Setian Threshold: Chaos in the Middle East and Ukraine
An End Times Eschatological Survey - Where Prophecy Meets Politics

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Matthew 24:6
N.B. Hostilities in the Middle East have paused, at least temporarily, allowing the war narrative that drives public opinion to be reframed. Meanwhile, humanity’s future hangs on the cusp of a Setian Threshold — an ominous juncture when accumulated entropy (disorder and confusion) within our social, political, and metaphysical systems reaches a tipping point. This is our Moment of Truth, the eleventh hour that will determine whether the civilized world faces renaissance or ruination.1
Global geopolitics is shaped by persistent and conflicting forces that, often intentionally, maneuver the world from order and balance toward chaos and instability. The ongoing struggle between opposing principles — traditionally framed as good versus evil — creates conditions in which destructive and violent tendencies can take root.
At the center of this metaphysical turmoil lies the concept of Spiritual Israel, not as a nation-state but as a religious symbol imbued with pronounced spiritual significance.
Spiritual Israel represents the theological and metaphysical notion of a chosen people bound by covenant and divine purpose — a community defined not by territorial boundaries but by spiritual commitment and moral obligation.
This understanding transcends ethnic and national categories, encompassing all who align themselves with the divine mandate for justice, righteousness, and peace.
Zionist Israel, by contrast, refers to the modern political project of establishing and maintaining a nation-state in historical Palestine, with its attendant geopolitical ambitions, territorial claims, and strategic alliances.
While these two concepts share historical and symbolic connections, they operate according to fundamentally different logics: one is spiritual and universal, the other is political and territorial.
This analytical distinction is crucial for understanding how eschatological beliefs interact with contemporary Middle Eastern politics, as the conflation of these two forms of "Israel" often obscures the deeper metaphysical dynamics at play in regional conflicts.
Spiritual Israel, wholly distinct from Zionist Israel, has long been recognized as a bastion of holiness. It is frequently described in scriptural terms as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and as God’s special possession.
In contrast, Zionist Israel is viewed by some commentators as a wellspring of chaos and moral challenge — even as a ‘death cult.’
Former Zionist Peter Beinart, for example, argues that the destruction of Gaza is a turning point in Jewish history, one that calls for a moral reckoning in the matter of “cruelty inflicted by Israeli Jews and those who encourage them to ignore all moral norms and always to justify such actions in the name of survival.”
This crossroads — where prophecy and politics converge — foreshadows complex and volatile scenarios. The current global geopolitical disorder, with its myriad tensions and conflicts, can thus be understood not only as the result of political and economic factors, but also as the outward expression of a deeper metaphysical struggle, one properly characterized as ‘spiritual warfare.’
To better understand these dynamics, it is essential to first examine the relevant prophecies before addressing the political realities. However, there is another aspect of this calculus that should be considered: much of what the public is told — and believes — is unequivocally false. It is noise meant to confuse, not signal meant to inform.
This end times survey of Abrahamic religious tradition is signal. It represents a trustworthy lens through which the chaotic noise of disorder and confusion can be critically evaluated and discerned.
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God:” He who has ears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 3:27
The Twelvers - The Twelfth Imam
To understand Iran's role in accelerating global chaos, we should examine the theological foundation driving its actions.
Iranian leadership adheres to Twelver Shia Islam, which maintains that their hidden Twelfth Imam — the Mahdi — will return to establish justice only after a period of unprecedented turmoil. This belief transforms chaos from a problem to be solved into a sacred duty to be fulfilled.
Shia Twelvers believe that the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, did not die but was concealed by God and will reappear as the savior of humanity. His return is anticipated as a time of justice and peace, following a period of injustice and chaos.
This belief that chaos and injustice can hasten the Mahdi’s return plays a central role in Shia Twelver theology. Some observers cite this as a motive behind the actions of Iranian proxy groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Mahdism in Shia Islam presents a complex entanglement of beliefs, prophecies, and geopolitical implications, especially concerning Iran. Our narrative aims to explore these themes, drawing parallels between Mahdist expectations in the Middle East and Christian Zionist beliefs in the West.
I should acknowledge that my knowledge of Islam is limited. Nevertheless, I have been influenced by St. Paul on this matter and on many other issues requiring spiritual discernment.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:8-12
This newsletter is the result of extensive research into the prophetic teachings of the Torah, Quran, and Christian Bible. According to Matthew and Mark, we are admonished not to become alarmed or fearful. The Bible also exhorts us to keep ourselves informed.2
Today’s headlines are alarming, to say the least. Many fear the world is now closer to nuclear war than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Having lived through that crisis, I believe we are much closer today, given the ascendancy of the Military-Industrial Complex and uniparty Neoconservative ideologues — people who never met a war they didn’t like.
