Israel and the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39

Over the last few weeks and months I have found myself truly astonished at the speed of which Bible prophecy appears to be unfolding on the world scene. If one looks back towards the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama, one will notice that around the same time things started to change for Israel and the Middle East in general. With the inauguration of President Obama looming in early 2009, Israel was pressured into ending the war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas during Operation Cast Lead. This pressure resulted in Israel not finishing their objective of wiping out Hamas and their military infrastructure. Instead, Israel prematurely ended the war in order to appease the incoming U.S. administration who did not want to enter office with the Middle East in outright war mode. This turned out to be a huge mistake for Israel and has set in motion the current situation where Israel finds itself in an even worse situation than before and after Operation Cast Lead. Not only have the terrorist organizations on the borders with Israel gotten stronger, they have also gotten the bigger players in the region such as Iran, Turkey, Russia and Syria to increase and amplify their anti-semitic propaganda and threats.

Looking around the news scene today I was astonished to see the names of Turkey, Russia, and Iran dominating the headlines. As students of Bible prophecy we know that these countries will make up three of the major players in the coming Gog and Magog war spoken about in Ezekiel 38-39. Let's look at today's news and take a look at the rumblings coming from the Middle East and from the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39. The New York Times is reporting:

"Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran convened at a security summit meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday in a display of regional power that appeared to be calculated to test the United States just one day before a scheduled American-backed debate in the United Nations Security Council on imposing tighter sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program."

"In remarks at the gathering of regional leaders, the third of its kind dedicated to increasing cooperation and security in Asia, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said a nuclear agreement brokered by Turkey and Brazil last month was a one-time opportunity and other countries had called to express their support for it."

“We’ve seen a lot of support from the international arena,” he said, according to the Turkey’s official Anatolian News Agency. “This is the voice of everyone’s heart.” Mr. Ahmadinejad also maintained a defiant posture toward the United States."

I find it very interesting that the NY Times article mentions the meeting between Iran, Turkey, and Russia as a "test" of the United States. The reason I find this interesting is that in Ezekiel 38-39 the prophet mentions that the far away countries simply throw a "mild protest" as the future Gog and Magog allies head down towards Israel for their ill-fated date with destiny in the mountains of Israel. With U.S. President Obama at the helm of the U.S. military, it would appear to me that the Gog and Magog allies are "licking at the chops" at the possibility of making a move on Israel given the recent outbreak of violence over the Gaza flotilla crisis. Even if the recent Gaza flotilla crisis hadn't occurred, it appears that the world has sensed a radical change in U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration. Gone are the tough and determined ways of the George Bush era, in is the Islamic appeasing ways of the current administration. For me, this just seems to have emboldened our enemies and given them more motivation and determination to try to wrestle world control away from the West and more towards the East. As a result, the door has swung wide open for the arrival of the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39. Eventually the leader of this conflict, Gog, will devise an evil thought and try to make a move on Israel in another effort to destroy the Jewish state. Only through the supernatural intervention of God does this plan fail and Israel is spared.

Another article that got my attention was one coming from Israel National News where it was being reported that Iran's offer to send two military ships to escort Gaza blockade ships was rebuffed, not only by Israel but Hamas as well. The INN article reports:

"The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it would send two warships to the Mediterranean to escort ships headed for Gaza in defiance of Israel’s blockade. Israel, as expected, warned against the move, and even Hamas turned down the offer. “We do not want any military intervention,” Hamas senior figure Jamal Al-Hadri told the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat. Israel said it would not allow Iranian warships to approach Israel or Gaza, just as it did 18 months ago by blocking access to Gaza. "The Iranian regime has called for Israel to be wiped off the map," an Israeli official has been quoted as saying, "and has a proven track record of supplying dangerous weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah... We cannot take a chance that there is weaponry on the ships… If we didn’t let an Irish ship reach Gaza, we are certainly not going to let Iranian ships pass.”

On the surface it would appear that Hamas would want to welcome Iran's intervention in the Gaza flotilla situation but, strangely enough, that doesn't appear to be the case according to the report. I would suspect that Hamas is very wary about an increased Iranian presence in the Gaza enclave should they send naval ships to Gaza. This sort of situation could erode Hamas' power in the strip and increase the influence of Iran. And Hamas certainly doesn't want that to happen. Despite Hamas being funded in a large part by Iran, the leaders of Hamas know that it is best to keep the Iranians at arms length and for good reason.

