When is Christ returning?

The question, WHEN is Christ returning, has mostly to do with the answer to another question, namely, WHY is Christ returning?  As the above image suggests, Christ is returning to earth largely for the purpose to judge and to punish the world.  Bible prophecy has more to say about the soon-coming judgment of the world than about any other subject.  That great wealth of prophetic knowledge is sufficient, for truly interested students of Scripture, in order for them to know very precisely the time of Christ's return.  Those who deny the truth of that statement betray their own lack of understanding the Biblical revelation.

rabbits

Rabbit trails are everywhere, each leading to a promised Wonderland, somewhere, sometime.  Rabbit trails are easy to identify by certain tell-tale signs along the way -- that is, if you know what to look for.  Unhappily, many don't know how to discern the evidence.

mark of the beast -- not even close

A revolution is occurring -- behind the scenes.  But it has nothing to do with crypto; or, CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency); or, the WEF (World Economic Forum); or, with UN-Agenda 2030;  or, with the emergence of a New World Order; or, the supposed collapse of Iran, or China, or the USA.

Rather, a revolution is occurring...in the realm of Bible prophecy studies.  And when it may please the Lord to make known to the Church those things he has been revealing in secret, well, everything will change.

I will only say, for now, that whatsoever plans world leaders are feverishly working to bring to pass -- related to their efforts to re-structure the world according to their dystopian Vision; those plans and efforts, very soon, are going to fail.  Catastrophically.

Crypto is not the mark of the beast.

Although, those who will remain on earth, after the soon-coming Rapture of the Church, may then desperately wish that the "mark of the beast" were something so comparatively harmless as crypto.

Men -- even men at the very pinnacle of world power -- are not the ones to fear.

Jesus told us whom we should fear:

"And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him."  Luke 12:4-5

Prophecy long-ago sealed up, is now being opened to those who love the truth.  Because, the time is at hand.  And God is going to fulfill all His Word.

Stay tuned -- to the Voice of the Lord.  And, as always, judge all things by His Word.

 

the Bible is not a fairy tale

 

"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.  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed."    Revelation 8:7-8

trial by fire

 

"O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness."  Joel 1:19-20

expectation -- and faith

 

It happens that someone very close to me actually claims to live by the idea expressed in the above image. And I get it; where it involves dealings with human beings, that is.  People inevitably disappoint their own selves; how much more do they tend to disappoint others.  But in this post I want to look at "expectation" in a different context, namely: the relationship of expectation to faith.

In His Word God said that "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6).  Those are some very serious words from the Lord Himself: "...impossible to please Him."  Why is it impossible to please God?  "Without faith" -- it is impossible.  So, what is faith?

That same chapter in Hebrews begins with these words: "[F]aith is the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things not [yet] seen" (v. 1).  In other words, faith is always looking forward with expectation to receive something that has not yet manifested.  So that in the absence of real expectation, there is no real faith.

A lot of church-going folk talk a lot about faith.  Why is it, then, that there are so very few manifestations of miracle-working power in the churches and amongst professing Christians, generally?  Where is that flow of divine healing, deliverance and salvation that is so abundantly reported in the Bible, as having been the common experience of early Christians?  It certainly is not the case with the contemporary Church, as it was in the early Church.  I reckon that is why the churches have all but ceased to teach and preach about divine healing and deliverance from demonic power.  Where there is no real faith there is no real expectation; and, where there is no expectation (of God answering prayer): then, to teach and preach about God ACTUALLY answering prayer would only serve to shine a light upon their own unbelief.  And that would be embarrassing to those who profess to believe in God -- when, in fact, they do not.

Thus what passes for teaching on the subject of "faith", in today's churches, is in reality nothing more than giving intellectual assent to historical facts.  Reciting the so-called Westminster Confession (a creedal confession), for example, is substituted for genuine, Biblical "faith".  When in fact that devil himself could just as willingly and just as truly recite such a creedal confession -- without himself possessing anything whatsoever like Biblical faith.  Believing, for instance, that a man named Jesus once lived and was crucified on a cross -- is no more faith than believing that a man named Julius Caesar once lived and was murdered by one Brutus.  

The faith taught in the Bible -- that kind of faith without which it is impossible to please God -- looks unto God with expectancy! of answered prayer.  Real faith expects to receive from God an actual manifestation of some certain thing desired ("hoped for", as the Scripture says).

Why is it impossible to please God, without faith?  Because, where there is not faith, there is instead unbelief.  And unbelief is to make God a liar.

