Would you join me in the word of prayer? Lord, we thank you so much. Oh, how needed are our Thursday nights, Lord, in your word. Lord, we thank you for this book that we are in, Lord, and we thank you for our teacher. We thank you for our pastor, Lord. Be with Pastor JD as he delivers your word this evening, Lord, and I pray that it would just bless our heart, Lord. And may we take it with us. May it empower us. Thank You again for this time together in this place that You have greatly blessed us with, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen and Amen. Good evening to you. You can be seated. You already, you didn't wait for me to say you could be seated. Wow, I can tell what kind of night this is going to be. Rough crowd. That's all right. I want to welcome those of you that are joining us online as well. A couple of things though. let you know that on Sunday, I'm actually looking forward to providing a detailed update. I mean, very detailed update and information for both our Maui mission support and as well our Israel mission support. So I've been working on it this week, worked on it some today and looking forward to sharing that with you on Sunday. So With that, let's get to it. The long anticipated, say, see how you are, Ezekiel chapter 38. I mean, for those of you that have been with us for all these years, first of all, God bless you. You have treasures in heaven. But I mean this chapter has been at the forefront of many a prophecy update prior over the years. And here we are all these years later and we're going through the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. We finished chapter 37, and I know this is deeply profound, but 38 comes after 37. And so here we are, we find ourselves in chapter 38 of Ezekiel, a very well known chapter, a very well known prophecy. It probably goes without saying, but not only is it a well known prophecy, it's a well known Bible prophecy that's now happening, happening now, in real time and at breakneck speed. Now I've been With great anticipation, preparing for teaching Ezekiel 38 differently, by the way, not in the context of a prophecy update where you highlight certain details within the prophecy and connect the dots to what's happening geopolitically. Well, we're not going to do that tonight. Before you get disappointed and roll your eyes, just hear me out. This chapter has to be understood in the context of when Ezekiel prophesied it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Now think this through with me. So up to chapter 37, as we saw two weeks ago, by the way, thank you for your grace last week. I was fully prepared to teach Ezekiel 38 last week. But it gave me an extra week to prepare to teach Ezekiel 38. That wasn't the reason. I just needed to be with my wife last week. But so we got through Chapter 37 and now we hit Chapter 38. And Chapter 37, for the most part, has been fulfilled. In fact, Like I mentioned, don't do it. But I mean, you can if you want. You could write in your Bible on Chapter 37, fulfilled. So now we come to Chapter 38. It's not yet fulfilled, but it's about to be fulfilled. Now let's rewind about five. We will get to the chapter. Just hang in there. Let's rewind about five, six. Yeah, we can go further. I've been doing these prophecy updates weekly since 2006. So what's that? 17 years now? 18 years? That's a lot of prophecy updates. And as I was reflecting on this, the prophecy updates from about the years 2012 ish, heavy on the ish, through to about 2019 actually, before everything changed, I think it would be safe to say that the majority of those prophecy updates centered on this particular chapter here in Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 38. Why? Because this alliance of nations that are recorded here in their, and by their ancient names, are the nations that today, not five or even 10 years ago, were aligned as they are now. Nor, again, think this through with me, nor will they be still aligned five, 10 years from now. It's a proverbial strike while the iron's hot. And again, if you really think about it, these players in place, they have a shelf life, as it were, like Bible prophecy has a shelf life, an expiration date, if you prefer. And by that, I mean just the statistical odds, easy for me to say, of these nations that Ezekiel prophesied some 2,500 plus years ago, aligning as they are today, astronomical, incalculable. And then you factor, that's not even factoring in the statistical probabilities of this particular prophecy being fulfilled, because prior to 1948, it wasn't even on the table. Because the prior prophecies were about Israel returning to the land. Isaiah asked the rhetorical question, can a nation be born in a day? Actually, I think God asked that question of Isaiah. Um, and the answer is yes, and it was. And the day was May 14th, 1948, fulfilled. Now that set everything in motion. In fact, I truly believe that May 14, 1948, it really started the prophetic wheels in motion. So here we are. all of these years later, and Israel has returned as a nation. Now Ezekiel 38 is back on the table because it's a prophecy about once Israel returns to the land, returns as a nation, then they're going to be invaded by this alliance of nations. Seven