The Truth Behind Russia's Attack on Israel
I have some news for Hal Lindsey, the famous author of the 1970‘s best seller" The Late Great Planet Earth"; Ezekiel 38 has NOTHING to do with our time, it hasn't anything to do with the great tribulation found in the pages of the Bible, nor should it ever cause you any concern in this lifetime! This week in a www.worldnetdaily.com article, Lindsey writes that the re-emergence of Russian power this week is going to be the catalyst that brings about the prophecy of Ezekiel 38. He claims, "According to the prophet Ezekiel, this Russian led alliance of nations would sweep suddenly down upon Israel in a surprise invasion that evokes only a weak diplomatic response from the West."
Nothing could be further from the truth. The problem that Mr. Lindsey has, and most biblical scholars have is that they simply do not let the Bible explain itself. They have preconceived theories trying to make current events "fit" into the Bible instead of using the Bible to analyze current events and let God explain where we are in our countdown to His second coming.
Lindsey is correct to identity Gog as Russia. The Gog, mentioned in the Bible is modern day Russia, but he is wrong to connect Gog with the King of the North found in Daniel. The King of the North, as I wrote about last week is the renewed Holy Roman Empire, led by Germany and gets its authority and power from the Catholic Church and personally by a Pope. Russia has very little to do with the great tribulation. Russia does not attack the modern state of Israel until after Christ has reigned on earth for a thousand years! Please, understand this point! Russia is not ever going to be the menace for us, Europe will be. Click here for Muslim view of Russia being Gog
Ezekiel 37-39 never understood.
Ezekiel 37 we read:
1. The Lord put his strong hand on me. His Spirit brought me away from my home. He put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them. I saw a huge number of bones in the valley. The bones were very dry. The Lord asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Lord and King, you are the only one who knows." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, 'Dry bones, listen to the Lord's message. The Lord and King speaks to you. He says, "I will put breath in you. Then you will come to life again. I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh on you. I will cover you with skin. So I will put breath in you. And you will come to life again. Then you will know that I am the Lord." ' "
7. So I prophesied just as the Lord commanded me to. As I was prophesying, I heard a noise. It was a rattling sound. The bones came together. One bone connected itself to another. I saw tendons and flesh appear on them. Skin covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then the Lord said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell it, 'The Lord and King says, "Breath, come from all four directions. Go into these dead bodies. Then they can live." ' "
10. So I prophesied just as he commanded me to. And the breath entered them. Then they came to life again. They stood up on their feet. They were like a huge army. Then the Lord said to me, "Son of man, these bones stand for all of the people of Israel. The people say, 'Our bones are dried up. We've lost all hope. We are cut off.' "So prophesy. Tell them, 'The Lord and King says, "My people, I am going to open up your graves. I am going to bring you out of them. I will take you back to the land of Israel. So I will open up your graves and bring you out of them. Then you will know that I am the Lord. You aremy people. I will put my Spirit in you. And you will live again. I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I have spoken. I have done it," announces the Lord.' "
Hal Lindsey, because he doesn't understand who Israel truly is in the Bible, holds that Ezekiel 37 has already been fulfilled by the 1948 re-emergence of the Jewish state we call Israel. Biblical scholars like Lindsey believe that the Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones is a symbol for the emergence of the new state of Jewish Israel. It is not! Ezekiel 37 is the physical resurrection of the dead found in Revelation chapter 20 thattakes place after the millennium and has nothing to do with the rebirth of a nation. The entire nation of Israel will have a physical resurrection from the dead back to physical (not spiritual) life after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth! Rev 20:4- They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Is the modern state of Israel the same nation raised in Ezekiel 37? Read on…
15. A message came to me from the Lord. He said, "Son of man, get a stick of wood. Write on it, 'Belonging to the tribe of Judah and the Israelites who are connected with it.' Then get another stick. Write on it, 'Ephraim's stick. Belonging to the tribes of Joseph and all of the Israelites connected with them.' Join them together into one stick in your hand.
The stick named Judah are the Jews, the stick named Ephraim is the United States and the British and Scandinavian Peoples. The Jews were not ever and never will have title to the name Israel! It belongs only to the tribe of Joseph. Read on.
18.. "The people of your own country will ask you, 'What do you mean by this?' Tell them, 'The Lord and King says, "I am going to get the stick of Joseph and the Israelites connected with it. That stick is in Ephraim's hand. I am going to join it to Judah's stick. They will become a single stick of wood in my hand." ' "Show them the sticks you wrote on. Tell them, 'The Lord and King says, "I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them together from all around. I will bring them back to their own land. There I will make them one nation. They will live on the mountains of Israel. All of them will have one king. They will never be two nations again. They will never again be separated into two kingdoms.
