Last Friday, the 22nd of September 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, announced that a possible peace treaty between Israel and Saudi Arabia was not far from completion. We will look at the prophecies of Ezekiel which mention Saudi Arabia as part of a coalition with Israel in the Endtime battles in the Middle East. The present political alignments between USA, Israel, with Saudi Arabia, against the alignment of the nations of Russia, Turkey, and Iran, seem to be found in scripture. We could soon be on the way to the signing of the Holy Covenant and the beginning of the last seven year period that ultimately leads to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel’s invasion of Israel from the north.
In Ezekiel we find a very interesting prophecy about the invasion of Israel from the north in the last days. Let us read from Ezekiel 38.
“And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:”[Ezekiel 38:1-3]
Some Bible scholars believe this prophecy is talking about the invasion of Israel by the “king of the north” in the last days. Some designate Russia as the possible home of Gog, Magog, Messhech and Tubal. Others suggest Turkey , Iraq, or Iran.
“And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.”[Ezekiel 38:4-7]
“After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.”[Ezekiel 38:8]
It is only since 1948 that Israel has been a country once again after nearly 1,878 years since the time of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D. Today’s Israel has been gathered out of many nations as the Jewish people have returned from the countries where they had been dispersed for nearly 2,000 years. The country laid waste in the hands of the Bedouin Arabs, but since the Jews have returned the desert has blossomed like the rose [Isaiah 35:1] and Israel exports fruit all over world,[Isaiah 27:6] just like the prophecies of Isaiah predicted. Some believe it’s all a fulfilment of those prophecies.
In Ezekiel we see the northern confederacy of nations are coming against a restored Israel, dwelling safely. Is Israel safe today? Not absolutely safe, but safer than she has been in many years, especially if the peace agreement with the Saudis is finalized. Israel has dominated the Palestinians and their friends. Defeated Lebanon and Egypt and Syria in war. America defeated Iraq and Libya, some believe, at the behest of their Israeli friend. Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt and Jordan. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia see Iran as a threat to Middle East stability, and therefore have a good working relationship and soon a peace agreement. Syria’s recent war has left it devastated and no threat to Israel. So I would be so bold to say that Israel is dwelling safer today than she has been in the last 70 years.
The Antichrist, the King of the North, will come against Israel, the King of the South.
“Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God ; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.”[Ezekiel 38:9-12]
“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”[Ezekiel 38:13]
Who are Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish?
Sheba and Dedan are considered by Bible scholars to be the country of Saudi Arabia, which just happens to be a strong ally of America and Israel at this moment in time and will soon finalize a peace agreement with Israel. The Saudis and some of their neighbouring kingdoms are Sunni Muslims, while Iran, which is not an Arab country, is a Shi’ite Muslim nation. Iran is allied with Russia and Turkey, while Saudi Arabia is allied with America and Israel. Egypt, also, has a peace agreement with Israel and receives massive financial aid from the USA. There is a division among the Sunni and the Shi’ite Muslims and especially between Iran and Saudi Arabia for the title of the most dominant Muslim nation. Russia has been backing the Syrian Shi’ite nation in the recent conflict in the Middle East. In the prophecy we see Saudi Arabia and its allies questioning "Gog's" or Russia’s intentions in the Middle East. Russia also has built a naval base in Syria just north of Israel.
Concerning the “merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof,” there has been much debate about exactly who they represent. Some say Tarshish was Spain and therefore since the Spanish Empire reached to the Americas, the USA could be included in her “young lions.” Others push Tarshish up to England as tin was known to come from Tarshish and England was rich in tin. The British Empire reached even further than the Spanish Empire including North America, and Australia which would be considered England’s “young lions.” In either case, we can include America as part of the “young lions” which ally with Israel. Since England and America are greater friends of present day Israel than Spain, I am inclined to give the “merchants of Tarshish” to the British rather than the Spanish. The British proved far greater merchants than the Spanish and extended their empire around the world. Back to the prophecy of Ezekiel.
Why will God let the invasion of Israel take place?
“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwells safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?”[Ezekiel 38:14-17]
It is at this point in time that Israel will be judged for her sins in sight of all the nations of the world. The Antichrist, who is the beast, is also the king of the north, and shall come against Israel to judge her and her allies for their sins against God and man. All the world will know that Israel deserves it for the way they have treated the Palestinian people in captivity and for many other crimes perpetrated through their intelligence organization the Mossad which is the Israeli CIA.