Is there anything I am currently, actively expecting to receive from the Lord?  If not, then, how am I making any room in my life for God?  How dare I suppose that God is the center and foundation of my being -- notwithstanding I have no genuine expectation of His help and intervention?

God forbid that I should be so deceived.

Mr. Doug

I am heartbroken.  I hardly knew "Mr. Doug"; but I loved him.  Though I didn't realize how much I loved him, until I heard that he was in the hospital, on a ventilator, unresponsive.  I poured my heart out to God for him.  But it was then too late for me to tell Doug how much he meant to me.  I am so angry at myself, for not having done more to reach out to him when I had the chance.  Memories of him driving his truck by my house and honking his horn at me . . . do not comfort me.  The few times I was with him I -- looking back -- I feel I was not as bold and earnest as I should have been to try to lead him to Christ.  How can I forgive myself . . . when I can never make that right with Doug, or with God -- or with myself?  My only comfort, my only hope, is that in the few days that Doug lingered, God, who is so merciful, somehow came to Doug and gave him another opportunity to receive Jesus.

I suppose Doug never knew I loved him, or that he holds a special place in my heart.  The thought of that torments me.  But it torments me even more not knowing whether Doug is with the Lord, in peace.

How is it that someone like Doug can so deeply touch another's heart (like mine), though I barely knew him?  A far better question, I'm sure, is: How is it that I am still, evidently, so blind to the greatness of God's love; and, to the urgency of man's eternal need; and, how profoundly our souls are bound up together with others in this life?

I want Doug back.  I want to tell him I love him as a real friend. I want to tell him all about Jesus, and about the life that Christ wants so much to give him.  But if I were a real friend, I would not have failed to tell him all those things -- when I had the opportunity.

A year or so ago, I lost another dear friend very unexpectedly.  I did a few repair jobs for Peter, at his Chinese restaurant.  Other than that we never spent much time together.  But I loved Peter and his young family.  Every time I was with him I tried to turn our conversation to Christ.  Peter would smile and simply reply that he was Buddhist.  Peter died instantly in a horrible car wreck.  I grieved many days for him.  I promised myself that I would never let another soul that came into my life slip through my hands.

Now, Doug is gone.  It's unbearable for me to try to look back, in my mind, to contemplate Doug's life, his hurts, his loneliness, his hopes . . . his future....

I wonder if what I'm feeling now, may be just a little taste of how God felt when he looked down upon all of us and saw the suffering and hopelessness of our lost condition?  Not willing that any of us should perish.  Not willing, for his own love's sake, to lose any of us to eternal separation from himself.  But I dare not begin to compare my love, nor my heartache, to His.

I feel wounded -- with such a wound that seems likely will leave a scar upon my soul.  But my heartache is not the wound.  Doug's being taken from me as he was, is the wound.  And, not knowing....

Dear God, O, please, forgive me.

In a certain place, Jesus said: "Of all that the Father hath given me, I have lost none -- except the son of perdition...."

I can't go back.  I would if I could.  I can't even look back; it's too painful.  May God have mercy on me and help me never, never, to fail Him again.

running with horses

 

The prophet Jeremiah poured out his complaint to the LORD, in a lament about how it appears that wicked men continue to prosper notwithstanding their wickedness.  Jeremiah prayed thus: "Lord..., let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?... How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein?..." (Jeremiah 12:1-4)

God's answer to Jeremiah may seem strange: "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace...they have wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"  (Jeremiah 12:5)

the four horsemen of the Apocalypse

 

The expression "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", is a fairly well known phrase in popular culture; although, as time goes on, fewer and fewer people know what that phrase means.  I suppose there is still a sense in the minds of most, however, that the meaning of that phrase portends gloom and doom.

It is almost universally taught by contemporary Bible prophecy teachers, that the so-called Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (which represent the first four of the "seven seals" judgments in Revelation chapter six,) do not appear until very early in the Tribulation - AFTER the Rapture of the Church.

But it just ain't so. 

the Day of the Lord

 

It is first of all necessary to learn what the Bible has to say about that brief period of time known in Scripture as "the day of the Lord"; then, to be able to discern when it is (relative to other epochs described in the Bible,) that the day of the Lord shall appear: in order, finally, to be able to rightly understand the eternal consequences to this present generation, concerning our response to our present opportunity of receiving God's Salvation.  Or in other words, we must rightly understand the real nature of what the Bible calls, the day of the Lord, in order to correctly answer the all-important question, namely: Is there coming a great soul-saving Revival during the Tribulation -- as so many so-called teachers of Bible prophecy are saying that shall be the case?

