On Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump extended the US ceasefire with Iran, but also promised to continue the US blockade of Iranian ports until Iran had put forward a ceasefire proposal.  This did not make Iran happy. On Wednesday, Iran’s navy seized two ships that it claimed were “attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz covertly.”

Later on Wednesday, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated that reopening the Strait of Hormuz would be “impossible” while the US and Israel committed “flagrant” breaches of the ceasefire, The Guardian reports. 

Amid the back-and-forth of the Middle East conflict, Brother M with Global Catalytic Ministries says victory won’t be decided by who has the best weapons. Instead, the question will be, Which nation’s systems will endure the longest?

(Photo courtesy of Lara Jameson/Pexels)

“Energy infrastructure is being targeted specifically. Shipping routes are being threatened,” Brother M says. That includes not only the Strait of Hormuz but also the Red Sea, which the Houthi rebels in Yemen are affecting. 

From Iran’s position, Brother M says the strategy goes beyond winning individual battles. 

“The goal is to try to apply pressure across an entire society in the West, which is really the new standard for warfare. It stretches systems — until something breaks,” he says. 

Rising gas prices and energy shortages are only the tip of the fallout of the past nearly eight weeks of the US-Israel war on Iran. Brother M says it has become a regional war. On that level, Brother M says a new Middle East is being shaped, which he sees as an outworking of Isaiah 19. 

“[Isaiah 19] describes an entire region in turmoil. It speaks of Egypt in a state of confusion, that there’s internal strife, economic disruption, fear, systems not functioning the way that they should,” he said.

(Photo courtesy of Jonathan Castaneda via Unsplash)

“It doesn’t stop there. It moves towards something that we have not yet seen but is happening, and things are being put into place. It speaks of a highway between Egypt, Assyria, and Israel. It speaks of former enemies becoming connected. It speaks of blessing coming out of a region.”

Brother M describes the recent events of the Middle East as a “pressure phase.” 

“There’s a pressure that’s forging alliances, that’s forging systems, that’s breaking structures, and it’s creating this biblical pattern that’s going to lead us into an Isaiah 19 moment. It’s part of the process, and it’s leading us somewhere,” he says. 

“It’s real pressure. It’s heavy pressure. And I don’t see this being resolved quickly, regardless of what you hear from the President [of the United States].” 

Find your place in the story

Where do Christians find their place amid the geopolitics? Brother Phil with Global Catalytic Ministries points to the Great Commission in the world’s chaos.

(Photo courtesy of Kyle Glenn via Unsplash)

“Yes, there are wars, there’s famine, there’s fuel shortages, but we lose the plot if we make that the main thing,” he says. 

“I think Jesus’ point in Matthew 24 is ‘all this will be going on in the background, but don’t be afraid. Focus on the main thing that’s happening: The gospel will go to the ends of the earth.’” 

The Strait of Hormuz will likely remain a revolving door. Believers must stay grounded in God’s mission and pursue their places in His Kingdom story today. 

“I’m encouraging people not to dissect whether war with Iran is fulfilling this verse of Revelation. I’m trying to help them to keep the big picture,” says Brother Phil. 

“If we make wars and famines the main thing, then we do what someone has referred to as ‘letting the devil set our agenda.’ We end up being focused on what he’s doing, rather than on the things that Jesus has called us to do.”

Header photo: By MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC – This image or video was catalogued by Goddard Space Flight Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: 2018-12-10., Public Domain)