“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what f*** they’re doing,” he said.
For now, a ceasefire appears to be holding.
In his video that was posted after the U.S. bombed Iran, Max Lucado, teaching minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, said he’s watching world events with “keen interest.”
Since Israel became a nation in 1948, “things have happened in rapid form,” said Lucado, adding that the Bible says the “regathering of the Jewish people” is a “watershed event that must occur before the other end times events can take place.”
“To be clear, no one knows when that day is going to happen, not even the angels in heaven, only the Father,” Lucado said. “Those are the words that Jesus told us as recorded in Matthew 24 in Verse 36. So the exact time remains hidden.”
Lucado believes that, while we cannot know the exact timing of Jesus’ return, we can know the signs of his return, one of which involves Turkey, Iran, and Russia “as they unleash their vengeance upon Israel.”
“Boy, it certainly seems that the key players in the final, divine drama are taking their places on the stage,” said Lucado.
In the uncertainty of this moment, Christians have a choice between fear and faith, and Lucado encouraged believers to choose faith in God, remembering that God is sovereign over the whole world.
“During the days ahead, let’s be numbered among those who are looking toward the heavens, inviting our Savior to return and rescue his church in the great ingathering of the saints,” said Lucado, “and let us be among those who pray for all our leaders.”
“Let’s ask our Lord to bless the decision-makers with supernatural insight and faith,” said the pastor. “And lastly, let’s pray that we can be the fragrance of Christ during a very troublesome time.”
Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, had a take similar to Lucado’s in a video Laurie also posted following the United States’ decision to bomb Iran. Laurie titled his video, “Is This the Start of Gog and Magog? U.S.–Iran Tensions & Prophecy.” Gog and Magog are referenced in the Bible in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 20.
