Upload
lenny-hoy
View
806
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
The Diaspora breaks in 1948 and Jews seemingly spring from the boneyards of Eastern Europe to a national sovereignty denied them for 2000 years. What next? I think Ezekiel 38 and 39 tell that tale. The earth has a new center and it's not us, folks!
Citation preview
IX:EZEKIEL 38+39
IN WHICH WE CONTEMPLATE JUST WHERE, IN A SEQUENCE OF END TIMES
EVENTS, GOG AND MAGOG MAY INVADE AN ISRAEL RESTORED TO THE
LAND
This set develops the final element in this
sequence, focusing on Ezekiel 38+39:
Covenant Set: Testimony from Abraham to Moses and
Joshua establishes the sequence of Jewish history.
Timeline Set: Testimony from Daniel and Jeremiah lays out
the basic time frame of Jewish history.
Diaspora Prophesied: Jesus, Moses, Ezekiel trace the
trajectory of Jewish diaspora and return.
Mechanics of the End: Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah
take the witness stand and describe the final acts
of Jewish history.
SlideShare’s hyperlinks won’t work until Slide #4–
something to do with spam prevention, so . . . this is a filler designed to
accommodate that necessity. I’m well aware of how irrepressibly cute I appear. I run this house by the
power of kitty cuteness.
EMAIL: [email protected]
Basic InformationLICENSING: I grant a Creative Commons license made of the following elements: You may freely share and adapt this work provided you give me credit–(website info fine!), your efforts have no commercial application and you share extracted/redacted work with others. God bless and have fun!
VISIT: skOG Workshop Headquarters at www.lennyhoy.com for other items of interest.
Prophecy Series: 33 Presentation Set
Table of ContentsIMAGES:
By Subscription: http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009/frames.htm?members/member_page.php
By Permission: Creative Commons Licensing as noted
This cat chews cords. How is she still alive?
Ezekiel 38 + 39 describe an invasion of Israel by an entity called “Gog of the land of Magog . . .” The descriptions
are powerful, graphic, compelling and they attract lots of attention from people like me: End-Times prophecy
addicts/nerds/students/obsessives and etc.
A key question:Just WHEN does/did this invasion occur?
Way, way back in time. Think Antiochus
EpiphanesNo, gotta be
just before the 70th Week, you know,
pre-Trib!
What??? This is definitely mid-Trib,
buster!
C’mon, Gog is the AntiChrist and this is all about Armageddon, you
know, post-TribNope! Check out
Revelation 20-that’s where you’ll find your Gog and Magog, end of the
Millennium!
There are direct statements and strong implications in Ezekiel 38
and 39 you can use to get a picture of:1. THE SITUATION: Pre-existing economic and
geopolitical fortunes of Israel and her neighbors.2.THE PLAYERS: What groups or countries are involved in Gog’s attack? Which are not?3.THEIR MOTIVES: Why-and why not!-do the
attackers invade?4.THE OUTCOME: What happens as
a result of this invasion?
With this information in hand, we can see which time period, if any, best suits Gog’s invasion and
which times, if any, cannot play host to it!
TIME AND SEQUENCE CLUES IN THE TEXT
“After many days you will be
summoned; in the latter years you will
come into the land that is restored
from the sword, whose inhabitants
have been gathered from many
nations to the mountains of Israel which
had been a continual waste; 38:8
This verse gives us our one time reference. The phrasing (after many days . . . latter years . . . land restored . . . gathered from many nations . . . had been a continual waste) would rule out any deep, historical fulfillment. Conversely, a post-1948 time frame reflects precisely
each and every element in the verse.
Way, deep back in time. Think Antiochus Epiphanes
THE ECONOMIC SITUATION:
land restored . . . no longer a waste . . .
(38:8)
This material states clearly that the inhabitants of the land have amassed great wealth. In a word, Israel on the eve of Gog’s invasion
has existed in the land productively enough to have become very
RICH
a land rich with potential spoil and plunder . . . a people who have acquired cattle and goods . . . (38:12)
a land worth plundering for silver and gold, cattle and goods and great spoil . . . (38:13)
THE GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION:
living securely, all of them. (38:8)
This suite of references depicts an Israel so used to peace that it has allowed its defenses to lapse on the eve of Gog’s invasion . Perhaps in connection with its
great wealth, our Jewish ‘the center of the world’ has become very . . .
