We are waiting and watching for the triggering event which will begin the Second Signpost, as I wrote about in my book Hidden In Plain Sight. This triggering event will be a shuffling of power in the government of Iran.
“I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.” (Daniel 8:3 NIV)
We don’t know how the second horn will become longer than the first – if a new office will appear or an old office will be elevated – but we know that the supreme leader will become the second power, demoted from being first. The presidential election will occur on June 13. That could be an opportunity for the IRGC (the power behind the horn as it were) to make its move.
There are over 600 people that have applied to be presidential candidates. This coming week the supreme leader will choose which ones can run.
But among these potential candidates there are four men that stand out as most significant both in terms of Iranian politics and in terms of the Second Signpost:
1) Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – This former president of Iran can run again because his last term was years ago. He represents the Green Movement which is all but politically dead in Iran. He will most likely be excluded as a candidate by the supreme leader. Rafsanjani represents the last hopes of millions of Iranians who want reforms in the government and more freedom. But this runs counter to the direction that the Bible says Iran will take, and counter to the supreme leader and the IRGC.
2) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei – This is Ahmadinejad’s disciple. If Ahmadinejad has any chance of affecting future politics in a major way then Mashaei must win. But there is no chance of this because the supreme leader is against Ahmadinejad and his allies, and so will not allow Mishaei to run. And even if Mashaei is allowed to run the IRGC is against him because Ahmadinejad turned out to be a disappointment for the IRGC and Mashaei would only be a rerun of this disaster. As I have said in earlier posts, the supreme leader may choose the candidates, but now it is the IRGC who determines who will be the president out of that field (due to force, intimidation and stuffing ballot boxes as in 2009).
3) Saeed Jalili – This is the current chairman of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and is the supreme leader’s poster boy, his favorite. He may not necessarily be the IRGC’s favorite but we will see.
4) Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (or Qalibaf) – This former IRGC commander and now current mayor of Teheran is one of the core IRGC; he is one of them. Qalibaf is popular with the people and being one of the former IRGC core commanders, may be the IRGC’s top pick.
I believe it will come down to Jalili versus Qalibaf. Whoever wins, it will be because the IRGC wants it that way. Once the election is completed, it still may not be the last step in the second horn’s rise. That still needs to happen. But if the office of the president is to step up in power to be the second horn, and it is to be within the next few years, then the face of the second horn will likely be that of Jalili or Qalibaf.
And that is the bigger problem when watching prophecy be fulfilled – we cannot tell before hand how something will play out, only that it does play out after it is fulfilled.
Categories: In The News, Signpost #2: Iran
THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS 
In addition to watching events in Iran for the growth of the second horn, we also need to look for events here in the USA that would result in our inablilty to stand against the ram. Iran still has to wait until we are out of the way before they can invade their neighbors or become powerful enough that they don’t fear our response.
Agreed, John, that is when it will start (following the government shuffle). But in addition to that, it is very possible that the moment will come when they are not scared of us anymore, only because we attacked them first and they blew our forces away due to their asymmetrical warfare. I’m not saying it will go down that way, but it is an awful possibility.
Something has to happen for us to be “ham strung” so that America is unable to respond to Iran’s aggression if and when it happens. Either it will happen the way Mark theorizes above or we have our own internal issues like the “sequester” that the military is unable to respond properly. Whatever the cause, Daniel 8:4 says, “…he (Ram/Iran) did according to his will and became great.” There has to be a convergence of causes here orchestrated all at the same time to create the “perfect storm” for Iran to succeed in their underlying goal to create world chaos and their mission in life to usher in their so-called “al Mahdi.” We have a ways to go here and it will be some time before all of this starts to look like the trigger is beginning to be pulled…I certainly don’t see it happening this year. Tho’ I could be wrong and things could turn on a dime as well. I try not to put God in a box…not a wise thing to do…so I am always open to change here.
You know its funny Julie but I was just saying something like this to myself earlier today so it feels like confirmation; that it might be two or five years or more before it starts. And not putting God in a box is a good thing. He is the God who orchestrates perfect storms all the time.
Just finishing reading “The End of America- the Role if Islam in the End Times and Biblical Warnings to Flee America” by John Price. Interprets USA as “Daughter of Babylon” and presents a very scary theory of USA destroyed by nuclear weapons smuggled in by Jihadists. What is your take on USA as Mystery Babylon the Great/Daughter of Babylon?
John,
I have my own pet theories of who Mystery Babylon is. Between studies in church history, and the Bible, I’ve narrowed it down to one of two things, I believe. And neither of them is the US. If you’ve read my book, you know that I love keys. Like Daniel 2:40 is the key to interpreting Daniel 2. In many places Scripture has a single little verse that really sharpens the scope. Revelation 18:24 says all the blood shed on earth is in her. That cannot be the US. And Matt 23:35-36 shows Jesus saying the religious leaders of the jews says the blood shed on earth they are responsible for. I think there is your clue. The catholics shed blood in the inquisition. The muslims shed blood over many centuries, as did the progenitors of several protestant denominations in the Thirty Year War 400 years ago. Even Calvin himself burned someone at the stake. So I believe mystery babylon to be religion – not false religion but generally man’s religion. Check history. Whenever religion gains civil power in government, people are killed in the name of God.
Joel Richardson makes a case for it being Islam itself, and there is some merit to that. So there you have it – my two guesses are either all religions or Islam only.
I think people who make mystery babylon the US, are trying to puff up the importance of the US in prophecy. But no puffing up is necessary. It so happens the message of the Four Signposts shows that the US has a hand in three of the four signposts.
Thanks for the question.