Another article from the Jerusalem Post shows that Turkey and Russia are making threats that they will not provide natural gas exports to Israel as a result of recent hostilities in the Middle East. The Jerusalem Post article reports:

"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that they don’t plan to export natural gas to Israel via a new pipeline to Turkey. “There is no such thing on our agenda,” Erdogan said at a news conference with Putin in Istanbul when asked about the gas. Russia has held talks on shipping fuel to Israel from a pipeline under the Black Sea. OAO Gazprom, Russia’s natural-gas export monopoly, is negotiating supplying the fuel, Gazprom chairman Viktor Zubkov said on March 22."

This increased rhetoric aimed at Israel is just more of the same anti-semitic propganda that regularly makes its way to the airwaves. Despite the joint Turkish and Russian announcement, the article noted that due to Israel's recent natural gas find they may not need the Turkish or Russian gas anyway. The Jerusalem Post article went on to further state:

"Israel may not need the extra gas, which could be transported to Syria or Lebanon instead via the planned Blue Stream-2 pipe, Putin said. “The Blue Stream gas may not go to Israel because of economic considerations,” Putin said. “I don’t think Israel needs the gas because they found a reserve recently.” Turkey has said it’s considering paring economic and military ties with Israel and has recalled its ambassador to the country after nine Turks were killed on an aid flotilla headed for Gaza and intercepted by Israeli commandos last week."

What's interesting to me is that Turkey has been very "two-faced" lately towards Israel. One day you will find them on their soapbox making all sorts of demands and threats towards Israel and the next day you will find them trying to wedge themselves into the Middle East peace process as a "mediator". This ridiculous behavior shows that the Turks simply can't be trusted and should be removed from any serious Middle East peacemaking efforts. The truth is the Turks are sounding more and more like the Iranians with each passing day and this does not bode well for Israel as it is just a further sign that the conflict foretold in Ezekiel 38-39 is getting closer and closer with each passing day. While the actual conflict may be a little way off (Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 may need to occur first), we can certainly see that the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39 is definitely making moves on the world stage and heading towards their prophetic destiny. As we see this "Unholy Trinity" making their moves, we students of Bible prophecy need to be looking up, for the Bible tells us that when we see the signs of the end times around us, our redemption is drawing nigh!

It's amazing to be part of the generation that is witnessing all of the prophesies given in Scripture come to pass!

I guess this is the bottom-line appeal of apocalyptic insanity. How could the consummation of all history happen at any time other than when someone as important as me is walking around on the ground?

How sad, not to have any reason to pursue excellence in the arts or sciences, since those projects take too long, and we obviously don't have the time. We'll let the ungodly dominate every field of endeavor outside of soul craft, right?

I think, most of all, I grieve for the children of the apocalyptics. How sad, not to have any hope to offer them, that they might grow up to enjoy children of their own. How sad, to crush their aspirations, their God-implanted callings, for anything more demanding than dead-end menial jobs.

I do find hope in the fact that so many large, Calvinist, home-schooling families are also post-millennial. When people are committed to the failure of the gospel, sometimes you just have to outlive them and outbreed them.

Twelve spies went into Canaan. Caleb and Joshua saw rich opportunities for a faithful God to show more faithfulness. Ten spies saw only the certainty of disaster. The faithless spies undermined the morale of Israel -- and a whole generation died off in the wilderness, pointlessly wandering around for 40 years. It's hard to soar with the eagles when you live with the turkeys -- but 40 years later, at age 85, Caleb claimed to be as strong as ever, and said "give me that mountain!" I think the apocalyptic hysteria of so many otherwise faithful Christians retards the whole body of Christ. But for those of faith, the hope of outliving the doomsayers and fortune tellers keeps us cheerful. At least, we know, our children will outperform theirs. The future belongs to those who trust God for it, and work in terms of that trust. Not to those who write off the future, and their children.

I understand the position of the post-millennialist, and as a "realized millennialist" I recognize that I can have some interpretational issues that could just as easily have me join their camp - at least the partial preterist division. Ten years ago, I was sanctified out of Dispensationalism, and on a daily basis I find yet more and more reasons to write it off as the apostasy it is.

