Saturday, January 21st, 2006
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 38:3-6)
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
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 38:3-6)
One of the most closely watched developments in the Mid East today is Iran’s determination to acquire nuclear weapons capability. Students of prophecy see alarming parallels between this ongoing effort and the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39, in which God had Ezekiel foretell of a time when a coalition of Moslem nations, armed and led by Russia and Iran, would attempt to destroy Israel in a surprise attack. To many, Ezekiel seems to describe the use of nuclear weapons in this battle, perhaps against Europe or even the US as well as Russia. Since Russia has been helping Iran build a string of reactors that can produce weapons grade nuclear energy, and since Iran has recently taken a very hard line against Israel, we may be witnessing the build-up to this coming battle.
Let’s begin with a sampling of recent news reports dealing with Iran’s nuclear activities.
A Geostrategy-Direct.com report from April 2005
The CIA first obtained reports in 1994 of Iran obtaining plutonium components from North Korea.
Ten years later, in late 2004, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps tested a command and control network that would permit a nuclear weapons warhead to be placed on an enhanced Shihab-3 intermediate-range missile. The CIA now believes Iran could immediately assemble several nuclear warheads for the Shihab-3 arsenal.
“This means that U.S. forces in Iraq and southern Europe are under immediate Iranian threat,” Geostrategy says. “Israel and Saudi Arabia are already under Iranian nuclear threat.”
Excerpts from a Debka.com report on May 15, 2005
In March the world learned that in 2001 Iran bought a dozen cruise missiles from the prior Ukrainian regime. Their 1700 mile (3000 km) range is sufficient to reach any European or Israeli city and all US military installations in the region. The only thing missing is a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on the business end, something they’re working feverishly to acquire. Experts say they’re only a few technological steps away.
Debka.com again October 16, 2005
Former members of Russia’s military, secretly working as middlemen between Iran and North Korea, are helping Tehran acquire missile technology that will enable the Islamic republic to strike the capitals of Europe.
The technology, Western intelligence analysts believe, will be sufficient for Iran to develop a missile with a range of 2,200 miles while carrying a 1.2-ton payload – enough to deliver a nuclear weapon to most of Europe.
An unnamed senior U.S. official told the London Telegraph that Tehran’s missile program is “sophisticated and getting larger and more accurate. They have had very much in mind the payload needed to carry a nuclear weapon.
From World Net Daily’s G-2 Intelligence Briefing, December 2005
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered his defense forces to plan for a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities by the end of March 2006 – the time intelligence sources say Tehran will be able to begin producing nuclear weapons.
From the UK Guardian Jan 4, 2006
The news about Iran always gets worse. On Wednesday The Guardian reported on a “western intelligence assessment,” dated July 1, 2005, that “draws upon material gathered by British, French, German and Belgian agencies” and could seemingly shake even Western Europe out of its complacency and pacifism if that was still possible.
The Guardian says that according to the 55-page assessment, “the Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb. . . . Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with”—directly quoting from the report’s conclusion—”import requests and acquisitions … registered almost daily.”
From Kommersant.com, January 13, 2006
Russia’s daily online news service reports that Russia will soon begin evacuating its personnel from Iran to protect them from what’s viewed as a likely attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israel recently “leaked” a military assessment claiming a high probability of success in a pre-emptive attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities, and the Russians don’t want any of their people caught there.
So for 10 years now there’s been a concerted effort on Iran’s part to acquire the weaponry necessary to destroy Israel. Much of the expertise for this has come from Russia, some by way of North Korea and Pakistan.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, Russia is publicly distancing itself from Iran. Realizing that what Iran is planning is common knowledge, the Russians want to be perceived as opposing any non-peaceful use of its nuclear technology. Offering to do the fuel processing for Iran, criticizing Iran’s anti-Israel rhetoric, and allowing the discussions on UN sanctions to proceed are part of Russia’s plan to avoid being caught on the wrong side of this issue.
