fire. khomeini took power and then on april 1st, 1979, he declared that iran was going to be the world's first islamic republic. the first country in human history to be governed by shari'a law, by the laws of the koran. now, on that 30th anniversary, as iran marked that time, israel had a change of government. it actually happened the day before. ..

and i don't envy the role that he has now. his first interview he gave as prime minister was to the atlantic magazine, american magazine they put on the web site right away that headline was this: netanyahu to obama, stop iran or i will. [applause] he warned of the dangers of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of apocalyptic cult leaders, leaders of iran. what did he mean? why did he say this?

he said it because the current leaders of iran believe that the end of the world is near. this is what they are saying publicly. in the book, inside the revolution, i walk through these quotes from their books, from their speeches come from their web sites, from their videos so you hear in their own words and of course when the film comes out we will be doing the same thing. so you hear what they are saying. they are seeing the end of the world is at hand. the leaders of iran, not the iranian people, you have to make that distinction, but the leaders of iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad, president -- i want you to say that five times quickly with me -- i'm just kidding. i want you to call him mahmoud-genocide. [laughter] there will be no spelling tests.

these men and they have surrounded themselves believe the end of the world is near. they believe that the arrival or the appearance of the islamic messiah, known as the 12th imam are believe his appearance on earth is eminem. the actual word they are using is imminent. furthermore they believe the way to hasten or speed up the islamic messiah is to annihilate the two countries, israel as they describe as the little satan, and the united united states they describe as the great satan. to quote we've drawn together and put in the book i want to share with you so you understand a little bit what they are singing in their own words. now this is from january, 21, nine months before 9/11. i happened to be fighting the last jihad.

iranian supreme leader ayatollah khamenei said it is the mission of the islamic republic of iran to erase israel from the map of the region. iran and president rossin in december 20, 1 said one bomb is enough to destroy israel. in due time the islamic world will have a military nuclear device. had live from the iran press service, december 14th, 2001 he says muslims should use nuclear weapons against israel. iranian president ahmadinejad 2005, israel, he said, must be wiped off the map. mahmoud ahmadinejad april 14, 2006, quote, like it or not, the zionist regime is headed toward annihilation. the zionist regime is a rotten,

dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm. mahmoud ahmadinejad, june 2nd, 2008. not only speaking about the annihilation of israel, now he became bold and talking about the united states. this is just last year, june 2nd, 2008, mahmoud ahmadinejad said, quote, today the time for the fall of the satanic power of the united states has come. and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started. and of quote. two days later, june 4, 2008, mahmoud ahmadinejad said to the muslim world, quote, get ready for negative the u.s., end of quote. is this eschatology, this end time theology that makes elon so dangerous? because it is what is driving the iranians foreign policy right now. it is what is driving iranians

leaders to favor initially tried to build, buy or steal nuclear weapons. and the missiles to deliver them. north korea has dismissal of the launch pad right now expected to launch eminently. at least 15 iran and military advisers are on hand right now according to the open press services. you have to understand in my view, north korea is a test lab for what iran is trying to do. north korea is desperately in need of cash, iran is desperately in need of data. will their nuclear weapons work? will there ballistic missiles work? they are working hand in glove with the north koreans. so if this missile launch kosoff it is not just a threat because north korea's potential capacity to reach the western coast shores of the united states but because this data is likely to

transfer to a regime talking in this manner about the end of the world and bringing it about. you have to understand if iran gets nuclear weapons, and the ballistic missiles to deliver them mahmoud ahmadinejad could do in about six minutes what it took adolf hitler six years to do and that is to kill six million jews and that is in his main objectives. it's one of his objectives but israel as i mentioned is only the little satan in shia, muslim eschatology, and time theology. the united states is the great satan, so israel is an objective but we are the alternate objective because iran's leaders proceed as the epicenter of christian durham. we know that is not exactly true. we need a revival in this country. we need to return to jesus christ in this country before their purposes -- [applause] they are coming after us.

