Ezekiel 38-39 records the future war between Israel and the coalition of forces comprised of Russia, Iran and a host of others. We live in a unique day when the smallest details of Bible prophecy are beginning to take shape. The promises God made regarding Jerusalem are filled with tension and lead to wars like the war of Ezekiel 38-39 and Zech.12. Today, the tension over Jerusalem has the world in turmoil. A false peace deal will come from antichrist in the aftermath of war. The Ezekiel war is tied to what is happening with Jerusalem. What are the evidences that these prophecies are in play today?
Israel is surrounded by enemies who communicate what the Bible says they would say in the end times. Groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, ISIS, and Al Nusra pronounce the same thing regarding Israel. They say, “Come let us wipe them out as a nation that the name of Israel will be remembered no more.” (Psalm 83:4) The groups funded by Iran are carrying out the wishes of the leaders of Iran who want Israel destroyed. The Arab nations were united on several occasions to wipe out Israel, 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973. Since 1973 they changed tactics and started using terrorism instead of State sponsored wars. The Islamic world however is divided into two groups vying for control. On one side, the Shiite Muslims are led by the Iranians and the Sunni Muslims are led by different groups such as the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, or by a man such as Erdogan in Turkey. All are in agreement about the eventual destruction of Israel, but all are not in agreement over the timing and severity of that destruction.
The Saudis are fighting a proxy war with the Iranians and want the Israelis to help them. The division between Muslims is raging in the Middle East. God does have a habit of causing His enemies to fight among themselves. It is a tragic story of death and destruction as every day hundreds die as Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims kill each other. As they kill each other, Israel prepares for war and tries to prevent it by launching raids into Gaza and Syria preventing these Jihadi groups from getting more sophisticated weapons. General Oliver North had a report on Fox and said, “because ISIS is falling Iran is reestablishing a land route that goes from Iran to Lebanon (thru Syria) and is in the Becca valley to support Hezbollah. This is a clear line of logistic support providing weapons and convoys and we need to help the Israelis deal with it.” Because the heat is turning up on the northern border of Israel, the USA gave a green light to Israel to take out the number one General of Iran, the head of the Al Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The words Al-Quds mean the city of Jerusalem literally meaning the “Holy One.” So lets get this straight, the name of the army from Iran is the Jerusalem Force? Yes, that’s right folks, the Iranians believe that they need an army to liberate Jerusalem from the Jews and drive them into the sea. Their leader the Ayatollah Khamenei wrote a book on how he would destroy Israel and kill all Jews. Doesn’t that sound like another nut case named Hitler? The major players in the Ezekiel war are Iran and Russia and Iran calls its army the Jerusalem Force! So you see the two prophecies are related. In fact, three miles from Israel is the 313 Battalion from Iran. This is significant because 313 is the number of fighters who Muslims believe will arrive with the Muslim savior, the Mahdi to kill all of us Christians and Jews. This Battalion 313 is named after an Islamic prophecy, this is a religious war.
As the Iranians have fought and won these battles in Iraq and Syria, they call the army the army of the Messiah, meaning the Muslim messiah. They are recruiting people to join their Shiite army to help them kill all of the Jews. They are very excited because they have beat the Sunni army called ISIS, they are confident that they can now fight against Israel. This confidence is part of the details of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy.
As a Christian I believe that God chose Jerusalem as His eternal capital! 2 Chronicles 6:5-6 says, “Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city in all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, and I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.” The world has rejected this truth and Satan is attacking the very idea that God has chosen Jerusalem. This is why armies are coming against Israel.
The Jerusalem Post reported, “The political-security cabinet has met many times in recent weeks and discussed Iran’s presence in Syria and Lebanon, and especially how Israel should deal with the changes taking place on the border with Syria. A recent ceasefire agreement between the U.S., Russia, and Jordan left Iranian-backed militias just three miles from the Israeli border. Israel has promised in recent weeks that they would strike any Iranian military presence within 40 miles of the border.” The likelihood of direct military conflict between Israel and Iran is a matter of days away. Iran is there to stop Israel and America from declaring and moving on Jerusalem being the capital. One Christian commentator said, “As far as God is concerned, Jerusalem has been the eternal, undivided capital since the reign of David,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, whose television program, Focus on Israel, is aimed primarily at evangelical Christians like herself who see the Bible as “true and historically accurate.” God, she said, “established the boundaries of all the nations, and he chose the city of Jerusalem for himself.”
The increase in tension was felt this week in other ways. From Israel Today on Jan.7th, Trump Follows Through on Threat, Slashes Aid to Palestinians: “For decades, Middle East despots and warlords were conditioned to shrug off American pressure, knowing full well that the White House didn’t have the guts to follow through. Well, those days are done under Trump, and the Palestinians just learned that lesson the hard way. Last Thursday, Trump tweeted that he was questioning the usefulness of massive American financial aid to the Palestinian Authority when it continues to incite against Israel and won’t come to the negotiating table. Just days later, it was revealed that Trump had significantly slashed US contributions to UNRWA, the special UN body set up to cater solely to so-called Palestinian “refugees.” Three Western diplomats confirmed to Israel’s Channel 10 News over the weekend that Trump had frozen $125 million in annual aid to UNRWA, about one-third of the annual US contribution. The sources added that Trump could increase the cut to $180 million if the Palestinian Authority fails to get the message and rejoin the peace process.”
This is having a negative effect on the Palestinians as they see it as another reason to attack Israel and America, as if they needed another one. Peace deals have never worked with them and they never will! They are not interested in peace, they are only interested in destroying Israel! This comes on the heels of the US withdrawing from the Iranian Nuke deal!
The Times of Israel had this report on Jan.8th, “Iran warns world to prepare for US nuke deal withdrawal, Tehran says Washington will face ‘appropriate and heavy response’ if Trump administration walks away from 2015 accord. “The international community must be prepared for the US possibly pulling out of the JCPOA,” said deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, using the technical name for the nuclear deal.” I always saw the deal as a step towards war, giving Iran an advantage against Israel. Pray for the president as he has a big decision regarding this deal in the next few weeks.
The tension raised in the last few weeks has also hit the USA. Mosques are being taken to task for sermons advocating violence against Jews. Algemeiner Report had an article that included this: Imam Abdullah Khadra of Raleigh, NC cited a well-known hadith (a maxim attributed to the Prophet Muhammad) which holds that “at the End of Time, we will fight those Jews until the rocks and the trees will speak: ‘Oh Muslim, this is a Jew behind me’.” The Syrian-born Khadra’s sermon was brought to light by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which has recently uncovered examples of similarly provocative sermons delivered on the same Friday in New Jersey and Houston, Texas. “It is not acceptable to the Muslim world that Jews, or Israel, have any control of Jerusalem, and many Muslims do not accept that there is really a religious connection between Jews and Jerusalem, because they believe that it belongs to Muslims.” What this Imam said is the general consensus among Muslims it is covered up by our press and denied by most of our politicians.
As I am putting the final touches on this update, this came across the news: US President Donald Trump signed a waiver on Friday keeping the Iran nuclear deal alive, at least for now, saying this would be the last time unless Congress and European countries heed his call to strengthen the deal. “Today, I am waiving the application of certain nuclear sanctions, but only in order to secure our European allies’ agreement to fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal,” Trump said in a statement. “This is a last chance.” The President is keeping the Iran deal alive for now, putting pressure on congress and the Europeans to put something else together or he will cut the deal. This will embolden Iran and they will see it as a green light—when it is a warning to back off. Pray for revival and that Christians in the Middle East will be protected. A revival is happening in Iran, many are coming to Christ. The reports are so thrilling—God is in control! Let me leave you with this verse as a prayer: Psalm 119:17, “Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.” Pray that God will cause you to have power so that you can live and keep His Word this week!
