God Himself Protects and Defends Israel

God Himself Protects and Defends Israel - By Kit R. Olsen - http://raptureready.com/featured/olsen/k20.html

 

Select excerpts taken from Israel's Guaranteed Glory. (First printing June 3, 2016, September 2016 distribution, World Bible Society)

 

God's Promise to "This Generation"

 

Recognition of modern-day Israel in 1948 began the prophetic countdown to Armageddon and the final years of history, as we know them. The rebirth of Israel is a major fulfilled prophetic sign showing that we are living very close to Christ's promised return.

 

"Now learn the parable of the fig tree [Israel]: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Matthew 24:32-34).

 

Jesus said: "This generation will not pass away until all these things take place." This generation is in reference to those who will witness the things Jesus described relating to the end of the age in Matthew 24, including the restoration of the nation of Israel in one day (May 14, 1948).

 

An Awesome Fulfillment of Prophecy

 

"Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once?" (Isaiah 66:7-8a).

 

The previous Scripture shows that the prophet Isaiah foretold the rebirth of Israel, which came about in one day (on May 14, 1948). We are living in the generation pictured by the Jewish boy in Isaiah 66:7-8a. The Jewish boy portrays how Israel will grow-up as a nation, and by the time he is eighty (2028), the Millennium could very well begin. I think this is a possibility but no one can say for sure. This is not a prediction.

 

The Rapture/Tribulation

 

If we use Psalm 90 as a lifespan gauge (70-80 years), the Scripture is not exactly precise on where within or around those lifespan years the Rapture/Tribulation could take place. And we cannot say decisively if Psalm 90 is even to be used in relation to the Rapture/Tribulation and Second Coming.

 

The Lord's return may happen sooner or even some time well past the eighty-year mark. None of us know. Although, if we watch for the foreshadowing signs we can have a general idea when critical prophetic events will come to fulfillment. The important thing is to stay vigilant and share the gospel at every opportunity while there is still time.

 

Matthew 24:32-34 is in relation to when Jesus said: "This generation will not pass away until all these things take place." This generation is in reference to those who will witness the things Jesus described relating to the end of the age in Matthew 24, including the restoration of the nation of Israel in one day (May 14, 1948).

 

The Battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 and the Imprecatory Prayer of Psalm 83

 

When the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 (Gog-Magog war) takes place, God will cause those who come against Israel to turn and fight against each other. This particular war is given the most detailed description of any prophesied future war recorded in the Bible.

 

The imprecatory prayer of Psalm 83 to bring down judgment upon Israel's enemies will be answered, and a large number of Israel's enemies will be destroyed or marginalized. It is going to happen in the near future and the entire world will be affected by it. This war will bring about great devastation, but during and at the end of the Tribulation there will be utter destruction.

 

We know that a number of intense Middle East wars have already taken place in our lifetime. Skirmishes and battles will continue. At this time, internally, Israel is very busy fending off individual Islamic terrorists within her borders with no end in sight. Yet some people teach and believe that Israel is about to go out and capture millions of people, imprison them and expand her borders. That is not going to happen.

 

To some degree, war is constantly going on around Israel. The battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 is the next biblically prophesied war on the horizon. Russia and its allies who march against her will be woefully defeated by God's miraculous intervention

 

When Does This Invasion Take Place?

 

Respected author, Daymond Duck, wrote an intriguing article titled, "Is God Turning the Bear?" published on the Rapture Ready website in December of 2014. He states: "We don't know when it will happen, but many would not be surprised to see the battle of Gog and Magog in the next two years." Prophetically, what he says makes good sense considering the timeline of seven years necessary to burn the implements of war, and if we consider the generation time span of 70-80 years detailed in Psalm 90.

 

Israel's rebirth was in 1948. We are close to reaching the 70-year generation mark (May 14, 2018), and after that Israel is only 10 years away from reaching the 80 year mark. No one can predict when this epic war will take place but we can have some reasonable idea that we are getting much closer to its fulfillment, especially considering that Russia is very rapidly expanding its power and control in Syria and throughout the Middle East.

