“And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Speak
to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and
come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am
sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That
you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes
of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of
Bashan. Ezekiel 39:17-18 NKJV
If you have followed the news from the Middle East lately, I
am sure you have seen that the focus of Israel’s eyes have turned to the Golan
Heights and the presence of Syrian/Iranian troops there. These troops have been the focus of
discussions between the leaders of Israel and Russia since they first arrived,
and even so this past week. Despite
assurances from Vladimir Putin, Israel is extremely wary of this situation and
has taken appropriate steps to address any event where these troops might seek an
excuse to venture into Israeli territory.
This article was written a couple of years ago, but the current
situation prompted me to post it again as a reminder of what the Word of God
tells us will happen in this part of Israel in the very near future.
I suppose it would be fair to say that the majority of those
believers who choose to be watchmen are without a doubt watching closely for
the prophesied war of Ezekiel 38-39 which is also known as the Gog Magog
War. While many may be familiar with
what the Word has to say about it, I’m willing to bet that while most know it
takes place in ”the mountains of Israel”, what they may not know is where
those mountains are. The key is found
when God describes the bodies left over from the slaughter as a “sacrificial
meal” and then as the “fatlings of Bashan”. You see, the bodies’ litter the
ground at Bashan, which today in Israel is known as the Golan Heights.
Rather than explain the importance of this piece of ground
in Israel, I am going to let you read the words of Grant Jeffery from his book Armageddon concerning the Golan, and
Russia’s coming day of destruction.
The Strategic
Importance of the West Bank and the Golan Heights
“If Israel's
present government under Prime Minister Netanyahu continues the disastrous
policies of former prime ministers Rabin and Peres and surrenders the vital strategic
territory in the West Bank and the Golan Heights in its "Land for
Peace" negotiations with the PLO and its Arab neighbours, Israel will face
military disaster in the next war. The tragic four-thousand-year history of the
Middle East indicates clearly that another Arab-Israeli war will occur. It is
only a question of timing. Israel requires military control of the land on the
Golan Heights, Gaza, and the West Bank in order to provide the strategic depth
to defend itself against the overwhelming military force of twenty-one enemy
Arab nations. The Arab nations possess territory that is five hundred times the
size of tiny Israel. Why do the Arabs need the small strategic territory of the
Golan Heights and the West Bank? The real reason that the Arabs need this
territory is so they can destroy the Jewish state of Israel. Every single
European or American military study in the last thirty years has concluded that
Israel cannot be defended by conventional weapons if it surrenders military
control over these vital strategic territories. The 1992 study by the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that Israel can not surrender the Golan, Gaza,
or the West Bank and expect to survive the next Arab invasion.
History shows
that victorious nations have never returned land captured from their enemies
following a defensive war in which they were forced to defend themselves
against their attackers. The Golan Heights represents less than 1 percent of
the territory of the large nation of Syria. The Golan Heights was only controlled
by Syria for a few decades after World War I. They lost it to Israel in the
Six-Day War in 1967. The only reason Syria needs this small territory is to use
it to attack Israel. However, Israel desperately needs the Golan Heights to
resist Syria's tanks. Moreover, 30 percent of Israel's water comes from the
Golan Heights. If they surrender control of the West Bank territory, Israel
will be less than nine miles wide at its center near Tel Aviv, where almost 80
percent of its population lives. In a future conflict Arab armies could easily
cut Israel in two by attacking from the PLO-controlled high ground of Judea and
Samaria (West Bank). The Jewish state could then be overrun in a matter of
days. Unlike other conflicts in which defeat leads to a loss of territory and
political freedom, an Arab conquest of Israel would lead to a massive slaughter
of the Jewish population.
In a future war
Israel may be quickly forced to resort to nuclear weapons when they find their
small diminished territory about to be overcome by Arab armies. The Israeli
army describes this desperate scenario as "the Samson Option" because
it would lead to the destruction of the whole Middle East; Samson, too, brought
down the temple on his enemies and on himself. Despite this grim reality, the
Israeli government has agreed to relinquish much of the strategic area of the
West Bank and all of Gaza while continuing negotiations with Syria about the
Golan Heights. Military and intelligence sources have informed me that if this
"Oslo II" peace process continues, for the first time since its
creation in 1948, Israel's conventional army and air force will soon be unable
to successfully defend its vital territory and population from an overwhelming
Arab armed invasion.”
One of the more fascinating conclusions Grant Jeffery comes
to concerns when he believes the Bible tells us this war will occur. If he is right, then the current moves we see
happening today in Syria above the Golan should be a warning sign no one should
ignore.
“Although
Scripture does not indicate the year in which this future invasion and defeat
of Russia will occur, the prophet Haggai gives us a strong indication of what
the actual day may be. Haggai reveals that on the twenty-fourth day of the
ninth month (Chisleu) of the Jewish calendar, the day before Hanukkah, God will
deliver Israel as He did twice before on this day: (1) the defeat of the Syrian
army and recapture of the Temple in 165 b.c. and (2) the British capture of
Jerusalem from the Turks in 1917 during the closing battles of WWI.
The prophet
Haggai declares: "The Word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and
twentieth day of the month [Chisleu], saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of
Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the
throne of kingdoms and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the
heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and
the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his
brother" (Haggai 2:2022).
This
description by Haggai, and the exact language of his prophecy, is uncannily
like the language of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that describes Russia's defeat. The
interesting point is that Haggai names the exact day of the year on which this
will occur. Since so many other prophecies have been so precisely fulfilled to
the day, there is a strong probability that this prophetic event will also
occur on its appointed anniversary date of the biblical calendar. "Behold,
it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have
spoken" (Ezekiel 39:8). God's appointment with Russia is set; it will not
be postponed.”
If one might wonder if Israel considers this piece of ground
to be that strategically important, we can listen to what the current leader of
Israel has to say on the subject.
“Speaking at
the first ever Cabinet meeting to be held in the territory, Netanyahu stated on
April 17, 2016, that Israel will never give up the Golan Heights. “It’s time
that the international community finally recognize that the Golan will remain
forever under Israel's sovereignty,” said Netanyahu to a crowd of supporters
gathered around the Israeli officials.”
I can’t tell you how often I hear people ask questions
concerning how to know just what is going on in the world today and how to make
sense of it all. My response, and yours
as well should always be, read your Bible!
Keep Watching
