As you look over the events of the past year, besides the presidential election, the one issue that is on the minds of world leaders and people from around the world, is Israel. Interestingly enough, God said that Israel, and specifically Jerusalem would be the focus in the last days, the focus of the world. This tiny little piece of property about the size of New Jersey, is a time bomb ready to explode. In Zechariah 12:2-3 we are told, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it." And that is exactly what we are seeing today, the beginning of a world coming against the nation of Israel.
Now understand that Israel has only been a nation since 1948, wandering without a homeland for almost 1900 years, and Jerusalem has only been it’s capitol since 1967, lost since 70 AD when the Romans came in and destroyed the city.
This is fascinating to me because in Ezekiel chapter 37, Ezekiel is given a vision of dry, lifeless bones, and God ask’s Ezekiel, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And Ezekiel responds by saying "O Lord God, you know." And God shows Ezekiel that these bones will live, as he is watching, Ezekiel sees these bones come together, and muscles and skin and the spirit of God breaths new life into them. They come to life!
Again, in 70 AD the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, killing millions of Jews and sending the rest of the Jews throughout the world. Then, as I have said, in 1948 Israel became a nation again, just as God said through the prophet Ezekiel. And since the day of their birth, their enemies have tried to destroy them.
This year we have seen things escalate to the point of war. What happened this time? On September 28, 2000 Ariel Sharon made a visit to the temple mount, and this visit was approved by the PA security service director, Jibril Rajoub. The only stipulation was Mr. Sharon was not to enter the Muslim mosque, which he of course would not do, nor was he to cause any demonstration. He had every right to visit the temple mount, and he had Palestinian approval. While there may have been some heckling and shoving, there was no serious violence during Sharon’s visit.
Now on the 27th of September, students of various ages were told that classes would be canceled on the 28th and were encouraged to go to Jerusalem to "Defend the Al Aqsa mosque." Then, by September 29th, at a sermon given at the Al Aqsa mosque, the many worshipers were told that the Jews were going to destroy the mosque to make way for a new Jewish temple. The Muslims were encouraged to "Eradicate the Jews from Palestine." So as these Muslims came streaming out of the mosque, they began throwing rocks and bricks, that were transported up to the temple mount earlier, and they were hitting the Jews who were praying down below, at the Western Wall.
Thus, to try and stop a potentially lethal stone throwing by these Palestinians, the Israeli police stepped in, and the uprising began and continues to go on, with many being killed or injured. Now you can’t blame the Jews for trying to stop this, we would hold the police accountable in this country if they did nothing!
The cry by the Palestinians was that this was a spontaneous action due to the persecution of the Palestinians by the Jews. Not so! Charles Sennott of the Boston Globe, from October 7, 2000 wrote:
"A senior Palestinian official acknowledged that yesterday’s protest was orchestrated. The rock throwing youths...quit the protest quickly after a request to do so by the same Palestinian official who encouraged them to demonstrate...After the [Sabbath mosque] service, Israeli police had a normal presence around the mosque and appeared to be showing restraint. But hundreds of Palestinian youths - at the direct encouragement of Faisal Husseini, the Palestinian Authority’s Minister for Jerusalem Affairs - began throwing rocks on Israeli police near the plaza of the Western Wall...The cycle was in motion... All day, rock throwers - referred to in Arabic as ‘shebab,’ or ‘the boys’- - were provided with wheelbarrows full of rocks that came from inside the Al Aqsa compound."
The Washington Post reported that "There is evidence to support the claim by Israelis that the Palestinian leadership has orchestrated the militia, as well as civilians and armed Palestinian police, in the rioting." And yet, the western media tends to play the Palestinians as David, fighting against the big, mean, evil giant, Goliath, Israel. Nothing can be further from the truth!
And all of this was born out of a failure of the Camp David II meetings where Barak was encouraged by President Clinton to give up the Jordan Valley, which is a buffer zone between Israel and the Arab tank armies to the east. He gave Arafat control of the old city of Jerusalem, he gave away a united Jerusalem. He gave away 90% of the west bank and Arafat rejected all these offers that Barak put on the table, the temple mount and a return to the pre-1967 Jerusalem boarders. All Barak wanted in return is to be able to build a small synagogue on the temple mount, and to be able to pray at the Western Wall. Again, Arafat rejected all of these things!