I will tell you in one emphatic word the answer to that question is, NO!

the Cosmic Sign ~ part 1

 

     "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."  (Revelation 6:12-14)

     In my book, The Seven Seals in Prophecy and in History, I went to great lengths to prove from Scripture that the Rapture shall happen in connection with the opening of the Sixth Seal.  A number of other, cosmic events - above described - shall also occur at that same time.  In my book, moreover, I referred to those cosmic events, collectively, as "the Cosmic Sign".  I published that book about seven years ago.  Ever since then I have searched to understand the true meaning of those cosmic events.  On the face of it, the text seems to suggest that those events should be taken literally and not figuratively.

the absolute importance of the Word in this hour

 

The following essay was contributed by a guest Author, someone very dear to my heart.  I have published it unedited._________________________________________________________

Those of you reading this blog most likely are very aware of the lateness of the hour and the times in which we live.  2 Timothy 3:1 states: This know also, that in the last days, perilous times shall come.  Merriam-Webster describes perilous as dangerous, hazardous, precarious, risky means bringing or involving the chance of loss or injury.  Dangerous applies to something that may cause harm or loss unless dealt with carefully.  Now imagine you have been told to defuse a bomb.  Would you dare attempt defusing a bomb without instruction on how to navigate such a task?  Probably NOT.  So why do we think we can navigate these perilous times without instruction?

breaking through

 

The above image shows a jet aircraft at the moment it breaks through something called the 'sound barrier'.  The curious-looking cloud enveloping the plane is a phenomenon created by the effects of a sound-pressure wave in the atmosphere.  Such a pressure wave is created by the mass of a plane as it moves through the atmosphere at speeds approaching, and then exceeding, the speed at which sound travels in air.  When such a pressure wave builds up, it creates a very substantial 'barrier' to an aircraft's forward momentum.  Only those airplanes that are built to withstand against such forces, and which have sufficient power, are thus capable to force their way through the sound barrier and continue to accelerate at even greater speed.  When a plane breaks through the sound barrier, the sound-pressure wave collapses; whereupon, the energy released produces a terrific 'sonic boom'.

Nuremberg Trials ~ and Covid19

 

Following the end of World War II, a number of Nazi military leaders were tried for having committed war crimes.  Those now famous trials came to known as the Nuremberg Trials.  The information that came to light during those trials revealed many horrors involving medical experiments the Nazis conducted on thousands of helpless souls held in German prison camps ~ obviously, against the will of those prisoners.  The revelations that emerged from the Nuremberg trials moved the international community to create a body of Law whereby was (and still is) outlawed, globally ~ not the practice of experimental Medicine per se; but, explicitly, the coercive practice of experimental Medicine is outlawed.  That body of Law ~ which is still in effect ~ came to be known as the Nuremberg Code.  Importantly, the Nuremberg Code states that human beings cannot be forced against their will to be subjects of medical experiments.  The now universally recognized standard of care referred to as "informed consent" was first developed, and codified as Law, in the Nuremberg Code.

In the United States, all medicines ~ including vaccines ~ are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Rarely ~ and only when the FDA may decide that some or another experimental substance might be useful in the context of a national emergency (such as a pandemic), the FDA may approve the use of such experimental substance/s, under the umbrella of what is called, Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).  Any substance ~ i.e., any drug or vaccine ~ that is deployed with EUA approval is BY DEFINITION an "experimental" substance.  Every substance that is presently being used as a "vaccine", in the (supposed) ongoing pandemic, is being dispensed under the FDA's EUA rules.

In other words, every Covid-related vaccine that is now being deployed ~ in view of actual law is "experimental".  Furthermore, according to international Law, no one can be forced against his or her will to participate in any kind of "experimental" medical program.  "Experimental" substances cannot lawfully be forced upon any person without his or her own "informed consent".

I want to thank Dr. Vernon Coleman, M.D. ~ one of Europe's most well known physicians; whose recent video (HERE) gave me enough of the right information such that enabled me to undertake my own careful research on this subject.  (NOTE: The original video is on the site, BRANDNEWTUBE.COM ~ which requires that you must have an account to view.  The link I provided is freely accessible; though it begins with a brief amount of unrelated material.  Watch patiently ~ all the way to the end.)

What is coming ~ and when?

