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Tag Archives: Signs of the Time

The Terrible Trio of Gog and Magog

17 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Signs of the Time

Iran’s Direct Attack on Israel … A New Strategy

“Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran are on a collision course, a leading expert said on Sunday in the wake of Saturday’s clash between the Jewish state and forces loyal to Iran in neighboring Syria.”

These are the opening words of an article written by Benjamin Kerstein originally posted in the Israeli online news source, Algemeiner.com on February 12, 2018.

Before and especially after the outrageous Iran Nuclear Deal (finalized in April, 2015 … see Eye of Prophecy article, A Deal That Will Live in Infamy, posted 8-1-15), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran directly and the world-at-large secondarily that Israel cannot risk and will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. Nor will Israel condone the transfer of precision-guided Iranian missiles (sold by Russia to Iran) through Syria into Lebanon. For several years now, Israel has launched strikes into Syria against these armament convoys. It’s clear that the IDF’s surgical strikes have been a deterrent to an even greater build-up and deployment of missiles in Syria and Lebanon.

This past Saturday (February 10th), in the early morning hours, an Iranian “stealth” drone was launched from a caravan near the T4 (Tiyos) airbase in the central desert of Syria, not far from Palmyra. The “elite” Iranian Quds Force took over this airbase some time ago and operates it to transport and release drones and missiles throughout Syria. In the past (it’s been several years), Hezbollah has fired rockets into Israel, but Iran itself has not.

Until now.

(Iranian Drones & Iran’s Ayatollah)

The article by Benjamin Kerstein continues: “There is a ‘major strategic clash on the horizon,’ said Amos Yadlin, the former head of IDF Intelligence and Executive Director of the Institute for National Security Studies. ‘We are speaking about an attempt that has never been made before,’ Yadlin said of the drone infiltration, and added that the motivation was Iran’s desire to prevent Israel’s ongoing attempts to prevent weapons transfers to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.

‘The Iranians … wanted to show Israel that it is also capable of attacking (Israeli) territory,’ Yadlin commented. The Iranians hoped that Israel would not respond to the escalation, but were quickly proven wrong.”

*Note: The more immediate motive for Iran’s unprecedented action was retaliation for Israel’s raid on an Iranian/Syrian weapons production facility near Damascus a few weeks earlier. Yet, in the past Iran had not responded to Israeli raids on Syrian weapons facilities. Therefore, this was Iran’s audacious attempt to directly strike a blow against Israel, and to test Israel’s resolve.

The article concludes with, “Yadlin stated in a conference call that the ongoing conflict is born of ‘Iran’s determination to build a force in Syria, and Israel’s determination not to let them.’

“A former IAF pilot, Yadlin took part in 1981’s legendary Operation Opera, which destroyed Iraq’s nuclear facility in Osirak.”

Note: That daring Israeli attack into the heart of Iraq was subsequently acknowledged by the United States and most Western nations as the main reason why Saddam Hussein never developed nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Futile Scheme to Surprise Israel

As though the Iranians thought they would catch Israel off-guard or outwit Israeli defenses, they directed the flight-path of the drone through Syrian airspace into Jordan, with the drone then manipulated suddenly into Israeli airspace. After monitoring the entire course of the drone, Israel waited 90 seconds to determine if the drone would remain in Israeli territory. When the Israeli Defense Force concluded that the drone was heading deeper into Israel, an IDF Apache helicopter shot it out of the sky.

Slightly over an hour later, eight Israeli F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to deal with the original source of what could have been several Israeli casualties had this drone fired on whatever target the Iranians may have selected in Israel. Even if it was just a “spy” drone, there’s no excuse for entering Israeli airspace.

Not only did the IDF destroy the caravan that carried this drone to its propulsion point, it also took out nearly half of Syria’s air defense installations including Iranian military sites. Some of these targets were destroyed in the first wave of Israeli F-16 air attacks; others in a second wave after a surface to air missile brought down one of the fighter jets, which crashed in northern Israel. Fortunately both the pilot and navigator survived, albeit the pilot sustained serious injuries. This was the first fighter jet lost in battle by the Israelis since 1982 … the Lebanon War.

Said Ammon Ein Dar, head of the Israeli Training and Doctrine Division, “We carried out a wide-scale attack on the aerial defense system: radars, missiles, batteries, and posts.”

Here is the count of Israel’s swift and stunning damages to Iranian and Syrian fortifications, a total of twelve separate sites: Syria’s largest airbase, with 54 runways and a control tower destroyed; 3 weapons depots; 6 Syrian military installations; 2 Iranian military bases.

In an article posted on February 11, 2018 in the online news source Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), Yaakov Lappin writes: “The escalation is the latest in an epic struggle building between Iran, which is trying to turn Syria into a forward Iranian military base, and Israel, which is determined to prevent this from happening at all costs. Iran is now trying to set a new ‘rules of the game’ and limit Israeli defensive operations in Syria.”

Lappin concludes his article by saying, “The Israeli strikes hinted at an ability to do far more significant damage should Iran decide to escalate further. Iran has no assurance that its own territory would remain immune to Israeli firepower in the event of a future conflict. The stakes of this struggle remain very high. Iran will have to decide if it will again try to challenge Israel’s freedom to operate over Syrian airspace. The situation remains explosive. Israel does not seek war, but the signals coming out of Jerusalem indicated that it has no intention of backing down from its red lines.”

Meanwhile, the Syrian civil war is anything but over. In fact, fighting has intensified once again, including the recent killing of over 200 civilians by Bashar Assad’s Syrian government forces aided by Hezbollah troops, Russian airstrikes, and Iranian missiles. The humanitarian crises is getting even worse. In all, nearly 500,000 have lost their lives in this woeful war of attrition.

(Homs, Syria … Shows Massive Damage to Just One of Many Cities in Syria. See Eye of Prophecy Article, There’s No Place Like Homs; Posted 3-12-16)

Will Things Continue as Usual?

The Apostle Peter told believers that there would be many in the last days who would scoff at the very truth of Scripture, and would mock the idea that Christ would return anytime soon, if at all.

“This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome (healthy, sensible, practical) thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created’” (II Peter 3:1-4, parenthesis mine).

Keep in mind that 1st century Christians (first and foremost the apostles) eagerly expected that Messiah’s return would happen in their lifetime. With, however, the Holy Spirit inspiring Peter to also remind believers of God’s perspective of time: “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day” (I Peter 3:8).

Jesus arose from the grave in the very early morning hours on the 3rd day. It’s been two thousand years since his resurrection. Might the 3rd millennium A.D. that began just 18 years ago be the early morning hours of the 3rd day that will see his return?!

(See Eye of Prophecy article, Just How Imminent is Messiah’s Imminent Return? Posted 11-18-17)).

Jesus himself said:

Day or hour is literal (no one knows the specific day or hour) and also expressive or indicative of years; but not an indefinite period of time. In fact, Jesus narrows this down to a generational time-span in his lengthy and fascinating end-times discourse (Matthew Chapters 24 & 25). That’s why he said, keep watch. Watch for what?

Answer: The signs of the “birth pains” (Matthew 24:8). Which prefaces Peter’s advice to know and understand the end-time signs predicted by the Old Testament prophets (remember what the holy prophets said long ago).

Continuing with the Apostle Peter: “They deliberately forgot that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and the earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed” (II Peter 3:5-7).

No different, said Peter, than the generation of the Great Flood. Like so many today, they were oblivious to or in denial disregard of the ark built right in front of them. They ignored Noah’s preaching for 120 years regarding the (obviously implied by Scripture) reason the ark was being built, including what they must do to survive God’s judgment of a world filled with evil and violence. In contemporary times, we have far more markers than just one ark. Indicators that are (should be) as obvious as an ark being built with no body of water nearby.

Jesus used the same analogy: “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Thus, Peter said: “I want you to remember … I want to remind you.” Not the least of which was Jesus’s profound time-dedicated prediction: “…this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34).

