Watch Iran! Bible prophecy is alive in this aggressive nation, and what it is planning will affect the whole world! Since the early 1990s, the Trumpet has identified radical Islam, led by Iran, as “the king of the south” described in Bible prophecy. And this king of the south is prophesied to greatly push.

Whether Iran has been in the headlines or not, the Trumpet has consistently warned that it is building a major power bloc that will belligerently start a massive war.

In recent months, we have seen Iran return to the headlines. It has been connected to a biological terrorist plot in Germany and to uranium being smuggled into Britain. Radical Islamic terror has been the apparent motive for men stabbing people in a church in Spain, at a train station in France, and on four trains in Germany, as well as for burning a Catholic priest in Nigeria and for committing other atrocities elsewhere. Over the past 20 years, radical Islam has motivated terrorists to ram hundreds of people with vehicles in Barcelona, Spain; Berlin, Germany; London, England; and Nice, France, and to bomb thousands of passengers, diners, concertgoers, sports fans, publishers and bystanders.

In the Middle East itself, persecution close to genocide has been occurring against Christians. Millions have had to leave their homes. Many have fled their countries. Across a broad swath of territory, moderate and extreme Muslims have discriminated against Christians in schools and businesses, and have boycotted, kidnapped, jailed and killed them. Muslim governments in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Yemen are persecuting Christians. One report found that Christians in the Middle East once accounted for 20 percent of the population; now they are only 4 percent. Radical Islam is rising—and the nation that is turning this into a powerful weapon with which to push is Iran!

Other Muslim nations are also involved, of course, and there is a difference between Shiite Muslims, who are prevalent in Iran, and Sunni Muslims, who dominate countries like Iran’s rival, Saudi Arabia. Bible prophecy addresses this—in detail. It actually differentiates between the Middle Eastern Muslim nations that will be controlled by Iran and those that will ally with “the king of the north.”

We have said for more than 30 years that Iran will lead the king of the south, and it will rise up to do so very soon. I have just updated and expanded one of our main booklets on prophecy, The King of the South, to include what has developed since that booklet was last updated, especially the astonishing and deadly role a particular United States presidency has played in empowering the radical Iranian regime.

Recent History

We first identified radical Islam, led by Iran, as the king of the south prophesied in Daniel 11:40 at a time when few people were talking about Iran. That nation had just suffered a long, brutal war with Iraq following its Islamic revolution of 1979. But reports emerged that it was trying to obtain a nuclear weapon from another country. I wrote in the Trumpet at the time that control over radical Islam plus possible nuclear weapons would fulfill dramatic Bible prophecies about this region.

Those reports faded, and people forgot about Iran. Even when the United States went to war in the Middle East from 1990 to 1991, the focus was on Iraq, not Iran.

Islamic terrorism changed the world starting on Sept. 11, 2001. Some people began to wake up to Iran’s role, but they neglected to really scrutinize it and confront it. The U.S. invaded the region again in 2001, but the target was Afghanistan. It invaded again in 2003, but the target was Iraq again. Iran’s radical regime continued to operate, sponsoring terrorism and exerting its influence and terror on the weakened and destabilized nations in the region: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, even Egypt. It continued to pursue nuclear weapons; this time building its own program with the help of other adversaries of America.

Iran kept up its ongoing threats against what it called the little Satan, Israel, and the great Satan, America. Its regime faced financial sanctions for its nuclear program. Its economy was failing, and millions of Iranians filled the streets to protest against the regime. Some said it would not take much for the regime to fall, especially if the United States could add to the pressure, ridding the world of the number one state sponsor of terrorism.

The Trumpet forecast remained consistent through all these events: Radical Islam would continue to grow in power, and Iran’s leaders would continue to gain influence over radical Islam.

As I cover in one of my booklet’s new chapters, “Obama and the King of the South,” the United States, of all nations, intervened around this time not to topple the terrorist regime, but to save it! President Barack Obama tossed the regime a lifeline through nuclear negotiations, removing sanctions and ultimately unfreezing as much as $150 billion for Iran’s radical mullahs. He delivered pallets of $400 million in cash to Iran on the same day it released four American hostages and raised Iran’s prestige and power in other ways as well.

Americans and many others were bewildered why the president of the United States was working so heavily with Iran’s regime rather than trying to replace it, as even many Iranians were hoping for. Yet he pushed it through. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action went into effect on Jan. 16, 2016. Iran’s regime was saved, and it continued work on its nuclear program and ballistic missiles.

