View On Ezekiel 38 Zechariah 14 "What Is Going On In Israel?"
"Nothing interests us more as Bible students than The Kingdom of God on earth. So I will talk more specifically regarding Israel in prophecy, and how that relates to the kingdom of God being manifest on earth, and this will be through the prism of current events."
No known recordings exist from this Bible discourse given before the Everett, WA ecclesia on 11/23/2014. The video features a fairly good voicing of text to speech. A pleasant dub from Israel Vibrations accompanies the video. Please enjoy.[rcb note: The views expressed in the discourse are now nearly 8 years old. New developments call for a new presentation, which we hope to make soon Lord willing. Meanwhile there are a lot of items of interest here so we hope you'll enjoy. Below are the full discourse notes for the speaker's laptop, not corrected for grammar. Slides are from the talk...Thanks. 8/13/2022]
PLUS added note: for those interested in this topic here are the other links of interest from this blog:
Octaman's Octablog: Is Ezekiel 38 a future scenario? Or is it already past?
Octaman's Octablog: Ezekiel 38 and Zechariah 14 : Now Nearly Complete
Octaman's Octablog: NONE of this ads up to a future Zechariah 14 nor Ezekiel 38 scenario
My talk is about Israel, based on the question, "what's going on in Israel?" Of course we are all familiar with the fact that Israel is the land of the Bible! Israel today is a world leader in many technologies that are transforming the globe. The technology in everyone's hands that they use to send text messages and fly around the internet would not be possible without Israeli microchips . We know they lead the world in advanced agriculture and irrigation practices, having transformed desert lands into blooming gardens, as promised in Isaiah 35when it says "The desert shall blossom as the rose"Nothing interests us more as Bible students than The Kingdom of God on earth. So I will talk more specifically regarding Israel in prophecy, and how that relates to the kingdom of God being manifest on earth, and this will be through the prism of current events. heres todays exclusive Exclusive: Cornered but unbound by nuclear pact, Israel reconsiders military action against IranWASHINGTON – Historic negotiations with Iran will reach an inflection point on Monday, as world powers seek to clinch a comprehensive deal that will, to their satisfaction, end concerns over the nature of its vast, decade-old nuclear program.But reflecting on the deal under discussion with The Jerusalem Post on the eve of the deadline, Israel has issued a stark, public warning to its allies with a clear argument: Current proposals guarantee the perpetuation of a crisis, backing Israel into a corner from which military force against Iran provides the only logical exit. why would nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranian Ayatolla be of concern to Israel? Here is the latest tweet from the Ayatollah himself: |
| Anyone who understands even a little history knows about the hatred toward the Jewish people shown by the nations during the Holocaust. Anyone with the least amount of awareness of the reason for the Jewish state knows about the slogan "Never Again" and what that means. Anyone with access to news reports can tell that there is an ongoing attempt to destroy the state of Israel and the Jews within it. ANYONE WITH ACCESS TO A BIBLE should know a lot already regarding the Holy Land and the people of the book. I read recently that The Bible is still the best selling, most popular book in the world. If as many people who owned a Bible actually read one, they would know the following Scriptures regarding Israel, and I hope you'll follow along with me as we look first at recent history through the eyes of prophecy: |
NOW MORE FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES TO REMIND US OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED vs. WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE HAPPEN |
Ezekiel 20:34 - "I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered -- with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath." there was no greater wrath ever displayed on earth than that of the Holocaust....Isaiah 11:11-12 NIV - "In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth." Isaiah 43:5-6,21 - "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth..." "... the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." Psalm 107:2-3 NIV - "Let the redeemed of the LORD say this -- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. EZEKIEL 36 and 372 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha! and, The ancient high places are ours in possession; 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people; 4 therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are round about; 5 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed my land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with despite of soul, to cast it out for a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because ye have borne the shame of the nations: 7 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I have sworn, saying, Surely the nations that are round about you, they shall bear their shame. 8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn into you, and ye shall be tilled and sown; 10 and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded; 11 and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. .................................and Ezekiel 37 we studied in class recently, as we learned that the valley of the dry bones was the Jewish national hopes, and that when the dry bones received flesh and muscles and skin it signified symbolically the ressurrection of the nation of Israel, of jewish national hopes |
JEREMIAH 31: 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither. 10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock. 11 For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. |
Jeremiah 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith Jehovah. FRIENDS this we have seen in our lifetime, some sitting here. Israel was saved out of the ravages of wwII and regathered to a once desolate land nearly bereft on inhabitants to re-establish her ancient dwelling places, and there they are today...........even right now, never before in the history of the world has anything like this occurred....and their existence as a nation today is proof that The Word of God is True. |
NOW, what does the Bble say about what we are yet to expect to see happen after this, and yet subsequent to the establishment of messiah's kingdom on earth?(Psalm 83:1-5)83 O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; And they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 Thy take crafty counsel against thy people, And consult together against thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant: |
| remember the Ayatollah? And the PLO have a charter or covenant as they call it , calling for the destruction of the nation of Israel. |
What else do we expect from prophecy?
