From Jewish street-corner preachers, to Christian high-ranking officials, many believe the conflict is prophesied.
The war is raging between Israel, America and Iran. These days I wake up to the sounds of emergency alerts on my phone, air raid sirens ringing, or the boom-boom in the sky above me as missiles are intercepted. I have this song by the band REM looping in my head. You know one. it goes, “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I’ll be fine.” Yes, classic.
As it plays non-stop in my mind, I look forward to walking down Jaffa Street in Jerusalem. A man invites me to look at the art in his gallery, but within minutes starts telling me how this war was predicted. His eyes are wide as he says “I must tell the truth.” His absolute self-belief in what he’s saying strikes me, and like any journalist who likes to go down a rabbit hole, I go home, fire up the laptop and wow… what a rabbit hole.
You just have to type the words, ‘Iran War Israel Prophecy’ and the results will flood in. There is an entire section of the internet devoted to how the war between Israel, the US and Iran is fulfilling ancient biblical prophecy. An expository book is being circulated. Pop your popcorn.
But let’s start with what Israel and the US described as a ‘pre-emptive strike on Iran’ on February 28. Israel’s prime minister took to the airwaves to explain why. Woven into his message was a not-so-subtle reference to the Jewish festival of Purim, celebrated a few days later on March 2-3. Benjamin Netanyahu said:
“Two and a half thousand years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant rose against us with the same goal: to completely destroy our people. But Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther, with their courage and resourcefulness, saved our people. In those days of Purim, the lot fell and the wicked Haman fell with it …Even today, on Purim, the lot has fallen and the end of the evil reign will come.
In that story, Esther, who hides her Jewish identity, marries the king of Persia. Haman, a court official, persuaded the king to destroy the ‘rebellious people’ in the kingdom. You can read Jews here. Esther risks her life to tell the king and Haman that she is Jewish. Haman is killed and the Jews are given the right to defend themselves.
Purim, which celebrates this, has now essentially become the Jewish Halloween. Kids dress up in costumes and have a lot of fun. This war with Iran is decorated like a modern day Purim, though not as fun. In an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post, Donald Trump is described as a modern-day Achashverosh, that Persian king, writing:
“They were lovers of power – and beautiful women – and both ultimately gave the Jews a free hand to attack their enemies with destructive force.”
The author continues:
“With God’s continuing helping hand, we will triumph in this latest, most effective battle, and we will bring to our people and to the world the prophetic promise of a great Purim: light and joy, hope and joy.”
Light, joy, hope and happiness. Christians believe that the Messiah will be brought into the world at the time of his second coming. The Jews are still waiting for the first coming.
Dr. Erez Soref, a self-proclaimed Messianic Jew, dedicates an entire video to Yeshua (Jesus) and how only His coming can bring lasting peace on earth. With conviction he says:
“I believe God has placed us in such a time.”
He also refers to the book of Esther. “Another drama is unfolding with the same players – violent lunatics led by the Jewish people and the Persian/Iranian people … It is no small matter that this happened around Purim,’ He says. adding, “Like Easter Day we may be living in a defining hour of history.”
At that crucial moment, I realized that Jesus was going to come and save us all. Well, maybe not all.
Meanwhile, Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff wants to see this conflict through the lens of the prophets. He also talks about the Jewish people finding themselves in Paras (Hebrew for Persia or modern Iran). He says:
“We are seeing the fall of Paras … and this is the final pulldown of that regime that represents all the wickedness of Gog and Magog in the world today.”
Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff also says:
‘(T)then we are going to see a period of nine months where there will be great success in the Roman world (the West) and finally their power will decline and the Jewish people will celebrate the coming of the Messiah.’
A good rabbi is clear enough to link this to the war now unfolding. If his calculations are correct, set your clock nine months later for the Deluge. Why nine months? That’s the time it takes for the Messiah to be born. He refers to the Tanakh and the book of Ezekiel, one of the most important prophetic books of the Christian Bible.
Very specifically, he talks about Gog and Magog mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39. The broad outline of this passage is that restored Israel will be attacked by a coalition of nations, but Israel will ultimately win. Regardless of how things are unfolding, Iran is more likely to be an invaded country… but let’s ignore this inconvenient point.