I know that libraries of books have been written on the subject, and some time on the internet will cover most of the arguments. Speaking of libraries of books, I mostly read 15th through 19th century theological works and I find it interesting, yet not surprising, that the popularity of certain millennial views vary along-side contemporary culture. For example, during the Great Awakening, the great theologians were predominately post-millennial since empirically it appeared to be the trend. The Church at large (worldwide), for the past few thousand years has been primarily amillennial with certain notable groups holding to what is now called "Classical Premillennialism" The Darby/Scofield variety of Premillennialism, appears to be a rather young creature, an outgrowth of the American Religion (Big-Box Churchianity) and slick marketing campaigns designed for wealthy western culture enamored with our own narcissism and a general attitude of treating our LORD as our Cosmic Concierge.

Before I answer a few of "GiovannaNicoletta's" open questions to "Mark was here", I have a few of my own.

Our LORD only speaks of two ages, the Present Age, and the Age to Come. By whose authority do Dispensationalists come up with 4,7 or even 8 different "Dispensations".
What is this obsession with an earthly temple and the resumption of temple sacrifices? Was our LORD's death and resurrection insufficient? Was it not actually finished, but now we must revert to the system of temple sacrifice? What does it say about Christians who are encouraging Jews to continue to reject Jesus Christ and in fact blaspheme the cross by aiding them in recreating the Temple in Jerusalem and goading them into making animal sacrifices? Furthermore, how can God honor any people who reject His Son and favor a resumption of the types rather than the fullfillment.?
1 Corinthians 2:14 says that the natural man cannot understand the things of God since those things are spiritually discerned. Furthermore we have in Revelation 22:7 "Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." If the way the Dispensationalists handle Revelation is correct, are any of you planning to be here for the Tribulation? Would it be fair to say that those who are "left behind" are not Believers? If so, how do the reprobate receive a blessing, let alone understand any of Revelation since Scripture says that it is "foolishness to them"? From the Dispensationalist's point of view, most of it after Chapter 3 is irrelevant to all of the Church througout her entire history since it only speaks allegedly to those who will suffer the various, seals, bowls and trumpets after all of the Believer's have been "raptured".

When was the Gospel preached to all the nations?
Romans 10:18 - But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world."
Colossians 1:5-6 - "..in the word of the truth of the gospel which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing fruit..."
Colossians 1:23 - "if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister."

Who was the Antichrist?
Who needs an Antichrist? The only mention of such a character is in 1 John, and that person is characterized as one who is a deceiver and denies that Jesus is the Christ and denies the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:18-23). In fact, it seems to me that Dispensationlism is trying to make anti-christs by urging the Jews to deny Jesus Christ by building yet another temple in which they can blaspheme our LORD's finished work on the cross by sacrificing critters rather than rely on the Blood of our Savior. Seriously. Why do some Christians want to make a new red heffer, raise money to build another temple, and rebuild the furniture sans the Ark and the contents therein? Isn't that like driving the getaway car to a bank robbery or holding the flashlight while another cracks the safe? Do you sincerely think God will bless that?

Why did we have the rebirth if Israel in 1948 if all of the prophecies that pointed to the literal return of Christ already happened?
There is a secular nation called Israel, two-thirds who are ethnic Jews, who occupy a fragment of the Middle East, So what? In Joshua 21:43, the promise the LORD had sworn to Abraham concerning the Land of Israel was fulfilled. There is no need for a future Israel, that promise was already kept thousands of years ago. If there is a physical nation of Israel or not fulfills no specific orthodox Biblical prophecy. Besides, isn't it more than a generation of time since 1948? Wasn't this the reason why one of the modern day Prophets declared the LORD's return in 1988? There is no Temple Mount, unless our LORD lied in Mark 13:2, Matthew 24:2 or Luke 21:6. The Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock) sits on what was formerly the plaza of Fort Antonia where the Roman garrison stayed. The actual temple was immediately to its south, and is no more, because, as our LORD clearly stated, "not one stone will be left upon another". When our LORD makes statements like that, they are meant to be kept, hence no stone will be left upon another to this day and until the End of the Age. I submit that Islam is here to make sure that promise stands.