now, our theme at this epicenter conference this year is understanding to these global crisis, crises come in the light of bible prophecy. what most people don't realize is that the islamic revolution that was set into motion 30 years ago this year, for 30 years ago this week is actually the fulfillment of bible prophecy. the past 30 years what have we seen in iran and throughout the muslim world? we have seen war, revolution, we have seen revolution of more war, terrible lawlessness, exporting terrorism all over the middle east, all over the world. asia, africa, latin america, the united states. we have seen terrible persecution of followers of jesus christ, and now the constant talk of the coming of the islamic messiah. this is exactly what the bible for told to thousand years ago.

jesus said luke chapter 21 in the last days, quote, you will hear of wars and revolutions. he said do not be frightened, these things must happen first, but the and will not come right away. matthew, 24. jesus said you will be hearing of wars and rumors in the last days. he warned of terrible persecution. he warned of rampant lawlessness he warned that the rise of false profits and false messiahs. and 2,000 years after he said it, 30 years ago we began to see this islamic revolution explode onto the pages of our newspapers and come into our homes and into our country in a very real and dramatic and dangerous way. what's more, bible prophecy tells specifically persia, the ancient name for iran will be a major in the time player.

and ezekiel, chapter 38 and 39, the hebrew profit, ec keogh, writing 2500 years ago, rights of the day when russia will form an alliance with persia, with iran, and a group of other middle eastern countries to surround and try to destroy israel and what ezekiel said would be the last days. this afternoon, pastor jack smith will go into the prophecy in more detail. but you have to understand we are seeing the fulfillment of bible prophecy. now what's interesting of course is the iranian leaders believe they are seeing the fulfillment of the kuran, the fulfillment of the muslim eschatology. and it is a collision course. it's a train wreck that's coming. to fundamentally different views racing towards each other in our lifetime. now, let's note this is not the first time in human history that

the leaders of iran have want to annihilate the jewish people or the people who follow god. let's take a moment to turn if you've got your bibles to the book of esther and i will read through some of these verses so that if you don't have your bibles, and while we are doing this let me welcome again the 80 congregations around north america that are joining this via live internet feed and the horizon of radio broadcasting network as well as the c-span viewers. thank you and welcome and i am glad that you are here with us today. [applause] amen. yes, let's say thank you to that. [applause] in estherville chapter 1, the first few verses we get an interesting picture. it took place in the days of the rain from india to ethiopia over 127 provinces and in those days

the king sat on his royal throne which was and susana which is in persia. in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his princes and attendance for the army officers of persia and matteo. the nobles and princes of the provinces being in his presence. the leader of persia. now, miers' almost as tough as you were to say as ahmadinejad. my father was orthodox jewish. that as a whole other story. a good story. [laughter] maybe we will find it during the q&a time. my father, when he was growing up in temple was in a play about these very evens and he was one of the soldiers in the persian palace and he was to take his spear and stamp three times and say ladies and gentlemen, king

[inaudible] i'm going to use keen xerxes because the disease year. king xerxes was the leader now, in chapter 31136, the plot begins to thicken and we are not going to go through all the chapters of esther but in chapters 3136 after these events, king xerxes promoted heymann, the son of hamidatha and established his authority over all the princes that were with him and all the king's servants at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to haman for the king had commanded. but mortiki neither paid homage.

in the king's servants at the king's gate said to him why are you trends transgressing the king's command. when the spoken daily to him and he wouldn't listen to them they told haman to see whether his reason what stand. for he had told him he was a jew and when haman saw that he neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, haman would still with rage. but he does stand to lay a hand on mordecai alone. he didn't want to just take out haman for this -- for his insolence in haman's view for they told him to the people were. therefore haman sought to destroy all the jews throughout the kingdom of king xerxes. one issue wouldn't bowed down to