Pastor Greg Laurie also picks up on this theme on his YouTube channel. He talks about eschatology. This is the part of theology that deals with the end of history…or days, if you want to be simple about it.
Pastor Laurie explains that there is also a Muslim Messiah. He brings out a picture of the Muslim Messiah “Entering the flaming gate, does that mean Jerusalem? I don’t know,” He says“But he is surrounded by modern soldiers … The fire pouring down from above could represent divine wrath from Allah or missiles fired from Iran towards Israel.”
He then examines a passage from Ezekiel and explains how Gog is Iran and suggests that Magog is… you guessed it, Russia!
“So when we see Russia stepping into conflict with Iran and Israel, we need to pay attention…if Persia or Iran marches with Magog and Magog is Russia, that’s something to pay attention to. Today we’re seeing things that the Bible prophesied thousands of years ago.”
While you might be able to write these guys off their drugs as loons, it’s clear that this idea that we’re entering the end of days is much more pervasive than that. A US soldier reports war with Iran to his commander, “(a) part of God’s divine plan.” The soldier continues that this commander made several references to Armageddon and the Book of Revelation predicting the second coming of US President Donald Trump. “Anointed by Jesus to light a signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to earth.”
This is quite a heavy topic. If true, the commander is basically saying, “Go die boys, your sacrifice will be rewarded and you will be resurrected soon.”
In Christian eschatology, many evangelicals and Christian Zionists believe that there is another step to help Armageddon on its way – the building of the Third Temple. It is to be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Daniel (yes, of the Lion’s Den) and Jesus both say that this is crucial for some, that the Anti-Messiah will desecrate this temple before the Rapture.
Now there is no third temple. But Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, is more supportive of what he’s building. On a visit to Jerusalem in 2018, when he was just a Fox News contributor, he talked about miracles:
“I’m prompted to think of another miracle that I hope you all don’t see too far. Because 1917 was a miracle. 1948 was a miracle. 1967 was a miracle. 2017, the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital was a miracle, and there is no reason for the resurrection of the Temple. Not possible.”
Those dates are all significant: 1917, the Balfour Declaration, a public pledge by the British government to support the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine; 1948, Israel born; 1967, Six Day War Israel expands its territories; In 2017, the first Trump administration moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing it as the capital of Israel. Could 2026 see the rebuilding of the Third Temple?
Hegseth was almost prophetic when he went on to say, “Buy a ticket. Take your action. Do what needs to be done in Israel because I truly believe this is the moment America has your back.” Eight years later and America has Israel’s back as the countries fight side by side against Iran.
The appointment of Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel was seen in some quarters as a move to speed up that construction project. The Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF), which asserts Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, to give it its biblical name, is a fan of Huckabee. While awaiting Huckabee’s confirmation hearing to become ambassador in 2025, the IHF escorted him as he prayed at Ohel.
Rabbi Menachem m. It is important that it is the place where Schneerson is buried. The rabbi is credited with transforming the Hasidic group (Eastern European Orthodox Jews) into one of the most influential movements among religious Jews. Rebuilding the Third Temple on the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa compound, was one of their most important, most sacred beliefs. This is traditionally expected to happen with the arrival of… you guessed it, the Messiah.
In the maze of articles and videos online, it’s clear that many people aren’t buying the idea that the world is coming to an end, they’re welcoming it. According to some, World War III is already predicted to start in 2026. Baba Vanga, a blind Bulgarian mystic, is very well known in the post-Soviet space and is often called the Nostradamus of the Balkans. Although she links it to alien contact. So who knows?
Doomsday predictions are not an exact science. There are many prophecies throughout the millennia. For example, Christopher Columbus predicted that the world would end in 1656. As recently as 1954, cult members in Michigan believed that a great flood would occur that year. Only true believers will be alienated. What we have probably missed recently is the prophecy of a South African pastor who said that the end of the world will come on September 24, 2025.
Armageddon, the rapture, the end of days, whatever you want to call it, probably aren’t worth betting on when it will happen. Because if you’re right, the downside is you won’t be able to collect your winnings.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
