The Collision of Israel’s and Iran’s Long-standing Dreams, Yet Hoping for True Vision and Restoration

 Joseph Kwon

Editorial Board Member

The Middle East (West Asia) has been a region where important ideas, civilizations, and religions originated since ancient times. The reason why most conflicts in the Middle East are so difficult to resolve is not simply because they stem from issues like resource distribution, border disputes, or national interests, but rather because they arise from clashes in thought and ideology. And since these ideological confrontations are based on thousands of years of history, finding a resolution becomes exceedingly difficult. The simplest method to resolve problems arising from differing thoughts and ideologies is either to unify them or to annihilate the opposing ideas. However, since the ideologies in the Middle East have been shaped over millennia, it is virtually impossible to integrate conflicting ideologies or to find any compromise or agreement.

Therefore, the Middle East is always like the world’s powder keg, and especially the region centered on Jerusalem—Israel and Palestine—serves as the nucleus of all these thoughts, ideologies, and religions. It is a place where a third Intifada could erupt tomorrow, or a massive war engulfing the entire Middle East could break out, and it would not be surprising. Such extreme uncertainty perpetually hovers over this area.

The current Israel-Hamas war, the conflict between Israel and Islamic fundamentalism, and the confrontation between Israel and Iran all fundamentally arise because the two sides think differently. If Hamas, Islamic fundamentalists, Iran, and Israel focused on realistic matters—namely the prosperity and stability of their communities—solutions could be found. But these entities are not driven by pragmatic, realist considerations for their people’s prosperity and stability; instead, they hold strongly to ideological collectivism grounded in their own beliefs and doctrines. This makes finding a solution all the more difficult.

For example, Jerusalem and Tehran are more than 1,500 kilometers apart and do not share a border. From a realist political standpoint, it does not serve Iran’s national interest to attack Israel—1,500 kilometers away—with drones and missiles, let alone wage war. Yet since 1979, Iran has continuously threatened Israel. Moreover, although Iran is the leader of Shia Islam, it supports Hamas, rooted in the Sunni Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, to wage a proxy war against Israel. This situation is truly ironic.

Iran – Islamic Revolutionary Ideology and an Eschatological Hope

Let’s first consider Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The word “Iran” conveys nobility and dignity. Unlike the Arab nations, the Iranian people formed their identity based on Persian civilization. Zoroastrianism, which underpinned Persian civilization, is a dualistic religion clearly distinguishing good from evil, light from darkness. It teaches that in a world where good and evil clash, good and light ultimately prevail at the end times, and humans, equipped with free will, are called to resist evil.

In the 15th century, the Safavid dynasty in Iran chose Shia Islam over Sunni Islam. Consequently, Iranian identity combined features of Persian civilization with the Shia branch of Islam. Shia Islam values the pure lineage of Muhammad and was historically persecuted as a minority sect by the Sunni majority. Moreover, Shia Islam holds an eschatological view expecting the appearance of a messiah. According to Shia belief, after Muhammad’s death, religious leadership followed his bloodline, which was persecuted by the Sunnis. Eventually, the 12th Imam (religious leader) disappeared, and Shia Muslims believe that this 12th Imam, the Mahdi, will return at the end of the world to restore it. Thus, the Iranian people harbor an eschatological hope that, although they may be oppressed now, if they hold onto what is right and follow the good, they will ultimately triumph. They possess a noble and pure spirit to resist evil until the end.

Based on this historical background, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s identity took on a typical ideological collectivism rooted in civilization and religion. The core message of the 1979 Islamic Revolution was “Return to the teachings of Islam.” The original form of Islam established by Muhammad integrated politics and religion into a single state system. According to Sharia (Islamic law and standards), the entire state and society must operate in line with Islamic teachings. Hence, an Islamic state adopts a unique political structure to implement and maintain these ideals.

Furthermore, Iranian revolutionary ideology aims not only to apply Muhammad’s original Islamic model within Iran but also to expand and propagate it worldwide. In other words, Iran’s identity is that of an aggressive ideological collective. Article 154 of the Iranian Constitution states: “The ideal of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the independence, justice, truth, and happiness of all people in the world. Therefore, we support the just struggle of the mustad’afun (oppressed) against the mustakbirun (oppressors) everywhere.” This reveals that Iran desires to extend its Islamic revolution globally, supporting Shia Muslim groups in Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as well as in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and even Sunni-rooted Hamas in Palestine, along with various terrorist organizations and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

In essence, Iran embraces a “Messiah complex,” pursuing the arrival of a Messiah—complete ideals—and thus makes decisions that transcend immediate interests and calculations.

Israel – The Sabbath and the Hope for a Messiah

In international relations, Israel generally perceives itself as a rational actor making logical decisions. Unlike other states, Israel uniquely pursues a value: survival. Most countries prioritize national interests in foreign relations, but Israel ranks its own survival above all else. This value stems from a common historical experience of persistent antisemitism and diaspora over millennia, where the entire nation often faced the threat of extermination. Hence, Israel takes a hardline stance against any adversary that threatens its survival. But we must examine what “survival” means here. Survival includes two aspects: biological survival and the survival of their spirit. Spiritual survival means preserving Israel’s unique identity and values—the Jewish national identity rooted in Judaism.

Throughout thousands of years, Jews existed as a people without a king-like leadership or a geographic anchor like a nation-state, scattered globally. How did they maintain their identity and survive?

