God Will Fight for Israel - Pastor Mike Taylor -
1 "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:" (Ezekiel 37:1-5)
The prophet Ezekiel was writing of the destruction of the house of Israel some two hundred years after the political subdivision called the "Kingdom of Israel" was destroyed by Sargon II , and the southern Kingdom of Judah was sent into exile by King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon.
When the northern half of the land of Israel was destroyed by Sargon II, he did what most conquerors did in that day. He would take the captives and disperse them through out the kingdom and replace the captives with other subjugated people transplanted from other areas of the empire to the land he had just captured. As time passed those subjugated people assimilated to the new country they were taken to, and this country became their country. The point was to keep the captives and those conquered docile, because when you are a people without a country, there is not much reason to fight.
This is how the Ten lost Tribes of Israel were lost to history and from the beginning of the 7th century BC, there was no place in the world called Israel.
The surviving kingdom of Judah, known as the Jews, were eventually captured and partially assimilated by the Babylonians in the 5th century BC. They survived their captivity in Babylon and later by the Medo-Persians, only because they were allowed to return to their own land by Artaxerxes.
In Ezekiel's day, there was no land called Israel, and had not been a place called such for 150 years and would not be a place named "Israel" for another 2520 years, for the time of the Jewish people being returned to their land, they were ruled by Rome, and the land was called Palestine. But Ezekiel's prophetic writing speak of a future land of Israel, one that he describes as "the people that are gathered out of the nations" (Ezekiel 38:12)
11 "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD." (Ezekiel 37:11-14)
Here Ezekiel writes of the regathering of Israel to her own land in the last days. In Ezekiel 37, the prophet is shown a valley full of dry bones. God prophesied to Ezekiel that these dry bone would be restored to their ancient land in the last days. At the time of this writing, it would be six hundred years before the remaining Jews were scattered again by the Romans, but the Lord said Israel would be restored.
21 "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:" (Ezekiel 37:21-22)
THE RESTORATION OF NATIONAL ISRAEL
The fulfillment of this prophecy could not be more obvious with the restoration of Israel as a nation in May, 1948. The Jews of the Diaspora have indeed come from among the heathen from every side and returned to the Promise Land.
Historically, in 1897, the first Zionist Congress petitioned the British Crown to allow the in-gathering Jews to set up a state in what was the British colony of Uganda. At the time, Palestine was in the hands of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The British told them they should ask the Ottomans to let them have their historical homeland and turned the Uganda request down. Ezekiel prophesied that they would return to their own land, not a land in Africa that was not their ancient land, but return to the land God had given them by a promise made to their forefather , Abraham.
8 "After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them." (Ezekiel 38:8)
Abba Ebban, one of Israel's Founding Fathers, wrote in his book, 'Personal Witness' that, right up until the last moment before issuing their 1948 Declaration of Statehood, they were quibbling about what to name the new Jewish State. Some liked 'Zion' others 'Judea' -- and it was only at the last minute, AFTER Ben-Gurion had already requested the new state be recognized by Washington, that they decided on the name 'Israel'. Ezekiel foretold all this two and one half millennia before it happened. He said his prophecy was for "the latter days." (38:16)
Some will look at a passage in Ezekiel that says that the people of Israel will be in a " land of unwalled villages" and wonder about the wall that Israel has built to protect themselves from terrorist of the PLO. In Ezekiel's day, moats and walls to protect against invaders was a common strategic option. For this reference to a "land of unwalled villages" was a generally interpreted as a metaphor for a condition of peace, rather than a literal condition, although in Israel the peace is fragile as they have Muslim terrorist that fracture the national peace and are surrounded by Arabs who only wish to destroy their nation. The only other modern equivalent would be the Berlin wall but was built to keep people in, rather than keep people out.
But Ezekiel's walls are clearly defensive -- the whole 38th chapter is about a war of invasion against Israel. And today, 2500 years after Ezekiel foretold it, and more than seventy years after Israel's restoration, the Israelis have built a defensive wall around their country. Most of it is complete and Israel continues to build. It is proving its worth, as the threat of terrorism has been drastically decreased, but it equally certain that the wall will come down during the coming Tribulation.
