A brilliant but relatively unknown author and teacher referred to classical Jewish sources that described the tumultuous end of days in terms that were disturbingly similar to current events. The Zohar describes an unmistakable sign that heralds the appearance of the Messiah: the Star of Jacob first described in the Bible by Balaam. The Zohar gives a precise day and date that this pre-Messiah astral body will appear and recently, astronomers confirmed that on that precise date, a comet will appear in the heavens.

Efraim Palvanov, a teacher and author, writes the blog Mayim Achronim(Final Waters), named for the little-known Jewish ritual of washing the fingers after a meal. Like the eponymous mitzvah, the blog covers Jewish subjects that are misunderstood or not normally discussed. In a recent lecture, Palvanov described the current wars, in Ukraine and Israel, as being consistent with end-of-days predictions recorded in classical Jewish literature.

“I found something a few weeks ago that just really blew me away and I’ve been really excited to share it,” Palvanov said in the video. “But I’m gonna leave that to the end. We’ll save the best for last.”So don’t  fall asleep.”

Palvanov referred to lectures he gave two years ago during the pandemic in which he suggested that the world was in the pre-messiah period. This part of the lecture was described in an Israel365 News article last week. In the lecture, Palvanov explained that the current war in Ukraine and the more recent war in Israel were explicitly described in Jewish sources as being part of the Final Redemption. One of the sources, a midrash from Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer chapter 30, described three wars the “sons of Ishmael” (i.e. the Arabs) will wage in the end of days based on a verse in Isaiah:

For they have fled before swords: Before the whetted sword, Before the bow that was drawn, Before the stress of war. Isaiah 21:15

“One in the forest of Arabia [i.e. the west],” the midrash states. “One on the  sea, and one in a big city.”

“After the October seventh attack, it was revealed that many of the weapons used by Hamas came from North Korea, frequently through Russia,” Palvanov said. “The Kalashnikov rifles are the terrorist weapon of choice. This is all part of the new axis of evil made up of North Korea supported by China, Russia, and Iran. Many people don’t realize this, but North Korea is considered by some to be the largest criminal entity in the world, because they’re involved in crime everywhere all over the world. They’re the main producers of counterfeit American dollars. They are involved in human trafficking and they are one of the biggest drug dealers in the world. Because they are completely closed off, they don’t really have much income. Their main source of income is actually international crime, so they are a criminal entity.”

Palvanov then cited the Zohar (32a) which describes how the Ministering Angel of Ishmael pleads to God, claiming that Ishmael (i.e. the Artabs) should have a stake in Israel because they are circumcised. 

“And in the future, the children of Ishmael are destined to rule over the Holy Land for a long time when it is empty from anything, like their circumcision which is empty and imperfect” the Zohar states. “And they will prevent the children of Israel from returning to their place until the reward for the merit of the children of Ishmael reaches completion.”

The Zohar goes on, describing the fate of the sons of Ishmael after this period of grace ends.

“The children of Ishmael will cause great wars in the world and the children of Edom will gather against them and wage war against them; one on the sea, one on dry land, and one near Jerusalem. And they will rule over each other but the Holy Land will not be given over to the children of Edom.”

The children of Edom is the Christian West, for Edom is Rome (see Num. 24:19, Rashi) and Rome signifies Greece-Rome and the Roman Catholic Church, the foundations of Western Civilization

Palvanov noted that the US is leading an international maritime coalition to counter the Yemeni Houthis, who are shooting missiles and drones and blocking red sea traffic. 

“The description in the Zohar really fits into what’s going on over here” Palvanov notes, continuing in the Zohar.

“At that time, a nation from the end of the earth will be aroused against evil Rome and wage war against it for three months. Nations will gather there, and [Rome] will fall into their hands, until all the children of Edom will gather against it [that nation] from all the corners of the world. Then God will be roused against them…He will destroy the descendants of Ishmael from the land, and break all the powers of [all the nations’ guardian angels] Above. There will not remain any power of any people on earth, except the power of Israel alone. This is the meaning of “God is your shade upon your right hand”. (Psalms 121:5)”

“Some might say that ‘a nation from the end of the earth’ is referring to North Korea, or maybe China, somewhere from the far east, from the edge of the world,” Palvanoc speculated. 

“So the Gog and Magog War will last one year and there will be a three month war against the sons of Ishmael, driving them from the land of Israel,” Palvanov summarized. “This is what we are living through today.” 

“But this is the part I really wanted to get to,” he said. “We know that probably one of the oldest prophecies and oldest traditions that we have about the Moshiach (Messiah) comes from Balaam, a Gentile prophet who came to curse Israel and couldn’t curse them. Instead, he gives a prophecy that actually says ‘I will tell you what will happen at the end of days’.”

What I see for them is not yet, What I behold will not be soon: A star rises from Yaakov, A scepter comes forth from Yisrael; It smashes the brow of Moab, The foundation of all children of Shet. Numbers 24:17

“It’s one of the few places that the Torah uses the expression, ‘end of days’,” Palvanov notes. “Balaam says that he is looking far into the future and he prophesies that a star will emerge from Jacob. Of course, Christians adopted this in the nativity scene and the Star of Bethlehem,” Palvanov added. 

Read More Here