Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

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May 2012 Issue

A Cup of Trembling
May 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

The Bible clearly states that God has given Israel the Promised Land. The Arabs and the nations of the world have flatly rejected God and His word. They are insistent on dividing that which God said is not to be divided.

In 1947 the UN voted to partition the Jewish homeland. The division gave only a small portion of the land to Israel. Israel was immediately attacked by Arab armies who sought to annihilate her. God defended Israel in three wars against armies that would have overwhelmed her.

In those defensive wars Israel took additional land that would preserve her from surprise attacks. This was land that she was entitled according the promise of God. Following the 1967 war the UN passed Resolution 242 which called for Israel to surrender the land she had captured in exchange for recognition by the Arabs of Israel’s right to live in peace and security. The Arabs refused this right to Israel. 

After the war of 1973 the UN passed Resolution 338 which repeated the same call as the previous resolution. Again the Arabs refused to concede peace to Israel.

The nations of the world are continuing to defy God concerning His promises to His people Israel. Joel warns the nations of judgment for this defiance of God. “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead (judge) with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3:2).

It is absolutely amazing that this prophecy, after 2500 years, is now being fulfilled exactly as God said it would be. Fulfilled prophecy gives overwhelming evidence of God’s all knowing sovereignty in the affairs of men. Men do not reject God because of the lack of evidence as to His existence but rather because of rebellious hearts that insist on doing its own thing instead of yielding to the will of God.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:2).

Today the nations of the world are drunk with the power they are attempting exercise over Israel and Jerusalem. Not one single nation in the world will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Palestinians are drunk with the imagined power they are attempting to impose upon Jerusalem. They rant continually that Biblical Jerusalem (East Jerusalem) is theirs and that the Jews have no part in it or claim to it.

The forces of this world are set against Israel; Israel’s situation today seems be hopeless and beyond despair. The dark clouds of war and oppression seem about to doom Israel to a terrible fate.

However the scriptures foretell a different story. That which lies ahead for Israel in the near future is a time of peace, though it will be a brief time. Israel’s near future involves the regaining of the Temple Mount and the building of the third Temple. With that will come the re-establishing of the Temple worship.

The Palestinians will not gain a state in the West Bank. Their fate is to be annihilated in the soon coming war of Psalm 83. (See Psalm 83:13-17 – Ezekiel 35:3 10, 12 – Obadiah 10, 18)

Antichrist will appear to be Israel’s benefactor for 3 ½ years and then turn on her and seek to utterly destroy the Jews. During that time the land of Israel and the Temple will be overrun by Antichrist as he destroys a great company of Jews.

God has promised to send Christ to rule in Jerusalem and bring peace to Israel and to the world. Satan is an imitator of God and he sends a counterfeit Christ to bring a counterfeit peace, but that peace will be short lived with intent to deceive.

Iran will not annihilate Israel, God has revealed His plan for Israel and it does not include Iran’s nuclear bombs. Iran will indeed come against Israel with primitive weapons, but not at this time. Iran and Russia and their Muslim neighbours will be the ones annihilated in their attack on Israel early in the tribulation period. (See Ezekiel 39:2- 6)

We are reminded of Pharaoh who hardened his heart against God and His Word and the awful fate he suffered.

“Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:7-8).

The trumpet is soon to sound and the Day of the Lord is about to begin, now is the time to come to Christ for salvation.

• The Sinner: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
• The Problem: "Jesus answered. . .Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3
• The Sentence: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
• The Savior: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
• The Solution: "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." Romans 10:9
• The Timing: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." II Corinthians 6:2
• Your Acceptance of God's Gift: If you really believe that Jesus Christ took your place in judgment for your sins on the Cross, you can pray the following prayer.
• The Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful to me a sinner. I do now receive you as my personal Lord and Savior.
• The Promise:  “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40).

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (Corinthians 5:17).

