THE STORM IS HERE

The Fall of Persia, the Rise of the Nations, and What God’s People Must Do Now

Mar 01, 2026

As I write these words, smoke fills the skies over Tehran. The United States and Israel have launched a massive, coordinated military assault on Iran — Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion. Explosions have struck Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah. The compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been reduced to rubble. According to President Trump, Israeli intelligence, and multiple confirmed sources, Khamenei is dead — along with the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, his senior advisor Ali Shamkhani, his defense minister, and much of the senior military command. Iran has retaliated with strikes on U.S. bases in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE, and launched missiles at Israel, hitting Tel Aviv. Gulf states have shut down schools. Kuwait has canceled Ramadan prayers. Airlines have halted flights. The Strait of Hormuz — through which twenty million barrels of oil pass daily — hangs in the balance.

And in the streets of Tehran, women are chanting: “Death to the Islamic Republic!” and “Long live freedom!” The forty-seven-year reign of the Ayatollahs is crumbling before the world’s eyes.

I want to be direct with you. This is not just another geopolitical crisis. This is not just another headline. What is happening right now — today, February 28, 2026 — is a prophetic event. The Bible told us this would happen. God showed me elements of this in a vision He called “The Storm.” And if you are reading this, God is giving you the opportunity to understand, to prepare, and to act — while there is still time.

I. Beyond the Headlines: What’s Really Happening

Let me pull back the curtain, because what you’re seeing on the news is only part of the picture.

The Dragon in the Room: China

What most news coverage won’t tell you is that China purchases nearly ninety percent of Iran’s exported oil — roughly 1.9 million barrels per day carried on shadow tankers designed to evade sanctions. Beijing and Tehran signed a twenty-five-year strategic cooperation agreement. Just last week, China, Russia, and Iran conducted joint naval drills — the Maritime Security Belt 2026 — in the Strait of Hormuz. China has reportedly supplied Iran with HQ-9B long-range surface-to-air missile systems, YLC-8B radar units, and thousands of tons of sodium perchlorate for solid-fuel ballistic missiles. A Chinese military attaché in Tehran recently presented Iran’s Air Force commander with a scale model of China’s J-20 stealth fighter — a thinly veiled message to Washington.

China’s Foreign Ministry has called for an “immediate cessation of military operations” and stressed that “Iran’s sovereignty must be respected.” But make no mistake: Beijing is playing a long game. Analysts at Chatham House note that the weaker Iran’s regime becomes under U.S. pressure, the more economically and technologically dependent it becomes on China. Beijing doesn’t need to fire a shot. It is positioning itself to inherit the ruins.

Hold that thought. We will come back to it.

The Bear Rises: Russia

Russia’s response has been furious. Moscow has condemned the strikes as “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression,” warning that the U.S. and Israel are “plunging the Middle East into an abyss of uncontrolled escalation.” Foreign Minister Lavrov immediately called Iran’s foreign minister to express solidarity. Former President Medvedev taunted the U.S. by noting that the Persian Empire is over 2,500 years old while America is only 249. Russia has supplied Iran with Su-35 fighter jets, Yak-130 combat trainers, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Verba man-portable air defense systems in a deal worth 500 million euros signed just this month.

Yet Russia is also in a delicate position. It has been courting Washington for help ending the war in Ukraine. Putin praised Trump’s peace efforts just weeks ago. Moscow must weigh its alliance with Tehran against its relationship with both Washington and, critically, with Israel.

But here is what I want you to see: China, Russia, and Iran — the three powers most hostile to Israel and the U.S.-led order — are bound together in an alliance of arms, oil, and shared enmity. And this is not a footnote in history. This is the exact alignment the prophet Ezekiel described nearly 2,600 years ago.

II. The Prophetic Map: What Scripture Actually Says

I have spent years studying the intersection of near-death experience testimonies and biblical prophecy, and I have interviewed over a thousand people who have stood in the presence of God. Many of them — independently and without knowledge of one another — have described visions of escalating global conflict, the shaking of nations, and the imminent return of Jesus Christ. But I never rely on experience alone. Everything must be tested against the Word of God. So let us lay out the prophetic map.

