Many see this war as a parallel to Joshua at Jericho, when Joshua and the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for six days. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times. On the seventh day, the priests blew the trumpets and the people shouted with one voice, the walls tumbled, and the Israelites took the city. The Arabs have lost every war they waged against Israel, exactly as the Bible prophesied. Yet after all these losses, we still hoped for that one victory, which we believed was all that was necessary to destroy Israel. Many Muslims in the land claim that Israel is God’s punishment for allowing bad governments to rule the Islamic world. This belief is what fuels the attempts by majority Muslim populations to topple ruling governments.
Consider the words of former Syrian President Hafez Assad: “The Arabs are willing to lose several wars to come with Israel. All they need to do is defeat Israel once.” Yet the God of Israel has promised, “They shall not be pulled up” (Amos 9:15). The Arab and Muslim worlds continue to try, but God has promised that they will fail. Arabs feel that the God of the Bible is biased toward the Jews, but the Lord desires that the Arab people all turn to Him (the One True God). We should not ignore the many verses that declare punishments against Israel. After the Jews refused to accept Christ’s sacrifice, the final offering for sin, the Temple was destroyed and the great “Diaspora” began. The Jews were scattered into all the earth, separated from their homeland and far from Jerusalem. God allowed them to be killed and suffer more than any other people in the world. There are no other people in history who have tasted the agony of war and pain more than the Jews have; they are the true refugees of the earth.
A SIGN FROM GOD
In July of 2006 during the height of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict a miracle was reported on news outlets across the world. An Irish construction worker operating a backhoe happened to notice something very unusual in the swampy peat that he was about to dig up. His find turned out to be an ancient 20-page portion of the Psalms dated to the years 800-1000 A.D. Experts say that the manuscript had been laying in the mud for the past 1,000 to 1,200 years. The National Museum of Ireland issued a statement saying, “In discovery terms, this Irish equivalent to the Dead Sea Scrolls is being hailed by the museum’s experts as the greatest find ever from a European bog.”6
The museum’s director, Pat Wallace referred to the find as a “miracle find,” telling the Associated Press, “it’s unlikely that something this fragile could survive buried in a bog at all, and then for it to be unearthed and spotted before it was destroyed is incalculably more amazing.”7
But what is even more miraculous than the nature and the manner in which the book was found, is the timing of the find and the nature of the manuscript that was found. For not only did the find occur at the height of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, but the Psalter itself was found opened to Psalm 83. A very fitting Psalm indeed to be found in the midst of a historical conflict between Israel and the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah.
BOTH DESECRATE JEWISH HOLY PLACES
Antichrist will desecrate Jewish holy places. The spirit of Antichrist can be seen when Muslims desecrate all Jewish places of worship in Judea. This will continue until the Muslim Antichrist himself defiles the Temple. Psalm 74 refers to the Muslim people because they are the only ones that carry out such desecrations. It is difficult for students of the Bible at times to identify prophecies that pertain to current events because many subconsciously view the Bible as speaking only about historic events. While the prophets did speak about current events in their day, even these historic events contained shades of end time prophecies as well. Oftentimes, when a prophet was speaking of events that occurred in his day, he would also layer into the prophecies information about the End-Times as well.
Psalm 74 begins with: “O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?” Israel has been cast off for its sins and the Jews believe God has neglected them. In Psalm 74:2 we hear their plea, “Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.” Mount Zion is the Temple Mount. Psalm 74:3 says, “Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.” Who has done and will do wickedly in God’s sanctuary, but the present occupiers—the Islamic crowds who daily pollute the sanctuary with their abominations? One of the most egregious examples is the construction (or rather, destruction) project undertaken by the Waqf, the Muslim religious authority that controls the Temple Mount. The purpose of the project is to create a second entrance to the al-Marawani Mosque, which is located under the southeastern quadrant of the Mount—an area popularly, although mistakenly, known as Solomon’s stables.
The huge underground mosque attracts thousands of worshippers, so there is no question that a second entryway is important for safety reasons. However, the Waqf’s decision to haul material from the area and dump it in the dead of night in the nearby Kidron Valley has come under attack as irresponsible destruction of an important archaeological site. Israeli archaeologists called for a professional, controlled excavation to no avail. Now the only remaining option is for personnel from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to sift through the dump in the Kidron Valley in the hopes of gaining some raw data, but unfortunately, without context. They dig up precious Jewish artifacts and destroy them to prevent the Jews from claiming the site of their temple; they do this because they worship a God who is not the God of Israel, the one true God. Under the direction of the Muslim authorities, bulldozers cart away huge mounds of earth from underneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, one of the most revered and sacred sites in the world. Israeli archaeologists are outraged, claiming that the Muslim authorities are damaging the inside of the Mount’s eastern retaining wall and destroying priceless historical data in the process. The Muslims have also attacked synagogues in Israel and throughout the world, including Turkey and Tunisia.