zechariah 14
| 1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. | The day of the LORD – Already begun. R286:5[R286:25] When the first return of Israelites to Palestine will have taken place. R286:3 |
| 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. | Gather all nations – Gog and Magog, the hosts of merciless plunderers of regathered Israel. D554,D555 |
So What should we ALL know, from Athiest to Islamist, Buddhist to Hinduist to Christian Scientist and everyone else in between? It's what is common knowledge, or what should be common knowledge, for ALL can see that there is a struggle for the land of Israel, or what the world likes to call "Palestine".ALL THE WORLD clamors for what they call the "two state solution". HOWEVER!WHAT WE AS BIBLE STUDENTS EXPECT IN THE FUTURE IS THAT ISRAEL WILL BECOME LARGER THAN IT IS NOW, NOT SMALLER. AND BEFORE THAT HAPPENS, AS IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED AMONG BIBLE STUDENTS, ISRAEL MUST GO THROUGH A FUTURE EVENT KNOWN in SCRIPTURE AS "JACOB'S TROUBLE" where there will be a battle over JerusalemAlas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble;but he shall be saved out of it. | |||||
| When i was asked to do a talk on what's going on in Israel now, it was around the time of unending rocket attacks upon Israel from the Gaza strip. BUT NOW----------------much has transpired since then, even in a single month - The news agencies, as they always do, blamed Israel for being disproportionate in it's response to the raining down of 4 thousand 4 hundred and eighty rockets. the military carried out selective strikes against the rocket launchers and the terrorists responsible, who always hide behind women and children, often inside schoolyards and hospital areas, with the intention of drawing Israeli fire that might incur civilian casualties that would then be reported on the news by AP, reuters, cnn, msnbc, the bbc, fox news and others. ... News reports that would creatively find ways to mislead their viewers into the false idea that both sides are equally to blame in the conflict, but Israel the more so, as they continue to have the audacity to build homes and apartments in their own capital city of jerusalem. that they say is the problem and the incitement to palestinian arab violence. If they should stop building, and give the arabs more land, then peace would ensue,and this is their unending story line. And people soak it up and believe it without questioning. thus it goes , oft described as a "cycle of violence". Yet Israel fired no rockets first. Always the arabs strike first, Israel defends itself, and the arabs cry foul, and worse. they cry for war - war over Jerusalem.Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said about the recent terror attack in which four Rabbi's were murdered in a Synagogue in Jerusalem: "Today’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem is the direct result of the incitement by Abu Mazen and his Hamas partners,” (that's the palestinian leader) “We are in the midst of a prolonged campaign for Jerusalem. I have no doubt we will win it. We are utilizing all the forces needed to restore quiet and security to all parts of the city, but it could certainly be a prolonged fight and we must join together all the powers in our country for the fight,” he said. During the special Knesset ceremony for Yitzak Rabin, the prime minister said: “Hamas terrorists carry out terrorist attacks and Abu Mazen sends them condolence letters.” At both ceremonies, Netanyahu spoke of Israel’s physical battle to maintain calm in Jerusalem and its diplomatic struggle for the city to remain the country’s united capital, as he explained that Rabin had also spoken out strongly about its religious and historical significance. Rabin, he said, did not hesitate to build anywhere there. “We are in a battle for Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. “It might be a prolonged battle. I am certain we will be victorious.” So even todays news headlines carry the words Battle for Jerusalem -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Netanyahu has another quote that all would do well to remember: ----- == polls published by a Palestinian research group showed that 89 percent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said they supported rocket attacks against Israel. === among the Arab population in eastern Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza reveals half anticipate the current tensions in Jerusalem will lead to a war with Israel. Likewise, a full 74.1% said they miss former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, who was the greatest murderer of Jews since the Holocaust.... only 42% support a return to peace talks with Israel."" ........................................................
