Get ready! The stage is now being set for the great war prophesied by Ezekiel in the Bible (Ez. 38, 39). It is very possible that this war could break forth in the next few years. Compare Ezekiel's prophecy (detailed here) with the world situation of today.
"Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog . . .and say, 'Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog . . . and I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords: Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples with you." (Ez. 38:2-6) (Note that Ezekiel used terms of his day to describe armament.) Ezekiel used the ancient names for areas and peoples now identified by scholars as follows: The land of Magog described the vast plain of southern Russia where the Scythians (called Magogites) roamed. This area now consists of five Moslem republics of the former USSR. Gog is the symbolic name for the leader of these attacking Russians and he coordinates all the attacking parties. Persia includes modern Iran (97% Moslem), and possibly Iraq (96% Moslem) and Afghanistan (99% Moslem). The land called Put is essentially Libya (96% Moslem), and ancient Ethiopia includes today's Ethiopia (45% Moslem) and Sudan (70% Moslem). In Ezekiel's day Gomer was identified with Asia Minor (Turkey – 97% Moslem). Beth-togarmah (i. e., the house of the son of Gomer) would include eastern Turkey, the republic of Armenia and the Moslem republic of Azerbaijan. Other peoples may also be included in the attack, since the Bible says, "you will go up . . . you and all your troops, and many peoples with you" (v. 9). What a great confederacy of attackers this will be!
"You [Gog] will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste, but its people were brought out from the nations." (Ez. 38:8). Israel is the target of the attack! In 1948, the nation of Israel was miraculously reborn (as prophesied in Ez. 36:24) and now many Jews have left the nations to return to their homeland.
The Jews will once again be the target of those who hate them. The rise of radical Islam over the past few decades has intensified the desire among their enemies to destroy the Jewish nation. Hamas, Hezbollah and other organizations, along with Iran and others are openly calling for the destruction of Israel. This awesome assault upon Israel is coming. Bible predictions always come true – and the stage is now being set.
"'And it will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,' declares the Lord God, 'that My fury will mount up in My anger. And in My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. And the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. And I shall call for a sword against him on all My mountains,' declares the Lord God. 'Every man's sword will be against his brother. And with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him; and I shall rain on him, and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire, and brimstone. And I shall magnify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.'" (Ez. 38:18-23) God Himself intervenes to thwart the attack!
God's supernatural judgment is not only to protect His covenant people Israel, but also to make Himself known to the nations. When this event is over, all the earth will know that God's judgment is real. This attack takes place "in the latter years" (Ez. 38:8), near the end of the age, but it is not the final battle known as Armageddon. The period at the end of the age begins a time known as "the day of the Lord", a time when God directly judges this sinful world. "Near is the great day of the Lord . . . a day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress . . . and I will bring distress on men . . . because they have sinned against the Lord . . . neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath . . . for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth." (Zeph. 1:14-18)
God is merciful and does not want you to suffer His wrath. Jesus took the punishment for your sins on the cross and rose again that you might be forgiven and have eternal life. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God." (1 Pet. 3:18). "In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." (Eph. 1:7). Salvation is a free gift offered to you by God: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Eph. 2:8) As an act of your will you must personally receive this gift through faith, by believing – trusting – in Christ as your Savior. "Believe in [trust, rely upon and depend upon] the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved." (Acts 16:31). You may express your decision in prayer: "Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. I trust in you for forgiveness and receive you now as my Savior."
If you are already a born again Christian, thank God. But, do not be deceived by thinking that just being born again is adequate preparation for Christ's return. You are saved for eternity, but you will still have to appear before Christ's judgment seat to have your deeds judged (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10-12). If our work is fleshly, we will "suffer loss", but be saved "so as through fire." (1 Cor. 3:15). If we have not been a faithful servant, then He will take our stewardship away from us in His coming 1,000 year kingdom (Matt. 25:14-30; Lk. 19:12-26). If we ignore the Lord's coming and live in worldly pleasure, God will chastise us when Christ returns (Matt. 24:48-51; Lk. 12:45, 48). Therefore, as we now see the Lord's return drawing near, we should seek Him in sincerity of heart daily, repenting from any sin, any love of the world and any living for self or worldly pleasure. We should live soberly in light of His coming. We should live in holiness and service to Him until He comes (2 Pet. 3:11-15; Lk. 19:13).
(All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible)
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