The entire world community has opposed it (although they are having a hard time explaining why) and is why Israel did prepare to mount its defense in the past at the trial before the World Court in The Hague to justify its continuation. And so at the present, the wall stands.
THE INTERNATIONAL MADNESS POINTED AT ISRAEL
2 "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:2-3)
In recent weeks, a new chapter in the madness of the World Community concerning Israel has flooded the news with its continued insanity. With all the problems we see in the Middle East with the years of civil war in Syria, the rising of ISIS killing Christians, and anyone that doesn't line up with their hateful ideology including Sunni Muslims, nuclear aggression by an insane leader in North Korea, Iran building nuclear facilities to manufacture a nuclear weapon to control the whole Middle East and still threatens Israel with annihilation, the U.N. has condemned Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria as illegal and demanding they return to their pre-1967 borders that are indefensible, giving up East Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall to the likes of the so called "Palestinians". Where are their world political priorities to single out Israel?
What makes a true Christian supporter of Israel's sovereignty and right to the land God gave them thousands of years ago completely baffled, is the past traitor in the White House refused to veto a resolution that condemned Israel for their "illegal" settlement activity in the West Bank which they captured in the war with the Jordanians. Israel was first attacked first by their Arab neighbors and captured these Biblical areas of Judea and Samaria, along with the Temple Mount, part of their ancient homeland. This has put Israel in a very precarious situation that the new incoming Trump administration realized, and has now made Jerusalem the capital of Israel and given them the green light to annex Samaria and the Jordan Valley as part of Israel and broadcasting the belief that doing so is not illegal.
Many feel the aforementioned betrayal that this past "idiot in chief" was a collusion between the USA White House and the U.N. To demonize Israel and bring sanctions against her by the international community. It worked for awhile, as Europe and the rest of the world put sanctions on Israel with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) where initiated to limit the economy of Israel, but Israel has only become stronger, as God blesses her and she is the center of great agricultural and technological discoveries in science and medicine. Not to mention the discovers of large oil and gas deposits that have only made her richer.
But remember, that damage of BDS was far from over. Our reckless PAST "commander in chief" was not done with his betrayal of Israel. In the past, there was seventy countries that requested to attend a Paris Summit and have their say at the high-level get-together over the stalled two-state solution of Israel and the Palestinians. Yet the two parties whose fate the meeting is aimed at deciding, have only been invited to meet separately at the conference's conclusion.
Remember how in 2016, France had doggedly tried to kick-start the flailing peace process, hosting an "opening summit" on June 3, 2016. While the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), United States and a number of Arab countries attended the meeting, neither Israel nor the Palestinians were invited. Following the June get-together, the French vowed to persist in their reconciliation efforts and host a follow-up conference before ushering in 2017. I remember reading in their last attempt that Paris was flooded with the level of flooding that had not been seen for many years. In a news report is was written:
"The conference ended and a divine reaction was almost immediate as the Seine River rose 20 feet overnight. Parts of the Metro system shut down, as did major landmarks. The Louvre museum was also closed as staff worked desperately to move 250,000 priceless works of art to safety. The Orsay Museum also scrambled to save its collections. Four people died and 4 were injured in France in the worst flood the country had seen in 30 years. More than 20,000 people had been evacuated in France since the weekend and 19,000 homes in and around Paris remained without electricity. The capital city remains under the second-highest alert, which warns of a "significant impact". Experts say it will take at least ten days for the flooding to return to normal levels." (Breaking Israel News)
Every time that the world thinks they are going to divide God's land or take punitive measures to unilaterally punish Israel in a "Land for Peace" initiative, tragedy has struck every time, and it is aimed primarily at the leader of the free world, the USA for its involvement in attempting to come against Israel. In the past, environmental damage has happened each time the attempt was done...
-1991 31 October
President George H. Bush promoted the Madrid Peace Conference, where he attempted to divide the land of Israel in exchange for "peace" with the Palestinians. The next day, the perfect Storm came with 30 foot tidal waves and destroy Pres. Bush's Maine home.
