Storm Clouds Rising, Part 6

Storm Clouds Rising

Setting the Stage for the Rise of Antichrist and the End of the Age

A new look at Ezekiel 38-39

The Unavoidable War
               
From man’s perspective, the fulfillment of certain prophecies can be delayed, but they cannot be avoided forever. Take for instance Jonah’s prophecy against Ninevah. God sent Jonah to tell the citizens of Ninevah that he was going to destroy them and their city because of their wickedness, and that he was going to do it in forty days time. In response to Jonah’s message, the Ninevites repented and God delayed judgment for one-hundred-fifty years. Then once again he prophesied to them through Nahum the prophet, and this time Ninevah was destroyed so thoroughly that it has not been rebuilt to this day. So, the actions of men can, from the perspective of men, delay the prophesied intentions of God, but in God’s master plan, every prophecy ever uttered by one of His prophets will be fulfilled. This is especially true of the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39.

As we have already seen, the land has been reclaimed and restored, exactly according to the words of Ezekiel 36. And the people of Israel, though scattered and without a homeland for nearly 2000 years, have been brought back to their land, exactly according to the words of Ezekiel 37. The prophet refers to this restoration again in Ezekiel 38:8 when he speaks of the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. The restoration of the land and people of Israel, described by Ezekiel twenty-five centuries ago, has been fulfilled within recent memory. It stands to reason that if the prophetic progression continues, we may soon see the fulfillment of the next chapters. I may not be able to explain to you exactly how and why these things will happen, but I can tell you with certainty that these things will happen. They are, from God’s perspective, unavoidable.

Imagine with me the prophetic stage of the not-too-distant future. Saddam Hussein is dead, and Osama bin Laden is largely unseen and unheard in the public arena. But their agenda has not ceased. There are too many others ready and willing to take their place. The Islamic nations of the Middle East are duty-bound by their religion to convert or destroy by the sword those people who do not accept Islam as the only religion, Allah as the only God, and Mohammed as Allah’s last and greatest prophet. They are sworn to destroy both Israel and the satanic West—namely the United States of America—and they are working through the avenues of terrorism to accomplish just that. At this point in time, it is impossible to predict what the status of the United States involvement in the Middle East is going to be following the term of our current president, but for the time being, we have the reins of Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the current build-up to war, it seems that the nations take major steps toward war, and then draw back suddenly from the brink, as if undecided over their own desires—do we launch World War III, or do we broker for peace. The fact remains that their animosity toward Israel will be the spark that ignites the powder keg, whether they want it to or not. Palestinian unrest, Islamic meddling, and Israeli inability to find a solution will continue to escalate until Israel is pushed passed the point of no return. Israel will implement its own Final Solution to the Palestinian problem, and the Muslim world will react. At the end of the ensuing conflict, Damascus will be destroyed, Egypt will fall into civil war, and Israel will be in control of all the disputed territories in addition to lands in Lebanon and Jordan. At this point, it would seem that Israel may attempt a diplomatic solution to reach a peaceful agreement before any more destruction takes place. Ezekiel 38:11 describes an environment in which Israel is dwelling in apparent peace and safety when the attack comes, but that is the constant warning of Scripture: Beware when they cry ‘Peace and safety’, for sudden destruction is at hand.

When Damascus goes up in flames, the die will have been cast. Regardless of any peace deal brokered to keep the world from war, world war will erupt. An anti-Semitic alliance will be forged between the former Soviet Republics, Turkey, Iran, Libya, and Sudan—just to name a few—to punish Israel for its reprehensible use of weapons of mass destruction. They will invade, covering the land of Israel like a great cloud. But in spite of all the geo-political wrangling we could point to as the “reason” behind the conflict, the actual reason is plainly found in Scripture. Turning our attention back to the Ezekiel 38-39 passage, God says in verses 4, “I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws and lead you out.” Furthermore in verses 7-9, “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited…you will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.” The why and wherefore of the invasion of Israel by Gog’s horde is really in the providence of God. Thoughts will arise in the mind of world leaders, thoughts that give birth to an evil plan. When Israel thinks it is dwelling in safety, victors in a devastating war of aggression against it by its neighbors, that’s when danger will descend like storm clouds over the land.

Moreover in their reasoning is the intention to take plunder and booty from Israel. Every empire in the world has longed to control the geography of Israel for its strategic value, but the land itself is a wealth of natural resources, perhaps with many resources as yet untapped or undiscovered. As God’s Chosen People, the Israelites are constantly and continually blessed in the land flowing with milk and honey. Ezekiel speaks of the waste places being inhabited by people who were gathered from the nations and who have acquired great wealth. These great treasures are even now the envy of the cursed earth that still struggles outside the favor of God to force the earth to produce their bread.

The Coalition of the Willing, headed by the United States of America and joined by its allies in Western Europe and Saudi Arabia, will at the very least protest the invasion, but Ezekiel 38:13 details only a question against the invasion, a vocalization in defense of Israel. There will likely be speeches and propositions and condemnations on the floor of the United Nations and throughout the global media. But in the wake of Israel’s strike against Syria, the former allies of Israel will be powerless to stop the onslaught, and even if they tried it is likely they would suffer defeat at the hands of the enraged Russian-Muslim confederation. Whatever America’s role, it is likely that this series of events will remove the West from any position of power and influence it might have had in the world, for the wheels of prophecy are slowly turning back to the Mediterranean nations of the Old Roman Empire and those alignments that will usher in the coming kingdom of Antichrist.

Gog will come out of his place in the far north, bringing with him the cavalries and infantries of many nations, a great company and a might force. It is likely that the world will never have seen such a force arrayed against a single enemy in all its history, but God says of their coming, It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me who I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes. God had prophesied the defeat of His spiritual enemies and the destruction of the physical enemies of His people since the beginning, and this war against Israel will really be a fulfillment of God’s promises. In Ezekiel 39:2, God says, I will turn you around and bring you against the mountains of Israel. This war is really working to bring the nations into line for the final events of this age before the coming of the King of kings.

Regarding its own role in bringing the world to the brink of war, Israel will realize its mistake too late and cry out for help from the only quarter left to them—the realm of the Most High God. And God will be waiting. When the forces of Gog’s Horde come against an indefensible Israel, God’s fury will show on His face and He will speak in jealousy and the fire of His wrath. Thus will begin the downfall of Gog’s Horde.