 

At some point in the not too distant future, God's wrath will pour down upon the Gog-Magog alliance, which will significantly and overwhelmingly change the world as we know it, accelerating last days events. Considering the anti-Israel, pro-Iran nuclear deal made by the Obama White House, the Gog-Magog war may not be too far off. Especially since the ongoing threatened extinction of Israel by the Iranian demonically-infested thugs-has now become a more imminent possibility. (Iran is part of the Russian-led coalition prophesied by Ezekiel.)

 

In another article titled "Gog's Evil Thought," Daymond Duck brilliantly states (emphasis added):

 

Some say "dwelling safely" means after the Antichrist confirms the seven-year covenant with many for peace in the Middle East (Daniel 9:27). But it doesn't have to mean that because Israel is dwelling safely now under the protection of God who will not allow her to be defeated (Amos 9:15).

 

Where Will the Gog-Magog Invasion Take Place?

 

Israel became a nation again in 1948 but did not get the mountains of Israel until the Six-Day War, that is after the 1967 borders. In the center of Israel there is a "hogback" of mountains between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. (The pre-1967 borders were all west of these mountains and Israel was at one point only nine miles wide.) This war takes place "upon the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 38:8).

 

What Happens?

 

God has plans for Russia and the death cult of Islam. Russia will lead a coalition of mostly Islamic nations against Israel. "You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you" (Ezekiel 38:9). This sounds like conventional warfare, an air armada (paratroops to cover the land).

 

In Ezekiel 38:4, a great army, horse and horsemen. We still speak of the power of an engine as a horsepower. The figure of speech is a METONOMY - "the thing for the thing signified" e.g.: "The pen is mightier than the sword." It is not a nuclear event; the fallout (radiation) would be too great afterward.

 

This war will occur before the Tribulation. It could begin as early as three and one-half years before the Tribulation begins or sooner. It will take seven years to clean-up the damage, and seven months to bury the dead (Ezekiel 39:9, 12).

 

The Lord Himself will supernaturally intervene, and the majority of the ruthless aggressors will be obliterated. These warriors will turn against each other. God will shake the earth with tremendous power and the invaders will wish they had never even had a bad thought about Israel.

 

"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 38:23).

 

It is here during the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that we have a major fulfillment of the imprecatory prayer of Psalm 83:

 

"O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind. As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire, So pursue them with thy tempest, and terrify them with thy storm. Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek thy name, O Jehovah. Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish; that they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth" (Psalm 83:13-18).

 

In keeping with a Pre-Tribulation/Rapture view regarding the timing and placement of the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39, Tim LaHaye's reference to witnessing cited below indicates the Church is still here after the Gog-Magog battle.

 

In a 1972 book, Timothy LaHaye stated:

 

If the magnifying and sanctifying of the Lord, as indicated in Ezekiel 38:16, 23 and 39:7, 13, 22 does indeed mean a short period of time when men call upon the Lord as a result of his miraculous preservation of Israel, then we should work diligently to prepare for it. Since we can expect the period to be brief, we should begin now to train ourselves and find positions of service where we can reach a maximum number of people with the gospel. (The Beginning of the End, p. 84)

 

And as a word of encouragement, whatever the Lord's timing is regarding the fulfillment of the remaining end-times prophecies, we must trust Him completely-for He truly is our Blessed Hope. His timing is perfect.

 

One day soon "the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with the min the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

 

In God's perfect timing the Lord Jesus will call us home, liberating us from an insane world rushing to its own self-destruction-freeing all genuine born-again believers from the physical constraints of this life, and from the spiritual battles that rage every day. Even so come, Lord Jesus.

 

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Anyone who loves God's chosen people will want to read Israel's Guaranteed Future Glory. Kit R. Olsen's wonderful new book highlights the State of Israel showing that God's prophetic promises have not been broken, and that He still has a plan for mankind. The history of the Jews proves the validity of His Holy Word; and the geopolitical climate unfolding today falls in line with God's prophetic messages. Kit has been my dedicated editor/writer for the site for over four years (2012), and I am very pleased to share some of her additional work with our readers and feature her book on the site." --Todd Strandberg