Dueling Eschatologies
Junious Ricardo Stanton
When we peer into the fog of Trump and Netanyahu’s War on Iran and bypass the lies, the propaganda, the bluster and bombast and closely scrutinize the cultural values, we see there are additional motivations for this war beyond land grabs, regional hegemony, egos and imperial objectives. This war is also about conflicting religious eschatologies and beliefs about so called end times or last days. Each of the participants: Israel, the US and Iran has their own ideas, myths, doctrines and dogmas about some event or series of events they each believe will usher in a period of peace, justice, reigned over by their holy person they each have their own name for and allegiance to.
All three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam have their fanatical wings, sects or unhinged elements. Each of them has their doctrines and worldview which allows them to feel good about themselves, what they believe and the god of their understanding. They each are anticipating the appearance or arrival of a great one, a savior or redeemer who will lead them as loyal followers and adherents of their religion into an era of peace, utopia and righteous reign over the whole planet
A key principle in Judaism is their notion of a Messiah who’s anticipated coming many believe is near, some claim he is already here. The Messiah is a High Priest King, a descendant of the Biblical King David who is human who will restore Israel, who will sit on the throne and usher in an era of global peace and unity. This priest king will welcome all Jewish believers from around the world to return to Israel. The Temple of Solomon will be rebuilt and their governing council, the Sanhedrin will be reestablished and reconstituted.
They believe the world will recognize (acquiesce to) their notion of God, their Messiah, their righteous governance of the planet which will be conducted from Jerusalem and the “Jews” will be the preeminent administrators of this new global order. The problem with this is most of the people who call themselves Jews are not descendants of the Biblical Judeans, Israelites or Hebrews. DNA proves they are from Eastern Europe or Eurasia. Looking at how they treat the Palestinians and wage war on their neighbors is the opposite of justice and peace.
Iranians are Persians. While they are Muslims, they are Shia Muslims and most Arab Muslims are Sunnis. Shias anticipate the emergence of a special Imam they call The Mahdi. Muhammad al-Mahdi was born in 869 AD the son of a major Shia Imam (religious leader) who became an Imam when he was just five years old following his father’s death. Shias believe he was divinely protected and hidden from political enemies. They believe he is still alive and awaiting the appropriate time in reveal himself. They believe the al-Mahdi will arrive during a time of severe corruption, injustice and oppression. They believe al-Mahdi will usher in an era of peace, justice and Islamic rule.
However, Sunni Arabs question how al-Mahdi could live so long and how he could be an Imam at five years old. A schism in beliefs exists within Islam. Nevertheless, many Iranians believe they are living in a time which is ripe for the emergence of a righteous religious leader especially since they currently find themselves engaged in an existential war against The Great Satan. This is incentivizing the Iranians to fight to the death in their war against the US and Israel. It does not bode well for world peace.
Christians have an end time scenario also. Theirs is quite complicated. There are differing views on how and when The Rapture will occur. I don’t have space to deal with that here and now. The most ardent adherents to this eschatology are the Protestant Evangelicals. The Catholics, Greek Orthodox and most so called mainstream Protestant denominations do not prioritize Eschatology as much as Evangelicals.
Part of Christian theology is the expectation of the return of Jesus Christ to earth to rule. Evangelicals believe in order for Jesus to return there must be a great tribulation, a time of suffering, divine wrath, upheaval and apocalyptic wars. Some believe at this time “Jews” will accept Jesus as their Messiah, Christians will be taken up into the sky and Jesus will return to earth to defeat the Anti-Christ, raise the dead, and establish a thousand-year Millennial Reign from the city of Jerusalem.
The leaders of all three participants in this war have their notions about the god of their understanding, how war is inevitable and how they will fare as future events play out. These beliefs are critical factors in current events and we need to grasp the crucial roles and implications of their eschatology to understand the reasons for this carnage.
From my perspective all of this is of man, it is man’s ignorance, arrogance, bloodlust and drive for temporal power, not of God. But try telling this to religious fanatics.
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Posted By: Junious Stanton
Thursday, March 12th 2026 at 9:57AM
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