I have to admit that I am a bit mystified at the
current hostility between Russia and Turkey in light of Ezekiel’s
prophecy. Things seemed to be falling
into place as expected until Turkish Air Force pilots shot down the Russian
military jet last week. I am very confident that the future will find
Turkey and Russia as allies in an attack against Israel as foretold by Ezekiel,
but something will obviously have to occur to bring that about. This is what Ezekiel prophesied.
Ezekiel 38:1–12 “And the word of the
LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of
Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the
chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and
horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and
all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and
many people with thee.
Research indicates that Magog is a reference to Russia. Hesiod, the Greek poet who was a contemporary
of Ezekiel, identified Magog with the Scythians. Herodotus, a noted historian, recorded that
the Scythians terrorized
the southern steepes of Russia from the 10th century B.C. to the 3rd Century
B.C. Josephus also identified Magog with
the Scythians: “Magog founded the
Magogians, thus named after him, but who were by the Greeks called
Scythians."
Meshech
and Tubal are references to people who lived in the land now known as Turkey. In an appearance on the John Ankerberg show, Jimmy
DeYoung said that he had found a map in Turkey that identified the land areas comprising ancient Turkey as Meshech,
Tubal, Gomer and Togarmah. Scholars
differ on their identification of Gomer and Togarmah. Research indicated possible connections with
Gomer to Germany, Turkey and southern Russia.
Some identified Togarmah as connected with the Cossacks of southern
Russia. Josephus identified it with the
Phrygians of what is now eastern Turkey.
Persia is now known as Iran. Jimmy DeYoung also noted that biblical Persia
included the areas today known as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ethiopia, also known as Cush in the
scripture, refers to the area known today as the Sudan.
Research produced divided opinions on
the identity of Libya; the Hebrew identifies these people as descendants of
Put. Josephus
identifies the descendants of Put as the Libyans (including Algeria, Tunisia
and Morocco). Noted Hebrew scholar
Arnold Fruchtenbaum makes the connection with Somalia.
The primary point I wanted to make was the fact that Russia
and Turkey are identified as members of the alliance that will attack Israel as
noted in the continuing narrative from the scripture that follows.
Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself,
thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard
unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou
shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is
gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been
always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell
safely all of them.
This
section of the prophecy identifies the timeframe of these events as occurring
in the “latter years.” The Hebrew for
this term makes reference to the end times that will precede the establishment
of the Messiah’s kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Note
that the scripture references Israel as a place that had been wasteland, a land
that had been brought back from the sword out of the nations. History records that the Romans drove the people
out of the land of Israel after they conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the
temple in 70 A.D. They became dispersed
throughout the nations until the events of World War II resulted in the rebirth
of the nation of Israel in May of 1948. Since
that time, the Jews have been returning to their homeland, and today there are about
6,300,000 Jews that call Israel home.
I
wouldn’t necessarily say that the Jews are dwelling safely in their land. However, I think they are confident in their
military capabilities to defend themselves—even if they have to go it
alone. I hope I am wrong in thinking that
the United States would not come to their defense. When the time comes that this coalition led
by Russia attacks, however, they will be standing alone. It is the LORD God who will step in
supernaturally to defend them.
Thou shalt ascend and come like a
storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands,
and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass,
that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt
think an evil thought: 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 safely, all of them
dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and
to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now
inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations,
which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.”
The Russian-led coalition
will be motivated to attack because they plan to “spoil”—loot, rob—the wealth
of the nation of Israel. The recent
discoveries of gas off the seacoast, oil in the Golan, and the mineral deposits
of the Dead Sea are just a few of things that could prompt an attack.
I think that the fact that Russia has established
a presence in Syria to fight against ISIS is significant. Is this the hook in the jaw that pulls them
into a fight that will eventually lead to the attack on Israel? They are firmly aligned with the Islamic
nations that are determined to see the destruction of the nation of
Israel. I just don’t know.
All I know is that something will happen that will
result in making allies of Russia and Turkey.
Though not intended to be the subject of this blog
post—I am also keeping my eyes on Damascus.
The prophet Isaiah foretold its complete destruction. Certainly seems like the fulfillment of that
prophecy looms on the horizon as well.
Isaiah 17:1 “The burden of Damascus.
Behold, Damascus is taken away from being
a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.”
I pray that you are ready to meet your maker when
this all starts going down. Once this
ball starts rolling, I think it will only pick up speed. Please check out this gospel presentation if
you want saving information.
No comments:
Post a Comment