a pagen iranian leader. and this iran and prime minister, president, he was not the supreme leader. the supreme leader was king xerxes, president of the country, haman, was so enraged that he insisted that the jews be destroyed. chapter three, verses 13 and 14. come out with me, versus 13, letters were sent by courier store ought king's provinces to destroy, to kill, and to edna late, there's the word, to annihilate all the jews, both old and young. men, women, and children. and in fact it goes on to give precise date by which that plan was going to be enacted. thousands of years ago, and iranians impleader and irani and president determined to

annihilate the jewish people. two leaders, they had a plan. they had money. they choose a date. it was all set. it was just a matter of time. the clock was ticking. but what the leaders of persia and leaders of iran had not calculated into their scheme was the god of abraham, isaac, and jacob. [applause] the god of the jewish people, the god of israel also had a plan. he had two leaders, queen esther and mordecai, her garden. both were horrified when they heard about this plan. but while esther rye shiastan great agony and anguish, king mordecai fasted and prayed, and as he fasted and prayed, god gave him a vision of what to do. god made it clear to him that he

was in charge. that mordecai didn't have to fear but he did have to act. now, as you enter queen esther and mordecai into the equation, both jews fortified by the supreme leaders decision to edna late jewish people we see in esther chapter for how this plays out. chapter 41st number-one, when mordecai were all that had been done he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes and went into the midst of the city and wailed loudly and bitterly. first three, he joined the great morning of the jews who were fasting and weeping and wailing to reverse for, times b5 maidens came and told her and she arrived in great anguish. it doesn't say that she prayed or fasted. that is what mordecai must doing. mordecai as he prayed and fasted became convinced that esther

could play a critical role in defending the jewish and the king urged her to go in and and for his favor and please with him for her people. and she said no. she said back to them you have got to be kidding me. i haven't even been invited into the king's presence for 30 days. i would be killed if i just walked into the palace into the throne room. you don't do that. i am paraphrasing here, but that is what she is saying. these two love each other. queen esther's parents had died. mordecai was actually an older cousin, raised her as his own daughter, loved her dearly, sought her welfare. but when he prayed and god showed him a way for what, she refused. she didn't -- the king didn't know that she was jewish and she didn't want to take her hat because the jews were about to get destroyed.

she was fearful. she was riding in agony and anguish the scriptures tell. chapter four, verse 13. than mordecai told some assistance to the queen take this message to esther. do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escapes any more than all the jews. for if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the jews from another place. and you and you're father's house will perish. and who knows? whether you have not attained royalty for such time as this. mordecai challenged her. he said what if this is your purpose in life? what if this is why god put you on the planet? what if this is why god gave you

the specific job in this specific place at this specific time? what to do something for him, as to stand for the jewish people come to stand against radicalism, to stand against the spirit of annihilation. we don't get any evidence in the text yet that god is going to protect all the jewish people. we don't see a first that says thus saith the lord, but mordecai said relief and deliverance will, not light, he said they will a rise. we have to take this is because he is fasting and praying that the lord had given him a piece and clarity, that the god of abraham, isaac and jacob was not asleep. he had just been given an ipod and thought i'm not really paying attention to what is going on in persia right now. no, he focused.

what if your job, what if my job is to be a blessing, to make a difference, to save the lives of innocent people, to save the lives of jewish people in the threat of an annihilating iranians persian leadership? versus 15. then esther told them to reply to mordecai. she says take this message back. okay, mordecai. go assemble all the jews found in the persian capital. and fast for me. do not eat or drink for three days, might or day. all i and my meetings will fast in the same way and thus i will go to the king which isn't according to the wall. she said i will speak to the can and if i perish, i perish. queen esther was motivated by the challenge and committed herself to fasting and praying

that the board would give her courage to do the right thing no matter what even if it cost her life. bart gave esther a plan as we go through the scripture you will see and i hope that you will spend some time in the book of esther this week, today and study how god began to unfold a plan for esther, to intercede on behalf of the jewish people. and a miracle begins to unfold. chapter eight, verse three. very interesting verse. already -- let me just read it. esther spoke to the king, fell at his feet, wet and implored him to avert the evil scheme of haman, the hagee guide and the plot he advised against the jews esther what. she felt, she implored the king

to change his mind and suddenly the supreme leader of persia and changes his mind. he decides the jews shouldn't be destroyed, the president of persia is overthrown. he is hamed. he becomes a symbol of evil through all eternity. jews celebrate the holiday. we just celebrated a few weeks ago and this holidays to commemorate how god intervened in the midst of the face of an air on the am i leading plan. and as you go on and read the scripture you see the jews still had to fight against those who were mobilized in the radicalism any way and were on plan to listen to the messages coming out of the capitol, the things that changed. but not only did they fight, but they won and here is a very interesting verse.

