“And now, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel.<\/p>\n
Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to God’s Message. God, the Master, says, Because the enemy crowed over you, “Good! Those old hills are now ours!” now here is a prophecy in the name of God, the Master: Because nations came at you from all sides, ripping and plundering, hauling pieces of you off every which way, and you’ve become the butt of cheap gossip and jokes, therefore, Mountains of Israel, listen to the Message of God, the Master. My Message to mountains and hills, to ditches and valleys, to the heaps of rubble and the emptied towns that are looted for plunder and turned into jokes by all the surrounding nations: Therefore, says God, the Master, now I’m speaking in a fiery rage against the rest of the nations, but especially against Edom, who in an orgy of violence and shameless insolence robbed me of my land, grabbed it for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a teacher of Bible prophecy, I feel sometimes that I am asked too often about the famous Gog\/Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39. Sometimes people want to know exactly when this scenario will unfold. Not to mention those who insist that this battle already happened, in ancient times.<\/p>\n
For many reasons, I believe Gog\/Magog is yet future. Recent events compel me to join those who always ask me when it will unfold. I think it\u2019s close, too!
\nPlease read those chapters for yourself, but in brief: a leader from a country north of Israel decides suddenly to invade Israel, with a coalition army. As soon as the army arrives in Israel, God supernaturally destroys most of it.<\/p>\n
In Ezekiel 36, we read about Israel\u2019s enemies \u201ccrowing\u201d that they have now taken possession of \u201cthe old hills.\u201d Technically, this could refer to the Golan Heights, seized by Israel from Syria during the Six Day War of 1967, but more likely, it refers to the country\u2019s heartland, the \u201cmountains of Israel,\u201d which run through the middle of the country. The West Bank.<\/p>\n
All this came into sharp focus today as the American president stunned the world by demanding that Israel retreat to its borders from the morning of June 4, 1967. In those days, Israel\u2019s borders did not include Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan, or the West Bank (known in the Bible as Judea and Samaria). <\/p>\n
In 1981, Israel returned the Sinai (thus fulfilling the return of 91 percent of the territory taken in \u201867\u2014this is a little-known fact). In 2005, Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip. The nation has also turned over the administration of certain territories in the West Bank, as well. <\/p>\n
None of this has satisfied the international community. The demand now is to give up all the captured territory from 1967. Even American military planners have always known that those borders\u2014in a sea of hostile Arab nations\u2014are indefensible. Benjamin Netanyahu is making that argument now, but it won\u2019t matter to an international community intent on establishing a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n
This scenario is just one more painfully obvious evidence that Bible prophecy is true and, just as important, it is with us today, right now. Please read all of Ezekiel 36, and meditate on the fact that that scenario fits very well with today\u2019s geopolitics in the Middle East. The Palestinians have thirsted for the West Bank for 20 years, ever since the West pulled Yasser Arafat out of irrelevancy and exile and made him a Nobel Prize winner. <\/p>\n
Another common question is, \u201cWho is Gog?\u201d Some say a Russian leader; others come up with different candidates.<\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t matter. Why?<\/p>\n
Because Gog is coming. And hell is coming with him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“And now, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to God’s Message. God, the Master, says, Because the enemy crowed over you, “Good! Those old hills are now ours!” now here is a prophecy in the name of God, the Master: Because nations came at you from all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":392,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n