Are there any other prophecies that confirm the conclusions we are making?
The prophet Jeremiah also spoke concerning the days of Israel’s judgment.
“For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”[Jeremiah 30:3-7 KJV]
Jeremiah is predicting the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and Israel after its destruction. Often Scripture has intermediate fulfilment and then final fulfilment of prophecy. We have seen this with Antiochus Epiphanes and Titus in their placing the abomination of desolation in the Temple. Here we see it again. As Jeremiah’s prophecy could be considered fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem by both Nebuchadnezzar and Titus. However, many Bible scholar’s predict a third destruction and consider that final destruction: “Jacob’s trouble.” At the end of the chapter we read,
“Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.”[Jeremiah 30:23-24 KJV]
Here we see God is going to judge the wicked in the latter days. He is going to judge Israel and ultimately judge the world, and judge the Antichrist who Apostle Paul called "the wicked one." In Zechariah we also have seen the same scenario. God judging both Israel and the world. Let’s get back to Ezekiel 38 where we see the same picture.
Ezekiel’s Prophecy Continues
“And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”[Ezekiel 38:18-23 KJV]
Where else do we see hailstones, fire, and brimstone in the Bible?
Let us note here the term “great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” Do we see these terms used elsewhere in the Scriptures? In the book of Revelation we do. The first angel of sounded the first trumpet of tribulation and we see hail and fire mixed together.
“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”[Revelation 8:7 KJV ]
The next place in the book of Revelation where we see “fire and brimstone” is close to the end of the tribulation trumpets. There are seven tribulation trumpets. The seventh is the “last trump” which Apostle Paul said would be when Jesus returns and the rapture takes place. Let’s read from Paul’s writings.
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” [1 Corinthians 15:51-52 KJV]
Obviously, Apostle Paul is talking about the rapture or resurrection of the saints at the last day when Christ returns for His church. We see Paul designates it as the “last trump.” Apostle John reveals in Revelation that there are seven trumpets of tribulation.
Of course, I have called them the trumpets of tribulation because each trumpet pronounces a terrible plague upon the earth, although not as terrible as the “vials of wrath” which will be poured out later. The trumpets bring usually a one-third destruction: a one-third destruction of the trees, one-third destruction of the creatures that live in the sea, one-third destruction of the ships that sail the seas, a one-third destruction of nature’s light source, and a one-third destruction of mankind.
Let’s look at the sixth trump, the one before the “last trump,” and see what kind of destruction it foretells.
“One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.”[Revelation 9:12-18 KJV]
So here we see once again the “fire and brimstone” helping to bring about the death of a third of mankind with some two hundred million men going to war.
At this point in Revelation the seventh angel begins to sound and John is not permitted to share with us what the seven thunders uttered. But he does say the following: “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”[Revelation 10:7 KJV ]
What is the Mystery of God that Apostle John was not allowed to share?
Is Apostle John talking about the same mystery Apostle Paul noted in his letter to the Corinthians, the mystery of the rapture at the “last trump”? In Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians we read:
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”[1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 KJV ]
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”[Matthew 24:29-31 KJV]
Sounds like a lot of noise with all those trumpets blaring.
If God is righteous, He has to judge the wicked.
God is going to judge Israel and her allies for their sins and he will use Antichrist to do it. Just as he used Nebuchadnezzar to judge Israel in 538 B.C. and just as he used Antiochus Epiphanes in 175–164 B.C. and the Roman leader Titus in 70 A.D., so will he use Antichrist to judge the nation of Israel, the Christian Church, the western nations in the not too distant future. But it doesn’t stop there. God only let’s one evil destroy and punish another evil for a time, then in His righteousness, He must intervene and stop the evil Antichrist, and save those who call upon Him and who believe His name. That’s where the rapture takes place at the end of the tribulation trumpets which were being poured on the wicked during the 3 and 1/2 year Great Tribulation period. After the rapture of the saints comes the 75 days of the vials of wrath of God which are poured out upon the unbelieving world and the followers of the Antichrist. Then Jesus returns at the Battle of Armageddon to defeat the devil possessed Antichrist and bring in the 1,000 year Millennium period. Satan is throne into the lake of fire for that period [Revelation 20:1-3] and those who lived through that terrible period will get another chance to come to faith and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.[Daniel 12:12]
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