From Jewish street-corner preachers, to Christian high-ranking officials, many believe the conflict has been prophesized

The war between Israel, the US and Iran is raging. Throughout these days I'm woken to the sounds of emergency alerts on my phone, air raid sirens ringing, or the boom-boom in the skies above me as missiles are being intercepted. I have this song by the band REM looping in my head. You know the one. It goes, "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine." Yes, a classic.

As it's playing non-stop in my mind, I'm accosted while walking on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem. A guy invites me to look at the art in his gallery, but within minutes starts to tell me how this war was prophesized. His eyes wide as he says he "has to tell me the truth." His sheer self-belief in what he's saying strikes me, and like any journalist who loves to go down a rabbit hole, I head home, fire up the laptop and wow... what a rabbit hole indeed.

You only have to type in the words, 'Iran war Israel prophecy' and the results come flooding in. There is a whole section of the internet dedicated to how the war unfolding between Israel, the US and Iran is fulfilling an ancient Biblical prophecy. The Book of Revelation is airing. Get your popcorn out.

But let's start back on February 28, when Israel and the US launched what they described as 'pre-emptive attacks on Iran'. Israel's prime minister took to the airwaves to explain why. Weaved 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 stated:

"Two and a half thousand years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant rose against us with the very same goal: to destroy our people completely. But Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther, through their courage and resourcefulness, saved our people. In those days of Purim, the lot fell, and the wicked Haman fell with it.... Today as well, on Purim, the lot has fallen, and the evil regime's end will also come."

In that story, Esther, who hides her Jewish identity, marries the king of Persia. Haman, a court official, persuades the king to obliterate a 'rebellious people' in the empire. You can read Jews here. Esther risks her own life, revealing she is Jewish to the king and Haman's plot. Haman is killed and Jews are given the right to defend themselves.

Purim, which celebrates this, has now essentially become the Jewish Halloween. Kids dress up in costume and a lot of fun is had. This war with Iran is being dressed up as a modern Purim, though fun is not being had. In anopinion piecein the Jerusalem Post, Donald Trump is described as being a modern day Achashverosh, that Persian king, writing:

"They are lovers of power - and beautiful women - and both ultimately granted the Jews a free hand in attacking the enemy with devastating force."

The author continues:

"With God's continuing helping hand, we will triumph in this latest, most consequential battle, and we shall bring to our people and to the world at large Purim's prophetic promise: light and gladness, hope and joy."

Light, gladness, hope and joy. These are also things Christians believe will be brought to the world during the Second Coming of the Messiah. Jews are still waiting for the First Coming.

Dr. Erez Soref, a self-proclaimed Messianic Jew, dedicates an entirevideoto how Yeshua (Jesus) and his coming is the only way there can be lasting peace on earth. With conviction he states:

"I believe that God has positioned us for such a time as this."

He also references the Book of Esther. "Another drama unfolding with the same players - The Jewish people and the violent madmen in the leadership of the Persian/Iranian people... No small thing that this has happened around Purim,' he says. Adding, 'Just as in Ester's day we may be living in a defining hour of history."

That defining moment is, I understood, that Jesus is about to arrive and save us all. Well, perhaps not all.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff wants to look at this conflict through the lens of the Prophets. He alsotalksabout Jewish people finding themselves in Paras (Hebrew for Persia or modern-day Iran). He says:

"We're seeing the fall of Paras... and this is the final pulldown of that regime who now represent all of the evil of Gog and Magog in the world today."

Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff also states:

'[T]hen we are going to see a nine-month period, where there is going to be great success in the Roman world [The West] and finally their power is going to reduce and the Jewish people are going to celebrate at the coming of the Messiah.'

The good rabbi is explicit enough to link this to the war unfolding now. If his calculations are correct, set your clock for Doomsday to be nine months later. Why nine months? That's the time it will take for the Messiah to be born. He also makes a reference to the Book of Ezekiel, one of the major prophetic books of the Tanakh and Christian Bible.

Very specifically, he talks about Gog and Magog, mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39. The rough outline of this passage is that a restored Israel will be invaded by a coalition of nations, but that Israel will ultimately win out. Though from how things are unfolding, it is more likely that Iran will be the country invaded... but let's ignore this rather inconvenient element.

