- 2 days ago
Are current events involving Iran confirming long-standing prophetic interpretations? In this episode of the Bible News Prophecy Program, Steve Dupuie speaks with Bob Thiel about how recent developments in the Middle East align with predictions he has made for nearly two decades. Dr. Thiel explains his long-held position that Iran would not become the prophesied “King of the South” described in the Book of Daniel, and instead would be “somewhat neutralized” before that power rises. He points to recent statements from leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, who claim Iran’s military capabilities have been significantly weakened, as evidence that Iran has been somewhat neutralized. The discussion explores: What “neutralization” of Iran really means? Why Iran is not the final dominant power in biblical prophecy? How a future Middle Eastern confederation may emerge? The role of prophecy in understanding global conflicts Scriptures from the Book of Ezekiel, Second Epistle of Peter, and Gospel of Mark are also examined to provide context and caution against misinterpretations of current events. As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, this episode challenges viewers to carefully compare headlines with scripture—and to stay alert, as Jesus instructed.
A written article of related interest is available titled 'Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump confirm another COGwriter prediction' URL: https://www.cogwriter.com/news/prophecy/benjamin-netanyahu-trump-confirm-another-cogwriter-prediction/
A written article of related interest is available titled 'Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump confirm another COGwriter prediction' URL: https://www.cogwriter.com/news/prophecy/benjamin-netanyahu-trump-confirm-another-cogwriter-prediction/
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00:04Greetings, friends. This is Steve Dupuy for the Bible News Prophecy Program with Dr. Bob Thiel,
00:09bringing you news and analysis of world events in light of Bible prophecy. Dr. Thiel, over the past
00:15several years, I have read many of your articles on the Mideast and Iran. How do current events
00:22align with your past predictions? Well, they've confirmed them. For example,
00:27Israel's prime minister essentially says that the military power of Iran's been neutralized.
00:32Here's a headline from yesterday. Netanyahu hints at early end of war with Iran,
00:37says nuclear and missile threats have been neutralized. He declared Iran's nuclear missile
00:45capabilities have been eliminated. He said Iran today has no ability to enrich uranium,
00:53no ability to produce ballistic missiles. He says, we are winning. Iran is being decimated.
00:59We're now destroying the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and make
01:04nuclear weapons they're trying to produce. And another headline similar, Netanyahu declares
01:11Iran's nuclear missile capabilities neutralized. And in the past week, by the way, the Gulf states
01:19called for the United States and Israel to permanently neutralize Iran. And the United States Central
01:28Command said that neutralization of Iran's military abilities was what it's trying to do, what its plan is.
01:39To be clear, are you saying that even though Iran may have military victories, its power has been at
01:47least somewhat neutralized? Yes. Now, read a headline related to Donald Trump. I saw it yesterday.
01:54Trump claims Iran's military neutralized. And at his true social site, Donald Trump wrote,
02:03the United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both militarily,
02:07economically, economically, and in every other way. Also, a true social put that Iran's military has
02:16been severely degraded. It says, there's no radar, spotters, or aircraft. From a military standpoint,
02:23Iran is finished. I think we've won. That's what Trump said. Well, Iran is not dead. But the fact is,
02:32it's been somewhat neutralized. Well, if militarily speaking, Iran is not yet dead,
02:39what is the significance of it being neutralized? Well, we in the Continuing Church of God never
02:46believed that Iran could be the final king of the South of biblical prophecies like in Daniel 11.
02:53Because of that, I've long asserted that Iran might somehow get neutralized before this final king
02:58rises up. Back in April of 2007, I'm going to read something I posted. Quote,
03:06I believe that Iran will be somewhat neutralized at some point in time as I differ from PCG on Iran
03:12and the king of the South. Now, I asked ChatGPT about that statement. I asked it specifically,
03:19did anyone before me warn that Iran would be neutralized? So it first starts off with,
03:24the short answer is yes, but not the same way you framed it.
