A Short History of the Coming War with Iran--Part 2

The Middle East is controlled by a "prince" known to Daniel as the Prince of Persia. For millennia he has controlled people mainly through the leaders in Persia itself, though he is not limited to that area by any means. Yet he has been the dominant spiritual force behind those leaders.

The Prince of Persia has a more personal, biblical name that is given in Rev. 9:11. It is Abaddon and Apollyon. It is no coincidence that at the north end of the Persian Gulf in the territory of Iran lies the city of Abadon, the site of the largest oil refinery in the world. Neither is it a coincidence that the Bible refers to the Prince of Persia in Rev. 9:11. It connects the events of 911 to the activity of this Prince.

I must say, however, that this Prince is not limited by geography, but also presides over certain types of religious thinking. Because he is connected to crude oil, we see him functioning as a counterfeit Holy Spirit. (The real Holy Spirit is depicted by olive oil in Scripture.) Thus, whenever the counterfeit is seen in Christian circles or elsewhere, it is by the influence of this Prince.

Apollyon and Abaddon mean "destroyer" in the sense of LOSING something. This is the Prince that was used to LOSE the "lost tribes of Israel." In the past year we have seen signs that Joseph is being found--a reversal of this loss. Hence, we are seeing Joseph-Israel and his birthright being restored even now. This is also the equivalent of Jonah being vomited out of the whale so that he can do the second work of Christ in preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to Nineveh.

This indicates that the Prince of Persia is nearing the end of his divine mandate in judging the lost tribes for their rejection of Christ (Yahweh). It is time for the sons of Joseph to be found, even their father was found alive and well in Egypt after being "lost" (Gen.45:28).

When Joseph was found, the birthright reverted back to him. While lost, it was assumed that Judah would have the birthright along with the scepter. But with the discovery that Joseph was yet alive, the birthright was given to the one whose right it was (1 Chron. 5:1, 2).

Thus, there are many implications in the overthrow of the Prince who was assigned by God to cause the house of Joseph to be lost in history. Joseph represents the second dove in Lev. 14, which was to be dipped in the blood of the first dove. Joseph's robe was dipped in blood (Gen. 37:21), and the robe of the one riding the white horse in Rev. 19:13 is also said to be dipped in blood. It is the second work of Christ in the earth.

We have been preparing for this second work of Christ for many years. In March of 1986, I was carried away by the Spirit to an underground "dungeon" (as I called it) where the angel showed me an oversized bear-like creature. I questioned my angel about the meaning of this, and he told me that this was a beast of war called to "devour much flesh" (Dan. 7:5). At first I thought of the so-called "Russian bear," but later realized it was the Persian bear of Daniel's vision.

This bear was temporarily overthrown two years later in the prayer battle of August 2/3, 1988. He had to be released (due to sin in the camp) a year later on the night of August 2/3, 1989. Then the following year the Gulf War began on the night of August 2/3, 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. This was the work of the Prince of Persia, who was at work to "devour much flesh."

While I was in the dungeon in Saudi Arabia, I took note that this bear had a strange gold tooth. I did not know the meaning of this until after the Gulf War, when the TV reporter, Peter Jennings, gave a special report about the US military's War headquarters located in an underground bunker in Saudi Arabia. He took the camera crew down the stairs into what they called "the dungeon." He interviewed General Schwarzkopf, whom the troops called "the Bear." And when he smiled, I saw his gold tooth, and my eyes were enlightened.

The angel also told me just briefly that there was another "bear" that was to be released. This was not really a different bear, but was a second manifestation of the Prince of Persia. This bear represented a second war that would come in that region, and its ultimate goal was to destroy Jerusalem.

That second bear was released on Sept. 11, 2001. That was ten years ago, and only now are we beginning to see the final act take place. I am quite certain that an attack on Iran (Persia) will begin the final countdown toward the destruction of Jerusalem. The surface motive for attacking Iran is to neutralize its nuclear capacity. The underlying motive is to try to save Jerusalem and the Israeli state itself.

But God Himself has raised up the Prince of Persia to accomplish His purpose in the earth. So to know whether or not the Prince of Persia will succeed is not a matter of knowing the military capabilities of each side of the conflict. It can only be understood by knowing the judgments of God found in Scripture.

To comprehend this, one must know the spiritual history of Jerusalem. We must also know the history of God's "street address," the place where He has chosen to place His Name. He first placed His Name at Shiloh (Jer. 7:12), and when the glory departed from that place, He moved to Jerusalem (Ps. 78:60-68). Then when Jerusalem became as corrupt as Shiloh, the glory departed from that place as well (Ez. 10:15; 11:22-23).

Jerusalem means "City of Peace," but the old Jerusalem became the "City of Blood" (Ez. 24:6, 9; Nahum 3:1), a city of violence and bloodshed. Hence, God has called a new city for the Prince of Peace to dwell in, one that would truly reflect the peace that is inherent in its name.

Jer. 7:14 says that God was to abandon Jerusalem as He did Shiloh. God never returned to Shiloh. Neither will He return to dwell in Jerusalem. Ichabod has been written in that place, even as it was written in Shiloh (1 Sam. 4:21).

However, there are two Jerusalems. The Hebrew name itself is plural (Yerushalayim). All of the prophecies given to Yerushalayim can be fulfilled in either city, as God chooses. The NT makes it clear that the old Jerusalem is Hagar, while the New Jerusalem is Sarah (Gal. 4:25). Hagar was to be "cast out" (Gal. 4:30) in order that Sarah--the New Jerusalem--would be established as the mother of the Inheritors (the "Isaac" company).

Hence also, John quotes from Isaiah and other prophets in Revelation 21 and 22, but whereas the prophets only spoke of Yerushalayim, making no distinction between the two cities, John applies the prophecies to the New Jerusalem.

This is the only way that we may reconcile the prophecies of the restored and blessed city with the other prophecies that speak of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 19:11 makes it clear that the city will be smashed "as one breaks a potter's vessel which cannot again be repaired." Jerusalem has been destroyed many times in the past, but each time it has been repaired. The day is coming, and now is soon upon us, when Jerusalem will be destroyed in such a way that it can never again be repaired. Isaiah 29:1-6 describes God's siege of Jerusalem, inhabited and claimed by "enemies," climaxing with what seems to describe a nuclear blast. Certainly, if this is the case, then Jerusalem would be rendered uninhabitable from the nuclear fallout.

The old Jerusalem will not be the center of the Kingdom of God in the Age to come. The capitol of the Kingdom will be the New Jerusalem, a heavenly city, whose inheritors are not the followers of Judaism but of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.