“Behold, all those who are angered at you [Israel] will be shamed and dishonoured; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent. For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:11-13)
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NOTE FOR WATCHMEN: I am no “End Times Prophecy School” graduate. My thoughts here are among many that have been flowing as “Roaring Lion” & “Epic Fury” play out. The war is fast-moving and, seemingly, erratic; events racing ahead of media efforts to report them, or often contort them into their anti-Israel worldview. How things will stand when you read this only God, thankfully, knows.
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Living Through War: A Family’s Reality
“They were born in war.” The words pass through my mind in the stillness of this Sunday morning (March 22), as I gaze down at three of our children fast asleep in the living room of our home; wiped out after dozens of bomb shelter-runs.
It’s not a new thought. Since the arrival of the first of our Jerusalem-born offspring, 32 years ago, we have lived through few periods of peace in between multiple waves of violence – “regular” terrorism, intifada, and war. Our three eldest were IDF soldiers. Until February 28, we were navigating the October 7 War.
This war, though, is different. It is not limited to Lebanon and Gaza, both a comfortable distance from the capital. The missiles, big as busses, are flying right at Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beersheba and Haifa; blowing up in our skies and, when they get through, detonating in our streets – day after night after day. A little, I suppose, like the London “blitz”.
Faith and Resilience Amid Relentless Conflict
But we are not living in fear.
It is, indisputably, nothing short of miraculous – given the Iranians’ extreme hatred and their decades of prepping for this war – that the loss of life in Israel, all of it painful of course, has remained as low as it has; the damage to infrastructure almost negligible.
A billboard near our home declares: “Thank You God, and thank you, Iron Dome”.
As a Bible-believing family man, a journalist and a tour guide, I’ve always viewed events here in light of God’s Word. Scripture originates from – and is centred on – this land and this people. It has recorded their past, clearly explains their present and unequivocally foretells their guaranteed future, which is also ours.
Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms all hold that this land was ultimately destined to serve as an “ark” of safety for its returning people.
Without the Iranian regime there would have been no armed Hamas in Gaza, no missile-endowed Hizballah, no Houthi threat from Yemen.
Contrary to many Christian prophecy teachers (whose apocalyptic expectations visibly line up with Islam’s) God’s plan from the start has been to regather this nation and preserve them “as a shepherd keeps his sheep” – in their land and under His wings.
As He does so, the LORD is upending judgement on nations that have been enraged by Israel’s actions, and that vehemently dispute the Jews’ right to the land He gave to them, exclusively and forever.
Ultimately, He will bring all Zion-haters against Israel in order to vanquish them.
“I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23)
Iran’s Role and the Global Implications
Today (March 22) the shocking news “out there” includes a frontpage report in the London Sunday Times that Iran’s ballistic missiles appear able to reach Europe’s capitals.
According to nervous-sounding military analysts, the UK has zero defence against them.
How different it could have been for the once Judeo-Christian nations if, instead of aligning themselves with antisemitic Islam, they had taken a stand with Israel.
Now it appears they are trapped, and will have to sleep in the bed they have made.
While the US made the first move in this war, with Trump ordering the attack at 15:38 on February 27, blame is sharpening against Israel from every corner, encouraged by Iran.
In a March 16 Sky News UK interview, the regime’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said Israel has “wanted for decades to be at war against Iran with American taxpayers’ [funding] and American soldiers’ blood. Netanyahu and the Israeli regime has its own agenda of making this war, you know, a win for them at the expense of everybody.”
On March 17, head of the United States’ National Counterterrorism Centre resigned, claiming that “Israel and its powerful US lobby” had tricked Trump into the war and would be responsible for the worldwide catastrophic economic consequences. The groundwork for blaming Israel has been well laid in that country by influencers like Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, et al).
It’s obvious where this is going, but it needn’t have.
For an unbroken 35 years – since Jerusalem became my home – every one of Israel’s prime ministers has branded Iran the number-one existential threat to their state.
The double-barrelled danger has equally been Tehran’s passionate pursuit of nuclear weaponry plus ballistic delivery systems, and its forming of proxy armies into a noose around Israel’s neck, all along styling itself as the most fervent champion of the “Palestinian people”.
Without the Iranian regime there would have been no armed Hamas in Gaza, no missile-endowed Hizballah groups in Lebanon and Iraq, no Houthi threat from Yemen.
No Islamic Republic would have meant no Second Lebanon War, no major IDF operations in Gaza, no October 7 massacre, no October 8 rocket barrages, no worldwide wave of antisemitism and, today, no closure of the Strait of Hormuz and no catastrophic threat to the global economy.
Repeated appeals to the international community to check or stall Iran’s nuclear quest, and to enable Israel to root out the proxies, were belittled, opposed and denounced.
The Blame Game: Israel in the Crosshairs
Israel’s petitions fell on deaf ears. And so, we have come to this war.
A war for which “Israel and the Jews are to blame”.
It is a familiar accusation—one repeated often enough to sound like truth, even when it defies the weight of history.
But accusations are easy from a distance. They come far more cheaply than nights spent in bomb shelters, or decades spent warning the world of what was coming.
The question is not who is most loudly blamed—but who was willing to see, and act, before it was too late.
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