PEACEFUL
a land of unwalled villages . . . people at rest, living securely . . . without walls and having no bars or gates.
(38:11)
the center of the world . . . (38:13)
THE INVASION FORCE
THE ONLOOKERS: Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish (38:13)
THE INVASION FORCE
THE OVERLORD: Gog, of the land of Magog,
prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. (38:8)
THE HANGERS-ON: Persia, Ethiopia and Put; Gomer
and Beth-Togarmah from the remote parts of the north .
38:5+6
THE ONLOOKERS: Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish (38:13)
THE INVASION FORCE
THE INVASION FORCE
There exist way too many attempts to map out just who the players are here. Gog
and Magog can represent a Russian confederacy or Turkey or the EU or . . . sheesh! Beth-Togarmah and Gomer are Eastern Europe or the remnants of the
Scythians or the Duke Lacrosse Team. I have my favorite and wildly speculative
designations but do not want to bother you with them right now.
I want you to notice something else of possibly deeper interest. 1. Notice who’s NOT listed as attackers and where they lie in relation to Israel.
2. Notice the attackers’ relative distance away from Israel.
THE INVASION FORCEWHO IS LISTED:
1. Libya (Put)2. Sudan/Ethiopia (Cush)3. Turkey (Name your
favorite entry-mine’s ‘Magog’)
4. Iran (Persia)5. Remote northern lands
RELATION TO ISRAEL:At least one tier of nations removed
THE INVASION FORCEWHO’S NOT LISTED:
1. Lebanon2. Syria3. Jordan4. Gaza5. Saudi Arabia6. Egypt
RELATION TO ISRAEL:Her Immediate Neighbors
WHO IS LISTED:1. Libya (Put)2. Sudan/Ethiopia (Cush)3. Turkey (Name your
favorite entry-mine’s ‘Magog’)
4. Iran (Persia)5. Remote northern lands
RELATION TO ISRAEL:At least one tier of nations removed
THE INVASION FORCEWHO’S NOT LISTED
1. Lebanon2. Syria3. Jordan4. Gaza5. Saudi Arabia6. Egypt
RELATION TO ISRAELHer Immediate Neighbors
WHO IS LISTED1. Libya (Put)2. Sudan/Ethiopia (Cush)3. Turkey (Name your
favorite entry-mine’s ‘Magog’)
4. Iran (Persia)5. Remote northern lands
RELATION TO ISRAELAt least one tier of nations
removed
This comparison underscores the strength of the peace Israel enjoys with her neighbors: They do not join the invasion!!The comparison suggests to me that Israel’s neighbors share in the prosperity Israel has obtained for itself and that they see their fate bound up in hers at this point.This comparison raises the question: What happened to Islam? How did the Palestinian question find a solution? What of the common bond of AntiZionist fervor that gives this region its only point of unity? How did the inner core of Islamic states dare to break faith with their co-religionists?
MOTIVATION OF THE INVADERS:
to capture spoil and seize plunder . . . (38:12)
Greed motivates this invasion force-nothing remotely religious occurs to their minds!! They do not contest God or seek revenge or land or the conquest of a
powerful antagonist. God inflames their imaginations with the thought of how easy it will to be to get insanely rich by plundering an unprepared and unsuspecting Israel
GREED
Have you come to capture spoil . . . carry away gold
and silver . . . cattle and goods (38:13)
the villages are unwalled and people are at rest . . .(38:11)
OUTCOME OF THE INVASION:
I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. . . (39:3)
God supernaturally defends His people. Earthquakes and hail and brimstone and blood! God has summoned Gog and company for judgment by putting visions of the
plunder of a rich, undefended Israel in their greedy minds.
DEFEAT FOR GOG AND HIS ALLIES
You will fall down on the mountains of Israel (38:13)
I will call for a sword against him (Gog). . . every man’s sword
will be against his brother. With pestilence and with blood I
will enter into judgment with him (Gog) (38:21-2)
I will give you as food for every predatory bird and beast. You
will fall on every open field . . .(39:4)
OUTCOME OF THE INVASION:
I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel . . . for 7 months the people of the land will bury them . . . They will set apart men who will constantly pass through, even those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it . . . So they will cleanse the land. (39:11-16)
Ezekiel spends 6 verses describing the elaborate and thorough process by which the land will be cleansed of corpses. God wants the land thoroughly cleansed of bodies!!
