Unholy Alliance

“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 38:2-4  NKJV

As many believers know, the attempted invasion of Israel by a coalition of nations outlined in Ezekiel 38,39 is the yet unfulfilled prophecy many are expecting to occur in our very near future.  Those who study this prophecy have long warned to watch for the sign of Russia, Iran, and Turkey establishing close ties both politically and economically which will result in their willing participation attempting to conquer Israel in order to take “spoil” as the Bible tells us.  Many have pointed to the recent meetings between these three countries as a possible sign that this unholy alliance is beginning to take shape.  The following is an excerpt from an article written by Dr. Steve Elwart that I have shared before concerning the Ezekiel prophecy.

“The above passage describes an invasion of Israel from the north. Later verses describe its destruction once they reach the area of the mountains of Israel. To fully understand the prophecy, one needs to identify the major players in this divine drama. In verses 1–4, Gog is first mentioned. He is described as the leader of the land of Magog. He is the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. This leader was as unknown to Ezekiel as he is to us today. We do know “Gog” is not a proper name but a title for the ruler of Magog, just as the terms “pharaoh,” “kaiser,” and “czar” were titles for rulers and not proper names. The tribes identified as Magog, Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal can be identified by Scripture and other ancient writings as peoples who once occupied the areas of modern-day Russia. Magog, Meshech, and Tubal were between the Black and Caspian Seas, which today include parts of Iran, Turkey and southern Russia.”

Russia; Looking for Spoil by Dr. Steve Elwart   

http://www.khouse.org/articles/2016/1256/

The following news articles are just from the past week or so and appear to point to this alliance taking shape.

Russia pledges support to Iran amid war with US

https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/russia-pledges-support-iran-amid-085330407.html

Turkey’s Erdogan signals further nuclear projects with Russia https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-akkuyu-erdogan-russia-putin-ee4b84498c0fcc410236e17892a61789I 

Trump's biggest Middle East crisis looms not in Iran, but among two allies

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trumps-biggest-middle-east-crisis-185705793.html

I believe any believer familiar with Biblical prophecy can see and understand the times in which we find ourselves today.  The signs are all around us that point to the fulfillment of prophecy in our immediate future, rich includes the rapture of the Church that we have all been waiting for.  While it may be disappointing to see certain dates come and go without hearing the trumpet blow and the voice calling us upwards, we still have God’s promise that it will be done.  How I personally deal with disappointment is to continually read the promises we have in His words to us that while we may not know the day, He has said it will be done.

There are, however, prophetic events in our immediate future which sound scholarship can apply dates to with a reasonable chance for accuracy.  One of these is this Gog Magog War spoken of by Ezekiel the prophet.  While there is a debate as to whether it occurs before, or right after the beginning of the tribulation, the fact we can see the signs of its approach is all the warning we need.  Either way, most believe this conflict lays the groundwork for the enforced peace between Israel and its enemies that the antichrist proposes.  While many have tried to set dates for the possible rapture of the Church, I believe this is the event that we all should be watching for as it appears that the rapture precedes it, and as Chuck Missler was fond of saying, “when you see the Christmas decorations going up, you know that Thanksgiving is near." 

Many of you are familiar with the name Grant Jeffrery.  He wrote many wonderful books before his passing, and one of my favorites was Armegeddon; Appointment with Destiny. In this book, he spends some time discussing this conflict and one of the more fascinating conclusions he 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 along with Russia positioning itself in the Middle East, and the meetings between these three countries 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.”

http://www.grantjeffrey.com/article/rusisrl.htm

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’ ”   Isaiah 44:6-8  NKJV

Every week we are treated to more and more signs that our deliverance is close at hand.  The twenty fourth of Chisleu is just a few months away so my question is, are we seeing the Christmas decorations going up?  The sanctions on Iran have devastated their economy and the war in the Ukraine has severely impacted Russias economy in a negative way.  Both would benefit greatly from an invasion of Israel and the financial "spoil" that would come with it. Only time will tell if the Gog Magog war is on the immediate horizon, yet since the rapture of the Church could happen at any time, making the decision to join the family of God is of utmost importance.  

If you have never made the decision to accept the gift of eternal life offered by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ I urge you to do it today.  Simply tell God you accept His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and turn your life over to His control.

Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven.  Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Bad Advice

“I charge [you] therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season [and] out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, [because] they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn [their] ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”    2 Timothy 4:1-8 NKJV

At one time or another, I’m sure we could all relate an instance where we received some bad advice and the resulting negative impact it had on our lives. I know I have, and those experiences weighed heavily on my mind when I chose to begin my fitness journey. With that thought on my mind, it proved to be rather confusing and difficult to choose exactly who to listen to and who to ignore when it came to advice on how to proceed.  While good advice would have positive results, it goes without saying that bad advice would hinder my progress and the chances of succeeding would be minimized.  When it came time to decide, I chose a coach who taught an approach that was science based, and backed by one of the largest number of positive, result based reviews.  Now if that sounds like an easy decision, I suggest you simply search the internet for “workout programs” and you can see just what I had to sift through to make my choice.

While making the choice to grow our spiritual muscles may be easy, choosing who to listen to when we need a little coaching can prove to be more difficult than many might think.  Of course, it goes without saying that God the Father is our life coach, yet we also choose teachers/coaches to help us understand His Word and the instruction we receive in it. My personal bias in choosing a spiritual coach is that I am always looking for someone who will tell me what the Word of God says, rather than trying to tell me what they might think.  When it comes to our spiritual journey on this earth, it is most often described by the Apostle Paul as a race, and the advice he gave reflected that belief.

In his letter to Timothy, you can certainly see that Paul is “coaching” him on how to run the race that Paul himself is close to finishing. Paul draws on his personal experiences to prepare Timothy for what he will also experience, and to help him avoid the pitfalls that will certainly appear in his way. In the passage above I see at least three points Paul makes to Timothy which to me looks like good advice on how to avoid a wrong turn in our spiritual fitness journey due to listening to the wrong advice.

 1. Stay committed to the Word of God. Paul says “I charge you...preach the Word.” The word for charge is diamartyromai in the Greek which means to “earnestly” and “solemnly” testify in such a way as to cause it to be believed. I learned that there was a certain strategy to running a longer race, and you had to commit to that strategy and not let others dictate how you ran your race. Here Paul tells Timothy that the first and most important thing to remember is to commit to the Word of God and not allow someone else to talk you into changing or ignoring what it says. Paul states clearly that the time will come where believers will listen to teachers who change or ignore what the Bible says because they want to hear what sounds good to them rather than what God has said.

“All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”   2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

2. Stay committed to the Work of God. Paul also says “fulfill your ministry”. Do you know what yours is? The Bible tells us that all believers have been given a spiritual gift to use in service for God and to further His kingdom. All believers should seek to know and use their spiritual gift whenever the opportunity presents itself. Paul also warns us that it will not be popular because he tells Timothy to “endure”. The word translated endure means to suffer or be afflicted with hardships and troubles. I'm sure many of us can relate to these words right now for I hear daily of believers who are suffering in one way or another, or being persecuted for what they believe. You prepare for that by focusing on the work you have to do and not be distracted by it's unpopularity with those who choose to reject.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service.”   Romans 12:1 NKJV

 3. The reward is guaranteed. Standing on the top of the victory stand is something few people have an opportunity to experience in this life. Anybody who has will tell you that their first thought is that standing there getting your medal and hearing the applause of the crowd makes all the pain and struggles of training worthwhile. Yet while there can be only one winner in earthly races, in the Heavenly race, all can win. Paul says that his race is almost over yet he knows his reward is waiting for him in heaven. What we as believers are running for is a “crown of righteousness” which the Lord will give to us when we stand before Him, and Paul says clearly that it is available to all. We don't have to worry if we will lose out to someone else, for in this race, all who run will win.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”   Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV

As we see, Paul often compares the life of believers to running a race. When you run a long race it is a certainty that at some point you will be on the receiving end of some bad advice. I think some of the best advice Paul gave, and the one thing I find myself doing often, is focusing on the finish line. I can tell you from personal experience that seeing the finish line and focusing on running through that tape can give you the boost you need to make it to the end. Paul wrote these words as he was approaching his finish line so it stands to reason that he knew what he was talking about when it comes to advice on how to run the race. Paul simply says we need to be committed to know the Word of God, do the Work of God, and be assured we will receive our reward from the Lord Himself on that day. We have God's Word on that!

