8 The Axis Of Evil
THE NEW AXIS OF EVIL
ON JANUARY 29, 2002, IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, PRESIDENT BUSH USED THE TERM 'AXIS OF EVIL' FOR THE FIRST TIME.
HE IDENTIFIED IRAN, IRAQ AND NORTH KOREA AS STATES WHO ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ARMING IN ORDER TO THREATEN THE PEACE OF THE WORLD.
ON MAY 6, 2002, US AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, JOHN BOLTON ADDED THREE MORE STATES TO THIS LIST.
HE ADDED LIBYA, SYRIA, AND CUBA.
GOD HAS A LIST OF EVIL NATIONS TOO.
THAT LIST IS FOUND IN EZEKIEL 38 AND 39.
THESE TWO CHAPTERS WERE WRITTEN
TWENTY SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
AND THEY MAKE UP ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND DRAMATIC PROPHECIES IN THE WHOLE BIBLE.
EZEKIEL'S PROPHESY IS OFTEN CALLED
THE PROPHESY AGAINST GOG AND MAGOG.
IT DETAILS THE INVASION OF ISRAEL
THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE LAST DAYS.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A COALITION OF NATIONS THAT ARE
LED BY RUSSIA AND IRAN.
THERE'S GOING TO COME A TIME WHEN ISRAEL
WILL SIGN A PEACE TREATY
WITH THE NEW LEADER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
THEY WILL TRUST THE EUROPEAN POWERS TO PROTECT THEM.
ESPECIALLY PROTECT THEM FROM RUSSIA.
BUT IT'LL BE A FALSE TRUST THAT WILL LAST ONLY
3 1/2 YEARS.
EZEKIEL TELLS US WHO THE INVADING NATIONS WILL BE.
THE IDENTITIES OF THE NATIONS ARE FOUND IN;
Ezekiel 38:1-7 (NIV)
38 THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ME: 2 “SON OF MAN, SET YOUR FACE AGAINST GOG, OF THE LAND OF MAGOG, THE CHIEF PRINCE OF MESHECH AND TUBAL; PROPHESY AGAINST HIM 3 AND SAY: ‘THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAYS: I AM AGAINST YOU, O GOG, CHIEF PRINCE OF MESHECH AND TUBAL. 4 I WILL TURN YOU AROUND, PUT HOOKS IN YOUR JAWS AND BRING YOU OUT WITH YOUR WHOLE ARMY—YOUR HORSES, YOUR HORSEMEN FULLY ARMED, AND A GREAT HORDE WITH LARGE AND SMALL SHIELDS, ALL OF THEM BRANDISHING THEIR SWORDS. 5 PERSIA, CUSH AND PUT WILL BE WITH THEM, ALL WITH SHIELDS AND HELMETS, 6 ALSO GOMER WITH ALL ITS TROOPS, AND BETH TOGARMAH FROM THE FAR NORTH WITH ALL ITS TROOPS—THE MANY NATIONS WITH YOU.
7 “ ‘GET READY; BE PREPARED, YOU AND ALL THE HORDES GATHERED ABOUT YOU, AND TAKE COMMAND OF THEM.
MOST OF THESE NAMES IDENTIFY CERTAIN GRAND CHILDREN AND GREAT GRANDCHILDREN OF NOAH.
THEY WERE THE FATHERS OF NATIONS THAT FOR A TIME BORE THEIR NAMES. (GENESIS 10)
AS WE IDENTIFY THESE NATIONS BY THEIR PRESENT NAMES AND LOCATE THEM ON TODAY'S MAP, WE CAN SEE HOW THE STAGE IS BEING SET FOR THIS RUSSIAN / ISLAMIC INVASION OF ISRAEL.
GOG IS THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. GOG IS ACTUALLY THE TITLE OF A RULER.
GOG IS AN INDIVIDUAL RATHER THAN A NATION. GOG IS EXPLICITLY CALLED "THE PRINCE" IN EZEKIEL 38:2 AND 39:1.
MAGOG IS BEST IDENTIFIED WITH THE SCYTHIANS.
THE ANCIENT HISTORIAN JESEPHUS MAKES THAT IDENTIFICATION AND WE THERE'S NO REASON TO
QUESTION IT.
THE SCYTHIANS LIVED IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF ISRAEL, AND THEN SOME OF THEM EMIGRATED NORTH MOVING ALL THE WAY UP TO THE ASIATIC CIRCLE.
