Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man,
set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech,
and Tubal, and prophesy against him, “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, I am
against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. “I will turn you
around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses,
and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and
shields, all of them handling swords.
Ezekiel 38:1-4 NKJV
Have
you ever heard of the “Instant Pot”? I
think by now most people have but if not, I think it can best be described as a
pressure cooker you can use to make dinner in a hurry. My daughter gave me one for Christmas and I
have to tell you I really enjoy using it not only for the speed in which it
cooks, but the convenience as well. In
essence, what you do is simply add all of the ingredients, push a button, and
twenty minutes later dinner is ready. Now,
while how I choose to cook my dinner might seem odd to be talking about, I
think some of you might have already figured out where I am going with all of
this.
“Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; “Gomer and all its
troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people
are with you. “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your
companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. “After many days you
will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those
brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of
Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and
now all of them dwell safely. “You will ascend, coming like a storm,
covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with
you.” Ezekiel 38:5-9 NKJV
Pressure
is one of those things that you don’t really think about until the point comes
when it has to be released. Of course,
when that inevitably happens, the effect is commensurate with the amount of
pressure that has been restrained. (rapture
hint) Old fashioned pressure cookers had
a gauge on top of the lid which let you know how fast and how much pressure was
inside the pot so it wouldn’t reach the point of exploding. Unfortunately, it is difficult to apply this
analogy to geopolitical realities because the amount of pressure and the resulting
point of explosion are subject only to observation and speculation until it
actually occurs.
“ ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day it shall come to
pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: “You will say,
‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful
people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having
neither bars nor gates’—“to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your
hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people
gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in
the midst of the land.” Ezekiel
38:10-12 NKJV
Many
who choose to study biblical prophecy and apply it to current events in the
Middle East are quick to point out that it is evident that not only are we
living in the end times as described in the scriptures, the pressure needed to
produce the explosion of end- time conflicts described in these verses from
Ezekiel is occurring right before our eyes.
Especially intriguing is the fact that all of the countries mentioned in
this passage, who in the past have not been on good terms with each other, are
now aligned as allies and consider the nation of Israel as a target of
opportunity waiting only for a plausible excuse to attack. For instance, something like the announcement
this past week of the discovery of another large natural gas deposit off the
coast of Israel.
“Sheba,
Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you,
‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to
carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great
plunder?’ ” ’ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus
says the Lord GOD: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you
not know it? “Then you will come from your place out of the far north,
you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company
and a mighty army. “You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud,
to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against
My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog,
before their eyes.” ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Are you he of whom I have
spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for
years in those days that I would bring you against them? Ezekiel 38:13-17 NKJV
When
this conflict occurs, however, it might be wise to consider the possibility
that it is not the pressure of these nations’ desires and the resulting actions
that the world needs to be concerned about, but rather the pressure of God’s
wrath exploding upon the attacking nations which will be a demonstration of His
power which has not been seen in a very long time. I want to suggest that for thousands of years
God has watched the world persecute His people, the nation of Israel, as His
Holy Wrath has grown to the point that it is today. How much you ask? Look closely as it is described in the
following verses to get an idea of just how much pressure is going to be
released.
“And it
will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,”
says the Lord GOD, “that My fury will show in My face. “For in My jealousy and
in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a
great earthquake in the land of Israel, ‘so that the fish of the sea, the birds
of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the
earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence.
The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall
shall fall to the ground.’ “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all
My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his
brother. “And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I
will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him,
flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. “Thus I will magnify
Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations.
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’
Ezekiel 38:18-23 NKJV
I have listed a few of the articles I read this past week
below so you could see what prompted my thoughts for today, however, if the
thought of what is to come makes you uneasy, understand that God has provided a
way of escape for those who choose to believe that He sent His Son to die for
our sins. If you have never accepted
that gift, I encourage you to do that today.
Simply confess to Jesus you are a sinner in need of salvation, and ask
Him to forgive you of your sins. Tell
Him you believe that He died for your sins and that He has the power to give
you eternal life because you believe.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NKJV
Keep watching.
