“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. “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.” Ezekiel
38:1-7 NKJV
It
seems that anytime the subject of prophecy and the end times comes up the
conversation almost always includes this event detailed by the prophet
Ezekiel. With good reason, I might add,
simply because all of the prerequisites are in place and all that is needed is
the excuse all of these nations are waiting for. While hatred of the state of Israel and the
people who make up the Jewish nation is not new, it is the scope which has
caught my attention recently with almost daily reports of anti-Semitic attacks
being reported in the news, many from places I certainly would not expect.
Antisemitism (also
spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice, or
discrimination against Jews.[1][2][3] A person who holds such positions is
called an antisemite. Antisemitism is generally considered to be a form of
racism.
As
I have studied this passage over the years, one of the nations identified as
participating in this attack has always intrigued me, especially considering
the events of the Second World War. That
nation is Germany, which most of us realize has an unfortunate history of
persecution of Jews which many would consider adequate reason to avoid a future
conflict. Yet here they are, listed by
Ezekiel as a participant in the invasion which is on our horizon. I have included this excerpt from an article
from KHouse.org which helps make clear the identification of Germany as a party
to this invasion.
“Next comes Gomer.
Gomer was a Son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2, 3; 1 Chr. 1:5, 6) The Midrash calls
Gomer Germania as does the Talmud. Last in the list is Togarmah, which is
present-day Armenia. Verse six adds the phrase, with all its troops—many people
will accompany you. This trope may simply define the numbers of the nations
already mentioned, or it may include other nations not previously mentioned. In
all probability, it is the former that is implied.
From the text, it
would appear the nations involved in an attack against Israel include, but may
not be limited to, an alliance involving Iran, Ethiopia, Somalia, Germany and
Armenia, with Russia as their leader.”
For
quite a long time I was of the opinion that Germany would be the last nation to
become involved in this conflict, but recent events seem to be showing that the
possibility is quite real. Here is an
article about this very troubling rise in occurrences of anti-Semitism in
Germany.
Angela Merkel has
said antisemitism is a problem in Germany and the country has a historical
responsibility to face up to the growing threat of far-right populism both at
home and abroad.
Speaking after
European elections where nationalists made gains and her Christian Democratic
Union party (CDU) lost support, the German chancellor said “spectres of the
past” meant the country always had to be vigilant.
“Germany … will not
uncouple itself from developments we see all over the world, we see this in
Germany as well,” she told CNN. “But in Germany they always have to be seen in
a certain context, the context of the past, which means we have to be that much
more vigilant than others.”
Her comments came
just days after Germany’s ombudsman for antisemitism, Felix Klein warned German
Jews not to wear kippahs in public after a spate of racist attacks.
“We have always had a
certain amount of antisemites among us,” Merkel said in the interview.
“Unfortunately there is to this day not a single synagogue, not a single day
care centre for Jewish children, not a single school for Jewish children that
does not need to be guarded by German policemen.”
She added:
“Unfortunately over the years we have not been able to deal with this
satisfactorily ... but we have to face up indeed to the spectres of the past.”
An outdoor exhibition
of photographs of Holocaust survivors by the German-Italian artist Luigi
Toscano in Mainz, western Germany, is currently under police protection.
Speaking after portraits in Vienna, Austria, were slashed and daubed with
swastikas for the third time this month, Toscano described the vandalism as
“the worst possible scenario … These survivors trusted me when I took their
photos and now their pictures have been defaced.”
On Tuesday the UN’s
human rights office condemned the attacks on the exhibition, which has been to
13 countries, and expressed concern “about the rise in antisemitic incidents
taking place in a number of European countries and the United States”.
At
first glance, it would seem that all the right words were said in order to
address what is happening, but consider this following article from the
Jerusalem Post just this past Friday.
German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, ignored an urgent plea
from the country’s tiny Jewish community to outlaw the terrorist organization
Hezbollah amid a shocking climate of antisemitism.
When asked on
Wednesday by The Jerusalem Post numerous times if the German government – in
response to a demand by the nearly 100,000-member Central Council of Jews –
plans to ban the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization, Merkel and Seehofer
refused to answer.
Anyone
who is a believer should not only understand, but be familiar with the History
of the nation of Israel and the persecution it has endured since its
inception. It is with this thought in
mind I have included a link to a great article on that subject.
I will
bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all
the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:3 NKJV
Our
current government has been extremely supportive of the nation of Israel in the
past two years. Is this the reason our country is so prosperous today?
Keep
watching.