Jeremiah 49: The Bow of Elam Is Broken

Elam is the ancient name for southwestern Iran — the very region where the regime’s military and nuclear apparatus is centered. Nearly 2,600 years ago, Jeremiah delivered this oracle:

“Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. Against Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and I will scatter them to all those winds; and there shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.” — Jeremiah 49:35–36 (NKJV)

Iran’s “bow” — its military might, its ballistic missiles, its nuclear ambitions — is being broken as you read this. The scattering has been happening for decades: since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranians have been driven to every continent on earth. And then Jeremiah says something remarkable:

“I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy from there the king and the princes.” — Jeremiah 49:38 (NKJV)

“The king and the princes.” Today, the supreme leader and the senior military commanders of the IRGC are gone. God said He would do this — and He has done it.

But Jeremiah doesn’t end with judgment. He ends with a promise that speaks directly to our moment:

“But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.” — Jeremiah 49:39 (KJV)

“In the latter days.” That phrase should make you sit up. This is not merely ancient history fulfilled. This is a latter-days prophecy — and it points to something extraordinary: the spiritual restoration of Iran. Over the past two decades, the fastest-growing church in the world has been the underground church in Iran. Former regime intelligence officials have privately estimated six to eight million converts from Islam to Christianity. Fifty thousand of Iran’s seventy-five thousand mosques have reportedly closed. When this regime falls, the Gospel explosion will be unlike anything the world has seen since the Book of Acts.

God is not only breaking the bow of Elam. He is planting His throne in it.

Ezekiel 38–39: The Coalition That Is Forming Right Now

Now watch what Ezekiel describes. In the latter days, a coalition led by a figure called “Gog” from the land of “Magog” will come against Israel:

“Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.’” — Ezekiel 38:2–3 (NKJV)

Most serious Bible scholars identify Magog with the region of modern Russia. “Rosh” is widely understood to be an ancient form of “Rus” — the root of “Russia.” Meshech and Tubal correspond to areas in modern Turkey and Central Asia. And the coalition Ezekiel names includes:

“Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops — many people are with you.” — Ezekiel 38:5–6 (NKJV)

Persia — Iran. Ethiopia (Cush) — Sudan and the Horn of Africa. Libya (Put) — North Africa. Gomer — Central Asia and parts of Turkey. Togarmah — the far north, possibly eastern Turkey or the Caucasus. And leading them all: Magog — Russia.

Now consider what we are watching unfold in real time: Russia has condemned the strikes as “unprovoked armed aggression.” Russia has armed Iran with advanced fighter jets and missile systems. Russia and Iran conducted joint naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz just days ago. China — while not named in Ezekiel 38 — is the economic spine of this axis, purchasing ninety percent of Iran’s oil and arming it with missile defense systems. The three powers most opposed to Israel and the Western order are locked together in exactly the kind of alliance Ezekiel described.

Some may ask: “If Iran’s regime is destroyed, how can it fulfill Ezekiel 38?” But think carefully. A weakened, destabilized Persia doesn’t disappear from the prophetic map. It may become more dependent on Russia, more desperate, more willing to be drawn into a future coalition. Or the power vacuum could be filled by something worse. What we know for certain is that God’s Word will be fulfilled — not despite the chaos, but through it. The chess pieces are moving precisely where Scripture said they would.

Daniel’s Statue: The Final Kingdom

In Daniel chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue representing the succession of world empires. The legs of iron were Rome. But the feet — the final form of human government — were iron mixed with clay:

“As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” — Daniel 2:43 (NKJV)

We are living in the era of the feet. The global order is fracturing. The West is divided. Alliances are unstable. Nations that seem strong are brittle. Iron and clay. And Daniel tells us what comes next:

“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” — Daniel 2:44 (NKJV)

The next kingdom is not China’s. It is not Russia’s. It is not America’s. It is Christ’s. And it is coming.