total listed by name, seven the number of completion. There are others, as we'll see, and they're going to invade Israel. How are they going to invade Israel and fulfill this prophecy if there's no Israel to invade to fulfill this prophecy? So I'm hoping that as we go through this chapter, that in a way we can take and put aside everything heretofore that we know about this well known prophecy. I kind of want to take a fresh look at it again. Does that make sense? I want to approach it tonight differently than what we would maybe normally do if it were in the context of a Bible prophecy teaching or a Bible prophecy update. So we're going to go through it in its entirety. And by the way, typically Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39 are taught together. So if you're asking the question of why are we not doing 38 and 39 together, because I don't want to. I mean, that's a sanctified, trying to make that sound more spiritual than it really is. But no, actually there is a method behind the madness, so to speak, because 39, Lord willing, next week will be part two of tonight's teaching about how it is that Bible prophecy is taking place right before our very eyes. This is happening now. And I let, just let that sink in. I mean, think about this. let's just say for purpose of discussion, we'll just round it up, a prophecy that was written 2,500 years ago. And all the generations in between, I mean, they could, they could teach it, they could learn it, they could talk about it, they could get excited about it. But we are that generation. that is seeing it. Is that chicken skin or what? So I mean, it's just God's Word is alive, such is the case with the chapter before us tonight. Again, there are several reasons really that this is a focal point for students and teachers of Bible prophecy. And some of those reasons are as follows. Number one, this prophecy is very detailed. The specificity of this prophecy is unique in terms of Bible prophecy. I mean we are provided with details that just, I mean, make it very clear in no uncertain terms that only God could do this. In fact, He says as much as we'll see. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I hope you're getting used to that. If you're not, stay tuned. So here's what's going to happen. 38, 39. Happening now, chapter 40 on through the rest of the book, chapter 48, coming soon. In other words, it's the millennium, the kingdom age, that 1000 year rule and reign on earth in its pre fallen state before sin entered the world. 1000, I mean, we talk about, I can't wait for the rapture, can't wait for, you know, for eternity. Well, wait a minute, we got a 1000 year sabbatical on earth, ruling and reigning with Christ in our glorified bodies for 1000 years, 1000 years. So, but it won't seem like 1000 years. And then Eternity future hasn't even started yet. The new heavens and the new earth? No, we got 1000 years before. So settle down. But that's what chapter 40 on through chapter 48 are about. It's the kingdom age, the millennium, and then eternity future concerning Israel, specific to Israel. Israel is the navel, the center, of the world. How so? Israel is at the center, connecting three continents, which, by the way, is going to come into play as part of this prophecy. And the center of the world is Israel. The center of Israel is Jerusalem. The center of Jerusalem is the temple, and the center of the temple is the Holy of Holies. So it's the navel, the focal point. So, you know, God has a world map and the USA is not at the center. I hate to break it to you. I knew it was going to be a rough crowd, but so we're almost getting there. This is just the introduction, but we've got to build the foundation here. I've shared how when I was in Russia, it was many years ago, I was teaching at the Bible college there, and my students took me to show me a map they had on the wall there in the dorm. And I, and they said, what do you notice about this map? And then being the very sharp, brilliant, quick pastor that I am, I'm going, huh? Oh, because it was all in Russian. And then they helped me out. I think they felt sorry for me. They said, look at what's at the center of our map. I was like, oh yeah, it's not America. What's up with that? It's Russia. The center of the world map in Russia is Russia. The center of the world map in America is America. Well, the center of the world map, for God, is Israel. That's ground zero, if I can say it like that. So here we are, Ezekiel 38, very specific, and so much so that we're even told why it is that this alliance of nations invades Israel, the direction from which they invade Israel, and the purpose for which they invade Israel. And those details are going to just, well, let me use an illustration. I haven't used this one for a very long time, actually. It's a very good one, I might say. Uh, you know, when you watch, this is going to date me, black and white TVs. By the way, do you ever say this to your kids? Man, there's nothing to watch. 