before the missiles before the nuclear tension before the world ever heard the name iran the bible had already spoken what if i told you that the rising hostility between israel and iran is not just the product of modern politics but part of a divine storyline written thousands of years ago a story that began not with governments but with two brothers and that will end with a global collision unlike anything the world has seen in today's world it's easy to label this conflict as geopolitical but what if something deeper is unfolding beneath the surface what if the bible didn't just predict this tension what if it named the players described the alliances and even revealed how it all ends welcome to a spiritual war disguised as politics the nation we know today as iran once bore another name in the scriptures persia and what you're about to discover is that persia far from being a footnote is a central character in god's prophetic timeline from kings who liberated jerusalem to prophecies of a final war persia's journey through the pages of the bible is nothing short of astonishing but somewhere along the way something shifted persia went from being god's instrument to standing in opposition to his covenant and today that ancient empire reborn as the islamic republic of iran openly declares its hatred of israel funds terror around her borders and promises her destruction but none of this is a surprise to scripture in fact it was foretold in just a moment we'll uncover a prophecy from ezekiel chapter 38 one that names persia and places it at the heart of the final conflict against israel we'll revisit the rise of cyrus the great the courage of queen esther the exile in babylon and the visions of daniel all leading to what many believe could be unfolding before our eyes this is not just another war this is israel versus iran the prophetic war no one expected and if you think this is only about territory what's coming next may change the way you see the end times forever to understand why israel and iran stand on opposite sides of prophecy we have to go back far beyond modern borders and broken treaties we have to return to a moment that shaped the destiny of nations a moment when one man had two sons abraham chosen by god he was promised not only descendants but a land a covenant that would stretch across generations but long before that promise was fulfilled through isaac abraham had another son a firstborn a child of desperation and human timing his name was ishmael born to hagar an egyptian servant ishmael was deeply loved by his father but god made it clear the covenant would pass through isaac the child of promise not of haste as we read in genesis 17- 21 god says "i will establish my covenant with isaac but as for ishmael i have heard you i will surely bless him and make him into a great nation two sons two destinies one chosen for the covenant one promised greatness but from a distance and from these sons came two lineages isaac's descendants became the israelites ishmaels would form many of the arab tribes including those that trace their legacy to modern-day islamic nations but there's more in genesis 10:2 we're introduced to the descendants of japheth noah's eldest son among them is madai the forefather of the mes his people would eventually merge with another tribe the persians together they would form one of the most powerful empires the world had ever seen the meadow persian empire the ancient root of what we now call iran so now layer by layer the spiritual and ancestral puzzle becomes clear israel and iran are not just neighbors divided by ideology they are descendants of two prophetic lines one born from a divine promise the other blessed yet set apart watching from the edges of the covenant but here's what most people miss both lines were seen by god both were included in his divine architecture and both in different ways would shape redemptive history the descendants of isaac would carry the promise the descendants of ishmael and japheth including persia would test it and that tension written into the very dna of these nations would not end in the wilderness it would echo across empires and one day converge again in prophecy because the story doesn't stop with abraham it was only the beginning when we hear the name iran today we think of nuclear threats militant regimes and bitter enmity with israel but long before iran became a modern adversary persia its ancient identity played a stunning and redemptive role in the story of god's people it begins with exile in 586 bc jerusalem was destroyed by the babylonian king nebuchadnezzar the temple the house of god was reduced to ashes the people of judah were dragged into captivity mourning what felt like the end of the covenant but through the prophet jeremiah god had already declared that this exile would not be forever in jeremiah 29:10 the lord promised "when 70 years are completed for babylon i will come to you and fulfill my good promise and bring you back to this place." then came a king who didn't know god but was called by name cyrus the great more than 150 years before cyrus was even born the prophet isaiah spoke of him with astonishing specificity in isaiah 44 28 god says "cyrus is my shepherd and will accomplish all that i please." and in chapter 45:1 he calls this pagan king his anointed not a priest not a prophet not an israelite yet anointed cyrus would rise to power as the leader of the persian empire and conquer babylon the very kingdom that had enslaved god's people but instead of tightening his grip he would do something unthinkable he would