Revelation 6: The Seals

In Revelation 6, John describes the opening of the seven seals. The white horse — conquest. The red horse — war and the power to take peace from the earth. The black horse — economic devastation and scarcity. The pale horse — death. Consider: the Strait of Hormuz carries twenty million barrels of oil daily. If it closes, the economic shock will be felt in every nation on earth. Fuel prices. Food prices. Supply chains. Famine. This is not hypothetical. This is a mechanism already in motion.

“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.’” — Revelation 6:5–6 (NKJV)

A denarius was a full day’s wage. This describes an economy where a working person spends everything they earn just to eat. When oil markets open Sunday night, the world will begin to feel the weight of the black horse.

III. Where Are We on God’s Timeline?

This is the question I receive more than any other: “Randy, are we in the Tribulation?” Let me answer this carefully, because precision matters.

Are We in THE Tribulation?

The seven-year Tribulation described in Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 6–19 is a specific period that begins when the Antichrist confirms a covenant with Israel. That has not happened yet. We do not yet know who the Antichrist is, and no seven-year peace covenant has been enacted. So in the strict, technical, theological sense — no, we are not in the seven-year Tribulation.

But make no mistake: we are in a period of tribulation. Jesus Himself distinguished between the general tribulation that characterizes the last days and the “great tribulation” of the final seven years:

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” — Matthew 24:21 (NKJV)

The word “then” points to a specific future moment — but the verses before it describe a season of escalating birth pains that precedes it:

“All these are the beginning of sorrows.” — Matthew 24:8 (NKJV)

The Greek word for “sorrows” here is ωΔίνων (odinon) — literally, birth pains. Birth pains start slow and increase in frequency and intensity until the moment of delivery. That is precisely what we are experiencing. Wars escalating. Earthquakes increasing. Pestilence (we just lived through COVID). Deception multiplying — including AI-generated false prophets and counterfeit spiritual content. Persecution of believers intensifying globally. And now, major military conflict centered on the very nations Scripture identifies by name.

We are in the birth pains. They are accelerating. And what they are building toward is twofold: the Rapture of the Church, and the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation.

The Rapture: Closer Than You Think

I believe, based on Scripture and on what Jesus showed me, that the next event on the prophetic calendar is the Rapture — the catching away of the Church described by Paul:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (NKJV)

The Rapture is not the Second Coming. It is the evacuation of the Bride before the wrath falls. It is the Noah entering the ark moment. The Lot leaving Sodom moment. And Paul tells us the character of the time in which it happens:

“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NKJV)

Peace and safety — and then sudden destruction. How many times in just the last few weeks did we hear the word “breakthrough” in the Iran negotiations? Just yesterday, Oman’s foreign minister said a “breakthrough” had been reached and peace was “within reach.” Twenty-four hours later, the bombs fell. Peace and safety — then sudden destruction. The pattern is unmistakable.

So Where Are We?

We are in the eleventh hour. Not of the Tribulation — but of the Church Age. We are in the final moments of the age of grace, the last window in which people can freely accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior before the most devastating period in human history begins. The birth pains are accelerating. The players are assembling. The stage is set. And the Bridegroom is at the door.

Jesus said:

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors!” — Matthew 24:32–33 (NKJV)

The fig tree — widely understood to represent Israel — has put forth its leaves. The summer is near. It is at the doors.

IV. The Storm I Was Shown

In 2005, I was clinically dead for over thirty minutes from pulmonary emboli and septic shock. During that time, I stood in the presence of Jesus Christ. The reality of what I experienced is more vivid to me than the room I am sitting in right now. Jesus showed me a sequence of events He called “The Storm” — five escalating crises that would shake the world before His return. He told me these things would unfold in order, and He told me to watch.

