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I recently had the opportunity on our ministry's television program, Christ in Prophecy, to interview a Bible prophecy expert by the name of Bill Salus, the founder and director of Prophecy Depot Ministries based in La Quinta, California. He is also an in-depth Bible prophecy researcher and writer who specializes in finding and interpreting end time Bible prophecies that have been overlooked. Bill burst onto the Bible prophecy scene in 2008 in a big way with the publication of his first book about the Psalm 83 War, titled Isralestine.
Bill's latest book, Nuclear Showdown in Iran: The Ancient Prophecy of Elam, is about an obscure end time prophecy found in Jeremiah 49 which seems to indicate that a nuclear explosion will take place in a very specific area of Iran in the end times. The following is our discussion where Bill explains his theory concerning a possible nuclear disaster that will befall Iran.
The Overlooked Prophecy
The prophecy Jeremiah wrote in 596 BC has been vastly overlooked. I also believe it is a prophecy that could be imminent. It could be dealing with Iran's nuclear program. There are only six verses to this prophecy, so it is easy to just kind of pass right by it, but these six verses are very potent, and I think they are very applicable to our time.
In Jeremiah 49:34-39, the Lord gets fiercely angry at Elam. Elam is part of Iran today, and that area is where Iran's nuclear facilities are currently located.
Elam hugs the Persian Gulf. So, when you look at a modern-day map of Iran, it encompasses the ancient lands of both Elam and Persia. Elam comprises about one-fifth of modern-day Iran. Historically, the area was isolated from Persia by the Zagros Mountain range.
Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Reactor is in Elam's Bushehr Providence, and that area is a nuclear disaster just waiting to happen! Studies have shown that the Bushehr Nuclear Reactor is loaded with Russian fuel rods, all nestled over a crossing of unstable tectonic plates.
When most people talk about the future of Iran in Bible prophecy, they typically go to Ezekiel 38-39 where the prophet Ezekiel prophesies in part about Persia. Ezekiel's contemporary, Jeremiah, actually wrote before Ezekiel's Gog & Magog War was prophesied. We find out in Jeremiah 49:34 that it was actually written about 596 BC during the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah. He writes about Elam in 596 BC and Ezekiel then about 10 years later writes about Persia. So, Iran has double trouble and a double jeopardy as both of these prophecies apply to them in the end times.
It is interesting that both Ezekiel and Jeremiah use the same phrase "in the latter years" to address the timing of their prophecies. The final verse of the prophecy, Jeremiah 49:39, reads "but it shall come to pass in the latter days."
The Broken Bow
Jeremiah is informing us that the Lord is fiercely angry at Elam, which would be Iran today. Something angers the Lord to the point that judgment is coming to this land. The judgment comes as an epic, biblical disaster!
God explains how this judgment will happen in verse 35: "Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,
The foremost of their might." The something that is angering the Lord is related to Elam wanting to launch something against somebody. They are wanting to target somebody. Should this passage apply to today, and I think it does, Israel is the one in the cross-hairs of Iran.
Elam is wanting to strike against Israel, but God is going to break their bow. He is going to stop their ability to attack Israel at the foremost of their might, which today would be Iran's growing nuclear program.
How interesting it is that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a parallel concern about Iran. Not only is Iran building a nuclear program and enriching uranium with centrifuges, but also Iran is developing Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). We are continuously hearing Netanyahu these days talking about why Iran should not be able to manufacture ICBMs. He says the only purpose for those missiles is to put a nuclear warhead in them. Netanyahu has been making the case with the United Nations as to why Iran must not be allowed to continue to enrich uranium. Netanyahu wants every reactor in Iran dismantled for those reasons.
Breaking the bow of Elam is an idiom. Isaiah 22:6 tells us that the Elamites were known as expert archers. When your bow is broken, you cannot load the arrows from out of your quiver, or in a modern sense, the missiles out of your silo. A broken silo means Iran cannot launch their missiles. Their capability is going to be broken.
The Scattered People
Where it gets interesting is in the next verse. Verse 36 occurs after the judgment starts to manifest in that the Lord says He "will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and scatter them toward all those winds; there shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go."
This passage, I believe, is talking about a worldwide dispersion of the Iranian people. Whatever this disaster is, it is going to be of the magnitude to affect the indigenous population and scatter them out into the nations of the world. That of course could be due to a nuclear or radioactive scenario.
We have a modern-day example of refugees coming out of the war-torn area of Syria. Almost three million of them! The Syrian refugees are coming out of Syria due to a civil war which has been going on for several years now.
Could Iran also be forced out into the whole world? Will they be scattered into Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and to a much grander scale the entire world?
Verse 37 promises, "'For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their [Israel's] life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger,' says the Lord; 'And I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them.'"