This reality is emphasized by the ongoing chaos and clash of metaphysical forces in the Middle East, foreboding what could be described as an astral collision of two remarkably similar eschatological belief systems: Christian and Islamic. Each system envisions a different End Times scenario rooted in its respective interpretation of prophecy, as we shall see.
Islamic theology, notably Shia Mahdism, foresees the return of the Mahdi, a messianic figure who will restore justice and usher in an era of peace and righteousness. Islamic end-time narratives describe a period of turmoil, chaos, and moral decay preceding the Mahdi’s appearance.
Christians, by contrast, anticipate the Second Coming of Christ, who will restore justice and usher in an era of peace and righteousness, preceded by a period of chaos and upheaval known as the Tribulation.
These parallel narratives, though arising from different religious traditions, share a remarkable symmetry in both structure and ultimate expectations. Both envision a period of significant turmoil and upheaval, followed by a divinely orchestrated resolution that reshapes the world order.
My thinking on the increase in global chaos has evolved over time. We term this phenomenon “Satanic Acceleration,” a metaphysical cosmology explored in a previous post titled, Accelerationism and the Temple of Set.
These metaphysical forces, while often framed in spiritual terms, also find expression in secular globalist movements. The democidal globalists-masters of institutional entities like the World Health Organization and World Economic Forum — are feverishly contributing to increased chaos and working to reshape the existing world order according to their own evil designs.3
What makes this clash of spiritual forces especially noteworthy is how closely it mirrors real-world global politics. The actions of nations — particularly those influenced by major monotheistic religions — are increasingly shaped by religious ideas about the ultimate fate of the world (eschatology).
In other words, the spiritual and the political are deeply interconnected: beliefs about cosmic struggles and end times are not merely abstract — they influence actual geopolitical strategies and decisions.
As such, it is increasingly evident that prophecies concerning the end times are not confined to the realm of spiritual warfare but interact with the fabric of international relations. This confluence suggests a future in which the boundaries between metaphysical beliefs and geopolitical realities become blurred.
Western policymakers ignore these eschatological dynamics at their own peril. While they debate sanctions and diplomatic frameworks, the key actors are operating according to prophetic timelines that render conventional deterrence meaningless.
Islam regards Jesus — called Isa in Arabic — as a revered prophet and a key figure who will accompany the Mahdi, Islam’s savior. Both are predicted to return to Earth around the same time.
In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist, who according to the Bible will appear prior to Jesus’ return, is prophesied to revive an empire. In parallel, the Mahdi is expected to establish a global Islamic caliphate that will rule the world.
According to the prophet Daniel, the Christian Antichrist will establish his seat of authority on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Islamic theology similarly holds that the Mahdi will assert authority there. Thus, the destiny of Jerusalem — the City of Peace — is inextricably tied to the fate of the world when viewed through the telescope of prophecy.
Moreover, according to Islamic Mahdist beliefs, Isa (Jesus) will proclaim that Christians and Jews have been deceived and have misunderstood revelation. In this inverted cosmology, Jesus will declare Allah as the true God.
But don’t toss your Bibles in the trash bin just yet.
To further complicate this enigma, there appears to be a “third rail”—a kind of Manchurian Candidate — whose role is to restrain or hold back the appearance of the Christian Antichrist. The identity of this restrainer, known as the katechon, is a subject of debate and speculation among Christian theologians with no clear consensus.
And now you know what is holding him [the Antichrist] back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7
The Concept of the 'Katechon' from Thessalonians
In the passage from Thessalonians quoted above, katechon (Greek: κατέχον) is the term Paul uses to describe the theological force or entity that restrains or holds back the Antichrist from revealing himself.
Alexander Dugin, the Russian political philosopher and writer, has argued that Russia — particularly under President Putin’s leadership — serves as the katechon: the force that holds back the chaos and moral decay Dugin associates with the West, which he characterizes as the ‘realm of the Antichrist.’
Putin is our katechon, Dugin told Catholic News Service… The Greek word katechon is used to describe a force that holds back the ‘mystery of iniquity.’ In Dugin’s worldview, this ‘mystery of iniquity’ is a secularizing force at work in Western countries, and Putin is the leader [who holds back] the coming of the Antichrist.4
This view reflects Dugin’s broader Eurasianism, which frames Russia as both spiritual guardian and geopolitical counterforce to the West.
This interpretation has gained institutional backing through Russian think tanks that explicitly frame Moscow's geopolitical role in eschatological terms, viewing Russia's resistance to Western influence as a sacred mission rather than merely strategic calculation.