chapter eight, chapter eight versus 16 and 17. for the jews there was might and gladness and chollet and honor. well, yeah. the jews were on the verge of in violation with a date certain and god intervened. he used to people, a man and a woman who fasted and prayed and god used them to be a great and mighty blessing to the jewish people come to the world and the jews were rejoicing. but it wasn't just that god had used to people, a man and woman to change the course of history inside iran in fact persia, no, god does more than this. look at this, verse 17 in each and every province and each and every city whether the king's amendment had a right watch this, there was glad miss and

july for the jews, a feast and holiday. here it is, and many among the people of the land became jews for the dread of the jews had fallen on them. persians were becoming followers of the living god. in record numbers. this is not something that mordecai or esther had imagined. the richest begging god to save people. and in the end he not only save the jewish people, he began to save the people of iran, and all across this region from india and the east to sudan and ethiopia in the west, all throughout the epicenter of god was on the move. now the book of esther is the same god we have today. all throughout leaders there have been, all throughout history their kiloliters, evil leaders in the epicenter and all around the world that threatened those that loved the god of

cizik, abraham and jacob that have been called by his name. now, some of you gentiles, god bless you, you say jews think you're so special. [laughter] you were the chosen people, think they are so great, and we are sort of like you know, we are really not opposed it someone else wants to be chosen. [laughter] it's okay. the faeroe chose tosk. haman shows us. king xerxes, stalin, hitler, mahmoud ahmadinejad, shoes somebody else, we are totally fine with that. [laughter] in the 1980's i remember there was a wonderful cartoon you may remember gerient larsen cartoons, little animals and they would say these funny little things. i remember one it is a single panel, it has got two deer

standing in the forest. one has a bull's-eye on his chest and the one without bubbles i says to the one with a bull's-eye heck of a birthmark, pal. [laughter] that is what it feels like to be jewish. you woke up thinking what did i do? why are people targeting me? why are people at the other end of the sniperscope, why do they want to tell me? what did i do to them? i am not saying the jewish people or the state of israel has never done anything wrong. but no more wrong than everybody else in the world we are all sinners. the bible says we all stand and have fallen short of the glory of god so why is everyone he doesn't want to annihilate us? throughout history this has happened. throughout history people have had to make choices. whose side are you on? are you going to be on the side of evil or are you on this side

of god? are you on the side of the am i leaders or will dupre and fast and trust the god of abraham, isaac and jacob to use you to confront evil and save the lives of innocent people? this is a question we must ask right now. do we believe and the god of love? do we believe in the god of forgiveness? do we believe in god that will adopt dustin to his family and change knous? perhaps you don't think of yourself as a murderer or terrorist or radical muslim like tax -- but we have all sinned and fall short of god until we came to faith in jesus christ and he changes our lives. now what is interesting is this very week we are commemorating and noting that various anniversary of the islamic revolution and what's

interesting is at this moment where annihilation is the language of the day, just as it was in the days of esther and mordecai. when you look out over the epicenter, the middle east, the center where the nation's eyes are riveted on israel and her neighbors, the epicenter of the events that are shaping the world and shaping the future. when you take a survey of the state of the epicenter, you begin to see some things that -- patterns emerging today as they did thousands of years ago. in the bouck "inside the revolution" i make the argument that 30 years after the islamic revolution began there were three revolutions happening. not just one. there are the radicals, there are other reformers, and there are the revivalists. let me take a moment to help you understand them because i believe on till you understand