Prophecy Unfolding: Has The Great Fall of Iran Begun? Rabbi Zamir Cohen (AI)

When people speak about redemption in times like these, a person may ask himself, "Throughout history, whenever there were wars, people probably said the same thing. There's a war. Redemption must be near." So, what is different about this night from all other knights? What is special about this war or about our era compared to previous generations? The answer is that redemption is not determined by wars alone. Even when we speak about Iran and the United States, and we do have a prophecy that Iran will fall, our sages did not call it Iran. Iran is a modern name less than 80 years old. Its true historical name is Persia. Our sages state that Persia will fall into the hands of Edom. And Edom refers to a Christian power. And only afterward will Mashiach come. Still, in any generation, even if such a thing were to occur, if Persia were to fall into the hands of a Christian nation, we would not be able to state definitively that this proves redemption is imminent unless it joins an entire system of signs. For example, 2,000 years ago, had there been a war between Persia and a Christian power and we were to examine the prophetic framework found in Tanakh, we would have seen that the time had not yet arrived. Why? Because in the book of Daniel chapter 7, there is a complete system of prophecies that spans from the destruction of the first temple until the coming of Messiah. And within that system, there are intermediate stages, milestones that had not yet taken place. But in our time, in our generation, when we examine all of those stages, we see that they are already behind us. And this connects directly to the engathering of the exiles to the land of Israel and to all the signs described in the Mishna. that brazeness will increase, that the government will stand in opposition to Torah, and that the wisdom of the sages will decay. Students of Torah, scholars, their wisdom will be belittled. In previous generations, even someone who did not study Torah would see a person who spent his entire day in the study hall and would admire him. He would say, "Look at this person. He gives up everything and sits and learns Torah. How does he do it? How is he capable of such dedication? Today, by contrast, they are treated with contempt. They are taken to prison. This is something that is almost unimaginable. There is no country in the world with mandatory military conscription except Israel and North Korea. Granted, here there is compulsory service because there are real enemy states, so conscription exists. But to take someone who studies Torah, to arrest him in handcuffs, to treat him like the worst criminal worse than thieves. And for what? In order to bring down a right-wing government. These are things that defy all logic. After all, even figures from the political left themselves said to the ultraorthodox parties, "Come with us. We will explain everything to you. All the draft laws, whatever you want, you will get." But this too was foretold in advance. The wisdom of the sages will decay and those who fear heaven will be despised. People who walk in the path of God will be treated with contempt. As I mentioned once before, when we were in Tiberius about a year and a half, almost two years ago, in the midst of the war, when all the evacuees were still there, I read the Mishna to them. And when I reached a certain line, I said, "Until now, I have been speaking. Now you will speak. Explain to me the next sentence." It says there, "The people of the border regions will wander from city to city and will not find rest." I asked them, "Who is this referring to?" They said, "This is us. People who live near the borders are wandering within the country from city to city. You want to return home and you are told that you cannot." Hundreds of thousands of people for nearly two years were not in their homes. I spoke about this in my book Journey to the Truth and there I wrote in parenthesis to explain for several decades at the time the book was written. So among the prophecies mentioned there we now understand this one as well. But the meaning of the phrase the people of the border regions will wander was very difficult to understand. I believe that for 2,000 years it was not understood at all. So I wrote there in parenthesis with a question mark, the people of the border regions will wander the border police with a question mark. And I said to him, what border police? What did the sages mean? They meant that after we return to the land of Israel, the people who live near the borders will wander from city to city and will not find stability or rest. But you can see that everything is unfolding exactly according to the script, the flourishing of the land of Israel. In my book, Journey to the Truth, we brought many such signs. Therefore, when we now speak about the possibility that Persia may fall into the hands of Edom, into the hands of a Christian power, and today that power is the leading Christian superpower, and there are also several reasons why specifically the United States is identified as Edom. I once saw an interesting article that brought many proofs showing that Edom refers specifically to the United States. So certainly this points to another stage. Again, we cannot set dates, but it is another significant stage, one that accelerates the process and brings us closer to the era of redemption. And it is important to emphasize a very important point. The moment the time of redemption arrives, when the chauffeur of Mashiach is sounded and Elijah the prophet is revealed, a person can no longer change. Today, one can still change. A person who wants to correct something. The coalists say that today is the time of work. The coming of Mashiach is the time of receiving reward. Each person according to his level becomes fixed. This is who you are. And that is how you will remain afterward. But I want to change. The time of work is over. That is why the Gamarra says this world is like a wedding feast. Snatch and eat. Snatch and drink. This world resembles a hila, a wedding celebration. Today they call it the world of weddings. Imagine you enter a very prestigious wedding. The wedding of a close friend who is one of the wealthiest people in the country. And uh who are you? Just one of his employees. But he is among the richest people in the world. And this is a magnificent wedding. The waiters, each one dressed like the groom himself with elegance and honor, approach you, bow to you and say, "Sir, would you like this or perhaps that? Maybe eat this, drink that." And thank God, you feel like a king. Total luxury. The wedding ends. You step out to the parking lot, speak with someone for half an hour, and suddenly you feel thirsty. Cold thirst, summer, hot. You go back into the hall and you see that everything has been cleared away. No tables, no tablecloths, nothing. You approach the waiter who just an hour ago was bowing before you and say, "May I have a glass of cola?" He points to the door. You say, "Wait a second. An hour ago, how did you treat me?" He answers, "That was during the wedding. The wedding is over. If you wanted to indulge, you could have. Not now." The sages say, "Know this. This world is like a wedding feast. Snatch and eat. Snatch and drink." When the wedding is over, you cannot say, "Now I want even a single sesame seed." You have to think about it beforehand. Therefore, we must make use of these times. A person who says, "One day I'll start keeping Shabbat." Why, one day, start now. I aspire to wear a kippa. Why aspire? Start wearing a kippa now. You want modesty, start now. These are the kinds of things that when a person sets his mind on them, he rises to a higher level. And from there he will rise another level and another until he reaches wholeness with God's