While the interpretation of Putin as the katechon fits within the ideological framework of figures like Alexander Dugin, it remains a view outside the mainstream. Though arguably an apt observation, it is, in our opinion, more a reflection of contemporary geopolitical ideologies — particularly Eurasianism — than of widely accepted theological doctrine.
That said, Dugin’s perspective should not be dismissed outright; a multipolar world order may well be on the horizon. Furthermore, many of today’s conflicts center on preserving the Global Hegemon — a political entity we often refer to as the Anglo-American-Zionist Empire.
Dugin astutely observes that Ukraine and Iran represent two battle fronts in the same war, one aimed at maintaining Western unipolar dominance.
Within the scope of our comparative eschatological survey, it is appropriate to further describe Eurasianism, along with the end-times beliefs of the Russian Orthodox Church. We will then turn to Islam’s world of Mahdism and the Shia Twelvers.
Eurasianism and Dugin's Ideology
This vision of Russia as spiritual guardian builds upon nearly a century of Eurasianist thought, which reimagines Russia's geographic position as a divine mandate to bridge and ultimately transcend both Eastern and Western civilizations.
Alexander Dugin has transformed this historical concept into a contemporary geopolitical strategy, advocating for Russian-led blocs like BRICS to challenge American hegemony while positioning Moscow as the guardian of traditional Orthodox values against Western secularism.
This framework inverts the Cold War paradigm: where once a God-fearing West opposed atheistic Russia, Dugin now casts Orthodox Russia as the spiritual bulwark against a morally decadent, secular West. His argument is cogent.
Westerners often fail to recognize that Russia today is a deeply religious nation. The Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991, was decidedly atheistic. However, in recent years, these outdated perceptions have begun to fade.
As of a few years ago, the Russian Orthodox Church was reportedly building, on average, three new churches each day, while the postmodern West has grown increasingly secular.
Eurasian ideology emphasizes Russia not only as a geopolitical power but as a civilizational force with a mission to reshape the global order — frequently invoking religious and historical narratives to support this vision. (Tucker Carlson’s interview with President Putin can be viewed here.)
This is how Alexander Dugin envisions the new multipolar world order:
This is the goal of building a multipolar world — to establish a harmonious model of friendly and balanced coexistence of all Earth’s civilizations, without constructing hierarchies or recognising the hegemony of any of them.
Islamic Eschatology and Iran
Islamic eschatology, particularly in the Twelver Shia context, highlights a series of events leading up to the Day of Judgment. The reappearance of the Mahdi, the return of Jesus, and a final battle against evil are its central themes.
Since its establishment in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has integrated Mahdist beliefs into its political narrative. Iranian leaders have emphasized the need to prepare for the Mahdi’s return, a theme that exerts considerable influence on both domestic and foreign policy.
A key element is the notion of hastening the Mahdi’s return. This has been interpreted as a call to create conditions of worldwide chaos and conflict, seen as necessary precursors for the Mahdi’s reappearance. To accomplish this, Iran currently relies on its proxy militias to foment the chaos deemed necessary for this creative destruction.5
Judeo-Christian and Zionist Eschatology
Judeo-Christian eschatology — particularly in its Christian formation — shares with Islamic Mahdism the themes of a messianic figure, a final battle between good and evil, and the promise of a new era of peace.
In Jewish eschatology, this centers on the coming of the Messiah, while in Christian eschatology it involves the Second Coming of Christ. We will examine Jewish eschatology in more detail shortly.
Both Mahdism in Shia Islam, especially among Iran’s Twelvers, and Christian Zionism are characterized by a belief in actively engaging with and influencing end-times prophecy — a concept known as “hastening the eschaton.”
For Christian Zionists, this often translates into political and financial support for Israel. As previously noted, in Mahdism, the end times are believed to be hastened through Iranian-backed, and possibly directed, agents of chaos.
This is not to suggest that Christians and Jews have not also contributed to the chaos — a principle that aligns with our Setian cosmology.
The most unsettling aspect of this theological collision is how perfectly the narratives invert: Islam's Jesus returns to validate Allah while Christianity's Jesus returns to defeat the very figure Muslims await as their savior. Each tradition's messiah becomes the other's apocalyptic threat.
This theological inversion creates a scenario where each side's faithful preparation for divine victory simultaneously prepares for the other's prophetic catastrophe. When Iranian proxies launch attacks believing they hasten the Mahdi's arrival, they may inadvertently fulfill Christian prophecies about end-times deception.
When Christian Zionists support Israeli military actions as fulfilling biblical prophecy, they may be advancing the very conditions Islamic theology describes as preceding the Dajjal's emergence.