set the jewish people free the opening verses of the book of ezra record his decree the lord the god of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at jerusalem in judah that's ezra 1:2 through cyrus the people returned the temple was rebuilt the heart of worship was restored persia this foreign empire outside of god's covenant had become a vessel of divine restoration and that's the paradox the same nation that today threatens israel's very existence once stood as its liberator but here's the deeper truth god's sovereignty is never bound by geography or genealogy he raises up kings and casts them down he uses empires even pagan ones to fulfill his purposes because the story of redemption has always been bigger than any single nation persia's rise wasn't an accident it was a fulfillment and cyrus wasn't just a conqueror he was a prophetic instrument written into the divine script long before his sword ever rose what does that mean for us today it means that even our enemies can become messengers that god's plans are not threatened by political shifts and that no matter how dark things appear he's still writing the story but persia's story doesn't end with cyrus because the next generation would face a far more sinister plot and this time it wouldn't be about liberation but annihilation the glory of persia didn't fade after cyrus the empire expanded its rulers grew bolder and jerusalem remained under its shadow but within its walls another divine plot was unfolding one that would once again determine the fate of god's people this time it wasn't about freedom it was about survival enter the reign of king xerxes i also known in scripture as aasweras his empire stretched from india to ethiopia power opulence and political intrigue filled his courts and unknown to him tucked behind the golden doors of his palace lived a young jewish woman with a hidden identity and a divine appointment her name was esther she had no pedigree no throne no sword and yet she would carry the weight of an entire nation on her shoulders the threat came in the form of hmon a highranking official in the persian court his hatred for the jewish people ran deep and he convinced the king to issue a decree on a chosen day all jews in the empire were to be annihilated it was legal it was sealed and it was irreversible but divine providence was already at work esther chosen as queen was strategically placed for such a time her cousin morai pleaded with her not to remain silent in esther 4:14 he speaks the words that still echo today and who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this with fear in her heart and faith in her god esther approached the king risking her life she revealed the truth her identity her people and hmon's plot the king was enraged hmon was executed and a new decree was issued the jews could defend themselves what followed was not just political reversal it was spiritual preservation esther didn't just save her people from destruction she reminded them and us that even in exile even under foreign rule even when surrounded by enemies god is not silent the entire empire had been orchestrated to give one young woman a voice because that voice would carry the sound of deliverance and persia again became the stage for god's intervention but this deliverance came with a shadow a reminder that under persia's blessing also lived the seed of threat that what once served as refuge could also become a future battleground because the next time persia would rise it wouldn't come with a royal decree to build or protect it would come with missiles hatred and a promise to erase israel from the earth and the bible it saw it coming the story of persia once shimmerred with divine purpose a nation that liberated god's people rebuilt his temple and protected israel from destruction but history is not static and prophecy always moves forward somewhere along the winding road of time persia changed and what god once used as a shield has now become a sword the fall of the persian empire gave way to centuries of conquest from the greeks to the arabs from the mongols to the ottomans the land once ruled by cyrus was reshaped over and over again but something significant happened in 1979 something that would mark the return not of a biblical ally but of a modern adversary the islamic revolution led by ayatollah ruhalla kmeni the revolution overthrew iran's westernbacked monarchy and replaced it with a strict theocratic regime rooted in shiite islam from that moment on the new islamic republic of iran declared its mission not only as a nation but as a spiritual force and at the center of its ideology stood one target israel to iran's ruling clerics israel is not just a political rival it is seen as an impostor a foreign body planted in what they believe should be islamic land iran does not merely oppose israeli policy it denies israel's right to exist this isn't theoretical it's written into iran's constitution it's echoed in the chance of its leaders death to israel and it's funded through billions in weapons support for terrorist groups like hezbollah and hamas and nuclear ambitions that the world watches with rising fear what began as persia's divine alignment has turned into iran's spiritual rebellion but we shouldn't be surprised because the bible didn't just record persia's role in israel's restoration it also foretold persia's role in its future opposition the shift from ally to adversary isn't just historical it's prophetic because the iran we see today is not a random regime it is the reawakening of a spirit that prophecy already