Answers about the “War of Gog & Magog.” Part Four - Joel Rosenberg

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Joel Rosenberg Answers to the most frequently asked questions about the “War of Gog & Magog.” Part Four in our series on the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39. by joelcrosenberg (Source: screen capture of a CNN report on July 9, 2015) (Central Israel) -- Today is Part Four in our study of Ezekiel 38 & 39 and what Bible scholars call the "War of Gog and Magog." To read Part One of the series, please click here. To read Part Two, please click here To read Part Three, please click here In light of the growing alliance between Russia and Iran, and the growing interest in eschatology among Muslims, Jews and Christians, many of you have questions regarding these prophecies. Today, let's answer three of the most frequently asked questions. Q: Will the War of Gog and Magog happen before or after the Rapture? A: The truth is we simply do not know the answer for certain, because Ezekiel does not say. Many of the theologians I cited in Epicenter believe the war will occur after the Rapture. In the novel Left Behind, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins describe the War of Gog and Magog as having already happened before the Rapture takes place. In The Ezekiel Option, I also chose to portray the war occurring before the Rapture. In Matthew 24:14, Jesus says, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (NASB). We also know from Ezekiel that God will use the War of Gog and Magog to display his glory to all nations and to pour out his Holy Spirit, particularly on the nation of Israel. As a result of the entire world seeing God defend Israel from the onslaught of the Russian-Iranian coalition, a dramatic spiritual awakening will occur around the globe. It would certainly be consistent with God’s heart for humanity that he would cause this cataclysmic moment to occur before the Rapture in order to shake people out of their spiritual apathy and/or rebellion and give them at least one more chance to receive Christ as their Savior before the terrible events of the Tribulation occur. But let me be clear: I believe that the Rapture could occur at any moment, and I would certainly not be surprised in any way if it occurred before the events of Ezekiel 38 and 39 come to pass. Christian theologians speak of the “doctrine of imminence.” This means that according to the Bible there is no prophetic event that has to happen before Jesus snatches his church from the earth. That is, the Bible teaches us that we should be ready for Jesus to come for us at any moment. I fully believe that. But it should be noted with regard to this doctrine that while no major prophetic event has to happenbefore the Rapture, that doesn’t mean no such event will happen first. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this truth is the rebirth of Israel. This major prophetic event was foretold in Ezekiel 36–37, yet its fulfillment happened before the Rapture. Thus, it is certainly possible that other events—such as the events of Ezekiel 38–39—could happen before the Rapture as well. Q: Ezekiel says the War of Gog and Magog will happen in the last days. Doesn’t that by definition mean it will happen during the seven years of the Tribulation? A: Ezekiel 38:16 does say these events will happen in the “last days” (NASB), but this term is not necessarily limited to the period of the Tribulation. The apostle Peter, for example, used the term in Acts 2 to refer to the period he was living in, and that was nearly two thousand years ago. Likewise, consider the words of another apostle in 1 John 2:18: “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.” Again, John was writing nearly two thousand years ago. It’s important to note that the Hebrew term translated as “the last days” can also be translated as “in the distant future” (NLT) or “in days to come” (NIV). Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the term the last days refers to an indeterminate period of time leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This period includes—but is not limited to—the seven years of the Tribulation. That said, I don't believe the War of Gog and Magog can begin during the Tribulation. Why? Because Ezekiel 39 indicates that after the supernatural destruction of Israel's enemies, the people of Israel gather up and burn the weapons of their enemies for seven years. Yet when we look carefully at the writings of the prophet Daniel and the Book of Revelation, we see that 3 1/2 years into the seven year Tribulation, the Antichrist will invade Israel (aka, "the Beautiful Land" -- see Daniel 11:16 and 11:41-45) and set up his throne here and desecrate the Third Temple (which will have been built and been operational by Day One of the Tribulation). There is no way that Jewish Israelis will be burning the weapons of their enemies if their country is being invaded by the Antichrist. Thus, since the burning of the weapons occurs for seven years, it cannot be the same seven years of the Tribulation. Q: Doesn’t the Bible tell us that the War of Gog and Magog will happen at the very end of time—after the Rapture, after the Tribulation, after the Battle of Armageddon, and after the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth—not before all these things as you have described? A: Revelation 20:7-10 does speak of another War of Gog and Magog that occurs at the end of time, after all these other events. But this is a second war, not the war referred to by Ezekiel 38–39. We know this for several reasons. First, Ezekiel’s war is described as occurring relatively soon after the rebirth of the State of Israel and the ingathering of the Jewish people from around the world (Ezekiel 36–37). The war in Revelation, by contrast, occurs after Jesus has reigned on earth for a thousand years. Second, Ezekiel’s war involves a fearsome but limited coalition of countries that surround Israel, as we learned in earlier chapters. The war in Revelation involves all the nations from “every corner of the earth” coming to attack Israel (Revelation 20:8). Third, after Ezekiel’s war, life continues. Bodies are gathered and buried for seven months, weaponry is gathered and burned for seven years, and Ezekiel 40–48 describes the Temple that will be built. By contrast, the war in Revelation is followed immediately and literally by the end of the world. Satan and his followers are judged and thrown into the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:10). The heavens and earth are destroyed. A completely new heaven and a new earth are created, and followers of Christ will live on this new earth for the rest of eternity. —————– For a more in-depth treatment of Ezekiel 38 & 39, read Epicenter. Read The Ezekiel Option, a fictional political thriller about a Russian-Iranian attack on Israel. ————————– Pre-order your copies of THE FIRST HOSTAGE now in hardcover, e-book or audio formats — it releases on December 29, 2015 Order The Third Target today — the New York Times best-selling novel about ISIS capturing chemical weapons in Syria and plotting genocidal attacks. To read The Twelfth Imam series — a trilogy of novels I wrote about an American President pressuring an Israeli Prime Minister not to launch unilateral military strikes against Iran, but Israel feeling forced to do so anyway — please click here. ————————– Implosion: Can American Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time? Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenbergReceive every blog post automatically via the RSS feed. Invest in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution. joelcrosenberg | October 15, 2015 at 8:33 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3nz