| |||||
TEMPLE MOUNT TENSIONS MOUNT...even now so called palestinian president makmoud abbas is calling for resistance much the way his nazi minded predesessor yasser arafat called for violence throughout the land before the first and second intifadas in previous years. Palestinian (PA) TV spent three days rerunning an anti-Israel-inciting speech by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas. In that speech, Abbas said, ‘we must all carry out religious conflict/war at al-aqsa [The Temple Mount area]…we have to prevent the ‘settlers’ [Jews], in any way whatsoever, from entering the Sanctuary [Jewish advocates for prayer do not advocate entering the Sanctuary]…They [Jews] have no right to enter it. They have no right to defile it. We must prevent them” This is their so-called "peace partner". PA TV reran that speech 19 times in three days. An Arab shooter then shot one of the pre-eminent Jewish advocates for Jewish worship on the Temple Mount Rabbi Yehuda Glick so headlines accurately read:Tensions in Jerusalem are at their highest levels in years..........following the attempted murder
On October 29, 2014, some Jews in Jerusalem had attended a conference to discuss bringing Jewish prayer to the Temple Mount. Currently, Jews can’t pray there. They can’t do that because of something called ‘the status quo’. The ‘status quo’ of the Temple Mount is that Jews are forbidden to pray there. It doesn’t matter that... The Temple Mount is to Jews what Mecca is to Muslims. No one in the world would dare suggest that Muslims be banned from praying at Mecca. But everyone in the world seems to feel it’s just dandy to ban Jews from praying at their Temple Mount. Rabbi Glick was one of the speakers at that conference. Shortly after giving his speech, an Arab man walked up to him and shot him four times. Rabbi Glick was listed in critical condition. He can finally breathe without being plugged in to the ventilator. as an example of media bias and distortions:When that story broke, you were told several things. First, Rabbi Glick was a ‘far-Right activist’ (New York Times). He was a ‘Right-wing Jewish activist’ (BBC and LA Times). He was a ‘far-Right religious activist’ (The Sydney Morning Herald) He was also called, ‘controversial’ (LA Times). To call someone ‘far-Right’, ‘far-Right religious’ and/or ‘controversial’ in Israel is code for ‘extremist’. What’s Rabbi Glick’s extremism? He works for the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. He doesn’t advocate to supplant Muslim prayer.He doesn’t incite against Muslims. Instead, he says, “We are talking about sharing, coexistence, tolerance, respecting one another. I think that genuine peace must begin with tolerance and respect. I think that Jews, Muslims, or Christians, anybody who supports peace, anyone who supports praying — talking to G-d — should be allowed to [do so] on the Temple Mount.” (ibid) The world’s press would have you believe that the victim of this shooting is the extremist. He isn’t. He simply has a freedom-of-worship belief. The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, doesn’t believe in the freedom to worship. Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N told tells CNN: “Al-Aqsa Mosque is always open for visitors…but it is not open — except for the Muslims — to pray there” (ibid). To the world press, Rabbi Glick is an extremist. But to the world press, Arab demands to cancel freedom of worship for Jews are okay......... The terrorist who shot him who died in a gun-battle with Israeli police, was a member of the Islamic Jihad organization (ibid). Islamic Jihad is a terror organization whose goal is the destruction of the state of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic ‘Palestine’ in its place. It is violent. the mainstream media did not tell anything about it........Most Western news outlets forgot to mention that. Instead, the media described the assailant as a ‘Palestinian man’ (The New York Times, BBC), or a ‘suspect’ (CNN). When he was killed, Islamic Jihad posted a statement. It said, “We praise his martyrdom that came after a life full of jihad and sacrifice and which responded to the call of holy duty in defending Al-Aqsa mosque” (ibid). The ‘call of holy duty’ was that Abbas speech that ran 19 times in three days before the shooting. The world’s press didn’t mention that, either. | |||||
| The “US Ambassador to Israel Says "Israel must avoid ‘provocation’. Arabs are exempt from such admonitions. Israel Arab MK Haneen Zoabi—who hates Zion--was on (or near) the Temple Mount only days ago taunting Israeli security officers--who were there to keep Arabs from rioting. She taunted them, saying, “It wasn’t for nothing they killed 6 million of you”....this was reported in the Jewish Press.... The US Ambassador has said nothing about Zoabi’s provocation. Neither has any other country.Israel tried to limit access of the arabs to the Temple Mount and Jordan cried foul, complaining that no Muslim prayer rights should be restricted, even though Jews are not allowed to pray on the Mount. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has responded to the subsequent Jordanian threats by promising King Abdullah that Israel will protect the status quo on the Mount. That means Jews will continue to be banned from praying on the Temple Mount. This panders to the Muslim threats and encourages more violence, riots, and terrorism on Israel’s citizens. While the nations of the world launch their unfair attacks on Israel’s sovereignty. SO This is what ‘today’ looks like in Israel. They feel they are at war. Jew-hate rages. The world waits for Jerusalem to fall. ((((((
