Tuesday, June 17, 2014

The Interpretation of Ezekiel 38 & 39



Present-Day Islamic Uprisings and The Interpretation of Ezekiel Chapter 38 & 39

    The importance of Ezekiel the prophet’s writing is found in the present-day Arab uprisings because he describes two battles in Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39 involving many of the nations which are in today’s world news as these uprisings continue and grow in number and intensity with each passing day.

     The first of these two battles occurs at the mid-point of the 70th Week of Daniel when Israel is still living in peace/safety (Ezekiel 38:8, 11, 14) but, then Israelites are warned by the Lord to flee to the mountains after “the abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15ff) which happens at the mid-point of the 70th Week (Daniel 9:27).

     However, when The Battle of Armageddon occurs long after the 70th Week (Revelation 19:11-21) when there will be not be peace and safety in Israel. Then, it will be open bedlam across the entire planet because the global judgment of God described in the book of the Revelation 8-18 will have been ongoing for some time.

     Ezekiel 38:1-17 describes the war right after the mid-point of the 70th Week of Daniel and the rest of the chapter along with Ezekiel 39:1-8 describes The Battle of Armageddon. Then, from Ezekiel 39:9-24 the aftermath of The Battle of Armageddon is described which occurs in the land of Israel.

The Battle of Armageddon Description and Parallels 
1. God's wrath (38:19)(Revelation 6:17, 15:7, 16:1, 19:15)occurs during the Day of the Lord not a time of peace
2. Great shaking (38:19) is the earthquake of Revelation 16:18 during the wrath of God/Day of the Lord
3. All men on the face of the earth(Revelation 16:14,15,19:19)are the enemy(38:20)not just (8) nations in Ch.38
4. The Lord brings cataclysmic defeat (Revelation 19:19-21) from which the Antichrist will not recover (38:22)
5. Ravenous birds will devour (39:4) (Dead bodies are given to the birds after the battle Revelation 19:17, 21)
6. I will not let them pollute My holy name any more (39:7) This is the last battle, Armageddon is the end D/L!
7. It is come it is done (Revelation 16:17) this is the day (of the Lord) whereof I have spoken (39:8)

     The nations listed in Ezekiel 38:2-6 are all Islamic nations today with the main focus upon *Turkey: Magog, Meschech, Tubal, Gomer, Togarmah. Egypt is missing from this list because from it will come "The king of the south" who will oppose Gog who also is "The king of the north" of Daniel chapter eleven. However, four of these countries are presently [2014] experiencing uprisings setting the stage for the 70th Week of Daniel:
1.   *Gog is the title for Antichrist/was the ruler from Magog and the ‘chief prince’ of Meshech and Tubal
  1. *Magog [Assyria] was located in modern-day East Turkey, 'Istans S. of Russia, Afg'n, Iran & N.Syria
  2. *Meshech and Tubal were located in modern day Western and Central Turkey
  1. Persia [Until 1939] is modern-day Iran
  2. Cush was located in modern-day Sudan    
  3. Put or Phut was located in N. Africa which covers Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco
  4. *Gomer was located in modern-day Central Turkey
  5. *Togarmah was located in modern-day Southeast Turkey near the Syrian border.

     If this foment in the middle-east ends in democratic governments for these nations that are listed above it could produce the environment necessary for mid-east peace. This possibility combined with the fact that the Antichrist will make a peace covenant with Israel at the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:27) creates the possibility that a real believable end times scenario is now underway.

     Just this morning I read on an Internet news-site of a peace plan which is being authored by the European Union, not the United States, which could in fact be the plan that will be agreeable to both Israel and the Palestinians. This effort along with these uprisings in the mid-east nations could come together to produce the environment necessary for Ezekiel’s prophecy to unfold with precision like accuracy!

     Under the leadership of Gog/The Antichrist, who will be the leader/Caliph of Islam, which also is looking like it is now in the works with Turkey's Islamic world leadership rising even as we speak, these Islamic nations listed in Ezekiel 38 that surround Israel will put up a facade of peace until the mid-point of the 70th Week. Then, when the Antichrist sets up his image in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, which is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, the first assault described in Ezekiel 38:1-17 will come to pass.

     Turkey is the most powerful of these Islamic nations and it is moving toward a total Islamic government which will remain peaceful with the west! So, there you have it in a nutshell! There are many other Scriptures that support this plan in the book of Daniel which is the book with the most information on the Antichrist and his future Rise, Rule and Ruin. For more information see our book “The People of the Apocalypse”.

     These events along with the description the Lord Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 24:4-8 underscore the truth of where we are in the Lord’s prophetic timetable. That we are definitely living in the time called ‘The Beginning of Sorrows’ can not be denied when the Scripture is evaluated along with present-day world conditions.

‘The Beginning of Sorrows’

      These present-day world conditions underline the fact that we are living in the time recorded in the Bible called “The beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8). During this time The Lord Jesus Christ said: “There will be wars and rumors of wars…famines, earthquakes and pestilences” (Matthew 24:6, 7).

     Although many Bible prophecy teachers believe that all these things will take place during the first part of the future time period called the 70th Week of Daniel, which they mistakenly call ‘The tribulation period’, this theory is not working out in reality. The actual events we are experiencing are telling us another more believable story for the escalation and occurrence of prophesied events is taking place before our very eyes!

    The last part of the 20th century, and now, the beginning of the 21st reveal that we are nearing the very end of the “The beginning of sorrows” as increasing “Famines [40 countries recording mass starvation and global food shortages are being predicted by credible experts] and pestilences [AIDS, Ebola, Avian Flu, SARS, Swine flu, MERS, Superbug] and [major numerous] earthquakes”(Matthew 24:7,8) which have recently occurred in Indonesia, Chile, Haiti, New Zealand, Myanmar and Japan continue to rise in magnitude, intensity and number. 

     The Beginning of Sorrows’ is truly upon us and our response must be a great turning to the Lord Who alone can deliver, regardless of the events occurring as we approach the end of this age when He will return. His Second Coming will most certainly be followed by His Day of the Lord wrath/global judgment as spoken by the Old Testament prophets and described in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ!

     It is now ‘High time’ for Christians to ‘Awake out of sleep’ ‘Knowing the time’ in which we live as Paul exhorted the Roman Christians (Romans 13:11-14). He told them to ‘Put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof’, going forth day by day witnessing, warning and winning ‘Souls for Jesus’ just as the Lord Jesus has directed (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)!

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