The Straits of Hormuz Open (Or Not)

On Friday, the Iranian foreign minister has announced that the straits of Hormuz are now open for the rest of the ceasefire. This led oil prices to drop by around 10% although its very early days to tell whether or not this situation will last. The US’s blockade of all Iranian ports remained in place, until (as Trump has posted) the “transaction with Iran is 100% complete”. A few ships have been crossing the strait, although Trump and the Iranians seem to have different ideas about the agreement that has been reached. Iran’s seeming concession on opening the straits has very likely came because of pressure from China. Between 30-50% of China’s crude oil imports pas through this crucial choke hold. Trump’s naval blockade has meant that now, even Iran’s friends have not been able to use the straits. Therefore, the Chinese almost certainly would have been piling on the pressure to open the straits. Today (Saturday), Iran announced that it has closed the straits again, because of Trump’s refusal to remove the American naval blockade. The war in Iran is very uncertain and no one knows how it will play out over the next few weeks and longer. Bible prophecy is not there so we can try and read the tea leaves of everything that happens in the world, and predict what will happen next. However, the prophets of the Bible were inspired to record the story of God’s purpose with his people, the nation of Israel. Since the dawn of civilisation, God has been outworking his purpose with his people and shaping them to become a righteous nation in the Kingdom Age. The Bible portrays this journey in the terms of Rome verses Jerusalem - which is often called the framework of Bible prophecy. And as part of this beautiful story, we also find prophecies about Israel’s restoration in the latter days, the Battle of Armageddon, and restoration of the Kingdom to Israel when Jesus returns. While we don’t know how the war in Iran will play out exactly, we do know that we are living in the era defined in the Bible as “the latter days” - which is the time when God’s people are back in the land. The war in Iran may well have huge implications for the way that God is aligning the nations to gather them against his people, Israel, in the time of the end. 

Here are three ways that this conflict could be bringing us closer to the return of Christ:

1. Peace on the Mountains of Israel: Famously, Ezekiel 38 describes situation of peace on the mountains of Israel. Specifically, this means that the settlements in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) must reach a situation of peace. Over the last few decades, the main force stopping Israel reaching peace on the mountains was IRAN! They have funded all of Israel’s enemies in the region, giving them the resources to continue their war on God’s people. While Iran was belligerently funding Hezbollah and Hamas, among others, it seemed virtually impossible that this situation of peace could arise. The Bible does not tell us the state or condition of Iran at the time of end. Maybe there will be a Shia muslim regime in Iran, maybe not. Maybe it will descend into chaos, or failed state, maybe they will regain some stability - we don’t know. But it has to be significant, that the main obstacle to peace on the mountains of Israel, seems to have been taken out of the way. Even though it seems like everything is in chaos right now, Israel could well be within touching distance of securing peace on the mountains of Israel and in the wider region as well. 
2. The death of NATO: As discussed on Bible in the News last week, this war seems to be having pretty dire consequences for the NATO alliance. In fact, many commentators seem to be making the case that NATO is dead already in everything but name. Scripture describes the battle of Armageddon as a gathering of nations against the Jewish people  in their land. This gathering is a coalition made up of Rosh, in the uttermost parts of the north, speaking of Russia, along with Gomer and Magog among others. Gomer and Magog represent the land mass of Europe. For Russia and Europe to be allied against Israel and the merchants of Tarshish means that an alliance between Europe and America (one of the young lions of Tarshish) can’t functionally exist at the time of the end. We should expect to see a distance between America and the nations of Europe. There is more depth to this picture as well - the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation describe the Eastern and Western legs of the Roman Empire coming together in the time of the end. The legacy western half of the Roman Empire can be seen in the nations making up Catholic Europe. The legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), originally found in Constantinople, or Istanbul, migrated to Russia - Moscow, which is often called “the third Rome”. Armageddon happens when the Roman Empire breathes with both its lungs once again. For this to happen, the NATO alliance must crumble. This week has been a bad week for NATO. This is what Trump posted yesterday:“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I  TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger! President DJT”.  One day, the NATO alliance will fall. 
3. America’s Antisemitism: Right now, on the surface of things, it looks like the alliance  between America and Israel could be at its strongest point in history. Israeli and American fighter pilots have been flying together. They have prosecuted a joint war on their enemies. But underneath the surface, the picture is much more disturbing. After the Gaza war, support for Israel has dropped significantly. And since the war with Iran began, its fallen off a cliff. The Whitehouse seems to be unable to shake the impression that the US entered this war because of Israel. A large proportion of the public seem to think that this war is in Israel’s interest rather than America’s. While Israel and America are strong allies right now, this may not be the case in the future. This might be last time that Israel can count of America to help them in times of trouble. The pressure for Israel to stop using American Aid money is also growing. Ezekiel 38 describes a situation where the merchants of Tarshish and her young lions do not actively get involved stopping the other nations attack Israel. They merely watch from the sidelines. The merchants of Tarshish and her young lions are often thought to be Britain, the Commonwealth nations and the US. The attitude described in the prophets would fit very well with the growth of an America first, Isolationist foreign policy in America that is very suspicious of the nation of Israel. Also, America is still one of the most pro-Israel nations on the planet. If Antisemitism is growing in America, what does that mean for the rest of the world. Israel is nation that dwells alone - that is becoming more true all the time. 