Pastor Greg Laurie also picks up on this theme on his YouTube channel. He talks about eschatology. This is the part of theology concerned with the end of history...or days, if you want to be simplistic about it.

Pastor Laurieexplainsthere's a Muslim Messiah too. He brings out an image where the Muslim Messiah is "entering a burning gate, is this meant to be Jerusalem? I don't know," he says, "But he's surrounded by modern soldiers... the fire raining down from above may represent divine wrath from Allah or it may represent missiles being fired from Iran towards Israel."

He then delves into a passage from Ezekiel and outlines how Gog is Iran and he suggests Magog is... you guessed it, Russia!

"So when we see Russia stepping into a conflict with Iran and Israel, we have to pay attention... Persia or Iran marches with Magog and if Magog is Russia, that's something to pay attention to. We are seeing things play out today that the Bible predicted thousands of years ago."

While you might be able to write these guys off as loons off their medication, it's pretty clear this idea that we are entering the end of days is rather more widespread than that. One US solider reported his commander to the troops that the war with Iran was, "[A]ll part of God's divine plan." The soldier continues that this commander made numerous references to the Book of Revelation which predicts Armageddon and the Second Coming, saying US President Donald Trump "has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth."

This is pretty heavy stuff. If true, the commander is basically saying, "Go die boys, as your sacrifice will be rewarded and soon you'll be resurrected."

In Christian Eschatology, many evangelical and Christian Zionists believe there's another step that's needed to help Armageddon on its way - the building of the Third Temple. This would need to be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It's crucial for some, as both Daniel (yes, of the Lions' Den) and Jesus say an anti-messiah will defile this Temple before the rapture.

Right now, there is no Third Temple. But Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, is highly supportive of one being built. Back on a visit to Jerusalem in 2018, when he was just a Fox News contributor, he wastalkingabout miracles:

"It got me thinking about another miracle that I hope all of you don't see too far away. 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's no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of the Temple on the Temple Mount is not possible."

Those dates are all significant: 1917, Balfour Declaration, a public pledge by the British Government to support the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine; 1948, the birth of Israel; 1967, the Six-Day War that saw Israel extend its territories; 2017, the first Trump administration moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing it as the capital of Israel. Will 2026 see the rebuilding of the Third Temple?

Hegseth was almost predicting it when he went on to say, "Buy the ticket. Take your action. Do what needs to be done here in Israel because I truly believe this is a moment where America will have your back." Eight years later and America does have 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 that would hasten that construction project. The Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF), which advocates for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, to give it its Biblical name, is a fan of Huckabee. As Huckabee waited for his confirmation hearing to become Ambassador in 2025, the IHF escorted him as he prayed at the Ohel.

That's important as it's where Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson is buried. The rabbi is credited with transforming the Hasidic group (Eastern European Orthodox Jews) into one of the most influential movements in religious Jewry. Rebuilding the Third Temple on the Temple Mount, which, by the way, is the Al-Aqsa compound, is one of their core, most sacred beliefs. It traditionally expected to happen with the arrival of... you guessed it, the Messiah.

In the maze of articles and videos online, it's clear to see that many people are not just buying into the idea that the world is about to end, they are welcoming it. According to some, World War Three was already predicted to start in 2026. Bulgaria's blind psychic, Baba Vanga, very well-known in the post-Soviet space and often referred to as the Nostradamus of the Balkans, said so. Although she also linked it to aliens making contact. So who knows?

Doomsday predictions aren't an exact science. Over the millennia there have been many predictions. For example, Christopher Columbus predicted the world would end in 1656. More recently, in 1954, members of a cult in Michigan believed there was going to be a great flood that year. Only true believers would be whisked away, by aliens. The one we perhaps most recently dodged was a prediction of a South African pastor, who claimed the end of the world would come on September 24, 2025.

Armageddon, Rapture, the End of Days, whatever you want to call it, it's probably not worth betting on when it will happen. Because if you are right, the downside is you'll not be able to collect your winnings.

(RT.com)