Today Roman Catholics do not burn synagogues or attack Jewish shrines nor do Jews ever destroy churches or mosques. Yet Muslims have gone so far as to desecrate the tombs of Abraham, Sarah, Rachel, and Joseph. “Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs” (v. 4).
Psalm 74:5 refers to the man or men who cut down trees that built God’s holy sanctuary with “axes and hammers.” “A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.” And we are told in Psalm 74:6. “But now they break down the carved work thereof at once.” This reference to breaking down the carved works (v. 6) is fulfilled not only by the destruction accomplished by the Waqf, but also by the destruction of Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem in present-day Nablus. Palestinians relentlessly hammered at the tomb with pick axes and hammers to pry the stones apart. Muslim mobs burned and destroyed Joseph’s tomb and then danced in celebration. Over sixteen synagogues were desecrated in Judea, literally all the synagogues in Judea. “They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land” (v. 8-9).
What else could fulfill these Scriptures more precisely than these acts of violence and desecration in these holy places? “They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.” (v. 7) Muslims hate the Jews. As they commit violent acts against the Jews, they deny the God of Israel His place to be worshiped. With their voices and with ensigns, they proclaim that only Allah is god; they are against the one true God. “We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long” (v. 9).
Today Jews in Israel are perplexed as never before as to how long this violence can continue. Synagogues are burned, just as prophesied in this Scripture. Yet Jews in America simply want to erect monuments and memorials for the Holocaust. While this is good to declare that one must “never forget”, what about remembering the Jews that are still li
ving? While Jews must never forget the shattering of all of that fine crystal during Chrystal-Nacht, why are they so silent on the splintering of their Patriarch Joseph’s tomb?
They are silent because of passivity and fear. Such fear that only emboldens the Muslims even more. Throughout the Bible, fear is an element that Israel had to deal with. It continued until Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David and so many more examples rose up and gained victories for Israel through the power of Jehovah.
Israel will continue to live in this fear until Messiah comes and fights the world’s Goliath, the Muslim beast. It will end when Messiah crushes the head of Leviathan just as David crushed the head of Goliath. Psalm 74 speaks of this glorious day. The violence against the Jews will continue until the end of the Tribulation: “You break the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.” The seven-headed beast of Revelation is destroyed. “Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor forever. Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproaches you daily. Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increase continually” (Psalm 74: 14-23).
This passage agrees with both Joel 3 and Matthew 25. The core of this issue is the oppression of Israel. God will arise, as written in Hebrew: Kumma Elohim, “Arise O God”, and “when God arose to judgment” (Psalm 75:9). “Return we beseech You, O God of hosts” (Psalm 80:14) “the mountains (nations) melt like wax at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth” (Psalm 97:5). All these references confirm that He will come down from heaven and respond to the cruelty of the Muslim multitude for killing the Jewish people and for destroying His holy places: “You will arise and have mercy on Zion” (Psalm 102:13).
This will be a time of spiritual revival in Israel: “Revive us” (Psalm 80:18), and “restore us” (Psalm 80:19). Both of which correspond to Hosea 6: After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence” (v. 2).
This revival comes in the midst of great persecution from Islam as He reminds His people: “I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me; Behold O Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia” (Psalm 87:11).
They conspired, all of them—Arabia (Babylon), Gaza (Philistia), and Lebanon (Tyre) together with other Islamic nations to destroy the Jews. They plan first to destroy the Saturday people (the Jews) and then the Sunday people (the Christians).
Kumma Elohim is a desperate appeal to God to arise from His throne and come to the earth to fight the enemies of Israel as seen in Psalm 82:8, which is immediately followed by the judgment of Muslim nations in Psalm 83.
Of Israel the Lord states: “Woe is me, that I dwell Meshech, That I dwell amongst the tents of Kedar! My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (Psalm 120:5-7). They desire peace, they have come out of captivity, while their enemies still desire war and speak falsely of Israel: “Or what shall be done to you, You false tongue” (v. 3) Oh Lord—come quickly!
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Literal References For Ezekiel 38 The Controversy Over Rosh
“The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince (Rosh) of Meshech and Tubal’; prophesy against him and say: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army…Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you. “Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them…In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.” (Ezekiel 38:1-9)
One of the most popular prophecies of the Bible that has captured the attention of prophecy students is the “Battle of Gog and Magog” that is found in Ezekiel 38. The passage speaks of a coalition of nations that attack Israel, who are all led by the nation of “Magog.” Many prophecy teachers claim that Magog is Russia which will be destroyed alongside with Islamic nations. This must occur in order to usher in the Battle of Armageddon and the coming of Christ. But these two arguments are unfounded and totally depend on pure conjecture.
