The
scriptural text is powerful. It magnifies the Lord’s interaction with the
nations for prophecy students wise enough to be observant, while the last
of
the last days approach.
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the
LORD,
and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast
away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:
the
Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my
holy
hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art
my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee
the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them
in
pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be
instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with
trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is
kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust
in
him” (Psa. 2:1-12).
God’s
dealings with man-made government down through the eons of time is wrapped
within those Scriptures. However, these words point particularly to the
end
of days –the time just before Christ returns to put an end to humankind’s
self-destruction. Clearly, the nations of the world provide the most effective
profile
of these last days.
Nations
in prophecy can be expressly identified, and the rest are covered, as
demonstrated by the body of scriptural text above. The nations of earth versus
God, himself, is the most profound and pronounced
arena of prophecy that points to things to be fulfilled in the future. Today’s
news purveyors are literally
everywhere,
with sometimes dozens of news organizations covering any given unfolding of a
story. Daniel’s prophecy, in this sense, certainly applies to
the
news organizations of our day: ”But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal
the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge
shall be increased” (Dan. 12:4).
This
doesn’t always equate, of course, to saying truth will increase. World views
have become so skewed because of misinformation, and particularly because
of
ideological sleight-of-hand from the various points along the geopolitical
spectrum, that truth suffers horrifically. Truth can almost never be 100%
assured
in analyzing what has and has not happened in any given news story. Agendas and
flawed ideological perspectives make it more and more difficult
for us to get to what really happened.
Despite
this unfortunate skewing of the news on a daily, even an hourly, basis, it
cannot be denied that the world is shaping a certain way. And –if one
is
attuned, spiritually, to Bible prophecy, there can be no doubt that the nations
of Planet Earth are conforming precisely to the shape of things to come
–according
–I’m convinced—to the pre-tribulation rapture, pre-millennial view of the
return of Jesus Christ.
The
news organizations run to and fro, but their knowledge, while increasing in
looking at the swiftly developing geopolitical situations and events, is
sorely
lacking when it comes to having an accurate understanding of history.
Revisionists are running amok. This fact is most manifest when it comes to
their
understanding of history concerning the Middle East and the “Holy Land” and
Jerusalem in particular. The media conglomerate, as a whole, has an amazingly
shallow
understanding/view of facts about the “Palestinians' ” right to the land. And
this inadequacy highlights the chief reason that the region is the
prophetic
center, the nucleus of the problems involving the nations of the world and
their rebellion against God Almighty. This world view, completely
muddled
by Lucifarian spiritual brainwashing, is what will, ultimately, bring the
nations to the Valley of Jezreel for Armageddon.
World
diplomats and global media alike dismiss what the Bible has to say about
Israel’s right to a home in the region the world has come to call Palestine.
There
never was such a land so named in God’s Word. This fact, of course, is of no
consequence to the international community, as indicated in Psalms 2:1-12
given
above. No other people, as a race, have been in the Middle East region now
called Palestine longer than the Jews. At times, they have been there
in
large numbers. Sometimes they have been there in very small numbers. But,
despite the fact that the race has been scattered into all the world several
times,
there have been at least a few Jews living in the area for more than 3,000
years.
People
who have been around a long time usually have made many friends. But they have
also met some unfriendly folks along the way. Quite possibly, they’ve
made
an enemy or two as well. The Jewish nation Israel has very few friends today.
Israel has, it seems, more than its share of unfriendly neighbors and
violent
enemies. That fact is reflected in news reports on the ongoing Israeli-Arab
troubles that dominate international headlines. Many accounts point
to
the hatred at the center of the matter of Mid-East rumblings of war.
None
of the current hatreds raging against His chosen people have taken God by
surprise. The psalmist looked millennia ago down through the corridors of
time
at the tiny nation and its
enemies–whose god is Allah. The prophecy anticipated the diverse Islamic
peoples who now occupy the territory promised
Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
“Keep
not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo,
thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up
the
head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against
thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from
being
a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have
consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against
thee:
The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Assur
also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah” (Psa.
83:1-8).
Current
issues and events that look to be harbingers of the biblically prophesied
apocalypse bombard this generation of earth’s inhabitants. Jesus’ Olivet
Discourse
prophecies, foretelling things to come in the time of “great tribulation,” seem
to leap from news reports that are becoming so routine that they
no
longer shock. No signal is more prophetically significant than present
circumstances involving the city where Jesus was crucified nearly 20 centuries
ago.
