The world is watching the latest negotiations in the Israel–Hamas war amid ongoing attacks by the Houthis and Hezbollah. In the meantime, we should not miss this headline from the Jerusalem Post: “Iran closer than ever to weaponizing uranium, building nuclear bomb.”

The Institute for Science and International Security is sounding the alarm and has upgraded its threat level to “Extreme Danger,” the highest of its six ratings, for the first time since the group began following the Iranian nuclear program in the 1990s. They warn that the country could make enough highly enriched uranium to fashion a nuclear explosive in a week and could build and deliver a weapon in “about six months.”

Why would Iran choose to do so?

And why is this such an “extreme danger” to the world?

If Iran acquires nuclear weapons

At first glance, today’s news seems less than alarming on the assumption that Iran knows a nuclear attack on Israel or the US would lead to a swift and devastating nuclear retaliation against their country.

But this goes both ways: a nuclear-armed Iran would likely feel protected from aggression by its enemies and thus emboldened to escalate its proxy war on Israel and the West. It would pose an immediate threat to countries without nuclear weapons such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia and would probably incite them to seek such weapons, further heightening tensions in the region.

Military action against Iran (likely from Israel) to prevent its acquisition of nuclear weapons would likely escalate the ongoing regional conflict. And there is always the chance of a catastrophic—if not apocalyptic—nuclear accident.

But there’s one other crucial factor we dare not overlook.

An Iranian apocalypse

As I noted in my book, The War in Israel, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) views its ultimate mission as preparing the way for the Mahdi (a Muslim messianic figure) to return and dominate the world for Islam. Preparations for this return escalated after Ayatollah Khamenei assumed the mantle of supreme leader in 1989 and especially in the aftermath of the 2009 anti-regime protests.

The IRGC views the existence of Israel as the “greatest barrier” to the reemergence of the Mahdi. Iran’s hardline clergy now claim that the “Jewish state will be destroyed before Mahdi’s arrival.”

If Iran can employ its regional proxies to force Israelis to abandon Israel, it will have achieved this necessary step in hastening the Mahdi’s return. If this strategy proves unsuccessful, will it turn to direct war with Israel?

If so, given the Israel Defense Forces’ overwhelming military superiority, would Iran utilize a strike-first nuclear weapon?

Bernard Lewis, the Princeton professor and renowned Middle East scholar, warned that the threat of many Iranians perishing in a war does not deter Iran’s leadership, which believes “it would be doing them a favor by giving them a free pass to heaven” as martyrs in a jihad. In a Wall Street Journal article, he added that to Iran’s leaders, an attack on Israel that killed Muslims would only speed them to heaven. And a response that devastated Iran “would have no meaning” since “what will matter will be the final destination of the dead—hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers.”

For people with such a mindset, Lewis warned, mutually assured destruction “is not a constraint; it is an inducement.” And since many in Iran believe that the Mahdi will kill all the Jews when he comes, some may even believe that he would return to protect them from such retribution.

“Bad ideas have victims”

Israel and the West should obviously respond to this apocalyptic scenario by doing whatever is necessary to keep Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. Christians should also respond by praying fervently for a spiritual awakening that would transform Iran’s leaders from genocidal persecutors to Christ-following peacemakers. (If you doubt such a possibility, remember what Jesus did with Saul of Tarsus.)

But today’s discussion highlights one other point today:

Worldviews change the world.

Thousands have died and millions are being affected by Hamas’s vow to kill the Jews as demonstrated by its October 7 atrocities. From Russia to China to North Korea and Cuba, Marx’s communist ideology continues to impact and enslave millions. Moral relativism is fueling an epidemic of pornography, sexual confusion, drug overdoses, euthanasia, and suicide in the US.

I often quote this observation by my friend John Stonestreet: “Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims.”

But here’s the good news: biblical ideas have victors.

Consider these facts:

The law of the Lᴏʀᴅ is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lᴏʀᴅ is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lᴏʀᴅ are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lᴏʀᴅ is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lᴏʀᴅ is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lᴏʀᴅ are true, and righteous altogether. . . .