RITUAL BURIAL FOR THE AGGRESSORS
Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make
fires with the weapons . . . and for seven years they will make
fire of them (39:9)
OUTCOME OF THE INVASION:
They will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from
the forests, for they will make fires of the weapons . . . (39:10)
Israelis use Gog’s fallen weapons for fuel. There’s so much of it that for seven years they satisfy their need for fuel with this material!
ISRAEL PLUNDERS HER FOES
. . . And they will know that I am the Lord! (39:6)
OUTCOME OF THE INVASION:
My holy name I will make known in the midst of my people
Israel and I will not letMy holy name be profaned anymore and
the nations will know that I am the Lord . . . (39:7)
God makes Himself known in the world, establishes Israel in security for evermore.
GOD SANCTIFIES HIMSELF AMONG THE NATIONS AND IN ISRAEL
Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel and I will be jealous for My holy name . . . I will leave none of them there (in dispersion) any longer. (39:7)
In locating the eve of Gog’s invasion, we’re looking for a time when the Bible pictures Israel as:1. RESTORED TO THE LAND2. RICH AND ECONOMICALLY POWERFUL3. AT PEACE WITH HER NEIGHBORS, 4. AT ODDS WITH MORE DISTANT NATIONS
In identifying a biblical parallel for God’s invasion, we’re looking for a prophecy passage that depicts Israel as:5. ATTACKED BY GREEDY NON NEIGHBORS6. DIVINELY PRESERVED IN VICTORY7. LIVING OFF THE SPOILS OF INVASION FOR 7 YEARS8. RITUALISTICALLY BURING THE BODIES OF THE INVADERS
9. RECEIVING, AT GOD’S HAND, AN EXPERIENCE OF PERPETUAL PEACE AND SPIRITUAL PURITY.
I think we’ve scratched-with reason!-the possibility of some historical fulfillment for this prophecy.
The question still remains:Just when DOES this invasion occur?
Way, way back in time. Think Antiochus
EpiphanesNo, gotta be
just before the 70th Week, you know,
pre-Trib!
What??? This is definitely mid-Trib,
buster!
C’mon, Gog is the AntiChrist and this is all about Armageddon, you
know, post-Trib
Nope! Check out Revelation 20-that’s where you’ll find
your Gog and Magog, end of the Millennium!
MY DILEMMA HERE:
Items 1-8 work together to ELIMINATE any 70th Week time slot for Ezekiel 38+39.
Item 9 locates the vision’s only possible fulfillment AFTER Armageddon at the end of the 70th Week.
WUWT? http://www.flickr.com/photos/esm723/3336905639/
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
ON THE OPENING OF THE 70TH WEEKSure-Daniel 11:21 says the despicable one comes in a time of tranquility.
I’ll ok that one on general principles
NO-Egypt immediately goes to war against the AntiChrist in alliance with Israel (Dan 11:25)
NO-there’s no record of non-neighbor conflict here at this time acc. to Daniel 11
Daniel’s despicable person uses greed as a tool but not necessarily as a reason for international conflictNo-this ‘king’ does as he pleases-for this period of time
No mention of this-no aggressors defeated, just random piles of combatants here and there
No.
No way! Israel stumbles into the Time of Jacob’s Troubles from this point in time!
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
ON THE OPENING OF THE 70TH WEEKSure-Daniel 11:21 says the despicable one comes in a time of tranquility.
I’ll ok that one on general principles
NO-Egypt immediately goes to war against the AntiChrist in alliance with Israel (Dan 11:25)
NO-there’s no record of non-neighbor conflict here at this time acc. to Daniel 11
Daniel’s despicable person uses greed as a tool but not necessarily as a reason for international conflictNo-this ‘king’ does as he pleases-for this period of time
No mention of this-no aggressors defeated, just random piles of combatants here and there
No.
No way! Israel stumbles into the Time of Jacob’s Troubles from this point in time!
MY CONCLUSION:
Nothing we can learn from Daniel 11’s
exhaustive treatment of the opening
of the 70th Week or, as we Christians
like to call it, the Tribulation,
supports seeing the events of Ezekiel
38+9 as being even remotely
connected to that time.
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
ON THE OPENING OF THE 70TH WEEKSure-Daniel 11:21 says the despicable one comes in a time of tranquility.
