The area of Iran is mentioned much in the Bible. In fact, it is the second most mentioned land area in the Bible after Israel.

Iran was in turn ruled by the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, and the Greeks. These successive empires are outlined in Daniel 2 & 7. Until 1935, Iran was called by its Bible name—Persia. The modern name of Iran is derived from the word “aryan”. During World War II, the Persian foreign affairs minister to Germany was influenced by Hitler, who believed in Aryan supremacy. “Aryan” was a word in Persian for “land of the Aryans,” which was actually the race of the Iranians. Because it seemed that Persia could shed itself of British and Russian influences, the name was changed to Iran to signal a new beginning. Germany lost the war, and, because there was long-standing monarchy in place, the Shah, as he was called, ruled with friendly relations with the West.

Very few realize that there is an astounding biblical range of the area of Iran. Iran, or Persia, is mentioned in relation to the rule of the Medes and Persians. The Persian Empire of those years was a sprawling dominion from India to Greece. It was the second of four massive empires forecast by Daniel in Daniel 2 & 7.

Persia is often mentioned in relation to the rule of the Medes and Persians. Cyrus is mentioned in II Chronicles, Ezra, Isaiah and Daniel where Jews taken in the Babylonian captivity were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Darius I is mentioned in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah. Darius confirmed Cyrus’ decree and ordered the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The story of Esther takes place under the rule of Xerxes, also called Ahasuerus. Artexerxes I is mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah. It was Artexerxes who allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city’s wall.

In 614 the Persians came into Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ. They would have destroyed the Church of the Nativity but for one thing. On the walls were frescoes—pictures painted on plaster—that showed the Wise Men of the East coming to worship the Christ child. The Bible word for them is “magi,” and some think this is related to a tribal identity and that they were Medes. If so, the Medes were some of the very first worshippers of Christ and perhaps actual converts. When the Persians saw these painting on the walls, they recognized them as coming from their own culture, and they were so awed that they left the church intact.

Recently, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran, gave a lengthy interview to Human Events. His father abdicated and fled from Iran when the Aytollah Homeini took over. The Ayatollah, a rabid Islamic fundamentalist, had been agitating for power while living in Paris. He returned to Iran to form what he called an Islamic Republic. (A missionary told me there is no such thing. What passes for a republic turns out to be a combination of church-state domination by Islam.) Shortly after, the Shah’s son began a long effort to sit again on the royal Iranian throne since he feels he is the rightful heir to the Pahlavi monarchy. He believes he will return one day as Shah of Iran in what he calls a parliamentary monarchy.

Put this into the context of Revelation 16:12. “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared” (emphasis mine). Interestingly, Revelation calls these rulers kings, which is usually associated with an area ruled by a sovereign. When the Bible speaks of a compass direction, it is in relation to Israel, the center of the earth. The Euphrates, across which massive armies eventually march, is mostly east of Israel. Iran is to the east of that. We do not want to jump to conclusions, but it is no stretch to say that those ancient Bible lands are ever becoming a more clear focus of modern fulfillment.

King Darius was described as a special servant of God in Isaiah 44:28. God sometimes uses the worst of men to accomplish His best purposes. In that case, it was the rebuilding of the Temple. The flip side is that Iran and that part of the world is influenced by very strong demonic powers. In Daniel 10, the curtain is drawn aside on this demonic battle. An angelic being, probably Gabriel who had already spoken to Daniel (Dan. 9:21), brings the prophet a message. He declares that he’s been fighting with “the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia” for three weeks. But Michael, the Archangel (Jude 1:9), overcomes this wicked creature, probably a fallen angel and the good angel gets through.

Then, in verse 20 we see the battle resumed. “I must return to fight with the prince of Persia.” Another battle is anticipated, and the good angel says, “And when I have gone forth, the prince of Greece will come” (Daniel 10:21). He adds that his spiritual cohort in the supernatural battle, Michael, will come and help the good angel in that supernatural battle. In the book of Daniel alone we see two good angels and two very bad ones in awesome spiritual battle in that area of the world.

The Bible is very clear that there is a spiritual warfare going on around us all the time. Is there any better explanation for the chaos prevailing in the Middle East? Daniel teaches us that there are resident demons, or territorial demons as some call them. Iran and Iraq are special examples of this. This probably holds true over the entire earth, but there are certain places where these demons have held very long and powerful sway. Revelation says that demons are especially loosed in the Great Tribulation. Some of these are imprisoned in the Euphrates River area (Rev. 9:14) to prepare the way for the rulers of the East to surge across Asia and attack Israel.

I believe that there is evidence of demonic strongholds even here in the U.S. Sometimes there is simply no visible explanation for situations other than that it may be a stronghold of demonic power. Paul wrote that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). There is a wrestling match going on, and some of the powers are in heavenly places. It is indeed spiritual warfare.

The outcome of this spiritual wrestling does not depend on our skill or ability; it is not according to the flesh. Just as Michael fought for Daniel, we have ministering spirits in angels assigned to us, and we have the victory assured in the resurrection of Christ (Hebrews 1:14). God promises a formal assurance of victory in the spiritual warfare. Christ “having disarmed principalities and powers…made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Satan’s kingdom is smashed in its ultimate authority. In Christ, we always have the victory (I Corinthians 15:57).

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by David Virkler
Biblical Iran