Despite the extraordinary events of the 20th & 21st centuries and the ominous developments in the Middle East, most unbelievers and those Christian in name only continue to do what Jesus and the Apostle Peter said they would do in the last days. Sadly, in fact, many evangelical Christians have sometimes said pretty much the same thing, but not with a “mocking” mentality. Nonetheless, they are skeptical that the return of Messiah Jesus is very near, citing the constant chain of events in the Middle East and around Israel as an ongoing conflict with no end in sight. With a vague view that it could be decades or hundreds of years longer. That and they’ve forgotten the “generational” time frame that Jesus himself said would constitute the beginning (birth pangs) of the end.

As mentioned in several Eye of Prophecy articles, there are two time-parameters of a generation in Scripture: One hundred years and seventy years. One of the most prevalent prophecies of the Old Testament is the return of the Jews to Israel (including Israel’s rebirth as a nation), many of which were linked to Messiah’s coming to earth (his return) to rescue Israel from the godless Gentile nations. Two of these staggering predictions were the Gog/Magog invasion (Ezekiel 38 & 39) and the final assault led by the Antichrist such as found in Daniel 7, 9, and 11.

So, will things continue as usual? Answer: Yes and No.

Yes. The preponderance of people on this globe continue with (reckless) abandon their pursuit of the partying mentality at all cost, disregarding the “Arks” going up in plain sight around them. Signs that will affect their eternal destiny. For them, it is business as usual.

(Lasting Two Weeks, It’s The Longest Annual Celebration in the US. The Last Day of Mardi Gras Was This Past Tuesday, 2-13-18, Known as “Fat Tuesday” From the French: Mardi … Tuesday and Gras … fat).

Jesus isn’t saying there’s anything wrong with (in moderation) banquets and celebrations and business as usual. Messiah’s first miracle (along with dozens of other subsequent miracles) proving that he was the Son of God and God the Son took place at a wedding in Cana … turning water into wine.

What is wrong and eternally risky is to ignore obvious signs that the return of Messiah Jesus is drawing so very near.

Thus, the answer to the question is also, No. These amazing 20th & 21st century prophetic arks (end-time indicators) are anything but ordinary. When compared to the 18 centuries before (the 1st century A.D. was exceptionally uncommon) they are as unusual as it gets.

Things Are Different Now!

Considering Bible prophecy and its dramatic fulfillment, I don’t get how anyone could trivialize let alone ignore the notable end-times implications of events in the last 100 years. Our grandparents, parents, we and our children have seen or read about 20th & 21st century occurrences unprecedented in the annals of the human race.

Beginning with the First World War ever. One that, before it was even over, saw the mighty British Empire endorse Lord Balfour’s declaration that the Jews had a right to return to Israel, because it was their land to begin with. Then another World War, vastly more destructive than the first. Which, if it hadn’t (through God’s sovereignty) ended when it did, would have resulted in the success of Hitler’s diabolically malicious plan to exterminate the Jews. Then the rise of the United States to superpower status. A nation originally founded on Biblical Judaic/Christian principles, predicated on and patterned after the nation of Israel—God’s chosen and special possession. Then only three years after World War II, the miraculous rebirth of Israel as a sovereign nation, just like the Bible predicted long ago. Followed by a remarkable return to Israel of Jews from all over the earth.

Also the establishment of a United Nations; a European Union; a Russian-led hub of socialist countries; an Arab League of over 50 Muslim nations; the awakening of a sleeping giant (China—kings of the East); and two rogue-nation governments (Iran and North Korea) that threaten world security like no others. All of which have been inordinately focused for decades on the tiny nation of Israel … mostly in a negative way. With this spotlight increasing exponentially to the point where you can hardly pick up a newspaper or click online without more news of what’s happening in the Middle East, particularly in, around, and to Israel.

(See Eye of Prophecy article, Global Obsession with Israel … In Biblical Proportions! Posted 1-6-18)

ALL of these extraordinary new developments intricately tie in with old Bible prophecies. The old has become new again. It is more relevant now than ever before. It is an unusual interruption of business as usual. To include the amazing advancement of transportation, communication, and knowledge that has reduced the Global community to the size of the town where you live.

(See Eye of Prophecy article, The Seal of Approval, Posted 11-15-14)

Things are certainly not the same as they were before the 20th century, especially after Israel’s rebirth as a sovereign nation that set the last day’s wheels in motion. These dramatic developments are not only a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, they are also sovereignly (God’s plan) suggestive of Israel’s original birth as a nation, then their fall from God’s favor and protection when they abandoned the Lord. And now the beginning of Israel’s final restoration and redemption.

To become a nation the Jews had to fight against countries that were Israel’s immediate neighbors—in Joshua’s time, during the time of the judges, and finally when the twelve tribes were united under King David with Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel. Nations like Egypt, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Philistia, and others that Israel defeated in war. And peace treaties reached with a few nations either after Israel defeated them or instead of war.

However, when the Lord disciplined Israel beginning some two hundred years after the split of the twelve tribes when King Solomon died, he used powerful Gentile nations far away from Israel. Nations whose people had strange (wicked) practices and spoke strange languages as indicated in the Old Testament. Countries whose people were not descended from Lot or Ishmael or Esau nor who were Arabs. Nations like Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and finally Rome.

Remarkably, this paradigm resurfaced after Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948. The day after statehood was declared, Israel was attacked by modern-day versions (representations) of those enemy nations adjacent to Israel before the Jews were conquered by far away nations beginning in 722 B.C. (Assyria), then Babylon in 586 B.C., then under rule of Persia, Greece, and Rome for hundreds of years.

These nearby 20th & 21st century nations are Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and (to a lesser extent) Iraq. Against all odds, Israel defeated her Arab neighbors in the 1948 War of Independence. Likewise in the Suez War of 1956, the Six-Day War of 1967, and finally the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

The Arabs of these nations, including Palestinians living in Israel, realize they cannot defeat the Jews in a conventional war. Thus, they have resorted to terrorism, BDS, writing their own (false) history of the Middle East, and persuading the UN to pass (false, unjustified) resolutions against Israel.

(Height of Ignorance, Not Only Flying in the Face of God, But Boycott of Israeli Businesses Hurt Many Palestinians Employed By These Businesses)

(Good For You, New York!)

But now Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt and Jordan, and an implied understanding with Lebanon (it is the terrorist group Hezbollah who threatens Israel, not necessarily Lebanon itself). Iraq is no longer a viable threat because of its civil war, nor is Syria for the same reason.

In terms of national military threats, who are Israel’s main enemies now?

General Answer: Nations much further away from Israel, just like when the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans conquered Israel and dispersed the Jews. With Persia and Greece exercising control over the exiled Jews.

In the end times, things would be reversed between Israel and her enemies. God would use Israel (directly and indirectly) as a source of punishment for nations that would seek to once again destroy Israel. Rather than the Lord using those nations to punish Israel.

Which leads us to the more specific answer of who are Israel’s main enemies today?

Specific Answer: Russia, Iran, and Turkey, three non-Arab countries who will constitute, by far, the largest and most powerful components of the Gog/Magog coalition. Do you see this precedent and pattern?

In years past Russia, Iran, and Turkey have desired a dominant foothold in the Middle East nations surrounding Israel. And now all three have their wish. When the appointed time arrived, God would accommodate the warped wish of these nations, even to the extent of enticing them to march against Israel.

Said God to Ezekiel: “Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog … prophesy against him. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord … I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army…” (Ezekiel 38:2-4).

He also told Ezekiel that this would happen “in the distant future” (verse 8).

Does over 2,500 years qualify as the distant future? I certainly believe it does! That’s exactly what is transpiring before our 21st century eyes. Moreover, the global balloon full of war and rumors of war and threats and counter threats is far too full, not to burst in the near future. The chain of current events has been stretched so tight and so fast that there’s no way it can keep from snapping.