Understand this, the Palestinians are performing for the world, trying to make themselves look like they are being taken advantage of. The United Nations Security Council even bought into their tactics, voting 14 - 0 to condemn Israel for using excessive force in trying to put down this uprising against them. And we do need to remember that the United Nations is very anti-Israel.
You may remember the two Israeli reservists who sought protection in a Palestinian police station. But, instead of protection the police looked the other way as a mob seized them and stabbed them repeatedly, throwing one of the bodies out the window and into an angry mob who continued to beat this man and drag him through the streets. And, in a sign of victory, with the blood of these men on his hands, one of the Palestinian youths showed his hands to the crowds below. Both of these bodies were so badly mutilated they could only be identified by dental records! Now if that occurred in this country, we would be outraged, and yet we tolerate this kind of barbaric behavior by the Palestinians, why? Also, because this was bad for public relations in regards to their cause, the Palestinians tried to confiscate any film footage, any pictures of these murders!
Also, an Israeli civilian was beaten to death, stabbed and before they set his body on fire, they carved the words "God is great" on his back in Arabic with a knife. And yet Arafat continues to whip up the people against Israel by telling them not to stop the violence against Israel "Until Jerusalem, until Jerusalem, until Jerusalem, the capital of our independent Palestinian State." He tells his people "Barak has said he wants the peace process to stop, but our people are going on their road until they arrive in the holy land of Jerusalem, the capitol of the Palestinian nation. If Barak wants that, or if he doesn’t, let him go to hell." That is not the people speaking, but their leader! So much for the peace process!
But what about all the innocent children being hurt or killed by the Israeli soldiers? Again, like it or not, it is all a public relations matter for Arafat. Let me explain. Yasser Arafat has offered any Palestinian teenager $200 for being arrested by an Israeli soldier - a great photo shot for it will be of the Palestinian oppression and the Israeli force against them, even their children! And it gets even worse. Yasser Arafat will give any family $2,000 if their teenage child is killed by an Israeli soldier in this battle. And they are signing up by the thousands! And understand this, beyond, in the middle, throughout the mob of rock throwers, are Palestinians with guns shooting at the Israeli soldiers. So what are they to do but shot back to protect themselves. We would do no less.
Listen to this from the U.S. News & World Report, from November 13, 2000. It says:
"Arafat’s Palestinian Authority is quite direct in its encouragement of child fighters. In its TV, radio, and newspapers, the youngsters are praised as the ‘generals of the intifada,’ the ‘brave stone throwers.’...Arafat called for renewed resistance by young activists, ‘these children who throw the stones to defend Jerusalem, the Muslims, and the holy places.’ Often kids go straight from school to the front. ‘Children can go to school and take part in the intifada at the same time,’ Kadura Fares, a Palestinian legislator and a leader of Fatah, Arafat’s political faction in the west bank...Amid rampant poverty, unemployment, and Islamic military, the Palestinian attraction to martyrdom these days is powerful. In Ramallah, a man raced toward a line of Israeli soldiers shouting, ‘Allahu akhbar’ (‘God is great’), while holding in front of him a boy of about 2 whose head was wrapped in the green Hamas kerchief inscribed, "There is no God but Allah.’...Little Amir Wahidi didn’t know what he would get in heaven as a Shaheed, so a helpful man whispered in his ear, ‘Seventy-two virgins,’ citing the traditional Islamic belief. Amir heard wrong but showed the right enthusiasm. ‘A hundred and seventy virgins,’ he piped up."
All of this because a group of people, Palestinians, want a Palestinian state, a homeland. Is that so bad? Is that so wrong? Why can’t they have it? Listen carefully to what I have to say. I think you will be surprised by what I am going to tell you, maybe even shocked!