I’ll ok that one on general principles
NO-Egypt immediately goes to war against the AntiChrist in alliance with Israel (Dan 11:25)
NO-there’s no record of non-neighbor conflict here at this time acc. to Daniel 11
Daniel’s despicable person uses greed as a tool but not necessarily as a reason for international conflictNo-this ‘king’ does as he pleases-for this period of time
No mention of this-no aggressors defeated, just random piles of combatants here and there
No.
No way! Israel stumbles into the Time of Jacob’s Troubles from this point in time!
MY CONCLUSION:
Nothing we can learn from Daniel 11’s
exhaustive treatment of the opening
of the 70th Week or, as we Christians
like to call it, the Tribulation,
supports seeing the events of Ezekiel
38+9 as being even remotely
connected to that time.No, but it
could be just before the 70th Week, you
know, pre-Trib!
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
IN THE MIDDLE OF WEEK 70No way. Daniel 11:29-39 depicts an enraged AntiChrist oppressing the faithful in IsraelImmaterial here. Not even an issue one way or another NO-whole area in conflict. Chaos rules.
Unclear-hard to tell
The AntiChrist is in psychosis-he believes he’s god and seeks worship, not cattle and goods.No-this ‘king’ does as he pleases-for this period of time
No mention of this-no aggressors defeated, just random piles of combatants here and there
No. Israel is plundered herself!
No way! Israel fully involved in the Time of Jacob’s Troubles now!
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
IN THE MIDDLE OF WEEK 70No way. Daniel 11:29-39 depicts an enraged AntiChrist oppressing the faithful in IsraelImmaterial here. Not even an issue one way or another NO-whole area in conflict. Chaos rules.
Unclear-hard to tell
The AntiChrist is in psychosis-he believes he’s god and seeks worship, not cattle and goods.No-this ‘king’ does as he pleases-for this period of time
No mention of this-no aggressors defeated, just random piles of combatants here and there
No. Israel is plundered herself!
No way! Israel fully involved in the Time of Jacob’s Troubles now!
MY CONCLUSION:Nothing we can learn from Daniel 11’s exhaustive treatment of the middle of the 70th Week or, as we Christians like to call it, the Tribulation, supports seeing the events of Ezekiel 38+9 as being even remotely connected to that time.
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
IN THE MIDDLE OF WEEK 70No way. Daniel 11:29-39 depicts an enraged AntiChrist oppressing the faithful in IsraelImmaterial here. Not even an issue one way or another NO-whole area in conflict. Chaos rules.
Unclear-hard to tell
The AntiChrist is in psychosis-he believes he’s god and seeks worship, not cattle and goods.No-this ‘king’ does as he pleases-for this period of time
No mention of this-no aggressors defeated, just random piles of combatants here and there
No. Israel is plundered herself!
No way! Israel fully involved in the Time of Jacob’s Troubles now!
MY CONCLUSION:Nothing we can learn from Daniel 11’s exhaustive treatment of the middle of the 70th Week or, as we Christians like to call it, the Tribulation, supports seeing the events of Ezekiel 38+9 as being even remotely connected to that time.What??? This is
definitely mid-Trib, buster!
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
ARMAGEDDON?No way! AntiChrist has been on a 3 ½ year rampageNO–Israel in ruins!!!
NO–there’s no peace for anyone now!
NO-there’s no peace for anyone-everyone’s an aggressor or a target
Israel is under direct attack by Satan’s man on the ground-the AntiChrist. Greed is the least of it.Yes! God defeating Israel’s enemies is what Armageddon is all about!
Jeremiah 25:33, Isaiah 66:24–no one’s buried. Corpses displayed as reminder
Zechariah 14:14 talks of Israel plundering the surrounding nations. A match? Nah . . .
Yes!!! NOW, at last, here on the eve of the Millennium, God and Israel are at peace!
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
ARMAGEDDON?No way! AntiChrist has been on a 3 ½ year rampageNO–Israel in ruins!!!
NO–there’s no peace for anyone now!
NO-there’s no peace for anyone-everyone’s an aggressor or a target
Israel is under direct attack by Satan’s man on the ground-the AntiChrist. Greed is the least of it.Yes! God defeating Israel’s enemies is what Armageddon is all about!
Jeremiah 25:33, Isaiah 66:24–no one’s buried. Corpses displayed as reminder
Zechariah 14:14 talks of Israel plundering the surrounding nations. A match? Nah . . .
Yes!!! NOW, at last, here on the eve of the Millennium, God and Israel are at peace!