Revisiting Gog/Magog

In just the past two years or so there have been dramatic developments in the Middle East involving the three major nations that will comprise the Gog/Magog confederacy, Russia, Iran, and Turkey. As we’ve seen, the most recent is Iran’s first direct intrusion into Israel via the drone—a test of Israel’s resolve and a measure of Israel’s response. Also a demonstration that the Iranians not only intend to remain in Syria, but will continue to enlarge their surrogate sway over Lebanon (Hezbollah) and perhaps even a greater influence over Bashar Assad’s Syrian government than their partner in crime, Russia.

With a practical and predictable rule-of-engagement result: Israel dealt both Iran and Syria a devastating blow, inflicting massive damage to twelve military and weapons sites in Syria. Which has undoubtedly led to Iran’s realization (now or soon) that it cannot accomplish its treacherous boast of eliminating Israel from the face of the earth without Russia and (more reluctantly) without Turkey. That mindset is precisely what will lead to the formation of the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel in the near future—but after the Rapture.

In the past few weeks, Russia, Iran, and Turkey have bolstered their tenuous political, military, and diplomatic ties as a (terrible) trio, each nation with the other. Not all that long ago they were at each other’s throats. What originally brought them together?

Two-part answer: (1) ISIS … a common enemy. However, Turkey is known to have actually assisted ISIS, mainly because Turkey hates the Kurds based in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey much more than it fears ISIS. The Kurds have inflicted more damage on ISIS than all other freedom fighting groups in Syria battling both ISIS and Bashar Assad’s government troops.

(2) Syria’s Civil War. Russia and Iran have supported Assad’s troops, mostly with air support and missiles, respectively. Also, both nations have advisors and Special-Ops in Syria. Here again, President Erdogan of Turkey doesn’t like nor directly supports Bashar Assad; nevertheless, Erdogan is more than willing to overlook this animosity if Turkish relations with Iran and Russia are enhanced.

One huge advantage of Turkey cozying up to Russia and Iran: both of those countries extending carte blanch authority to and approval of Turkey’s latest incursion into Syria in the past two weeks to do battle with the Kurds. As a reminder or if you didn’t know, the United States supports the Kurds both militarily (air strikes and military advisors) and, to a lesser extent, politically.

It just may be the strangest, most complicated war (several wars into one) of all time. Even a simplified version of it is mind-boggling: A is fighting B who is fighting C who is fighting A … often wondering who they will be fighting today. All of them fighting D (ISIS). With the United States (and its allies) and Russia actually coordinating their bombing raids with each other!

With, however, fulfillment of Biblical prophecy an absolutely direct result. Which as alluded earlier: Russia, Iran, and Turkey cooperating not long after each was a staunch opponent of the other two.

Concerning Israel: Iran’s hatred of and overt animosity toward Israel is the most obvious. By establishing military bases in Syria and now attempting to build missile factories in Lebanon—through their puppet regime of Hezbollah—Iran is nearing the threshold of Israel’s northern border.

(“Come, they say, let’s wipe out Israel as a nation…” Psalm 83:4. The Modern Day Threat to Eliminate Israel Is Yet Another Fulfilled Biblical Prophecy)

Russia’s design for Israel is more subtle as currently demonstrated by its friendly approach toward Israel; nonetheless a shrewd scheme to take over the newly developed Israeli oil and gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea. (See Eye of Prophecy: Gog, Magog, and Leviathan posted 1-3-15).

Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin is clever. He understands this strategy of diplomacy will take him much further and more quickly than outright hostility toward Israel. Plus, he knows that the United States would instantly come to Israel’s aid should he (with or without Iran and Turkey) decide to do something about Israel now. Which is one reason the Gog/Magog attack won’t begin until after the Rapture—when millions taken from the United States will cripple America’s superpower status. That and the fact that Antichrist’s treaty with Israel will give the Jews a false sense of security; enticing Russia, Iran, and Turkey to take advantage of this peace treaty while Antichrist (Nero) is still forming and consolidating (forcing three nations … see Daniel 7:8) his powerful ten-nation coalition during the first half of the Tribulation.

Turkey is somewhere between Russia’s olive branch approach to Israel and Iran’s malicious motive to eliminate Israel altogether. Turkey’s President Erdogan loathes Israel; however, he, too, realizes the folly of taking on Israel alone. On the other hand, Turkey will jump at the opportunity to invade Israel, should Russia and Iran invite Turkey to join them.

At Putin’s incentive, three times in the recent past these three nations have convened to discuss and devise a partition type map of Syria, with the assumption that Assad will win the war against Syrian freedom fighters. Although a measure of agreement was reached to establish four demilitarized zones (no military operations), by and large these meetings have failed in their objectives. The latest was held in Sochi, Russia called, “A Congress of the Syrian People.” It failed miserably. Pending is another tripartite meeting called by Putin, with a date not yet specified. Ironically, it’s the failure of these resolution meetings that will keep Russia, Iran, and Turkey that much more entrenched in Syria.

(One of Several Recent Meetings Between Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu)

The signs of the times are mounting with incredible frequency and intensity. Here again is a list of twelve major indicators of the Omega Generation (the last generation that will lead directly to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus) originally summarized in Part II of Eye of Prophecy articles, Look Up, Redemption is Near (posted July 2015):

  1. Rebirth of Israel as a Sovereign Nation, 1948
  2. Recapture of Jerusalem in the June, 1967 Six-Day War
  3. Jerusalem, a Heavy Burden to the Nations
  4. The 3rd Rebuilt Temple
  5. Israel’s Phenomenal Agricultural Accomplishments
  6. Modern-Day Alignment of Gog/Magog Nations against Israel
  7. National and Ethnic Wars in the 20th & 21st Centuries
  8. Amazing Increase of Natural Disasters
  9. Moral & Spiritual Decline & Intense Persecution of Christians
  10. False Messiahs & Prophets
  11. Unequaled Increase in Quantity and Speed of Transportation and Information
  12. Unprecedented Spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the World

Looking Back to 2016

The following excerpts are from one of several Eye of Prophecy articles about Gog/Magog, entitled: The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun! Posted 9-10-16. Since then, the terrible trio of Russia, Iran, and Turkey have tightened their ties and proliferated their presence in Syria that much more.

Russia and Iran

*Note: The first paragraph is an excerpt within the excerpts … from an earlier article, entitled. Beginning of the End, posted 3-5-16. As you read these excerpts (in italics) remember that they date back to 2016.

The two most powerful nations referenced in Ezekiel’s predictions are Russia, by clear inference, and Iran, by actual name. Once enemies by virtue of the Iranian’s (Persians) national adherence to Islam, directly opposed to Russia’s atheistic communism, Iran is now an ally of Russia. They have set aside their differences for the common cause of establishing a footing in the region, under the pretense of supporting Bashar Assad and his Syrian government. Russia’s main agenda is to take over the gas fields off the coast of Israel and newly discovered oil reserves in Israel. Iran’s objective is much less subtle. Their hatred of Jews and Israel has been repeatedly voiced by their leaders with genocidal threats to: Wipe Israel from the face of the earth.

To demonstrate how much stronger this unlikely alliance between Russia and Iran is getting: Less than a month ago, for the first time ever, Iran permitted a foreign nation’s (Russia, of course) fighter bombers and jets to take off from Iran’s Hamedan Air Base. If you’ve kept up with just a little of what’s happening in the Middle East, you’ll know that this military liaison between Russia and Iran pretentiously serves the purpose of striking ISIS targets in Syria. Because both Iran and Russia support the Syrian Government still led by Bashar Assad, they also bomb and strafe Syrian rebel militia fighting against Assad. These freedom fighters are supported by the United States and some Western nations. Although Iran subsequently restricted Russia’s use of the air field to refueling only, the sure fulfillment of the Gog/Magog prophecy will eventually lead to unhindered cooperation between these two nations. Their anti-God (of the Bible) and anti-Israel agenda will override any differences.

Turkey and Iran

In that same article, Beginning of the End, I also wrote about an improbable joint military exercise (war games) between primarily Saudi Arabia and Turkey that took place this past February, called Northern Thunder. It was meant to be a show of force directly against Syrian President Assad and indirectly against Iran, which supports and subsidizes Assad in Syria and Iran’s puppet regime Hezbollah in Lebanon.

…Just like Erdogan of Turkey and Putin of Russia have cozied themselves and their countries together; in just the past three weeks, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif (the same Iranian official who met with the P5 + 1 nations to seal the Iranian nuclear deal last year) met with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu. In a joint press conference, Zarif announced that Iran has every intention of resolving all remaining disputes with Turkey.

Emboldened by its sudden reconciliation with Russia and Iran, Turkey just a few days ago sent tanks and soldiers into Syria, to ostensibly strike at ISIS targets. However, as any of us who monitors the pulse of the Middle East knows: Turkey’s main interest was to attack the Kurds who seek their own independent state.

Turkey’s incursion into Syria and the Turks newfound affinity for the Russians pleases Iran to no end. In his Gatestone Institute article published August 26th, Burak Bekdil quotes Meira Svirsky at the Clarion Project: “Not only will Turkey have to digest that (Russian-Iranian-Syrian) line, it will have to join it, entering into a pact with Putin and the ayatollahs. Clearly this is where Erdogan has decided is the best place to pledge his allegiance.”

*Note: A current reminder that in just the past couple of weeks Turkey reentered Syria to intensify its war on the Kurds.

Russia and Turkey

Next, is the unimaginable reconciliation between Turkey and Russia? It was only last November that Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that allegedly strayed into Turkish airspace. The infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately leveled economic sanctions against Turkey, which cost the Turkish economy billions of dollars. The sabre rattling of the two nations against each other was heard around the world, to include absurd boasts by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia was no match for Turkish military power!

In the article, Beginning of the End (March, 2016) I made this observation:

Although diplomatic relations between Turkey (the third most prominent nation in this Gog/Magog confederation) and Russia are currently strained, that will change dramatically…. In the classic mode of “if your enemy is also my enemy,” Turkey will go all in with Russia and Iran if it means conquering Israel.

Since that article was posted, the strained relations between Russia and Turkey have, indeed, changed dramatically. This past July, (once again, this would have been the year 2016) Erdogan apologized for shooting down the Russian warplane; in August he flew to Russia, and shook hands with Putin as a prelude to normalizing diplomatic relations between the two (former) rivals. Subsequently, they have set aside their differences to the point where the Russians not only didn’t oppose Turkey’s entrance into the Syrian civil war just a couple of weeks ago; they welcomed Turkey’s sudden and direct participation.

Things to Ponder

Essentially, we can dismiss the pretentious reasons that all three nations are establishing a foothold in Syria! Ultimately, it is not because Russia and Iran want to keep Assad in power or that Turkey wants to keep the Kurds from declaring an independent state in Syria and Iraq, next to the Turkish border.

Their ultimate goal: Israel. They all have Israel in their sights.

Which is the biggest (final) mistake they and the other nations joining Gog and Magog will ever make. For to do so is to make an enemy of the God of Israel.

“Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy!” (Ezekiel 38:3).

“It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

The Lord told Israel: The result of their refusal to enter the Promised Land because they didn’t trust the Lord to give them victory over the Canaanites, would be painful. Read with me what God said:

“Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy” (Numbers 14:34)

If the Lord (temporarily) made his own people an enemy, how severely will he deal with those nations who deny and defy him and who seek Israel’s destruction?

“O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times for the scorn they have hurled at you. Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation” (Psalm 79:12-13).

Scripture’s repeated predictions that Israel would be reestablished as a sovereign nation—with Jerusalem as its capital and return of exiled Jews to Israel—has taken place in our generation. And they have returned to stay, as exemplified in the following passage:

Nearly all of the Old Testament prophetic books (Isaiah through Malachi) contain warnings of Israel’s punishment and also God’s wrath against godless Gentile nations, especially those that participated in or condoned Israel’s destruction. Correlating secular history (dates) with Biblical history, one phenomenon you’ll find is that, for the most part, once a prophet first forecasted what would happen to Israel if they didn’t return to the Lord their God, the event normally occurred within 100 years. As the time of punishment (whether Assyria’s or Babylon’s conquest of Israel and Judah, respectively … or other events) drew closer, God’s warnings through his prophets increased in frequency and descriptive severity. In principle and pattern, that’s exactly what’s happening in and around Israel in our generation.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917, followed by Israel’s rebirth in 1947-48, then Israel’s liberation of Jerusalem in 1967 (when Gentile domination of Israel ended) have all occurred within a 100, 70, and 50-year generational time span.

The big difference, of course, is that the current events will lead to a totally different result. In our time, “…the Lord will make you (Israel) the head and not the tail, and you will always (from now on) be on top and never at the bottom” (Deuteronomy 28:13, parenthesis mine).

Although there are other indicators of the last days, the frenzied pace of the Gog/Magog formation in which the three most prominent nations of that confederacy have a foothold right next to Israel, can only mean that it’s a matter of just a short time before Russia, Iran, and Turkey cooperatively conspire to invade Israel. Which, in turn, means that the Rapture is at hand like never before!

The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War

03 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by garybowers in Prophecy in General

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Signs of the Time

Times of the Signs!

A forest fire, a merry-go-round, a spinning top, a kaleidoscope, a domino effect, an avalanche, or a one-thousand piece puzzle assembled every day: pick one of these metaphors or choose one of your own. Any one of them reliably represents the frantic pace at which global events are occurring, particularly in the Middle East. It is nothing short of astonishing.

I think the most applicable analogy of all would be childbirth pains. That is the picture used by Jesus to depict the exponential escalation of natural disasters, epidemic diseases, wars, ethnic conflicts, surge and resurge of Anti-Semitism, rampant immorality, distortion of and deviation from the absolute truth of God’s Word (Bible), and the international geopolitical maneuverings that are part and parcel of the rumors of war the world over—just before the Rapture and the ensuing Great Tribulation.

“But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come” (Matthew 24:8).

It is ominously obvious that we are experiencing the final global contractions before the unbearably painful, but divinely devised, delivery from self-destruction. Employing another analogy: things are taking place at the speed of light. In this case referring to the light of the sun as it rises each day; hardly a day goes by without a new development or a spin-off of an earlier event.

Listen to the climatic comparison used by Messiah Jesus:

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:32-34).

Folks, we are that generation. The 21st century fig tree has sprouted into full bloom. Messiah’s return is very near.

Many Eye of Prophecy articles are dedicated to that reality. See for example, The End of the Age … How Close Are We? Posted 11-23-13; The Omega Generation (2-15-14); The Seven-Year Treaty (5-2-15). Also, Look Up, Redemption is Near, Part I & II, published 7-11 & 7-18-15.

Biblical signs of the times are so prominent and prevalent that some have appropriately switched this often-used phrase to, “Times of the signs.”

Watershed waves of uncertainty have breached our sense of security like never before. One menacing world incident after another has compromised our hope for a brighter, better future. The threat of economic collapse or terrorism striking our country, our city, our neighborhood, our home has created an air of apprehension and even dread, because there’s little we can do to prevent these kind of things from happening. Above all, there is acute anxiety over another world war. Our world is smaller now than when World War II engulfed the planet with death and destruction. The smaller our world, the more likely that local and regional conflicts will become global.

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(Actually, those in Christ can be calm!)

Who among us doesn’t fear and hate war?

Or should I say those of us who truly love and long for peace, as there are some who are blood-thirsty and power-hungry; who embrace violence to achieve their warped objectives and continue vicious oppression even after their conquests.

Is there really any glory in war? Perhaps to the victors? Perhaps for a while? But what about the dead, civilians and soldiers alike? The horribly wounded … those who have missing limbs or scarred bodies for life? The dispossessed and displaced refugees? Why must so many woman and children suffer so much?