 

Think, if you will, about how much, and how rapidly, the world has changed over the course of the past forty years or so.  Thousands of years ago the Bible foretold that in the end of this present Age knowledge would be phenomenally increased.  But merely forty years or so ago - in the days before there were personal computers and cell phones and robots - who then living would have thought they would themselves live to see so many breathtaking, world-changing advances in science and technologies such as we have in fact seen during the past few decades?  And I'm not even referring to the creation of cell phones and robots.  But there exist ~ right now, today! ~ technologies that . . . well, I'll come to that shortly.

suicide

Suicide is the supreme act of selfishness and unbelief.  It is the deadly fruit of self-obsession and self-pity.  No one comes to commit suicide hastily.  The will to live is very strong; God made it so.  The light of life in the soul is not easily extinguished.  No one should feel sorry for those who choose to end their own life by suicide.  Suicide is murder in the first degree.

God and man

Christianity is not a creed.  It is not a set of rituals or rules to be observed.  It is not an organization or group that one may join.  At its core Christianity is the divine self-revelation of God the Creator of all things ~ including mankind; and, of the Creator's design and purpose with respect to man whom God created.  It is then a matter for each and every person to choose whether or not to believe and embrace those truths such as God has revealed.  Christianity is thus the path (note, I did not say "a" path) whereby individuals may come to know and be reconciled with the God that created them.  That "path", moreover, is not merely the acquisition of a body of knowledge about God ~ as many wrongly suppose it is.  No, but the path whereby man may be reconciled to his Creator is, in fact, the knowledge of God Himself.

Now, more than ever before in our own lifetimes, we desperately need to restore true Christianity ~ in our own lives as well then as in the lives of those around us.  For, true Christianity is the very heart and soul not only of human life but also of human civilization.  How can that be done?  How can Christianity be 'restored' so as to be rightly understood ~ in order that it may then be experienced?  Answer: The revelation of God must be . . . well, revealed and, so, restored.  That is to say, the truths ~ the actual truths of Christianity, which have long been concealed, must be taught again.  Those truths have been concealed by the very ones whose job it was (many have mistakenly supposed) to teach those divine truths.  But they, false teachers, have been blind leaders of the blind.

But not to rant.  Rather, I want to teach something that is absolutely fundamental to genuine Christianity, as I have been alluding to that.  It has to do with the most basic realities pertaining to the nature of man; as follows.

Man is a house
What on earth can that mean?  It means exactly what it says.  (Though I should say that one's body is actually the "house".)  God created man to be a special kind of house wherein God can dwell.  The Bible refers to man as the "temple" of God.  The word temple means the 'place' where the Deity lives and is worshiped.  That unspeakably great idea..., that eminently important idea, must be understood ~ if one hopes to live.

Though every human person was made by God to be His dwelling place; yet, God does not indwell every person.  But each one must choose whether he or she is willing to become, and forever to remain, a house of God.  Of course, there are conditions attaching to that decision.  Which is exactly why it is that most refuse to give themselves ~ body and soul ~ to God.  Those "conditions" just alluded to have everything to do with the question: Will I rule over my own life? or will I submit to God to rule over me?

God is holy.  He will not indwell an unclean temple.  Right there is the crux of the problem with contemporary Christianity so-called.  To illustrate my point: Just this morning I read that a recent poll (undertaken by a reputable agency) indicates that more than half of all professing "Christians" believe that casual sex between consenting adults is approved by God.  How can such persons know anything at all about what God approves?  Their own beliefs betray the fact that they are not merely ignorant of God's nature and will but, furthermore, they themselves are enemies of God.  So says the Bible.

Man cannot live without God.  God never made man to be capable to live apart from God.  Man was not made for his own sake; but man was made for God.  You were made for God.  But if you will know God and be reconciled to His will, you must be willing to become God's dwelling place, God's house.  And to that end, you must know and understand that God is holy.  Therefore, you must be holy if you will be the temple of the true and living God.  And be His temple you must ~ if you desire to live.  For, only those whom God indwells shall live.  For ever.  That has been God's plan from the beginning.

The above image suggests the notion that man, in the fundamental constitution of his being, was made to be a house of God.  Consider, if you will, the marvelous revelation of Scripture, concerning the creation of man:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became . . ." (Genesis 2:7).

What did man become?  He became "a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

Look at the picture, above.  Man was nothing more than a lifeless clay sculpture.  But then something came out from God and went into that clay figure.  The Hebrew word for "breath", in Scripture, is the same word which elsewhere in the Bible is translated as "spirit".  In other words, when God's Spirit entered, man then ~ and not until then ~ came alive!  It is still that way, today.

We have a 'natural' life that we inherited as descendants of the first man (and woman) whom God created and invested them with powers of procreation.  But so long as one remains alienated from the life of God, such individual is radically incomplete: he or she is missing the most vital element that is indispensable to his or her life; which, that vital element, is the Spirit of God.  Without God, one merely exists; but he does not live.  There is a vast difference ~ as the difference between light and darkness; between heaven and hell.

