GOG AND MAGOG
Every Sunday we present a prophecy update. We show how news and trends in the world corroborate centuries-old prophecies you read in the Bible.
A 2500 year-old passage in the Book of Ezekiel describes a coalition of nations that will, in the last days, invade Israel from the north. It presupposed that Israel, which at the time was overrun by the Babylonian Empire, would again be a sovereign nation living in its ancient land. That alone is a remarkable prophecy – having been fulfilled in our modern times, on May 14, 1948.
Some of the nations that will be involved in the invasion are listed by name. Russia seems to be the lead nation; also mentioned by name are Lybia and Turkey and Persia, which is modern Iran.
Anything going on in those nations with regard to Israel? A website called Asharq Alawsat (purported to be “the leading Arabic international daily” news” posted a story on January 26th titled, Lybia Pursuing Big Russian Arms Deal. ((http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=6&id=19651))
Excerpts:
Libya is seeking to buy more than two billion dollars worth of Russian arms including 20 fighter planes, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a military- diplomatic source.
The report came as Libya’s defence minister was due to visit Russia in the latest sign of renewed cooperation between Moscow and the North African state, which enjoyed close ties during the Cold War.
What about Turkey? Aren’t they allies of Israel? A military intelligence officer, Maj-Gen Amos Yadlin, was quoted in the Jerusalem Post, saying,
“[Turkey] is drawing closer to the side of Islamic radicals and further from Israel and the West…
“In the past, Turkey had ambitions of becoming closer to the West, beyond its acceptance into NATO,” Yadlin said. “They wanted to be part of the European market, and they thought that relations with Israel would help them advance in the American market. But then they received a cold shoulder from the Europeans and did not achieve what they wanted. In light of that, they changed their policies and are currently drawing away from secularism and going in a more radical direction. There are still joint strategic interests shared by Turkey and Israel, but it is not the same strategic proximity that they once shared.”
As for Iran, as recently as January 27th the NY Times posted a story titled, Iran’s Leader Predicts Israel’s Destruction. ((http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/27/world/AP-ML-Iran-Israel.html?_r=1))
Excerpts:
Iran’s supreme leader predicted the destruction of Israel in comments posted on his Web site on Wednesday, in some of his strongest remarks in years about the Jewish state.
In the past, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called Israel a ”cancerous tumor” that must be wiped from the map, but the new comments mark the first time in years he has openly speculated about Israel’s demise.
”Definitely, the day will come when nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime,” Khamenei was quoted as saying. ”How soon or late (Israel’s demise) will happen depends on how Islamic countries and Muslim nations approach the issue.” He did not elaborate.
He doesn’t need to elaborate because we see things trending just as prophesied by Ezekiel.
Does anything need to happen before Jesus returns to resurrect and rapture the church? No. And that’s why I like to end these updates by saying:
Get ready, stay ready, keep looking up.
Ready or not, Jesus is coming!
