The Mid-East Fuse Has Been Lit
By Hal Lindsey
Iran’s promised attack on Israel arrived Friday, April 12th. The world now holds its breath, fearful that an Israeli reprisal will keep that volatile region spiraling toward a greater war. I believe Bible prophecy indicates that the present conflict will not immediately turn into the global conflagration which so many now fear. But it is part of a pattern that will eventually lead to Armageddon.
Before Friday’s attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media, “If Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran.” Iran did exactly what it was warned against. Instead of using its proxies in the region, Iran hit Israel with a massive attack, almost all of which clearly emanated from Iran.
How could they have turned to groups like the Houthis in Yemen to fight for them? The whole point was to try and save face. The Houthis are among the most impoverished people on earth. But they are also Shiite Muslims and funded by Iran. They take their orders from the Ayatollah. They can’t adequately feed their own people, but Iran sends them expensive and sophisticated ballistic missiles which can reach all the way across the vast territory of Saudi Arabia and Jordan and into Israel. If Iran had relied primarily on the poor Houthis and other subordinate Shiite groups to take revenge on Israel, Iran would have seemed afraid to stand up for itself.
The United States and other allies of Israel helped shoot down the barrage of drones and missiles coming out of Iran. President Biden supported Israel’s defensive action, but says he will not support Israel in any kind of military retaliation against Iran. He wants Israel to ignore the fact that Iran just sent over 300 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones from its own territory directly into Israel.
Ironically, the US told Iran that if it attacks the United States in any way, we will retaliate. Why the double standard? Because if Israel attacks Iran the way Iran attacked Israel, Israel would do it successfully, inflicting massive damage on Iran. They might take advantage of the opportunity and destroy as much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure as possible. In response, Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy, might join Iran in launching a massive missile attack on Israel. This could mean, not just hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of missiles striking Israel, many from Hezbollah territory in nearby Lebanon.
The growing US presence in the region helped Israel quell the Friday attack, but it made those US assets targets. Should the Shiite coalition successfully strike the US military, it would require a US military response. Would that trigger Iran’s alliances with nuclear powers China and/or Russia? Their involvement could then trigger NATO’s Article 5 and turn the present Middle East conflict into the next World War.
That is why the President is afraid. That’s why world leaders are holding their breaths.
But Ezekiel 38 indicates that both Iran and Israel will be alive and well for the future war it describes. Verse 11 says that Israel will at that time be a “land of unwalled villages.” It says the people there will be “at rest” and “live securely.” That does not describe Israel today, but sounds like the time after Antichrist’s peace treaty with Israel — the treaty which kicks off the seven-year tribulation.
I do not believe the present conflict will immediately escalate into a global conflagration. But it does seem to be part of the general buildup in that direction. The fear and loathing now being experienced by the world’s nations is a fuse that has been lit. It will eventually make them desperate enough to facilitate the rise of Antichrist.
