In a warm and hopeful YouTube message, direct to Iranian people of “all kinds,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distinguished between the “theocratic tyranny” of the regime and the people of Iran who “have a proud history and a rich culture.”
“Our two peoples can work together for a more peaceful and hopeful future for both of us,” he said.
The prime minister identified with the longing of Iranians for liberation.
“I know you want to live without freedom and fear,” he said, adding that he looked forward to the day when they will “not have to see videos like this one using a Virtual Private Network to circumvent censorship.”
“I will never forget images of brave young students gunned down in 2009,” he said, recalling the history of Iranians, brutally repressed since the 1979 uprising which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Shah, a somewhat corrupt friend of the West.
Netanyahu’s message was not only sentiment, but he spoke briefly of coordinating with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump to find practical solutions to the problem of the Iranian regime.
“I yearn for the day when Israelis and Iranians can once again visit each other freely,” Netanyahu said.
Iran has thus far robustly avoided the opportunities – and pitfalls – of the Arab Spring, a wave of revolutions that has caused regime changes in a number of Muslim nations, as well as great bloodshed and very little long-term improvement.
In Jeremiah 49, modern-day Iran is referred to as Elam. The Lord speaks of both its coming destruction and restoration. According to Elam Ministries, an Iranian Christian support organization, the Iranian people have indeed been scattered according to the prophecy and individuals can now be found in almost every nation. They look forward to the day when Yeshua will “set [his] throne in Elam.”
Many see this prophecy as being fulfilled now as the fastest church growth in the world is occurring in Iran in response to great persecution against believers. The organization Open Doors ranks the Iranian church as ninth most persecuted in the world in 2016, while Operation World says Iran has the fastest growing Evangelical Christian population in the world.
“This is what the Lord Almighty says:
‘See, I will break the bow of Elam,
the mainstay of their might.
I will bring against Elam the four winds
from the four quarters of heaven;
I will scatter them to the four winds,
and there will not be a nation
where Elam’s exiles do not go.
I will shatter Elam before their foes,
before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
even my fierce anger,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will pursue them with the sword
until I have made an end of them.
I will set my throne in Elam
and destroy her king and officials,’
declares the Lord.
‘Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam
in days to come,’
declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 49:35-39