HERODOTUS TELLS US THAT THESE SCYTHIANS WERE OF INDO-ARYIAN HERITAGE AND SPOKE AN IRANIAN LANGUAGE THAAT WAS RELATED TO PERSIAN.
USING THESE CLUES WE CAN IDENTIFY MAGOG TODAY AS THE NATIONS CALLED KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, TAJIKISTAN, AZERBAIJAN, GEORGA, AND POSSIBLY AFGANISTAN.
ALL OF THESE NATIONS WERE PART OF THE FORMER
SOVIET UNION.
ROSH
THIS NAME IS FOUND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
OVER 600 TIMES.
DURING EZEKIEL'S TIME ROSH IS IDENTIFIED AS A NATION OF PEOPLE THAT LIVED NORTH OF THE BLACK SEA.
EZEKIEL TELLS US THREE TIMES THAT PART OF THE FORCE THAT'S GOING TO COME AGAINST ISRAEL WILL BE FROM THE DISTANT NORTH.
THE LAND THAT IS THE MOST DISTANTLY NORTH AND REMOTE TO ISRAEL IS RUSSIA.
WHEN THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED IN THE 1990s, MANY THOUGHT THAT RUSSIA'S DAYS OF PROMINENCE AND POWER WERE OVER.
BUT LESS THAN TWO DECADES LATER RUSSIA IS SEEKING TO RECLAIM THE STRATEGIC GROUND SHE HAS LOST.
EDWARD LUCAS WARNS THAT RUSSIA IS RISING AGAIN AS A HOSTILE POWER.
LUCAS ALSO WROTE THAT THE WEST IS ASLEEP TO THE GROWING DANGER OF RUSSIA AND IS LOSING THE NEW COLD WAR.
SO SUCCESSFUL IS RUSSIA'S RETURN TO THE WORLD STAGE THAT TIME MAGAZINE CHOSE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AS IT'S 2007 PERSON OF THE YEAR.
FOR TAKING RUSSIA FROM CHAOS TO A POSITION OF IMPORTANCE IN THE WORLD TODAY.
PUTIN HAS ACCUSED THE WEST OF ENCROACHING ON RUSSIA'S BORDERS AND STARTING A NEW ARMS RACE.
IN HIS ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY HIS HOSTILITY TOWARD THE WEST, PUTIN SAID
"WE RUSSIANS ARE STRIVING TO CREATE A FAIRER WORLD BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF EQUALITY...
HE WENT ON TO SAY "TIME HAS SHOWN OUR VIEWS FIND SUPPORT IN ARAB AND OTHER MUSLIM STATES".
IN OCTOBER OF 2007 PUTIN VISITED IRAN FOR THE FIRST TIME AND REASSURED IRAN THAT
THE BUSHEHR NUCLEAR REACTOR WOULD BE COMPLETED.
PUTIN ALSO VISITED SEVERAL OTHER MUSLIM NATIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, JORDAN, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, INDONESIA, AND MOST RECIENTLY, LIBYA.
HE SIGNED MANY LUCRATIVE AGREEMENTS
BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THESE MUSLIM STATES.
EUROPE ISN'T BLIND TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN RUSSIA.
RUSSIA APPEARS TO BE WINNING THE ENERGY GAME. THEY'VE SIGNED INDIVIDUAL DEALS WITH EURPEAN UNION STATES AND ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
MESHECH AND TUBAL ARE THOUGHT TO BE PART OF PRESENT DAY TURKEY.
PERSIA IS EASY TO IDENTIFY BECAUSE IT KEPT IT'S ORIGINAL NAME RIGHT UP TO MARCH 1935
WHEN IT WAS CHANGED TO IRAN.
TODAY WITH IT'S POPULATION OF 70 MILLION PEOPLE, IRAN HAS BECOME A HOTBED OF MILITANT ISLAM AND ANTI-SEMITIC HATRED.
IRAN'S GOVERNMENT IS OFFICIALLY A THROCRATIC REPUBLIC WHOSE ULTIMATE POLITICAL AUTHORITY RESTS
IN IT'S SUPREME RELIGIOUS LEADER, WHICH IS CURRENTLY AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI.
AHMADINEJAD IS ONLY A FIGUREHEAD UNDER KHAMENEI
IRAN'S LOCATION ON THE PERSIAN GULF AND THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ GIVES HER GREAT POWER TODAY.
