Rabbi Nachman Kahana
Every year on the first day of Sukkot we read the section from the prophet Zecharya 14, whose main theses are a prophetic spotlight on the future turning points in history, including a severe conflict surrounding the holy city of Jerusalem. This will be followed ultimately by a universal recognition of Hashem (G-d) as the Creator, of the Jews as his chosen people, and the establishment of Jerusalem as the spiritual center of all humanity.
The prophets who dealt with the future course of history knew about the wide strokes of human behavior but did not know the details which were not yet a part of reality as they are today. They knew the dots but did not know where to draw the lines that give them meaning. So, I humbly submit my own view on how to fill in the pieces of this colossal puzzle.
Number One: Iran is not going away, no matter how many thousands of tons of bombs President Trump rains down on them.
Therefore, I would like to state my thoughts, based on rabbinic sources, regarding the true intentions of the ruthless Islamic State of Iran (Persia) at this time in history and for those events predicted by the prophet Zechariah.
The Islamic Shi’ite leaders of the Iranian government are inherently and innately incapable of telling the truth, as are all Arabs, all followers of Islam, and all gentiles for that matter. Lying and deceit are part of their culture when it serves their purposes, and therefore what they say at any given moment is a fabrication or a distortion of the truth.
The Iranians want nuclear weapons very much, but not to attack Israel, which is a deceptive camouflage for their real intentions. They do not need intercontinental ballistic missiles to attack Israel, but they do need them for their real enemies, i.e. the Christian nations of Europe and the United States. Moslems hate Christians more than Moslems hate Jews, and Christians hate Moslems almost as much as the Christians hate Jews.
So, what is in store for the world?
The Christian nations of Europe and the US will wake up at one minute to 12 and wage a war to the death against the Islamic Republic of Iran. China will eventually enter the fray on the side of Iran, while we, in Israel, will view it all, live on color TV, untouched and unharmed.
I see this scenario based on four sources–
1. The Gemara (Yoma 10a) states in the name of Rabbi Yochanan the following–
‘In the future, Paras (Iran) will wage war against Rome (Europe), but it is not known who will be victorious, the Christians or Islamic Persia…’
Here, Persia is a master player in the last scenes of this world’s evil history, and as a personal side note, I sincerely wish them both great success in utterly destroying each other.
2. The book of Midrashim, Yalkut Shimoni 498 on Isaiah, states the following–
‘The year when the Mashiach (messiah) appears, the world’s nations will taunt and provoke each other… Persia will provoke the king of Arabia who will seek advice from Syria… Persia will destroy the world order of the Gentiles, all the nations will be in a state of terror and will suffer the birthpangs like a woman in labor. Israel, too, will be panic-stricken and cry out ‘Where shall we go?’, and then Hashem (G-d) will say to Am Yisrael, ‘My children, be not afraid. All that I have done is for your benefit. The time of your redemption has arrived…’ But unlike the redemption from Egyptian slavery, which was followed by a long history of suffering, this redemption from the hatred of the nations will be without suffering, and there will be no nation that will threaten you again.’
Here again Persia is the master player in the last scenes of this world’s evil history.
3. Zohar Shemot, end of parashat Vayera:
‘In the future, the sons of Yishmael (specifically Islamic Persia) will arouse great wars, and the sons of Edom (Esau and Europe) will declare war on them. They will engage in battles: one on the sea, another on land, and the third in the vicinity of Jerusalem…’
Yishmael (Islam) and Edom (Christianity) will try to conquer the city, however, they will weaken each other, and the city will not fall into the hands of Edom (Christian Europe) or Yishmael, i.e. the Arabs, Persians, and Turks. At that time, a powerful nation (China) will attack evil Rome (Christian Europe) for three months, and many countries will fall to that far-away nation.
At that point in time, Hashem (G-d) will intervene so that the Jewish people (in Eretz Yisrael) will reign as the world’s sole superpower.
4. Commentary of the Malbim (Meir Laibish ben Yechiel Michal) to the prophet Ezechiel 32,17:
‘It will come to pass that in the end of days, after the Jewish people return to the land of Israel, the Gentile nations will come together in order to capture Jerusalem…’
The prophet names the nations who will come to capture Jerusalem. ‘Gog’, the king of Meshech and Tuval from the north and west who are uncircumcised and called ‘Edom’ (Christian Europe), and Paras (Persia) and the other descendants of Yishmael who will join with the children of Edom to attempt to capture the Land of Israel from the Jews.
When they arrive, however, they will create chaos among themselves and make war on each other. In other words, Edom will make war on Yishmael because their beliefs are different.
And there Hashem (G-d) will judge them in sword and in blood as stated by the prophet Zechariah in chapter 12–
‘On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves… They will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain safe, and on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem…’
Here the prophet Ezekiel relates how they all will be lost and singles out Egypt, Syria, and Persia, who adhere to the religion of Yishmael. He then mentions Meshech, Tuval and Edom, their kings and princes from the north, who are all uncircumcised, meaning the Christians. And between them there will be a war. The first to be utterly destroyed will be the Egyptians, who are closest in proximity to the Land of Israel. Then the Assyrians and Persians will come to avenge their ally, and they all will be destroyed.
I would like to fill in some missing details in all of this–
A. The Iranians will achieve nuclear capability.
B. The West and Islam are on a collision course towards mutual destruction. They will be utterly frustrated in their attempts to find mutual grounds for understanding, except in one area, which is their mutual hatred towards the Jews in general, and specifically the Jews in Eretz Yisrael.
C. Here, in Eretz Yisrael, bewilderment will share the stage with dread. Many will try to leave, but there will be nowhere to go. The emergency ‘hotline’ request to Washington will go unheeded. The President will inform the Prime Minister that the US has no choice but to be neutral in this situation, since the decision was taken by the UN General Assembly, where we have no veto power.
At this point, the two chapters of Ezekiel come together, i.e. Chapter 1, which we read on Shavuot, with its description of the fiery Serafim, Ofanim, and Chayot HaKodesh, and Chapter 32 which describes the multitude of nations on their way to destroy what Hashem (G-d) has blessed, i.e. his chosen people and the land they were given.
We might be apprehensive at the unfolding of current events, but according to the Hebrew prophets, it is just a matter of time before these events become reality in the ultimate redemption of the Jewish nation as the center of all political power on earth.