This
is as the Old and New Testament prophets said it will be just before Christ
returns to a planet that is home to a world of rebels against God. That
rebellion
is scheduled, the prophets forewarn, to culminate in history’s final and most
destructive war. Armageddon will be triggered because of both Satan’s
and
fallen mankind’s determination to install themselves upon the single spot on
earth dearest to the heart of God.
Mt. Moriah sits at the southern end of the
ancient city, crested by a golden dome that represents hundreds of millions
whose religion demands of its adherents
blood-vowed
opposition to God’s chosen nation, Israel. This is the place God picked to have
His temple on earth constructed. It is the precise location
where
the third temple will sit –the temple that will be desecrated by Antichrist,
earth’s last and most beastly tyrant. Even more importantly, the Temple
Mount
will be the home of Christ’s Millennial Temple. Moriah, then to be known as
Zion, will be supernaturally elevated by the tremendous topographical
changes
caused when the Lord’s foot touches the Mount of Olives at His return.
Diplomats
of the world have, for the past four decades, engaged in effort after effort to
bring stability to the region, at whose heart the city of Jerusalem
sits.
We remember the many jetting to and from Washington D.C., Jerusalem, and other
capitals of the Mid-East. From Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Madeleine
Albright,
and Colin Powell to Condoleeza Rice – America’s secretaries of state have
burned mega-gallons of jet fuel in trying to find the formula for peace
that
would diffuse the Armageddon bomb. And, the former British prime minister, Tony
Blair, immediately upon resigning, was named by the so-called “Quartet”
(US,
EU, UN and Russia) as the overseer of continuing efforts toward constructing
Mid-East peace, which has eluded mankind for thousand of years.
All
of that diplomatic shuffling is a mere prelude to the fretting that is about to
take place over this, the most important, thus most volatile city on
Planet
Earth.
Zechariah
the prophet foretold in Zechariah 12:1-3 the end-time anxiety that we believe
is, observably, now on the precipice of gripping the international
community.
There
is good reason for the building anxiety. Israel’s terrorist-sponsoring
neighbors to the north strive mightily to develop nuclear bombs and missiles
that
will deliver them. No one doubts in which direction these missiles will be
pointed, should Iran be successful in producing such weapons of mass
destruction.
Israel’s
one common declaration, amidst all of the political infighting, remains the
core of its defense: “ Never again!”
The
following summary of atrocities to the Jewish race presents compelling evidence
why “Never Again!” must be their passionate declaration, backed by nuclear
strength:
“Due
to [Israel’s] disobedience the Jews have suffered terribly. They were ruled by
Rome in Christ's day but rebelled in A.D. 70 and 250,000 were killed.
They rebelled again in A.D. 135 and again
Rome smashed them killing even more and scattering them throughout the empire.
Since then they have been bitterly
persecuted.
Forcibly expelled from England in 1290 and from France 1306. In 1298 more than 100,000 were killed in
Europe. From 1648 to 1658 some 400,000
were
massacred. From 1939-45 Hitler's Nazis killed more than 4 million… In its
history Egyptian Pharaohs, Assyrian Kings, Babylonian rulers, Persian satraps,
Greek
Hellenists, Roman Caesars, Holy Roman Emperors, Roman Catholic Pontiffs,
Medieval monarchs, Christian Crusaders, Spanish Inquisitors, Nazi dictators,
Communist
commissars, Arab sheiks and United Nation delegates have all turned against the
Jew yet they still survive.”1
The
Jewish people of Israel collectively declare they will never again let
themselves be enslaved within regimes that want them erased from the earth.
Never
again
will they allow the genocide they have suffered through the centuries. Their
national vow is backed by the ominous “Samson Option.” This last-ditch
military
imperative is not lost on the leaders of the international community, which is
headed by the G-8 nations (America, United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Italy,
Japan, Canada, and Russia ).
These
leaders of this enlightened age might not believe the Bible is the word of God,
but, they know the story of Samson and what happened when he was finally
put
in a predicament in which he could no longer be free. The world’s diplomats –at
least those of the western world—have no doubt that the Israeli Defense
Force
(IDF) will bring the house down around them, if it comes to that as Israel’s
only viable option. The international community –once termed “the new
world
order”-- has developed a systemic neurosis involving the bleak outlook for the
future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The “Roadmap to Peace”
seems
to be the nerves-soothing therapeutic course of action upon which the
powers-that-be have chosen to eliminate the possibility of nuclear conflict
being
triggered over earth’s most coveted city. World leaders consider Jerusalem the
trigger to Armageddon; they will do whatever it takes to defuse that
trigger.