5,828 channels. And they got a remote. Yeah. Our remote was a dial and we had three channels. Now that's when, anyway, you know, and then you share about how you walk to school No shoes in the snow both ways, right? So, but here's the analogy in the illustration. So it's like watching a black and white fuzzy, you know, forget HD. I don't think there's a D, let alone an H. It's just a fuzzy screen, black and white, very small tube. that you've got to get the foil on the antennas right to make it come in. Okay, that's compared to, wait for it, IMAX 3D 4K. Do I need some more alphanumeric additions here? Do you follow me? I mean, that's the difference. The details turned this from a black and white screen to an IMAX screen in 3D, 4K, actually 8K right now, Mike? It's 8K now? Is it 16 yet? It's 8, 8K. Ask Mike what that means. He'd be happy to tell you. Sorry, Mike. But I mean, we're talking, you can see, this might be too much information. You can see nose hairs. No, that's, it's very detailed. For those of you that have 4K, 8K, I mean, anyway, that's enough of that. That's what the details in this prophecy do. You see things that you would not otherwise see vis a vis these details in this prophecy. They are so specific. Okay, let's pray and we'll jump in. You ready? How was that for the introduction? Is it time to close the prayer? Almost. Well, let's pray. Father, thank You. Lord, this is powerful tonight and we're with great anticipation looking forward to going through this very well known chapter here in Ezekiel 38. So will you now take over and let us see with those eyes to see how real this prophecy is, and how that this prophecy is playing out right now, in Jesus' name, Amen. One last thing, and we'll start verse one. The purpose of Bible prophecy is, as Jesus said, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen before it happens, so that when it happens, you will believe that I am. And when you see these things that I told you was going to happen before it happens, begin to come to pass, then the believers will look up and lift up their heads because their redemption draws nigh. You know how many people have come to Christ, a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because of Bible prophecy, the reality of Bible prophecy? Do you know how many people have loosened their ever tightening grip on this world and the things of this world because of Bible prophecy? Because it's a much needed reminder of the brevity of this life and the reality of eternal life, and the nearness of our redemption. It draws so nigh. And that has this effect of changing how we live our lives. Because now we live our lives in the light of eternity, knowing that our eternity draws ever so near. These are time stamps. These are markers and indicators that tell us, like warning lights on the dashboard of a car. Warning, warning, warning. You've got to do something about it. And don't take electrician's tape and cover it up. It's a warning to let you know about something very serious. And so too is that what Bible prophecy does. Okay, Let's go. You ready? Verse one. Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, set your face against Gog, this is a ruler, a title, of the land of Magog. This is an actual land far north. Now this is where it gets a little bit, I hate to use the word tricky, but for lack of a better one, the Prince of Rosh. Now In Hebrew and Arabic, Rosh, or Arabic Ras means head. So if I say to you in Arabic, Rasi betwejani, my head, Ras, I have a headache. My head is aching, the literal translation. So this is the head, the chief prince, Rosh, the chief head. Now some have And the interpretation doesn't demand it, nor should it dismiss it. But they have transliterated Rosh as Russia, Mishech, Moscow, Tubal, Tubolsk, all of which are Russia. Now hang on to that. So the chief prince, the chief prince, not the prince of Rosh, because Rosh then would become a place. Hence the interpretation of that place, Rosh being Rasha. I am personally of the belief, and please I am not dogmatic. In fact, I probably should warn you now ahead of time that as we go through this, I'm going to, I'm going to give the Holy Spirit the elbow room as we go through this, because I don't think we can get so dogmatic about the interpretation of this prophecy. I think we would err greatly if we lock ourselves in and box God in with our finite understanding of this prophecy. So I'm not saying it's not Russia, nor am I saying it is Russia. I'm just saying that the text does allow for this interpretation of the chief prince, not the Prince of Rosh. Are we okay so far? We're only in verse two, so we better be okay. So notice though, and this is the argument for this being a person and not a place, and prophesy against him. Did you catch that? This ruler, this chief prince. And say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince, or the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. I will turn you around, verse four, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Now, verse four, at the very least, describes a very strong military. And how God is going to now draw them, and at the risk of being a little bit too graphic, you put a hook in somebody's jaw, they're going wherever you lead them. So God is going to, and lest one think that, well, that's not fair. I mean, this Gog dude doesn't have a chance. If God is going to put a hook into his jaw, as if he's reluctantly leading him out to bring him against Israel. No, he's