Later, President Donald Trump rejected the nuclear deal. But Joe Biden, who is controlled by Obama, has been working hard to revive it. In February, even without a deal, Biden’s government told Congress that it was lifting certain sanctions so Russia—a nation that the U.S. is opposing in many ways, especially in Ukraine—can help Iran—a nation actively sponsoring terrorism—develop nuclear technology.

In the past couple of years, Iran has faded from the headlines somewhat as America has become consumed by a tyrannical government dividing and destroying its own constitutional system. Developments with Iran’s nuclear program, missiles and even fresh protests by Iranians against their regime would have been major news in previous years, but much of this has gone unnoticed.

But Iran’s rise is a major Bible prophecy. It was first published in the Philadelphia Trumpet’s earliest issues, and it is now racing toward fulfillment!

Now Iran is coming back into the spotlight. It has assisted in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has been targeted by new sanctions from the European Union, which had previously reduced sanctions as part of the nuclear deal. Iran has threatened to block oil shipments. It has acquired more advanced weaponry, such as Russian fighter jets. Demonstrators have again poured into the streets, to protest the fatal beating of a woman in the custody of the regime’s semiofficial morality police, and to protest the regime in general. But, as we wrote in one of our articles on theTrumpet.com, “Iran’s Regime Is Here to Stay.”

Prophecy 100 Percent Accurate

Herbert W. Armstrong recognized something that most people ignore: The Bible is filled with prophecy. In fact, about one third of all scriptures are prophetic. Jesus Christ was a prophet. And these forecasts of the future that He and other prophets made are amazingly detailed—and amazingly accurate!

The Bible challenges readers to test its prophecies—all of which are thousands of years old—against history. If you accept this challenge, you will find that not a single Bible prophecy has been wrong! But some are yet to be fulfilled, which makes prophecies like the one involving the king of the south very intriguing and very urgent.

Mr. Armstrong correctly identified the modern nations and entities involved in prophecies about “the king of the north,” Assyria, Babylon, Gog and Magog; the symbolic figure in Daniel 2 and the symbolic beasts in Daniel 7, Revelation 13 and Revelation 17. Crucially, he identified the modern nations of Israel, including Ephraim, Manasseh, Jacob, Jerusalem and Judah. (Request your free copy of The United States and Britain in Prophecy, by Herbert W. Armstrong.)

Mr. Armstrong also correctly taught that the Soviet Union would not attack the United States, that East Germany and West Germany would reunite, that a “United States of Europe” would form, that Britain would leave the European bloc, that the Roman Catholic Church would revive in power, that Russia and China would form an alliance, and that Japan would militarize. He foretold that the U.S. economy—especially the dollar—would crash, that America and Britain would lose their strategic overseas possessions, and that America had won its last war. (Request your free copy of He Was Right.)

He also correctly taught that Bible prophecy revolves around the city of Jerusalem and the Middle East region, and that the Arabs are among the descendants of Ishmael, whom God prophesied would be a “wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s against him …” (Genesis 16:12). This perfectly describes the present and the past history of the Arab peoples and their interactions with other peoples and nations.

Knowing that 90 percent of Bible prophecy is for what the Bible calls the “latter days” or the “time of the end,” Mr. Armstrong also looked for the identity of the king of the south in Daniel 11:40.

Mr. Armstrong knew this was an end-time prophecy. He thought it occurred during World War ii and that World War iii would occur during his lifetime. What he did not and could not see is that several prophecies, including the war between the king of the south pushing at the king of the north, could not be fulfilled or even understood until after his death in 1986.

Only God can reveal the meaning of Bible prophecy. He did so through Mr. Armstrong with many prophecies that other churches never taught correctly or at all. But He waited until after Mr. Armstrong was gone to make clear the timing of the king of the south prophecy. He did so through the work that kept alive the same message of prophecy that Mr. Armstrong had taught. This was not just Herbert W. Armstrong’s interpretation of prophecy: This is God’s interpretation of prophecy, which He reveals to His servants.

I established the Trumpet in 1990 to continue publishing God’s prophecies. In its fifth issue, I drew attention to Daniel 11:40 in “King of the South—Is He Now on the World Scene?” “Herbert W. Armstrong prophesied for decades that we should focus on the Middle East,” I wrote. “That is where the world order would begin to unravel—triggering World War iii!”

