After decimating Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel has now turned its attention to Hezbollah in the north. These two terror proxies of Iran have been a thorn in the side of Israel for decades now. They had grown so large that it was once unthinkable that Israel would be able to defeat them. At least that’s what Hamas and Hezbollah had fooled themselves into believing. The political and military echelon of Israel were no doubt confident of their ability to deal crushing blows to their enemies. However, they needed the steely will and international legitimacy to achieve it. In the most tragic of ways, October 7 provided both.
If strategists are to be believed, once Israel has dealt with Hezbollah, it will turn its attention to the head of the terror snake – Iran. Since this conflict is on the horizon, it is helpful to understand the ideology which drives the Iranian clerical and political leadership. Although many nations have historically dismissed Iranian rhetoric as the ramblings of an irritating but incapable enemy, they have since proven they are very much committed to their goal of destroying Israel.
In Iran, the highest-ranking political leader is not the president, it is the Supreme Leader. The current Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On 15 January 2001, Ayatollah Khamenei left Israel in no doubt of his hatred when he said this: “It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region.” If that sounds familiar, consider the words of Psalm 83:4: “They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.'”
Similarly, one month prior to Khamenei’s speech, then Iranian President at the time Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declared: “The Jews should expect a ‘reverse exodus’, because one day, the tumour will be removed from the body of the Islamic World, and then millions of Jews who moved there will become homeless again.” Rafsanjani died in 2017, no doubt bitterly disappointed that his antisemitic desire remained unfulfilled.
Another extremist who never brought about the conditions of fulfilling his long-held desire was former (and now dead) Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. On October 22, 2002, he said this: “Islamic prophecies and not only Jewish prophecies declare that this state [Israel] will come into being, and all the Jews of the world will gather from all corners of the world in occupied Palestine. But this will not be so their false messiah can rule in the world, but so that Allah can save you the trouble of running them down all over the world. And then the battle will be decisive and crushing.” Like Haman, his words have come back upon his head. Instead of Israel being dealt a crushing blow, Nasrallah has been decisively crushed under tons of rubble!
As we are now witnessing, all of this talk about the destruction of Israel is not just empty rhetoric. It has real world consequences and that is why Iran poured billions of dollars into arming proxies and developing a nuclear weapons program. Iran even used the opportunity to declare its intentions at the UN – a body which was supposedly set up to prevent war.
In 2010, as then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood at the podium he said this: “O Allah, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi – and grant him good health and victory – and make us his followers and all those who attest to his rightfulness.” Then, in 2012, Ahmadinejad also said this: “God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and loves absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam Al-Mahdi, a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ and the righteous. By using the inherent potential of all the worthy men and women of all nations and I repeat, the inherent potential of ‘all the worthy men and women of all nations’ he will lead humanity into achieving its glorious and eternal ideals.”
By now, we see the mention of three intriguing characters whom Iranian Shiites, in particular, believe will appear in the end times:
- A Jewish “false messiah” who Muslims call Al-Masih ad-Dajjal. Who is this!? In Hebrew, we would say “Mashiach”; in English we would say “Messiah” and in Arabic they say “Masih”. So, al-Masih is a messiah. However, “Dajjal” means “most deceitful”. So, put that together and the title refers to a deceitful messiah. According to Islamic belief, in the end times a man will arise who acts like a messiah, performing signs and miracles, but he will be deceitful and he will fool everybody except, supposedly, discerning Muslims.
- Al-Mahdi. In Shiite eschatology (which the Iranian leadership holds to) the Mahdi is sometimes referred to as the 12th Imam and hardline followers of Mahdism are often referred to as “Twelvers”. They believe he is alive (but hidden) and will be revealed at the appropriate time, which is why he is also called the Hidden Imam. However, they sincerely believe that he will not come until the world is engulfed in chaos and Israel is destroyed.
- Moshe Sharon, an expert in Islamic affairs said this in 2009: “They truly believe that the Shiite messiah, the Twelfth Imam (also known as the Mahdi), is here, and that he will reveal himself… What moves the Iranian government and leadership today is first and foremost the wish to bring about the Twelfth Imam… How will they bring him? Through an apocalypse. He needs a war. He cannot come into this world without an Armageddon. He wants an Armageddon. The earlier we understand this the better. Ahmadinejad wants nuclear weapons for this.”
- Muslims will readily refer to Jesus (known to them as Isa) but do not be fooled into believing they know Jesus as the Son of God. It is important to note that they also do not believe that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. They believe that Isa was a prophet and that he will ally with the Mahdi to defeat Al-Masih ad-Dajjal. Of course, this is contrary to the Bible which rightly claims Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
As you can see, many Muslims are also keenly watching events in the world, believing that the signs of the times indicate that their version of eschatology is about to be fulfilled. The trouble is, in their version, Israel has to be destroyed. Will this happen? No!
Allow me to end with encouragement from Micah 4:11-13: “Now also many nations have gathered against you, who say, ‘Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.’ But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, nor do they understand His counsel; for He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor. ‘Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hooves bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; I will consecrate their gain to the LORD, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.'”
