Rabbi Mendel Kessin’s latest comments may appear to center on President Donald Trump and the escalating tensions surrounding Iran, but the veteran Orthodox Jewish teacher’s broader message points to something much larger: a growing expectation among many religious Jews that history is moving toward redemption and the arrival of the Messiah.
In a recent teaching, Kessin expressed concern over Trump’s current approach to Iran, arguing that the former president has drifted from what he believes is a divinely appointed role.
“All of a sudden, Trump is not doing his job, which is amazing,” Kessin said. “He’s being fooled. People cannot believe what this guy is doing — that he’s being fooled by Iran.”
Kessin suggested Trump is motivated by a desire to secure a lasting legacy as a peacemaker.
“I believe he’s concerned with his legacy,” Kessin said. “Maybe he can bring peace, and that will make him an incredible legacy, the president of peace. Maybe he’ll even get the Nobel Peace Prize. He’s been bribed by his own future.”
Yet Trump’s role was not the central focus of Kessin’s message.
Instead, the rabbi repeatedly returned to the subject of redemption and what he believes are signs that the world is approaching a decisive moment in history.
“The behavior that God does at the end of time is different in certain ways than what he does during the ensuing 5,700 years,” Kessin said. “That’s why it looks so bizarre — because we are now at the end of time.”
That statement points to a much larger story unfolding in Israel today.
Conversations about redemption, the Messiah and the future of Jerusalem are increasing throughout Israel’s religious community. Israel stands at the center of international attention. Jerusalem remains one of the most contested cities on earth. The Temple Mount continues to draw religious, political and prophetic interest from around the world.
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For us as Christians, those developments command attention.
We believe Jesus Christ fulfilled the role of the suffering Messiah at His first coming and will return as King of Kings. Meanwhile, Orthodox Jews continue to await the Messiah’s arrival. Yet both groups find themselves focused on many of the same prophetic themes: Jerusalem, Israel, the Temple Mount and the coming kingdom of God.
Kessin argued that the confusion and uncertainty visible in world events today are part of a larger spiritual test.
“God is going to create a tremendous doubt if the Messiah will even come,” he said. “I’m going to present a difficulty in believing that the redemption will even happen.”
According to Kessin, those challenges are designed to strengthen faith before redemption arrives.
At the same time, significant developments continue to take place in Jerusalem. Debates surrounding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount remain ongoing. Interest in the future of the Temple continues to grow. Organizations dedicated to preparing priestly garments, sacred vessels and Temple education have brought renewed attention to subjects that were once discussed only in limited circles.
Meanwhile, the world’s attention remains fixed on Israel. Conflicts involving Iran and its proxies, debates over Jerusalem’s future and growing tensions across the Middle East continue to place the Jewish state at the center of global affairs.
That reality echoes the words of the prophet Zechariah.
“I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples” (Zech. 12:3).
Thousands of years after that prophecy was written, Jerusalem remains exactly that.
Kessin believes current events are moving toward a predetermined conclusion.
“Please don’t walk around bewildered. Everything makes perfect sense,” he said.
He also expressed confidence that Iran’s current regime will eventually fall.
“Iran will cease — the government of Iran will cease to exist, whether it be done by Trump or not,” Kessin said.
The larger significance of Kessin’s message extends far beyond Trump, Iran or the latest political headlines. His comments reflect a growing expectation inside Israel that redemption is approaching and that history is moving toward its climax.
As Christians, we recognize that many of the conversations taking place in Israel today revolve around the same locations and prophecies Scripture places at the center of the last days. Jerusalem. The Temple Mount. The nations surrounding Israel. The expectation of the Messiah.
Presidents come and go. Political alliances rise and fall. Yet Jerusalem remains at the center of the world’s attention, just as Scripture said it would. As anticipation grows among Jews awaiting the Messiah and among us awaiting Christ’s return, Israel continues to occupy the center stage of prophetic expectation.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