Those who would live must be willing to be God's house.  Which means they must then be willing to be (made) holy.  Yes, holy.  Not only is it possible to be holy in this present life, in this present world; it is moreover required of all that we must be holy unto the Lord.  For, we were made by the Lord and for the Lord; we were not made for our own pleasure, but for God's.  To be sure, God made us such that our greatest pleasure is to be found in union with God.  True happiness can only be had when one is in right relationship with God.  In order to be God's house and, so, to live and walk with God, one must be holy.  Unhappily, that truth has been consciously and utterly rejected by the modern Church; to their own everlasting damnation.  They have chosen instead to believe that one can continue to sin ~ and yet be acceptable and well pleasing to God.  Because.

Because . . . why?  Because that's the way they want it to be.

COVID witch hunt

 

Watch this video (click HERE).  It is 30 seconds long.  It is very relevant to what I want to say in this essay.

Unto this day, the city of Salem, Massachusetts is most noted for the stigma of once having been given over to wholesale torture of innocent citizens, due to widespread fear of witch-infestation.  Somehow, a rumor spread throughout the community that witches were in their midst; though no one could be certain of who those witches were.  So, community leaders devised a means whereby to "test" suspected persons, to determine whether they were witches.

when is Ezekiel's War? part 2

In my earlier article dealing with the question, "When is Ezekiel's War?", I alluded to ~ but did not then elucidate ~ certain, "other reasons" why I believe Ezekiel's War MUST occur very nearly the same time as the Rapture of the Church.  In this present essay I want to go ahead and explain what are some of those "other reasons", as follows.

The question regarding the time of Ezekiel's War is a most important one.  Jesus commanded his followers to diligently watch for the signs of his return.  Both the Old and New Testaments have a great deal to say about the time, as well as the signs, of the consummation of this present (Church) Age.  Events related to Ezekiel's War are among some of the more notable of those signs related to the coming of the Lord.

One question that causes many would-be students and/or teachers of Bible prophecy to misinterpret the Scriptures, has to do with whether the text of some or another book of the Bible presents its subject matter in chronological order.  The events described in Ezekiel are clearly presented in chronological order.  Chapters 36 thru 39, inclusive, extensively describe God's dealings with the Jewish People in the closing years of this present Dispensation: from the Jews' re-gathering to inhabit the land of Israel; to Israel's re-institution as a nation and the miraculous growth and prosperity of the same; where after, a number of Israel's enemies will conspire together and attempt by violence to plunder the wealth of the Jewish nation; at which time God will then intervene to protect and deliver Israel from those invaders; etc..  Ezekiel is chronologically ordered.

Let's take a look at the closing verses of chapter 39, as follows:

When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; THEN shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.  Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. 

God said that the Jewish People shall "know that I am the LORD their God" AFTER that God shall have intervened to protect and deliver them, in that great war just described in chapters 38-39 (Ezekiel's War).  If Ezekiel's War does not occur until the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age (as many suppose), that would mean that, as a nation, Israel would necessarily remain in a state of blindness and unbelief THROUGHOUT the 1,000 years of the Millennial Kingdom Age.  But Jesus Christ will personally, bodily, reign as Israel's king throughout the same time!  How could Israel not then "know that I am the LORD their God", whilst Christ himself is ruling in Israel?

I mentioned that the book of Ezekiel is chronological.  Ezekiel 39 ~ which concludes with Israel's deliverance in that great war, is promptly followed by chapter 40, which begins a very lengthy and detailed description of what is almost universally recognized as the Millennial Temple (which is altogether different from the so-called "Third Temple" that is soon going to be built in Jerusalem).

In the above-quoted passage, Ezekiel 39 concludes with these words: "...I have gathered [the Jews] unto their own land, and have left none of them any more [among the heathen].  Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD."   Some prophecy teachers have objected that Ezekiel's War cannot possibly occur anytime soon, because, it is as yet far from being the case that virtually all Jews are living in Israel; and, chapter 39 of Ezekiel states that every Jew in the world will be re-gathered to the land of Israel.  But such teachers fail to observe that that statement ("..and have left none of them any more there") occurs AFTER the victorious CONCLUSION of Ezekiel's War.