Yes, righteous wars are necessary. Without them there would be no freedom, or less freedom. However optimistically these questions and others like them might be answered, there is still the repulsive reality and awful accuracy of the well-known maxim:

War is Hell.

How else can we explain approximately 72 million people killed in World War II, except to say it was hell on earth. Unimaginably, WW II will pale in comparison to the catastrophic carnage of the Great Tribulation, in which well over half of the world’s population will perish. Actually closer to five of every six people will not make it through those seven years. (Please see Eye of Prophecy article, Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation, posted 6-6-15. I didn’t realize the significance of the posting date of that article until later … it was the anniversary of D-Day).

We’re getting a terrible taste of mass casualties of war again … the quarter million who have died in Syria. Which, appallingly, will be the proverbial, “drop in the bucket” (a very large bucket) compared to the loss of life when the most astounding “peace treaty” of all time takes place shortly after the Rapture of believers to heaven.

War is so horrendous that we not only make treaties to end wars, such as the Versailles Treaty of June 28, 1919 that brought an official end to the Great War—the war that was supposed to end all wars—but we also arrange treaties to (hopefully) prevent nations from warring against each other. They are peace pacts before the fact. Whether these agreements are full-fledged treaties or limited to “non-aggression pacts,” the idea is for a nation or a coalition of nations to agree to disagree on political, economic, and cultural differences. But not to resolve these differences through war. Thus, we have NATO, the EU, the UN, and individual treaties between two nations; all with the noble, yet often unrealistic, objective of creating then maintaining peace between peoples on this planet.

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(Photo of the Versailles Treaty)

The futility of these preventive peace agreements is found in their historical irony. This travesty comes in two fragile forms: (1) the truly peace-loving side appeasing a dictator or state dictatorship through a non-aggression pact or peace treaty. (2) Peace driven nation or nations conducting a justified military campaign with “limited” objectives, such as mere containment of the enemy. There is no real resolve or commitment of forces necessary to decisively “win” the war.

Examples of Appeasement and Failure to Go All In

Non-Aggression Peace Pacts

Regarding appeasement, there are several examples throughout history. Sticking to the more recent 20th century, there are two that stand out.

Will any of those still alive today or the many more born later ever forget the phrase, “Peace for our time.”

Even if you only got a “D” in history, you probably remember that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain proudly pronounced these words after he negotiated a “peace treaty” with Adolph Hitler, called the Munich Agreement … September 30, 1938. It is undoubtedly the most egregious example of appeasement in the annals of diplomacy. What was supposed to be one of the greatest peace agreements ever, permitted Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia and part of Austria (Sudetenland) in exchange for Hitler’s promise of non-aggression anywhere else in Europe. How long did it last? Until March, 1939, when Hitler unilaterally annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Then on September 1, 1939 the Third Reich began its blitzkrieg conquest of Poland, followed soon by a lightning quick defeat of France. Thereafter (1940) England was smack in the middle of their bloodiest war in history. One that erupted into a World War, which dwarfed The Great War (World War I) that was to end all wars. Prime Minister Chamberlain also used the phrase, “peace with honor,” to describe the Munich Agreement. With his impression of an ostrich (head in the sand), Chamberlain naively and blindly believed Hitler would honor the agreement.

God Save the Queen! Because one-way, lop-sided peace agreements (appeasement) certainly won’t!

The second example of appeasement was the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact that the Third Reich duped Russia into signing in August, 1939 just before Germany invaded Poland. Hitler had no intention of honoring that agreement; in June, 1941 Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against Russia. Battles fought by these two countries produced, by far, the most casualties of World War II.

Limited War … Lack of Commitment for Total Victory

As an example of lack of all-out commitment to decisively defeat an enemy that crosses national and racial (red) lines, we need look no further than Korea and Vietnam. All kinds of concessions were made by our Presidential Staff, by our Congress, and even by some of our military leaders. It was pacification borne mostly from fear of drawing Communist Soviet Union and/or Communist China into these wars. There were also others to appease, such as the liberal left within our country. But the disastrous results were the same: a tenuous truce with North Korea that is still a communist country and still poses a (nuclear) threat to South Korea, the United States, as well as other nations. And a truce that was more of a surrender to North Vietnam which also remains communistic, under the oxymoronic name of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The definitions and concept of socialism and republic are absolutely incompatible.

That’s not all. How many fewer American and coalition casualties would there have been, if Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War of 1991 had been allowed to continue north in Iraq, right up to the front door of Saddam Hussein’s palace? Instead, we had to go back again in 2003, suffering even more casualties. Even then, we adopted a containment policy. And it only got worse. In just a few short years after President Obama pulled our ground forces out of Iraq, ISIS filled the gap.

Then there’s the Iran Nuclear Agreement completed just last year. Where do you suppose that will lead? Is there any indication, whatsoever, that Iran’s supreme potentate, Ayatollah Khomeini, is or will be any different than Adolph Hitler? Among many other sordid similarities, they both uttered their diabolic diatribe that not a single Jew remain on planet Earth. Ever so tragically, Hitler almost succeeded (Holocaust). Iran will pick up where Hitler left off when it joins the Gog/Magog attack on Israel.

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With a few exceptions, Eye of Prophecy articles do not get all that “political.” Even when they do, the topic is in the larger context of Biblical principles and prophecies. In the context of today’s post, the point needs to be made that peace treaties, especially those designed to be preemptive, are seldom (as is said) worth the paper on which they are written. There is a reason for that: Invariably, one side is not honest … they have ulterior motives. The only thing a non-aggression type peace treaty does is to give the sinister side more time to accomplish their amoral agenda.

Scriptural Precedents to Affirm Our Premise: Conciliatory Agreements between Good and Evil Never Works

There are two striking examples in the Bible, one past and one future.

Past Example

The past precedent involves much of Israel’s chronicles from the time that Joshua led them into the Promised Land to the time that Nebuchadnezzar crushed Israel, demolished Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple, and exiled the surviving Jews to Babylon. We’ll focus only on the early stages of Israel’s history … their conquest of Canaan, as commanded by God himself. For two reasons: (1) God promised this land to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. (2) The majority of the Canaanite nations were exceedingly evil people, engaged in detestable practices such as sacrificing their children to pagan, man-made gods.

God gave his people specific instructions as to which societies to destroy and which ones to show mercy, to the extent of allowing some gentile nations to exist alongside of the Jews in the Promised Land of Israel.

Instead, the Israelites permitted a few of these wicked tribes to exist and their evil conduct to continue. The “peace treaties” that Israel made with them came back to bite all twelve tribes for centuries … through constant attack by and war with some of these pagan nations. Even worse, Israel began to worship pagan gods. It was the first classic example of ill-advised and God forbidden peace pacts that led directly to war.

War and Peace. Incompatible. Right? Of course, right. Which also means that a treaty of peace should never be an intentional or even unintentional guarantee that war will inevitably follow. Correct? No, not even close.

Future Example

Fast forwarding to the (near) future. Let’s look at the most famous (infamous) treaty of all time, one that has yet to be made. One that will absolutely guarantee war against Israel followed by World War III … Armageddon. Starting with the treaty, the man who orchestrates it, and the aftermath, we read:

“The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven (seven years), but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him” (Daniel 9:27).

In several Eye of Prophecy articles, I have written much about this treaty and the one (Antichrist Nero) who persuades Israel and Muslim nations to accept this settlement. In order for both the Jews and Arabs to agree to such a treaty, substantial concessions will be made by both sides, most of which will be tantamount to appeasement of the Arabs. Israel will agree to most anything just to regain full functional control of Temple Mount, and rebuild their Temple on their most holy site in the holy city, Jerusalem.

