The name of Israel’s operation “Rising Lion” is taken right from Bible Prophecy. In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote a portion of Numbers 23:24, the verse where it is taken from, on a note and placed it in the Western Wall while praying there, just hours before the operation started. He wrote, the “people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion.” The name of this operation, should alert the nations to the fact that something far greater is going on, than just another military operation! As much as we are able, we want to determine what the prophetical import of these momentous events are.

Iran was on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons, a development which would have been an existential threat to the nation of Israel. In fact, Israel said they could have assembled in the range of 9 to 15 nuclear bombs within a very short period. An Israeli official quoted by the Telegraph, put the number at 50. The Telegraph quoted an IDF official who said that Israel faces an ‘immediate existential threat’ from Tehran. On the edge of this precipice, Israel was forced to act. Or we should say, the Almighty One of Israel acted.

Zechariah the prophet declared, “...he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."

The returned Jewish people and the state of Israel have been brought about by the hand of the Almighty. If Iran and all the peoples of the region recognized this fact, they would all be much better off.

Netanyahu's note which he placed in the Western Wall reads, the
“people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion.”.

Ezekiel 36 verses 8 to 11 read,

"But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

"For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

"And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:

“And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”

This is the work of the Almighty. “I will…” The existential threat that Iran posed to the regathered Jewish people had to be removed. A t-shirt bought in Jerusalem a few years ago, had the chutzpah to question the future of Iran. The t-shrit lists “Civilizations, nations and empires that tried to destroy the Jewish people.” From Ancient Egypt to Nazi Germany they are marked as gone. Than lastly beside “Iran” there are 3 question marks. At the bottom of the t-shirt it says, “The Jewish People. The smallest of nations but with a friend in the highest places! So Be Nice!” Today Iran is in great danger, because of its threats to annihilate the Jewish people.

The operation is apparently achieving greater success than Israel anticipated. Some of the Nuclear sites have been severely damaged, (though not all); Israeli jets have achieved freedom of action over Iran; nine of the top nuclear scientists who worked on the weapons program have been eliminated, and; many from the top echelon of the regime have been killed. Israel has suffered some blows with Iranian missiles hitting civilian areas and this threat continues.

A t-shirt which used to be available at tourist stores in Israel, may soon need updating!

A Culmination of Events Beyond Israel's Control

The current operation “Rising Lion”, would not have been possible, or would have been much more difficult, with a far greater price paid if the following had not happened first. By recognizing these points, it enables us to more clearly see, God’s hand behind these events.

1. Russia has become bogged down in its war with Ukraine. Iran’s ally and international backer, Russia, is in no position to come to Iran’s aid. There have been reports of powerful Iranian leaders families flying out of Iran to Russia. Beyond that Russia is not currently in a position to offer much assistance. Russia has temporarily been turned back.

2. Iran’s proxy Hezbollah has been decimated in its recent war with Israel. If Hezbollah had the military power, it possessed before October 7th, Israel would be in dire straits. There would be thousands of missiles launched at the state of Israel. So far Hezbollah has done little. Hezbollah was a loaded gun pointing at the head of Israel.

3. The Syrian regime has been removed which supported Iran. Syria is the road to Iran. Israeli jets are utilizing this airspace. The collapse of the Assad regime, made possible partly by the decimation of Hezbollah and the turning back of Russia, made this possible. You may recall after the collapse of the Assad regime, Israel destroyed every piece of Syrian military equipment which they could. That has now cleared the skies of Syria.

4. Other terrorist entities supported by Iran have been weakened or decimated. These include Houthis in Yemen and the Hamas terror organization. While Hamas did not pose an existential threat to Israel, they could certainly have caused a lot of pain as they did on October 7th. However, the group is very weakened and may soon be largely destroyed. The Houthis have been weakened by Israeli and American attacks, which were a result of their foolhardy and useless attacks against the state of Israel and international shipping.

Aside from Russia, this chain of events largely began with the disaster of October 7 and have in many ways been out of Israel’s control. Israel’s hand has been forced to act, one momentous event has led to another, which is bringing about an entirely different Middle East.

The last vestiges of power remaining to the nations threatening Israel, who were carved out of the Ottoman Empire are drying up. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria is a clear example of this. The destruction of Iraq’s nuclear reactor many years ago and subsequent weakening of the nation is another example. It would be appropriate to put the decimation of Hezbollah in this category as well.

Continued Fulfillment of the Drying up of the Euphrates

These events are a continued fulfillment of the sixth vial in Revelation 16.

"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” (Revelation 16:12)

The sixth trumpet in Revelation 9, unleashes the four angels which are bound by the Euphrates. This ultimately resulted in the Turkish flood that brought about the Ottoman Empire. However this power had to be dried up so that the Jews could return. The return of the Jews is part of the preparation of the “kings of the east.”