Israel's miraculous deliverance in Ezekiel's War; together with the great fear and anxiety that doubtless will impact the whole world, in consequence of the catastrophic destruction associated with that war: will almost certainly instill an irresistible urge in Jews worldwide to return to what then will be perceived as the only sure place of refuge for Jews, that is, Israel.  Such extraordinary events will no doubt be interpreted by Jews throughout the world as the arrival of the Messianic Age.  (Though, tragically, most of them will then embrace a false messiah.)

I want to address one more factor which proves that Ezekiel's War does not occur at any time during the Millennial Kingdom Age.  Consider if you will, the implications of the following passage from Ezekiel 38, which describes (certain of) the MEANS whereby God will intervene to deliver Israel, in the context of Ezekiel's War:

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. 

God is going to use a host of different means whereby to deliver Israel in that war.  Some of which, evidently, will be supernatural.  Importantly, God is going to use the armies of other nations to wage war against Israel's invaders.  If Ezekiel's War occurs BEFORE Christ's Second Coming, then it makes sense that God will use the armies of some heathen nations to fight to defend Israel.  But if, as some mistakenly suppose, Ezekiel's War does not occur until the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age, then it makes no sense at all that the then reigning King of Israel ~ Jesus Christ ~ would call for (much less would he need) any heathen nations to send their armies to defend Israel!

The Bible very clearly reveals that God will simply send fire out of heaven to destroy the hordes of "Gog and Magog", which shall dare to rise up against Christ and the "camp of the saints" at the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age (Revelation 20:7-9).  The occurrence of the terms "Gog and Magog" in two verses in Revelation 20, does not at all justify the conflation of events described in those two verses with the very different events described in two chapters (38-39) of Ezekiel.

I suppose I have given sufficient reasons and explanations to prove that the war described in Ezekiel 38-39 cannot be the same as the events very briefly mentioned in Revelation 20:7-9; moreover, that the war described in Ezekiel 38-39 shall NOT occur at any time during the Millennial Kingdom Age.  Therefore, Ezekiel's War can only occur during these closing days of the Church Age, or during the Tribulation as such.  Though I am convinced that Ezekiel's War is an eminent and necessary precursor to the events of the Tribulation (for many reasons, some of which I have related in these two essays).

when is Ezekiel's War?





I want to briefly explain why it is that I believe Ezekiel's War (described in Ezekiel chapters 38-39) MUST occur very near unto the time of the Rapture of the Church.

It is of foremost importance to understand that, for some as yet mysterious reason(s), the natural descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (aka the Jewish People) appear in Scripture to have a unique role in the purposes of God.  I believe it is impossible to rightly interpret much of the Bible, without understanding that God has special dealings with the Jews as such.  While it is true that God is not a "respecter of persons"; God is not therefore constrained from acting according to His own will regarding His dealings with humanity in general or nations in particular.

One important aspect related to the foregoing has to do with the Biblical distinction between "Jew" and "Gentile".  Such distinction persists in Scripture not only in the Old Testament but as well throughout the New Testament.  Proofs of which, in Scripture, are so numerous and plain in their meaning as to make it unnecessary to mention them here.  Though it is necessary ~ for the purpose of my argument herein, to point out that that distinction, between Jew and Gentile, is especially relevant to the proper interpretation of Bible prophecy.  "In Christ", the Bible explicitly states, "there is neither Jew nor Greek" (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11) ~ whereat the term "Greek" stands for 'Gentile'.  There are not then "Jewish Christians" and "Gentile Christians"; but, there are only individuals who are in Christ Jesus ~ regardless of their earthly parentage.

Even so, it does appear that God's purposes, involving Jesus Christ and the Jewish People, are somehow unique with respect to the manner in which God both historically and prophetically deals with the Jews as Jews.  Why that is so, remains a deep mystery to me.  Nevertheless, I take that distinction as a Biblical truth.

The distinction between Jew and Gentile is so profound in its implications that it is difficult even to describe succinctly.  It must suffice me to say that, for His own reasons, God does not deal with the "Jews" and the "Gentiles" (all non-Jews), as Peoples, at the same time (I admit that is a very ambiguous statement).  Christ first came to the Jews; after which as a People they rejected him, the Gospel was then afterward opened unto the Gentiles: whilst the Jews, as a People, were then "blind[ed] in part..., until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25).

I am convinced the Bible teaches that the same thing is soon going to happen, again, albeit in somewhat of reverse order.  That is to say, that God shall once again open wide the doors of grace and mercy unto the Jews as a People ~ but not until the "fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25).  (Which is also to say, not until the majority of all other Gentiles have rejected Christ.)