03:29It says, Q, if any, articulated the specific idea that Iran would be neutralized as a prophetic
03:36outcome. Then it says, what's distinctive about my 2007 statement is it has two elements that were
03:46not commonly paired before 2007. One, Iran is not the dominant power, king of the South. And two,
03:54therefore, Iran must be neutralized beforehand. Again, I'm reading from ChatGPT. The second step,
04:01the deductive conclusion of neutralization is what stands out. Then ChatGPT says, is there evidence
04:08somebody said this before you? Quote, from the available material, no. No clear pre-2007 sources surface
04:18that explicitly uses the concept of Iran being neutralized and ties into prophetic or geopolitical
04:24necessity. There are predictions of attack, predictions of regional pressure, predictions of
04:30setbacks, but those are not the same as your, meaning my, formulation.
04:37How did you seem to know that Iran had to be somewhat neutralized?
04:42Well, because Iran has been the biggest military power in the Islamic world, etc. But the Bible
04:49doesn't show it becoming the leader of that area. Therefore, I was convinced the Bible supported
04:56the view that Iran would no longer hold that position. Look, many analysts before 2007 speculated that Iran
05:06might be attacked or face setbacks. But there are none that I know of who specifically concluded that
05:12Iran would be neutralized as a necessary precursor to the rise of the final king of the South of biblical
05:18prophecies. And I've repeated this multiple times. May 26, 2010, I wrote, if Iran keeps trying to be
05:30difficult on the international scene, it will likely be neutralized and probably by Israel. Contrary to
05:37claims in some groups, Iran is not the king of the South, but it's likely to provide support for that
05:43coming power. Then in 2013, for example, I wrote, according to Bible prophecy, the king of the South,
05:51Daniel 11, 40, will rise up and we'll see if this happens sometime after in this Israeli conflict with
05:58Iran. Since Iran is not destined to be the king of the South, I've long written that Iran will be
06:06somehow neutralized through a conflict involving Israel and or internal strife, etc. And that the regime
06:15in Syria would change. By the way, the regime in Syria has changed. And in 2019, I wrote,
06:27expect Iran to be involved in more terrorism, but also expect that Iran will be at least neutralized.
06:35Iran is mainly east of Jerusalem. It might be a king of the east, but it is not the king
06:39of the South.
06:41And look, since that was published, Iran has been labeled as the leading sponsor of state terrorism,
06:47been involved much through its proxies, and now the United States, Israel, and the Gulf states have all called
06:53for Iran's neutralization. Who or what will take Iran's place? And what do you mean by neutralization?
07:04The Bible shows that a confederation in the Middle East and North Africa will form, which will basically
07:11speak for much of the Islamic world. The leader of this confederation is called the king of the South in
07:17Daniel 11. He looks to be an Arab. And the Iranians, they're Persians, they're not Arabs.
07:26Now, neutralization does not mean that Iran will be eliminated. But basically, we in the continuing
07:34Church of God believe that Iran will not be in a strong enough military position to become the king
07:39of the South of biblical prophecies. However, it may at least partially support such as that Islamic
07:47leader to a degree. Now, in 2021, I posted on August 5th, I've long believed that Iran is a threat
07:55that
07:55will one day be neutralized, as I believe it will overplay its hand. In October of 2022, I wrote,
08:03As far as Iran itself goes, while it wants to lead all of Islam, it will fail in that objective.
08:10The Bible points to an Arabic power doing that in Daniel 11, verses 40 to 43. Because of that, I've
08:18long felt
08:18that it may be that Iran would be neutralized before the final king of the South rises up. Now, here's
08:25one
08:26also from that period of time. It said, Iran could be neutralized by internal unrest or other matters.
08:34On the other hand, if it employs or attempts to employ certain weapons of mass destruction
08:38in certain locales, it may well cause Israel, the United States of America, and others to turn on it
08:45and destroy aspects of its military capability. That's happened. And that, by the way, was posted on
08:53October 21st, 2022.
08:58We have a free book called Lost Tribes and Prophecies. People can get it at ccog.org. As a matter
09:06of fact,
09:06I grabbed a copy of it here. And in this book in 2022, I wrote, Despite its posturing relative
09:16military strength and its ability to damage Israel and others, Iran will somehow effectively be neutralized.