only doing that which was already purposed in this ruler's heart, as we're about to see. So We get now in verse five with the ancient names, the first one, Persia, that's easy, Iran. In fact, it wasn't named Iran until, I want to say, I forget the year already. It was the last century. And then it became the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 after they overthrew the The Shah. Thank you. I'm going to stop because I'm butchering this. But you know, Iran is clearly Persia. Ethiopia. I love it when the translators give you the name of the actual modern day name of the country. Ethiopia and Libya. And this would encompass that area. It's important to understand that these, these nations, in ancient times, at the time when this prophecy was recorded, they didn't have the same borders as we know them to be modern day. So you've got Iran, Ethiopia, you can add to that Sudan and Libya, all of that area are with them, all of them with shield and helmet. Gamer, now who's that? Well, Eastern Europe, Some believe the Germanic people, Germany and all its troops. The house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops. Many people are with you. Many people are with you. So you've got from the north, but with you are from the east and from the west and from the south. And you're all coming together, allied together. and with your great military strength, because I'm going to put a hook in your jaw and bring you out against My people. So who's Togarmah? The house of Togarmah. This is a sort of a Arabic and Hebrew saying the Beit Togarmah, the house of Bayt Abu Wahid, that would be what they would say, the house of the father of Wahid, Bayt, house. The house of Saud, the Saudi Arabians, we'll see them in verse 13. So who's the house of Togarmah? From the far north. Well, take your map with Israel in the center and just go straight north. And Turkey Turkey, Russia, there along the Caspian Sea. So I am in the camp with the House of Togarmah being Turkey. Now, I think I'd be grossly remiss if I didn't say that there are those who believe that it's actually not Russia, but Turkey instead. I can't quite get there for reasons that I don't want to take the time to explain, nor is it important that I explain. I'm still okay with the interpretation of Russia, Iran, and Turkey. And the geopolitical landscape bears that out. just this week, this is Thursday, I've already got, we're not going to get there for the prophecy update on Sunday, but I've already got three reports about Russia, Iran and Turkey that smells an awful lot like Ezekiel 38. I'll leave it at that. So you got to Gadama, Many believe widely held this is Turkey from the far north. Now, verse seven, prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited. Now this is important. In the latter years, the end times, the last days, Because keep in mind, from Ezekiel 37 to Ezekiel 38, Ezekiel 37 was present day, back in that day, and now in the last days, Ezekiel 38. That's our day, at the time of the end, during the seven year tribulation. Some believe prior to the seven year tribulation, which means it'll be on our news feed. Some believe, you ready for this? Simultaneous with the rapture of the church. I like that one because it'll be like, oh, it's on the news, boom, I'm gone. Didn't even get to read my news feed. So the last days, the latter years, the end times, you will come into the land of those brought back from the sort and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate, like 2000 years. They were brought out of the nations where they were scattered, and now all of them dwell safely, confidently. securely in their land. May 14, 1948 to the present. You again, God, your alliance of nations, the many with you will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops. And here it is again, many peoples with you. Thus says the Lord God, verse 10, On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind and you will make an evil plan. Stop. God can read your mind. Be careful. He knows your thoughts. He knows the intents of the heart. God sees the heart. Man sees only the outward appearance. So back to why it is that it would seem unfair, unjust of God to put a hook in the jaw of Gog. No, he'd already made up his mind. God is only doing that which he had already purposed in his heart and mind to do. He had already hatched this evil plot. So God's just okay. Let's do this. I'll help you. You will say, verse 11, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. We need to talk about this. This really trips a lot of people up. This really messes a lot of people up, and it shouldn't. Because the argument is, well, that can't happen right now, because after the Intifada of the 2000s, the early 2000s, when the buses were being blown up and Jews were being killed and murdered. They put up these, for those of you that went to Israel with us, Bethlehem and Israel separated by a huge, and I mean huge concrete wall. So they're saying, well now it can't happen because the walls are up. And the prophecy in Ezekiel 38 has this inconvenient detail of they're going to invade Israel, and it's unwalled at the time that they invade Israel. You'll bear with me on this, but this is the city walls, the old city walls. The