Earlier this week, the leaders of the United States and Israel declared the launch of a broad, coordinated military operation against the Iranian regime, beginning with massive waves of airstrikes across several areas in the country. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the start of “major combat operations in Iran,” explaining that the objective “is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime” … and to “the great and proud people of Iran: The hour of your freedom is at hand.”
When you see this news, you can’t help but wonder, “What in the world is going on? What is happening in the Middle East? Could this be the last days, the End Times?”
We need to remind ourselves that we can’t determine the future based on the news alone. You do not interpret Bible Prophecy through the lens of current events. You interpret current events through the lens of Bible Prophecy!
The future is in the hands of God, and one day, Christ will return and call the Church home to Heaven. When He does, He will then usher in a time of Tribulation, wrath and judgment on the Earth, like the world has never seen before.
When we look at the Middle East through the lens of the Bible, the Prophet Ezekiel has given us details of a coming war in the Middle East. In Ezekiel 38 and 39, these chapters tell us that this battle will take place in the last days, in the years to come (Ezekiel 38:8, 16). This passage also provides us with a list of nations that will be involved in a war against Israel.
When this passage was written, Ezekiel was a captive of the Babylonian Empire. He was in Iraq when he received a vision about Iran in the future. This is a prophecy about an Iranian invasion of Israel in the last days.
The Ezekiel prophecy tells us that in the last days, an invading army will come “out of the north parts” (Ezekiel 38:15). The description of the allies – Iran, Russia, and nations that surround Israel – indicates that they are coming from every quarter of the ancient world to destroy Israel.
Yet verse 19 says, “in that day there shall be great shaking in the land of Israel.” God will intervene. God will throw the invading army in confusion, and “every man’s sword shall be against his brother” (Ezekiel 38:21).
This is an unconditional prophecy. It will come to pass. “Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken,” Ezekiel 39:8.
As we take the Word of God, and we look at the world in which we live, we realize very quickly that the stage is being set for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
There is NO event in the Bible that must be fulfilled before the Rapture of the Church could occur. But there are a number of things that could occur before the Rapture takes place. Just because the end is near, it does not necessarily follow that the end is here. We do not know how much time we have left.
The Bible makes it very clear that nobody knows the time of Christ’s return, not even the angels of Heaven (Matthew 24:36). Many have tried to guess the exact date of the Second Coming and have been proven wrong.
In the meantime, we live in a window of God’s grace, a time when there is still an opportunity for people to come to faith in Jesus Christ. The mandate to take the Gospel message is also part of the prophetic plan of God:
“… this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” Matthew 24:14.
PRAY: There are believers in Iran, brothers and sisters in Christ, who are sharing the Gospel throughout their nation. Join us in praying for their safety and the effectiveness of their witness. The only hope for our world is Jesus Christ. Pray also for any new leaders who emerge to reject the ideology of the destruction of Israel and who would push for peace in the Middle East.