Prophecy Letters
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." Matt. 13:16-17
The Prophecy Letter is a circular letter that we send out relating to the development of latter-day prophecy.
July 2023
A Brief Survey of the World
TGP Prophecy Letter – July 17, 2023
There are a vast number of signs developing at once. At this time, I wish to highlight some of the most pressing topics, though there are many others besides these. For the sake of time, some of these comments will be more of a “report” than our typical discussion.
Israel’s President to Address US Congress
This week, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is in America to address a joint session of Congress. This is incredibly important for multiple reasons. Firstly, Biden invited President Herzog instead of Prime Minister Netanyahu. It has been over seven months since Bibi was reelected, and Biden is still giving him the cold shoulder. Herzog’s time in the US also comes at a critical point in Israel’s security as America aims to sign another nuclear deal with Iran. An article from All Israel News explains that there are three goals for Herzog:
1. To try and secure an invitation from the US for Netanyahu to come to the States,
2. To effectively illustrate the magnitude and urgency of the Iranian threat to Israel, and
3. To stress the importance of US-Israel relations and the special bond that exists between the two.
This is an important week for Israel, particularly in light of the growing anti-Semitic stance the Democratic party is assuming. Many Democrats are actually boycotting Herzog’s speech:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to boycott Herzog's address to Congress – World Israel News
Try to follow this topic throughout the week, for I believe it will speak volumes about the US-Israel relationship moving forward.
Netanyahu’s Health Scare
Late last week, Netanyahu was admitted to the hospital after collapsing in his home (World Israel News). He initially claimed it was due to dehydration from long hours outside in the recent heat wave, but health experts are critical, claiming that dehydration has more immediate effects. It is also reported that Netanyahu came out of the hospital with a heart monitor. So, was this dehydration or a heart problem? Whatever it is, it might well be due to stress. History might offer some insight of what might have happened:
In the days leading up to the Six Day War, then Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin suffered a similar collapse. The US had told Israel that they would not assist them if war broke out due to the fear of war with the Soviets. Another justification for America’s refusal to help was that they had run three war simulations, all of which showed Israel coming out as the victor. Fearing a large-scale war with Russia and believing Israel would win the Arab conflict on their own, the US denied Israel assistance. As Chief of Staff of Israel’s armed forces, Rabin was so deeply troubled by Israel’s prospects in standing alone against the Arab threat that he collapsed in a nervous breakdown as a result (The Jerusalem Post).
Could this same thing have happened to Netanyahu? It would make sense given that the situation before the Six Day War and that of today are eerily similar, though the prospects today are far more dangerous.
While the US has participated in joint exercises with Israel, the extent of their cooperation may be limited when it comes down to it. As in the 1967 war, the US might conclude that Israel can handle the Iranian and Proximal Arab threat on their own. And once again, they might also fear that US assistance of Israel against Iran – one of Russia’s allies – might spark all-our war between the West and Russia. As we will consider further in our comments, the situation in Ukraine is escalating tensions between these opposing superpowers, and the US wants to avoid war.
Another factor in all of this is the ever-widening rift between Israel and the US:
Wall Street Journal editorial accuses Biden of treating Netanyahu worse than Iran – All Israel News
US lawmakers: Iran disagreement at root of Biden snub of Netanyahu – World Israel News
Biden said to order “reassessment” of relations with Israel – DEBKAfile
While both the US and Israel deny that there’s any talk of a “reassessment”, this is also the last thing that either party would want the world to know about. If true, it weakens America’s stronghold in the Middle East while simultaneously showing Israel more isolated and vulnerable. The report of “reassessment” could be true or false, but my thinking is that it’s valid. Time will tell.
Threats of War from the Arabs
As to the trouble that might be wearing on Netanyahu, here are some recent headlines about “the heathen round about” (Joel 3:12):
Lebanon Might Be Preparing to Declare War On Israel – Israel365 News
Hezbollah Gearing Up For Showdown With Israel – Prophecy News Watch
Rockets on Judea and Samaria signal 'the end of Israel' – World Israel News
How The Israeli Air Force Is Preparing For Multi-Arena War – Prophecy News Watch
Russia-Ukraine War Escalation
Lastly, we’ll share some recent items on the Ukraine war and its affect upon Russia and the Western powers:
Furious Putin threatens cluster bomb armageddon as Ukraine also receives banned bombs – Express
New Russian warship with hypersonic missiles joins Black Sea fleet – The Jerusalem Post
President Biden considering 'military options' as Russian jets 'harass' American drones – Express
Should the US and Russia officially clash, we can almost certainly conclude that a third World War will have begun. I believe that both sides will try to avoid this at all costs, but as Russia is refusing to back down in Ukraine, it might inevitably lead to that.
What all of this means for us is that we ought to ensure that our lamps are filled with oil, burning brightly in this dark world. No other group of people on this planet has such reason for rejoicing as we do! These troubles are clear harbingers of the Master’s return, and once the earth is subdued beneath his feet, we shall never again hear of war and fighting:
Isaiah 2:4 – he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
In the One Hope of Israel,
Tanner Hawkins
Why Hasn't Israel Attacked Iran?
