The Middle East continues to boil with conflict, and according to Christian journalist Erick Stakelbeck, it’s not just geopolitics, it’s prophecy unfolding in real time.
Appearing on a recent episode of Joseph Z’s broadcast, Stakelbeck, host of The Watchman on TBN, warned that current events surrounding Israel are aligning with the biblical narrative.
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“If you look at a map, Israel is literally geographically the center of the world. And Jerusalem is the center of that center,” Stakelbeck said. “Jesus will return to Jerusalem. He’ll set his foot down on the Mount of Olives.”
Citing Ezekiel and Isaiah, Stakelbeck said Iran, Turkey and Russia appear to be aligning in a way that sets the stage for the “Gog-Magog invasion.”
“I think we’re seeing things set up for that right now,” he said. “A lot of people have been talking about Isaiah 17 and perhaps the future demise of Damascus, one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities.”
He pointed to the growing hostilities on Israel’s borders, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian-backed Houthis, as signs of prophetic convergence.
“The prophetic time clock right now, Joseph, I believe, is in overdrive,” he said.
Stakelbeck also addressed the global surge in antisemitism that followed the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. “The day after October 7th—literally, Joseph, on October 8th—before Israel even mounted its response… we had anti-Israel protests breaking out on the streets of western cities,” he said.
“I think something demonic, clearly something demonic was unleashed on October 7th vis-a-vis Israel, Hamas and Iran. But I think in a larger sense, that demonic anti-Semitic spirit was unleashed [in a] more profound way, including here in America.”
According to Stakelbeck, this is not just an issue for Jews, it’s a spiritual war that implicates all Bible-believing Christians. “It always starts with the Jews. But it never ends with the Jews. First the Saturday people, the Jews, then the Sunday people, the Christians,” he said.
He added that both radical Islamic jihadists and the atheistic left carry the same hatred for the God of Israel, describing it as “the spirit of Antichrist.”
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And as for America’s role, he believes President Donald Trump’s return could be prophetically significant.
“President Trump’s return to office is a part of this as well in terms of him. The moves he’s making in the Middle East will… set things up for good certainly for Israel, for America, for the free world in the short term. But in the long term, I think Iran will be looking for revenge.”
In a time of uncertainty, Stakelbeck urged Christians to stay alert to what God is doing.
“If we want to know what’s going on, just walk around with a newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other,” he said, quoting Billy Graham. “Today, it will probably be your phone in one hand and the Bible in the other, but it’s all unfolding right now.”
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