When Actors Played Out This Prophecy, Something Supernatural Happened

3/31/2015 JESSILYN JUSTICE  charisma news

While filming this scene in National Geographic's version of 'Killing Jesus,' the actor who plays Peter says the Spirit was moving. (YouTube)

Palm Sunday came and went a few days ago, but as the Killing Jesus re-enacted it before the scene before cameras, something startling happened. 

Alexis Rodney, who played Peter in the televised version of Bill O'Reilly's book, revealed in a podcast that as Christ entered into the streets and extras were shouting "Hosanna!" the Lord really showed up.

"There was a scene where Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah ... where he's riding the donkey colt into Jerusalem, and the people are laying the palms on the floor and there was a moment where it reached near rapture," Rodney says on The Church Boys 

"The people—they were going to cut, we had finished the scene—these were people in an absolute state of rapture. They were just screaming 'Hosanna!'

"They weren't stopping. They were paid supporting actors ... and the camera operator used his good thinking and just carried on filming ... I felt like a biblical superstar. It was just absolutely amazing."

If a prophetic re-enactment can have that sort of impact on paid actors, what could this mean for the world?

Having a diverse cast allowed the producers to expand the audience to include nonbelievers, Rodney tells The Church Boys.

"It takes in a younger, perhaps more skeptical audience," Rodney says. "It will open up more to them."

And allow them to prepare the way of the risen Lord?

Is This When the Rapture Is Really Coming?

11/13/2014 CHARISMA STAFF

John Shorey on Sid Roth's It's Supernatural (YouTube)

Though no man knows the day or the hour of Christ's return, John Shorey says he's decoded a passage in Revelation to make a compelling argument for when the rapture is coming—and what has to happen first. What do you think?

Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed are solely the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Charisma Media.

What if… you are not raptured out first? - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

What if…

you are not raptured out first?

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

 “…First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn." Matthew 13:30 NAS


I have something for you to think about, just in case it is true.

How would you live today if you believed you were going to leave this planet tomorrow? Would you sit in your comfy chair and wait out the next 24 hours? Would you run to the nearest movie and watch one more action thriller, or play the DVR and view the make-believe TV fairy tale?

Would you consider writing a letter to a loved one, advising them of things to be on the lookout for, so they wouldn’t possibly make the same mistakes you made while living? Would you care about those who didn’t know what you know?

What you do, or how you respond and act while living, certainly may depend on your perception of what has been written, or has been spoken, into your life. We typically do that which we believe, whether we realize it or not. That is the way it is.

If the enemy of our soul wanted to deceive us, and spread a well-conceived thought that we would escape most of the end of the age’s events because we were getting out before it all happened, how would we respond to what is daily happening? Our care level would be very low, for we would act upon the belief that we wouldn’t be here anyway to experience it, along with those unfortunate ones who will.

What if the words Jesus (Yeshua) spoke to His disciples, about the end of the age, would occur as simply as He said they would, and not be twisted by preachers and teachers centuries later, arriving at conclusions He didn’t actually say?

Let’s look at one passage of Scripture, and just read it for what Jesus does say.

“Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, then went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull them up?’

But he said, ‘No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time. Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.’” Matthew 13:24-30 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible)

If you read it as simply as I do, then you too just read, “collect the weeds first”, right? But I thought the “wheat” was gathered first, or so we all have been taught as happening first, as being the truth.

So if, as Yeshua said, the weeds are taken out of the field first, doesn’t that imply that the wheat would be harvested, or taken out, afterwards? Sounds like that to me, if I don’t try to twist it around another way.
Sure, this is just one passage. Granted many others have been, and still are, used to “prove” we are going to be “raptured” (a word not even in the Bible) before the tribulation at the harvest time.

