The Elam Declaration
I once saw a meme where they joked about living in Bible prophecy and those who did not understand it did not realize it was happening before their eyes. Well, today, I am here to tell you that we are not only living in Bible times, but I believe we are seeing an ancient prophecy from the Lord come to pass. There will be many Bible Prophecy Scholars examine Jeremiah 49, but many of them are missing a vital and key aspect of Jeremiah 49. Let’s dig into it.
Jeremiah 49:34-39 “The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might. 36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go. 37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger,’ says the LORD; ‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them. 38 I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the LORD. 39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the LORD.”
Okay, let’s dig into it. For those who do not know, Elam is an ancient territory that is part of the modern day country of Iran. So when you see Elam, think Iran. Every Bible study you do should be founded on Proverbs 25:2 “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings [is] to search out a matter.” This means we dig deep!
So with Jeremiah 49, we need to examine everything. Now in my book, The Haggai Project, I walk through the ideas of naming conventions and what God provides plain as day for those who are willing to examine. Here in chapter 49, we see starting at verse 34 six names. Six is the number of man, and we know that there might be something hidden in here for the individual.
LORD: The Existing One
JEREMIAH: Yahweh will raise up into
ELAM: Eternity, everlasting and will hide
ZEDEKIAH: because of Yahweh’s righteousness
JUDAH: Praise God
LORD: The Existing One.
When you add this all together, let’s see what we get, remember the theme is the individual man. It appears that God is making a hidden declaration for those willing to examine seriously His word. So what is the declaration, “For His individuals in Elam, the Existing One who is Yahweh, will raise them up into eternity, everlasting and will hide them [from the judgement described in this prophecy]. This can happen because of Yahweh’s righteousness, thus let us praise God the Existing One.”
So, God is bringing judgment to Iran and yet, God will remember there are believers in the country and this judgement is not against them. In fact, the next several verses go over what God will do. Now many Bible scholars will examine verses 35 through 38 with a fine tooth comb, however, I want to bring to light what all believers in Jesus should recognize. If this is indeed the prophecy of Jeremiah 49 being fulfilled, then we are provided another sign of the latter days.
Jeremiah 49:39 “But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the LORD.” Examine this carefully, God is saying that in the LATTER DAYS this event will happen. If this is true, then we have another sign identifying the time we live in. But even more, the captives of Elam, those Persian people who have been scattered because of the Iranian government, will be able to go home! If this is the case, it is my opinion that we will see a great revival in Persia, Islam will finally be challenged in a place where it was the sole government religion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be spread! This will undoubtedly bring peace to the region and finally usher in the defined scenario described in Ezekiel 38. We are seeing the final pieces come into play!
If this is indeed the fulfillment of Jeremiah 49:34-39, we as the body of Christ need to be ready to get to work in an area, which for the majority of the past half century, has not had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Yes, we need to be eager for the Rapture, but let us be about the Work of the Kingdom until we are called home. Pray for Persian people, pray for an opportunity for them to hear the gospel in a grander way than before. Now take a moment and pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem, and share the good news of Jesus to any Israeli willing to listen. Now is not the time to stay silent, but declare God’s love and grace to anyone willing to listen. God is setting the final stage for Israel to be the focal point, and Persia is the current piece at play being moved into position.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL