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Many are the web sites and books that are out there teaching about prophecy. It seems that everyone has their own opinion about the events that are taking place in this world as it relates to prophecy. I just wish that more people would pay attention to what the coming Kingdom will be like!
When the day of Yahweh comes, it will come as a shock to millions:
Isaiah 66:15-24 For behold, Yahweh will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by His sword Yahweh will judge all flesh; And the slain of Yahweh shall be many. 17 "Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together," says Yahweh. 18 " For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory.
19 "I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 "Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to Yahweh out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says Yahweh, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh. 21 "And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says Yahweh.
22 " For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me," says Yahweh, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says Yahweh. 24 "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
Here it speaks of people gathering to worship Yahweh on the New Moon and Sabbath. Some have said these things are abolished. If it is abolished, how can this be so? It says that some will taken as priests and Levites. It also speaks of Yahweh destroying all those who eat swine's flesh just before His coming Kingdom. If it were abolished now, why would it be reinstated in Yahweh's kingdom? If eating pork is ok to do now, why then is Yahweh destroying those who do? The answer must be that the law never really was abolished. In fact, the kingdom of Yahweh will be ruled by it:
Isaiah 2:2-5 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of Yahweh's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the Elohim of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
More verses:
Zechariah 14:12-21 And this shall be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. 13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from Yahweh will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor's hand; 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
15 Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be. 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which Yahweh strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
20 In that day "HOLINESS TO YAHWEH" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in Yahweh's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to Yahweh of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts.
It is obvious that this scripture has not yet been fulfilled. Now to this I ask every man, "Why are people observing the Feast of Tabernacles if this has all been abolished?". When Yahweh's Kingdom is established and He rules over all the earth, His will is going to be done "on earth, as it is in heaven." This being the case, we see that the feast days are going to be kept and we see that all Gentiles will be expected to keep them. If the feast days really were only for Israel, why would Yahweh punish the Gentiles who refuse to keep the Feast of Tabernacles? I think it's high time that we start doing the will of Yahweh now. After all, how can we be rulers in His kingdom if we don't seek to adhere to the rules of the kingdom?
You might also have noticed that sacrifices are mentioned in verse 21. To this I also ask, "Why is it speaking of the altar and sacrifices coming back if this has all been abolished?" Now it is evident from scripture that we are not to do this without a priesthood in place. At this time our High Priest is reigning from heaven and there is no established priesthood on earth. But when there is an established priesthood on earth, sacrifices will indeed be returning. This may seem bizarre to the average Christian, but it is often missed that Paul himself went into the temple to make sacrifices:
Acts 21:26 - Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Acts 24:17 - Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.
Paul was there with four other brethren who had taken a Nazarite vow. The offerings mentioned were related to the Nazarite vow mentioned in Numbers 6. The entire reason Paul was there was to prove to false accusers that he kept the law of Yahweh. And it was James who suggested he do it. I don't believe Paul or any of the disciples were liars or pretenders. They were Torah observant believers in Yahushua even as we should seek to be.
It is also predicted in the book of Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 37:21-27 - "Then say to them, `Thus says Yahweh Elohim: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; "and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. "They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their Elohim. "David My servant [shall] [be] king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.
"Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David [shall] [be] their prince forever. "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. "My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.
Following this chapter of Ezekiel begins a vision of a future kingdom of Yahweh that has never been fulfilled. It speaks here about the House of Judah and the House of Israel being united into one kingdom. This all leads into the remaining chapters of Ezekiel which go into GREAT detail about what the coming kingdom of Yahweh will be like. It talks a lot about sacrifices and feasts. Here is one example of where it speaks of the Passover:
Ezekiel 45:21-24 - "In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. "And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull [for] a sin offering. "On the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to Yahweh, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, and a kid of the goats daily [for] a sin offering. "And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ephah.
Note here that there is no Passover Lamb! We know that Yahushua is our Passover Lamb (1Corinthians 5:7). So sacrifices will still be offered, but they will be done in somewhat different ways than the way described in the law of Moses. Some of these verses in the latter chapters of Ezekiel mirror passages found in the book of Revelation. For instance:
Ezekiel 47:12 - "Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine."
Revelation 22:2 - In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Taking all these scriptures into consideration, it is very clear that the Law was never abolished or taken away. Some may try to say, "Well, Yahweh gave the law, then took it away the law for a time and then He brought it back again". This is absurd! Not only that, it is unscriptural. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change (Mal. 3:6). Also, consider:
Colossians 2:16-17 - Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body (is) of the Messiah.
The Torah/Law that we observe ARE a shadow of things to come. Not WERE (As some might say). The Torah will be kept in the Kingdom of Yahweh, no doubt about it. This is why when I keep the Feast of Tabernacles this year, that will foreshadow the coming Kingdom in which all flesh will be forced to observe it. For anyone to judge me for keeping it, they need to take a closer look at scripture because these things are commanded to be kept. Sadly, men have adopted the festivals of pagans (Christmas and Easter for instance) and incorporated them into their worship instead. And oh yes, about these verses in Colossians? Notice the word "(is)" which is in parenthesis. This means the word was added to the text by the translators. Therefore this scripture is speaking literally of the "Body of the Messiah". Now if you read it as it stands it would say...Let no man judge you therefore in meat, drink, etc....which are shadow of things to come, but the body of the Messiah. In other words, we SHOULD be keeping these things just as we will be keeping these things in the wonderful Kingdom of Yahweh. Read a more detailed study of Colossians 2 here. When the day of Yahweh comes, those who sought to keep Yahweh's commandments will be revealed as people who sought to walk in the ways of the kingdom. The true things concerning this kingdom have been ignored for too long.
Acts 8:12 - But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of Elohim, and the name of Yahushua Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women.
Showing posts with label Battle of Ezekiel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battle of Ezekiel. Show all posts
The Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 Part 1
I first began studying Ezekiel 38 in the 1980s and have watched with great interest as our changing world conforms more and more to Ezekiel’s words. As the time of the end draws nearer the insights we gain from the changes around us give us a better understanding of Bible prophecy in general and Ezekiel 38 in particular. In this update of our study we’ll apply these insights to Ezekiel’s 2600 year old prophecy.
What Time Is It?
First of all, let’s get some kind of time frame settled. Ezekiel’s prophecies are chronological. Falling between the prophecies of Israel’s modern re-birth (Ezekiel 36-37) and the Millennium (Ezekiel 40-48), the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 has to take place during a time of peace after 1948 but before the 2nd coming, and all agree it hasn’t happened yet. This has led some to see the passage as a description of Armageddon, but as we’ll see there are many prominent nations missing from this battle whereas Zechariah 14:2 prophecies that every nation will join the battle of Armageddon. That being the case, the time frame narrows to sometime between 1948 and the beginning of the Great Tribulation, after which no place in the world will be at peace, especially Israel.
Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would use this battle to turn Israel back to Him and to complete the return of Jews from all over the world to Israel, not leaving any behind (Ezekiel 39:28). This leads us to believe that the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 is the event that re-starts the clock on the 490-year period of time spoken of by Daniel, the famous 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24-27. 69 of those weeks (483 years) had come when the Messiah was crucified and the Temple destroyed, stopping the clock one week (seven years) short of fulfillment. I believe the dramatic victory the Lord wins over Israel’s enemies in Ezekiel’s battle will convince them to officially re-instate their Old Covenant relationship with Him to fulfill the remaining seven years of Daniel’s prophecy. This will require two things to happen. First they’ll need a Temple for worship. It’s this Temple that’s later desecrated by the anti-Christ, kicking off the Great Tribulation.
And second, the Church will have to disappear. Paul wrote that Israel had been hardened in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25). That means as long as the Church is around Israel won’t be able to recognize God’s involvement in their national life. But the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will be such a miraculous victory that it will re-awaken Israel to God’s presence. This means the Dispensation of Grace will have come to an end and the Church will be gone by the time this battle comes to an end.
With all this in mind, let’s begin a careful study of Ezekiel 38-39, to prepare us for these events should they become reality soon.
The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army-your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops-the many nations with you. (Ezek. 38:1-6)
In another study, I made the claim that Gog is a supernatural figure (perhaps Satan’s counterpart to the Archangel Michael) and the behind the scenes commander of this event, while Magog is listed in Genesis 10 as one of Noah’s grandsons, a son of Japeth. Over 130 historical references demonstrate that Magog is the father of today’s Russian people. (For a more detailed treatment on the modern names of all the nations mentioned in this passage, click here.)
The phrase “hooks in the jaw” comes from the equestrian world where a special bridle is used to make a rebellious horse obedient to its rider’s commands. It symbolizes God forcing Russia to become involved in this battle to assure that His will is done. Persia is the ancient name for Iran, Cush and Put represent the North African nations, Gomer was Magog’s brother and settled along the Danube River in what would become Eastern Europe, and Togarmah, a son of Gomer’s, inhabited what’s now known as Armenia and Turkey. The characteristic all these nations have in common today is their religion. They’re all Moslem.
“Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. (Ezek. 38:7-9)
The fact that Israel is the target in this passage is self evident, but a controversy rages around the Heberew word betach translated “in safety” in verse 8. A secondary meaning, “carelessly” could mean that they’re not really safe but just think they are and so their guard is down. To achieve either of the conditions this word implies would require a truly miraculous change in Israel’s current situation and for many years scholars were uncertain as to how this could ever happen.
But a little known prophecy in the Psalms might have the answer. According to Psalm 83 all of Israel’s next door neighbors will unite in an effort to wipe Israel completely off the map. But Israel will soundly defeat them and capture their lands as well. Enemies like Hezbollah, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Hamas, etc. will cease to exist, and the lands they now occupy will once again belong to Israel. (Many people don’t realize that even the land of Lebanon was originally given to Israel and will belong to Israel again in the Millennium.)
It’s also beginning to look like the Isaiah 17 prophecy of the destruction of Damascus could be fulfilled at the same time. Israel has officially declared that they’ll hold Syria responsible for any attack by Hezbollah, and will retaliate accordingly. High Israeli officials have recently said that the Syrian government will not survive such a retaliation and its infrastructure will be destroyed. This is a direct threat against Damascus.
If the fulfillment of Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 precede the Battle Ezekiel 38, it helps explain how Israel could be taken by surprise when the Moslem coalition attacks and why none of Israel’s next door neighbors are mentioned in Ezekiel’s line up.
Next time we’ll look at the other nations that are not involved in this battle and you’ll see why it can’t be referring to Armageddon. We’ll also see how the Lord chooses to reveal Himself to the nations. See you then.
What Time Is It?
First of all, let’s get some kind of time frame settled. Ezekiel’s prophecies are chronological. Falling between the prophecies of Israel’s modern re-birth (Ezekiel 36-37) and the Millennium (Ezekiel 40-48), the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 has to take place during a time of peace after 1948 but before the 2nd coming, and all agree it hasn’t happened yet. This has led some to see the passage as a description of Armageddon, but as we’ll see there are many prominent nations missing from this battle whereas Zechariah 14:2 prophecies that every nation will join the battle of Armageddon. That being the case, the time frame narrows to sometime between 1948 and the beginning of the Great Tribulation, after which no place in the world will be at peace, especially Israel.
Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would use this battle to turn Israel back to Him and to complete the return of Jews from all over the world to Israel, not leaving any behind (Ezekiel 39:28). This leads us to believe that the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 is the event that re-starts the clock on the 490-year period of time spoken of by Daniel, the famous 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24-27. 69 of those weeks (483 years) had come when the Messiah was crucified and the Temple destroyed, stopping the clock one week (seven years) short of fulfillment. I believe the dramatic victory the Lord wins over Israel’s enemies in Ezekiel’s battle will convince them to officially re-instate their Old Covenant relationship with Him to fulfill the remaining seven years of Daniel’s prophecy. This will require two things to happen. First they’ll need a Temple for worship. It’s this Temple that’s later desecrated by the anti-Christ, kicking off the Great Tribulation.
And second, the Church will have to disappear. Paul wrote that Israel had been hardened in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25). That means as long as the Church is around Israel won’t be able to recognize God’s involvement in their national life. But the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will be such a miraculous victory that it will re-awaken Israel to God’s presence. This means the Dispensation of Grace will have come to an end and the Church will be gone by the time this battle comes to an end.
With all this in mind, let’s begin a careful study of Ezekiel 38-39, to prepare us for these events should they become reality soon.
The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army-your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops-the many nations with you. (Ezek. 38:1-6)
In another study, I made the claim that Gog is a supernatural figure (perhaps Satan’s counterpart to the Archangel Michael) and the behind the scenes commander of this event, while Magog is listed in Genesis 10 as one of Noah’s grandsons, a son of Japeth. Over 130 historical references demonstrate that Magog is the father of today’s Russian people. (For a more detailed treatment on the modern names of all the nations mentioned in this passage, click here.)
The phrase “hooks in the jaw” comes from the equestrian world where a special bridle is used to make a rebellious horse obedient to its rider’s commands. It symbolizes God forcing Russia to become involved in this battle to assure that His will is done. Persia is the ancient name for Iran, Cush and Put represent the North African nations, Gomer was Magog’s brother and settled along the Danube River in what would become Eastern Europe, and Togarmah, a son of Gomer’s, inhabited what’s now known as Armenia and Turkey. The characteristic all these nations have in common today is their religion. They’re all Moslem.
“Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. (Ezek. 38:7-9)
The fact that Israel is the target in this passage is self evident, but a controversy rages around the Heberew word betach translated “in safety” in verse 8. A secondary meaning, “carelessly” could mean that they’re not really safe but just think they are and so their guard is down. To achieve either of the conditions this word implies would require a truly miraculous change in Israel’s current situation and for many years scholars were uncertain as to how this could ever happen.
But a little known prophecy in the Psalms might have the answer. According to Psalm 83 all of Israel’s next door neighbors will unite in an effort to wipe Israel completely off the map. But Israel will soundly defeat them and capture their lands as well. Enemies like Hezbollah, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Hamas, etc. will cease to exist, and the lands they now occupy will once again belong to Israel. (Many people don’t realize that even the land of Lebanon was originally given to Israel and will belong to Israel again in the Millennium.)
It’s also beginning to look like the Isaiah 17 prophecy of the destruction of Damascus could be fulfilled at the same time. Israel has officially declared that they’ll hold Syria responsible for any attack by Hezbollah, and will retaliate accordingly. High Israeli officials have recently said that the Syrian government will not survive such a retaliation and its infrastructure will be destroyed. This is a direct threat against Damascus.
If the fulfillment of Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 precede the Battle Ezekiel 38, it helps explain how Israel could be taken by surprise when the Moslem coalition attacks and why none of Israel’s next door neighbors are mentioned in Ezekiel’s line up.
Next time we’ll look at the other nations that are not involved in this battle and you’ll see why it can’t be referring to Armageddon. We’ll also see how the Lord chooses to reveal Himself to the nations. See you then.
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