Mr. Armstrong taught from the Bible “an outline of prophecy that has been fulfilled precisely. However, his understanding of the king of the south was incomplete. Partly because he couldn’t see what we see today, Mr. Armstrong erred about when this king would appear on the world scene. …

“Egypt was the king of the south in past history. But who is this mysterious man and nation today? This king is a key player in the book of Daniel—and at the very end time.”

Let’s now study this key prophetic passage.

A Key Prophecy

Again, Daniel 11:40 states, “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.”

This shows that the king of the south will spark an enormous clash. Other prophecies reveal that this clash chain-reacts into global warfare far worse than World Wars i and ii combined!

The “king of the north” is German-led Catholic Europe, a power that is rising before our eyes, as God revealed to Mr. Armstrong. But how could we know the identity of “the king of the south”?

In that Trumpet article, I emphasized the phrase “push at him” in Daniel 11:40: It indicates a violent action that directly causes a counterattack that is like a “whirlwind.” I wrote, “The big question is when did the king of the south push at the king of the north, or the Holy Roman Empire—in the recent past? … From [the unification of Italy in] 1870 to the present, no king of the south pushed at the king of the north! … No such push has caused the king of the north to respond in kind—yet! But the stage is being set—right now—for this to occur!”

Later in that article, I wrote, “So we see that Daniel 11:40 through Daniel 12:13 comprises the ‘time of the end.’ It is all triggered by the king of the south! It doesn’t have to be Saddam Hussein—though it could very well be. Even if it isn’t Saddam Hussein, the king of the south shall rise in that part of the world—and soon! Oil and money gives the king of the south power to ‘push.’”

I wrote this 33 years ago, when the Trumpet was a rudimentary black-and-white publication of only 12 pages and perhaps a couple thousand subscribers. Yet God was continuing His work of prophecy with a key piece of knowledge about the king of the south prophecy in Volume 1, Issue 5!

At that time, journalists, analysts, war planners and politicians were focusing on Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. After fighting an eight-year war with Iran through the 1980s, Hussein had attacked Kuwait in 1990. In the following issue of the Trumpet, I wrote that Iraq appeared to be fulfilling that role, but also stated, “The king of the south still hasn’t applied the ‘push’ of Daniel 11:40.”

In the July 1992 Trumpet, I returned to this subject. The Islamic Republic of Iran had reportedly obtained or tried to obtain nuclear weapons from Kazakhstan, another Islamic nation. I wrote: “Much of the world is unaware of what a powerful and dangerous force the Islamic camp is becoming.

“The king of the south could rule Iraq or Iran or both countries. But it is looking more now like Iran may produce this king.” I then quoted the Islamic Affairs Analyst of May 13, 1992: “The main strategic aim of Iran is to dominate the Persian Gulf and environs. An important step in achieving this goal is to gain undisputed leadership of the radical Islamic camp” (emphasis mine). “It looks very much like the end-time king of the south will rule the radical Islamists!” I wrote. “Iran is a natural leader for many of them today. Iran also has a goal to lead this group.”

It was 1992, and although the short Persian Gulf War had attracted attention due to live television coverage, few were paying any attention to Iran. This was almost a decade before the 9/11 radical Islamist attacks, more than two decades before the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear compromise, and three decades prior to the current situation with Iran. We now live in a very different world, in which Iran is now infamous for causing terrorism and cracking down on its own people, is consolidating its leadership over radical Islam, and is working to construct its own nuclear weapons.

Iran now has strong influence over several other important Islamic nations. In December 1994, I wrote a Trumpet article titled “Is Iraq About to Fall to Iran?” which stated, “The most powerful [Islamic] country in the Middle East is Iran. Can you imagine the power they would have if they gained control of Iraq, the second-largest oil-producing country in the world? If so, there seems to be little doubt that Iran would lead the king of the south (Daniel 11:40).”

In 2003, Saddam Hussein fell to the second invasion of Iraq by the United States. And in the aftermath, Iraq has fallen to Iran. In February of this year, members of Congress warned against providing further U.S. funding to Iraq because it is now “a client state of Iran.”

Bible prophecy is alive! God has recorded the future of nations and empires in the pages of His Word, and He reveals what these prophecies mean to those willing to humble themselves, read the prophecies, watch world events, and accept the truth. What is happening in Iran right now is dramatic proof!