MY CONCLUSION:
Numbers 6+9 make Armageddon seem a match for Gog and Magog invasion. But
every other item on the checklist, especially numbers 1 and 7, oppose that
finding. What am I going to do now?
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
ARMAGEDDON?No way! AntiChrist has been on a 3 ½ year rampageNO–Israel in ruins!!!
NO–there’s no peace for anyone now!
NO-there’s no peace for anyone-everyone’s an aggressor or a target
Israel is under direct attack by Satan’s man on the ground-the AntiChrist. Greed is the least of it.Yes! God defeating Israel’s enemies is what Armageddon is all about!
Jeremiah 25:33, Isaiah 66:24–no one’s buried. Corpses displayed as reminder
Zechariah 14:14 talks of Israel plundering the surrounding nations. A match? Nah . . .
Yes!!! NOW, at last, here on the eve of the Millennium, God and Israel are at peace!
MY CONCLUSION:
Numbers 6+9 make Armageddon seem a match for Gog and Magog invasion. But
every other item on the checklist, especially numbers 1 and 7, oppose that
finding. What am I going to do now?
C’mon, Gog is the AntiChrist and this is all about Armageddon, you
know, post-Trib
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
AT THE END OF MILLENNIUMSure–for the last 1000 years!.
Absolutely
NO-Satan seduces people from all over (Rev 20:8)
NO-Not a determiner of relevance-everyone’s sucked into this attack!
Satan is motivated by hatred of God
Yes, big time!
No mention of this
No.
Israel as an earthly entity swallowed up in eternity
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
AT THE END OF MILLENNIUMSure–for the last 1000 years!.
Absolutely
NO-Satan seduces people from all over (Rev 20:8)
NO-Not a determiner of relevance-everyone’s sucked into this attack!
Satan is motivated by hatred of God
Yes, big time!
No mention of this
No.
Israel as an earthly entity swallowed up in eternity
MY CONCLUSION:The mere mention of ‘Gog and Magog’
as representatives of nations from the
four corners of the earth cannot
successfully connect Revelation 20’s
account of Satan’s final fling with the account in Ezekiel 38+9.
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
AT THE END OF MILLENNIUMSure–for the last 1000 years!.
Absolutely
NO-Satan seduces people from all over (Rev 20:8)
NO-Not a determiner of relevance-everyone’s sucked into this attack!
Satan is motivated by hatred of God
Yes, big time!
No mention of this
No.
Israel as an earthly entity swallowed up in eternity
MY CONCLUSION:The mere mention of ‘Gog and Magog’
as representatives of nations from the
four corners of the earth cannot
successfully connect Revelation 20’s
account of Satan’s final fling with the account in Ezekiel 38+9.
Nope! Check out Revelation 20-that’s where you’ll find
your Gog and Magog, end of the Millennium!
MY SOLUTION HERE:
Majority rules. Items 1-8 WILL guide my choice of any time slot.
Item 9 I will treat as separate. It FORECASTS Israel’s ultimate (and somewhat later) spiritual restoration.
Let me illustrate this way: http://www.flickr.com/photos/esm723/3336905639/
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes weapons for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
SOONER THAN YOU THINKIslam crumbles if/when Mecca falls. Neighbors pacified as Jehovah seems to dominate Allah.Huge off-shore gas reserves, Arab labor/markets merge with Jewish managerial/technical expertiseCommercial allegiance cemented by spiritual superiority of Jehovah.
Second tier of nations, those at distance watch, jealously as Israel/neighbors prosper
Naturally! Outlying nations want what Israel has
Yes, big time!
A natural consequence of this conflict
No problem-if such an event occurs when I think it might
This aspect serves as a post-script, a forecast, a look forward a la Luke 4:21’s use of Isaiah 61:1
Ezekiel 38+391. Israel at Peace
2. Israel Rich
3. Neighbors remain peaceful
4. Aggressors non-neighbors
5. Motivated by greed
6. God defeats aggressors
7. Aggressors ritually buried
8. Israel plunders foes weapons for 7 years
9. God blesses Israel with perpetual peace
SOONER THAN YOU THINKIslam crumbles if/when Mecca falls. Neighbors pacified as Jehovah seems to dominate Allah.Huge off-shore gas reserves, Arab labor/markets merge with Jewish managerial/technical expertiseCommercial allegiance cemented by spiritual superiority of Jehovah.