YET when arabs kill other arabs, as they do every day in the Islamic world, there is nary a peep out of them. HERE IS A MAP of all the slaughters of ARABS AGAINST ARABS
| |||||
NOW WHAT THE UNTITED NATIONS ARE SAYING and DOING:Recall (Psalm 83:4-6)“They hold crafty converse against Thy people, and take counsel against Thy treasured ones. They have said: ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; against Thee do they make a covenant.”In spite of having no defined borders and no proven ability to enter into relations with their neighbors, Sweden just weeks ago unilatierally declared recognition of the state of palestine - The top EU diplomat appealed for the establishment of a "Palestinian state" Federica Mogherini, the European Union's new foreign affairs chief, said "We need a Palestinian state - that is the ultimate goal and this is the position of all the European Union," Mogherini said during a trip to Gaza, devastated by its third conflict in six years. (one that IT started by the way) Speaking later to journalists in Ramallah, the top EU diplomat called for dividing Jerusalem. "I think Jerusalem can be and should be the capital of two states," Mogherini said the challenge is to show that Jerusalem can be shared in peace and respect," "It is not a Palestinian-Israeli situation, it is a global issue." Israel rejects 'fictitious claim' Speaking on Friday during her first official visit to Jerusalem, Mogherini said there was a real "urgency" to pick up and advance the moribund peace process. She rounded on Israeli building in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, labeling it "an obstacle to peace." Shortly afterwards, Mogherini met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who gave a terse statement dismissing criticism of his building policy. "I reject the fictitious claim that the root of the continuous conflict is this or that settlement," he said. "Jerusalem is our capital and as such is not a settlement."
Today, Sunday, November 23rd, in response to all of this and in defense of his people, and their right to exist as a Jewish state:... Prime Minister Netanyahu plans to present a "nationality" law to his Cabinet that he said is meant to solidify Israel's status as the homeland of the Jewish people. It's An initiative giving Israel's status as a Jewish State legal weight "The judiciary, which recognizes Israel's democratic side, will also have to recognize that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish People," The prime minister said: "In the end, we will make it clear that Israel is the Jewish nation-state, while promising equal rights to all its citizens," he added. To back up a bit....a bit of background on the Temple Mount =When Israel was declared a state on May of 1948, 7 arab armies attacked . Israel survived, but lost half of the city of Jerusalem to the arabs. This included the sacred Temple Mount, holy to both Jews and Arabs, but more so to Jews. In June of 1967, at the climax of the Six Day War, Israel’s paratroops broke through the enemy to take Jerusalem back from the arabs, which they had lost in 1948, 19 years earlier. The commander emotionally announced the words that still resonate to this day, "The Temple Mount is in our hands." Shortly thereafter, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, fearing the potential Islamic and international outcry, shamefully robbed Israel of at least part of its great victory, by handing over the keys of the holiest place in Judaism to the Muslims. For those who are unaware, this holy site is the plateau on which the two Temples of Israel had stood for hundreds of years. Below it, at its western retaining wall, Jews had shed bitter tears for centuries. For that reason, it was known to many as the Wailing Wall. Since that miraculous week in 1967, when all of eastern Jerusalem fell back into Israel’s hands, it is known to all as the Western Wall. Despite the fact that the Western Wall has become somewhat of a shrine for the Jewish people and all visitors from around the world, the Temple Mount above it has remained the ultimate symbol of Israel’s former unified sovereign kingdom, with its capital in Jerusalem. remember what we read earlierzechariah 14and how a Bible Students expect a battle for Jerusalem where this passage comes true? Friends, I submit that this passage has possibly, possibly I add, seen it's fulfillment with the events of the last 70 years. Let's look again:
from sixdaywar.orgDuring the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Transjordan’s Arab Legion attempted to capture the entire city of Jerusalem, shelling it and cutting off its Jewish residents from the coastal plain. Western portions of Jerusalem came under Israel’s control only after Israeli forces broke the Arab siege of the city. In the first four weeks of Arab attacks, 200 Jewish civilians were killed and over 1,000 were wounded in Jerusalem. But, defending themselves, Israeli forces managed to capture some suburbs and villages from the Arabs. The Israeli defenders were not as successful in protecting the Jewish community of eastern Jerusalem. On May 28, 1948, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City fell to the Arab Legion. After 10 months of fighting, an armistice agreement was signed on April 3, 1949, dividing Jerusalem along the November 1948 ceasefire lines of Israeli and Transjordanian forces, with several areas of no-man’s land. The armistice line served as a temporary border between what had formerly been two mixed communities. Western Jerusalem became Israel’s capital city, while eastern Jerusalem, including the holy sites, was occupied by Transjordan, which in 1949 became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The city was essentially divided between two armed camps separated by barbed wire, concrete walls, minefields and bunkers. Upon its capture by the Arab Legion, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City was destroyed and its residents expelled. Fifty-eight synagogues--some hundreds of years old--were destroyed, their contents looted and desecrated. Some Jewish religious sites were turned into chicken coops or animal stalls. The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, where Jews had been burying their dead for over 2500 years, was ransacked; graves were desecrated; thousands of tombstones were smashed and used as building material, paving stones or for latrines in Arab Legion army camps. The Intercontinental Hotel was built on top of the cemetery and graves were demolished to make way for a highway to the hotel. The Western Wall became a slum area.
| |||||
| SO FAR FROM THE SCRIPTURES we know that the Jewish people would be scattered, the land desolate, and then they would be regathered and the land would yield her increase once again. King David said it.... Isaiah said it, Ezekiel said it...... Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also declared to the people of Europe and the world that the prophecies of Ezekiel 37 have been fulfilled. The Holocaust, he said, represented the "dry bones" and "graves" of the Jewish people, and out of that horror the State of Israel was resurrected, just as the Lord said would happen through the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel. Rarely has any world leader given a major address on an international stage declaring prophecies from the Bible have come true. But that is exactly what Netanyahu did. :The Israeli news site Yediot Arnhot published an editorial which discussed this, under the premise that, since it is common knowledge that Ezekiel 36 and 37 have taken place already, would it not be safe to assume that both Ezek 38 and 39 will also soon have their fulfillment? Ezekiel 38 is about the struggle over the land of Israel. | |||||
Ezekiel 38 American Standard Version (ASV)38 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: 4 and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords; 5 Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with thee. 7 Be thou prepared, yea, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy companies that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them. 9 And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy hordes, and many peoples with thee. 10 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt devise an evil device: 11 and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; 12 to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn thy hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil? 14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it? 15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army; 16 and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Art thou he of whom I spake in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring thee against them? 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 so that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord Jehovah: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22 And with pestilence and with blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. |