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

Arab Claims to the Land of Israel are Invalid
May 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

The Arabs claim that they have had a long prosperous history on the land of Israel; such is not the record of history.

After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70AD until the First Aliyah in 1882 the record shows that the land was never dominated by Arabs.

The following material is from Israel Today.

[In 985 AD Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi, a native of Jerusalem wrote: “The Jews constitute the majority of Jerusalem’s population.”

In 1377, Arab historian Ibn Khaldun noted: “The Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel extended over a period of 1400 years...It was the Jews who implanted the culture and customs of the permanent settlement.”  (Yahya Armajami: Middle East Past and Present, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970)

In 1695, Dutch scholar Adriaan Reland visited the Holy Land and described it as being empty and desolate, while noting that most of the places retained Hebrew names. Reland recorded that in the cities, the majority of the population was either Jewish or Christian. In Jerusalem, most of the 5,000 inhabitants were Jews. Even in Gaza, half of the 550 local residents were Jews. (Hadriani Relandi: Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrate, 1714)

In 1866, Presbyterian clergyman W.M. Thomson wrote while on a mission to the Holy Land: “How melancholy is this utter desolation. Not a house, not a trace of inhabitants, not even shepherds, to relieve the dull monotony. ...Much of the country through which we have been rambling for a week appears never to have been inhabited, or even cultivated.” (W.M. Thomson: The Land and the Book, London: T. Nelsons & Sons, 1866)

In 1867, American author Mark Twain toured the Holy Land and wrote: “One may ride ten miles, hereabouts, and not see ten human beings. ... No man can stand here…and say the prophecy ‘and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste’ has not been fulfilled...hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere…Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince...It is a hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land…Renowned Jerusalem itself, the stateliest name in history, has lost all its ancient grandeur, and is become a pauper village.” (Mark Twain: The Innocents Abroad, American Publishing Co., 1869)]

We see the audacity of the Palestinians in claiming that the Land of Israel is their land and stating that the Jews have no claim to the land. Even more disturbing is the manner in which the nations of the world are adamantly backing these false claims. We read in Joel 3:2 how the God of Israel will deal with the nations that defy Him in this matter, “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead (judge) with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”

Yet more disturbing is the fact that the majority of Israel’s leaders today are willing to give up much of the land God has promised to them. They also will be judged by God for this unbelief, Zechariah 13:9, “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”

This is a repeat of Israel’s unbelief at Kadesh-barnea, where they exercised the same disobedience and unbelief. Just as God chastened that generation He will chasten today’s generation of Jews.

There is no excuse for this unbelief and disobedience, the promise of God is very clear. “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” This basic promise is repeated many, many times in the scriptures.

In fact, in the war of 1967 God miraculously returned Israel to all the land that David had possessed. He gave them Judea and Samaria, (the so-called West Bank) Gaza, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Surely if God could give it back to them, He could sustain them on it.

Before we as believers are too hard on Israel, we need to consider how many promises of God we have failed to believe and appropriate?   I tremble as I consider this in my own life.               

Israel in the Fires of Affliction
May 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

In Daniel chapter three we see the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace.

The whole world has been gathered together to worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar. The command is given that when the music sounds all are to bow down and worship at the pain of death for refusal.

In Revelation 13 we have a last day’s parallel in which an image of Antichrist is set up and the whole world is commanded to worship it, again at pain of death for refusal.

That is Babylonianism, it all started in Genesis 11 with Nimrod at the tower of Babel. It consists of four things, a world government, a world ruler, a world religion and a tower at which to worship. That has been the basic philosophy of every world empire. We see it true in Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Media/Persia, Greece and Rome. And it will be the basic modus operandi of the final world empire of Antichrist.

As we compare Daniel 3:6 with Revelation 13:15 we see the parallel of Nebuchadnezzar’s Kingdom with the Kingdom of Antichrist. Worship Satan’s man at the pain of death, conform to the program or else.

