Netanyahu was once asked what the greatest threat to Israel was. He replied, "Would you like to hear three threats?" The questioner said yes, and his answer was, "Iran. Iran. Iran."
Frankly, I am deeply overwhelmed by Iran's hatred and rage towards the Jews. Iran publicly calls for the destruction of Israel and America. Iran publicly burns Israeli and American flags. Iran publicly chants, "Death to Israel! Death to America! Cursed be the Jews!" Iran publicly displays a ballistic missile with the Hebrew inscription "Death to Israel." Such intense hatred of Jews has not been seen since the Nazis. Hitler spoke of the annihilation of the Jews from the very beginning of his political career. In 1922, Hitler declared, "As soon as I am truly in power, my first and foremost task will be the annihilation of the Jews." And as we know, Hitler systematically killed many Jews between 1941 and 1945. In fact, Iranians and their allies have repeatedly given the Hitler salute.
Where does this incredible hatred of the Jews in Iran come from? Of course, one could point to the injustices committed by Jews in Palestine and elsewhere. But let me show you what is written in Revelation 17:16-17: "The ten horns you saw and the beast will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it in their hearts to do his will." The Bible says that God poured hatred for Babylon into the hearts of the ten horns. God wants the ten horns to destroy Babylon because Babylon is responsible for all the evil in the world. But who is Babylon? Babylon is the great city where the Son of God was crucified (Revelation 11:8). Babylon is Jerusalem, or in other words, Israel, because Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and the capital of a nation represents the entire nation. And who are the ten horns? The ten horns are ten kings who will come from east of the Euphrates (Revelation 16:12). Iran, among other countries, lies east of the Euphrates.
We know that the Old Testament is full of foreshadowing. This means that past events can offer clues about the future. In Isaiah 21:2 it says, "Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media; I have made an end of all the groaning she (Babylon) has caused." God is calling Elam and Media to attack Babylon. Elam and Media were located in what is now Iran. So, the verse could be translated as, "Iran, go and besiege Babylon!" In Jeremiah 51:27-28 it says, "Lift up a standard in the land, blow a trumpet among the nations! Set apart the nations against her (Babylon); summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up the horses like bristly locusts. Set apart the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their prefects, and every land under their rule." God calls upon the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to fight against Babylon. Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz were located in the area of present-day eastern Turkey, Caucasus, and western Iran. These kingdoms belonged to the Median Empire, which stretched from eastern Turkey to Central Asia. It was an Iranian empire. In other words, God is calling upon Iran to attack Babylon. Now, someone might object that the passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah refer to the siege of Babylon in 539 BC. While this is true, as already mentioned, the Old Testament is full of foreshadowing. This means that past events can contain clues about the future.
In fact, not only the Bible but also Islamic texts indicate that the fire will come from Iran. In Mishkat al-Masabih 5461 and Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2269, the Islamic prophet Muhammad is credited with the prophecy: "When you see the black standards have come from the direction of Khorasan, go to them, for Allah's Caliph, the Mahdi, will be among them. Nothing shall turn them back until they are planted in Jerusalem." It is said that an army with black banners will come from Khorasan, led by the Mahdi, and its destination is Jerusalem. The word "Khorasan" is Persian and means "where the sun rises" or, in other words, "the eastern province." Khorasan is the region that encompasses Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. In Islam, the Mahdi is a figure who will appear at the end of time and will be the leader (Caliph) of the Muslims. He will revive the Caliphate, which de facto collapsed in 945 AD.