God’s
Prophetic Word, in addition to predicting in overall or general terms about the
nations and their individual dispositions just before Christ’s return,
gets
quite specific, even if through description rather than using the modern names
of countries at the end of days. We will look at the scriptural passages
we
believe refer to the nations in prophecy, then analyze the most recent
disposition of each of those countries, in present-day terms.
European
Union
”And
after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:
and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
the
sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the
war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with
many
for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall
make
it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate” (Dan. 9:26-27).
Daniel
was given the prophecy for the very end of human history as it is presently
known. Daniel prophesies that the “prince that shall come,” Antichrist,
who
will come out of the people who destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple,
Roman Empire, will guarantee the implementation of a covenant of peace between
Israel
and its enemies. Great world turmoil will follow that action, until the very
end (at the second advent of Jesus Christ).
Those
who destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple came from the region now
inhabited by the nations of Europe and a few Mediterranean areas. Rome is the
very
heart of where the ancient Roman Empire resided. Antichrist will come out of an
area near the center of that general geographical location. The European
Union
(EU) is comprised of a unification of 25 countries that now represent a growing
world power. The EU, many prophecy students believe, forms the matrix
out
of which the Antichrist regime, as indicated in Revelation, Chapter 13, will
grow to become the worst tyrannical government ever to exist upon Planet
Earth.
The
European Parliament meets on a regular basis now, in many instances usurping
national autonomy and sovereignty of the European states that are members
of
the EU. Some believe the 10-kings economic power bloc prophesied to develop
during the tribulation, or just before the tribulation begins, will grow
from
the EU, which will be its nucleus: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten
kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as
kings
one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast” (Rev. 17:12-13). It is wise to observe developments
such
as the North American Union (NAU) and other such powerful economic trading
blocs, in considering this prophecy.
“And the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy
against
him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the
chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put
hooks
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and
horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company
with
bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords…” (Ezek. 38:1-4).
Although
there is considerable controversy over the ancient names given in Ezekiel’s
Gog-Magog war prophecies, there is sufficient etymological evidence
to
conclude that Rosh is the ancient name of the modern nation we know as Russia.
Likewise, the other names of the ancient geographical areas have been
scrupulously
examined, so as to give confidence that Russia and its leader will be the
culprits that will lead this massive end-time attack on Israel and
the
Middle East, in order to take “great spoil”.
China
and the Orient
“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon
the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of
the kings of the east might
be
prepared” (Rev. 16:12).
This
prophecy, scheduled to coincide with Armageddon when all the armies of the
world will be gathered in the Valley of Jezreel, almost certainly will include
the modern nation of China. I view that coming
juggernaut as the king of the kings of the east –the leader of all countries of
the oriental world. This
Revelation
16 prophecy correlates to Revelation 9: 16-18. China exerts hegemony today over
its neighbors. It is a growing international player, harboring
strength
and potential that will soon vault it into superpower class, equivalent to the
US and the EU. China’s leadership is still an oligarchy that is
maintained
and perpetuated by an ever-increasing military. This force is destined –I
believe Bible prophecy predicts—to eventuate in the 200-million-man
army
prophesied in Revelation chapter 9.
“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is
taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isa. 17:1).
Syria,
under the leadership of Bashar al-Assad, hasn’t improved in its attitude toward
the much-hated Israel from the days that nation was under the dictatorship
of
his father, Hafez al-Assad. The country hosts the headquarters of every major
terrorist organization in the Middle East. A prophecy that draws interest
of
prophecy watchers today is the one above. Damascus, capital of Syria, is
prophetically scheduled to be completely destroyed, with no chance of becoming
a
city again. That, of course, smacks of nuclear destruction. There is little
doubt that Israel, with nuclear weapons, could accomplish that foretelling
with
one bomb.
“Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all
of them with shield and helmet” (Ezek. 38:5).
Iran,
occupying much of territory that was encompassed by ancient Persia, is front
and center in the news today. The Ezekiel Gog-Magog prophecy says they
will
be at the forefront of invading to the south toward Israel to take great
“spoil”. We are left to postulate, of course, that the “spoil” might be the
oil
–the vast petroleum deposits throughout the region. Certainly, it looks as if
the thirst for oil might be a catalyst in bringing all nations to Armageddon.