Today in our world conformity is the issue. In our schools the issue is conformity. The powers that be have set up the religion of secular humanism. Everyone must conform to the rules. Diversity is one of the rules, failure to accept the homosexual agenda will not be tolerated.

At one time we had a free press, an institution that fought vigorously for individual freedom and initiative. Now that same press has conformed to the agenda of big brother. There used to be social evils that the press fought against. Today the only evil is lack of conformity to the system.

In Daniel 3:19 we have the response of the king to those who refused to conform, “Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.” This is a prophetic picture of Antichrist in the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation period with his fury poured out upon all those who will not bow to him and take the mark of the beast.

The story of the three Hebrews who would not bow to the king is a familiar one. They are a prophetic picture of Israel, burning, burning in the fires of affliction but never consumed. God is with them in the fire preserving them.

We see Israel burning under the Egyptian taskmasters whip. We see her oppressed by Greece and by Rome, by Haman in Persia. We see her oppressed by a Hitler, by a Mussolini and a Stalin. Burning but never consumed.

Today we see Israel oppressed by the Palestinians and by Islam and by the Iranians. We watch in dismay as the whole world seeks to put Israel down.

Recently the UN voted 157-7 that Israel must give up Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Burning, burning and yet never consumed. God has a program for Israel that no man, no nation or group of nations can stop.

We marvel at times as we see the incredible persecution that Israel endures, burning, burning, burning, and yet never consumed. Sadly as we study the scriptures we realize that Israel’s agony is only to increase as the last days unfold.

There will be one last great burning for Israel. After the church is caught away the nation will enter into the tribulation period. We read about it in Jeremiah 30:7, “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” We also read about it in Matthew 24:21, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

God will remember His covenant with them and will deliver them. The burning bush will become the fruitful tree of Jehovah, planted in the land filling the whole earth with her fruit.

The blessing of God on Israel did not depend on Israel’s faithfulness; they were dependant on God’s promise. Abraham would fail, Isaac would fail, Jacob would fail, Moses would fail and Israel would fail. God knew all of that beforehand but the promises of God were not dependant on Israel’s sinlessness. Does our salvation depend on our works or on God’s promises?

One of the promises of God to Israel has to do with the land God promised them. Amos 9:13-15, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”

For those who are followers of Christ the days ahead look dark as the system seeks to force conformity on us. We are rapidly becoming public enemy no one for our failure to conform to the new agenda. We are standing in the way of the program for universal conformity. Set your heart deeper in the fountain of living waters; let the things of this world fade from your heart.    

Israel's Four Temples
May 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

King Solomon built the First Temple in 961 BC. That Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC because of Israel’s sin and rebellion against God. God’s blessings upon Israel are conditional on her obedience to Him.

The Second Temple was built by Zerubbabel in 516 BC. Herod expanded and beautified the Second Temple in 19 BC. The Second Temple was burned and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Scripture reveals that there will be a Third Temple standing during the tribulation period. This Third Temple will be a Temple that Antichrist will allow Israel to build and proceed to use it as a place where he is worshipped as God.

Satan not only wants to be worshipped as God, he wants to be worshipped in the very spot set aside by God for men to worship Him. We catch something of the boldness of Satan and the audacity with which he attacks God. Verses that teach about this Third Temple are found in Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24: 15, 16; 2 Thessalonians 2: 3, 4; Revelation 11:1, 2.

The Fourth Temple will be the Millennial Temple. We read about it in Ezekiel 40:5-43:27. This Temple will be the center of the worship of Jesus Christ, and it will be the focus of the entire world during the thousand year reign of Our Lord and Saviour.

There is also a Heavenly Temple and it serves as a model for the earthly Temples.

There will be no Temple in the eternal age. The new heavens and the new earth will not be polluted with sin and God will be able to dwell openly with man.