only thing that remains intact really is what is affectionately referred to as the Wailing Wall, aka the Western Wall. That is only the wall that was around the old city, the ancient city of Jerusalem. There is no wall around Jerusalem. This prophecy is not limited to and bound by the walls that are up in other parts of Israel. This prophecy is absolutely possible now because there are no walls around Jerusalem. Are we good? Okay. I will go to a peaceful people who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, there it is again, and having neither bars nor gates. Well, no, that's even more specific because you look at those walls that are there now that are still up and they've got gates and they got bars and they got barbed wire and they got everything else. So Are we still okay with this being specific to the walls around Jerusalem? Think Zechariah 14, the first three verses, because this prophecy comports with not just Zechariah, but the other prophets, as we'll see in a moment. Jerusalem will be besieged because Jerusalem will become the intoxicating obsession of the entire world, and it will become a burdensome boundary stone that is immovable, because they're going to try to divide it and move the boundaries and create a two state solution. And if you cut up my Jerusalem, I will cut you up, God declares. So we have to be Jerusalem centric. if you will. Once you get outside Jerusalem, then you open yourself up to all kinds of possibilities, none of which really have any merit when it comes to this specific prophecy. Now, verse 12, to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. There's the qualifier. Remember the navel, the middle? That's Jerusalem. That's the center of Israel. It's in the midst of the land. And oh, by the way, talk about a qualifier. At the time that this prophecy is fulfilled, Israel has to be exceedingly prosperous. I ask you, is Israel today exceedingly prosperous? You have no idea. You have no idea. The amount of wealth, and we'll get there in a moment, but natural resources out of the Dead Sea. The oil find recently off the coast of Tel Aviv, Haifa area, in the Mediterranean there. Some, and this would be, it would just be like God to do this. Some speculate that the oil and natural gas find recently in Israel, off the coast of Israel there, is actually the source of all of the Persian Gulf oil. Uh oh, we got a problem. So if we tap that, you got a little more oil, baby. That's the source. In fact, we want back pay for all our oil that you took over there. That's the source. It's over here. God gave it to us and you took it from us. And now you want to take it back. Because as one said, spoil is really take the SP off oil. Okay, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself. But Do you see now the 3D 4K here? Israel, this is the motivation behind the invasion. Israel has got all of this wealth, all of these resources, and they want to get their hands on it. And that's what we're going to see now. Verse 13, Sheba, Dedan, the merchants. These are the business people, the exporters, the importers, the traders, the one making, the ones making all this money. Sheba and Dedan, who's that? You know who it is, Saudi Arabia. It's the Arabian Peninsula, also in the last century given to the House of Saud. the Saudis, not the Wahhabis. I probably shouldn't have gone here. the house, the family of Saud, the Saudis got the Arabian Peninsula. If it were given to the Wahhabis, it would not be called Saudi Arabia. It would be called Wahhabi Arabia. I kind of like Wahhabi Arabia. It's got a little ring to it. It sounds like Waheed Arabia. But anyway, I digress. So this is Saudi Arabia. Go figure. Now there's much debate about who Tarshish is. Some believe the UK, some say Spain, some say others. But there's this interesting detail again that their young lions are going to say to you, they're going to in protest question you. Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty to carry away silver and gold? Oh, the gold, by the way. Oh, the gold in Israel? Don't tell anybody. Too late. They know. Um, uh, so a while back I was talking to a a fellow pastor, a good friend of mine, a brother in Christ, who had told me, I mean this is a guy that has dear friends in Israel, goes to Israel or went to Israel all the time, and had kind of inside access to places and things in Israel that not everybody could have access to. And he shared with me that there was a gold find in Israel that would absolutely boggle your mind. Now think about it. Where did the gold go when the temple was destroyed? Do you know how much gold was in the temple? I mean, It was full. In fact, when the Romans destroyed it, they, exactly as Jesus said in Matthew 24, they took the stones and the gold in between those huge stones melted, and they took that gold. That was nothing. That was kind of like a tip. Oh yeah, go ahead and take that. But the gold that Israel had, and in anticipation of the siege and the destruction of Jerusalem, they took the gold out of Jerusalem, out of the temple, and they hid it, and they just found it. So apparently somebody leaked the information because God found out about it, and now He wants to come to take it. All the prosperity, all the wealth, wealth