Likewise, some Eye of Prophecy articles have been wholly or partially dedicated to the Gog/Magog war against Israel, but in today’s article we’ll make a connection that perhaps even many students of the Bible haven’t seen. What we’re going to see is that a devastatingly deceptive “peace” treaty is what will prompt the Gog/Magog coalition to march against Israel, which will take place in the first year or so of the Tribulation. It will be, “Peace for our time” all over again.

Let’s revisit one of the most well-known prophetic passages in Scripture.

“This is another message that came to me from the Lord: ‘Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy! I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army…” (Ezekiel 38:1-4).

*Note: The hooks in Gog’s jaw will be this seven-year peace treaty and the ensuing sense of security (complacency) it will bring to Israel.

The Lord then gives Ezekiel the identity of some of the nations that will join forces with Gog. The nations today that are the most prominent in this satanic confederation are Russia, Iran, and Turkey. There are also several other countries.

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Through Ezekiel, the Lord says to Gog: “Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” (Ezekiel 38:7-9, italics for emphasis).

This spectacular prophecy was written some 2,550 years ago. But, there is little doubt that we are living in the days of what the Lord told Ezekiel would be, “the distant future.”

Why can we know that?

Because, the Jews (in great numbers), “have returned from many lands” to the Promised Land, especially after Israel was reborn as a sovereign state in 1948. This miraculous rebirth took place just three years after six million Jews had been slaughtered in the Holocaust. The phenomenon of Israel being “born in a single day” (Isaiah 66:8) signaled the greatest “recovery from war” that any nation on earth has ever experienced. Four subsequent wars would conclusively confirm the prophecy that the Gog/Magog alliance would attack Israel when she, will be enjoying peace after recovering from war. They were Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, 1956 Suez War, 1967 Six-Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In just the last few months and weeks, Russia, Iran, and Turkey have “mobilized their armies” and have taken “command of them” in Syria, which borders Israel. Although the mobilization is limited, the fact remains that for the first time in history these three Magog nations are conducting military operations in the Middle East. Unmistakably, this is the beginning fulfillment of Ezekiel’s astounding prophecy. It’s just a matter of (a short) time before the full military might of Russia, Iran, Turkey, and other nations descend on Israel to completely bring about the Gog/Magog prophecy.

Why the Gog/Magog Offensive against Israel Won’t Take Place until After the Rapture

As a refresher from previous Eye of Prophecy articles on this subject, two of the reasons are: (1) if such an attack were to occur before the Rapture, then the United States and our Western allies would definitely come to Israel’s rescue. However, the (soon to come) Rapture will leave the United States (and to a lesser extent its coalition countries) much weaker, if for no other reason than the number of believers taken. (2) God’s direct intervention against Gog/Magog includes supernatural plagues that are akin to the sixth seal and first trumpet of Revelation 6:12-14 and Revelation 8:7, respectively. Obviously, all of the Revelation judgments take place during the Great Tribulation.

There is a third reason—the focus of today’s article—why the Gog/Magog prophecy won’t take place before the Rapture: the prerequisite condition that Israel “will be enjoying peace when the attack begins. We’ve already looked at the first reference to that “peace” in the above quoted verses. For emphasis, the Lord makes two more references … one implicit, the other direct.

Again, the Lord is speaking to Gog:

“…At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!” (Ezekiel 38:10-11).

Although Israel is, and will be when Gog attacks, a formidable fighting force, the location of the land leaves her vulnerable to invasion from all sides (unwalled villages). Moreover, this “confidence” of Israel and the Jews will arise from a false sense of security stemming directly from the seven-year treaty orchestrated by Antichrist Nero between Jews and Muslims. This amazing treaty will be unopposed by virtually all nations on the earth that have been temporarily stunned by the disappearance of hundreds of millions from the earth and the chaos created by this staggering global event.

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Talk and a “paper” treaty will be cheaper than ever. Meaning that Antichrist Nero will pledge to come to the aid of Israel if she is attacked. Which, of course, he, and the ten-nation confederation that he is consolidating at the time, will not do when Russia, Iran, and Turkey liftoff their campaign against Israel. The extent of Nero’s (and his ten kingdoms) resistance to the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel will be lip service only. There will be no military challenge to Russia, Iran, Turkey, and other smaller nations in this Magog confederacy. (See Ezekiel 38:13).

Let’s look at the third mention of peace in Israel that will be the incentive for Gog/Magog to attack her; also the reason that Israel will be caught off guard and unable to defend herself against such a massive coalition.

Again, for emphasis, the Lord states: “Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: ‘When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself. You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, and you will attack my people Israel, covering their land like a cloud…’” (Ezekiel 38:14-16, italics for emphasis).

Certainly, today’s Israel has a measure of peace; at least in terms of no full-scale active war being waged. Yet, Israelis still experience on-going “lone-wolf” terrorist attacks, BDS sanctions from many nations, and the constant threat of full-scale assault from terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS, as well as entire nations like Iran, which has repeatedly avowed to “wipe Israel from the face of the earth.”

This is not the extent of peace and confidence portrayed in Ezekiel. There’s only one thing that will bring Israel to a durable assurance that all is well; that they are stoutly secure in their beloved land. Obviously, it will be a phony peace and false sense of security, but the Jews won’t know that until it’s too late.

It is nothing other than the astounding treaty initiated by Antichrist (Nero) that will “guarantee” this peace and security. It will be considered the greatest, most unlikely treaty of all time. Did you know that Nero’s main claim to fame during his 14-year reign as Caesar was a treaty he made between Rome and their arch-enemy (at the time) Parthia? That treaty endeared him to the common people as well as to the elite Senate and Roman legions.

His post-Rapture treaty will also accomplish the impossible: reconciliation of differences between ancient enemies, Jew and Arab.

There are two astonishing achievements that will immediately propel Nero into the international spotlight; with people from many nations, races, and languages yielding their allegiance and adoration. In order of significance, they are: His return from the grave (Abyss) and the Seven-Year treaty that he will orchestrate.

But the reality of it: that treaty will guarantee war. First, the Gog/Magog assault against Israel; which will be dealt with directly by/from God himself. (See Eye of Prophecy article, God Fights for Israel, posted 7-30-16). Then the ten-nation confederation led by Antichrist in the last half of the Tribulation against many nations, but first and foremost Israel. This time, Israel must fight for its very survival. And this time, Messiah Jesus will return to the earth to rescue Israel (and the whole world) from annihilation.

Summary

This final peace agreement will be orchestrated by Antichrist, and will be principally between Israel and Muslim nations. Out of envy, and also being unscrupulous, Russia’s Magog alliance with Iran and Turkey will seize the opportunity to invade Israel while also challenging the fledgling coalition begun by Antichrist Nero, who will need a couple of years to consolidate these ten nations (three of which will be forced to join Nero) into a powerful empire. That is another reason why the Antichrist will do nothing to interfere with the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel.

Because of this treaty and because of the relatively peaceful relations with most of the Magog nations (excepting Iran), Israel will be taken totally by surprise. It’s a good thing that God will directly fight for Israel and completely destroy Gog; because Israel won’t stand a chance on her own. She will be caught too much off guard and there will be far too many of the enemy advancing (vast hordes).

It will be like a scene in one of my favorite movies, Shane. Just before Shane takes on the bad guys in the saloon, the boy played by Brandon deWilde pleads with Shane (Alan Ladd) not to fight. With the reason shouted by the boy: “But Shane, there are too many. There’s too many, Shane!” I often repeat this when watching any movie where the bad guys far outnumber the good guys!

Shaneposter

It’s a sure thing that the seven-year treaty shortly after the Rapture will lead directly to fulfillment of the Gog/Magog prophecy. But Scripture says nothing about the kind of peace existing in Israel as portrayed by Ezekiel before the seven-year treaty.

Currently, there are too many adverse conditions to permit peace through a so-called two-state solution before the seven-year treaty. Two virtually insurmountable factors are: (1) the Arabs’ denial that Israel is a sovereign Jewish nation, which is why they have rejected direct negotiations with Israel; (2) Israel’s Biblically based refusal to allow Jerusalem to be a divided city, let alone the divided capital of both Israel and a Palestinian State (so-called East Jerusalem).