09:25What is it about Iran's ambitions that will lead to its biblical neutralization?
09:34Well, I want to read things I posted before the current war. This one was posted on February 8th,
09:422026. I wrote, As far as Iran itself goes, it's long wanted to lead all of Islam. It hopes one
09:51day
09:51conquering Israel, by conquering Israel, it will get the rest of the Muslims to follow it.
09:57However, it'll fail to become the leader of Islam. The Bible points to an Arabic power
10:02doing that in Daniel 11, 40 to 43. Because of that, I've long felt that Iran would be neutralized
10:09before the final king of the South rises up. Again, similar to what I've written before.
10:13And here's something I posted on February 20th, 2026. So seven and seven and a half days before the
10:20current war. Despite its posturing and relative military strength, Iran will somehow be effectively
10:27neutralized. Look at Ezekiel 32, verse 24. Now, as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump basically
10:35confirmed, Iran has been somewhat neutralized. Yet there was a critic of a sermon that I gave recently,
10:42a sermon that was called 21st Century Prophets and Prophetsists, who posted something at an
10:48anti-Church of God website. And here's what he wrote. Now, this is after the Iran current one started.
10:58He claimed, quote, not one prophet from within the Armstrong fold, as far as I can tell,
11:03has predicted the events unfolding in Iran. Goodbye, King of the South, laugh out loud.
11:13No one has heard of Dr. Thiel, especially in Israel. Total unknown.
11:19Well, that critic has obviously heard of you since he mentioned you by name.
11:24Did he not even take the time to read what you wrote?
11:28Well, obviously not. You know, sadly, this is typical of critics who posted that anti-site.
11:37Look, I've written that Iran would not be the king of the South. So an attack against Iran doesn't change
11:43it.
11:43As a matter of fact, that helps demonstrate I was correct that Iran is not going to be the king
11:48of the South.
11:51And I would seem to be the first one to say that because Iran wasn't going to be the king
11:55of the South, it would be somehow neutralized.
11:58Now, the reason I use the term somehow, by the way, is I wouldn't say how, but I looked at
12:03world events and said, hey,
12:05somehow it's going to happen to get Iran out of the picture to some degree.
12:09And also the loss of Iran's supreme leader and many of its top military and political leaders was also a
12:16partial neutralization.
12:19Now, in Proverbs 26, verse 16, we read,
12:25The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who could answer sensibly.
12:31Now, related to Iran being neutralized and not to become the king of the South,
12:35I think I've said like seven, probably seven or eight references today, just now,
12:40but I've probably posted this like 70 times, maybe even 170 times since 2007.
12:46You know, a lot of critics, they think they're wise,
12:49but they don't seem to be interested enough to check out the facts,
12:53be able to discern truths from falsehoods.
12:57We in the continuing church of God have always taught against the idea
13:02that Iran would lead to be the king of the South.
13:06Plus, we've taught that Iran would be somehow neutralized.
13:10And that's not something that other churches of God,
13:13Greco-Roman Catholic or Protestant churches have been teaching.
13:16By the way, additionally, we've denounced certain Protestants who wrongly believe
13:20the current war has got to do with Ezekiel 38, which it doesn't.
13:23Now, even though the Apostle Paul put in 1 Corinthians 13,
13:28we don't always see things clearly, so we have to make some adjustments.
13:31But because we in the continuing church of God rely more on Scripture
13:36than Protestants and others do.
13:39I'm going to quote 2 Peter 1.19.
13:42We also have a more sure word of prophecy, wherein you do well,
13:46you take heed as the light that shines in the dark place.
13:50And the continuing church of God will continue to watch events
13:54as Jesus commanded in Mark 13, verse 37.
14:00Thank you, Dr. Keel.
14:01For more interviews with Dr. Keel, in addition to written as well as audio articles,
14:06visit our website at BibleNewsProphecy.net.
14:09This is Steve Dupuy for the Bible News Prophecy Program.