The result is a feedback loop of mutual escalation, where each tradition's sincere attempt to serve God's will appears, from the opposing perspective, as serving the ultimate deceiver. This is not merely tragic irony — it represents a metaphysical trap where genuine religious devotion becomes the mechanism for unprecedented destruction.
In Islam, the Mahdi is a unique messianic figure expected to emerge before Jesus’ return, ushering in an era of justice and righteousness. In contrast, Christian eschatology does not recognize the Mahdi; instead, it focuses solely on the return of Jesus, who is expected to defeat the Antichrist and deliver final judgment, leading to an era of justice and righteousness.
In Christian theology, the Antichrist is depicted as a figure of great deception, often regarded as the ultimate opponent of Christ and his teachings. The Antichrist serves as the Christian agent of chaos, expected to appear before the Second Coming of Christ and play a central role in the end times narrative by leading humanity astray.
For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.
2 Thessalonians 2:11
Jewish Eschatology
Jewish eschatology encompasses beliefs about the end times and the ultimate destiny of humanity. Central to these beliefs is the concept of the Messiah (Mashiach), a future leader from the House of David who will usher in an era of peace, justice, and divine presence.
Jewish eschatology envisions this messianic culmination requiring specific preconditions: the return of diaspora Jews, the reconstruction of the Temple, and ultimately the acknowledgment of Israel's God by all nations. These expectations create powerful incentives for political action in the present.
Messianism in Judaism has evolved over time, with various interpretations and expectations. Some traditions speak of two messiahs: Messiah ben Joseph, who will precede and prepare the way, and Messiah ben David, who will establish the messianic kingdom.
The eschatological vision also includes the Gog and Magog War, a climactic battle that will precede the final redemption. Overall, Jewish eschatology reflects a profound hope for a future in which divine justice and peace prevail.
Within this framework, we regard Zionist Israel — as opposed to Spiritual Israel — as Judaism’s agent of chaos.
This dynamic became starkly visible when five red heifers imported from Texas captured global attention in late 2023. While these animals appeared to fulfill biblical requirements for Third Temple purification rituals, the timing and media orchestration suggested something more calculated than fervent religious devotion.
What initially seemed like eschatological preparation revealed itself as sophisticated psychological warfare — a deliberate provocation designed to unsettle Hamas leadership by suggesting imminent Third Temple reconstruction.
The Mossad-led operation succeeded brilliantly. Hamas launched the October 7, 2023, attacks, providing Israel with the pretext for the devastating Gaza campaign that followed. In other words, it was all orchestrated.
Geopolitics and Eschatology
Eschatological blindness explains why Western policymakers consistently misread Middle Eastern dynamics. While Washington's think tanks meticulously analyze economic indicators and military capabilities, they systematically ignore the theological motivations driving key regional actors — an oversight that renders their strategic assessments fundamentally incomplete.
This secular bias blinds Western analysts to the religious worldviews that actually drive key regional players
By contrast, as seen in Russia and among figures like Alexander Dugin, there is a more explicit integration of theological and eschatological concepts into geopolitical strategy.
Dugin maintains that geopolitics cannot be properly understood without metaphysical integration — a view reflected in ideologies that merge nationalism with religious identity.
The Russian Orthodox Church, for example, plays a significant role in shaping Russian national consciousness and policy, just as religious Zionism influences Israeli politics.
Iran, too, integrates religious eschatology into its geopolitical calculus. The Twelver Shia doctrine of Mahdism, which calls for the hastening of the Mahdi’s return through chaos and conflict, is a driving force behind Iran’s foreign and military policy.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operates not merely as a military force but as the institutional embodiment of Mahdist urgency, with commanders who view each confrontation with Israel as potentially catalyzing the prophesied return of their hidden Imam.
The ancient prophecy of Gog and Magog is no longer confined to seminary discussions and evangelical pulpits. It has become operational doctrine. Iranian strategists explicitly prepare for this climactic battle, while Russian involvement remains ambiguous, torn between strategic calculation and eschatological destiny.
Iran is widely anticipated to be a belligerent in such a conflict against Israel, while Russia’s involvement is debated, with many analysts suggesting its participation would be driven by strategic rather than ideological motives. Contrary to some evangelical interpretations, Turkey, not Russia, is expected to lead the armies of Gog.
Both Iran and Israel, propelled by their respective Mahdist and Zionist ideologies, are increasingly unpredictable actors in the region. Their willingness to escalate conflict — and apparent indifference to human cost — makes them existential threats to both regional and global stability.