placed in motion the question we must ask is not how iran became israel's enemy but why god would allow such a reversal and here lies a sobering truth sometimes the very nations god once used are allowed to rise again not as protectors but as instruments of judgment of testing of fulfillment we often think of prophecy as something yet to come but what if we're already living in the shadow of its unfolding because iran ancient persia is about to reenter the pages of prophecy and its next appearance will not be about liberation it will be about war long before there was an iran before the islamic republic before rockets militias and nuclear fears the prophet ezekiel was shown a vision and in that vision persia was named ezekiel 38 is one of the most mysterious and debated prophecies in the entire bible it speaks of a future time a day when a coalition of nations will rise up to invade the land of israel not for politics not for economics but to fulfill something far more ancient a spiritual confrontation against god's chosen people and at the center of that coalition persia in ezekiel 38:5 the prophecy lists the nations persia kush and put will be with them all with shields and helmets persia modern-day iran is the first name mentioned but who is leading this coalition the chapter begins with a strange and cryptic figure gog from the land of marog the chief prince of meek and tubal while scholars differ on gog's exact identity many believe mog points to the region north of israel often associated with parts of russia or areas of modern-day central asia together with persia kush sudan or ethiopia put libya and other allies these nations form a military alliance that will descend upon israel in the latter days but this is not just a war of men in ezekiel 38:10-11 the prophet writes "this is what the sovereign lord says on that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme you will say i will invade a land of unwalled villages a peaceful and unsuspecting people." it's not just an attack it's an illusion of power a moment when the nations believe they can finally erase israel from the map sound familiar today iran publicly funds groups that surround israel from the north and south it arms hezbollah in lebanon it supports militias in syria and gaza it builds alliances with nations that just like in ezekiel's vision share one goal the removal of israel from the region but ezekiel's prophecy does not end with israel's defeat it ends with god's fury in ezekiel 38:8-23 the lord says "my hot anger will be aroused i will execute judgment with plague and bloodshed torrents of rain hailstones and burning sulfur and then he adds i will show my greatness and my holiness and i will make myself known in the sight of many nations then they will know that i am the lord this is not just military retaliation it is divine justice god allows the nations to gather not because israel is weak but because he wants the world to witness what happens when you rise against his covenant and persia iran will be there so now we must ask ourselves is what we're seeing today a setup is iran's hatred its alliances its military reach all part of a countdown already written in scripture because ezekiel didn't just describe a war he described a turning point a moment when god himself intervenes not through policy not through negotiation but through power and as the pieces move into place we're forced to consider what if we're watching the beginning of ezekiel's vision unfold in real time if the war described in ezekiel 38 is the ignition then the spark that sets the world ablaze may be a city not just any city but jerusalem it's more than a capital it's more than sacred ground it is the heartbeat of prophecy and the target of the nations throughout history many armies have marched toward jerusalem but the bible is clear the final battle won't be waged over oil or territory it will be over the throne of god's redemptive plan and scripture tells us exactly where this will happen in zechariah 14:4 the prophet speaks of a climactic moment on that day his feet will stand on the mount of olives east of jerusalem and the mount of olives will be split in two from east to west this is not symbolic it's geographical the mount of olives the very place jesus ascended from will be the place where he returns to confront the armies gathered against israel and who are those armies the same coalition we saw in ezekiel persia gog and their allies nations filled with hatred for israel nations that surround her today iran has not been subtle about its desire its leaders have openly vowed to liberate jerusalem they refer to israel as the little satan they sponsor terror not only in the name of politics but in the name of religion but what they fail to see is that jerusalem does not belong to them or to israel alone it belongs to the one who placed his name upon it in 2 chronicles 6:6 god declares "but now i have chosen jerusalem for my name to be there and i have chosen david to rule my people israel." and if god chose it then no nation can take it the mount of olives isn't just a location it is the line between kingdoms between what man wants and what god has ordained so when the world's attention turns again to jerusalem when iran's proxies tighten their grip and missiles fly we must remember this is not new its fulfillment and the final word will not be spoken by nations it will be spoken by the returning king not every war is visible not every battlefield has borders what we see unfolding between israel and iran today the threats the weapons the alliances is only