Valuable Lessons From the Twelve Day War

For years I have made it a practice to daily clear my Inbox. I like to stay current on news and respond promptly to people who contact me. 

As Israel (and finally) the USA bombed Iran to stop them from getting a nuclear bomb, I couldn’t keep up with the stories and videos coming in. Some I pasted into the draft of this week’s blog. Others continued to sit unread in my Inbox. 

With Monday’s announced ceasefire–really Iran’s inevitable surrender–I will attempt to summarize what we learned the past two weeks. 

Here are some valuable lessons from “The Twelve Day War.”

Valuable Lessons From the Twelve Day War

I think President’s Trump’s naming the Israel-Iran conflict “The Twelve Day War” will stick in history.

It reminds us of “The Six Day War” June 5-10, 1967, when Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. That conflict was fast, decisive, providential, and brought a greater semblance of peace to the Middle East for a generation.

The same may happen through “The Twelve Day War.”

Here is what we have learned. (Read and watch as many sources as interest you. None are long–all are good.)

1. Elections have consequences.

Here’s how Bill O’Reilly put it:

Joe Biden is getting ready for another summer at Rehobeth Beach. And those Americans who supported him and the hapless Kamala Harris can turn on their TV sets and watch the carnage unfold in real-time. Votes have consequences.

2. Poor leadership in free nations make us less safe. 

Past administrations (especially Obama and Biden) brought us to the brink of a nuclear Iran. President Obama unfroze 1.7 billion dollars to help Iran multiply terrorism. 400 million in cash arrived in Tehran on the dead of night. Joe Biden decreased sanctions against Iran allowing oil money to flow. The history of these bad deals is best summarized by Bill O’Reilly here.

Good, strong leadership is crucial to global peace. 

3. Appeasement doesn’t work with tyrants. Evil must be defeated, not coddled.

Israel launched Operation Midnight Hammer on June 13 to save their country from a second holocaust. Iran lied via “diplomacy” for decades while building a bomb. Tyrants don’t negotiate. They stall. They only understand power and must be defeated.

Iran’s “crying uncle” (ceasefire) did not begin World War III. Rod Martin explains it well in this 17 minute video.

Red States shares amazing details of the Iranian defeat including how Israel drew twenty Iranian generals into a bunker via a fake phone call. They were killed  in a quick strike that stopped them from leading a counterattack. Red State also chronicles : “The Genius Deception Trump Pulled on Iran Just Before the Attack on the Iranian Nuclear Sites.”

4. President Trump was right that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon.

Gary Randall states the bottom line clearly: Iran could not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb. They are the only nation in the world radically committed to destroying other nations (Israel and the U.S.).  Rod Martin gives the best explanation of this simple reality. His 15 minute video is worthy watching both on the Iran strike and President Trump’s role in it.

5. Isolationists–both left and right–should be suspect unless they admit error.

Those who lobbied for non-intervention in Iran are wrong–they don’t live in reality. Be skeptical of their perspective. Calls for  Trump’s impeachment while our military was in the air was morally wrong if not treason. Bill O’Reilly writes: 

Soon after the U.S. strike, Democratic Congressman Sean Casten of Illinois called for President Trump to be impeached.  So did Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, who is not to be taken seriously; she’s essentially a cartoon. Casten is another matter. You don’t publicly undermine the Commander-in-Chief while U.S. military personnel are in the air.  Casten should appear before the House Ethics Committee.  You want some impeachment nonsense, wait until the campaign is over.

6. Adjust your news sources and listen to those with wisdom and facts.

Don’t listen to fake/progressive/legacy media feeds. Read and listen to those you trust. I’d be glad to send you a list of those to whom I look for honest information.

7. America’s superb military planning and execution should be thanked for keeping the world safer. 

Trump’s Iran Stunner gives the details. The June 14 military parade in D.C. was the only worthy rally in June–not the foolish and completely backwards “No Kings” rallies. 

8. We must pray for the Persian people to be set free from totalitarianism.

The mullahs are still in power as of this writing. But major social and governmental change could come to Iran and all of the Middle East as a result of the 12 Day War–at least for now. We do not know if we are in the last days (generation). We must advance the Great Commission and fight for freedom in every generation–until He comes.

9. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pakistan has already nominated our president for the award for helping to settle recent tensions between them and India. (It was later withdrawn due to backlash.) The mullahs should do the same. If Trump or Netanyahu do not get the Nobel prize, the organization should close its doors. Both leaders certainly deserve it in 2025. 

10.  The Cease Fire is really a surrender–Iran saying “uncle.” Here was the announcement.

The ceasefire was shaky for a few days, and President Trump chided both nations for it. But Israel and the USA have done their job and Iran is greatly weakened. The Iranian leaders were told: “Give in or die.” They responded to power.

11. Prayer is vital to current events, and God is using Israel providentially in history.

Prayer certainly impacted the outcome of the war though that is a subjective call. One day we will see things in complete perspective, not thorough a “glass darkly.” The global focus on and protection of Israel is a key indicator of God’s reality and direction of history. If you need further encouragement on prayer’s efficacy, please read Shaping History Through Prayer & Fasting by Derek Prince.

12. Trump’s “Love God” moment was special. 

Watch it here again. I’ve rarely seen such honesty (with some awkwardness) by a U.S. president toward God.

13. Israel (with U.S. help) fought a “just war.” But we should never gloat over military success (when people are dying).

Some wars are necessary to stop evil in its tracks. David Closson shares six principles of Just War Theory here.

War is ugly. Tyrants deserve their punishment, but collateral damage hurts innocent people. We must never make light or be flippant of it. President Trump set the right tone in his June 20 address. 

14. Peace through strength is necessary in a fallen world.

Peace through strength is a biblical principle. Peace doesn’t always come through physical strength. Sometimes it arrives through the moral strengths of humility and self-sacrifice (i.e. the Cross of Christ).

But when Jesus returns, he will eternally save the planet from evil with overpowering physical strength and might.

We just got a tiny lesson of the same when Israel and the USA bombed Iran.