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Imminent War with Iran?

Trump and Iran are dominating the headlines, and it’s exciting for believers to see! In this Prophecy Letter, we aim to offer a brief overview of what is happening with and how it relates to prophecy.

 

What is Happening

Israel and Iran have been firing missiles at one another for years, and in the last year or two, Israel dealt a fairly decisive blow on Iran which severely damaged their nuclear program. Since then, Iran has been rushing to rebuild it, and it seems that they are now once again on the verge of having full nuclear ability. They have also heavily fortified their bases and nuclear sites so that another attack would be more difficult to carry out (World Israel News). Both Israel and the United States have warned of their willingness to strike again, but Trump has insisted on diplomacy first and wants Iran to agree to severe limitations on the military program.

 

Iran, of course, has been ignoring these demands, and so Trump now appears to be ready to strike Iran imminently – perhaps within a day or two. America has moved aircraft carriers to the region and moved some forces to the Middle East in preparation for such an attack (World Israel News). In response, Iran has recently threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz which lies on Iran’s southern border, and they recently closed it temporarily for military drills (World Israel News). Much of the world’s oil and energy comes and goes through this area, so closing it would have drastic effects on the world market (Firstpost).

 

With that in mind, the present situation is as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems that something big will happen within the next week  or two, but we can’t know for sure. But the big question is, how does this relate to prophecy?

 

Relevance to Prophecy

Any who have read the Prophecy Letter are likely familiar with our views on this subject, but for the sake of repetition and those who are new readers, I will explain my thoughts again.

 

Iran has historically been known by the name “Persia”, and it is by this name that we see them in Scripture. The only place we clearly see Iran in latter-day prophecy is in Ezekiel 38 as part of the Gogian alliance of nations (Ezekiel 38:4-6), and that prophecy describes the time when Russia and her allies make their advance against Israel. Iran therefore must continue as a nation until Russia comes against Israel. While Ezekiel 38 has historically been considered one of the first latter-day conflicts, there are countless passages and signs which indicate otherwise. I shared an article last June which touched on this subject, and you can view that here (note the last section entitled “Not a ‘Set Back’ in Prophecy, but Just What We Expect!”).

 

Instead, we find that Israel is saved by Christ from what Scripture calls “the heathen/people round about” – a term which is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to those nations which are direct neighbors of Israel (Deuteronomy 6:14, 12:10, Zechariah 14:14). Deuteronomy 13:7 makes the distinction between nations which are “far off” from Israel and those which are “round about you, nigh unto thee (Israel)”. We cite this because this important detail of “round about” or “far off” from Israel is often not fully considered, but it is essential when we are trying to determine who the enemies are of a certain prophecy. Is a prophecy about nations close to Israel, or those far off? This is one way we can tell.

 

Today, this term “nations/heathen round about” relates to nations and areas like the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, and it is no coincidence that most of these nations are listed as coming against Israel in a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled – Psalm 83. This short prophecy describes how Israel’s local neighbors unite in an attempt to destroy Israel, saying in

 

Psalms 83:4-5 – They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.  (5)  For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:

 

Verses 6-8 continue to name which nations are part of this confederacy, and these are shown on the following map. It is easy to see why these are referred to as the nations “round about” and “nigh to” Israel (with Iraq being an exception).



Historically, many of these nations have been sponsored and controlled by the Iranian regime. Many of them being referred to as Iran’s “proxies” which do Iran’s bidding from afar. The interesting thing about Psalm 83 is that Iran is nowhere to be found in it! It is difficult to imagine a scenario today where these nations round about Israel all attack, but Iran itself is nowhere to be found in the conflict. This is made even more interesting by the fact that Iran is part of the later conflict of Ezekiel 38.

 

In light of these facts, the question has been – What will happen that will prevent Iran from attacking Israel alongside their proxy states, but will still allow them to fight Israel when Russia makes her descent?

 

Since 2020, the theory which has seemed most probable to my mind is that Israel or the United States (or both) would carry out an attack on Iran which would temporarily cripple Iran’s offensive capabilities, but not destroy the nation altogether. This would rob Iran of the ability to attack Israel itself, Iran would be forced to call upon their proxies to fight on their behalf, and boom – the Psalm 83 conflict starts, Israel requires saving, Christ and the saints appear to their salvation, “and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance (Zechariah 14:14). While this spoil-gathering goes on, Iran begins to rebuild their military capacity, so by the time Russia is enticed by Israel’s newfound riches to attempt an invasion of the land, Iran is ready and willing to get their revenge on Israel.

 

Such a scenario has been theoretical, but it is logical. Today, it seems more possible than ever. We cited some news items which show an imminent strike on Iran and support this theory, but All Israel News just published an article which resonates even further:

 

 

Note what is expected to be vanquished – “Iran’s offensive capabilities”. Iran has been threatening and preparing to attack both Israel and America, and Trump is ready and willing to destroy the missiles and bases which are essential to such an attack. If this is successful and Iran’s ballistic missile program is destroyed, they will therefore have no effective method of reaching Israel – they are simply too far away. All they can do is motivate other nations (like their proxies) to attack, and that is the kind of scenario Psalm 83 paints. We know that Iran has held great sway over many of the nations in this prophecy, and this was just further shown to be true. Israel National News recently reported that “Hezbollah is no longer run by Lebanese personnel but by Iranian IRGC officers present in Lebanon, report reveals.”

 

While this scenario would explain the picture we find in prophecy, we must remember that none of us are prophets, and God often works in ways which man does not expect. We will therefore never be dogmatic of how a particular prophecy must be fulfilled – simply that it will be fulfilled.

 

Yet there seems to be another possibility which could explain why Iran is absent from Psalm 83. There has been much talk of overthrowing the current Iranian regime and reinstalling the old exiled prince Reza Pahlavi. Iran itself has been teeming with rioting over the past few months in the hopes of setting this man in power. Reza is friendly with Israel, and if he were installed, this would also explain why Iran doesn’t fight in Psalm 83 – they two nations aren’t enemies anymore. Yet it must be remembered that Iran will be part of the Ezekiel 38 conflict against Israel, and Reza coming into power presents problems with that part of the equation. If Iran is ruled by a pro-Israel leader, then something then must again change to make Iran the enemy of Israel. This therefore does not flow as seamlessly as the scenario where Iran is struck, but just because it would be a little more complicated doesn’t mean it isn’t what will happen. We must remember who is moving all of the chess pieces! As God says in

 

Jeremiah 32:27 – Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

 

There is so much more worth commentary, but I find myself without time to do so at this point given the other projects and ecclesial activities requiring attention at this time. In truth, my goal and prayer is to help equip the reader to learn these concepts of prophecy and be able to apply them for themselves. That being said, I will share as many comments on current events as my time and brain will allow, Lord willing. It is dearly hoped that we will not need to watch much longer for our Lord, but will have him in our personal midst. How great will be the cry of the redeemed! - “great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee” (Isaiah 12:6).

 

In the Hope of Israel,

Tanner Hawkins

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