The Lord of course is not fooled, and had Ezekiel foretell this 2600 years ago. Speaking to Magog (Russia) He said, “I will put hooks in your jaws and bring you out.” (Ezek. 38:4) The “hooks in your jaw” symbolism comes from a special bridle used on a rebellious horse to make it submissive to the rider’s will. Sharp hook-like protrusions on the bit (mouthpiece) irritate the inside of the horse’s cheek, making it painful to resist turning when the reins are pulled and forcing to horse to go where the rider wants. It’s a graphic illustration of how the Lord will drag Russia into this confrontation.
I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD. (Ezek. 39:6) Isaiah described the distant coastlands as being the area beyond the Mediterranean, most likely Western Europe. Given the above news reports, Iran either already does or soon will have the capability for delivering nuclear warheads to any European capital. Of course this range also covers all of Israel and every US military installation in the Middle East.
With the possible exception of the Rapture of the Church, no major End Times prophecy seems more likely to occur soon. At this point, it looks like the only way to stop things is for Israel to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. But even that would only set Iran’s timetable back for about two years. Remember, Ezekiel wrote the prophecy 2600 years ago. It’s not a matter of if this will happen, but when.
And when it does, other pieces will begin falling into place with stunning speed and regularity. For instance, there’s no Temple in Israel today because a majority of Jews don’t want one. And even if they did, it would simply be too dangerous to begin construction. Before a Temple can be built two major paradigm shifts must take place. First the Moslems would have to be willing to permit it, and second the Jews would have to be united in wanting one. The Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 will bring about both those shifts.
First Things First
Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezek 39:3-5) Even in the NIV’s weakened language, the defeat of the Moslem forces is clearly described, but in the original Hebrew, these verses foretell of their utter annihilation. A force so large that it resembles a cloud covering the land (Ezek. 38:9) will quickly be reduced to food for the vultures, resulting from such confusion on the field of battle that surviving enemy soldiers actually turn upon each other. The Moslem world will be in no position to resist Israel’s demand for a Temple following such a defeat.
And In The Second Place
“I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”(Ezek. 39:21-22, 28-29) Having revealed Himself to His People, that God shaped hole in their hearts will finally be filled again. He will draw every living Jew to Israel where He’ll renew their Old Covenant relationship. Old Covenant worship requires a Temple, and they’ll demand the right to build one immediately. (This is not to be confused with the call to recognize Jesus as their Messiah, foretold inZechariah 12:10-11. That happens near the time of the 2nd Coming and would actually make a Temple unnecessary.)
But Wait, There’s More
This is one of the reasons why many scholars believe the Battle of Ezekiel 38inaugurates the 70th Week of Daniel rather than taking place at its end. During the Great Tribulation (the last half of Daniel’s 70th week) God’s evangelistic effort will be to bring His people into a New Covenant relationship to save them. But Gabriel told Daniel a Temple would be rebuilt early in the 70th week, meaning that the Jews would first return to Him through the Old Covenant. The Temple has to be in place before the middle of the week to be desecrated by the anti-Christ (Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thes 2:4) kicking off the Great Tribulation.
Daniel’s prophecy also implies that the anti-Christ will be involved in getting permission for Israel to build the Temple. This means that the Battle of Ezekiel 38 prepares the world for his entrance.
And finally the Battle of Ezekiel 38, having turned God’s focus back to Israel, means the Age of the Church has ended. And the event that ends the Church Age is the Rapture. For that reason the Rapture has to happen before or no later than during Ezekiel’s battle.
The Lord’s brother James was very clear on this point. When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
” ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages. (Acts 15:13-18)
It was at the Council of Jerusalem, 20 years after the cross. Paul and Barnabas had begun evangelizing the Gentiles of Asia Minor (Turkey), causing no little controversy. The critical questions before them were, “Does a Gentile have to become a Jew before becoming a Christian? And if not, what’s to become of Israel?”
James, who was head of the Church in Jerusalem, gave the answer from prophecy. Israel was being set aside until the Lord took from among the Gentiles a people for Himself (the church). After He had taken (raptured) them, He would return to build the Temple, and then the remnant of men, Jews and Gentiles, would have one final chance to seek Him. Other prophecies tell us this chance would come during the final seven years of human history, Daniel’s 70th Week.
Jerusalem At The End Of The Age
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins (Isaiah 40:2).
Ezekiel 38 Heads Up # 5
Three current news reports indicate it’s time for another Ezekiel 38 heads up. Remember Ezekiel prophesied that sometime after the Nation of Israel was re-born, but before the beginning of the Millennium, a group of Moslem nations led by Iran and armed by Russia would pull of a devastating sneak attack, entering Israel from the North.
More On Ezekiel 38 And Psalm 83
Q. First and foremost, a HUGE THANK YOU for your dedication and AMAZING web site! I tell everyone who will listen to me about your site. I’m like many of your other readers who read the questions and answers daily. When I miss a day, I have to catch up on what I’ve missed as I don’t want to miss one single question/answer, not to mention your feature articles.
I have a question and would really appreciate your thoughts. It appears that all is getting quickly set for the Ezekiel 38 war NOW, with the big exception of peace in Israel. I can’t get over how quickly prophecy is moving fast-forward every single day, especially since the change in the oval office. To me, it seems more like the world is preparing for the Ezekiel 38 war rather than the Psalm 83 war, but I could be missing something.
I read on your web site that Psalm 83 doesn’t specifically say there will be a war with those countries, and you gave some other possibilities, but the surrounding countries are certainly just as much a threat to Israel as those listed for the Ezekiel 38 war.
Also, I’m wondering whether you still think a Psalm 83 war is imminent with several years in between the Ezekiel 38 war. The way things are moving, I can’t IMAGINE there are SEVERAL years left before the Ezekiel 38 war. Continue reading…
Ezekiel’s Battle, Ezekiel’s Temple
In our studies last night we were talking about the Millennium. I shared your thoughts on Ez. 38-39. While (members of our group) don’t believe it is the battle of Armageddon, they do believe it was part of the “campaign” of Armageddon and thus takes place near the end of the Tribulation.
Confirming The Sequence Of End Times Events
Wednesday, October 16th, 2013
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matt. 16:2-3)
So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matt. 24:15-16)
For then there will be great distress (Great Tribulation), unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. (Matt. 24:21)
When it comes to developing any kind of time line concerning the End Times, the watershed event has to be the Abomination that Causes Desolation. Why? Because from that time forward, the Bible gives a very clear sequence of events.
First, the Abomination is the event that kicks off the Great Tribulation, a period of judgments 3 1/2 years long.(Matt 24:15,21) After the Great Tribulation, the Lord returns and following His return the Millennium begins. After the Millennium comes Eternity. Any one on Earth during this time will be able to predict these events with reasonable accuracy.
Second, we who study prophecy can also count backward from the Abomination that Causes Desolation and predict the sequence of events leading up to it by applying our knowledge of Scripture.
How Does That Work?
Well, we know that the Abomination involves the anti-Christ standing in the Temple in Israel, proclaiming himself to be God. (Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thes. 2:4)
But that can’t happen until some other things take place first. Obviously the anti-Christ has to be revealed. And the Jews have to build their Temple. This is something that can’t happen until they experience a change in attitude causing them to demand a Temple regardless of the consequences. A recent poll commissioned by the Joint Forum of Temple Mount Organizations showed that 30% of the citizens of Israel want a Temple built, but even if every one of them did just the hint that they were going to build one would send the rest of the world into a tizzy. It simply wouldn’t be permitted.
Some major event has to take place to convince all the Jewish people that building a Temple in Israel is the right thing to do in spite of all the trouble it could cause, and some world leader has to have enough clout to convince the rest of the world, especially the Muslim Middle East, to let them do it.
Daniel 9:27 also reveals that as the End of the Age approaches, a leader from among the people who destroyed the Temple in 67 AD will confirm (enforce) a 7 year covenant with Israel that includes permission to build a new Temple, and that in the middle of this period he will commit the Abomination that Causes Desolation. That explains the persuasive world leader. He’s the anti-Christ, and he will want the Temple built for reasons that have nothing to do with Israel. The unanswered question in Daniel’s prophecy is why the Jews would desire a Temple at that particular time.