"Gomer,
and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his
bands: and many people with thee” (Ezek. 38: 6).
Again
we run into controversy when considering the names mentioned here in the
Ezekiel Gog-Magog prophecy. Togarmah is most often put forward as the area
that
now has at its center modern Turkey. Gomer is thought to be parts north and
east, in the Mediterranean and east European regions. Turkey is in flux,
politically.
It is torn between government factions that are secular and at the same time
Islamic in nature. The secular, supported by the military, has
proven
to be the power that rules. The Islamics have recently taken political power,
however, but still are controlled by the army generals. Turkey, we
believe,
will one day join the Islamic world in marching with Russia and the other
nations in the Gog-Magog attack on Israel.
Strangely,
little is prophesied about Egypt for the end-time period just before Christ’s
return. There are Scriptures to indicate that Egypt will yet receive
blessings
from the Lord –but during the millennial era, which will follow the
tribulation.
“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?” (Ezek. 38:13).
These
nations seemingly will observe the Gog-Magog attack from the sidelines. There seems
no more opposition offered from them than diplomatic notes of
protest.
They will not resist the attack. Sheba and Sedan seem to be Saudi Arabia and
other Arab nations; perhaps the Emirates and small countries of the
Persian
Gulf area. The "merchants of Tarshish" and her "young
lions" have long been interpreted –through considerable study—to be the
area of the “land
of
tin” where England, in particular, is presently located. The young lions are
thought to be the nations that have come into existence by breaking away
from
Britain. The United States would qualify as one of the young lions, as would,
for example, Australia. As things presently shape up, it is hard to
believe
that such a massive attack as prophesied by Ezekiel would be allowed to take
place by such nuclear powers as Great Britain –and particularly— the
United
States.
Many
believe the rapture of the Church could so confuse leadership of these nations
as to make them temporarily incapable of organizing military opposition
to
the assault into the Middle East by Russia and her coalition hordes.
“And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every
foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have
drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the
earth
have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed
rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice
from
heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached
unto
heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded
you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup
which
she hath filled fill to her double” (Rev. 18:2-6).
I
suggest you also read Zechariah, Chapter 5. That prophecy foretells a time when
the concentration of the geopolitical evil of the world will be drawn
back
to the land of ancient Babylon. The heart of that area is, of course,
present-day Iraq. There can be little argument against the fact that the news
eyes
and ears of the world are concentrated each and every hour of each day upon
that region. The United States and its coalition partners–e.g., the leaders—are
in
a quandary.
If
they stay in the region to protect the Iraqi government, which obviously
couldn’t protect itself against incessant Islamic fanatics, they continue to
draw
the ire of the world, the political flames fanned by a liberal press that hates
the U.S. administration that put the troops there. If the forces are
withdrawn,
the great oil reserves might fall to diabolist nations –led by the likes of
Iran. Babylon is foretold to be a city again, one that will be destroyed
in
a single hour. Many prophecy scholars disagree with this view, believing that
the Babylon of prophecy yet future will be perhaps the greatest (wealthiest
and
most influential) city of its day, but not the Babylon of antiquity.
“The burden of the word of the LORD for
Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the
foundation of the earth, and formeth
the
spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto
all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against
Judah
and against Jerusalem” (Zech. 12:1-2).
Israel,
and Jerusalem in particular, have been at the eye of the growing geopolitical
storm since its re-birth into modern statehood on May 14, 1948. Every
camera
and microphone is focused upon and attuned to that nation while it sits upon a
powder keg of potential nuclear conflict. The nation, a tiny sliver
of
land in a vast region promised it by God, has become marginalized to the point
it is rapidly becoming hated by most every other country on earth. This
is exactly what God predicts. The United States is Israel’s only real friend in a growingly hostile world. When the rapture occurs, and much of the nucleus
of
support for Israel is instantly gone, God will deal with His chosen people, and
with those who will try to destroy them: “And in that day will I make
Jerusalem
a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be
cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered
together
against it” (Zech. 12:3).
1 A
Look at Bible Covenants and Their Meanings, by Charles L. Monk; posted 2/22/03
(Category: Bible Studies; source: Sugar Land Bible Church COVENANTS -
1987).