What role does Iran play in the end times?
Iran appears in the Bible under its older names, Persia and Elam, and the prophets do not leave it out of the last days. It is named among the allies who march with a great northern power against a restored Israel — which raises the questions of whose side it is on, why it goes, and whether the story ends there.
The Bible's Name for Iran
The land east of Babylon carries two names in Scripture, and they overlap so closely that one often stands for the other:
Morrish Bible DictionaryCyrus was king of Anshan, or Anzan (Elam) as well as of Persia: hence the close connection, and almost identification of Elam with Persia. In Scripture Elam often designates Persia... There are many prophecies against it.
A Follower, Not the Leader
Ezekiel 38 lists Persia among the forces gathered behind Gog. Writers reading that list place Persia in a supporting role, drawn along by a stronger power to the north.
William KellyFor instance, Ezekiel 38 beyond doubt unveils the judgment of Russia at the end of this age, and lets us see its supporters compelled to follow and share the general ruin. Among those of the north are Gomer and all his hordes, and the house of Togarmah from the uttermost north and all his, as well as the southern races of Persia, Cush, and Phut under the same influence.
That alignment also sets Persia against the other great player of the end times. The western ruler and the northern invader are not partners but rivals over the same small land:
Walter ScottPersia, Ethiopia, etc., are under the power of Russia and follow in the train of Gog, the last ruler of the Russian peoples (Ezek. 38:2-6)... The Beast and Gog are opposing powers. Their policy and aims are widely different. The former is the would-be protector of the Jewish people; the latter their destroyer.
Why Persia Joins
Ezekiel gives Persia no grievance of its own. What the text does describe is a coalition assembled around plunder:
An Outline of Sound WordsPersia, Ethiopia and Libya, in joining with this great northern confederation, evidently hope to share the spoils of war.
When It Happens
Commentators differ on exactly where this invasion falls, and some say so openly — one writer notes that "this is a point about which prophetic students have differed much." What several agree on is that Ezekiel's Gog is not the Gog of Revelation 20, and that Ezekiel's attack comes first:
Frederick W GrantThe invasion in Ezekiel is premillennial, not postmillennial, as that in Revelation is. It is then that Israel are just back in their land (Ezek. 38:14), and from that time God's name is known in Israel, and they pollute His holy name no more (Ezek. 39:7). The nations too learn to know Him (Ezek. 38:16, 23). There needs, therefore, no further inquiry to be sure that this is not after a thousand years of such knowledge.
Another writer places it after the fall of the northern king of Daniel 11, later than the more famous battle: the invasion of Gog "takes place at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ, sometime after the battle of Armageddon."
The Outcome
The campaign fails completely, and its failure becomes God's own advertisement to the nations:
J. N. DarbyWhen restored to the land, and appearing outwardly to be restored to blessing, Gog comes up against them; God pleads against him and sanctifies Himself in this judgment. Gog falls on the mountains of Israel, and God makes His holy name known in the midst of Israel; He allows them no more to pollute His name: and the heathen shall know that He, the LORD, is the Holy One in Israel.
Even in that defeat there is restraint. God "leaves a sixth part of those who come against His land, to witness to what He had done."
Mercy After Judgment
Persia's story does not stop at judgment. Jeremiah 49 ends its word against Elam with a promise, and that promise is read as a real future for the nation:
William Kelly"But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, says the LORD." Here mercy rejoices at length against judgment. The portion of Elam did not interfere, like Philistia, Damascus or Hazor, with the due development reserved for Israel in the latter day; and God will show His goodness in behalf of Elam when the kingdom comes.
The ESV renders that line, "But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD." One writer describes what such restoration will look like once Christ reigns: these broken nations "will form the national garden of Eden again... the paradise of administrative beauty and excellence of which Christ will be the honoured Centre."
Summary
- Named. Iran enters prophecy as Persia and Elam — a land God has watched from Abraham's day, and one He has not forgotten at the end.
- Aligned. Persia does not lead; it is swept along "under the same influence" as a northern power, on the opposite side from the western ruler who poses as Israel's protector.
- Motivated. Scripture gives Persia no cause of its own — only spoils, the hope of sharing what a bigger army takes.
- Judged. The coalition falls on the mountains of Israel, and the defeat itself teaches the nations who the Holy One in Israel is.
- Restored. The last word over Elam is not ruin but mercy: in the latter days its fortunes are restored, and it takes its place under Christ's reign.