TGP Prophecy Letter – July 11, 2023
About one month ago, news outlets were reporting that Iran was at the very threshold of becoming nuclear and that an Israeli attack on Iran looked likely. One Israeli defense official claimed that Iran could be less than two weeks away from having multiple nuclear weapons. In June, I wrote at least two Prophecy Letters discussing this and the likely fallout of such a move. Yet a month has passed, and while the topic is still prominent in the news, it seems that it is taking a back seat to other issues. A reader has asked, Why hasn’t Israel struck Iran yet?
It’s an excellent question that I believe many might have. While I believe that this will likely still happen, it must be stressed that it does not have to happen. The only thing I feel confident in saying is that something must prevent Iran from personally being involved in the Psalm 83 war due to the fact that Persia (Iran) is not listed among the confederates. While other means are certainly able to bring this about, the fact that Iran is currently Israel’s greatest threat suggests to me that they must be forced to stay out of it. A debilitating strike by Israel seems to me to be the most likely possibility, but let us never be dogmatic about specific details of future events, particularly when they are not clearly spelled out in the Word.
I believe there are a few reasons why they haven’t struck yet:
Firstly, there is the prospect of a new nuclear deal between the US and Iran. As much as Netanyahu might detest a new deal, we must remember that an outright attack on Iran is Israel’s very last resort. To my knowledge, Israel has destroyed two nuclear reactors before (in Syria and Iraq), and both were only carried out after exhausting every other possible means of neutralizing the threat. But there is no question that destroying Iran’s nuclear reactors would be far more dangerous and result in far greater fallout than either of the previous two reactors. As we discussed in those earlier Prophecy Letters, Israel fully expects a multi-front, regional war to begin as a result of striking Iran, for an incapacitated Iran would call upon their proxies to avenge them. The stakes are very high for Israel, so if there is anything at all that can postpone such an event, Netanyahu will likely take advantage of it. While a new nuclear deal is far from ideal, it could still possibly delay Iran’s ambitions, even if only for a few months. I believe Israel will take advantage of that.
Secondly, there is the challenge of the operation itself and having the equipment to execute it. Taking out Iran’s nuclear reactors will be far more challenging than Syria’s or Iraq’s. These facilities are significantly further and pose the simple, yet important, issue of how to even reach them. Bombers can only travel so far before having to refuel. To reach Iraq in 1981, Israel had to strip their F15s and 16s of all unessential equipment and exceed the aircraft weight limit by DOUBLE just to have enough fuel and missiles to carry out the mission. While all of the jets made it back home, they did so on fumes. If the reactor had been in Iran back then, Israel could not have carried out the mission. This is perhaps Israel’s main handicap, but we can be certain that they are working to figure out as we speak!
The issue of distance is multiplied by the fact that Iran has not one, but multiple reactors. And to make things more difficult, these are spread out and buried deep in the earth. It will require specially designed bombs to penetrate deep enough to inflict any damage. The image to the right displays Iran’s nuclear facilities. Some of these areas are research centers, some are enrichment centers for “civilian use”, and some are for military purposes. Most are potential targets for Israel.
It’s also worth noting that when Israel destroyed Iraq’s reactor in 1981, they timed it so that the guards were caught unprepared. This will be much more difficult to achieve this time around, for Iran has certainly studied those previous events so they don’t make the same mistakes.
Lastly, as far as I see it, is the fracturing relationship between Israel and America. Israel would like to rely on the US not only to support a strike on Iran, but also to help carry it out and respond to any fallout that might ensue afterwards. It seems that Israel may not currently have the bombs necessary to penetrate deep enough to reach the facilities, but apparently the US does.
America might also be the solution to allowing the bombers to reach Iran, enabling them to refuel mid-flight. While news agencies have previously reported on cooperation between the two countries in this regard, this sort of assistance seems to be getting less likely for Israel as the relationship plummets. Biden has just publicized his true feelings on Israel’s current government. As reported in The Jerusalem Post, Biden said,
“This is one of the most extreme cabinets I've seen and I go back to Golda Meir.”
The article continues,
“Biden’s remark came in response to a question as to why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to be invited to the White House. The president had previously said he would not invite Netanyahu in the context of publicly criticizing the Israeli government’s judicial reform plan in March.”
If the cold shoulder is indeed due to Netanyahu’s push for judicial reform, we must only expect things to worse, for the following was just announced today:
Knesset passes bill to restrict Supreme Court powers – World Israel News
As of this writing, the US has yet to respond to the passage of the bill, but we can expect harsh criticism.
There are further points of contention:
US trying to save Israel from 'going off the rails' - outgoing ambassador – World Israel News
Israeli political leaders denounce Biden's 'extreme' remarks – JNS
The question then becomes, Will the US be willing to assist Israel in striking Iran amongst the points of sharp contention? My thinking is that they very well could, but strictly in out of the spirit of self-interest. With US influence and prestige dwindling in the region, perhaps America would openly help Israel to give an impression of strong, persistent American influence in the region. To that point, this article was just published today:
While we cannot know exactly how things will transpire, we do know that the threat to Israel remains and must be dealt with, be it by Israel alone or Israel with the US. It’s also sure that Israel has certain abilities that the world does not know of that could make a solo mission possible. Perhaps we will awake one morning and see the bold headline: “ISRAEL STRIKES IRANIAN NUCLEAR REACTORS”?
Either way, things will progress precisely as the Lord has planned them to, and the servants of the Lord can rest assured that “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). The important events of the last days have been revealed to us, and they will culminate in the complete triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Hope of Israel,
Tanner Hawkins