-1992 23 August
The Madrid Conference was not successful the first time around, so a year later President Bush tried it again. Evidently, God's opinion of a "land for peace" deal had not changed in the preceding 12 months, and disaster struck again...on the very same day. Hurricane Andrew visited Florida and caused billions in damage.
-1993 13 September , the Oslo Peace Accords:
President George H. Bush promoted and proudly signed the infamous Oslo Accord. The same day Hurricane Emily slammed the Outer Banks with 115 MPH winds.
-1994 16 January, Talks to give up the Golan Heights by Slick Willy Clinton.
A devastating 6.9 earthquake hits southern California and was the second most devastating earthquake to hit the USA in its history.
-1998 21 January , Impeachment.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coldly received by Pres. Clinton and the Monica Lewisky scandal broke out, and resulted in impeachment proceedings for Clinton.
-1998 28 September, Attempt to divide Israel again by Madeline Albright and Clinton,
Two days later, Texas is hit with devasting tornadoes and heavy flooding.
-I could number each one of the attempts to divide God's land and each time, disaster has struck, but the worst was in 2005, America pressured Israel to give up the Gaza Strip.
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the New Orleans gulf coast, it was the worst natural disaster in our history..the news report said it like this:
"Katrina raced directly toward New Orleans, harnessing deadly strength every moment. Literally recording wind strength "off the scale" On Monday, August 29, the nation watched in horror as deadly Katrina slammed and slaughtered the fragile Gulf Coast. Destructive Katrina left beautiful homes as piles of worthless rubbish. Deadly Katrina tossed bodies like litter along the highway. When Katrina ended her deadly mission America suffered the worst disaster in her storied history. As I saw the thousands of homes destroyed, my mind kept going back to those U.S. ordered bulldozers destroying the Jewish homes in the Gaza Strip. As I saw the thousands and thousands of United States citizens being evacuated from their land, my mind could not keep from remembering the Jewish people crying and literally begging to stay in their land. America found no mercy for the Jewish people.
The God of Israel is neither slumbering nor sleeping, America should remember that."
Back in Israel Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister at the time, suffered a massive stroke and lay in a vegetative state for many years before finally succumbing to his massive brain bleed...no matter if you're an American, or a faithless Israeli commander of the armed forces of Israel, you mess with God's land or His people, bad things seem to happen. There are many tragedies associated with Israel and the international community attempting to divide God's Land.
Thankfully, this present Trump administration realizes that Israel is our only ally in the Middle East and giving her the recognition she deserves. The left can't stand this and has tried every thing in their power to bring Trump down, even to the point of a sham of a impeachment proceedings that are easily disproved by written phone records and witnesses that show that this is built on a pack of lies...Anything the left can do to try and railroad a duly elected POTUS because he stands in the way of a Socialist type government, our loss of sovereignty, and no borders between Canada and Mexico. It is all about power and Democratic party is out to take power away from any who stands in the way of their "One World Government" dream.
Look at our economy that has hit the highest recorded numbers on the New York Stock Exchange, or the employment numbers being at an all time high, and unemployment at a 50 year low....Satan just can't stand that God is blessing us for our standing with Israel, but how long will that last?....We pray for more of the same in the next four years of a second term for our present administration who is the best friend Israel has had for a long time. But who will be president after Trump leaves office...will this one be a friend of Israel or Obama on steroids?
I even read an article outlining a military pact between Israel and the USA to fight again any invasion, be it the Psalm 83 war or the coming Gog-Magog war that follows on its heels....but then I read in Ezekiel that there is only verbal disagreement of the coming invasion of the Gog-Magog coalition and I wonder, "what happened to the USA?"...Has the present administration been defeated or has a new "socialist" president now seen as "commander in chief" and turns his/her back on our best friend in the war torn area of the Middle East...Only time will tell.
13 "Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezekiel 38:13)
This verse tells me that those who stand afar off, those who were the friends of Israel will do nothing to prevent this flood of Arab and Persian invaders, financed by Russia to come down into Israel, as God will make them unable to help Israel, as God will save them by His own hand and the glory will be Almighty God's alone and He will not share that with any outsider of what is coming upon the earth. It will be known in all of Israel, that the God of their fathers is indeed alive, as it will be quite obvious from what is displayed on the battlefield.