Of course there are many pre-trib, mid-trib and post-trib theorists who have expounded on Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments, teaching what they believe is the way it will be. I tend to take Yeshua’s word simply at His word.

What if the devil wanted to use all this confusion to get believers to just sit by and wait for the world to go to hell, because the rapture will occur to take us out beforehand anyway? He would have a field day, now wouldn’t he?

But what if we just took Jesus at HIS word, and do as He spoke to do, with one of His last commands, to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19, NKJV

Should not we take a different approach, that rather than waiting for the escape button to be pushed from heaven, taking us out while the rest are “Left Behind”, that we aggressively go on the offensive, obey Yeshua’s command, and take the Gospel message of discipleship to all the nations, knowing He will be with us “even to the end of the age”?

I think so, and thus am acting on HIS word.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

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Now Think On This #149 “What if…raputred” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (05.11.14) Sunday at 7:45am in Charlotte, NC.

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on our newest website: Now Think On This

Bob Jones and the Rapture...

Bob Jones - 2011

Uploaded on Oct 31, 2011

This is from the Shepherds Rod 2012 at the Harvest Fest. The rapture, love of God, learning to love people - more important than building a church.

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Ahava Love Letter - "Connections" (#57)

                                                                 

Connections”

”The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, 

and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a 

friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom 

is shown to be right by its results.” (Matthew 11:19 (NLT)

Dear family of friends,

The life trying to happen at the recent office birthday party surely wasn’t happening. In fact, standing around, trying to make small talk, while holding a half-filled glass of liquid, wasn’t much fun at all. What many may consider the “scene” really isn’t. Lost in the crowd, trying to be someone, is a very lonely place to be. But for some, that is all they have. It need not be that way, if we are there to tell them.

I am truly thankful that my life isn’t one of striving while in a pressurized mode, to make it to the top, have the great image, or be “all you can be.” That can even happen in a church or congregation setting, with that “just below the surface” uneasiness, or feeling out of place, that I know many experience. I have often.

But as my good friend Morris Ruddick would say, “There is something more.”

That something more begins with knowing the Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, and having His intended connection with Himself. Once we have gotten to that starting line, His heart is to then connect us with others in His Body, and His nations - to receive ongoing life in a very meaningful way.

Real friendships can be bonded together as we share His purposes on this planet, as we come together in unity to seek His face, know His will, and walk in the understanding that you and I need each other. We are not meant to be an island in the ocean, or the single sheep in the pack of wolves.

So what about those who surround us, that have not had any experience yet with Him, that we know of? There are times when I will need to be with my fellow office staff, so as not to be isolated from them, or make them feel as if I am the “unsociable one”. But in my pursuit to actually befriend them, right where they are, as Jesus taught us in His examples, I will always be mindful of the real purpose. That is to get them connected too, to the Father and their Creator, so they also can begin to experience real life in Jesus (Yeshua).

We are called to go out into the world, aren’t we? Does that mean going on a mission trip to Kenya (in Africa), or the inner parts of the city where you live? Yes it does.

It also means to go where the people around you go, in that business setting, or the local bar (oops, I said it) or recreational event - again as Jesus Himself did. I guess we may even be accused of associating with sinners. I guess they did that to Jesus too.

All of us have been in the place where we needed a connection, another former sinner like us, to reach out to us, right where we were at. Many of us can remember exactly where that happened, and how. The seeds others had shown in our lives up to that time, those other connections, were set up by the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) Himself, to get us in His Body. And then that rebirth happened.

As I seek to befriend my co-workers in the office setting, even if at times I feel most uncomfortable, I know that if I don’t reach out to them, and they don’t come to my church setting or anyone else’s, which is most likely even more now a days, how will they hear? How will they know? How will they get connected?

I urge you to be bold in your actions. We need to stop being the “weak Christians awaiting the rapture” (that rapture lie won’t happen anyway, in my opinion) and reach out to those around us who need to get connected. You are probably the one the Lord has been wanting to send to them.

Keep getting life through your fellowship connections. Then give it out to those who also need you, as Yeshua works through you.

If not now, when? Connections are needed now more than ever.

Ahava (love in Hebrew) to my family of friends,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc. truly appreciates your generous support. Please consider sending a monthly charitable gift of $5-$25 each month to help us bless Messianic Jews in Israel. 

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Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA organization. Fed. ID#27-1633858.  Tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation.

Ahava Love Letter #57   “Connections” Date: In the year of our Lord 2013 (06/11/13 Tuesday, 8:00 am. Charlotte, NC)

All previous editions of Ahava Love Letter can be found on this Blog:    http://loveforhispeople.blogspot.com        

Here are the last four:

Your Name (#56)

Lost, But Not Forgotten Friends (#55)

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (#54)

We Speak To Nations (#53)