When you write about current events and connect them to Bible prophecy, it’s natural to look at every big headline through a prophetic lens. You might expect me to be all over the Russia-Ukraine war, especially with the recent clash between Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office. And yes, it’s a significant moment in global politics, but that doesn’t mean it has to be prophetically significant. I’ve written articles like this before — where the world’s pulse races, and we instinctively think it must be tied to the end times. It’s easy to make that leap, especially when Russia is involved. Russia often gets pegged as the “King of the North” in Daniel 11 or the land of “Magog” in Ezekiel 38. But what if we’ve been looking in the wrong direction?
I’ve long believed that the “north” in biblical prophecy isn’t pointing to Russia but rather to the Syria-Turkey region. In my last two articles, I’ve written about how the King of the North references the Seleucid Empire. Magog, at its earliest, is traced back to what is now Turkey. So, while a northern invader of Israel doesn’t have to be Russia, Russia could still be involved. They’d be the icing on the cake, not the whole recipe. The same goes for China. The massive 200 million army from the East in the end times has often been linked to China. It could be China — after all, only a nation of that size could muster such a force — but it doesn’t have to be. That 200 million figure is staggering when you think about it. During World War II, the total global military force was 70 million. The entire population of the U.S. is only 340 million. Any large-scale war makes us wonder if it’s the final battle, but Armageddon is not just any war. It is tied to a specific place in Israel and involves specific nations, mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. The Bible gives us these nations; the rest is speculation.
I often hear that history repeats itself, and wars like WWI or WWII could have been the end times if only things had gone differently. But that’s not how it works. Those wars, monumental as they were, couldn’t have been the end because Israel wasn’t back in the land. The end times aren’t a guessing game. The Bible is incredibly specific. Prophecy isn’t a dartboard where every big event is a bullseye. Some events may seem monumental but aren’t necessarily prophetic.
However, if you look back, the one common thread between WWI and WWII concerning the end times was how they paved the way for Jews to return to Israel. That’s a critical detail because the regathering of Israel is a central theme in prophecy. There are prophecies about Israel being scattered to the four winds and then brought back together at the end of the age. But there’s also a unique prophecy in Jeremiah that gives us more detail about how this regathering would happen.
Jeremiah 16:14-16 says, “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors. But now I will send for many fishermen, declares the Lord, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.”
This prophecy speaks of two methods — “fishers” who draw the Jewish people back through opportunity and “hunters” who drive them home through hardship. And when you look at history, you see this prophecy playing out. The Balfour Declaration of 1917, issued by the British government, was a “fishing” moment. It provided hope and a destination for Jews facing rising antisemitism in Europe. The door was open, and some took the opportunity. But as history often does, the window of opportunity turned into a storm of tragedy.
World War II became the ultimate hunting ground. The Holocaust didn’t just drive Jews out of Europe. It drove them into the arms of a homeland they had been without for nearly 2,000 years. The world saw the depth of Jewish suffering, and in 1948, Israel was reborn as a nation. It was a miracle but not the end of the story.
Since Israel’s rebirth, Islamic resistance has become a modern-day hunter. From Hamas to Hezbollah, these groups have not only sought to oppose Israel but to drive the Jewish people out of the land again. Through wars, terrorism and global antisemitism, the “hunters” continue to create danger, prompting more Jewish aliyah (immigration to Israel). The tension between “fishers” and “hunters” remains alive today.
The world is often obsessed with Russia, China and the U.S. in prophecy, but the real story is Israel. The prophecies are not just ancient words — they are a living, breathing narrative unfolding before our eyes. God is not only regathering His people but doing it in a way that aligns with every prophetic detail. The hunters may rage, but the promise of God stands firm ¾ His people will return, and they will dwell in their land securely.
The headlines may scream about wars and rumors of wars, but we must keep our eyes on the bigger picture. Not every major event is a dramatic end-times headline. But the regathering of Israel? That’s the story that truly matters. That’s the narrative we need to follow. It’s not about predicting the day or the hour but recognizing the season and staying grounded in the specific, clear narrative that Scripture provides. When God says He will bring His people home, He means it.