Palestinian’s and a Palestinian state is no more real than never-never land! In fact, the first time that name was used was by the Roman’s in 70 AD when they tried to eliminate the Jews, and they destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple of God. They then declared the land of Israel to be called Palestine, which is probably listed that way in your Bible, my Bible map calls it "Palestine in Christ’s Time." I am sorry, that is wrong, it is the land of Israel!
The name itself was derived from the Philistines, not even an Arab people! And it was a put down, showing the Jews that Israel would never be revived again, but they were wrong. But the reality is, Palestine has never existed as an autonomous entity. The land of Israel was ruled by various people, like the Romans, the Islamic Crusaders, the Christian Crusaders, the Ottoman Empire, and briefly by the British after World War I.
Also, these is no language that is Palestinian and there is no distinct Palestinian culture. Palestinians are Arabs, plain and simple! In fact, Yasser Arafat is not a Palestinian, he is Egyptian, but again, there is no such thing as a Palestinian people, so how could he be Palestinian!
Some may question the Islam holy sites that are located on the temple mount. Those sites are the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque, representing Islam’s third most holy sites behind Mecca and Medina. Jerusalem is spoken of over 800 times in the Old Testament Scriptures. Specifically, Jerusalem is mentioned some 677 times, the city of David some 44 times, and Zion some 153 times! And it is spoken of as a place for the Jewish people to dwell in. Many kings, prophets, people walked the streets of Jerusalem, even our Lord, and yet, for Mohammed there is no historical evidence that he ever visited Jerusalem. The Koran does not mention Jerusalem even once! You would think if it is such a holy site, that their holy book would mention it, but again, it doesn’t!
Interestingly enough, during World War II the British Army had a Palestinian Brigade made up entirely of Jewish volunteers! Then there was the Palestinian Symphony Orchestra, which again was all Jewish. In fact, even the Palestinian Post was a Jewish newspaper. So I guess there is a Palestinian state, it is called Israel, with its capitol, Jerusalem, occupied by the Jews. Dave Hunt puts things into perspective when he says "There never was a Palestinian people, nation, language, culture or homeland. They are always Arabs who immigrated into the land of Israel with no more right to make a ‘homeland’ therein than German, French, Dutch or other immigrants to carve up America to make ‘homelands’ for themselves."
Understand that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the land in the Middle East. Israel represents only one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass. That is what they are fighting for, not the one-tenth of 1 percent of the land, but for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Doubt that? Listen carefully to what these leaders have said.
Back on April 4, 1988 Time magazine said the following: "Had Egypt, Syria and the other Arab nations accepted Israel’s right to exist in 1947, the Palestinians would have been living for the past 40 years in a state of their own." After the battle in 1948, the Jordan Daily Al Difaa reported: "The Arab governments told us, ‘Get out so that we can get in.’ So we got out, but they did not get in." You see, if they would have accepted the land the United Nations wanted to give them in November of 1947, they would have had 82% of the land and they could have been living in a Palestinian state for the last 52 years! But they rejected it! They don’t want to co-exist with the Jews, they want them eliminated! So much for the peace process.
The day after Arafat signed the Deceleration of Principles, he assured the Palestinians over Jordanian TV that he was simply implementing the 10-step PLO plan of phases for Israel’s destruction. The first step, now successfully accomplished, calls for obtaining territory within Israel as a launch pad for her final holocaust!
Understand this, a handshake, a promise, a deal, the signing of a contract is meaningless to Muslims. Yasser Arafat, early in 1994, in a speech at a Johannesburg, South Africa mosque, called for the continuation of the Jihad or holy war so that the Arabs could retake Jerusalem. Listen carefully to what he had to say, for it is very alarming. He said:
"This agreement [between the PLO and Israel], I am not considering it more than the agreement which had been signed between our prophet Mohammed and Kuraish." You see, after signing this "peace treaty" with his own tribe, the Kuraish, Mohammed broke it on a pre-text, killed the Kuraish leaders and conquered Mecca. So what Arafat was saying is that the PLO’s agreement with Israel is only a step toward her destruction and this contract is intended to be broken! In fact, Arafat has said on several occasions, "The goal of our struggle is the end of Israel, there can be no compromise." Is anyone listening?