The Salvation of Elam
Verse 38 says something very peculiar, yet really fascinating: "I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy from there the king and the princes." The Lord is ultimately going to make Iran part of His throne!
While the first four of the six verses do not bring very good news to Iran, the last two verses do provide some hope. In Jeremiah 49:34-39, Iran faces disasters and calamities such as a worldwide dispersion, and we're told the Iranians will be dismayed before their enemies. God's talking about a menu of enemies, and more than just Himself being angry. They've certainly got Israel to be concerned about. The Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) of Arab States on the other side of the Persian Gulf are also extremely concerned about Iran's nuclear program. Eventually swords will be coming after Iran.
But, the last two verses, starting with verse 38, provide good news for the Iranian people. There's a whole bigger back story about what's going on in Iran today. There is a nuclear showdown Iran is having with the world, but there is also a spiritual showdown going on between Christianity and Islam.
God says in Jeremiah 49:38 that He will set His throne up in Elam and destroy from there the kings and the princes. That tells us one of the reasons why God is fiercely angry, because there is bad leadership in Iran today with the Ayatollahs. If this applies to a modern-day context, God is going to destroy the Ayatollahs of Iran and set His authority up inside of their land.
Iran has one of the most repressive Islamic regimes in the world right now. It is trying to get their hands on a nuclear weapon in order to wipe Israel off the map. Therefore, to God, those Ayatollahs have got to be taken out. Iran's leadership is wanting to launch something by the bow, and so their kings and prince have got to be taken out.
And yet, the good news is that God will set His throne up in Elam, and in verse 39 He will also bring back the captives of Elam. God in His mercy will restore the fortunes of those exiled in verse 36, who were sent out into the nations of the world. That's good news!
Iran's people have been experiencing dreams, visions, miracles and healings. Despite the predominance of Islam, Iran is the number one growing evangelical population in the world. There are many Elamites, many Iranians we'll say, who are looking towards this prophecy in the hopes of finding an exit strategy to get out from under the repression of the Iranian government. It is very difficult for their people to leave.
The Gospel is getting into Iran. There are primarily three main satellite television programs that reach into Iran. One of them is "Iran Alive Ministries," TBN has one, and CBN has one also. TBN's is called Nejat TV and they reach over the heads of the Ayatollahs and into the households of those Iranians who are extremely dismayed with Islam. Many Muslims in Iran are dismayed with Islam. Most of the population in Iran, about 80%, is under 30 years old. They were indoctrinated into the Ayatollahs' teachings after they took over the country in 1979 and then immediately went to war for eight years with Iraq. They have been repressing their people. And so, Christianity is very appealing to the Iranian people, and they are coming to the Lord in multitudes.
Iranian Christians are the number one growing evangelical population in the world. They're growing at a rate of 19.6% compared to America growing at a rate of .08%. Their people are experiencing amazing phenomenon such as supernatural dreams, miracles and healings.
The Throne in Elam
Bear in mind that many, many other prophecies in the Bible tells us that when the Lord returns His capital city is going to be set up in Jerusalem. That is where Jesus' throne is going to be. Jerusalem is where Christ is going to reign over all the world during the Millennial Kingdom. So, what's this reference about God setting up His throne in Elam? That is certainly the most puzzling part of Jeremiah's prophecy.
The Hebrew word for throne is kisse. We find this word used in Isaiah 66 where it says, "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool." We find the word used again in Jeremiah 3:17 about how the Messiah will have His throne in Jerusalem during the Messianic Kingdom. There are other verses as well. We know Jerusalem is where the Messiah is going to reign over the whole world.
So, what is this throne in Elam that's got so many Iranian Christians excited? Well, when you study the word kisse, it can mean a literal throne. So, one possibility that I like to think about concerns those exiles who were dispersed into the world and became outcasts. Some of them are going to come to recognize Jesus Christ. They will be a remnant like there will be a remnant of Israelis, a remnant of Jordanians, a remnant of Assyrians, and a remnant of Egyptians who will go through the travails of the Tribulation. There will be a remnant that recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and they will be restored back to their land, likely during the Millennial Kingdom.
Another view from history, King Cyrus of Persia had a second throne. The Persian Empire had one in Elam after they conquered the Babylonians. Maybe Jesus will have a little second palace somewhere in Elam. That is one idea. It is a bit of a stretch, though.
Kisse can also mean a position of authority, like King Cyrus. He was one of the very few good kings of Persia in the past and was anointed by the Lord for doing God's bidding. He was used by the Lord, we are told, in Isaiah 44-45 for the purposes of bringing the Jews out of the 70-year Babylonian captivity. In 539 BC, Cyrus was anointed to allow the Jews to return to Israel from the First Exile. Maybe Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom will have an anointed person in Elam who will be a steward on Christ's secondary throne.
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