When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, some hosts of popular video podcasts broadcast in no uncertain terms that we now had to get ready for the Rapture. They proclaimed that this war would be the prelude to the Gog and Magog War of Ezekiel 38–39, and thus the precursor to the Rapture.

With the surprise US invasion of Iran in February 2026, we were once again assured that this was the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Numerous video podcasts centered on Jeremiah’s prophecy about Elam, a province of Iran, and claimed that the Iran war was the fulfillment of that prophecy.

As the predictions made by these podcasts failed to materialize, their hosts grew quieter and quieter. Not one of them explained where they had gone wrong.

In “Rumors of Wars”, Gog and Magog, Elam and the End Times, Ignatius le Roux explains a few basic guidelines—or Fundamental Principles—that form the foundation for understanding Biblical prophecies. Reading through them, it quickly becomes clear why statements like those made by the aforementioned hosts repeatedly disappoint. At the same time, we learn how to understand the Lord’s distinct plans for Israel, the Church, and the Gentile Nations, while learning how to keep our focus—amid the challenging times in which we live—on Jesus’s clear instructions to His followers.

Since 2000, Ignatius and Marina le Roux of Kerugma Productions have been filming tours through the Bible lands, led by American Archaeologist Dr Randall Smith. Back in South Africa, they edit this footage into episodes for the popular television series Exploring the Lands of the Bible. The videos can be viewed on the Kerugma website. Ignatius recently published the book, What Wine Did Jesus Make and Why? The couple met at the University of Stellenbosch where they both completed a M Th degree.