All of the foregoing is central to my argument that Ezekiel's War MUST occur in very close proximity to the time of the Rapture.  For, the Rapture of the Church indicates, far more certainly than could anything else, that the "times of the Gentiles" shall indeed then have been "fulfilled".  And, recall, that "blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25).  Can it then be that Israel will remain partially blinded to the Person of Jesus Christ, until the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age?  Jesus himself will be bodily present and reign as Israel's King throughout that coming thousand-year period.  How could Israel remain in any measure blind to the Person of Christ during that millennium?  Or, should we suppose that "the fullness of the Gentiles" shall not "be come in" ~ until the Millennial Kingdom Age has run its course?  The answer to both of those questions is a resounding "No!".

The singular most important outcome of Ezekiel's War is explicitly stated by God Himself: where, upon Israel's miraculous deliverance and protection from that massively overwhelming force that shall have come to destroy them, God said: "So [by these means] the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward" (Ezekiel 39:22).  To my mind, that verse of Scripture marks more clearly than does any other passage of Scripture the spiritual turning point for the Jews as a People.  It is obvious that God's returning to deal with the Jews as a People has intimately coincided with these closing days of the Church Age.  It makes no sense whatsoever to suppose that Ezekiel 39:22 will not be fulfilled until the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age.

As I have elsewhere on this blog written, I believe the consummate reason for God pouring out judgments upon Israel during the coming Tribulation period, is because that the Jews will embrace the Antichrist ~ upon the very heels, as it were, of the great deliverance which God shall just have wrought for them in the context of Ezekiel's War.  The greatness of God's mercy and the awfulness of His wrath with be displayed together on the world stage ~ with Israel at the center of it all.

There are of course other reasons why I believe Ezekiel's War must occur at or near the time of the Rapture.  One of which has to do with the coming of Antichrist and the institution of his political empire.  Contrary to popular prophecy teaching and widespread belief, Antichrist is never going to rule the world.  The Bible clearly reveals there shall continue to exist a multiplicity of nations throughout the coming Tribulation and even throughout the Millennial Kingdom Age which follows.  During the Tribulation, the leading world powers shall strive one against another for global dominance.  In fact, I perceive that the seven or so years of the Tribulation shall essentially entail World War III.  The former two world wars respectively lasted for several years; thus shall it be the case in the coming world war.

Ezekiel's War is logically necessary ~ as well as it is consistent with sound Scriptural exegesis, as a precursor to Antichrist's coming to power.  The "ten kings" that shall comprise the initial form of Antichrist's dominion are expressly revealed in Scripture to be elements of the ancient Greco-Roman empire.  (The notion that the entire world shall be subdivided into ten regions which shall collectively be ruled by a single world government ~ though that may well be the desire of many elites, does not comport with Scripture.)  That empire encompassed what today is known as Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.  Moreover, those "ten kings" are represented by "ten toes", five on each of two feet: signifying, that the ancient Greco-Roman empire, as that shall be reconstituted during the Tribulation, shall be composed of five 'kings' from the Western division, and five, other 'kings' from the Eastern division, of that ancient empire.  The later Greco-Roman empire was divided East and West.  Today, the Western portion is European; whereas, the Eastern division consists as North Africa and the Middle East.  Significantly, the Western division today embodies secular Europe; whilst the Eastern division is almost entirely Islamic.  Scripture reveals that the "ten toes" would be of two very different substances which, though they will mingle themselves together, yet they shall not cleave to each other.

I don't want to lose sight of the point I want to make with all of that.  Which is that, in order for those "ten kings" ~ five from secular Europe, and five from Islamic North Africa and the Middle East ~ to bind themselves together in a NEW political alliance under Antichrist, there must first occur a dissolution of the existing political Order in those regions.  Ezekiel's War is going to create a huge power vacuum right in the heart of the ancient Greco-Roman empire.  Not insignificant to the reordering of that region, is the fact that the great bulk of the world's energy resources with its vast associated infrastructure, is located right where Ezekiel's War is soon to occur.

Ezekiel's War, together with the Rapture of the Church: those two great events are necessary to set the stage for Antichrist's coming to power ~ and for the initiation of World War III which shall quickly follow in the wake of those events.

Unhappily, some Bible students and prophecy teachers have been misled in their interpretation of the timing of Ezekiel's War, among other things by the Bible's description of Israel's security status just prior to the onset of Ezekiel's War.  Whereas many suppose that Israel is presently very far from enjoying a state of secure and peaceful existence such as is described in Ezekiel 38; yet, there are life-long residents and natural Jews who themselves have said that, today, they feel safer in Israel than anywhere else on earth.  Israelis take security seriously; they have been forced to.  Their repeated victories in war; together with their superior technological, military and economic prowess; as well as their vigilant posture with respect to safeguarding Israel's streets and homeland; I suppose, has served, over the course of successive generations, to instill in many if not most Israelis (according to their own words) a sense of comparative safety.  Compared, that is to say, to most other societies.