Bro. Russell says in the 4th volume that we can’t be too sure about the identity of the players. After extensive reading I am no longer sure what the identity of these nations are any more. It was formerly assumed that GOG and MAGOG referred to Russia and their satellites. This fits the picture to a degree if we see Russia as the arms supplier of the middle eastern enemies of Israel, and if the vision of Ezek 38 doesn't have to happen all in one year, as brother Johnson suggested. However in the same book he also admits to being incorrect about the fulfillment of certain other prophetic utterances of the Bible. Perhaps Ezek 38 and Zech 14#from_sixdaywar.org are indeed synomomous as bro. Russell said, but that they cover a much longer time of fulfillment. IT IS THIS SUPPOSITION THAT I WILL PROCEED FROM, THAT THE EVENTS OF EZEK 38 are not so much future as they are events of the recent past and current events with some still yet future....EZEK 38:9 .."LIKE A STORM TO COVER THE LAND.......as a cloud to cover the land.." : I SUBMIT THAT THIS REFERS NOT TO A FUTURE INVADING ARMY, but it refers to THE "PALESTINIAN RIGHT OF RETURN." - which is the Palestinian Arabs demand that all refugees displaced after the arabs war of annihilation against Israel failed, be allowed to return to their former homes. "During the 1948 War – a war which began with Palestinian rejection of the UN Partition Plan, and the subsequent invasion of Arab armies into Israel – between 650,000 and 730,000 Palestinian Arabs were expelled or fled from the area that became Israel, and became refugees. At the same time, around 10,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in Palestine. Today, over 1.25 million Arabs are citizens of Israel. BUT AT THE SAME TIME after the war in 1948 between 750,000 and 1,000,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries. Today, fewer than 7,000 Jews remain in Arab countries. It is estimated that Jewish-owned real-estate left behind or confiscated in Arab countries covers a total of about 100,000 square kilometers – more than four times the size of the state of Israel. Additional 200,000 Jews from [non-Arab] Muslim countries left their homes due to increasing insecurity and growing hostility since 1948. Today over 60% of Israeli Jews are the descendants of displaced Jews from Arab countries. Jewish refugees from Arab countries were absorbed by Israel and became equal citizens. Israel does not demand a “right of return” for Jews into Arab countries, nor does it demand compensation for confiscated Jewish land and property from Arab countries." THIS IS THE METHOD BY WHICH THE ARABS THINK TO OVERWHELM TINY ISRAEL, WITH AN INFLUX OF ARABS MANDATED BY THE WORLD NATIONS, TAKING OVER THE LAND MAKING IT A MAJORITY ARAB NATION, THUS OBLITERATING THE EXISTENCE OF THE JEWISH STATE. THIS HAS BEEN THEIR PLAN ALL ALONG SINCE THE FAILURE OF THE HOLOCAUST. IT HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED. |
| recently my wife and I watched a program written and produced by travel writer rick steves where he lies incessantly about the facts on the ground in the holy land, starting with the lie that in 2012 the united nations recognized Palestine as a state. They did not. the were given "non member observer state" status in the un., a far cry from statehood. And as all good fair minded journalists, he maintained the status quo of keeping all things equal between Israel and the Palestinians, whom he audaciously and blatantly calls "Palestine" as though their statehood were a fait acompli. He remained "Fair and balanced" you might say when he explained that while Palestinians engaged in violence, showing a blown up commuter bus.... in the next breath he says Israel acted with agression by building a wall. That's like saying my landlord is acting with aggression against the neighbors by building his fence to keep the neighbors rottweiler out. So blowing up a bus full of men woman and children is equal in agression to building a fence to keep the bombers away. Then as he walks along the wall he says what he believes, that walls keep people apart and that's wrong. Amazingly he says this at that very moment he walks beneath a giant mural portrait of arch criminal terrorist marwan barghouti who is responsible for those very terror bombings. His narrative continues to paint the picture of two people living side by side, with arabs only wanting peace while Jews make this impossible by manning checkpoints and building houses and apartments in Jerusalem... yet the polls always show differently, with the intractable arab side wanting only the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. When the arabs failed to defeat Israel in 1948 and again in 1956 and again in 1967 they knew they needed to fight the Jihad with more than mere weapons of war, but with weapons of words. Then enacted a plan to create a fake history, one that teaches that the Palestinian people pre-date the Jewish presence in the land, while Jews are mere interlopers, squatters, johnny come lately's who have only one agenda, an aggressive land grab of something that doesn't belong to them. The Palestinian people were completely made up out of whole cloth and out of the surrounding nations. Up until 1948 they were never even called Palestinians. They were called simply arabs and came from all the surrounding arab lands, having followed the Jews into the Holy Land when they found out how prosperous they