Where is the record written anywhere that China had a 200 million man army in 70AD?
Where in all of Scripture does it even make reference to China, let alone a 200 million man standing army? This is part of the problem in your questions, all of these questions are based on the fallacy of the Dispensational hermeneutic that all things must convey some hybrid of literalism and selective imagery randomly grabbed from unrelated places in Scripture and universally projected to be in our future. For example, Hal Lindsey taking liberties in calling the clearly symbolic locusts of Rev 9:3 and transforming them into actual US made Apache Helicopters. Are you going to then ask, "Where did the Apache Helicopters with Hellfire missles that took down the Jerusalem Temple in 70AD come from?" Similarly, Hal Lindsey also made up the 200 million Chinese Army by taking some Scripture from Rev 9:15-16 and gratuitously merging it with Rev 16:12. It is a fraud, and the rank and file Dispensationalists are gullible consumers of this dreck.
Let's examine this 200 Million Man March on Jerusalem. That is one-fifth of China's population. China's current military according to wikipedia is presently 2.3 million active, 1.2 reserve. That is a tiny fraction of 200 million. I will grant that those available for military service (age 16-49) is 654 million, three times more than Hal Lindesy says is needed. The present military budget is $80B, or 1.5%% of China's GDP. What do you suppose it would be to handle 100 times that? Remember, the 200 Million is the number who descend upon Jerusalem, that does not include all of those in the supply lines, traingin, communications, logistics, intelligence, command, etc.. Then there is the issue of supply and transport. The Persian Gulf War of 1990-91 included the transport of 500,000 men and their equipment to the region and it took the US with all of its transportation capabilities six months to execute that move. Now amp that up by 400 times for an emerging industrial nation who still buys its navy from the Russians. Then consider the route through or around the Himalayas. The Lindesy Prophecy says that this army will be crossing the Euphrates river by land. Extrapolating the US experience in getting a military fielded in the Middle east, we are talking about 200 years to pull this off. Exactly how is the Chinese budget going to pull that off? Do you have any idea how much fuel and food that is required? And while 200,000,000 men are marching, who is working the fields and factories? Where do the officers come from? How do you conscript, train, assign, house, clothe, feed, march, coordinate these sort of numbers? Furthermore, in anyone's wildest imagination, what sort of military operation has as its only solution decimating its industry to field this kind of military? Its insanity like this that ought to tell the Dispensationalist that maybe this 150 year experiment in anti-orthodox eschatology might be wrong.

GiovannaNicoletta, I simply ask that you take a look at what many generations of devout Christians believed before this largely American fanaticism of Dispensational Premillennialism was invented. There are numerous serious doctrinal problems with Dispensationalism: the most obvious, the dividing of the People of God, the reinstitutionalizing of temple sacrifice, narcissism over humility before God, the reckless profaning of Scripture to sensationalize and sell books and Prophecy Conferences, etc. Its not an easy road to go down. Dispensationalism is sexy because it has violence, and freaks of nature, intrigue and mystery. Fortunately, God didn't isn't trying to compete with Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. Revelation is, as the letter begins, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, not the Antichrist and a continous pattern of cryptic catastrophes. It is about "things which must shortly take place...for the time is near" not thousands and thousands of years later. It was written to the seven churches so that they should "keep those things that are written in it" not for a world full of God hating reprobates who are wondering why planes are crashing to the ground.

And if the events of Revelation happened, then Christ has already returned, we've had the thousand-year Millennial Kingdom, we're now in eternity with a New Jerusalem, the curse has been lifted, Satan is in hell, and there should be no more sin like murder, rape, child abuse, homosexuality, etc.

That would be a caricature of orthodox eschatology. It is only the literalists who demand a literal one-thousand year interval and a literal earthly reign. Quick question, in Psalms 50:10 we read that our LORD owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so who owns the cattle on the remaining hills? Or in Deut 7:9 God keeps His covenant and mercy for a "thousand generations". If a generation is forty years, do we have another 36,000 years to wait before the end of this Age?

There are some real serious doctrinal issues that you have brought up. When you say that if Satan were to be in Hell, there should be no more sin, are you actually suggesting that to the extant of man's fallen nature, we only sin if Satan is actually there to perform live tempting? Are you assigning omnipresence to a created being? For you would have to if Satan is tempting each and every one of us - or are some people so special that Satan alternates between a few, especially while they are sleeping?