By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7–9, 11).

How fully will you experience the “great reward” of your Father today?

Wednesday news to know

• Hamas responds to Israel plan with three-stage proposal to end Gaza war
• US Senate unveils $118 billion bill on border security, aid for Ukraine, Israel
• Bolts appeared to be missing from Boeing 737 Max door plug that blew off midflight, NTSB says
• Alejandro Mayorkas survives House impeachment vote as GOP lawmakers defect
• On this day in history: The Beatles arrive in New York

Quote for the day

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” —D. L. Moody

Denison Forum

San Francisco is on the front pages this week as the 49ers seek to win their sixth Super Bowl this Sunday. But the city is making news for tragic reasons as well.

• The San Francisco Chronicle headlines: “San Francisco street horror only grows as drug overdose numbers spike.”
• CNN reports: “Drugs are sold out in the open in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.”
• The New York Post adds: “Inside San Francisco’s ‘dens of death’ as liberal city faces drug crisis.”
• And this from CNN: “A mother was raising her son in a city she loved. Then San Francisco changed and stole her boy.”

Drug addicts now outnumber high school students in San Francisco.

In an area a short walk from Union Square, the city’s central shopping district, CNN reports that “it’s commonplace to see people using and selling drugs. Human waste, used needles, and bullet casings litter the sidewalks.”

What’s going on in San Francisco?

Why does this matter to the rest of us?

“The extreme of a pro-drug culture”

In 2018, the drug overdose death rate in San Francisco roughly matched the national average. Five years later, it was more than double the national level. Why?

New York Times reporter German Lopez explains:

The [San Francisco] culture has become more tolerant of people using drugs. When I asked people living on the streets why they are in San Francisco, the most common response was that they knew they could avoid the legal and social penalties that often follow addiction. Some came from as close as Oakland, believing that San Francisco was more permissive.

Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford University, told Lopez that San Francisco “is on the extreme of a pro-drug culture.”

Activists in the city argue for “body autonomy,” claiming that people have the right to put whatever they choose into their veins and lungs. They say it’s no one’s business but the drug user’s. Advocacy groups want people to use drugs more safely, arguing that abstinence is not always a “realistic” goal.

“Body autonomy” advocates often cite the drug policies of British Columbia, a global leader in harm reduction. However, British Columbia set a record for overdose death rates last year.

“What we all dread most”

G. K. Chesterton observed: “What we all dread most is a maze with no center.”

But that’s where we are.

As we saw yesterday, Americans now live in a “post-Christian” nation. When your compass has no true north, it points wherever you want it to point. And you’ll be lost and on your own.

As I was praying about a biblical response for today’s article, my attention was drawn to Psalm 36. David begins:

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil (vv. 1–4, my emphasis).

Doesn’t it seem that he was reading today’s news?

By contrast, David prays:

Your steadfast love, O Lᴏʀᴅ, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lᴏʀᴅ (vv. 5–6).

“In your light do we see light”

Now Americans have a choice to make.

We can persist in our “post-truth” relativism, denying the word of God and choosing our will over his. If we do, San Francisco is a picture of our cultural future.

Or we can seek and submit to God’s word and will each day. We can ask what Scripture says about the issues we face and then “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). We can think biblically and act redemptively.

If we do, this will be our testimony:

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights (Psalm 36:7–8).

And we will say to God:

“With you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light” (v. 9).

Will you make this prayer your commitment today?

Tuesday news to know

• Toby Keith, popular country music singer-songwriter, dies at 62
• California storm: At least three dead, long cleanup ahead
• Iran-backed groups continue to target American bases as US plans further strikes
• 2,500-year-old silver coin discovered in Israel
• On this day in history: King George VI dies; Elizabeth becomes queen

Quote for the day

“The Bible is the book of my life. It’s the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to die by.” —theologian N. T. Wright

Denison Forum