BrittGillette.com (Link)
- Britt Gillette (November 2, 2009)
Rumors of Iran, Israel, and war are everywhere you look in today’s news
headlines, and for those with knowledge of
bible prophecy, this should command immediate attention. Why?
Because, when it comes to the end times, the Bible has a lot to say about
Israel and war with her neighbors. In fact, Iran is specifically mentioned in
this context... 2,600 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel identified modern day Iran (Persia) as a
key player in the last days
Gog / Magog invasion:
“This is another message that came to me from the
Lord: ‘Son of man, prophesy against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who
rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Give him this message from the
Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy! I will turn you around and put hooks
into your jaws to lead you out to your destruction. I will mobilize your
troops and cavalry and make you a vast and mighty horde, all fully armed.
Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya will join you, too, with all their weapons.
Gomer and all its hordes will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah
from the distant north and many others.’” Ezekiel 38:1-6
(NLT)
In addition, Psalm 83 identifies Syria as a land that will conspire to
destroy the nation of Israel:
“‘O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive!
Don’t you hear the tumult of your enemies? Don’t you see what your arrogant
enemies are doing? They devise crafty schemes against your people, laying
plans against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel
as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.’ This was
their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you – these
Edomites and Ishmaelites, Moabites and Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, and
Amalekites, and people from Philistia and Tyre. Assyria has joined them,
too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot.” Psalm
83:1-8 (NLT)
All that said, why should it matter that the prophets long ago identified
these nations as end times enemies of Israel?
Because through careful study of the scriptures, one can see today’s geopolitical
landscape aligning itself for fulfillment of these very end times bible
prophecies. And, of course, in order to fulfill end times bible prophecies we
must be in the end times, and the scriptures reveal that Jesus Christ will
return as the final fulfillment of all end times prophecy.
So current events in the Middle East should serve as a reminder of Christ’s
imminent return. In fact, the Lord Himself expected his disciples to carefully
examine the
Word of God so as to be prepared for His return:
“So be prepared, because you don’t know what day
your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42 (NLT)
Jesus went so far as to rebuke the Pharisees for not recognizing the signs of
the times, for the religious leaders of His day had full knowledge of
the prophecies of the Messiah, yet they still chose not to believe in Him:
“One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test
Jesus’ claims by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven. He
replied, ‘You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather
tomorrow, red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You are good
at reading the weather signs in the sky, but you can’t read the obvious
signs of the times!’” Matthew 16:1-3 (NLT)
This passage reveals the expectation Jesus had for the people of His day. He
expected them to fully recognize and eagerly await the time of His first coming.
Should we expect any less in regard to His second coming? Without a doubt, he
holds our generation to the same standard of accountability.
Because the Lord commanded us to be watchful, we need to pay careful
attention to today’s headlines. Here’s a few recent ones:
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