Today Israelis are preparing for the building of the third Temple. Much preparation has already taken place. In Jerusalem the “Temple Institute” is producing the instruments of worship, the menorah, the priestly garments, and the harps for the Temple orchestra have been made. The plans for the Temple itself have been completed and funds are being solicited for the construction. The decision has been made to build it in sections for quick assembly when the moment arrives to erect it.

Israel Today reports that a model of the Temple is being set up in Mitzpe Yericho, a settlement near Jericho. There the descendants of Aaron will learn how to serve as priests and Levites.

As the preparatory work proceeds, the Muslims are in a frenzy to deny that a Jewish Temple ever existed on the Temple Mount. They are threatening all-out war if the Jews attempt to build the Temple.

It is obvious that some momentous event will have to take place to allow the Temple to be constructed.

It seems from scripture that the Antichrist will come upon the scene and allow the construction to proceed. It would seem that this permission will be incorporated in the peace treaty that he will sign. The question remains as to how the Palestinians and the Muslim world will change their minds.

I believe that the soon coming war of Psalm 83 will bring about the utter destruction of the Palestinians and their nearby allies, Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria. This message permeates the account of this war in Psalm 83, Ezekiel 35-36, Isaiah 17 and Obadiah 10, 18.

We do not know exactly when this war will take place; it may be next week, next month, next year or later. We do know that the stage is now set for that war to take place.

“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). This verse has to be referring to the rapture because it uses the words “begin to come to pass” when the second coming takes place these things will not be just beginning to come to pass, they will all be completely fulfilled.

Ludwig Schneider makes the following observation in an “Israel Today” article.

[Why are the Muslims claiming with such vehemence that the 35-acre Temple Mount belongs solely to them? They are not only ignoring all biblical and historical evidence regarding the Temple, they are also destroying archaeological evidence on the Mount in a deliberate attempt to falsify history and deny Jewish claims to Jerusalem. Jewish tradition teaches that the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through the Eastern or Golden Gate (Ezekiel 44:1-3). To prevent this, the Muslims sealed the gate during the rule of Suleiman in the 16th century. Then they placed a graveyard in front of it, knowing full well that a Jewish priest is not permitted to have contact with dead bodies (Leviticus 21:1) —and Jesus is the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:1-3). Knowing that the Third Temple must stand on the Temple Mount, the Muslims are using all possible means to prevent this from happening, believing that God’s end-time promises will be seen as lies when they are not fulfilled. This also explains their opposition to Jewish settlements. They want to prevent the fulfillment of God’s promises for the restoration of Israel, such as Ezekiel 36:10, which says, “And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded.”]

As we come to the end of the age we are more and more conscious of a great spiritual warfare that is being waged. We are also more aware of the fact that men and women are the instruments that are being used to carry forth this climactic struggle.

This great warfare that is being waged is focusing on Israel and upon the church of Jesus Christ. We as followers of Christ are coming under attack and the intensity of that attack is growing by the hour.   

The Revived Roman Empire
May 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

Two thousand six hundred years ago God gave Nebuchadnezzar a very significant vision. The vision was a prophecy of four world empires that would arise to rule the world during “The Times of the Gentiles.” The “Times of the Gentiles is a time when Israel is set aside by God. That time would extend from 600 BC until Christ returns to set up the Kingdom for Israel, a kingdom that will last forever.

Nebuchadnezzar’s vision was a vision of a splendid man. Man sees the kingdoms of this world as something wonderful.

The vision was a vision of five coming world empires, with a fifth kingdom proceeding out of the fourth.

The kingdoms were:

• Babylon - The head of Gold - 587 to 536 BC.
• Media/Persia - The Chest and Shoulders of Silver - 536 to 333 BC.
• Greece - The Belly and Thighs of Bronze - 333 to 63 BC.
• Rome - The Legs and Feet of Iron - 63 to 476 AD.
• Revived Rome – The Ten Horns or the Ten Toes - the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period.

We read about the fourth empire in Daniel 2:40, “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” Though it went into decline in 476 AD it did not cease to exist.

