So many things are happening in the world, and it seems that week after week we are getting closer to the fulfillment of the prophecies of the end times. The birth pangs that Yeshua mentioned in His predictions of the end are getting stronger.
Let us begin by considering what the president of Turkey, Erdogan said last week, something surprising and even startling: He issued a threat to invade Israel. This is unprecedented. It is as if it is coming out of the Book of Ezekiel who, 2500 years ago, predicted that this would happen. Erdogan said, “There is no reason why we cannot do this… We must be strong so that we can take these steps”. Little does he know that the prophet Ezekiel, in his account of the War of Gog and Magog which will usher the Second Coming of Yeshua, spoke of Turkey by its ancient name Beth Togarmah. We read in Ezekiel 38:6, Beth-Togarmah will come from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you. They will come to Israel.
Two thousand years ago, Josephus, the 1st century historian identified Togarmah as the father of the Phrygians who were an ancient Indo-European speaking people who inhabited modern-day Turkey. And Turkey will not do it alone; Ezekiel 38 mentions Russia, Iran and other countries alongside them. But what brought this man, Erdogan to think that today, he can now invade Israel? He must have felt that the time is ripe, it is in the air, with the rise of world antisemitism and the growing hatred against the nation of Israel. He and others seem so eager to start the war of Gog and Magog, but it will all be in God’s timing.
But this is not all: Right after this startling statement, we had another major whirlwind of news… just this past Wednesday, 7 days ago, Ismael Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, was assassinated right in Teheran.
It might very well have been because he was not willing, after some 300 days, to release the hostages since he was the main negotiator; so it might very well be, for that reason that Israel assassinated him.
However, this killing happened in Iran, during the time of the inauguration of a new president, and so, after the assassination, Iran’s religious and first leader, Khamenei, ordered a direct strike on Israel. But he did not want to be alone: The day after, last Thursday, he called a meeting with his proxies: the Houties in Yemen, Hezbollah, and Hamas to organize a joint attack. It is as if they could not wait for the prophecy of Psalm 83 to be fulfilled. But little do they know that God is in the full control having prophesied such things to happen, but again, in His time.
And Iran may not realize that its very name is mentioned in the War of Gog and Magog by the name of Persia which was a name that Iran held until 1935 and in the War of Psalm 83 it goes by the name of Assyria. And while there may be some exchanges of missiles, this is not yet the war of Gog and Magog, or that of Psalm 83 but we seem to be close.
Today Israel is fighting on many different fronts:
- The Yemen’s Houthis
- Hezbollah in Lebanon
- Hamas in the Gaza Strip
- The Iraqi Shiite militia
- Iran
And today this country is being directly threatened by a sixth country: Turkey. And in addition to this, Israel is fighting wars within its own territory in Judea and Samaria.
But, and sadly so, if these things are lingering, it is because these are warnings especially for Israel. Zechariah does speak of an invasion before the Second Coming. In his last chapter, God says: For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Zechariah 14:2
Not an easy prophecy to read for we see here another invasion. October 7th was a warning. This is why, Yeshua, in His own prophecies of the end, gave the advice we read in Luke 21:20, But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee. Yeshua is here speaking to the remnant of Israel present during the Tribulation in Israel. He tells them to go to the mountains of Judea in the direction of Petra where He prepared a place of refuge for them. Today, now, seeing that these things have been prophesied so many times in the Hebrew Scriptures, one should run to Yeshua who is the Savior, comforter and source of all truth. These things must happen, but no one needs to go through this; there will be a Rapture before, and the time is now to look unto Yeshua and recognize Him as the Messiah of Israel and of all people.
According to western intelligence, Iran reportedly plans to attack Israel on the day of Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of disasters, where Jews mourn the loss of the first and second Temples. This day will fall on August 12th of this year. Let us be in prayer for this.
Now, there is something else quite disturbing which happened this past week. Have you seen the Inauguration Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Paris? One performance has caused many around the world to complain: there was a depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper that portrays’ Jesus’ last meal with His disciples before His betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. It was reproduced at the inauguration of the Olympics with drag queens as Jesus’ disciples. This was set on a bridge over the Seine River that overlooks the Eiffel Tower. This is one of the many mockeries of the Bible and of God present at the inauguration: the other incidences are not fit to be mentioned.
But this is also a prophecy in its fulfillment. Jesus said in Luke 17:28-30, Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Notice how they are seemingly doing well, they drink, eat, buy, sell, and feast and build. These are signs of outward prosperity but then, as Lot was being taken away by the angels of God, because of severe corruption in Sodom, fire and brimstone fell and burned the city. Yeshua uses this historical example to point to what will happen in our days, before He comes back, and we are starting to see the corruption on TV and with no restrictions.
Considering all these things, this is such a prime moment for the antichrist to rise on this earth. He will guarantee security for Israel, but a false one as Daniel and John tell us. And he will allow the times to fall deeper into immorality and sin. And I am amazed that in our subject today, Yeshua does speak about the great chasm which exists between the believer and this world. Today, we will hear about our roles as believers in this world and the way we ought to act and protect ourselves and at the same time proclaim His Word.