Wars and Confusion

 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison  and he will go out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to assemble them for battle, whose number is like the sand of the sea.  And they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the fortified camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Revelation 20:7–9 (LEB)

The prophecy mill starts grinding at full speed every time we hear of wars and rumours of more wars in the world, especially when Israel is involved. In 2023 we now have secular people using biblical terms such as “Armageddon” and “Messiah”, and terms such as “Sampson option” referring to Israel’s nuclear program. The Prime Minister of the political state of Israel just claimed he was going to fulfill prophecies in Isaiah.

The following is from www.jordannews:

“We will fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. You shall hear yet more destruction in your land. We will bring glory to your people. We will fight together, and we will win,” he said according to Khaberni. 

The alleged prophecy Netanyahu referred to is linked to a figure named Isaiah who would be a leader, raise a banner for the nations, gather the dispersed of Israel, and assemble the outcasts of Judah from the four corners of the Earth. Some Jewish zealots have connected this prophecy with the return of the Messiah, which is believed to occur with the return of Jewish exiles to Palestine. They are eager to promote this prophecy to push for the return of Jews to Palestine as part of fulfilling God’s plan.

The article misinterprets the prophecy in the book of Isaiah because Isaiah is not speaking about himself. They get closer to the truth when they say “Jewish zealots have connected this prophecy to the Messiah”, but none of this is related to the current situation, as far as I am concerned. Leaders are playing on people’s emotions by using religion to advance their political ambitions.

The prophecy in Isaiah speaks about the Messiah, who I believe is Yeshua. Religion is so complicated because of all the sects and their different belief systems. In Judaism, they believe their God is the creator God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that the Christians serve a different God. Christians think they serve the same God as those in Judaism and often do not realize that they do not. Muslims serve a God that is not recognized by those in Judaism or Christianity. This means that there are three gods that are involved in the current situation. I wonder what the real God of Abraham thinks about all of this?

Isaiah 24:1–5 (LEB): 24 Look! Yahweh is about to lay the earth waste and is about to devastate it, and he will twist her surface and he will scatter her inhabitants. ² And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the female slave, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the one to whom he lends. ³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste, and it shall be utterly plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word. ⁴ The earth dries up, it withers; the world languishes, it withers. The elevated of the people of the earth languish, ⁵ and the earth is defiled beneath its inhabitants. For they have transgressed laws; they have passed by statutes; they have broken the everlasting covenant.

Many Christians support the current political state of Israel because they think that every move Israel makes is ordained by their God, yet the Prime Minister of Israel is a secular leader that is not at all religious. If one wants to understand current events, they must research Zionism, Zionism compared to Judaism, and the dispensationalism theology of evangelical Christianity. Anyone in any of these camps will view events through their own lenses, but all of these ideologies are often blended, creating nothing but confusion.

When the current state of Israel was formed in 1947, it was likened to the “dry bones” prophecy in Ezekiel. Is it possible that a country formed by the United Nations after World War II fulfilled this prophecy found in the book of Ezekiel?

Ezekiel 37:12–17 (LEB): ¹² Therefore prophesy, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am opening your graves, and I will bring you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel! ¹³ And you will know that I am Yahweh when I open your graves when I bring you up from your graves, my people! ¹⁴ And I will put my breath into you so that you may live, and I will cause you to rest on your soil, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act!” ’ declares Yahweh.” ¹⁵ And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “And you, son of man, take for yourself a piece of wood, and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the Israelites his associates,’ and take another piece of wood, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the piece of wood of Ephraim and all of the house of Israel his associates.’ ¹⁷ And join them one to the other with respect to you as one piece of wood, so that they may become one in your hand.

This is speaking of a physical resurrection where God is going to raise his people from the dead. This is not something the United Nations did. God is going to reunite the two kingdoms, the house of Israel and the house of Judah. We have not witnessed this yet. Twelve tribes were part of the united kingdom of Israel. Where are they now?