Among many reasons, the most important is that the Jews are an ethnos based on a common religious ideology—Judaism. One crucial element in Judaism is the commandment to observe the Sabbath. Christians often think of the Sabbath as a specific religious gathering day, but for Jews, Sabbath means more than that. In Judaism, the Sabbath is the day when all creation—including humans, animals, plants, and even the land—must rest. This rest symbolizes experiencing the perfect world under God’s reign, the era the Messiah will bring at the end of history. In other words, it is experiencing perfect rest in God.

By practicing Sabbath once a week, Jews continually experience the future arrival of the Messiah’s era. This transforms the distant and seemingly unreachable hope into a tangible and inevitable expectation. Through the Sabbath experience, despite living as wanderers amid threats and uncertainty, Jews hold onto the hope that their ancestors’ covenant with God will eventually be fulfilled. This hope enabled Jews to remain Jewish throughout thousands of years in the diaspora. After Israeli independence in 1948, Jews worldwide could return to Zion, Jerusalem, without forgetting their Jewish identity, sustained by this Sabbath-born hope.

Reality and Dreams

All human communities live in reality but carry dreams. Human destiny oscillates between reality and dreams. Reality is governed by compromise, negotiation, and the principle of power, but the characteristics and identities of communities are shaped by dreams—by hope and vision. Thus, market logic, which best reflects reality, applies universally worldwide, but where thought, vision, and ideology collide, communities separate more fiercely than with any other enemy.

In modern history, after the Yalta Conference marked the end of World War II, the world was strictly divided ideologically, maintaining the Cold War system for a long time. After the Malta Conference symbolized the end of the Cold War, many scholars predicted that grand ideologies would vanish and the world would be governed by capitalism, liberalism, and individualism—realistic pursuit of interest and prosperity according to human nature and desire. However, although grand ideologies might have disappeared post-Malta, we still live in a world where countless smaller discourses and civilizational narratives collide. Ultimately, humans are beings who pursue ideal values beyond reality.

Historically, countless communities had their dreams and visions, but most of those dreams vanished with their communities or were absorbed by others. If we look at the communities that have survived from ancient times to the present, we notice a peculiarity: only communities with a messianic vision still endure. This includes Iran, inheriting Persian civilization, and Israel, founded on Judaism. Islamic fundamentalism also embraces a similar eschatological, messianic vision. The problem is that the powerful ideologies around Jerusalem are fundamentally contradictory, and these visionary communities stand in sharp opposition to each other. Thus, the future of Israel-Palestine and Jerusalem appears indefinitely dark.

We must search for an answer at a more fundamental level. If human history repeatedly cycles through reality and the pursuit of dreams, why do humans not remain satisfied with reality but continue to pursue other ideals and dreams? Ultimately, this question arises from queries about our identity: Who am I? What is my purpose? In searching for answers to these fundamental questions, different ideals and dreams emerge, and various thoughts and ideologies clash, each claiming to be truth. Philosophers still contemplate these issues, scientists research the essence of matter to find answers, and religions present solutions through those who claim to represent divine voices.

The Biblical Answer

What answer does the Bible provide? In other words, what solution does Scripture offer to address the Jerusalem issue and the Israel-Palestine problem? The answer to the ongoing extreme hatred and conflict in Jerusalem can be found in humanity’s very first murder, the story of Cain and Abel. The conflict between Cain and Abel began with worship. Worship is the starting point where we can reflect on our identity and life’s purpose before God. Through worship, we come to know who we are and can experience the purpose for which we were created. Cain failed in this, leading him to commit fratricide. This parallels how the collapse of true worship in Jerusalem led it to become the source of all conflicts and disputes.

After Cain, to restore fallen human communities, God works through Seth. Genesis 4:26 states that after the birth of Enosh, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. To restore humanity, which lost its identity after failing at worship, God’s required starting point is surprisingly simple: calling on the name of the Lord. Many Christians are so accustomed to calling on the Lord’s name that they do not consider what it truly means. Yet Scripture shows that God’s name is crucial. For example, Jesus spoke of Jerusalem’s destiny, saying they would not see Him until they say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Also, it is proclaimed that “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Interestingly, there are two names that are not called aloud in Israel. The first is God’s name, Yahweh. Because of the Third Commandment—“Do not take the name of the Lord in vain”—Jews refrain from pronouncing Yahweh, instead saying “Adonai” (Lord). Thus, no one now knows whether the correct pronunciation is Yahweh or Jehovah. The second name is that of God’s Son, the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). Jews changed Yeshua’s name into a curse word, and even today in Israeli society, Jesus’s name is replaced with a curse.

“I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.

Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in his fists?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!” (Proverbs 30:3-4)

Perhaps the author of Proverbs is asking this question of the people of Israel today.

When Jerusalem, Israel, and Palestine begin calling upon the name of the Lord, Scripture says true restoration will come to this people. Ultimately, what God desires is to restore the relationship of Father and children with us who are sinners. Scripture says this restoration of relationship begins by calling on His name. When genuine worship is restored in Israel-Palestine and Jerusalem, and from every corner of this land God’s name, Yeshua’s name, is exalted and praised, the true identity of this nation will be recovered. When they see God’s true dream and vision with their restored identity in the Lord, they will finally be able to see Him.

Until that day comes, all watchmen who love Jerusalem and embrace Israel-Palestine, do not give Him rest until the Lord establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth! (Isaiah 62:7 paraphrased)