HER VAST OIL RESERVES AND THE UPWARDLY SPIRALING PRICE OF CRUDE OIL BROUGHT IN SIXTY BILLION DOLLARS IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES FOR IRAN.
I UNDERSTAND THAT IRAN IS A PRIME PLAYER IN THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRADE.
THEY'RE ALSO A KEY TRANS-SHIPMENT POINT
FOR HEROIN THAT'S HEADING TO EUROPE.
THE UNITED STATES HAS IDENTIFIED IRAN AS A STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.
THE WORLD HAS BEEN IN CONTINUAL CONFRONTATION WITH IRAN OVER ITS URANIUM ENRICHMENT CAPABILITIES.
BUT IRAN JUST IGNORES WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD SAYS.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL IRAN HAS A NUCLEAR WEAPON.
AND IT MAY NOT BE THAT MUCH LONGER.
THE IRANIAN REGIME IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS HATRED OF ISRAEL AND ITS DESIRE TO ELIMINATE HER.
AHMADINEJAD DECLAIRED TO THE WORLD;
"AS THE IMAM SAID, ISRAEL MUST BE WIPED OFF THE MAP... AND ANYBODY WHO RECOGNIZES ISRAEL WILL BURN IN THE FIRE OF THE ISLAMIC NATION'S FURY.
IN MARCH OF 2008, HEZBOLLAH CHIEF, HASSAN NASRALLAH RAILED AGAINST ISRAEL WHEN HE SAID;
"THE PRESENCE OF ISRAEL IS ONLY TEMPORARY AND CANNOT GO ON IN THE REGION. WE WILL SEE YOU KILLED IN THE FIELDS, WE WILL KILL YOU IN THE CITIES, WE WILL FIGHT YOU LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE".
HEZBOLLAH IS AN ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST GROUP,
AND THOUGH ITS BASE OF OPERATIONS IS IN LEBANON,
ITS AUTHORITY COMES FROM THE SAME PLACE THAT AMADINAJAD'S AUTHORITY COMES FROM.
THE AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI.
THE AGRESSIVE THREATENING INFLUENCE OF IRAN IS INFECTING AND CONTROLING OTHER ISLAMIC TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS.
IRAN HAS PROVEN THAT OUR NATIONAL LEADERS ARE RIGHT ON TARGET
BY INCLUDING IRAN AS A MEMBER OF THE AXIS OF EVIL.
CUSH WAS THE FIRST BORN OF HAM'S FOUR SONS. HAM WAS A SON OF NOAH.
THE CUSHITES ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES IN AFRICA
PART OF THE LAND THAT THE CUSHITES OCCUPIED IS CALLED ETHIOPIA TODAY.
BUT THEY OCCUPIED A TERRITORY MUCH LARGER THAN TODAY'S NATION OF ETHIOPIA,
THE CUSHITES TERRITORY ALSO INCLUDED THE PART OF AFRICA KNOWN TODAY AS THE SUDAN.
THE SUDAN HAS NOT BEEN A FRIEND TO THE WEST.
THE SUDAN SUPPORTED IRAQ IN THE GULF WAR
AND HAS ALSO HARBORED OSAMA BIN LADEN.
PUT. PUT WAS ALSO ONE OF NOAH'S GRANDSONS.
THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT THE PRESENT IDENTITY OF THIS NATION,
ANCIENT MAPS CLEARLY SHOW THAT PUT IS THE MODERN NATION OF LIBYA.
LIBYA IS AN ISLAMIC NATION SEETHING WITH A GREAT HATRED FOR ISRAEL AND, THEIR RECENT ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA IS OMINOUS INDEED.
GOMER IS MENTIONED IN GENESIS 10 AS ONE OF JAPHETH'S SONS.
GENESIS 10:3 TELLS US THAT ONE OF GOMERS RELATIVES IS ASHKENAZ.
TODAY, ISRAELIS DESCRIBE JEWS FROM GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND POLAND AS ASHKENAZIM.
SO GOMER COULD BE GERMANY. BUT SOME THINK GOMER IS TURKEY.
IF GOMER IS TURKEY, THEN IT IS A COUNTRY WITH A GROWING ALLEGIANCE TO RUSSIA.
TURKEY ALREADY HAS A STRONG MILITARY PRESENCE ON THE NORTHERN BORDER OF IRAQ.
