Current Events and Bible Prophecy - The Coming War With Iran

In western movies of a previous generation, a cowboy would say to his friend, "Don't look now, but we are surrounded!"

So it seems with many of the signs that Christ gave for the end of the world in Matthew 24 where He encouraged the study and understanding of the book of Daniel. Christ's reference to a desolating power is first found in Daniel 8 where Gabriel tells Daniel that his vision (chazon) is "at the time of the end." Daniel 8:17.

The "time of the end" offers a fresh qualification that historians have overlooked. For centuries they have said that Alexander the Great fulfilled this prophecy in his victory over the Medes and Persians in the Battle of Arbela, 331 BC. Let's take another look.

  1. In the vision, Daniel was by the River Ulai. Reference librarians say the modern name is the Karun River that empties into the Tigris and Euphrates confluence by Basra, Kuwait. This is where U.S troops deployed in 2003. Alexander's Battle of Abela was nearly 1000 miles away, Daniel saw our time, not Alexander's time.
  2. The "goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth." This is not about Alexander. It fits the U.S. coalition of forces that came from Australia, Asia, N. America, S. America and Europe.
  3. The goat "touched not the ground." Alexander did not have a choice of planes.
  4. Of the two horns, "the higher [greater] horn came up last," Daniel 8:3.
  5. Daniel "saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward." Daniel 8:4. Russia to the north, Africa to the south, and Europe/U.S. have all felt the pushiness of militant Islam. This is more true of Iran than for Persia in Alexander's time.
What's the point? Alexander was a type or application of the prophecy that shows similarity to the end-time application. History is a lesson and if we are familiar with Scripture, we can see the application for our time. "What is to come has been already, and God summons each event back in its turn." Ecclesiastes 3:15.

The Medes and Persians of Alexander's time are now Iraq and Iran. This has serious implications, and the Bible deserves an honest look. Daniel was told, "Seal the book, even to the time of the end," Daniel 12:4. Daniel was not told to just seal chapter 8. The whole book of Daniel may have end-time meaning that is not seen until the time of the end (war with Iraq and Iran). We should study Daniel afresh, looking for meaning that is not merely historical, like Alexander's victory; we need to see how it is applying in our time.