Mortimer B. Zuckerman said in the November 6, 2000 issue of U.S. News & World Report:
"Yasser Arafat masterminded the violence that has destroyed the dream that two antagonistic peoples could live together...He has convinced the most dovish that he is a pathological liar, a charlatan, and an imposter. As another Nobel peace laureate, Elie Wiesel, said, the doves ‘finally recognize Yasser Ararat for what he is: ignorant, devious, and unworthy of trust.’...A partner for peace does not set the region ablaze because this or that demand was not met. A partner for peace does not teach hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism to schoolchildren; he does not have his news media incite against his ostensible peace partner; he does not call for a jihad and celebrate suicide bombers; he does not tell Arab audiences the peace process was a subterfuge, citing a precedent set by Mohammed’s tribe, the Meccans, who signed a peace treaty and later went to war; he does not talk of victory over the Zionists, praising holy war or jihad while wearing a military uniform; he does not deny the existence of Jewish holy sites known to the whole world; he does not stand silently while other Jewish holy sites are destroyed; in short, he does not destroy the solemn pact he himself made at Oslo. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the ultimate Palestinian goal is not just the establishment of the state of Palestine but the destruction of the State of Israel...It is no longer a national struggle just between two peoples. It is an Israeli-Arab conflict on the verge of becoming a Jewish-Muslim conflict, which will make everything much more difficult to resolve."
You may be thinking "This is all very interesting, but what does this have to do with the Bible and prophecy?" Very much! Turn to Ezekiel chapter 38, after Israel is back in the land, which occurred in 1948, and they captured Jerusalem in 1967, for we are going to see a war break out against them with the soul purpose of Israel’s destruction. Who are these nations that are involved in this war? I think you will find this interesting, for it is lining up with the news reports that are taking place today.
In this chapter we read of Magog being the leader of this group of nations that will come down against Israel. Now who are the people of Magog? This is not a city, for the names of cities change, sometimes overnight. It is a people, and you can go back in history and see where these people lived, they are the Scythians. And in Ezekiel chapter 38, verses 6 and 15, we are told that these people are coming from the "far north." Go to a map and go straight up from Israel and you will run into Moscow. The area of Russia is where the Scythian people lived. The Russians are Magog! Still unsure? Still not sure that Russia is against Israel?
Back in 1983, during Israel’s war with Lebanon, the Israelis discovered a man-made cave extending 1 mile into a mountain. Packed inside this cave were tanks, all kinds of weapons, and ammunition that Russia was supplying to Lebanon. They were all Russian weapons! And there were so many weapons in this cave it took 3 days to empty the cave out!
Russia has been working closely with Muslim nations, siding with them, since they own the oil! And as you look at the list of nations that will come down with Russia against Israel, the ones listed in Ezekiel chapter 38, you will see that they are Muslim in faith. Who are these nations? Listen carefully.
1. MESHECH AND TUBAL SPEAK OF TURKEY, SOME SAY IT IS RUSSIA.
2. PERSIA SPEAKS OF IRAN AND IRAQ.
3. ETHIOPIA SPEAKS OF BLACK AFRICA, PROBABLY 2/3 OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.
4. LIBYA COVERS THE UPPER PART OF AFRICA.
5. GOMER SPEAKS OF GERMANY.
6. TOGARMAH SPEAKS OF TURKEY AND POSSIBLY THE FIVE REPUBLICS THAT BROKE OFF FROM THE SOVIET UNION WHEN COMMUNISM BROKE UP. THAT IS KAZAKHSTAN, TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, TADZHIKISTAN, AND KYRGYSTAN.
And understand this is not a political war, but a religious war that Russia will be drawn into because of these Muslim nations coming down to destroy Israel. It is as Ezekiel 38:4 says, "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords." Do you see how they are drawn into this battle, with hooks in their jaw, drawing them in, and I believe those hooks are these Muslim nations.
Let’s look at a few verses in Ezekiel chapter 38 to see how this comes to pass. Let’s begin looking at verse 8 of Ezekiel chapter 38, which says "After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you. Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: You will say, "I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates"’" Ezekiel 38:8-11.
