Is it possible that two adversaries, whose battle appeared in Scripture over 2,500 years ago, are currently at war with each other? Yes, and their ongoing battle not only impacts the future of Israel, but ours as well.
The names of these ancient foes never appear in up-to-date news accounts of the battle that rages between the two, but their age-old hostility accounts for many of the headlines that we see. Not only that, but it also occupies the attention of the world’s most powerful leaders.
A remarkable passage in Daniel connects recent attacks on Israel by Iran and its proxies to an ancient battle in the heavenlies:
Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” (10:12-14)
The “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” who delayed the arrival of the angel sent to Daniel, was a strong demonic power capable of hindering the angel’s arrival with the explanation of the prophet’s vision. This evil spirit has not gone away; he retains remarkably strong grip on the leaders of modern-day Persia, which is Iran. Such dark forces don’t die, but they will meet their demise in the end.
This demonic entity works behind the scenes motivating murderous hatred among the leaders of Iran as well as those of Hamas, Hezbollah. and the Palestinians. He inspired the atrocities of October 7, 2023. Today, he continues to ignite the fires of murderous hatred through both Iran and their proxies as they seek to destroy the nation of Israel and annihilate all its people.
Michael, the Archangel
This demonic prince of Persia will ultimately fail just as he did in ancient times. God will fulfill His purposes for Israel and Jerusalem as He revealed in Daniel 9:24. Throughout Scripture, the Lord solemnly promised to restore a kingdom to Israel after a future time of great suffering for His people and He will do exactly that. Count on it.
In the meantime, the same one who battled the strong demonic figure in Daniel’s day is still at work today defending the nation of Israel. Michael, a high-ranking and very powerful angel, continues to war against this “prince of the kingdom of Persia” through his protection of the Jewish people.
In Daniel 12:1, quoted below, we see that Michael will ensure the final deliverance of the nation of Israel during the Tribulation.
At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
Did you notice that the Lord, in His message to his prophet, describes Michael as “the great prince who has charge of your people” who is obviously the nation of Israel? Just as we see the demonic entity behind Iran actively assaulting God’s people, we can be sure that Michael is also at work behind the scenes defending Israel in the war that’s raging in the Middle East. The above verse refers to the Tribulation period; what we see today is the warmup for this coming time of terror upon the earth.
Two or three years ago, a missile fired from Gaza escaped destruction by the Iron Dome. As a result, the Israeli military immediately began preparing for the worst possible scenario as they saw that it was headed toward a popular hotel. Suddenly, a strong wind gust blew the rocket harmlessly in the Mediterranean Sea. I believe this happened because the Lord was protecting His people through Michael, the archangel specifically assigned to Israel.
Much suffering lies ahead for the Jewish people as God brings them to a place of repentance. At the end of the Tribulation, they will turn their hearts to the Messiah and after that, enjoy the blessings of a gloriously restored kingdom. Jesus will destroy Satan’s hold on the nations, return to the earth, and reign for a thousand years (Revelation 19:11-20:10).
Iran will not prevail in its war against Israel. The Lord will protect the nation and through suffering bring the people to repentance after which He will gloriously restore them to a place of honor among the nations at His return to the earth.
Through it all, Michael, His archangel, will fight against the demonic force assigned to Iran and preserve a remnant of the Jewish people who will received a glorious kingdom.
Why is Satan Determined to Eliminate the Jewish people?
As we look back, we understand the devil’s agenda for inspiring Haman to destroy the Jewish people in ancient Persia, as recorded in the book of Esther. He knew that the Messiah would come through the Jewish people, and in particular the tribe of Judah and line of King David. His opposition to God’s saving purposes led him to the extreme measures. Later, Satan’s rage led to the killing of infants in Bethlehem.
As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, the enemy thought he had succeeded in stopping God’s purposes when Christ died on the cross, but he didn’t understand the Lord’s saving purposes in sending His Son to die in our place. What he thought was his moment of triumph turned into his greatest defeat.
But why the continuation of his murderous opposition to the Jewish people? It’s because Israel will play a pivotal role in the wrap-up of human history and in the establishment of Jesus’ millennial rule.
If the devil can destroy the nation of Israel and kill its people, he can prevent the Lord from restoring a glorious kingdom to them as promised throughout the Old Testament. If he can inspire his henchmen to reduce the population of the world (see Matthew 24:21-22) and then dehumanize those that remain, he can nullify the myriad of biblical promises regarding the Millennium and stop the glory of Jesus’ Second Coming as recorded in Revelation 19:11-20:4.
He will fail, which is also spectacularly good news for us as New Testament saints.
The Good News for Us as New Testament Saints
Satan’s vastly intensified opposition to both Israel and the Jews in recent years tells us that he knows his time is quite short. Like us, he recognizes the signs, but doesn’t know the timing of the Rapture. For us, it’s our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). For him, our departure will signify that his doom is sure to happen at the end of the Tribulation.
However, the significance of the cosmic battle is more than just our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing. The kingdom that’s at the heart of the cosmic battle between Michael and demonic prince of Persia is our inheritance. We have a stake in the clash of ancient foes playing out now before our eyes. For not only are we heirs to the Jesus’ glorious kingdom during which time He will rule the nations from Mount Zion in Jerusalem, but the Bible says we will reign with Him (James 2:5; 1 Corinthians 15:50; Revelation 2:5, 5:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:2).
Please don’t miss the implications of the ancient conflict that’s playing out before our eyes in the Middle East; it pertains directly to our future as a New Testament saints. The battle raging behind the scenes is all about stopping God’s plan to bring human history to a climax during Jesus’ thousand-year rule and then end all death, suffering, and pain in the eternal state.
Michael’s defense of Israel, which will continue until the end of the Tribulation, is all about preserving a remnant of the Jewish people to whom the Lord will restore a glorious kingdom. Their preservation signifies the certainty of our inheritance of this future realm as well as our participation in all its wonders, joys, blessings beyond what we can imagine. We have a stake in this aga-old conflict as we will reign with Jesus at its end.
In my previous article, Can God Change His Mind About Israel? Or About Us?, I wrote about how the promise of Israel’s future restoration illustrates our security as New Testament believers. Both flow from God’s incredible mercy to both us and the Jewish people.
There’s more good news. Since we already see evidence of Michael defending Israel, as he will also do during the Tribulation, how close must we be to the Lord’s appearing to take us home? If you think the battle is fierce today, and it is, it will become far more intense after the Rapture.
Hang in there, Jesus will most certainly come for us; it might even be today.
Maranatha!
Note: In Hereafter, It’s Far Better Than You Can Imagine, Terry James and I describe the future glory that awaits us as believers beginning with Jesus’ appearing to take us home. From beginning to end, we emphasize the jubilant joy that awaits us in Heaven. The last chapter contains twenty-seven frequently asked questions and answers pertaining to Heaven and our experience there.
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