were becoming. They followed them there for the jobs. In that time, they didn't want to be called Palestinians at all because it was thought to be a term that described Jews! They were called "Palestinian Jews". Only when the islamo nazi mass murderer yasser arafat invented the PLO did the arabs begin calling themselves "Palestinians" in order to start a massive lie, that the arabs are the Palestinians, that they were there first. This lie has been bought into, hook line and sinker by all the nations, and the news media perpetuates this falsehood on a daily basis. Sadly, even Christian Bible Students are susceptible to the mass media libel machine as they repeat the falsehoods so often that they are accepted as true axioms without investigation or thought... MEANWHILE: in "BODY AND SOUL - THE STATE OF THE JEWISH NATION" A new film about Israel tells the truth, and includes.... The most wonderful maps, illustrated manuscripts, archeological artifacts, ancient coins, drawings, paintings, photographs, legal documents, highlighted newspaper articles, and videos accompany a rapid succession of thirty six soulful and scholarly experts. THe film maker Greenfield has carefully assembled ambassadors, archeologists, authors, experts in anti-Semitism, historians, journalists, legal scholars, parliamentarians, rabbis, Christian theologians.... Clearly, the Jews are the indigenous people of the Holy Land. Their history began more than three thousand years ago and all their sacred journeys, both religious and geographic, have been towards the Promised Land, the Holy Land, Jerusalem. No other destroyer or occupier ever came to stay in Jewish Israel. They massacred, occupied, dispersed the Jews—and then disappeared. Gone were the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arab Muslims, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Muslim Ottomans, and the British. Some Jews always managed to remain there, century after century; some Jews consistently returned to Israel, either on pilgrimage or to stay. The evidence for this is overwhelming and is not only Biblical. It is archeological and historical and contained in pagan, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Ottoman sources. Ancients texts confirm this as do medieval and modern histories. This film is the antidote to a world that has been taught to believe that a false history is sacred, namely, that the ancient “Plishtim,” or Philistines, were the ancestors of the people recently designated as “Palestinians.” But this is not true. “Palestine” was the name with which Rome punished the Jews who rebelled against them by linguistically wiping out what had long been known as Israel/Judah/Jerusalem/The Holy Land and naming it after their classic enemy of biblical times, the Philistines who invaded from the Greek Isles. |
| Finally, friends, as frustrating as it may make one feel to observe the inequities and the inequalities that stem from world wide global anti Semitic struggle against God's chosen people Israel, we must remember again that it is all meant to be this way. In the words of radio rabbi Tovia Singer: If the nations didn't hate us, if the arabs weren't surrounding us breathing out hatred and slaughter against us, if the UN wasn't actively seeking the destruction of our nation, I would throw my Bible into the sea, because it wouldn't be worth anything, because it would be 100 percent wrong. But my Bible does say these things are supposed to happen, so it's what we should expect. |
IS GOG -----------RUSSIA-------------? Again I studied this so long my eyes glazed over, it becomes very difficult. Hesiod, "the father of Greek didactic poetry" identified Magog with the Scythians and southern Russia in the 7th century B.C. As well, Hesiod was a contemporary of Ezekiel (as). The term "Rosh" employed by Ezekial (as) is the etymological root of "Russia." Herodotus of Harlicarnassus, known as "Father of History" wrote much about the descendants of Magog by their Greek name, the Scythians, in the 5th century B.C. Archaeological discoveries have confirmed Herodotus' reports. Flavius Josephus records that the Magogians were called "Scythians" by the Greeks. Philo, in the 1st century, identifies Magog with southern Russia.-----TO BACK THIS CLAIM:::: many Bible Expositors, including Pastor Russell suggest Russia is Gog and Magog: Today, Russia has relations with Syria, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, Israels mortal enemies.... EVEN NOW Russia gives technical, military, and diplomatic aid to Iranfrom wiki pedia: After the mid-50's and throughout the remainder of the Cold War the Soviets unequivocally supported various Arab regimes over Israel. With Israel emerging as a close Western ally,it lead to the declaration of Zionism as an ideological enemy. -------HOWEVER THERE ARE EVIDENCES TO SUGGEST that the source material used by 19th century Bible expositors was flawed. It may have been an error of early historians that was adopted by all as fact that suggested Gog and Magog was referring to Russia. I