Pastor Greg Laurie delivered an urgent, and in many ways prophetic, warning tying the rebirth of Israel, the rise of global anti-Semitism, Iran’s aggression and the coming Rapture directly to the end-times framework laid out in Scripture.
Speaking from Romans 11, Ezekiel 37 and multiple New Testament passages, Laurie said the world is watching Bible prophecy unfold in real time as hostility toward Israel intensifies and global instability accelerates.
“One of the signs of the times according to the Bible is Israel would be regathered to her homeland,” Laurie said. “And on May 14th, 1948, a modern-day miracle happened against all odds. An incredible opposition. Israel declared themselves a nation again and it set the prophetic time clock ticking.”
Laurie rejected replacement theology outright, the belief that the church has replaced Israel in God’s prophetic plan, pointing instead to Romans 9 through 11 as evidence that God’s covenant with the Jewish people remains intact.
“God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew,” Laurie said, quoting Romans 11.
He pointed to the explosion of anti-Semitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel as another major prophetic indicator.
“You would have thought after that horrible massacre of innocent Jewish people that there’d be an outrage and people would rise up in favor of their Jewish friends and nation Israel,” Laurie said. “And in some ways the opposite has happened.”
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Laurie noted anti-Semitism has surged globally, including on American college campuses, while chants such as “from the river to the sea” openly call for the elimination of Israel.
“When they’re saying ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ they’re effectively saying we don’t want Jews here,” Laurie said.
He also connected current geopolitical alignments to the Gog and Magog prophecy found in Ezekiel 38, specifically naming the growing alliance between Russia and Iran.
“The Bible speaks of a large nation from the north of Israel that will attack her,” Laurie said. “Many experts believe it’s modern-day Russia.”
He added that Persia, the ancient name for modern Iran, is specifically listed among the coalition of nations that will eventually move against Israel.
“In other words, God is saying there would be an alliance between Magog and Persia or maybe Russia and Iran,” Laurie said.
Laurie stressed that Revelation, Ezekiel and other prophetic books all point toward a future global confrontation centered on Israel and Jerusalem. The isolation of Israel on the world stage and the growing hatred toward the Jewish people mark the continuation of conditions Scripture foretold thousands of years ago.
But amid the warnings of judgment and conflict, Laurie repeatedly returned to what he called “the blessed hope” of the church: the Rapture.
“We call it the rapture of the church,” Laurie said. “The rapture is when Christ descends from heaven, and we are caught up to meet Him to receive our new resurrection bodies, and we’re reunited with loved ones who have died in faith.”
Laurie defended the doctrine as a biblical teaching rooted in the words of Jesus, Paul and the early church fathers, rejecting claims that it originated in modern theology.
“The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, the dead in Christ will rise first, and we’ll be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” Laurie quoted from 1 Thessalonians.
He warned believers not to become spiritually asleep as prophetic events intensify around the globe.
“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is,” Laurie said, quoting Romans 13. “Time is running out. Wake up.”
Laurie said the imminent return of Christ should drive Christians toward holy living, spiritual readiness and urgency in sharing the Gospel before the tribulation period begins.
“Jesus is coming,” Laurie said. “Let this comfort you. Let this motivate you. Let this wake you up.”
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].
