When the New York Times runs an op-ed making the case for a U.S. military strike on Iran, you know the Iranian nuclear saga is probably direr than most people know.

“We have reached the point where air strikes are the only plausible option with any prospect of preventing Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons,” the Times wrote Wednesday of last week. “Postponing military action merely provides Iran a window to expand, disperse and harden its nuclear facilities against attack. The sooner the United States takes action, the better” (emphasis mine throughout).

As the sun sets on 2009, there is widespread consensus that Iran will dominate global headlines in 2010. “The year 2010 is the make or break year for stopping Iran,” Barry Rubin ominously warned this week. The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes agreed, insisting that “In 2009, we tried to engage the Iranian regime. In 2010, let’s try to change it.” “One way or the other,” noted Charles Krauthammer, “Iran will dominate 2010. Either there will be an Israeli attack or Iran will arrive at—or cross—the nuclear threshold.”

Last Friday, Stephen Flurry addressed the prophetic significance of the U.S.-Iranian standoff, particularly as it relates to the future of America and Israel. “What is … possible, if not probable, is that for all our rhetoric, [America] will stand idly by and do nothing about the problem,” he wrote. Whatever happens, Mr. Flurry explained, Bible prophecy tells us that neither Israel nor America will eliminate the Iran threat, and that military action would ultimately serve to hasten America (and Israel’s) precipitous decline in global power and influence.

Yet as fruitless as military action by America or Israel would ultimately be, Bible prophecy “does not explicitly say that Israel or America won’t attempt to forcefully eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat.” So as conditions in the region appear to converge toward a breaking point, and the historically and prophetically significant date of January 16 edges closer, the Trumpet stands at its post, vigilantly watching, eagerly anticipating.

Beyond the continued abatement of America and Israel’s power, what else, exactly, do we anticipate could emerge from the Iran saga in 2010?

Regular readers know that the Trumpet watches Iran through the eyeglass of a prophecy in Daniel 11: “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 …. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown ….” As we have explained for almost 20 years—and has been borne out repeatedly in real-world events—this “king of the south” is radical Islam, under the leadership of Iran.

Daniel’s prophecy illuminates our understanding of the Middle East. Indeed, no rational person would dispute that Iran rules this region like a king. If you read Daniel 11:40-45 carefully, it’s obvious that the king of the south’s emergence is merely the first chapter in this prophetic narrative.

Moreover, this passage clearly indicates that while the king of the south is a key actor in this end-time drama, it does not play the lead role. Actually, it plays a secondary role—which Iran is fulfilling even now—that primarily consists of aggravating the “king of the north,” the protagonist in this prophecy. Notice, Iran pushes, and pushes and pushes, until eventually this great northern combine barrels into the Middle East, smashes the king of the south, establishes itself as the regional hegemon, and then “enters” peacefully into the “glorious land,” a biblical term for Jerusalem.

Ultimately, this prophecy in Daniel 11 is more about the king of the north than it is the king of the south.

This distinction is pivotal: Daniel’s towering prophecy informs us that the king of the north actually rises to a great extent out of the actions of the king of the south. If we want to grasp the ultimate significance of the Iran saga, we must look through events in Iran and study the king of the north.

Who, precisely, is the “king of the north”? As we have explained extensively, it’s the seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire!

The Trumpet agrees with the assessment that Iran will be a dominant feature in global affairs in 2010. But it most likely will not be the dominant issue of 2010. Why? Because Bible prophecy tells us that the closer the Iranian nuclear saga builds to a climax, and the more Iran pushes and prods and destabilizes the Middle East and the world, the harder and faster the king of the north will work to cement itself as a global power, after which it will roll into the Middle East and deal once and for all with Iran, the king of the south.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote a powerful article about the “king of the north” for the February 2010 issue. “We have been prophesying [about the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire] for 65 years!” he wrote. “Now it is here.”

Perhaps it’s difficult for some people to see this reality right now. In 2010, we can expect world events—especially in Iran and the Middle East—to reveal the reality that the Holy Roman Empire is back!

Read “The Holy Roman Empire Is Back!” Written for our 20th anniversary issue, it is one of the clearest, most enlightening, urgent and emotionally stirring articles Mr. Flurry has written for the Trumpet. News gurus expect 2010 to be incredibly active, a year in which far-reaching and potentially historic events and transformations will occur in the United States, the Middle East, Asia and Europe—and in the relations between these countries and regions. This article sets the tone for the Trumpet’s reporting on these events and gives prophetic context to what is certain to be an ever quickening stream of significant news in 2010.

What better time to read this article than right now, the last day of 2009—the day before the Holy Roman Empire becomes official!