unbelievable wealth. So they're asking, protesting, querying them. What are you doing? Are you going to come and you're invading them to take from them all of this? Translated, we want in on the action. No, for real. That's what merchants like this do. They're all about the money. And Sheb and Dedan in Saudi Arabia. You know, these guys, well, I remember my dad when he was alive, he would tell me stories about the Saudi Arabians. I can't tell you. Suffice it to say, they have so much money. They'll use a gasoline pump, like at our gas stations to hose off. I'm like, wait, that's like $5 a gallon, man. Are you kidding me? Yeah, not to them. They'll buy these expensive, and because I was, worked for Mercedes back in the day, they would buy these Custom Mercedes, $200,000, the equivalent of half a million dollars today. And they would buy a fleet of them, drive them, and if it got a scratch, they just get a new one. That's a lot of money. You know, to produce a barrel of oil. I mean, this is a rough illustration, but I think you get the point. maybe like $10 and they sell it for $150. You do the math. So they take notice of this invasion to take the wealth that Israel has. And Israel today has the wealth. Now we're going to get verse 14 into another issue, if I can say it like that. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, thus says the Lord God, on that day when my people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? That's a rhetorical question he's asking of Gog. God is asking Gog, will you not take notice and know when my people Israel are dwelling safely, securely? Now this is a problem. because many have taken it to mean, well, this prophecy can't be fulfilled right now because Israel's on high alert. That's not what it says. Hear me out, please. This dwelling safely carries with it the idea of dwelling confidently, dare I say arrogantly. And I submit to you that you cannot watch any video or read any report about anyone or anything in Israel without hearing this. We will win. Oh, wait, where's God in that? Well, that's pretty arrogant. You're pretty confident. the IDF. We will kill them. We will find them. And it is the height of arrogant confidence. And that is exactly what Ezekiel is describing in this prophecy. So check that box off. We've got nothing in this prophecy that isn't already in place for this to take place. Please be clear on that. Because if you don't check off the boxes that need to be checked off in terms of what needs to be in place for this to take place, then what you've just done is you have delayed My master's coming. You don't want to do that, Matthew 24. You've just now put something in between the Lord's return and me. That will not end well. I'm just saying. Because that's Matthew 24, the parable of the righteous servant and the wicked servant, what distinguished between them. The righteous servant was found faithful because he knew his master could come at any time. The wicked servant said, nah, he delays his coming party on. We got time. No hurry, no worry. No, the take away from just where we're at so far, and we need to keep moving, is this, the urgency, the now. Please, please, please, I implore you, don't take the now out of this. Don't gut it out of its urgency. Don't gut the urgency out of this. This is on the cusp. I mean, the against statistical odds of having these players, if I could call them that, all aligned perfectly, exactly as we were told they would at this time. Five years ago, they weren't. Five years from now, they will not be as fast as everything is moving. Are you kidding me? I don't even see two years. The geopolitical landscape is changing so rapidly. I mean, this is lining up now, now. Yeah, but they have to be dwelling safely and securely. No, arrogantly and confidently, and they already are. They have to be prosperous. They already are. They can't have any walls. They don't around Jerusalem. What else you want to argue about? Okay, you don't want to argue. Verse 15, Then you will come from your place out of the far north key, you, and here it is for the third time, by the way, many peoples with you. all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will be in the latter days, the end times, the last days, that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes. Oh, I love it when God brags on himself. Thus says the Lord God, verse 17, Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them? There it is. Did you connect that dot? That's Zechariah, Isaiah, Joel, the other prophets. Wait, they prophesied about this Ezekiel 38 invasion? Yeah. Again, Zechariah 14. I cannot see where that is not talking about this. Bring Joel into it. This prophecy, I mean, in fact, the way that God is asking Gog Are you not the one that I spoke about in former days through my prophets? I was talking about you. You talking to me? Yeah, I was talking about you. That I would bring you against my land. Why? So that you will know I am the Lord and I am to be hallowed. And verse 18, it will come to pass at the same time, when God comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, that my fury will show in my face. Now this is one of those verses where you just kind of read through it and then just read past