Geopolitics and the Prophets

What is happening at this very moment is not random geopolitics. It is the detailed map that the prophets, the Zohar, and the classical rabbis drew centuries ago. Pins are moving. Iran (Persia/Elam), Russia, and their allies are positioning. Events on the ground—including the Dubai plane incident—are lighting up ancient words. The entire world, the sources say, will be reborn through this conflict.

The Prophet’s Name: The Players

Jeremiah 49:34–39 delivers a precise oracle against Elam, the ancient territory corresponding to southwestern Iran. Hashem says He will break the bow of Elam, scatter its people to the four winds, set His throne there, and destroy its king and princes. Then comes the decisive line: “But it shall come to pass in the latter days that I will bring back the captives of Elam, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 49:39). Judgment first, then restoration in the end of days.

Ezekiel 38-39

Ezekiel 38–39 places Persia (modern Iran) explicitly among the coalition that comes against the land of Israel in the latter years—after the people have been gathered back from the nations. Daniel’s vision of the four beasts identifies the second beast, the bear, with Media-Persia: slower, crushing, devouring much flesh (Daniel 7:5).

Commentators such as Radak connect the successive empires in these visions, seeing Babylon, Media, and Persia linked in the historical and prophetic sequence. Joel sees the nations gathered to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment, with the Lord roaring from Zion and the heavens and earth shaking (Joel 3).

The Persian Horse Tied to the Graves

Nearly two millennia ago, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught in the midrash: “If you see a Persian horse tied to the graves of the Land of Israel, expect the footsteps of Mashiach.” (Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah / Eichah Rabbah). The image is not abstract. When Persian military power produces graves in the Land of Israel, the footsteps of redemption are near. Recent Iranian missiles and attacks have already produced casualties in Israel. The midrash reads the current reality with startling directness.

The Zohar and the Classical Rabbis

The Zohar states that history must come full circle. The oppressors of Israel return at the end of days for a final reckoning. One tradition linked to the Zohar describes the king of Persia rising to rule over many kingdoms, including the Holy Land, for a limited period (as referenced in discussions of the Zohar on Shelach), after which he falls, and the holy ones receive the kingdom.

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 2b) notes that the kingdom of Persia continues until the time of Mashiach. Tosafot clarify that the West (Rome/Edom in classical terms) defeats Persia in close proximity to Mashiach’s arrival. The Maharal and others treat Paras (Persia/Iran) and the forces of Yishmael as the final powers before redemption. Radak, commenting on the prophetic visions of successive empires, places Media-Persia in the sequence leading toward the end.

These are not modern inventions. They are the same sources the podcast draws upon: the prophets naming Persia and Elam, the Zohar and midrashim describing the Persian horse and the final cycle of history, and the classical rabbis mapping the empires.

The Map of Pins Moving Now

On the map right now:

• Iran (Persia/Elam) is the named power in Ezekiel 38, the bear of Daniel’s vision in its historic Persian dimension, and the subject of Jeremiah’s latter-days restoration after judgment. Iranian actions, missiles, and proxies are the “Persian horse” producing the conditions the midrash describes.
• Russia appears in many readings of the northern coalition associated with Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38). Whether as a primary leader or a major participant, the pin is moving in coordination with Iran.
• Surrounding and proxy forces (aligned with the broader coalition in Ezekiel) continue to act.
• The Dubai plane incident (the FlyDubai flight drama involving a cockpit attack and near-catastrophe en route toward Israel) has been read by some as another marker of Iranian-linked tension, with competing narratives circulating in the region. It fits the pattern of pressure points lighting up around Israel.

Joel’s gathering of the nations, Ezekiel’s coalition, Daniel’s sequential empires, and Jeremiah’s word on Elam form one picture: these pins are not drifting. They are moving according to the map that the Jewish books already provided.

The World Reborn Through This War

The sources do not describe mere destruction. Jeremiah promises the restoration of Elam’s captives in the latter days. Ezekiel 39 ends with Hashem’s name sanctified among the nations and Israel restored. The Zohar and midrashim place the Persian confrontation as the final cycle before Mashiach.

The Gemara and classical commentators see Persia’s fall in proximity to redemption. Through the shaking Joel describes, the world is reborn—not by the victory of any human empire, but by Hashem’s intervention, the restoration of Israel, and the establishment of His kingdom.

Rabbi Sokol’s Response

At the close of the discussion, Rabbi Aron Sokol emphasized the practical response. The events are not a cause for panic or speculative charts. They are a call to emunah, to Torah, and to recognizing that the process of geulah has already begun.

The darkness and the pressure are the birth pangs. The Jewish people are not spectators; they are the witnesses and the light the prophets described. Strength comes from staying anchored in Hashem’s word rather than in headlines alone.

The response is clarity, faith, and readiness for what the sources say follows the war: restoration, the kingdom of the Lord, and the rebirth of the world.

The map is clear.

The Jewish books did not leave the end of days as a riddle. They named the powers, described the conditions, and promised the outcome. The pins are moving. The Persian horse is tied. Elam is under the word of the latter days. The world is being reborn.

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Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 49:34–39. Oracle against Elam (southwestern Iran region): judgment, scattering, destruction of king and princes, followed by restoration of captives “in the latter days.”
2. Ezekiel 38–39. Persia was explicitly listed among the coalition that came against restored Israel in the latter years. Ends with Hashem sanctified, and Israel restored.
3. Daniel 7:5. The second beast, like a bear, is identified by traditional and many classical commentators with Media-Persia. Radak and others place this empire in the prophetic sequence of kingdoms.
4. Joel 3. Nations gathered for judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat; the Lord roars from Zion; heavens and earth shake. Context of the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem.
5. Midrash: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, “If you see a Persian horse tied to the graves of the Land of Israel, expect the footsteps of Mashiach” (Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah / Eichah Rabbah).
6. Zohar traditions (including discussions linked to Shelach and related passages) on Persia/Iran at the end of days: history comes full circle; the king of Persia rises and then falls in connection with the messianic process.
7. Avodah Zarah 2b and Tosafot: Persia’s kingdom continues until near the coming of Mashiach; the West defeats Persia in close proximity to that time. Maharal and classical sources on Paras as a final power.
8. Contemporary events (Iranian actions producing casualties in Israel; Dubai/FlyDubai plane incident) as markers read against the midrash and prophetic map.

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