israel will be preceded by expansion of empires opposed to the Jewish state, and Richardson says the key empire rising today in that alignment is Iran, which he links to the ancient Persian Empire.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Iranian leaders seem to share the same vision of creating a new Persian Empire that will challenge other powers for regional supremacy. Iranian presidential adviser Ali Younesi proclaimed at a March 8 forum in Tehran that Iran had returned to its historic role as an empire and proclaimed sovereignty over Iraq.
Younesi proclaimed the “geography of Iran and Iraq cannot be divided” and boasted that “Iraq is not only the bastion of our civilization, it is also our identity, culture, and capital,” the Times of Israel reported.
Younesi also claimed that “greater Iran” includes everything within the Iranian Plateau, which he defined as “countries from the borders of China and the Indian subcontinent to the north and south Caucasus and the Persian Gulf.”
Younesi, a former minister of intelligence in the Iranian government, declared that the country could not afford to disregard the region and that “there is no dismantling our borders.”
Perhaps most importantly, the Iranian official pledged to defend people from what he called “the new Ottoman regime [Turkey]” and the “Wahhabi regime [Saudi Arabia]” before listing the final threats as the West and Israel.
Under heavy criticism from the Arab media, Younesi later clarified his comments. But the hostility expressed against Turkey and Saudi Arabia is not surprising nor does it contradict current Iranian policy.
The Iranian government has been heavily involved in fighting ISIS and supporting the Shiite-Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, drawing the ire of Turkey.
And Iran believes its Shiite form of Islam is superior to the Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, which Younesi called colored by “Arabism and racism.”
Turkey in recent years has been pursuing policies that some experts believe are designed to resurrect the grandeur of the Ottoman Empire. Part of the plan includes quietly working with the terrorist group ISIS to establish influence over the Middle East.
Richardson believes that contemporary Turkey and Iran may be acting out the parts laid out in the Scripture.
“Down through history, we see the same pattern essentially playing out over and over again,” Richardson explained, pointing to cycles of conflict from the Greeks confronting the Medo-Persian Empire to Rome facing Parthia to the Ottomans warring with the Safavids.
Today, Richardson predicts that “we are just before that period of seeing Turkey clash with Iran.”
“And in fact, if you just simply look at the reality on the ground right now, there’s some fairly strong reasons to believe that these two nations are desiring to control the region.”
As evidence, Richardson points to the already existing conflict between ISIS (a de facto proxy of Turkey) and the Iranian-backed Syrian government and Iraqi Shia. The next step, says Richardson, will be a full-blown military effort by Iran to take over the region.
Richardson now is getting new attention over his 2004 book, “The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast,” appearing in paperback.
“The Islamic Antichrist” details the Muslim eschatology built around the figure of the “Mahdi,” an ideology which is now driving Iranian foreign policy.
The book is currently the No. 1 best-selling title in the category of “Islamic theology” on Amazon.com, as well as the No. 2 title in Christian eschatology and the No. 3 title in Christian prophecy.
Richardson says he feels vindicated.
“‘The Islamic Antichrist’ was ahead of its time,” he told WND. “Eschatology is driving policy in the Middle East right now and if you are in the military or a strategy buff, you simply need this information.”
Richardson
also has a new book scheduled for release March 17 titled “When a Jew
Rules the World: What the Bible Really Says About Israel in the Plan of
God.”
“Ultimately, what is coming is the culmination of the rage of Satan against the Abrahamic covenant,” says Richardson. “So many Christians buy into this mistaken idea that Israel is no longer relevant. This book shows what nothing else does by revealing the final consequences of Replacement Theology. The endgame is the alliance against Israel and God Himself.”
“Ultimately, what is coming is the culmination of the rage of Satan against the Abrahamic covenant,” says Richardson. “So many Christians buy into this mistaken idea that Israel is no longer relevant. This book shows what nothing else does by revealing the final consequences of Replacement Theology. The endgame is the alliance against Israel and God Himself.”
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/March12/122.html#yAolRizKIf1Z0ICS.99
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