it. But let's not do that. And here's why. I want you to picture, using your God given imagination, the face of God in all of its fury. You know when you get, not me of course, because I'm a very loving man, but when you get just infuriated, you're steaming, as we say, your mouth is closed and your nostrils are open. How am I doing? It's going to show in my face. And it does show in your face. And that's what God's saying. I am so infuriated. It's going to show in my face. I mean, I'm fuming. Verse 19, For in my jealousy, now that is another word that really trips up and messes up many people. Jealousy, envy, covetousness, they're not necessarily all synonymous. In fact, Sunday in the Prophecy Update, we're going to talk about the covetousness of Korah, different than envy and jealousy. You can envy someone because of what they have. You can be jealous of someone, and if you can't have what they have, then they shouldn't have what you don't have. Now covetousness, that's a whole nother level. That says you've got what I don't have, so I'm going to take from you what you have so that I have it. I hope you got that because actually I'm practicing on you tonight because I've got to be ready for this on Sunday to explain it. So this jealousy is not he's jealous of us, he's jealous for us. He's a jealous God. And in the fire of my wrath I have spoken, surely in that day, today, there shall be, listen, a great earthquake in the land of Israel. Oh man, I would love to have a front row seat for this. I might. So might you. You might want to get your reservations in now. I want to see this. This great, I mean, forget the eight point whatever, even nine. This is off the charts. It's so great that, verse 20, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. Wow! That sounds, now hear me on this. I'm going to do a little play on words. Earthquake sounds to me like the whole earth be a quaking, the whole earth. The mountains shall be thrown down. That's an earthquake. I mean, this thing is so massive that the mountains are just going to crumble down. The steep places shall fall, picture steep, sharp cliffs falling, and every wall shall fall to the ground. Listen, if you're insisting on there being no walls, you got it right here. Just saying. Verse 21, I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all my mountains, says the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother, and I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many people's fourth time. who are with Him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Man, that needs some growl. Fire and brimstone. That's better. Hailstones? Does that sound like Revelation? It should. I mean, the hailstones are, forget golf ball. Okay, these things are enormous. and fire and brimstone all at the same time. Again, I want a front row seat. Is that bad? Thus, verse 23, 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. The end. That'll do it. Enough said, as we say. I mean, a couple of closing thoughts. You think about, talk about statistical odds. You've got impossible odds. You've got little itsy bitsy Israel. And you got this massive alliance of nations with their massive military coming against itsy bitsy Israel. It's game over. It's lights out. But God says, watch me now. I mean, I'm going to do this in such a fashion that there will be no mistaking that it was me who did it, because only I could do that. There's no other explanation. It is inexplicable in the natural. It is only possible in the realm of the supernatural. Me. I mean, all the nations, I mean, first of all, you're hiding, running, trying to survive this earthquake that is the whole earthquake. And then all of the other stuff happening simultaneously. And I think about that time, hopefully before you're going, this is God, to which I would say if I were there, you think? No, that totally came out wrong. Maybe not. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. I mean, duh, you think? I mean, listen, we have something disastrous happen. How quick are people to factor God back in? It's a sign from God. In fact, insurance companies used to call it an act of God. Really? An act of God. Well, I guess in some ways it depends. It was God acting to get your attention, to let you know that it was Him. He did that. He's the only one who could do that. Why did He do that that way, so that all would know that He is God? I did that. God, You're the only one who could do that. That's why I did it. Another thought, and we're almost done. I could go on and on and on on this chapter, and you know that. I won't. It is believed, and I think there's merit to this, that this prophecy that we just read in all of its graphic description and detail, it actually takes place in some believe the span of about 24 hours. And that is plausible because Russia could have boots on the ground in Israel within about 3.5 hours. Their military might could be in Israel in a span of about 3.5 hours. That God knows that. He goes, I've asked pretty fast. I'm faster. I'm going to deal you such a decisive blow and defeat that there will be no question that it was Me who did it. In fact, and we talked about this, I think a couple of weeks ago in the Prophecy Update. There is so much