Second tier of nations, those at distance watch, jealously as Israel/neighbors prosper
Naturally! Outlying nations want what Israel has
Yes, big time!
A natural consequence of this conflict
No problem-if such an event occurs when I think it might
This aspect serves as a post-script, a forecast, a look forward a la Luke 4:21’s use of Isaiah 61:1
WAIT A MINUTE!
Two questions arise:
1. How is it that Islam disappears?
2. What’s up with Luke 4:21 and . . .
and . . . whatever that Isaiah thing
did?
As powerful and unstoppable as Islam seems, the religion has a glass jaw.Mecca exists as Islam’s glass jaw. Mecca represents the ONE place where heaven meets earth, the ONE focus (qibla) of islamic prayer, the ONE place every muslim must visit if he is to go to heaven and avoid hell, the ONE place Allah cherishes, the ONE place where muslims can go to receive absolution from sin.If Allah cannot preserve Mecca from destruction, his one attribute-sovereignty-
dissolves. His very existence becomes questioned. Imagine if the tomb of Christ were discovered–and His bones were there!!! Shock and dismay beyond tolerance.New Arab governmental entities, fueled with Islamic fervor, may soon go all out
on Israel, an Allah vs. Jehovah contest (think Elijah and Baal!). Israel, using the ‘Samson Option’, will nuke Mecca and Islam will crumble. All Allah’s pretenses to existence, sovereignty and unstoppable power will disappear. Muslims lose all confidence in jihad as the path to heaven, for Allah could not endure direct assault on his city by Jehovah’s scorned minions.“Jehovah and Isaac’s offspring, not Allah and Ishmael’s lineage,” Abdul concludes sadly. Peace settles unexpectedly on a once turbulent scene.
As powerful and unstoppable as Islam seems, the religion has a glass jaw.Mecca exists as Islam’s glass jaw. Mecca represents the ONE place where heaven meets earth, the ONE focus (qibla) of islamic prayer, the ONE place every muslim must visit if he is to go to heaven and avoid hell, the ONE place Allah cherishes, the ONE place where muslims can go to receive absolution from sin.If Allah cannot preserve Mecca from destruction, his one attribute-sovereignty-
dissolves. His very existence becomes questioned. Imagine if the tomb of Christ were discovered–and His bones were there!!! Shock and dismay beyond tolerance.New Arab governmental entities, fueled with Islamic fervor, may soon go all out
on Israel, an Allah vs. Jehovah contest (think Elijah and Baal!). Israel, using the ‘Samson Option’, will nuke Mecca and Islam will crumble. All Allah’s pretenses to existence, sovereignty and unstoppable power will disappear. Muslims lose all confidence in jihad as the path to heaven, for Allah could not endure direct assault on his city by Jehovah’s scorned minions.“Jehovah and Isaac’s offspring, not Allah and Ishmael’s lineage,” Abdul concludes sadly. Peace settles unexpectedly on a once turbulent scene.
Please let this speculative piece have no more weight than your comfort with speculation allows!
Seemingly continuous prophetic texts can disguise the
reader’s movement across huge gaps of time.
In Luke 4:17, Jesus stands in his home town’s synagogue. He is handed the scroll
of Isaiah and He reads aloud: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release
to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord . . .” And He closed the book . . . and
said to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus closed the book-in mid sentence. He had to close the book, for the next
phrase in Isaiah’s scroll, “. . . and the day of vengeance of our God,” belonged to
another, much later era and was NOT fulfilled in the hearing of the Nazarenes that
day.
Jesus knew what to do that day; I can only contemplate the possibility of such a
gap lying before Ezekiel 39:21. Allowing for such a gap, the earlier segments of 38
and 39 provide uncontested clues as to possible timing of Gog’s invasion.”
“That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!”
MAY I SUGGEST . . .
For a more detailed and extensive treatment of this subject, may I recommend a full blown essay on the matter? You can find it at:
“Getting Here From There”
INSERT GAP HERE!
Ezekiel 38:1-39:20
http://www.flickr.com/photos/esm723/3336905639/
Ezekiel 39:21-29
Search the Table of Contents
for Other Offerings In This Series
X: Content of the70 Weeks
For the next installment in
this series, click this link:
A supremely confident Israel foolishly signs a seven
year covenant with the “prince who is to come.” This
despicable political figure will metastasize into what
we call the AntiChrist half way through this covenant’s
run. What can Israelis expect of their evil shepherd?