More literal translations of the New Testament such as Young’s Literal, bring out the special meaning of Revelation 16:12. Rotherham’s translation  reads, “…that the way might be prepared, of the kings who were from the rising of the sun.” This “rising of a sun” is a spiritual idea. Once we recognize this, the passages flow into our mind. Malachi 4:2, "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings…” Matthew 13:43, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Today we are witnessing the continued drying up of these Euphratean powers, this will ultimately lead to the sun of righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ and his saints being introduced into the little kingdom of Judah — the little stone power of Daniel 2 — which will smash the image of the kingdom of men to pieces. In the meantime, these events will lead to peace and prosperity in the Middle East. As we understand, President Trump is itching to proceed with a continuation of the Abraham Accords. This will bring about the situation described by Ezekiel in chapter 38, where the antagonist Gog describes the restored nation of Israel: " I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.”

These events that we are witnessing today, are directly in preparation for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel. This makes these events absolutely  incredible to witness!

Russia Temporarily Turned Back

Russia’s temporary turning back, is an important factor. But we should not think that Russia will not be brought forth at the appropriate time, so that the God of Israel can be magnified in the eyes of all the nations. In fact in Elpis Israel, John Thomas believed that Russia would possess Persia or Iran just subsequent to their destruction. He wrote,

“…it is worthy of remark here with reference to the image at the crisis of its fate, that the power which shall possess Persia in the latter days will the the Bear, and consequently answer to the breast of silver. We have already in the heraldry of the nations an intimation of the power destined to act the part of the bear, when the Four Beasts have “their dominion taken away.” This power is the Russian whose symbol is a Bear. This is so well known, that the phrase “the Russian Bear” is as familiar as household words. Russia, which already comprehends some of the Persian territory in its bounds, is destined to conquer Persia, and to possess it from India to Ethiopia. This is not conjecture, but an absolute certainty; for God has declared by Ezekiel, that Persia in the latter days shall be a constituent of the dominion of Gog: and, that Gog is the autocratic dynasty of Russia will be seen when we come to treat of that prophecy in its proper place."

When Russia, known in Ezekiel 38 as Gog, the prince of Rosh, reaches the height of its power, the three ribs of Persia, Ethiopia and Libya will be in its mouth. This could be after the return of the Lord Jesus to judge his household, but before his manifestation with power to the world.

Rising Lion!

The Israeli military operation is called “rising lion”, a name taken from Bible prophecy. This is not a coincidence. The name of the operation “rising lion” is a witness to Bible truth. It draws the attention of the people of Israel, to the word of the God of Israel, it places before the nations a prophecy of the latter days.

In Numbers 24, "Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.”

From this mountain in Moab looking down upon the tents of Israel clustered around the tabernacle, who were on the verge of entering the promised land under Joshua, Balaam under the spirit of God, prophesied concerning them, and said,

"As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.

"He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

"God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

"He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.”

These words have a direct application to the Ayatollahs and anyone else that would curse God’s people — "cursed is he that curseth thee.” But who will stir up the Lion of Judah?

John Thomas commented on this prophecy in his work Eureka and applied it to the latter days. Little did he know, many years later the President of Israel would name a military operation from this verse, and write it on a note and put it in the Western Wall in the restored city of Jerusalem. He wrote:

“This standing up of Israel upon their feet is the political resurrection predicted by Balaam, and recorded by Moses in Number 23:24, saying, “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. His King shall be higher than Agag (or Gog), and his kingdom shall be exalted. AIL brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath, as it were the strength of an unicorn; He shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows” (ch. 27:7,8)

“When all the necessary preparations shall have been completed, the time will have arrived for the Star of Jacob to set these forces into motion, for the purpose of “destroying him that remaineth of the city…”

So it is the “Star of Jacob” mentioned by Balaam when he takes up his prophecy the next time, that is to put the great lion into motion, to raise him up. This is confirmed by Jacob’s blessings to his sons, at the end of his life, when he informed them of what would happen in the last days. To Judah he said,

"Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

So it is Shiloh, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who will raise up the Lion of Judah. This operation “Rising Lion” is certainly momentous, but it will be nothing in comparison to the operation “Rising Lion”, when the old great Lion of Judah is raised up by the Messiah. In fact, that work of raising up Judah has been going on for well over 100 years, they have been brought forth out of the nations and now dwell upon the mountains of Israel, just waiting for the day when they will be raised up to invincible power, by Shiloh, the Star of Jacob. We could say, this operation “Rising Lion” is a herald of the much greater operation, “Rising Lion” to be performed by the Star of Jacob! May that day soon come!

Come back next week, God willing to www.bibleinthenews.com as we continue to examine these exciting times in the light of the word of God. Thanks for listening.