SO IT'S QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THE HORDES THAT EZEKIEL REFERS TO, ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN THE CONFLICT OVER IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
BETH TOGARMAH
ALSO CALLED THE HOUSE OF TOGARMAH.
(BETH MEANS HOUSE)
LIKE MESHECH, TUBAL, AND GOMER, BETH TOGARMAH WAS A PART OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA WE CURRENTLY CALL TURKEY.
WHAT A FORMIDIBLE LIST THIS IS. AND YET EZEKIEL ADDS THAT MANY MORE NATIONS WILL ALSO BE A PART OF THE COALITION THAT GATHERS TO CRUSH ISRAEL.
NEARLY EVERYONE OF THESE NATIONS ARE ISLAMIC OR AT LEAST PRO-ISLAMIC.
IT SEEMS SO CLEAR TO ME THAT THIS HATRED FOR ISRAEL IS FUELED BY SATAN.
ALL ISRAEL WANTS IS TO BE A SOVEREIGN NATION.
THEY WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE TO LIVE THEIR LIVES.
SO WHY DO ALL THESE ISLAMIC NATIONS HATE ISRAEL SO MUCH?
I BELIEVE IT'S BECAUSE SATAN HAS BEEN BEHIND THE ISLAMIC RELIGION FROM IT'S VERY BEGINNING.
SATAN HATES GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE AND WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO ELIMINATE THEM FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
IT'S INTERESTINGLY, EZEKIEL SPOKE OF SOME NATIONS THAT WILL NOT BE PART OF THE INVASION OF ISRAEL.
I THOUGHT THAT EVERY NATION WOULD COME AGAINST ISRAEL, BUT I GUESS NOT.
EZEKIEL 38:13 (NIV) SAYS
13 SHEBA AND DEDAN AND THE MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH AND ALL HER VILLAGES WILL SAY TO YOU, “HAVE YOU COME TO PLUNDER? HAVE YOU GATHERED YOUR HORDES TO LOOT, TO CARRY OFF SILVER AND GOLD, TO TAKE AWAY LIVESTOCK AND GOODS AND TO SEIZE MUCH PLUNDER?” ’
MOST BIBLE SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT SHEBA AND DEDAN REFER TO THE PEOPLES OF THE ARABIAN PENINSULA,
INCLUDING MODERN DAY SAUDI ARABIA, YEMEN, OMAN, AND THE GULF COUNTRIES OF KUWAIT AND
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.
IN ANCIENT TIMES TARSHISH WAS A TERM THAT DESCRIBED THE WESTERN MOST PART OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION.
MANY SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT "THE MERCHANTS OF TARSHISH" AND ITS "VILLAGES" AND ITS "YOUNG LIONS" REFER TO THE MARKET BASED ECONOMIES OF WESTERN EUROPE.
DR. DAVID L. COOPER SAYS;
"IT SEEMS THAT THE EVIDENCE IS IN FAVOR OF IDENTIFYING TARSHISH AS ENGLAND."
THEODORE EPP POINTS OUT THAT
BRITAINS SYMBOL IS THE LION.
AND ALL OF BRITAINS COLONIES MAY BE THE CUBS THAT EZEKIEL SPOKE ABOUT.
SOME OF GREAT BRITAINS COLONIES WERE CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, THE AFRICAN COLONIES, AND THE UNITED STATES.
SO IT SEEMS THAT THE WEST IS NOT GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INVASION OF ISRAEL, THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT.
WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING ABOUT ALL THIS IS THAT THE NATIONS THAT EZEKIEL SAID WOULD INVADE ISRAEL, AND THE NATIONS THAT WILL NOT, SQUARE VERY CLOSELY WITH THE ALIGNMENT OF THE NATIONS IN THE WORLD TODAY.
WHAT EZEKIEL WROTE TWENTY SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO IS WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES, IN THE WORLD TODAY.
THE INVASION OF ISRAEL
THE PLACE OF THE INVASION
THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION ABOUT WHAT NATION THESE ARMIES WILL INVADE. IT WILL BE THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
AND MAN, WHAT A CASE OF OVERKILL.
ISRAEL IS ONE OF THE SMALLEST NATIONS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
IT'S ONLY 1/19th THE SIZE OF CALIFORNIA,
THAT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF NEW JERSEY.
IT IS ONLY 260 MILES LONG.
ONLY 60 MILES WIDE AT IT'S WIDEST POINT,
AND ONLY BETWEEN 3 TO 9 MILES WIDE AT IT'S NARROWEST POINT.