We then have the record of the fifth and final world empire in verses 41-42, “And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.”

This fifth Empire will arise out of the Roman Empire; we refer to it as the Revived Roman Empire, it is known today as the European Union (EU). The infrastructure for this Revived Roman Empire began to be laid in 1958 with the signing of the treaty of Rome. It will not come to full fruition until Antichrist comes on the scene. It will, last three and a half years and will be led by ten rulers in conjunction with Antichrist. Verse 28 gives us the timing, it tells us this fifth empire will arise in the latter days.

Today this infrastructure of the R.R.E. is on the same territory as the old Roman Empire. The EU today states emphatically that it is the revival of the Old Roman Empire.

Daniel had a vision in chapter 7, he saw the same five world empires viewed from God’s perspective as wild beasts.

The Winged Lion: Babylon

The Bear:  Media/Persia

The Leopard: Greece

The Indescribable Beast: Rome

The Ten Horns: RRE

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns” (Verse 7). Notice the ten horns rise up out of the head of the Roman Beast.

Today as we see the infrastructure being laid for the revived Roman Empire we have seen another very significant event which took place in 1948. That event was the return of Israel to the Promised Land. The stage is being set for the end time events to take place.

Israel is now back in the place where she was when God left off dealing with her. She is soon to be under a Roman dictator just as she was when the Lord set her aside.

In the fifth century AD the Roman Empire entered a union with the Roman Catholic Church. That was the foreshadowing of the union that the R.R.E. will soon enter into with the world church that will be incorporated into or associated with Roman Catholicism.

In Revelation 17:3 we have a symbol of the R.R.E. in union with a world church, “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

In Revelation we have three women who are symbols of religion. In Revelation 12 we have a woman who is a symbol of Israel, the wife of Jehovah. In chapter 19 we have the Bride of Christ as a symbol of the Church. In chapter 17 we have a harlot as a symbol of false religion, she is a wife for Satan.

The world church is represented by the symbol of a harlot. A woman who is unfaithful to her husband is a harlot. A church that is unfaithful to Christ is a harlot church.

In Revelation 17 we have the specter of a world church in union with world government to rule the world. The infrastructure of both these scenarios is now forming.

Ten Horns:

Revelation 17:12, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.” The R.R.E. will be ruled by ten kings or leaders. Notice these ten will not appear until Antichrist appears. We will not see them because we will be caught away prior to the appearance of Antichrist. One hour is a short time for a kingdom; it represents three and a half years in our text, as confirmed in other scriptures.

Today Europe is undergoing terrific economic and political turmoil. Some claim that this proves that the EU is not the base for the kingdom of Antichrist. I believe that this turmoil Europe is now facing plays an important role in the preparation for the appearance Antichrist. It will bring about the welding of the nations of Europe into a full-fledged political and economic union. Secondly, it will prepare the way for Antichrist to come on the scene and perform economic and political miracles to establish himself and his kingdom.

The Development of the RRE:

At the European Commission building in Brussels there was and perhaps still is an exhibition called “The Roman Empire Returns.” In that exhibition the plans of the EU are laid out.

Stage #1   25 nations united and called the “European Union.”  That goal has been reached.

Stage #2   50 nations united and called the “Union.”   By this time the member nations will be far beyond the borders of Europe.

In 2008 the EU launched the Mediterranean Union. This Union consists of 43 countries in proximity to the Mediterranean. It consists of nations in North Africa including Egypt, Syria and Turkey plus the Balkans and Israel. This union has never really gotten off the ground; it is still struggling to come to fruition. The problem is that with the exception of Israel, these are all Muslim countries and they have resisted yielding to the EU.

Understand that after the war of Ezekiel 38-39, Islam will be crushed, and it seems to me that these nations will then welcome becoming a part of the rising R.R.E. This would be a giant leap forward in expansion program of Antichrist. At that point he will be the only power left standing and the oil of the Mideast will be his.  