Recent events underscore the gravity of this threat. On Friday June 13, 2025, Iran launched its advanced Fattah-1 and Fattah-2 hypersonic missiles at Israel, marking the first reported use of such weapons in the conflict.
These weapons fundamentally altered the strategic calculus: Israel's multilayered defenses, designed for conventional threats, proved inadequate against missiles that could reach Tel Aviv in under seven minutes while maneuvering unpredictably through their flight path.
Iran’s demonstrated hypersonic capability likely led to the realization that Israel could not win the war outright — and an off ramp would be required to save face. The off ramp was provided by the Trump administration and U.S. Air Force.
The Fattah-2 (pictured below) is Iran’s most sophisticated hypersonic variant. Specifically engineered to evade missile defenses, it combines high velocity with extreme maneuverability — the defining features of next-generation hypersonic weapons. Iran has also reportedly deployed multi-warhead variants, further complicating Israel’s already strained air defense architecture.
The theological implications become terrifying when combined with technical reality: these same missile systems possess the payload capacity for nuclear warheads. Iran's Mahdist ideology, which seeks to hasten the end times through chaos, now possesses the means to deliver apocalyptic destruction with prophetic justification.
In summary, while Western policy analysis often sidelines eschatological factors, the interplay between religious prophecy and geopolitical strategy is increasingly shaping events in the Middle East and beyond. Understanding these dynamics is essential for anticipating future developments and assessing the risks posed by ideologically driven actors.
You can read about Israel’s “Samson Option,” its nuclear doctrine here.
In her monthly apparition in Medjugorje yesterday, June 25, Mary said, “The ideologies which destroy you and your spiritual life are transitory. Return to God, because with God you have a future and eternal life.”
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
Prometheus and the Collapse of Western Civilization
The sun hangs huge and red above the far dust-streaked horizon... the desert cold is already falling on Kidney Ridge. Here, not only did these German and British soldiers die who litter the ground in the fading red light — here, at El Alamein, the Afrika Korps died... I am very tired... A voice that I don't want to listen to t…
Excellent article. I'm currently struggling with the ideological separation of what you call "Spiritual Israel" from "Zionist Israel." While I can see the distinction you're making, I'm not sure they are actually independent or divergent. Making a distinction is a bit unsettling for me because it seems like a way to dismiss Israel's crimes and warmongering as a product of "extreme" and/or orthodox factions or Netanyahu himself. I had the same feeling when watching, "The Bibi Files," promoted by Ian Carroll. Seemed like a limited hangout, meant to concentrate responsibility with what is portrayed as a minority.
While clearly some (probably many) people in Israel, including rabbis, are against Israel's military actions and the horrors they cause, the more I learn about the prophecies and what the Torah and Talmud actually says and the more supremacist and hateful stuff I hear from orthodox rabbis and even just your average person on the street, the more problematic I find their collective worldview--secular Jews included.
I actually have it on my idea list to write an article about how it is not possible for a certain group of people to be "chosen" or have a special relationship or covenant with God. That is a fabricated human construct, and the idea that Jews are supposed to be moral leaders is laughable in light of their actions in the real world. My mom has been to Israel and Palestine multiple times over the past several years and always comes back with horror stories about how the Palestinians are treated, even before the most recent events.
I have compassion for the Israelis, who are probably among the most programmed and manipulated people on the planet, who are raised within a construct that demands compliance with an exorbitant array of rules and customs, who feel like they are perpetual victims facing existential threats. Obviously your average Israeli is not directly responsible for the actions of its government, as is true here in the US and everywhere else. But it is seeming to me that it is actually some of the spiritual and cultural foundations that are the root cause problems, making everyone who ascribes to them complicit or culpable in some way. It is why a growing number of my Jewish friends are actually renouncing their culture and religion because they are seeing it for what it really is.
Lest anyone think my only problem is with the Judaic faith, I view all religion as a scourge on the planet, being invented primarily for purposes of control, including the suppression of consciousness.
The Mahdi could be seen as a precursor to the second Advent of Jesus, in the same way that John the Baptist preceded Jesus and also identified him, so it will be with the Mahdi. History repeating itself.
The Mahdi will pave the way for the eventual return of Jesus, and Muslims also see Jesus as the Messiah. In this respect, there will be an End-Time alliance between Christians and Muslims. This can be seen in the alliance between Russia and Iran.
The Ad-Dajjal Al Massih (the deceiving Messiah) will be Jewish (with the long side curls of an Orthodox Jew) as the Jews in the time of Jesus rejected him, thus, they are awaiting for their own Messiah.
Actually, a part of me thinks Israel is in the process of trying to hasten the arrival of their Messiah.