I believe that such expressions as, for examples, "unwalled villages", "dwelling at ease", etc., are used in Scripture to describe not so much the absolute, comprehensive security of Israel at the time of Ezekiel's War; but, rather, to characterize the prevailing attitude of most Israelis at that time ~ that is to say, an attitude of false security and peace . . . an attitude, if you will, of complacency.  In the light of which, that great invasion shall come upon them if not wholly unexpectedly, at least, they shall not ~ for whatever reasons ~ be adequately prepared.  Today, Israel is mired in the quagmire of political machinations between deeply hostile factions.  Israel's government is thus hamstrung at best, unable to function effectively.  Israelis doubtless have a sense of security ~ notwithstanding they are confronted by many threats.  They have been conditioned by the experiences of many generations to be survivors.  Today, the Jews are prospering wonderfully ~ in their own nation; with their own, powerful military, with an unbroken record of extraordinary military victories.  Recently, Israel has discovered, and is currently developing, some of the world's richest deposits of oil and natural gas.  Israel's relations with a number of her neighboring Islamic countries have lately been trending more and more toward a state of peaceful coexistence.  I say that the current state of Israeli society corresponds very meaningfully with the description of Israel as given in Ezekiel 38.

Once again, I find myself saying, "This subject could fill a book".  I will conclude for now with a few comments about "Gog".  Gog is definitely a personification.  The identity of that individual has perplexed many.  I believe Gog must be a demonic spirit, and not any human person.  Gog appears as an enemy of God and, particularly, of the Jewish People, both in connection with Ezekiel's War as well as in connection with the final uprising against Christ at the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age.  Which has (mis)led some to suppose that Ezekiel's War is identical with that final uprising at the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age.  But they are two different wars.  Among other proofs of which, is, the manner in which each of those two wars, respectively, is concluded.  Ezekiel's War ends by military conquest, followed by a massive cleanup operation.  Whereas, the final uprising at the end of the Millennium ends by fire from God out of heaven ~ and no cleanup operation is mentioned.  Still there are other proofs, which I forebear to elaborate upon....

The fact that "Gog" appears to lead both of those wars against God's People, is easily explained ~ if, as I believe it is the case, Gog is a demonic spirit.  We know from Scripture that EVERY demon spirit is going to be bound in the "bottomless pit" ~ from a time just prior to the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, until a time just prior to the end of that same Kingdom Age.  Those spirits shall be "loosed for a little season" at the end of the Kingdom Age.  Those facts perfectly fit with the idea that Gog could lead two different invasions separated in time by nearly a thousand years!  Whereas, the only possible way to make Gog to be a human being, were to surmise that Ezekiel's War is identical with the final uprising at the end of the Millennial Kingdom Age.  Only the identity of "Gog", together with the object of Gog's hatred, is the same in Ezekiel and in the Revelation; though all other factors related to the wars (plural) associated with Gog, in Ezekiel and Revelation, respectively, are significantly different.

Ezekiel's War is imminent.  That is very important to understand ~ because, as I have briefly explained, the occurrence of Ezekiel's War is intimately connected with the timing of the Rapture of the Church, as well as with Antichrist's coming to power.  If we cannot perceive those connections, it were then impossible to connect current geopolitical realities with Bible prophecy.  If Ezekiel's War shall not occur for yet another thousand-plus years: then, what is the meaning of all that is going on RIGHT NOW, with respect to Iran, Turkey, Russia, Libya ~ and several other nations that are aggressively conspiring to destroy Israel from being a nation?  And how shall a new political union comprised of ten European and North African/Middle Eastern nations arise ~ in the midst of the presently existing political institutions in those same areas . . . without and apart from the occurrence of Ezekiel's War?  Such a radically new political Order in Europe and the pan-Mediterranean region were not feasible in lieu of Ezekiel's War.

I could go on, but I won't.  God's war with Satan and his followers is both long-standing and long-ranging.  Earth and her inhabitants, though they are important actors in that still ongoing War, are not ultimately the only objects of God's purposes and work.  Gog is evidently a particularly hateful belligerent to God.  Ezekiel's War is but one, albeit a very important, battle in that War; a war that God shall finally conclude in eternal victory ~ though not for still another thousand years to come.....