Our knowledge of the Old Testament tells us that a Temple was necessary to fulfill the requirements of the Levitical worship system. So then, because of the uproar it would create, it seems logical to assume that the Jews would only want a Temple if they felt it was absolutely necessary for the Nation of Israel to re-instate their Old Covenant worship of God.
How Does That Happen?
Toward the end of his two-chapter prophecy that speaks of a great end times battle between Israel and its neighbors (Ezek. 38-39), Ezekiel noted that God is going to use this battle to reveal Himself to Israel and the world once again. The way He’ll do this is to give Israel a decisive victory in the face of such overwhelming odds that everyone on Earth will realize that only God could have done it. Ezekiel wrote that following the battle God would gather all His people alive at the time to Israel, not leaving any behind. (Ezek. 39:28)
So this battle is the event that compels a national return to God in Israel. And when all the living Jews in the world are suddenly drawn to Israel because God has called them there, they’ll demand a Temple so they can resume their Old Covenant relationship with Him. If He was calling them through the Messiah into a New Covenant relationship they wouldn’t need a Temple, so it has to be a resumption of the Old Covenant, which as we know was interrupted seven years short of it’s promised duration. Their New Covenant call, prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31, happens later during the time of the Two Witnesses (Rev 11) and they’ll respond to it toward the end of the Great Tribulation, according to Zechariah 12:10.
Also on the heels of Ezekiel’s battle, the anti-Christ will emerge with a plan to restore peace to the Middle East. He first appears as a peacemaker as foretold inDaniel 8:25. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. I prefer the King James translation of the second sentence, which begins, “By means of peace he will destroy many …”. So the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 creates the circumstances for both the anti-Christ and the Temple to appear on the scene, setting the stage for the Abomination that Causes Desolation.
Connecting The Dots
Using our Bible knowledge to back into the present from the Abomination that Causes Desolation, so far we find the sequence looks like this.
The Abomination can’t happen till the Temple’s built. But that can’t happen till a 7-year covenant is confirmed permitting its construction. (By the way, this 7-year period is often called Daniel’s 70th week because it’s the last week of years in a prophecy consisting of 70 weeks of years given to Daniel in about 538 BC. Dan. 9:24-27)
The 7-year covenant can’t happen till someone from among the descendants of the Roman people emerges with a plan for peace in the Middle East. And that can’t happen till the battle described in Ezekiel 38-39 puts the Middle East in all out war.
Ezekiel’s battle can’t happen until God is ready to reveal Himself to Israel again, bringing Jews from all over the world to Israel clamoring for a Temple so they can re-instate their Old Covenant relationship with Him.
For all of my 25 plus years as a student of prophecy, scholars have been expecting the Battle of Ezekiel 38. Yet the conditions that make it possible have never been met. For one thing, Israel has never known a single day of peace, let alone the prolonged period necessary for them to be described as a peaceful and unsuspecting people, the way they were in Ezekiel 38:8,11,14. Something has to happen to make them feel like they no longer have a threatening enemy while leaving Iran, Russia, and the other nations Ezekiel identified in position to attack.
Recently, several writers, myself included, have seen two other Old Testament prophecies as likely preludes to Ezekiel 38. In Psalm 83 it appears that all of Israel’s next door neighbors will rise up in an attack intended to destroy the Jewish nation, and Isaiah 17 specifically mentions Israel’s destruction of Damascus. The defeat of Israel’s neighbors fills in two more blanks in the end times sequence. First, it explains why none of them are mentioned in Ezekiel 38, when logic dictates that they should be right in the thick of things. Second, it reveals how the Jews can be caught with their guard down. With Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, and the others defeated, Israel will finally have some breathing room. Since Russia and Iran have traditionally used these neighbors as proxies rather than having a face-to-face confrontation, Israel may feel there’s no longer any threat from them either.
