Twenty years ago this month, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry was putting the finishing touches on his first book. In it, he encouraged readers to always pay close attention to the anniversary of Herbert W. Armstrong’s death. January 16 is a significant date, he explained in Malachi’s Message: “Will we see some dramatic event in the world or within God’s Church … then?”

Mr. Flurry posed that question in late 1989. Malachi’s Message began landing in mailboxes on Jan. 16, 1990. Exactly one year later—on Jan. 16, 1991—the Gulf War erupted.

America’s invasion of Iraq dramatically changed the landscape of the Middle East, triggering a chain reaction of events in the region the end of which we have not yet seen. Looking back, Mr. Flurry’s 1989 forecast of a “dramatic event” possibly occurring on the anniversary of Mr. Armstrong’s death was the beginning point of what has turned out to be a remarkable legacy of prophecy.

Over the past two decades, the Trumpet has explained several specific prophecies pertaining to the Middle East. Here we’ll focus on just one, strikingly relevant today: the emergence of Iran.

When the First Gulf War exploded on Jan. 16, 1991, Mr. Flurry saw immediately that it would have tremendous repercussions for the future of the entire region. “Saddam Hussein appears to have plunged the world into war,” he wrote in the February 1991 Trumpet issue. “[Saddam] has created a Middle East that is out of control. … That means events are going to be terrifying and move at a dizzying pace.” His forecast in the May issue was even more ominous: “The truth is we won a battle in Kuwait. [But] we did not win a war. The job was left unfinished. Saddam Hussein is still in power—even stronger in some ways—and has turned Iraq into a killing field.” So as early as spring 1991, the Trumpet was implying that America would in the future be compelled to return to Iraq to finish what it had started.

As events in the region unraveled, Mr. Flurry turned to the Bible for insight. His understanding centered around a single prophecy: “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” (Daniel 11:40).

This prophecy is clearly about an end-time clash between two great powers. The identity of the “king of the north” was clear too; Herbert Armstrong had taught it for decades. The question, it seemed—and the key to understanding events in the Middle East—revolved around the identity of the “king of the south.”

By the summer of 1992 the answer was coming into focus. “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,” wrote Mr. Flurry in the July issue of the Trumpet. Mr. Flurry didn’t just identify Iran as possibly producing the king of the south, he also stated: “It looks very much like the end-time king of the south will rule the radical Islamists! Much of the world is unaware of what a powerful and dangerous force the Islamic camp is becoming.” Remember, that was July 1992.

It wasn’t until nearly 10 years later, on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, that much of the world was suddenly awakened to what a “powerful and dangerous force” the radical Islamic camp had become.

After 1992, the Trumpet’s forecast that Iran would grow stronger and eventually rise as the most dominant power in the region grew progressively stronger. By the end of 1994, Mr. Flurry added new details about the future of Iran. In an article titled “Is Iraq About to Fall to Iran?” in the December 1994 issue of the Trumpet, he stated, “The most powerful [Islamic] country in the Middle East is Iran. Can you imagine the power they [Iran] would have if they gained control of Iraq, the second-largest oil-producing country in the world?”

Despite the fact Saddam Hussein and Iraq exhibited few signs they were about to fall under the influence of Iran, the Trumpet repeated the forecast of Iraq’s impending fall to Iran. “Prophecy strongly indicates that Iraq will unite with Iran,” we stated in the March/April issue of 2001, two years before American forces invaded Iraq.

In the spring of 2003, when American forces stormed Baghdad, toppled Saddam, crushed the resistance and liberated the Iraqis, the Trumpet never wavered. In fact, we forecast that the victory might even facilitate Iran snatching Iraq from the United States. “Saddam Hussein was the only leader that Iran feared,” wrote Mr. Flurry in the June 2003 issue. “Now the U.S. has taken him out of the way. … Have we now cleared the way for Shiite Iran to rule Shiite Iraq?”

By late spring 2003, the war in Iraq was widely considered a terrific victory. With Saddam on the run, his followers in retreat, and an awesome amount of American military power on the ground in Iraq, President Bush famously declared “mission accomplished” on the deck of the uss Abraham Lincoln. Still, the Trumpet marched on with its sober, Bible-based forecasts.

“Human logic should show America and Britain that they can’t win the war against terrorism,” wrote Mr. Flurry in November 2003. By invading Iraq, the U.S. confronted a dangerous part of the equation, wrote Mr. Flurry, “but [Iraq] is not the head of the terrorist snake.” He continued, “The fruits and evidence of the past two decades overwhelmingly prove where the king of state-sponsored terrorism is! … The solution to terrorism lies in doing something about it! We must confront the source. The terrorist movement flows from Iran.” Unless America confronts Iran, the Trumpet insisted, it would never defeat Islamic terrorism!

Consider this prophecy in the context of current events. Today Iran is without doubt the king of the Middle East. Tehran terrifies many Arab states. It’s the primary cause of instability in Iraq, not to mention the empowering force behind terrorist proxies in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. Not only is Iran the driving force behind regional politics in the Middle East, it features prominently in the foreign policies of every major world power, often proving to be a major point of tension in the relationship between those countries. Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons program ranks among the most dangerous threats to regional and global peace and safety.

Just as the Trumpet has forecast over the past 20 years, the “king of the south” ranks among the world’s most pressing, dangerous and hardest-to-solve problems!

This forecast about Iran is not the product of human intellect or “lucky” speculation. It is based primarily on Bible prophecy. And the purpose for Bible prophecy, as many of the ancient prophets explained, is to declare the power and presence of an Almighty God!

Notice what the young Jewish Prophet Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon before he interpreted the king’s dream: “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery which the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days” (Daniel 2:27; Revised Standard Version).

Our message to you is the same as Daniel’s to King Nebuchadnezzar. While there are some extremely astute, clear-thinking intellectuals out there producing some exceptional analysis of current world events, no politician, no news commentator, no columnist, can explain the full meaning of world events and where they are leading. Only the majestic “God in heaven who reveals mysteries” can do this. And He does. How? Through, as the Apostle Peter called it, the “more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19).

Truly, our motivation for revisiting this prophecy about Iran is to solicit a reaction—even if only in a handful—similar to that of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon after Daniel explained to him the meaning of his dream. Notice it: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face … [and] said to Daniel, ‘Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries …’” (Daniel 2:46-47; rsv).

Awesome, isn’t it? Humbling too. After witnessing God’s power and willingness to reveal prophecy, the king of one of the greatest empires ever to exist fell on his face in reverent worship of God. How do you react in the presence of revealed prophecy?