There are some popular prophecy teachers today who are re-interpreting Biblical eschatology. They are claiming that the Antichrist will be a Muslim and that the Kingdom of Antichrist will be a Muslim Caliphate. This erroneous teaching is sowing much confusion among believers.

Consider the following factors with regard to the removal of Islam from the possibility of playing any role in the kingdom of Antichrist.

The war of Psalm 83 will take place prior to the tribulation period. The scriptural scenario for that war is now fully set to take place. If you read Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 35-36 you will discover that setting for war is now amazingly in place today. We stand on the threshold of the war of Psalm 83.

The war of Ezekiel 38-39 takes place very early in the tribulation period. Three times in Ezekiel 38 it states that the war will begin when Israel is at peace. The only time Israel will experience peace will be very early in the tribulation period after Antichrist signs the false peace treaty. Paul clearly indicates that this peace will be short lived. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1Thess. 5:3).

Another indication that this war will take place early in the tribulation period is the fact the Israeli’s will be seven years burning the weapons of the destroyed Muslim armies.

The destruction of the Muslim armies in both wars will be so complete that Islam will no longer be a factor in the tribulation period as it unfolds.

I want you to catch a sense of how utterly Islam will be destroyed and discredited in these two coming wars that will unfold in a rather short period of time, perhaps in a few months. Remember that these armies are Muslim armies; even the Russian army with the Muslim states associated with her will be predominately Muslim.

“O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire” (Psalm 83:13-14). In verse 17 we read, “Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish.”

This is a picture of total destruction. Notice the reason in verse 18, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” That Muslims may know that Allah is not God, that they might come to understand that Jehovah is the true and sovereign God.

In Ezekiel 35 we read in verses 8-9, “And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”

Obadiah speaks of this war as well in verse 18, “And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.”

These wars are actually a contest between God and Allah. This is a contest in which God graciously reveals himself to those Muslims who remain alive after these wars are over.

In the war of Ezekiel 38-39 we have even more devastation of these Islamic armies and their homelands.

Ezekiel 39 describes this total devastation of Islam, verse 2, “And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.” Five out of every six in these armies will die at the hand of God. Remember that this will be a great army because God Himself will draw them to Israel. There could be as many or more than 40 million dead on the mountains of Israel.

In addition to that, the homelands of these Muslim armies will suffer devastation as well. We read about that in verse 6, “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

The conclusion is that very early in the tribulation period Islam will be dealt a fatal blow by God Himself. There will be no Islamic Caliphate and no Islamic Antichrist. Muslims will know that Allah is not God but that Jehovah is the true and living God.

Today it seems as if Islam is about to conqueror the world for Allah. Today Islam is challenging the right of Israel to exist. God is watching and listening to the blasphemy of Islamists against Israel and against God Himself. Listen to what the scripture says about God in this situation. Ezekiel 35:12-13, “And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.”

Remember that when the tribulation period begins there will not be a living believer on the earth. God will be without a witness for a period of time. The Lord will give His own witness through the devastation of this war. I believe that this will be a dividing point for the people of the world.

Multitudes will be moved by the witness that God gives in this war. Multitudes of Muslims will suddenly realize that Allah is not God and that the God of Israel is the true God. Many of them, along with other gentiles will at some point respond to the gospel that will be preached by the two witnesses and the 144,000. They will become tribulation saints, God loves Muslims.

Multitudes of others will harden their hearts and take the mark of the beast.

Multitudes of Israeli’s will be moved by the witness that God has given and they will, in time, receive their Messiah as Saviour.  Other multitudes of Jews will also harden their hearts and perish in the tribulation period.

The last seven years of the tribulation period will be composite of all the ages, some hardening their hearts and others bowing and worshipping God.

Our God will not sit back and wring His hands as Satan and his people do their worst in that time. God will visit His world with salvation and He will visit His world with judgment.