If a Palestinian State does come into existence, it will most likely be one of the conditions of the seven-year treaty orchestrated by Antichrist Nero. (See Daniel 11:39 which speaks of the Antichrist “dividing the land” to those who submit to him).

In next week’s article, we’ll examine some recent extraordinary turn of events, specifically involving Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Israel to demonstrate how close we are to the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel and, therefore, the astounding transfiguration of believers and our transportation to heaven … The Rapture!

Things to Ponder

What God says will happen, always happens. I repeat for emphasis: ALWAYS. There are hundreds of Biblical prophecies that have come to pass to validate this truth. It’s just that they are happening with much more regularity in our generation. The birth pangs are increasing in frequency and severity.

When all is said and done, the Bible is unambiguously clear that only one person can bring real lasting peace to the Middle East, to the entire world. None other than the Prince of Peace, Messiah Jesus (Isaiah 9:6).

Until that time, all other treaties of peace will be both false and transient. Like past historical treaties that failed miserably and actually led to war, both parties to the settlement must have honor, integrity, and sincerity. There must be no ulterior motive, especially when the arbiter and/or one side to the treaty uses the pact to deceive and then destroy the other side.

For all those who defy the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and reject their only hope for salvation and peace, through God’s Son, Yeshua, Scripture declares: “But there is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord” (Isaiah 48:22).

For Israel and the Jews, God promised: “I will make a covenant of peace with my people…” (Ezekiel 34:25).

Before that, Jeremiah announced this New Covenant would be radically different from the Old Covenant (Mosaic Law). Because, “…They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:32).

No longer would it be a covenant written on stone tablets, commandments that God’s people wouldn’t and couldn’t keep because their hearts were as hard as the stones on which the commandments were written.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. I will put my instruction deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

Says the Lord God to Ezekiel: “And I shall give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh…” (Ezekiel 11:19, NASB).

As explained throughout Scripture: The difference between a heart of stone and a heart of flesh is the difference between a rote, hard-hearted, cold-blooded, compulsory adherence to religious rituals and creeds; versus a sincere seeking of God, with willing tender-loving heart-felt response of listening to and loving the truth about God and His Messiah (our Savior) that will lead to salvation and everlasting life.

Individually for Jews (and Gentiles) that New Covenant of Grace began when Messiah Jesus arose from the dead after giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins and the penalty of those sins.

To enter into that covenant, all we need do: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

For the nation of Israel, corporately, this covenant of peace will be fully realized when Messiah Jesus returns to deliver Israel from Gog/Magog and then from the worst war of all time … Armageddon.

For all peoples, peace on earth among men must first begin through peace with God.

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1).