Now do you need proof that this has not been fulfilled by the Jewish state? Read the rest of the chapter for a shocker that Mr. Lindsey doesn't pay any attention too.
23 " ' "They will no longer pollute themselves by worshiping any of their evil gods. They will not do wrong things anymore. They always turn away from me. But I will save them from that sin. I will make them pure and clean. They will be my people. And I will be their God. 24 " ' My servant David will be their king. ………………………
Did you read that? King David was going to be their ruler! Has King David come back to rule the modern nation of Israel? Have the Jewish people excepted their God yet? The plain truth is that they have not! The Jewish nation is opposed to the true God today and Ezekiel 37 refers to the time after the millennium!
In chapter 38, we are introduced to Gog and how these people will attack Israel. Hal Lindsey confuses Ezekiel 38 again with the great tribulation, but let the Bible speak for itself! The Bible plainly tells us when Gog is going to attack Israel and be defeated, and it is not before the coming of Jesus Christ. Let’s finish reading Revelation 20:
Rev 20:4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 1And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Gog attacks Israel after the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ, King David and His “Christians.” have already been on earth for 1,000 years. They actually attack Christ and His armies and are utterly wiped from all history! When one goes back and finishes reading Ezekiel 38 with this in mind, everything becomes very clear:
Ezekiel 38 (my comments in black)
1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying, "Human, look toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him and say, 'The Lord God says this: I am against you, Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws. And I will bring you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of whom will be dressed in beautiful uniforms. They will be a large army with large and small shields and all having swords. Persia, Cush, and Put will be with them, all of them having shields and helmets. There will also be Gomer with all its troops and the nation of Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—many nations with you.
7. " 'Be prepared. Be prepared, you and all the armies that have come together to make you their commander. After a long time you will be called for service. After those years you will come into a land that has been rebuilt from war.(this is after the return of Christ) The people in the land will have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which were empty for a long time. These people were brought out from the nations, and they will all be living in safety.(are the people living in modern day nation of Israel living in peace????) You will come like a storm. You, all your troops, and the many nations with you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10. " 'This is what the Lord God says: At that time ideas will come into your mind, and you will think up an evil plan. You will say, "I will march against a land of towns without walls. I will attack those who are at rest and live in safety. All of them live without city walls or gate bars or gates. I will capture treasures and take loot. I will turn my power against the rebuilt ruins that now have people living in them. I will attack these people who have been gathered from the nations, who have become rich with farm animals and property, who live at the center of the world." Sheba, Dedan, and the traders of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say to you, "Did you come to capture treasure? Did you bring your troops together to take loot? Did you bring them to carry away silver and gold and to take away farm animals and property?" '
14. "So prophesy, human, and say to Gog, 'This is what the Lord God says: Now that my people Israel are living in safety (they are living in safety because Christ is there), you will know about it. You will come with many people from your place in the far north. You will have a large group with you, a mighty army, all riding on horses. You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. This will happen in the days to come when I bring you against my land. (REV 20) Gog, then the nations will know me when they see me prove how holy I am in what I do through you.
17. " 'This is what the Lord God says: You are the one about whom I spoke in past days. I spoke through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for many years that I would bring you against them. This is what will happen: On the day Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will become very angry, says the Lord God. With jealousy and great anger I tell you that at that time there will surely be a great earthquake in Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild animals, everything that crawls on the ground, and all the people on the earth will shake with fear before me. Also the mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. Then I will call for a war against Gog on all my mountains, says the Lord God. Everyone's sword will attack the soldier next to him. I will punish Gog with disease and death. I will send a heavy rain with hailstones and burning sulfur on Gog, his army, and the many nations with him. Then I will show how great I am. I will show my holiness, and I will make myself known to the many nations that watch. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'
It is very clear to anyone with an open mind and allowing the Bible to interpret itself, exactly when Gog attacks Israel, and who this "Israel" really is. Friends, don't allow Bible scholars to fool you with false prophecies that are not going to happen. They are selling you that Jesus is coming at any minute, and he is not! Jesus gave us clear signs to look for and most of these signs has not yet occurred! God, through His Bible talks directly to you, and He does so in an easy way to understand. I hope you continue to read the Plain Truth and examine our point of view, and I think you will see for yourself, what is behind today’s news and understand everything more completely and realize that God will tell you the Plain Truth long before you ever experience it!
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