ISRAEL IS SURROUNDED BY 22 HOSTILE ARAB/ISLAMIC DICTATORSHIPS
THAT ARE 640 TIMES HER SIZE
AND HAVE 60 TIMES HER POPULATION
THE PERIOD OF THE INVASION
WE'RE NOT GIVEN AN EXACT DATE FOR THE INVASION. BUT THE PROPHET TELLS US THAT IT WILL BE IN THE LATTER YEARS.
IT WILL HAPPEN WHEN ISRAEL IS DWELLING IN PEACE AND SAFETY AND NOT INVOLVED IN CONFLICT WITH OTHER NATIONS.
SO FAR THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TIME LIKE THIS
IN ALL OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY.
AND IT'S STILL NOT TRUE TODAY,
SO IT MUST BE SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
THE ONLY PERIOD IN ISRAEL'S LIFE WHEN THEY WILL BE LIVING IN PEACE IS RIGHT AFTER THE RAPTURE WHEN ISRAEL SIGN'S THAT PEACE TREATY WITH THE ANTI-CHRIST.
AT THAT TIME THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WILL RELAX
AND TRUST THAT THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL PROTECT THEM.
HER DEFENSES WILL BE DOWN, AND SHE WILL BE WOEFULLY UNPREPARED FOR THE INVASION OF THE ARMIES OF RUSSIA AND THEIR HUGE COALITION.
THE PURPOSE OF THE INVASION
THESE INVADING ARMIES WILL HAVE THREE PRIMARY GOALS.
1. TO SEIZE HER LAND.
IT'S KIND OF HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHY ISRAEL'S LAND IS SO IMPORTANT, BUT THEY WANT IT.
2. TO STEAL ISRAEL'S WEALTH.
a. ISRAEL IS WEALTHY.
b. THERE ARE MORE THAN 7,200 MILLIONAIRES
LIVING IN ISRAEL TODAY.
c. SIX OF THE WORLDS WEALTHIEST PEOPLE LIVE IN ISRAEL.
d. ISRAEL'S GDP IS ALMOST DOUBLE THAT OF ANY OTHER MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRY.
3. TO SLAUGHTER ISRAEL'S PEOPLE.
I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE REAL CRUX OF THE MATTER.
THE HATRED OF THE JEWS BY ISLAM IS LEGENDARY.
JUST LIKE SATAN HATES GOD,
SO ISLAM HATES GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE.
THE PARTICULARS OF THE INVASION
EZEKIEL TELLS US THAT THE ARMIES WILL GATHER
AND ASSEMBLE ON THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL.
THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL ARE MAINLY LOCATED ON
THE NORTHERN BORDERS NEXT TO SYRIA, LEBANON
AND THE NORTHERN JORDAN. (THE GOLAN HEIGHTS)
THE INTERVENTION OF GOD
WHEN ALL THESE MASSIVE ARMIES COME AGAINST ISRAEL, IT WILL LOOK LIKE THE MOST GROSSLY MISMATCHED CONTEST IN ALL OF MILITARY HISTORY.
THE ISRAELIES WILL BE SO OUTNUMBERED
THAT THERE WILL BE NO WAY THEY COULD WIN.
ONLY AN INTERVENTION BY GOD HIMSELF COULD POSSIBILY SAVE THEM.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
THE ARSENAL OF WEAPONS
WHEN GOD GOES TO WAR, HE USES WEAPONS
UNIQUE TO HIM.
FIRST HE WILL ROUT THE ARMIES WITH MASSIVE CONVULSIONS IN THE EARTH.
GOD WILL FOLLOW THESE CONVULSIONS WITH HIS
SECOND WEAPON, WHICH IS TO CREATE CONFUSION AMONG THE ATTACKING TROOPS.
THEY WILL PANIC AND BEGIN KILLING EACH OTHER.
THE THIRD WEAPON OF GOD
WILL BE A PLAGUE OF DISEASE.
HE WILL INFECT THE INVADING TROOPS WITH SOME DEBILITATING DISEASE THAT WILL RENDER THEM INCAPABLE OF CARRYING OUT AN EFFECTIVE ATTACK.
HIS FOURTH AND FINAL WEAPON IS CALAMITIES FROM THE SKY.
VERSE 22 SAYS "I WILL RAIN DOWN ON HIM, ON HIS TROOPS, AND ON THE MANY PEOPLES WHO ARE WITH HIM, FLOODING RAIN, GREAT HAILSTONES, FIRE, AND BRIMSTONE.
