Multiple prophecy experts agree that what is likely next in the Bible’s end-times timeline is a season of peace and prosperity for Israel, which will be a prelude to war.
The biblical prophet Ezekiel wrote over 2,500 years ago about the battle of Gog and Magog that would take place in Israel in the end times.
Ezekiel recorded — under divine revelation, he said — that in the “latter years” a coalition of nations will descend upon Israel to try to wipe it out. Persia, which is modern-day Iran, is listed by name among them, along with other territories and peoples believed by Bible scholars to include modern-day Russia and Turkey.
However, before this battle, Israel would be “dwelling securely” in its land — in other words, at peace. Such has not been the history of the modern state of Israel since its founding in 1948.
Lending credibility to what Ezekiel foresaw about the war between these nations in chapters 38 and 39 is what he wrote in chapters 36 and 37.
He forecast a time when the Jews would spread throughout the nations of the earth, which certainly happened starting in the first century A.D. Their exile would last until the latter days, when they would return to Israel and be a nation again.
Todd Hampson, host of the “Prophecy Pros Podcast,” told CBN in 2023 that Israel’s rebirth in 1948 was a “super sign” of the end times.
Many Bible prophecy experts believe what is unfolding in the Middle East now could be the season of peace that will be a precursor to the Gog and Magog war.
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Dallas Theological Seminary professor Mark Hitchcock said on his “Marking the End Times” podcast on Thursday, “I think the sudden, shocking turn of events in the Middle East we’re witnessing right now could be the beginning of a stunning shift to peace that’s paving the way for that Middle East peace predicted in the Bible.”
Last fall, after Israel and Iran had first traded military blows, Hitchcock first conjectured that it could ultimately lead to a season of peace, laying the groundwork for the Gog and Magog battle.
The Bible professor emphasized, “Ezekiel 38 says that when Russia, Iran, Turkey, [and] their allies come into Israel in the end times, that Israel’s going to be at rest and living securely.”
He explained that he used to believe that the rest period would happen when the Antichrist makes a seven-year peace treaty with Israel that he breaks halfway through that time period, as described in the Bible’s Daniel 9.
But in light of recent events, he saw another scenario as possible, if Israel neutralizes all its surrounding enemies — Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis — and delivers such a punishing blow to Iran that it puts the country back on its heels for a season.
Now, several months later, that all appears to have largely taken place.
Jimmy Evans, author of several books about Bible prophecy and founder of EndTimes.com, also senses this scenario shaping up.
“I believe what we’re about to see is not only the defeat of Israel’s enemies, I believe we’re about to see the beginning again of the Abraham Accords and peace between Israel and many of their Muslim, their Arab neighbors that’s going to be a golden age for the Middle East in many ways,” he said on his “Tipping Point” podcast earlier this month.
“This is something that I believe you see there in Ezekiel 38, where when this invasion happens, Israel’s going to be at peace,” Evans added. “Israel has to have a time of peace before the Gog and Magog invasion. I believe that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
Evans’ guest on his podcast last week, Texas pastor Larry Huch — who ministers regularly in Israel — had the same assessment.
“We’re going to see a season of peace in the world,” he said, including the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.
On his Trinity Broadcasting Network program last week, end-times author and Middle East expert Joel Rosenberg also predicted that peace is about to break out in the Middle East.
“What seems to be is that Russia being humbled and Iran being humbled, Israel is going to emerge as this superpower,” he said. “Hezbollah’s gone. Hamas is almost gone. The Houthis are being destroyed.”
“I think it’s most likely that Israel enters a new season of peace, prosperity, security,” Rosenberg offered. “I think that in the wake of this, the Saudis will, in fact, want to make peace with Israel and join the Abraham Accords.”
Rosenberg believes that Lebanon and even Syria might follow suit.
“The point being that the prelude — the prerequisite for Russia and Iran and all these other countries to come surround and attack Israel in the last days that we see in Ezekiel 38 — the prerequisite is that Israel’s living securely in the land,” he said.
Rosenberg is not sure how long the season of peace will last, suggesting it could be five years, 10 years, or more.
“I think that’s the period that we’re heading into,” he said.
David Herzog, author of “Glory and the End Times,” also shared this view, speaking at a meeting earlier this month in the Phoenix area.
He postulated that Iran may even have a new government for a period of time following the end of the conflict.
“We know, in the Bible, eventually Iran comes back to attack Israel,” Herzog said.
“What comes next?” he asked. “A season of peace and prosperity.”
So that’s at least five experts who agree that what is likely next on the end-times prophetic calendar is a season of peace for Israel, which will be the prelude to the battle of Gog and Magog.
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