What Clues Does Bible Prophecy Give About What’s Next for Israel?
Part 2 of a SPECIAL REPORT on, Is This the End of the World?
Image courtesy of Lara Jameson on Pexels
As the conflict in Israel concludes its fifth day, I want to walk through some events that happened over the past few years that led to this war. But, before going there, let’s talk about why many individuals feel this conflict relates to events predicted over two thousand years ago.
What’s Special About Israel?
Israel is “ground zero” for all Bible prophecy. The entirety of the Old Testament focuses on the formation, development, eventual fall, and preservation of the Nation of Israel.
Ethnic Israel could have been wiped off the face of the planet many times; they were held as slaves in Egypt in ancient times, detained in captivity in Babylon in 586 B.C., driven from Rome in 70 A.D., persecuted and expelled from Europe during the Spanish Inquisition in the 1400s, and later 6 million Jews were mass murdered during the Holocaust in Nazi Germany in the 1940s.
At each juncture in history, the Jewish people faced annihilation. But, in each instance, the Lord miraculously protected and preserved His people, Israel.
The Messiah of the world came out of Israel, and he is going to return to Israel. But when he comes back again, it will not be as a helpless child born to a poor family but as a military commander riding a white horse to signify war.
When He finally returns, The Lord will come to the aid of outnumbered Israel—an entire nation the size of the state of New Jersey—and defeat her enemies in an epic battle taking place on the plains of Megiddo, a hilltop strategically located on a main road built by the Romans to connect Egypt with Damascus, Syria. This will be the battle famously known as Armageddon.
During the final struggle, the Lord will judge the various nations for how they treated Israel and attempted to “divide the land” that the God of Creation rightfully gave to his people, the Jewish nation.
Joel 3:1-2
“In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There, I will put them on trial
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
As I said in my last post, we’re not here yet. Before this world-ending conflict, the Antichrist will negotiate a 7-year peace deal with Israel. This hasn’t happened yet, but be on the lookout for nations, organizations (U.N., I.A.E.A.?), or other entities that promise peace to Israel in exchange for a cease-fire—which could come any day now!
What’s Next?
The battle over the Holy Land dates back to the time of Isaac and Ishmael, the two sons of Abraham, in Genesis 21. Isaac embodied the son promised by God to Abraham in his old age, but Ishmael was conceived as an illegitimate child. Isaac’s son Jacob became the father of Israel, and Ishmael’s descendants became the Arab nations. The two entities have been at war ever since.
Many of the predictions in the Old Testament, often referred to as “End Times Prophecy,” center around alliances that develop between Arab nations.
For example, a future military conflict referenced in Ezekiel 38 and 39 describes a coalition of countries headed by Rosh (thought to be Russia), Persia (thought to be Iran), and includes other nations, possibly the modern territories of Libya, Turkey, Ethiopia, and parts of the former Soviet Union.
This coalition stages a military invasion of Israel at a time when they are living in peace and experiencing great prosperity, which, since the Abraham Accords, modern-day Israel fits this description.
Why do they invade? According to Ezekiel 38:12-13, to take “the spoils,” possibly the oil and natural gas fields discovered in Israel in 2010.
Coincidently, according to this prophecy, one group protests this military invasion of Israel: Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish. This is widely understood to be none other than Saudi Arabia. This makes sense, considering that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), only 38 years old, is moving slowly toward normalizing ties with Israel for the first time in his country’s history.
America, however, does not come to the aid of Israel when this battle prophesied by Ezekiel begins.
Regardless of how you feel about End Time Prophecy, a massive military and economic alliance is forming in the Middle East that we should not ignore. This involves several, if not all, of the key players referenced above: Russia, Iran, Libya, Turkey, and others.
How is Iran Involved?
If we fast forward to the events that unraveled in the past week, we can see that Iran is at the epicenter of this conflict.
The news reports that Hezbollah, another proxy of Iran, is now involved in the fight. Hezbollah is a terror organization, criminal cartel, and political party all rolled into one. Since 2000, Iran has been working with Hezbollah to build up Iran’s military arsenal in preparation for a war against Israel. Lebanon serves as headquarters for the leadership of this Iranian-controlled criminal cartel.
Hezbollah, like Hamas, is funded, trained, and resourced by Iran. The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that Iran provides these organizations as much as $100 million annually to destroy Israel.
To go a step further, the buffer that used to exist between Iran and Israel no longer exists. Iran has taken military control of every country located between it and Israel—Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. This is not by accident.
The last holdout was Iraq. On September 5, 2022, Amir Tsarfati, who served as a Major in the IDF reported,
“The bottom line is that Iraq fell into the hands of Iran. There is no longer a major political rival in Iraq which can challenge the Iranian-backed forces attempting to control the country.”
But clearly, the most shocking escalation occurred on February 8, 2023, when Iran published a photo of a ballistic missile with “death to Israel” written in Hebrew.
To provide some further context, Iran, a country the size of California, Texas, Montana, and Idaho combined, is hell-bent on harassing a nation with just under 10 million people—roughly the population of New York City.
Iran is like the bully on the playground who goes after the youngest and smallest child in the yard. And, if that weren’t bad enough, he enlists all of his thug friends to join in.
So, what is Iran planning next?
Why has Hezbollah had over 150,000 rockets aimed at Israel since 2018?
Is the U.S. playing both sides of this conflict?
How are Libya and Turkey involved?
How is Russia involved?
Stay tuned to find out! The next post coming soon.
As I close…
Please join me in continuing to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. This has been a horrific massacre of the Jewish people. May the Lord come to their aid as He promised:
Isaiah 49:15 (NLT)
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
17 Soon your descendants will come back,
and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
If you missed part 1 of Is This the End of World, you can access it here.
Additional links:
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/irans-funding-of-hamas-a-threat-to-israel-and-the-west/
https://www.prageru.com/video/why-dont-you-support-israel
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/253558
Evil, in many forms, seems to have been unleashed at every level Amy and the war against the purposes of God is becoming increasingly evident. You are providing an important perspective and your children and their families are at the front lines and we will keep praying for their protection. I have been listening to Michael Yon reporting from the border and the Darien Gap and it is clear that thousands of military age young men, many from the Middle East, are continuing to come into the US. You may have seen the video of Chris Reed and his prophetic dream but just in case here is a link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNwO1Zqfh7k Over everything I remember the sovereignty of God which is difficult to grasp but one that I have been reflecting upon.
Thank you for this great summary of the current situation...