I kept this private for over fifteen years. God told me the time would come to speak, and when it came, I was to “take back the narrative” — to proclaim the truth about what lies beyond death and what lies ahead for this world, in the face of New Age deception and counterfeit spirituality. I have shared elements of The Storm in my books Heaven Stormed and Revelations From Heaven, and through the Heaven Encounters platform, where I have documented over one thousand verified near-death experience testimonies.

What I can tell you is this: the events we are watching are consistent with what I was shown. The escalation of global conflict, the shaking of Middle Eastern powers, the convergence of nations against Israel, the simultaneous explosion of Gospel awakening in unlikely places — these are not random. They are sequential. They are building toward something. And the something they are building toward is the return of Jesus Christ.

I have interviewed men and women from around the world who have died, stood before God, and returned. Many of them — without knowing one another, from completely different backgrounds and cultures — have described the same things: a time of great shaking coming to the earth, an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and an urgency about the Gospel that makes every other priority pale in comparison. The consistency of these accounts is not coincidental. It is confirmation.

V. Signs in the Heavens

God established the heavenly bodies as signals:

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” — Genesis 1:14 (KJV)

Consider the convergence of celestial events in this very month: On February 17, an annular solar eclipse swept across the globe. On February 26 — the day nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran collapsed — six planets aligned in the evening sky: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter, stretching in a diagonal arc from the western horizon to the moon. And approaching now is a total lunar eclipse — a blood moon — falling on Purim, the feast that celebrates God’s deliverance of His people from the Persian plot to destroy them in the book of Esther.

A blood moon. On Purim. As Persia falls. Joel declared:

“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.” — Joel 2:30–31 (NKJV)

Blood and fire and pillars of smoke over Tehran. A blood moon on the feast of Persia’s defeat. If God is not speaking through these signs, then the word “sign” has no meaning.

VI. What Comes Next — And What You Must Do

Here is where I need to speak to you not as a commentator, but as a pastor. People are writing to me by the thousands asking: “What do I do? What’s coming? How do I protect my family?” I want to answer those questions with the specificity they deserve.

What to Expect in the Coming Days and Weeks

The war will escalate before it stabilizes. Trump has stated that “heavy and pinpoint bombing” will continue throughout the week. Iran has declared “all American and Israeli assets in the Middle East are legitimate targets” and said there are “no red lines.” Expect continued retaliatory strikes on Gulf states, potential disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, and the possibility of Hezbollah or Houthi involvement escalating the theater.

Economic shock is coming. Oil markets open Sunday night. If Iranian retaliation has threatened Gulf production or shipping, oil prices could spike dramatically. This will ripple through food prices, transportation costs, and the broader global economy. The black horse of Revelation 6 is not a metaphor when your grocery bill doubles.

China and Russia will respond — but not the way you might expect. Neither is likely to enter direct military conflict with the U.S. over Iran. But both will use this crisis to advance their own positions. China will deepen its economic hold over whatever emerges from the ruins of the Islamic Republic. Russia will use the crisis to fracture Western alliances and distract from Ukraine. Watch for diplomatic maneuvers at the UN Security Council, economic countermeasures, and deepening of the Russia-China-Iran axis that aligns precisely with the Ezekiel 38 coalition.

The power vacuum in Iran will be filled. The fall of Khamenei creates a succession crisis. No successor has been named. Much of the IRGC’s senior leadership is dead. What fills that vacuum will shape the next chapter of prophecy — whether it is a reformist movement (pray for this), a more radical military junta, or a regime that aligns even more tightly with Russia and China. Remember: prophecy does not require today’s regime to survive. It requires Persia to exist as a nation that ultimately joins the coalition against Israel. The vehicle may change; the trajectory will not.

What You Must Do: A Seven-Point Call to Action

1. Settle your eternity — today. If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, do it right now. Not tomorrow. Not after you “get your life together.” Now. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” I have been to the other side. Heaven is real. Hell is real. And every person you know is headed for one or the other. Settle it now.