Trump VS the Pope!

Another thing that happened this week was the Trump’s twitter battle with the Pope. While in some ways, this was relatively innocuous in the grand scheme of things, it could well be a symptom of something deeper. An understanding of the Roman Catholic Church is Bible Prophecy is fundamental. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he sees a statue which was made up of different metals, which became prophecy of the powers who would rule over the ‘kingdom of men’ throughout history. The Iron legs were are prophecy of the might of the Roman Empire, that would be split into two centres, in the East and West. The Iron is also present in the feet - which were made up of iron and clay. The feet are only destroyed when Jesus returns - the stone of the kingdom of Israel which hits the image. Therefore, in the latter days, there is an element of our world that is made up of the Iron of ancient Rome. Where do we find Rome in the world today? The same is true in Daniel’s vision of the beasts in Daniel 7. Daniel sees four beasts, one after the other, which correspond to the metals in Nebuchadnezzar’s image, earlier in the book. The fourth beast  - “great and terrible” is a prophecy of the Roman Empire. This beast survives UNTIL Jesus returns to destroy it. Therefore, there is an element of the Roman Empire in our world today. The book of Revelation expands on this same principle even further. The heir of the Roman Empire has been seen throughout the last two thousand years of history, in the nations of Europe and their religious system - the Roman Catholic Church. Catholicism (and a shared Roman Heritage) is the glue that holds Europe together  - that’s why Britain were never really part of that, since their heritage is Protestant. Bible Prophecy demands that there be an aspect of Rome that is still alive in the latter days. This means that the Roman Catholic system, according to the Bible, is a fundamentally malevolent and antisemitic force in the world. This is not a criticism of individual Catholics, but saying that the system as a whole and its leadership represent part of the kingdom of men which has been at war with God’s people (both natural and spiritual) for generations.  This can be seen through Pope Leo’s attitude towards Israel. He has accused Israel of “Barbarity” in Gaza. In fact, the very existence of Israel is at odds with Catholic theology, which sees no place for the ingathering of the exiles in their interpretation of the bible. 

This week Trump posted saying that the pope is “WEAK on crime and terrible for foreign policy…I don’t want a Pope who thinks its OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”. The Pope responded in kind by implying that Trump was a tyrant who spends billions on wars. This seems slightly ironic, coming form the leader of a religious system that brought absolutist tyranny to Europe for centuries and burnt people at the stake for translating the Bible into English. 

But regardless of the ins and outs of the slight petty feud, the important thing is that it makes sense that there should be tension between the Catholic Church and one of the young lions of Tarshish. These are two fundamentally different powers, who, in the end will be divided, when Catholic Europe one day moves to join the gathering of nations who attack Israel in their land. 

Israel keeps building settlements

Finally, as chaos reigns around the world, the settlements in Judea and Samaria are continuing to be built. Ezekiel 34 - 39 are a series of parallel prophecies that all provide different information on the ingathering of the exiles and restoration of the Jewish people. Chapter 36 says says that God will multiply men in the mountains of Israel (Judea and Samaria). The mountains will be “tilled and sown”, and the ancient wastes will be builded. We can forget what a privilege it is to be living a world where this is happening in front of our eyes. Last week, the government approved a record 34 new settlements - some are brand new settlements to built, others are ones that are being retroactively legalised. For context, in the 30 years between the Oslo accords (1993) and the start of the current government (2022), six new settlements were formally approved. So far, since 2022, 103 settlements have received approval. This is a huge increase - Each settlement is a witness to the truth of prophecy and mercy of God in allowing his people to return home.A map published by i24 news shows that these settlements spread right throughout the mountains of Israel. While the war in Iran rages, the settlements keep on being built on the mountains of Israel. We don’t know the day or hour of Jesus’ return, but there sign of the times mean that we should lift up our heads, see our redemption drawing nearer and make the effort to try to fill our lamps with the oil of God’s word in the days that remain. 

This has been Dan Blackburn joining you for this week’s edition of Bible in the News.