Jump down to verse 14 now, where we read "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.’" Ezekiel 38:14-16. You see, once Israel is back in the land, Russia and her allies will come against her to destroy her.
In this battle God is going to destroy 5/6 of the Russian arm, Israel will be victorious! Again, let’s read in Ezekiel chapter 39, beginning in verse 1, which says "And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD. And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’" Ezekiel 39:1-6.
Now don’t be fooled by the weapons that are used, for when the King James writers were translating the Scriptures, they used words that were relative to their day. Let me explain. The word for "bow" can be translated "launcher." The word for "arrow" can be translated "piercing missile." I think we would recognize a different type of weapon today, far different than what the King James writers saw in their day. We would use a weapon that is relative to our day. Also, the word for "horse" can be translated "leaper." (Jeremiah 8:7).
And the end of the story is given to us in Ezekiel 39:11-16, which says "‘It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. Indeed all the people of the land will be burying them, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. The search party will pass through the land; and whenever anyone sees a man's bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.’"
This seems to speak of some kind of nuclear holocaust that destroys this army, for Zechariah 14:12 tells us "And this shall be the plague with which the LORD 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." It sounds like some kind of neutron bomb, that destroys all flesh, but leaves buildings standing. Also, they wait seven months to bury the dead and they hire professionals to come in and bury these bodies, to cleanse the land. And if a common person finds a bone, they are only to place a marker by it so the professionals can deal with it. As I said, 5/6 of the Russian army will be destroyed and the world will be terrified of a world-wide nuclear holocaust - until the rider on the white horse comes on the scene, the Antichrist, who will bring in a period of time, 3½ years of a pseudo-peace and safety. And then, the last 3½ years of the 7 year tribulation period will be hell on earth as he unleashes his wrath upon the world.
How close are we to this war? According to a military source in Israel, the Israeli military have planes in the air loaded with nuclear bombs, just in case Saddam Hussein attacks, for if he does, they will hit Bagdad in Iraq! This could be the beginning of this war and the start of the tribulation period, but keep in mind the grace of God. As Peter tells us, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9.
As I bring this study to a close this evening, and we prepare to usher in the year 2001, keep in mind we were very close once before. Back in 1973, during the six day war or the Yom Kipper war, Syria and Egypt attacked Israel. They moved so quickly into Israel that they just stopped, kind of bewildered by what transpired, giving Israel time to mobilize her forces.
But the destruction, the annihilation of Israel was so close, that the Israeli prime minister gave the word to arm the doomsday weapon. They would take out as many of the enemy as they could. So they took out their nuclear warheads, which was picked-up by Russian spy satellites. That caused the Russians to arm their nuclear weapons and put their troops in the air. The United States spy satellites saw what was happening and we did the same, placed our troops on red alert. But God gave Israel the victory with some incredible miracles, and things settled down, God’s grace was extended.
Let me ask you this, in 1973 how many of you were saved? I wasn’t and I’m sure many of you did not know the Lord either. Do you see how great the grace of God is towards us. He is waiting for that last person to come to know Him, and then He will call His bride home and the tribulation period will start.
Some of you may not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Understand this, you are not here by accident tonight, but by Divine appointment! There are no accidents with God. And the reason God has you here tonight is to receive His Son, Jesus Christ, into your life so that your sins can be forgiven and you can enter into that new life with Him. Jesus said in John 14:6,
"...‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’" There is no other way, it is only through Jesus we can have our relationship with the Father restored and our sins forgiven.
For those of you who do know the Lord, I encourage you to be students of prophecy. To keep your eyes focused upward for our redemption draws near. And don’t be afraid of the things that are coming to pass, but be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, sharing your faith with a world that is hopeless, fearful, and drowning in sin. Jesus came to set them and us free! Look forward to this coming year to see what the Lord is going to do in us and through us for His glory. Keep watching the news, and watch what is happening in Israel, for that is the next big event prior to the rapture of the church, the war with Russia and her allies coming down upon Israel to destroy her. The time is drawing close, and we, like John, can cry out "MARANATHA!" or "LORD, COME!" May you have a blessed year in the Lord, for his return is closer every day!