myself read so much my eyes nearly glazed over in attempting to discover who these players were in Ezekiel 38. ; Could it have been IRAN- OR---GERMANY or BOTH? It is therefore not contradictory when some sources identify Magog with Scythia (Herodotus 1:125); which, it is said, migrated to what is now known as Germany. Linguistically, the Scythians were related to the Iranians, and hence, to the Persians and the Medes. It is therefore significant that there was a Persian tribe known as the Germanians =certainly Germany was a terrible foe to the people of Israel, the worst in history. Could this prophecy not refer to the Holocaust itself in some way? OR Could it have been ENGLAND and the EUROPEAN NATIONS?as another source suggests: The population of the land in which Russia is situated (Europe), consists of two main races, Slavs and Teutons. The latter includes the British and the Germans. This clearly shows not only that Gog is the name of the Eastern nations of Europe, but also that Magog is the name of the Western nations of that continent, i.e., the nations known as Teutons. It is also clear that in the beginning both these races lived in the same land. Gog and Magog were the titles of the ancestors of both Europe and Russia. Further evidence of this is found in the fact that from very ancient times the statues of Gog and Magog are found installed in front of the famous Guildhall of London. If these names had nothing to do with the ancestors of these people, why should their statues be installed in this manner before the chief assembly house of the nation? The reference to these as given in the Scriptures, together with the historical evidence as furnished by these statues in London, establishes it with utmost certainty that Gog and Magog are no fictitious names but are the names of two ancient peoples which inhabit the Continent of Europe and whose influence together covers the whole of the Earth.++ OR: Could it be that Gog refers to the Pope? another source:
LYDIAN MIGRATION TO ITALY An early Lydian dynasty experienced a prolonged famine which caused half of the Lydian population to migrate to the west coast of Italy, just north of Rome. The Romans called these Lydian migrants “Etruscans.” The Etruscans settled in an area called Tuscany and they helped found the city of Rome and jump start the Roman civilization. Hundreds of years after this migration, the Lydian population in Asia Minor came to be ruled by a militant ruler whom the Greeks called “Gyges of Lydia.” To the Assyrians this same leader was known as “Gugu King of Ludu,” and “Gugu of Magugu.” Ezekiel referred to this same leader as “Gog of Magog” where “Magog” means “the land of Gog.” So if Gog of Magog was a militant Lydian who founded Roman civilization, perhaps ezek 38 refers to Rome.....and the Roman empire is the foundation of the Papacy, so perhaps Gog is the Pope. I ALSO FOUND Much evidence and opinion that GOG AND MAGOG are from ancient Turkey, hinting at a Turkish invasion... That seems unlikely based on their military strength, while formidable, not matching that of Israel...but perhaps as the latest utterances from the Turkish leader Ergodan are every bit the same anti-Semitic rantings we have come to expect to hear from the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah.
After reading another long synopsis by another researcher on the subjectI was intrigued by his methodology, as he correctly points out that most expositions of the nations of Ezek 38 have an inconsistent method of reckoning, using TWO DISPARATE METHODS OF RECKONING TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME:most expositors use both geographic method tracing, meaning, where the people were and are, and then also the bloodline method, tracing who the people were and where they went throughout history. He himself uses only the geographic method to hint at Turkey being the Gog and Magog leader, and he concludes he does so, quote: to highlight the need for a consistent methodology among prophecy teachers ... If someone wishes to argue that we should in fact use the bloodline-lineage-migration method,.... I would also demand that it be used consistently, thus involving a majority of the nations of the earth—a position I have yet to see a single interpreter argue for. " ' At this point I felt perhaps he was right, but in the opposite way he would expect. as he presented a humongous list of nations that would have to be included if we used the bloodline argument to identify these nations and peoples....I mean the list contained nearly every nation that exists.... So reading that I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I was the one: THE VOLUNTEER TO BECOME THE SINGLE INTERPRETER he had never heard of ... as I am indeed suggesting that it may well be virtually all the indeed nations that make up the list of nations of the Ezekiel 38 vision ......... |
AND HERE IS WHAT I can REFER TO:
HERE is the map of nations who have voted in the UN for a "Palestinian State"
.jfif)
.jfif)
No comments:
Post a Comment