Lets examine the neo-Judaistic thought that Jesus isn't really King (despite Rev 1:5) unless He physically occupies a throne on earth among the holy and the unholy. Never mind the implied weakness of this King who somehow overlooked the massive conspiracy for a violent coup 'd etat that was to take place exactly 365,250 days into His term of office. When He allegedly rules with a rod of iron, does that only include rape and murder or does it cover things like disobedient children and telling lies? So how does this work, a reprobate sinner decides to fulfill his job description and sin, does he get smacked down right there? Paralized? Have his Free Will changed so that it only can do good, but then expires after exactly 1000 years? Gossiping is a sin, so when a harmless conversation accidentally slips over that fine line into gossip, does lightning originating out of Jerusalem strike down the transgressor? According to Matthew 5, even harboring hate is the same as commiting murder, lust is no different than actually commiting adultury - both are capital crimes in the OT Law. So a dirty thought or calling someone a name get the Death Penalty from God or does He keep a double standard? Eating of the tree of Knowledge thrust all of creation into futility and death, bringing billions upon billions to die and many to burn in Hell for all eternity. Just one sin. How does that work out in the alleged earthly reign?

I really appreciate your enthusiasm, but when doctrines abandon Scripture, the resulting mess brings shame to our faith.
Sam Waldron wrote an easy to read book on the subject

It seems as though the traffic is mainly going one way -- away from this tragic error that turns Christians into cheerleaders for Satan's team, and towards a saner, happier, perspective on time.

In a wierd way, it was this Pessimillennialism that drove me out of that camp. I remember when people were selling their homes and living it up on credit cards because they were absolutely convinced that the LORD was due on The Feast of Trumpets.

I remember the terror tactics used back in the 70s when all of this was the in thing. The hypothetical newspapers they made that pretended the "Rapture" allready occured. It is funny that this element of people will immediately take sticks and chase you out of the room if you declare God's Grace in Election because they think that it is harsh for God to force anyone, yet they thought it was perfectly respectable to terrorize young people into salvation with fears of being left-behind in a feral god-less society. "You better love God now, or you will suffer unimaginable horrors and misery."

For a thread on Ezekiel 38-39, there is an amazing lack of discussion on it. FWIW, I subscribe to the Gog and Magog image as the spirit of Antichrist, along with those who actively hate God's People (your pick of who), who rise up together to attack the Saints. Along their course others give their thumbs up approval and may even want to tag along for the fun of it. When it appears to be most grim, the Spirit of the LORD, simiarly to what happened at Sodom, stirs up a confusion where they essentially eat each other leaving the Saints of God unmolested.

I can't find any example or type of this in Scripture though, which makes it a dead-end for an actuall physical fulfillment. Rather, as far as the eye can see, when God raised up armies, it was to lay the Smack Down on a disobedient Israel. (pre 70AD). This might fit in better with your PostMil theories.

One thing that I was impressed upon while reading a vast body of literature on these passages, is the variety of opinion to who Gog and Magog was/is. The only conclusion I could come up with is that Gog and Magog are not to be identified since they aren't a concrete instance of any one entity. Instead, it appears that they represent the spirit and body of evil that wars against the Saints.

It sounds like you depended on writings of men in your past...

I would be interested to know what you feel is to be the better alternative.

Is it less noble to stand on the shoulders of giants so that we can see further? I'm not so arrogant that I feel that the only opinion that counts is my own, and it would be folly to disregard the accumulated knowedge of well trained and devout men of God who devoted their lives to our edification and knowledge of the things of God. And yes, I do "depend" on the lexicons, the encyclopedias, and commentary of those whose writings which have endured the test of time and peer review, rather than the "pull date" from a book publisher's rotation schedule.

Yet it sounds like you are still depending on writings of men

Am I to assume that you eschew all theological teaching? That is, you don't triffle with the words uttered by a pastor, nor do you heed the verses within a confession? Are daily devotionals only as good as yesterday's comics? Are you a master of the Greek and the Hebrew? Have you a unique channel to the mind of God that somehow has eluded all the theologians of the past? Has Truth skipped two thousands years of believers and has only been revealed to you ?

As a simple test to your unique wisdom, how do you interpret the words in Rev 9:16 'δισμυριάδες μυριάδων'? Some folks interpret it as "a whole bunch", NIV "two hundred million", GENEVA "twenty thousand times ten thousand", KJV "two hundred thousand thousand", AMP "twice ten thousand times ten thousand". If you are into the importance of words and numeric expression you would find significance there. If you are simply a literalist you would do ? because literally it is "twice ten thousand ten thousand". If you interpreted it as an idiom you would say it in an equivalent english colloquial "myriads upon myriads". Let the Spirit guide you. There is only one correct answer, right?

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The Three Amigos

The Three Amigos