WHEN GOD GOES TO WAR, NO ARMY ON EARTH CAN STAND AGAINST HIS FORMIDABLE ARSENAL.
THE AFTERMATH OF WAR
FIRST OF ALL THERE WILL BE A FEAST.
IT'S GOING TO BE A FEAST FOR THE VULTURES.
THEY WILL FEED ON THE INCREDIBLE MASSES OF
DEAD BODIES STREWN ACROSS THE BATTLE FIELD.
THE SECOND EVENT THAT WILL OCCUR AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL'S ENEMIES IS A GREAT FUNERAL.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE SEVEN MONTHS TO GET RID OF ALL THE BODIES AND CLEANSE THE LAND.
SEVEN MONTHS TO BURY ALL THE BODIES AND BONES.
THE THIRD AFTERMATH OF WAR AGAINST ISRAEL
WILL BE A GREAT AND LONG-BURNING FIRE.
ISRAEL WILL BURN THEIR ENEMIES WEAPONRY FOR SEVEN YEARS.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD'S PLAN
THE INEVITABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF GOD'S PURPOSE
THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK WE HAVE OBSERVED THAT EVEN IN THE MOST DEVASTATING OF TIMES, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL.
IN FACT, HE OFTEN ORCHESTRATES EVENTS IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT HIS PURPOSES.
SOME PEOPLE HAVE TROUBLE WITH PASSAGES LIKE THIS.
FOR INSTANCE GENESIS SAYS THAT GOD HARDENED PHARAOH'S HEART.
ACTUALLY GOD ISN'T DOING ANYTHING AGAINST PHARAOH'S FREE WILL.
WHAT GOD DOES IS PROVIDE THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BRING OUT WHAT'S ALREADY IN PHARAOH'S HEART.
ILLUSTRATION:
SOME HEARTS ARE LIKE CLAY; THE SUN'S HEAT WILL ONLY MAKE THEM HARDER.
WHILE OTHER HEARTS ARE LIKE WAX; THE SUN WILL CAUSE THEM TO MELT.
GOD DOESN'T OVERRIDE YOUR FREE WILL. HE ONLY EXPOSES WHAT YOUR HEART IS LIKE BY ORCHESTRATING THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN YOUR LIFE.
GOD'S PURPOSE IS ALWAYS GOING TO WIN OUT.
THE SIMPLICITY OF GOD'S PURPOSE
EZEKIEL 38:16 (NIV)
16 I WILL BRING YOU AGAINST MY LAND, SO THAT THE NATIONS MAY KNOW ME WHEN I SHOW MYSELF HOLY THROUGH YOU BEFORE THEIR EYES.
EZEKIEL 38:23 (NIV)
23 AND SO I WILL SHOW MY GREATNESS AND MY HOLINESS, AND I WILL MAKE MYSELF KNOWN IN THE SIGHT OF MANY NATIONS. THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.’
EZEKIEL 39:6 (NIV)
AND THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.
EZEKIEL 39:7 (NIV)
7 “ ‘I WILL MAKE KNOWN MY HOLY NAME AMONG MY PEOPLE ISRAEL. I WILL NO LONGER LET MY HOLY NAME BE PROFANED, AND THE NATIONS WILL KNOW THAT I THE LORD AM THE HOLY ONE IN ISRAEL.
EZEKIEL 39:21-22 (NIV)
21 “I WILL DISPLAY MY GLORY AMONG THE NATIONS, AND ALL THE NATIONS WILL SEE THE PUNISHMENT I INFLICT AND THE HAND I LAY UPON THEM. 22 FROM THAT DAY FORWARD THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD.
IT DOESN'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE OUT WHAT GOD'S PURPOSE IS.
GOD INTENDS FOR PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE HIM AS THE LORD AND GOD OF HEAVEN.
THE SALVATION OF GOD'S PEOPLE
THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE OF GOG AND MAGOG WILL BE THE SALVATION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
EZEKIEL 39:28-29 (NIV)
28 THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD, FOR THOUGH I SENT THEM INTO EXILE AMONG THE NATIONS, I WILL GATHER THEM TO THEIR OWN LAND, NOT LEAVING ANY BEHIND. 29 I WILL NO LONGER HIDE MY FACE FROM THEM, FOR I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, DECLARES THE SOVEREIGN LORD.”