Ezekiel 37:21–24 (LEB): ²¹ And speak to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am taking the Israelites from among the nations to which they went, and I will gather them from everywhere, and I will bring them to their own soil. ²² And I will make them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and they will all have one king as their king, and they will not again be two nations and will not again divide into two kingdoms again. ²³ And they will not defile themselves again with their idols and with vile idols and with all of their transgressions, and I will save them from all of their apostasy by which they sinned, and I will cleanse them and they will be for me as a people and I, I will be for them as God. ²⁴ And my servant David will be king over them, and one shepherd will be for all of them, and in my regulations they will go, and my statutes they will observe, and they will do them.“

These prophecies have not happened yet, and they will not be completed with political wars, massacres or acts decreed by the United Nations. The Creator of the universe is going to come out of His place and make this happen.

Isaiah 26:18–21 (LEB): ¹⁸ We became pregnant, we writhed; we gave birth to wind. We cannot bring about deliverance on the earth, and no inhabitants of the world are born. ¹⁹ Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise. Wake up and sing for joy, dwellers of the dust, for your dew is celestial dew, and the earth will give birth to dead spirits. ²⁰ Go, my people, enter into your chambers and shut your doors behind you; hide for a very little while, until the wrath has passed over. ²¹ For look! Yahweh is about to come out from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth against him, and the earth will disclose her blood and will no longer cover her slain.

These verses from Isaiah have more language concerning the resurrection. The Creator is going to punish the iniquity of the earth and set up a kingdom where the “servant David” will rule. This kingdom will be one of peace, not constant war. This is how we know it has not happened yet. There is no one living safely in the land. The prophecies are completely different than what is happening today. God is going to change the world into something different that has nothing to do with politics. It will finally be a just and peaceful place.

Ezekiel 37:26–28 (LEB): ²⁶ And I will make with them a covenant of peace; an everlasting covenant it will be with them. And I will establish them, and I will cause them to increase, and I will put my sanctuary in the midst of them forever. ²⁷ And my tabernacle will be with them, and I will be for them as God, and they will be to me as a nation. ²⁸ And the nations will know that I, Yahweh, am consecrating Israel when my sanctuary is in the midst of them forever.” ’ ”

This will be the Millennial kingdom. God is showing Ezekiel chronological events. Everyone will be living in peace in this kingdom and then Gog and Magog will come against the kingdom. We have not seen the peaceful kingdom, so we cannot be witnessing the Gog and Magog war.

Ezekiel 38:7–9 (LEB): ⁷ Be ready, and prepare yourselves, you and all of your assembly, the assembling around you, and you must be for them as a guard. ⁸ After many days you will be mustered; in the last years you will come to a restored land from the sword, gathered from many peoples on the mountains of Israel which were as permanent ruins but from peoples it was brought out, and they will dwell in safety, all of them. ⁹ And you will advance like a storm; you will come, and you will be like a cloud covering the land, and all of your troops and many nations along with you.”

Here we see the restored lands “from ruins” where people are dwelling safely. I am guessing that we have not yet seen the complete “ruins” as of yet, and this is what we are witnessing, the ruining of the land where no one will be able to dwell in it. Nuclear disaster is the only thing that I know that will truly ruin a land and cause no one to be able to dwell there. There are many verses in the prophets to support a restored earthly kingdom with the Messiah, son of David, ruling.

There is a summary in the book of Revelation concerning the Gog and Magog war. It is clearly after the one thousand year reign of the Messiah on earth. This is the “camp of the saints and beloved city”.

Revelation 20:7–9 (LEB): ⁷ And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and he will go out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to assemble them for battle, whose number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹ And they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the fortified camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Twentieth century Christianity created a narrative of prophecy that is very confusing, and I believe it is being used to garner support for the political ambitions of world leaders. Unfortunately, not very many people take the time to examine their belief system and where it originated. People tend to rely on emotions and what they think they know or have been told. Yeshua told us to “watch” and to “be not deceived”.

Featured photo by Austrian National Library on Unsplash.