“So I
will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not
let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am
the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.”
Ezekiel 39:7 NKJV
Do
you believe in miracles? As believers, I’m
pretty sure there is no doubt, but what about the rest of the world? Do you think they believe as well? Here is the definition of miracle by dictionary.com; “1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that
surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural
cause. 2. such an effect or event manifesting or
considered as a work of God. So to
answer my last question, I rather doubt the unbelieving world believes in
miracles because they choose not to believe in God. That said, it looks to me as if God will soon
choose to use a miracle to prove to the world, and Israel, that He does indeed
exist.
“And
this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who
fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their
feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall
dissolve in their mouths.” Zechariah
14:12 NKJV
I’m
willing to wager that when these words were written around 520 BC, people had
no idea what to make of them, and more than likely they were a source of
animated discussion for quite some time. While this passage was written some twenty five hundred years or so ago, the advance of technology has certainly offered up a more
reasonable explanation of the possible source of these events than was
available back in Zechariah’s time. Yet,
as I said, there certainly still is discussion on this and other passages which
many believe are the result of the use of modern nuclear weaponry.
“It
will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in
Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct
travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore
they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. “For seven months the house of
Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. “They will set apart
men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the
land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At
the end of seven months they will make a search. “The search party
will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up
a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog.
“The
name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the
land.” ’ Ezekiel 39:11-16 NKJV
We
talked a little last week about the possibility of a nuclear exchange between
Gog and the “coastlands” as part of the attempted invasion of Israel by Gog and
his allies. While that premise might be
an unacceptable one for some, it would appear that to most Biblical scholars and
commentators I have researched, this conclusion is the most logical explanation
for the words of these prophecies. This passage from Ezekiel 39 is one of the
most curious descriptions of the aftermath of a battle to be found in the
Bible. It describes in great detail not
only the importance of collecting the dead and burying them, but procedures for
identifying and retrieving the pieces as well.
Jack Kelley put it this way in his commentary on this passage.
“Another reference is
Ezekiel 39: 12-16 where the after battles clean up describes procedures
remarkably similar to the way a modern army would clean up a contaminated
battlefield. This suggests low power tactical nuclear weapons may be used
against Israel’s attackers. If so then the damage to Israel would be confined
to the actual battlefield rather than being a general destruction.”
While
I have heard objections from a few concerning the possibility that this passage
and others describes the use of nuclear weapons, I have yet to hear any
reasonable explanation from doubters on the cleanup process revealed in this
passage. One of the most often used
objections to the possible use of this type of weaponry is the resulting
fallout and contamination which would necessarily be the natural result. That objection, however, might actually be
the basis for the conclusion that God will in fact use a miracle to prove to
the world that not only does He exist, but will defend His people and His
land.
“If the Lord was
personally defeating Israel’s enemies, I don’t think He would contaminate His
own land in the process.” Jack Kelley
Israel
has fought wars of survival since its’ inception in 1948 and any study of those
conflicts will reveal stories of deliverance that, to those who believe, show
the hand of God working on the side of His people. Yet it has not been enough to convince the
world of His existence, or the position He takes concerning Israel. God makes it clear in this passage from
Ezekiel that, “Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in
Israel.” To those who would object
to the possible use of the type of weaponry these verses seem to describe, I
would simply ask a question that has already been asked in the Word of God.
“Behold,
I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27 NKJV
Imagine if you will a scenario where nuclear
weapons are used in this battle, in the mountains of Israel, yet not only is it
just Israel’s enemies who fall but Israel itself is protected from the
contamination which accompanies the use of these weapons. Would that not fit the definition of a
miracle? An event which is completely
unexplainable? My God can do anything, and
He has made it clear from the description of the events in this prophecy that
the day is coming where the entire world will witness a miracle which will defy
any explanation other than God does indeed exist, and He fights on the side of Israel.
If
you are reading these words today and have wondered just what in the world is
going on, you are not alone. The truth
is the world as we know it is rapidly approaching the end, and soon God will
allow His Son, Jesus, to remove all those who have chosen to believe in Him and
His sacrifice for our sins. That removal
is called the rapture and it is the event all believers have been watching and
waiting for. The situation this world
finds itself in today has been written about by the prophets of old, and we
have been told to expect the return of Christ when we see these things begin to
occur. If you have never made the
decision to accept the free gift of salvation offered by the sacrifice Jesus
made for us, I encourage you to do it today.
Simply pray a prayer like this;
Jesus
I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to
die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want
to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to
live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Keep
watching.