So, is Russia the nation of the Antichrist? Or is the Battle of Gog and Magog a separate battle distinct from the Battle of Armageddon? Are Gog and the Antichrist one and the same? Does Gog come from Russia?
We will examine the main arguments:
DOESN’T RUSSIA ARM MUSLIM NATIONS?
The most common argument for this assumption is that Russia is supplying arms to Iran (Persia) and other Muslim nations. But selling weapons does not amount to primary evidence for anything Biblical. The United States supplied Saudi Arabia with weapons. They also gave weapons to Afghanistan during the Cold War in order to defeat Communism. In doing so, they aided the Mujahideen and indirectly created the Taliban. It was the United States that forced Israel to allow elections for the Arabs in Jerusalem—and now we have “Hamasistan” in Gaza. The United States twisted Israel’s arm to pull out of Lebanon and now we have Hezbollah practically running that country. The United States, under Jimmy Carter, gave the cold shoulder to the Shah of Iran and did nothing when Khomeni and the Mujahideen-Khalq-Iran took over. But do these destructive acts of ignorance tie the U.S. into End-Times prophecy? Yet in Joel Rosenberg’s runaway bestseller, Epicenter, it is this type of evidence that is used as the primary support for seeing Russia as the key player in the coming “Gog and Magog” battle against Israel. But circumstantial evidences cannot be used as substitutes for solid Scriptural evidences. Circumstances change, but God’s Word does not.
So do the above mentioned acts of the United States make them the Biblical Gog or the land of the Antichrist? Well, it certainly seems at times that the U.S. is under an Antichrist spell. And Satan certainly wants nothing more than to weaken the somewhat righteous nations that stand with Israel and spread the Gospel throughout the earth. But Western naiveté and mediocre minds of American politicians would be no match for fourteen centuries of Islamic deception. The Bible warned Christians long ago to be wary of their enemy’s pathological lies: “be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves,” (Matthew 10:16).
The only one who knows Russia’s future for certain is God. When Russia stood with Nazi Germany, many concluded that Hitler was the European Antichrist. They were wrong. As soon as Stalin was betrayed by Hitler, Russia fought against Germany. If so many prophecy analysts were wrong then, is there a chance that they are also wrong again? During the Cold War, numerous prophecy analysts focused on Communist Russia as a major player in the End-Times. Of course she was. She was the enemy of America and everyone knows that God is an American, right? But then the superpower collapsed and its Muslim parts created their own Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.). Few pay attention to the fact that they all are mentioned by their ancient names in the Bible.
ISN’T “ROSH” RUSSIA?
This controversy has been brewing for years. Much of the controversy revolves around the way that the word “Rosh” in Ezekiel 38:2 is translated. Some Bibles translate the word as a proper noun, “Rosh” and others as “the chief prince.”
Those who argue that Rosh is a proper noun almost universally argue that it is referring to
the modern nation of Russia.
Others object. Dr. Charles Ryrie, for example, takes issue with the translation of Rosh as a proper noun. He writes: “‘The prince of Rosh’ is better translated as ‘the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.’”8
While the NASB translates this verse as, “the prince of Rosh” in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, a marginal note in 39:1 reads, “chief prince of Meshech.” Yet Meshech and Tubal are not linked with a place called Rosh in any of its other occurrences in the Bible. (See Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:5; Isa. 66:19;8 Ezekiel 27:13; 32:26)9 So it is extremely unlikely that in these two cases, Rosh would suddenly take on an entirely different meaning from that used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
In his book, Iran, The Coming Crisis, Bible prophecy teacher Mark Hitchcock refers to Wilhelm Gesenius, one of the most respected Hebrew scholars of modern times to support the position that Rosh should be translated as a proper noun. Hitchcock also points out that the Septuagint—a first century B.C. Greek Translation of the Old Testament—also uses Rosh as a proper noun.
As impressive as a reference as Genesius is, it must be remembered that he was a lexicographer and grammarian, but not an authority on ancient history. Nor do other greatly respected lexicographers all agree with Genesius. Another equally respected Hebrew Lexicon is the Brown-Driver-Briggs (B-D-B) Lexicon. It is the work of three famous lexographers of the Hebrew language. The B-D-B Lexicon indicates that there is no identity known for the word “rosh” as a personal name.
God's War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible Page 32