AND SO EZEKIEL ENDS HIS PROPHESY ON A HIGH NOTE, EXTOLING GOD'S TENDER LOVE AND COMPASSION TOWARD HIS PEOPLE.
GOD'S DESTRUCTION OF THE AXIS OF EVIL IN THE LAST DAYS WILL ACCOMPLISH THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE, THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT,
THERE IS, THE POTENTIAL FOR AN AXIS OF EVIL
WITHIN THE HEART OF EVERY ONE OF US.
EACH ONE OF US HAS IN OUR HEART THAT SINFUL NATURE THAT WE INHERITED FROM ADAM.
IT'S A TENDENCY TO CHOOSE THE EVIL RATHER THAN THE GOOD.
BUT GOD HAS GIVEN US HOPE. HE HAS GIVEN US HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO CLEANSE US AND HELP US LIVE GODLY LIVES.
GOD WILL POUR OUT HIS SPIRIT ON ANYONE WHO BELIEVES AND TURNS TO HIM.
HE WILL FORGIVE OUR SINS WHEN WE ASK HIM TO.
AND HE WILL FILL US WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN WE FULLY COMMIT EVERYTHING TO HIM.
THE AXIS OF EVIL IN OUR HEARTS CAN BE REMOVED AND REPLACED BY GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT.
HE WILL COME IN AND FILL US WITH HIS LOVE.
DANIEL CHRISTIANSEN TELLS A STORY ABOUT A RELATIVE, A ROMANIAN SOLDIER IN WORLD WAR II,
NAMED ANA GHEORGHE.
IT WAS 1941, AND TROOPS HAD OVERRUN THE ROMANIAN REGION OF BESSARABIA AND ENTERED MOLDAVIA.
ANA AND HIS COMRADES WERE BADLY FRIGHTENED.
BULLETS WHIZZED AROUND THEM, AND MORTAR SHELLS SHOOK THE EARTH.
BY DAY, ANA SOUGHT RELIEF READING HIS BIBLE, BUT AT NIGHT HE COULD ONLY CROUCH CLOSE TO THE EARTH AND RECALL VERSES HE HAD MEMORIZED IN CHILDHOOD.
ONE DAY DURING A SPRAY OF ENEMY FIRE, ANA WAS SEPARATED FROM HIS COMPANY. IN A PANIC, HE BOLTED DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THE WOODS UNTIL, HUDDLING AT THE BASE OF A LARGE TREE, HE FELL ASLEEP FROM EXHAUSTION.
THE NEXT DAY, TRYING TO FIND HIS COMRADES, HE MOVED CAUTIOUSLY TOWARD THE FRONT, STAYING IN THE SHADOWS OF THE TREES, NIBBLING A CRUST OF BREAD, DRINKING FROM THE STREAMS.
HEARING THE BATTLE CLOSING IN, HE UNSLUNG HIS RIFLE, PULLED THE BOLT, AND WATCHED FOR THE ENEMY,
HIS NERVES NEAR THE BREAKING POINT. TWENTY YARDS AWAY, A RUSSIAN SOLDIER SUDDENLY APPEARED.
ALL MY MENTAL REHEARSALS OF BRAVERY SERVED ME NOTHING.
I DROPPED MY GUN AND FELL TO MY KNEES, THEN I BURIED MY FACE IN MY SWEATING PALMS AND BEGAN TO PRAY.
WHILE PRAYING, I WAITED FOR THE COLD TOUCH OF THE RUSSIAN'S RIFLE BARREL AGAINST MY HEAD.
I FELT A SLIGHT PRESSURE ON MY SHOULDER CLOSE TO MY NECK. I OPENED MY EYES SLOWLY.
THERE WAS MY ENEMY KNEELING IN FRONT OF ME, HIS GUN LYING NEXT TO MINE AMONG THE WILDFLOWERS. HIS EYES WERE CLOSED IN PRAYER.
WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND A SINGLE WORD OF THE OTHER'S LANGUAGE, BUT WE COULD PRAY. WE ENDED OUR PRAYER WITH TWO WORDS THAT NEED NO TRANSLATION: ALLELUIA ... AMEN!
THEN AFTER A TEARFUL EMBRACE, WE WALKED QUICKLY TO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CLEARING AND DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE TREES.
O GOD HELP US HAVE TENDER HEARTS
SO WE CAN FOLLOW YOUR LEADING.