part of the story because behind every earthly empire there are unseen powers at work and scripture opens that curtain for us in daniel chapter 10 the prophet is visited by an angel who reveals something astonishing for 21 days he was delayed not by a man but by a prince of persia not a physical king but a spiritual being a demonic authority operating behind the persian empire and if there was a prince of persia then who rules behind iran today the bible makes it clear nations are not only shaped by politics and culture they are influenced by spiritual forces as paul wrote in ephesians 6:12 "for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against rulers against the authorities against the powers of this dark world." iran's war against israel is not just driven by ideology it's empowered by something older something darker the hatred of israel has spiritual roots because israel is not just a nation it is a testimony of god's faithfulness a sign that his promises endure and for satan there is no greater threat than a covenant still standing that's why iran's fury burns so relentlessly because the existence of israel is a reminder of the god who cannot be overthrown and this leads us to a chilling reality one we cannot ignore in 1 john 2:18 scripture warns us of the spirit of antichrist a force that denies the father and the son that opposes christ's kingdom and persecutes his people this spirit does not only rise in the last days it is already at work it manifests in systems ideologies and yes even nations that rage against the things of god iran's mission to destroy israel is more than a political ambition it is a reflection of this spirit a demonic hatred aimed at erasing the visible evidence of god's covenant on earth but here's what hell forgets every arrow aimed at israel is ultimately aimed at god's character and every attempt to curse what god has blessed will backfire because god's purposes are not fragile they are fire tested and though spiritual war rages the outcome is already sealed so as we watch the conflict escalate as iran draws closer to israel's borders and the drums of war grow louder don't just see nations see the battle behind the battle because the war you're witnessing is not just physical it's prophetic it's spiritual and it's already been seen by the eyes of heaven it's easy to watch global conflict from a distance to scroll past headlines and think that's over there but if what we've seen is true if this isn't just war but prophecy unfolding then the church is not called to be an observer we are called to stand not with weapons not with rage but with clarity conviction and prayer the church was born in jerusalem it was in that city that the holy spirit came down like fire and it is toward that same city that prophecy turns once more this is not the time for the body of christ to be distracted divided or asleep in psalm 122:6 we're commanded "pray for the peace of jerusalem may those who love you be secure." not as a political gesture but as an act of obedience because praying for jerusalem is praying for the fulfillment of god's covenant for the return of the king and for the protection of his people but the church's role is more than prayer it is discernment we cannot afford to view the israel iran conflict as just another news cycle behind every headline is a spiritual tremor and behind every tremor is a signal that we are moving closer to the moment when the skies will split and the true king will return the church must wake up we must be the voice that reminds the world this isn't chaos this is convergence and while the world prepares for war we prepare for the coming of the lord so ask yourself are we watching with our eyes open or have we grown numb lulled by comfort and noise because the signs are not hiding anymore and the church cannot either the war between israel and iran isn't just beginning it's been building for generations not merely in military bunkers or political chambers but in the pages of scripture where nations rise empires fall and prophecy whispers of the final clash we've seen how persia once served god's purpose how a pagan king named cyrus became the hand of restoration we've watched as that same land now called iran turned from ally to adversary funding violence and speaking curses over israel we've traced the thread through ezekiel's vision through daniel's warfare through esther's courage and the mount of olives and still it's not over because this isn't a story about iran or israel alone it's a story about god's covenant a covenant that cannot be broken a promise that will not be erased a plan that will not bow to the rage of nations in psalm 2 the scriptures ask "why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" and the answer comes quickly the one enthroned in heaven laughs the lord scoffs at them because no matter how loud the world becomes god's purposes remain yes iran may rise yes israel may be surrounded yes the days ahead may shake the earth but the outcome was never in question in the end every war will end every regime will fall and there will be one king left standing not elected not overthrown not feared by his enemies but worshiped by all creation so as we close let me ask you are you watching the signs are you discerning the season are you ready if this journey opened your eyes to the prophetic hour we're living in if you felt the weight of what's unfolding i invite you to join us subscribe to this channel share this video and above all pray because the war may be written but the way we respond is still being written today [Music]