As always, the most important question is this. If you have never chosen to accept the gift of eternal life provided for us by God the Father, I would urge you to do it today.  Time to make that choice is indeed rapidly running out and Jesus returning to take His own back with Him to heaven could happen at any time.  All you need to do is simply ask Him for forgiveness for your sin, invite Him to come into your life, and believe He died to pay the price for your redemption.  A simple prayer like this is all that He wants to hear from you, and then you too can begin to run the race we all as believers are encouraged to run.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

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Think Soberly

“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”  Isaiah 46: 9-11. NKJV

Who doesn’t want to be strong?  Given a choice between being strong or being weak I believe the vast majority would choose strength over weakness. While we have been talking about growing stronger in our personal faith, there is a caution we all should be aware of and that is as we grow, there is always the temptation to begin to believe it is a result of our own efforts rather than acknowledging that the power we have is from God.  Simply put, it is the emotion of pride which can be our downfall by choosing to not give the glory to God and believing it is our efforts which result in our newfound strength. When talking about the gifts we receive from God, Paul had this to say about pride.

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”                     Romans 12:3. NKJV

It is my personal belief that if we choose to “think soberly”, we can avoid falling into the trap of pride and thinking we are responsible for our own growing strength.  In the passage above from Isaiah, God states plainly that He is the only one who can accurately predict the future because He is the one who created the plan, and He is the only one who has the power to execute that plan.  He has chosen to use those who trust in Him to do just that, but we need to constantly remind ourselves that it is our role to simply allow Him to work through us to accomplish it.

In the book of Daniel, we are told that God reveals His entire plan for this world to King Nebuchadnezzar, which predictably made no sense to him at all.  Thankfully God in His wisdom provided someone to explain it all to the king, (and to us as well) and this is the person we know as Daniel.  In chapter two of Daniel we find that God revealed His plan to the king by way of a dream, and then sent Daniel to interpret the dream so that he, as well as us, can know exactly what God has planned for this world.

“Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.”          Daniel 2:20-21  NKJV

As might be expected, as ruler of the known world at that time, we will find in the book of Daniel that King Nebuchadnezzar had a rather inflated opinion of himself and his power.  To be sure, He was in fact the most powerful ruler the world had seen up to this point in time, yet as he was about to find out, nothing he had accomplished was by his own power.  The first thing God lets him know is that as powerful as he may be, his own circumstances were orchestrated by God alone, and it is by His permission that he is king.  

God decided to help prove that point by giving a dream to the king showing where the entire course of world history was destined to go, which would prove not only that God knows the future but also that He also knew the very thoughts that the king had been contemplating while lying in his bed.

“As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. “But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. “This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, “its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.        Daniel 2:29-34  NKJV

While over the years man has tried to explain the history of the world with untold numbers of books, theories, explanations, entire libraries devoted to the subject, our God manages to do so with a simple illustration of a statue made of four distinct parts, each composed of elements designed to reveal the strength and character of the kingdoms they represent.  Only God could show us the plan He has made for the course of world history from the rule of Nebuchadnezzar to the establishment of His Kingdom on earth, with such a simple illustration.

“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; “and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. “But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. “And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. “And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. “As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.”               Daniel 2:36-43  NKJV

As I often say, one of the reasons I choose to study prophecy is the amazing, unescapable fact of prophecy already fulfilled .  At the time of his dream, Nebuchadnezzar was described by God Himself as a “king of kings”, given “power, strength, and glory”.  Yet God also makes it clear that the entire scope of world history will only entail four kingdoms, as illustrated by the statue Nebuchadnezzar sees in his dream.  History has shown this to be a true and accurate description as Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was conquered and replaced by a coalition of the Medes and Persians (the chest and arms of silver), which in turn was conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great (the stomach and thighs of bronze), which in turn was conquered by the Roman Empire (the legs of iron).  Yet, as many will tell you, the Roman Empire was never truly conquered, but rather dissolved into pieces which, territorially, still exist today.

