Current events in the Middle East and Russia have brought on speculation that Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about to be fulfilled.
I believe that the conditions are not right for Ezekiel's War to happen in the near future. Israel is not at peace. I think this war will happen soon after the mid-point of the Tribulation, possibly the opening battle in the War of Armageddon.
I think Psalm 83 may go with Isaiah 17, the Judgment on Damascus. The Psalm does NOT say that Israel will be prosperous afterwards, and Isaiah 17 definitely says the opposite. Israel will have suffered considerably during this war.
The scenario that I see is this:
Iran, hoping to deflect Israel's attention from its nuclear program, gets its puppets, Hezbollah, the Palestinians, and Syria (and others), to launch a war against Israel. Syria is known to have chemical weapons that can be delivered by missile. I could see Syria using one or more of these chemical WMDs on Israel. Israeli military doctrine calls for a nuclear response, most likely against Damascus, thus fulfilling Isaiah 17.
The destruction of Damascus in this fashion could provide the push necessary for the Arabs/Muslims to accept a hudna (truce for the purpose of gathering the necessary strength to destroy an enemy), a peace treaty, with Israel. A seven year peace treaty is well within the Islamic doctrine of up to 10 years for a hudna.
We know that a seven year peace treaty with Israel is the marker for the beginning of the Tribulation. (I'd always wondered why this peace treaty was only for seven years. Now we know. It's not really a peace treaty, it's a hudna.)
Israelis right now are "girding their loins" trying to work up the resolve to attack Iran. Given the change in political leadership in Israel that is about to take place, I think it likely that this could happen in the next couple of months, maybe even September. To accomplish a preemptive strike, Iran would need to get Hezbollah and Syria to attack very soon to beat the Israelis to the punch. There have been rumors of such an attack since last Spring.
This timing would work well with the possibility of the Rapture happening during the Feast of Trumpets (Sept 29 - Oct 1).
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You have touched on a significant biblical prophecy that appears to have a real possibility of fulfillment. As I view current events, I am continually asking God for his wisdom and insights on world events. I always ask, "God, what are you doing?" I believe God is as active in world events today as he was in biblical times.
ReplyDeleteYou hit on a significant fact - the Shiite Muslim sect could become a sizable force if unified from Lebanon to Iran. God is in control though. I believe God has used the U.S. to drive a wedge right through the middle of this block with the U.S. invasion of Iraq. God has raised a deterrent that protects Israel and controls events until His timing for the end times.
This raises three interesting topics of discussion that I would love to hear other Christian's wisdom and insight on:
1. How can a messy war in Iraq be in God's hand? I believe God's wisdom is so much larger than our wisdom. Your blog on Ezekiel's War shows this. I personally believe God is using the U.S. for his purpose. I also believe that President Bush is a God-fearing Christian that has tried to follow the will of God throughout his presidency. President Bush never should have been elected in 2000. Only by the hand of God, supported by the prayers of a God-fearing church in the U.S., are we able to have a Christian president who God has used to control world events and combat human evil such as 9/11 and terror world-wide.
2. I also believe God has been using the U.S. in this same manner since the late 1800's. God's blessing on the U.S. appears to correlate directly with His moving in the hearts of Jews in Europe in the late 1800's and resulted in the Zionist movement that ended with Israel becoming a nation. God raised up the U.S. to combat evil through WWI and WWII and the Communist uprising, and to serve as a super power covering of Israel as a nation. The U.S. has put Israel under its wing and no nation has dared touch them.
3. How can all this be true given the fact that the U.S. and President Bush are not perfect? God has always used imperfect vessels for his will. I believe God has blessed the U.S. because of the heart and prayers of the God-fearing Christians in the U.S, not the non-believers. The U.S. is rampant with sin, but God has blessed and used the U.S. only because of the elect, who are continually turning to God. The same is true for President Bush. We look at his presidency through our imperfect filters and have not seen God's bigger picture.