“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
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. Considering that the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins tomorrow, and many believe this war will occur at this time, I thought I would share the following with you concerning exactly where this conflict takes place. While many may be familiar with what Ezekiel had to say, 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, not to mention the growing alliance between Russia and Iran which many believe will produce the “hook in the jaw” which pulls Got into the conflict.
https://www.jns.org/russia-and-iran-moving-towards-defense-partnership/
“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
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.”
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/golan_hts.html
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!
During this coming week of Hanukkah celebration may we as believers remember that Jesus is indeed the “light of the world”. It is through His sacrifice that we can be saved and spend eternity with Him as He has promised us. Have you made the choice to accept Him as your Savior and Lord? If not, I hope you will consider doing it today. You can do this by simply praying a prayer like this one:
Jesus I know I am a sinner and have broken your commandments and sinned against you. I believe you died and rose again for me as a sacrifice for my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart so that I can begin to live for you. Amen.
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