19" For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord."(Ezekiel 38:19-23)
THE WORLD BORDERS ON THE TRIBULATION
The prophet Daniel, and both Paul and John foretell a peace agreement with Israel that kicks off the Tribulation Period. Daniel says that a leader of the revived Roman Empire confirms a peace covenant between Israel and her enemies, which he breaks halfway through.
In context, one could assume the covenant involves a mutual defense agreement, since, after the walls come down, Ezekiel says this Russian-led Islamic alliance launches a sneak invasion against Israel. Ezekiel 38:13 says Israel's 'allies' launch what amounts to little more than a weak diplomatic objection.
...You see the dominos lining up and each are beginning to fall, as the world flies head long into the coming Tribulation and the removal of God's church from this planet. The political news is moving so fast, that is hard to keep up. Russia in the Middle East making nice to Iran, fighting in Syria and the possibility of the Oracle of Damascus being fulfilled, the isolation and treachery heaped upon God's land and people....a coming war prophesied of the Gog-Magog invasion, and most likely bringing about a 7 year treaty with Israel because of the total devastation that rained down upon the invaders. Thus ushering in the coming 7 year tribulation that looms larger, as the puzzle pieces are ushered into place waiting for their act in world history to be orchestrated by the God of the universe.
The literal fulfillment of prophecies penned tens of centuries ago continue to unfold in our generation. Right down to details such as Israel's Tribulation status as a 'land of unwalled villages'.
The same Guiding Hand responsible for Ezekiel's unwavering accuracy and attention to detail also guided those prophecies that yet remain to be fulfilled. Don't let anybody steal away your excitement! We are that special, chosen generation who 'shall not pass away, until all be fulfilled." The time of Jacob's trouble is in the near future as the picture grows plainer and more into focus as time passes...
WHEN THE TRIBULATON COMES, WHERE WILL YOU BE?
If anything, those reading these passages can see that a war could break out any minute between Israel and the God of the Universe in this corner...and the Gog-Magog coalition in the other corner...when fighting starts, it will be a mass suicide of those who dare come against God's ancient people who He has gathered on the mountains of Israel. If I'm right, and this signals the coming treaty of 7 years, the wrath of God will fall on this planet and the Tribulation will begin as our Lord Jesus breaks the 1st seal and each seal of the title deed to this earth, which He created and bought with His own blood. But just prior to that historical event, another most important event will take place, as all hell will break loose and the devil and his evil host will attempt to destroy all of mankind, and to secure worship for himself, as he has lusted for power reserved only for God Almighty when he brings the Anti-Christ upon the world scene.
7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8And THEN shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:" (2nd Thessalonias 2:7-8)
This is a prophetic warning that when the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel begins, most likely with the aforementioned "peace treaty" with Israel, the Anti-Christ will step front and center stage. But I see the Church being removed prior to this if you take a careful reading of scripture, when the man of sin is revealed the Holy Spirit is removed from this earth in its fullness and we who have His Spirit residing in each of us, will leave with Him. Why? Because Jesus said He would never leave us alone, or comfortless and my God cannot lie...We are leaving..and possibly soon...Some people scoff and think we are grasping at straws. But fear them not, we are not grasping at straws, or following vague and ambiguous prophecies that can be explained away by calling them 'interpretations.' This is the real thing.
"And when these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28)
And brothers and sisters, the signs are all around us, screaming of their coming fulfillment. Be not those who slumber, but keep alert and watching, for our Lord will come when they least expect it. So how do you get ready for the coming of our Lord, and not be left behind to face what is coming? The Tribulation is very close, and most people sense an urgency in world events that something big is about to happen...What can you or anyone do to miss this coming "hell on earth"? Two passages give each of us the key to the end time events that God will remove His Bride before it begins...No where in the Bible will you find God pouring out His wrath on His chosen people, when they are following Him and believing the next two passages:
16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)
8 "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:8-13)
As I have said in the past, keep your eyes on Israel, as she is the door to end time prophecy and Jerusalem is the key to that door...So come Lord Jesus.
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