Pat Robertson.

I’m making it a point to blog before checking anyone else’s, because I want to make a prediction.
My guess is that at least one of my fellow bloggers is nailing Televangelist Pat Robertson to the wall for his comments today. If you don’t follow the headlines, here’s the gist: Robertson suggested on his television show that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s life-endangering stroke might have been the result of God’s wrath, given that Israel recently ceded a considerable amount of land to the Palestinians. Israel is, after all, God’s chosen land, so according to Robertson the Almighty might just be a bit miffed that Sharon would give up even a single square inch in the name of peace, especially given that Mideast peace is an oxymoron.

To all those folks who are outraged over Robertson’s statement and for everyone who thinks they know what a “real” Christian is and that Robertson isn’t one, I pose this question:

What if he’s right?

I studied the Bible quite thoroughly in my early years and I seem to recall an inordinate amount of smiting, plagues, and general wrath on the part of the man upstairs. For those folks with a Pollyannaish view of God - a wizened, white-haired, all-loving God sitting on a throne not wishing ill to anyone - I’d suggest you re-read the Old Testament before ridiculing Robertson for his words.

Israel has miraculously survived as a nation for the past 60 years despite being surrounded by enemies. Recently the President of Iran stated that he thinks the Holocaust was a hoax and that Israel should be “wiped off the map. "Iran is diligently seeking to enrich uranium so they can produce a nuclear weapon. Recently I commented that I fully expect a nuclear warhead to be launched at Israel any moment at which point UFOs will descend upon the Mideast and the Apocalypse will begin.

I wasn’t joking.

The Book of Revelation mentions “144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” These 144,000 people are those “who had been redeemed from the earth.”

There’s been a lot of speculation about that number. People scratch their heads over the math; four billion people on the earth and only 144,000 will be saved?

Sometimes I think it’s entirely possible; in fact I wonder if 144,000 righteous men will be found. I can't envision 144,000 people with the necessary courage to stand on a soapbox and, despite the cries of “intolerance” and “extremism” hurled upon them, speak what they believe to be the truth.

I hope and pray that George Bush doesn’t cower to pressure if and when America is needed to help defend Israel from an attack. I’m not hopeful, however, given that the entire Book of Revelation contains not one reference to the lone superpower left on the planet. Sometimes I wonder if we’re not mentioned because God will turn his back on us when we turn our backs on Israel.

When I first heard about Robertson’s words, I cringed. Now, I applaud him. It's about time someone stood for something.

Let the slings and arrows begin.