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  • Build The Temple! Will Messiah Come?
  • Can A Murderer Be A Martyr?
  • Christ or Antichrist … who will it be?
  • Comparing A Phenomenal Prophecy in Leviticus With One in Zechariah
  • Conspiracy Theories … A New World Order
  • Countdown to Armageddon … End of the Fourth 400-Year Era
  • COVID-19 / Just Another Plague?
  • COVID-19 / Just Another Plague? (Part II)
  • Cunning Makeover of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Daniel’s 70 Prophetic Weeks & The Number Seventy!
  • Day of Infamy
  • Did God Really Appear to People? When & How?
  • Diplomacy With Israel Despite Anti-Semitism / A Puzzling Paradox
  • Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance (Part I)
  • Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance (Part II)
  • Does Christmas Really Need Christ?
  • Does God Really Have a Son? … Part I
  • Does God Really Have a Son? … Part II
  • Does Israel Belong To The State of Israel?
  • Does The Holy Spirit Restrain (the Man of) Lawlessness?
  • Don’t Seal The Book of Revelation!
  • Double Israel’s Trouble & Double Her Blessings!
  • End of the World Events … In Chronological Order!
  • Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda
  • Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence (Part I)
  • Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence (Part II)
  • Extraordinary Biblical Prophecies w/Predicted Times of Fulfillment (Part I)
  • Extraordinary Biblical Prophecies w/Predicted Times of Fulfillment (Part II)
  • Festival of Tabernacles … Part I
  • First Century Existence of Christ and Antichrist & Their 21st Century Return
  • Five Life-Changing Meals in the Bible
  • For or Against Israel?
  • For Such A Time As This
  • Fountain of Youth & Fountain of Life … Is There a Difference?
  • Four Locust Kingdoms!
  • Freedom … What Does It Really Mean?
  • Fulfilled Prophecy Proves We Can Trust The Bible
  • Gateway to the World
  • Giving Thanks … What is it all about
  • Global Obsession with Jerusalem … In Biblical Proportions!
  • Globalism or Populism … Which Will Antichrist Prefer?
  • God Is Great & Yet He’s So Good!
  • God Is in Control
  • God’s New Covenant with Israel … Minus the Temple (Part I)
  • God’s New Covenant with Israel … Minus the Temple (Part II)
  • Gog, Magog and Leviathan
  • Gog/Magog’s Prophetic Clock Is Ticking, Ticking….
  • Grace and Law … A Biblical Balance
  • Great Expectations for Messiah
  • Hanukkah & Christmas / Do They Have Anything in Common?
  • Hanukkah … The Festival Born of a Prophecy!
  • Happy New Year … Jerusalem Style!
  • Has Antichrist Already Died … How, When & Why
  • How and When Does The World End?
  • How the Rapture
  • Humiliating End of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Hurricane Harvey & A Year of Prophetic Milestones (2017)
  • Intriguing Comparisons Between Antiochus IV & Antichrist (Nero)
  • Israel Is Again The Head, Not the Tail (The Deal of the Century)
  • Is President Trump Wavering On “The Waiver”?
  • ISIS, Nero, and Rome
  • Israel Is Here To Stay … Forever!
  • Israel’s Annexation of Occupied Territory? We Must Define The Terms
  • Israel’s Controversial Nation-State Law
  • Israel’s Government in Limbo … Unprecedented!
  • Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth?
  • Italy’s New Government / A Thorn in the EU’s Side
  • Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country?
  • Jerusalem … City of Peace?
  • Jerusalem / City Above All Cities
  • Jerusalem’s Mysterious Eastern Gate … Making Headlines
  • Jesus’s Stunning Statements While on the Cross… A Summary of Salvation!
  • Jesus Is The Very Essence of Prophecy
  • Jewish Christian / Christian Jew … An Oxymoron?
  • Jewish Settlements in Judea/Samaria … Are They Illegal?
  • Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part I)
  • Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part II)
  • Jubilee and Messiah … They Go Together!
  • Judea/Samaria & Gaza Strip / Who Has Sovereignty?
  • Just How Imminent is Messiah’s Imminent Return?
  • King David’s Tomb
  • Kingdom of God
  • Las Vegas Massacre … A Broader Perspective
  • Lazarus and Lazarus & The Sign of Jonah
  • Let’s Celebrate … Forever!
  • Let’s Make a Deal
  • Light of The World (Sequel To: The Incomparable Power & Authority of Jesus Christ)
  • Look Up, Redemption Is Near … Part I
  • Look Up, Redemption Is Near … Part II
  • Major Earthquake in Israel … When & Where It Will Strike
  • Melchizedek … A Man of Mystery!
  • Merry Christmas … What’s It All About?
  • Messiah and the Jewish Festivals … An Extraordinary Connection!
  • Messiah’s Amazing Appearances Before He Was Born
  • Messiah’s Arrival … On Whose Authority?
  • Messiah’s Ascension & Coronation … Seen Long Before It Happened!
  • Messiah’s Millennial Reign … Incredible Changes on Earth
  • Messiah’s Number & Its Prophetic Value
  • Messiah’s Return & The Rapture (Same or Separate Events?)
  • Messianic Jews … Who Are They?
  • Modern Day Antichrist?
  • Moral Equivalency
  • More Palestinian Lies
  • More Than One Messiah?
  • Moses & Elijah vs. Antichrist & The False Prophet
  • Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem … A Broken Promise?
  • NERO & The Remarkable Revival of His Name
  • O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
  • Old & New Testament Saints … Is There a Difference?
  • One Global Language … Coming Soon! (Part I)
  • One Global Language … Coming Soon! (Part II)
  • One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part I
  • One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II
  • One Nation Under (the wrath of) God
  • One World Government?
  • One World Religion?
  • Palestine or Israel? Which Is It? / Your Answer May Be In Jeopardy!
  • Palestinian Propaganda Is Pure Poison
  • Palestinian Refugees… Are They Really Refugees?
  • Palestinian Terrorism & UN Resolutions … Neither Will Defeat Israel
  • Palestinian Terror Tunnels & Poetic Justice
  • Passover & Messiah Are Inseparable!
  • Passover … an Enduring Legacy
  • Peace Between Israel and Judah … Then World Peace!
  • Peace on Earth … Is It Really Possible?
  • Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be?
  • Powerful Proof of Messiah’s Identity & Arrival in The First Century!
  • Preach the Gospel … But Not to the Jews!
  • Prince of Peace
  • Prophecy & A Jewish Holiday
  • Prophetic Fate of Israel’s Friends and Foes
  • Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part I)
  • Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part II)
  • Proportional Warfare
  • Reappearance of Satan, a Roman Emperor & Two Ancient Prophets … Bodily!
  • Reappearance of the Beast (Antichrist)
  • Reexamination of Messiah’s Imminent Return & The Omega Generation
  • Remember December (Kislev) … A Hidden Gem of Prophecy!
  • Removing Christ From Christmas … What Are The Consequences?
  • Replacement Theology (Part I)
  • Replacement Theology (Part II)
  • Resurrections / How Many Will There Be? One, Two, Or Could There Be Three?
  • Rome and Jerusalem … friends or foes?
  • Russia & Iran versus Israel
  • Russia’s Shocking Invasion of Ukraine … A Preview of Gog/Magog’s Attack on Israel?
  • Salvation … “To The Jew First!”
  • Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part I)
  • Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part II)
  • Scripture Says Everyone Will Die / But What About the Rapture?
  • Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part I)
  • Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part II)
  • Sequel to Stunning Catastrophes & Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation
  • Seven Essentials of The Rapture (Part I)
  • Seven Essentials of the Rapture (Part II)
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part I
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part II
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part III
  • Seven Wonders of The Millennium
  • Seven Wonders of The Millennium (Part II)
  • Shameful Saga of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation
  • Significant Sets of Twos in the Bible
  • Six Million Reasons … To Trust the Bible
  • Soon Comes the Antichrist … Straight From the Abyss (Part I)
  • Soon Comes the Antichrist … Straight From the Abyss (Part II)
  • Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part I)
  • Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)
  • Stand Still & Watch God Fight for Israel!
  • Stunning Catastrophes of the Tribulation / Their Timing & Purpose
  • Sudden Appearance of Antichrist … Why So Different?
  • Sukkot … The Forever Festival!
  • Superhuman Bodies for Believers / How & Why?
  • Tell a Big Lie Long Enough….
  • Terror, Terror, Terror (Part II)
  • Terror, Terror, Terror! (Part I)
  • The “Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews?
  • The Ark of the Covenant … Part I
  • The Ark of the Covenant … Part II
  • The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part I)
  • The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part II)
  • The Beast and His Name
  • The Birth of a Nation
  • The Child of Promise (Part I)
  • The Child of Promise (Part II)
  • The Cross and the Torn Curtain (Part I)
  • The Cross and the Torn Curtain (Part II)
  • The End of the Age … how close are we?
  • The False Prophet (Part I)
  • The False Prophet (Part II)
  • The Final Treaty of Rome … Part I
  • The Final Treaty of Rome … Part II
  • The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun!
  • The Heart & Soul of Israel
  • The Incomparable Power and Authority of Jesus Christ
  • The Jewish Dichotomy In & Outside Israel
  • The Legacy of Temple Mount
  • The Legendary Return of Nero
  • The Liberation of Jerusalem
  • The Magnificent Millennial Reign of Believers with Messiah
  • The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible (Part I)
  • The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible (Part II)
  • The Most Significant End-Times Sign Of All
  • The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque
  • The Number of the Beast
  • The Omega Generation
  • The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War
  • The Phenomenal Thousand Years/One Day Parallel
  • The Prince and the People That Destroyed the Jewish Temple / Who Were They?
  • The Prophetic Endgame of Gog/Magog
  • The Rapture / Before or After The Great Tribulation?
  • The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism
  • The Reign of Terror
  • The Remarkable Rebirth of a Nation
  • The Rest of the Story … Bibi’s Speech to the United Nations
  • The Right to Life?
  • The Russians Are Coming!
  • The Seal of Approval
  • The Second Exodus
  • The Seven Year Treaty
  • The Shout Heard Around the World
  • The Shroud of Turin … Real or Fake? / A Decisive Answer
  • The Shroud of Turin … Real or Fake? / A Decisive Answer (Part II)
  • The Terrible Trio of Gog and Magog
  • The Three Greatest Trials of All Time
  • The Tremendous Transfiguration of Believers!
  • The Two Witnesses (Part I)
  • The Two Witnesses (Part II)
  • The Two Witnesses (Part III)
  • The Vatican and Islam … A Perfect Match for Antichrist
  • The Virgin Birth of Messiah … How and Why?
  • The Whole Truth
  • The Woman and the Beast
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part II)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part III)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part IV)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part V)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part VI)
  • The Wonder Of It All … Birth of the Child!
  • The World Wants a Messiah … But It Needs (The) Messiah
  • There’s No Place Like Homs
  • There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!
  • Three … A Divine Number of God!
  • Times of & Fullness of the Gentiles … What Do They Mean?
  • To Be or Not To Be … in Heaven?
  • To Be Or Not To Be … In Heaven? (A Revisit)
  • Trump, Cyrus, and the Jewish Temple
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part I … Turmoil)
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part II … Tragedy)
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part III … Terror)
  • Two-State Solution & The Seven-Year Treaty … Impossible?
  • Two Thirds of the Jews Killed … Past or Future?
  • U.S. President Agrees with God … Jerusalem Is Israel’s Capital!
  • Under the Radar
  • UNESCO / “Theatre of the Absurd” Against Israel
  • United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334)
  • Value of Prophecy
  • West Bank or Judea/Samaria? What’s In A Name?
  • What Is A Saint?
  • What Is Done To Israel Will Be Done In Return / The Iran Nuclear Deal
  • What Is Done to Israel Will Be Done in Return / Dangers of a Divided Jerusalem
  • What is Palestine & Who Is A Palestinian?
  • What is the Rapture?
  • What Is The Unpardonable Sin?
  • When the Rapture?
  • Where is Messiah … Is He Already Here?
  • Where Is The Temple? Part I
  • Where Is The Temple? Part II
  • Where is the Temple? Part III
  • Who is Messiah?
  • Who Is the Antichrist & How Will He Appear (Part I)
  • Who Is The Antichrist & How Will He Appear? (Part II)
  • Who the Rapture?
  • Whom Do You Most Want To See In Heaven?
  • Why the Rapture?
  • Why the Rapture? (A Revisit)
  • Why The World Idolizes Antichrist & How It Reacts To The Tribulation
  • Wiles of the Woman
  • Will All Children Be Taken in The Rapture?
  • Will Believers Go Through the Great Tribulation? (Part I)
  • Will Believers Go Through The Great Tribulation? (Part II)
  • Will There Still Be Unbelievers Throughout Eternity?
  • Yom Kippur / With Or Without Atonement?
  • Zechariah’s Dramatic Description of Antichrist’s Fatal Wounds

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