Now what I find to be most interesting about this prophecy given by God is that today, at this point in time, the world has arrived at the last part of the statue where God chooses to describe a kingdom in terms that many find confusing if not difficult to interpret.  Much has been written about the ten toes of iron mixed with clay, and as you can imagine, there are many different interpretations to choose from.  

However, there are two very obvious facts that present themselves as we look at this picture of world history given to us by Our Father in Heaven.  Of the four kingdoms He describes for us, the most valuable was Nebuchadnezzar’s head of gold.  From then on the value of the metals decreases until we arrive at a point in time where the foundation of the statue is worth basically nothing (iron and clay).  Conversely, if you look at the relative strength of the metals you will see that the statue gets stronger as time goes by.  So the obvious conclusion we can all agree with is that God is telling us that at the time of the end, which is where most believers feel we are, His description of the world could be interpreted as strong yet worthless.  

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. [We are] hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present [us] with you. For all things [are] for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 NKJV

When I read this portion of scripture and considered that the strength and power we have as members of His body comes directly from God and not of our own efforts, I saw three points I believe God is sharing with us about our situation as believers in this world.

One...The Power is Gods'

Here Paul makes the point that it is all about God by referring to us as "earthen vessels", which in the Greek means a clay pot. Truthfully, it's another way of saying there is nothing special about us. A clay pot was the most basic implement of that day. It's not made of gold, silver, crystal, jewels, or anything else that might reflect some worth. Just a pot made of mud. And what does a pot do? Obviously it's made to carry something. That's it. We as believers are here to carry Gods' power, not our own, so the focus is on Him. It's not about how strong we are, or what we think we can do, but all about what God can do through us. 

Two...The Strength is Gods'

In verses 8-11 Paul makes it clear that Gods' strength will not be visible unless our weakness is. This is why so many believers are experiencing trials, troubles and struggles. It is required of us to experience these things in order for God to exhibit His strength. Notice verse 11 says "constantly"? It's a part of our life, and like Paul, we should expect these situations to occur. The good news, however, is this. Not only will Gods' strength be manifested through us, it will deliver us. We will not be crushed, despaired, forsaken, or destroyed.

Three...The Glory is Gods'

If the strength was ours, who would get the glory? We would, of course. Unfortunately that would accomplish nothing in regards to advancing the Kingdom of God. But what happens when the world sees Gods' power working in and through His church? This is how God has decided to reach out to an unbelieving world. As He reveals His power through the lives of believers, others see and believe. Paul makes the point that as we struggle and endure trials, our lives then become visible to others. Who notices people who coast through life without troubles? It's the struggles that draw peoples' attention. When people see us struggle, and see the power of God at work in our lives, they in turn are drawn to Him. When this happens, Paul says in verse 15 that the result is..."having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God."

I believe the most important fact we as believers must continually remind ourselves of is that our power comes from God and not of our own efforts. Paul makes it clear that the life of a believer will be filled with struggles and trials. This is, I know, a thought that many believers will have a hard time accepting, yet it is the means by which God has chosen to reveal His power to the world through us. We may struggle, we may be weak, yet God is stronger.  His strength is made manifest in our weakness, and He will never let us down. 

As we seek to grow stronger, and build up our spiritual muscles, we must never allow pride in what we might accomplish enter our thoughts and minds.  We make the decision to grow our spiritual muscles, but we should also "think soberly", recognizing that the results we see after that come directly from God alone.  It is all for His glory and the closer we get to the end of this age, the opportunities to glorify Him with our actions will increase dramatically as the world descends into chaos.

The signs of Jesus’ return, the labor pains He told us would occur, are happening all around us and He could call us home to be with Him at any time.  If you have never made the decision to accept this free gift of salvation, or are in any way unsure of your eternal destiny, I encourage you to pray this prayer and accept God’s promise to save you.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Keep watching.