But Wait, There’s More!
And neither God’s revelation to Israel nor the emergence of the anti-Christ can happen until the Church is gone, for two very good reasons.
1. In Acts 15:14 James clearly prophesied that after the Lord had taken the church He would return and rebuild the Temple. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it” (Acts 15:14-16).
After the Lord has taken the Church, He’ll return and rebuild the Temple. Two Greek words are critical to our understanding of this passage. The one translatedtent also means Tabernacle, a reference to the Temple. The one translated takingmeans to lay hold of, or take up in order to carry, or carry away. I believe it’s a veiled reference to the Rapture of the Church preceding God’s return to Israel.
If so, it’s consistent with God’s way. He seems to focus either on Israel or the Church, never both at once. In the greater context of the passage James was illustrating this very point from the other end of the Church Age. He told the gathered Apostles that God was setting Israel aside while He took from among the Gentiles a people for Himself. But after He had taken them, He would return to restore Israel.
Later, Paul alluded to this sequence in Romans 11:25-27. I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
As I’ve pointed out before, in Paul’s day the phrase full number was a nautical term that stood for the number of crewmen necessary before a ship could legally set sail. Apparently God has assigned a specific number to the church before it can be raptured. When that number is complete, the Church will “come in” to the place prepared for us. Come in was another nautical term meaning “to arrive at the intended destination”, which Jesus described as His father’s house in John 14:1-3. Then God will turn again to Israel, reversing the hardening of Israel’s heart, taking the blinders from their eyes, and offering salvation once more.
2. In 2nd Thessalonians 2:6-7 Paul explained that the anti-Christ could not be revealed until the power that’s restraining him is taken out of the way (literally out of the midst). To most evangelical scholars the power Paul wrote about is the Holy Spirit. Since this power is sealed within us (Ephe 1:13) it stands to reason that if the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way we have to go too. Here’s another hint of the Rapture of the Church, this time preceding the appearance of the anti-Christ.
So if the Rapture has to precede both the revelation of God to Israel and the revelation of the anti-Christ to the world, then the Rapture has to precede the battle of Ezekiel 38 as well. Since no one knows what the full number of the Church is, no one can know in advance exactly how long before Ezekiel 38 the Rapture will take place. It could literally happen any day, and there’s no day more likely than any other. For that reason we can’t locate it any more specifically in the End Times sequence than to say that it must precede Ezekiel 38.
But apart from the rapture, the sequence of events will go like this. The Battle ofPsalm 83/Isaiah 17 come first, then when Israel feels secure the Battle ofEzekiel 38 will erupt. Then comes anti-Christ’s appearance as a peace maker, the 70th week of Daniel begins, the Abomination that Causes Desolation takes place , then the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming, the Millennium, and Eternity. The first of these could be very close. So close that you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 11-05-08
Is Ezekiel In Chronological Order?
Q. You have said in the past that Ezekiel’s prophecies are chronological. I agree with your view. However, Ezekiel 37: 26-27 (KJV) talks about the Lord making an everlasting covenant of peace with Israel with the Lord’s sanctuary and tabernacle in the midst of them. Some scholars have suggested that this prophecy will see fulfillment during the millennium or at the second coming at the earliest. I guess I am having trouble placing the events of this passage of scripture prior to the Gog and Magog war where Israel is hardly in peace.
Another Look At Ezekiel 38
I do a Bible study on Sunday afternoons and I’m teaching Isaiah right now. I came across something interesting and I would really like your input. I see Ezekiel 38 and 39 as the Day of the LORD due to some of the language and cross referencing it with the other prophets on the same event.
Seven Things You Have To Know To Understand End Times Prophecy … Part 1
Beginning a 3 part study on the End Times by Jack Kelley
With all the killer storms, earthquakes, wars and disease dominating our news, it’s not surprising that people are becoming more interested in End Times Prophecy. Even non-believers are wondering if the end is near. What is surprising is how little most Christians actually know about prophecy, especially since by some accounts it comprises nearly 40% of the Bible’s content, more than any other topic.