chaos and confusion that they turn on each other and they kill each other. I love it when God does that. You know, the enemy's coming against you, and then they turn on each other, and they do your job for you instead of you, because God turns them on each other to kill each other, so you don't have to. I like that. I like, I like that battle plan, because it's kind of like none. Again, it's not just that God does it, it's how God does it and why God does it. Never lose the how and the why behind the what. Because when you know why God does what God does, it just changes everything. Oh, now I know why. Well, God, that is so amazing. You're so awesome. I know. I'm awesome. I'm God. I'm in awe of You, God. I know because I'm awesome. A word, by the way, reserved only for God. And when somebody, I'm sorry, I'm just, I'll end with this, probably a horrible note to end on. But when somebody says, man, you're awesome. No. You know what you're saying when you say that to somebody? You're awesome. You're saying, I'm in awe of you. No, don't do that. Only God is awesome and hallowed. One who we are in awe of. Wasn't that military campaign with Bush? Why did I go there? Demon possessed Bush W. Wasn't it called shock and awe? Oh, get your own material. This is true shock and true awe. So much so that they will know, all will know, that He is the Lord God. And that's the whole purpose of it. And how about Israel? What's Israel doing right about now? Oh, weren't you talking smack all big and all that, like, yeah, we're going to kill them, beat them, crush them. And then you're going, Oh God, we're toast. The guy says, no, you're not. I'll take care of this. And he does it in such a way that only he gets the glory and rightfully so. We can never take the credit for it. Even if we tried, it would be laughable. I think about Gideon. God's going to take this guy and he's going to deliver the Midianites into the hands of the Israelites using a guy that's going, you got the wrong guy. No, you're the right guy because everybody's going to look at you and say the same thing. That's the wrong guy. There's no way God could, this guy could do that. That's the point. I chose you because people are going to look at you and go, yeah, no, not him. He couldn't do that. I know he didn't. God did. So he, even if Gideon wanted to, there's no way he could ever come back to the camp of the Israelites and go with his 300 lame, blind and crippled. that couldn't bend down and stick their face in the water. They had to cup it. Because, you know, it's one of those things where when you bend down, you're not sure if you're going to get back up. And that fits with the narrative. Because, you know, here's Gideon, the least of his family, who's the least of his tribe, who's the least of all the tribes in Israel. Three strikes, I'm out. No, you're perfect. And you're hiding out in fear of the Midianites who are stealing your grain. You're threshing it in the wine press. And then here comes God going, you, I had no intention of doing a study on Gideon tonight, but we will close with this. He comes to him and says, Oh, mighty warrior. And I just pictured Gideon. I'm sorry for seeing the humor in this. He's hiding out from the Midianites. God's going, Oh, mighty warrior. He's going, where? I could use one of those right about now. No, you. And then you know what happens? He's like, no, you got the wrong file. You got the wrong guy. If it's really, really, really, really you, then have a bird hit my windshield at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon with windward mouth to showers in the weather report on the H1. That was basically the equivalent of the specificity with which he puts out the fleece, as we call it. And then God's like, okay, whatever. You're not getting out of this. I'm going to use you because you're the last guy on earth that anyone would ever think could do this. So they'll look at you and go, wow, this had to be God. Thank you. Okay, I'm done. Capone, come on up. Why don't you stand up? Hey, the sequel, 2.0, part two next week, Lord willing, chapter 39. It gets better or worse depending on how you look at it. Oh Lord, thank You so, so, so much for Bible prophecy, and particularly this prophecy. Just wow, Lord. And to think that we would be those who are alive today in this last generation. To see this begin to come to pass, it's just too high for our understanding. But boy, does it ever make you real to us. Lord, thank You for the, not just the prophecy, but the details in the prophecy. Because we by the Holy Spirit are able to connect those detailed dots and conclude that because of that, that trumpets going to sound. Because the timing, though ambiguous as to when this happens in relationship to the rapture, is such that it's close in proximity, which means only one thing. The rapture is close in proximity. So Lord, I hope that as we make our way home tonight after this Bible study that will take with us just that encouragement that this world is not our home. And soon and very soon, You're going to take us out of this world. and take us to that place You prepared for us in Your Father's house. We can't wait. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, Maranatha, in Jesus' name, Amen.