2. Do not be afraid — but do not be asleep. Jesus said, “See that you are not troubled” (Matthew 24:6), but He also said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42). He didn’t give us prophecy to produce panic. He gave it to produce preparedness. If you belong to Christ, your eternity is settled. Nothing — not war, not missiles, not economic collapse — can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38–39). But spiritual alertness is not optional. The five foolish virgins in Matthew 25 were not wicked. They were unprepared. Do not be caught without oil in your lamp.

3. Get into the Word of God like your life depends on it — because it does. The deception in the last days will be so powerful that “if possible, even the elect” would be deceived (Matthew 24:24). Your feelings will not protect you. Your church attendance will not protect you. Only the Word of God, hidden in your heart and tested against every claim, will keep you anchored. Read Daniel. Read Ezekiel 38–39. Read Matthew 24. Read 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Read Revelation. Know what God has said so you can recognize what God is doing.

4. Pray with strategic urgency. Pray for the Iranian people — for the millions of underground believers who may be on the verge of unprecedented freedom, and for the civilians caught in the crossfire. Pray for Israel (Psalm 122:6). Pray for wisdom for leaders on all sides. Pray that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and that economic devastation is minimized. Pray against the principalities and powers — Daniel 10 tells us there is a “Prince of Persia” in the spiritual realm that resisted God’s angel for twenty-one days. The war in the heavenlies is real, and our prayers are weapons in it. Pray that the spiritual Prince of Persia is bound and that the Gospel advances with unstoppable power.

5. Share the Gospel as if it’s the last call — because it may be. This is exactly why I launched The Last Call ministry. We are living in the time of the last call. The harvest is ripe. People are afraid. They are watching the news and feeling dread in the pit of their stomachs. They don’t know what to make of it. You do. You have the Answer. His name is Jesus. Don’t let another day pass without telling someone what He has done. Share your testimony. Send them to the Heaven Encounters channel. Point them to Scripture. The fields are white. The laborers are few. Be a laborer.

6. Prepare practically — not from fear, but from wisdom. The Bible calls us to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). If oil prices spike and supply chains are disrupted, it is not faithless to have extra food and water on hand. It is not faithless to reduce debt and get your financial house in order. It is not faithless to discuss emergency plans with your family. Noah built the ark before the rain. Joseph stored grain before the famine. Practical preparation and spiritual faith are not opposites — they are partners.

7. Look up. This is the most important thing I can tell you:

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” — Luke 21:28 (NKJV)

Your redemption draws near. Not your destruction — your redemption. The King is coming. Every prophecy that has been fulfilled with perfect precision — and hundreds have been — guarantees that the remaining ones will be fulfilled with the same precision. Jesus Christ is returning. The trumpet will sound. The dead in Christ will rise. And we who remain will be caught up to be with Him forever. This is not a fairy tale. I have stood in His presence. I know what waits on the other side. And it is more glorious than anything you can imagine.

VII. The Storm and the One Who Commands It

Let me bring this full circle. The Storm is here. The bow of Elam is broken. The king and the princes are fallen. Russia is enraged. China is calculating. The nations Ezekiel named are aligning. The heavens are displaying signs. The birth pains are intensifying. And millions of people worldwide — including many who have been to the other side and back — are saying the same thing: time is almost up.

But here is what I want you to carry with you above everything else: The Storm does not have the final word. Jesus does.

I have seen Him. I have stood in that light. I have felt the love that holds the universe together. And I am telling you — with everything I have and everything I’ve been given — He is real, He is sovereign, and He is coming back. Soon.

The disciples once found themselves in a boat, terrified by a storm so violent they thought they would die. Jesus was asleep in the stern. They woke Him, and He spoke three words:

“Peace, be still.” — Mark 4:39 (NKJV)

And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

The same Jesus who calmed the Sea of Galilee is the One who commands this Storm. He is not panicking. He is not surprised. He is not wringing His hands. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” — John 14:27 (NKJV)

Stand firm. Stay faithful. Get the Gospel out. Prepare your household. Comfort one another with these words.

And look up. The best is yet to come.

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