Gog of Magog

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.”
Ezekiel 38: 1-3

For years I have struggled with the placement of Ezekiel 37-38 in the end time picture. For many expositors these chapters are seen as imminent in fulfillment. That is, just around the corner at anytime and definitely before the manifestation of a global anti-Christ system. My problem with this thesis is that the chapters in question describe the people of Israel as a people at rest, freed from security threats and dwelling in “unwalled villages’ having “neither bars nor gates.” This most certainly does not describe Israel today and the passage in question repeats this peaceful state of affairs a few times. So, it is not just an isolated thought. This fact discredits completely the “imminent theory”, referred to above and thus forces us to find another explanation in order to do proper justice to the context.

Most certainly Ezekiel 36 speaks of the modern day return of the Jewish people to their god-given and ancient homeland after enduring a dispersion of global proportions. This return has two phases: First a physical phase to the land and then second, a spiritual return to the Lord. (Ezekiel 36:24-28) The latter will secure their domicile on the land and issue in the coming of Messiah, in these passages referred to as “David their Prince.” David’s arrival will guarantee true peace for the people of Israel. (Ezekiel37:24-28)

Ezekiel 37 essential affirms the miraculous survival of Israel in spite of being subjected to genocidal campaigns through the centuries, the most vicious of which being the Nazi Holocaust. The “Dry Bones” analogy is thus appropriate and remarkable. We have all preached from it. However, chapter 38 introduces us to a huge conflict aimed at removing Israel’s existence once and for all from the earth. The conflict erupts when Israel is at total peace and unsuspecting and is driven by an entity called Gog of Magog. (Ezekiel 38:10-17) Suddenly, like a whirlwind from nowhere, an international conglomeration of nations called Gog of Magog attacks Israel.

This huge assault against Israel is actually birthed in the sovereignty of God as He brings these nations against Israel in battle and this contrary to their desire! The God of Israel turns them around and puts hooks in their jaws so as to drive them towards the peaceful hills and plains of Israel. (Ezeliel38: 4-8) The clear purpose of this campaign is to remove unbelief from Zion (Ezekiel 39:7) and bring about the full restoration of all things promised to them. (Acts3:19-21) This attack against Israel is furthermore said to be the great “Day” that God in His word has always spoken about. That is, the Day of the Lord! (Ezekiel 39:8, 22; Acts 2:16-21) Another strategic accomplishment of this campaign will be to humble the nations and all their false gods. (Ezekiel 39:23) Moreover, through these catastrophic events the nations will recognize the peculiar role that Israel has played out through the centuries in terms of mediating God’s plan of redemption to the world. (Ezekiel39:21-24)

Given that all this is clear from the passages in question it is my view that, in the near future, Israel will face a short but bruising conflict in the Middle East region. This conflict is building with every passing day and one would be blind not to see it. An Islamic awakening throughout the Middle East is driving a renewed hope of being able to destroy Israel. It will not happen and Islam will be humbled but Israel and the world will pay a great cost. Consequently, there will be urgent and desperate calls for effective global government and an end to the Arab/Israeli conflict. This will be achieved and peace will be ushered in with great fanfare and optimism. Finally, Israel will be at peace and at rest and she will no longer be threatened internally or externally by anyone but she will still be in a state of unbelief. It will be a false peace but it will prevail long enough to induce a lack of watchfulness and maybe even disarmament. (1Thessalonians5:1-5)

In short Israel will be unprepared and totally caught off guard. This rapid and unsuspecting attack by Gog of Magog will be like another Yom Kippur War but only far more dangerous. Israel will have no possibility of survival; she will be facing certain annihilation. (Ezekiel 38:9; Ezekiel 38:14-17) It is precisely here that the God of the Bible will step in and, by miraculous intervention, will deliver Israel physically and spiritually. (Ezekiel 38:18-39:1-8) David, Israel’s great King, will arrive, wash away her sins and reign from Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12-14)

It is therefore my contention that the battle with Gog of Magog is the final battle that will take place on the Day of the Lord just after the great tribulation. It is on this “Day of Affliction” that Israel will cry out to Messiah Jesus for salvation and deliverance. (Hosea 5:14-6:1-3) The miraculous and decisive nature of God’s intervention will not only wipe away unbelief in Zion but it will finally demonstrate to the nations the reality, nature and absolute sovereignty of the God of Israel. The nations and their gods will be humbled and shamed.

In the immediate future then, I believe that the Holy Spirit is warning His people about an imminent war in Israel. We must have no doubt that the issues facing Israel today are very critical, dangerous and urgent. She is facing yet another attempt to destroy her. On September 26th all nations, through the United Nations, will attempt to disinvest Israel of her heartland and of Jerusalem. Israel’s non-compliance is going to inevitably provoke conflict. She is not at rest or at peace and is fully armed! We must pray and learn to pray as never before. Our prayers must give God no rest as this looming battle is upon us.

The conflict will see Israel emerge victorious, though battered. A, so called, lasting peace will be forged heralding a “new age” of regional development and global understanding. Christians will be “out of step” with this era and will have to pay a price for their rejection of the “New World Order.” (Revelation 13:7-10)

When the Davidic Prince arrives after the great conflict of Gog and Magog a “Golden or Messianic Age” will be ushered in bringing true peace to a broken world. (Isaiah2:1-4) At the conclusion of this “Age” the nations will again seek to destroy Israel and thus Gog of Magog will again ascend to the Holy City of Jerusalem in one last attempt to destroy Israel and their Messiah Prince. (Revelation20:7-10)

The Book of Revelation takes “seed concepts” like Babylon and the coming “Beast” and expands them into global concepts. That is, it includes the original nature of the concept but makes it bigger and thus global. So, Babylon the city, situated in modern day Iraq, grows to become Babylon the global system (Revelation17-18) and Antiochus Epiphanes, the evil Seleucid King of the Grecian Empire and original Beast, becomes the final Beast King of all history; the Antichrist. (Daniel8; 2Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13) In the same way Gog of Magog mutates into a symbol of international rebellion against God, His people and His Messiah. Thus the Book of Revelation describes the final assault against the Holy City of Jerusalem as yet another attempt by the evil demonic spirit of Gog of Magog to extinguish the existence of God. It is all driven by a satanic unseen conspiracy. It too will fail and Gog of Magog will finally be buried in hell!

Malcolm Hedding.

Playing with Matches

by Malcolm Bible Blog Christian Zionism Church evangelical evangelicals Israel Jesus justice Middle East Muslim Palestinians

A recent article, featured in the Jerusalem Post, written by Abraham Cooper and Yitzchak Adlerstein, reported on how there is an attempt to undermine evangelical support for Israel by pro-Palestinian agenda groups including evangelicals. Sadly, organizations like the World Council of Churches and some prominent evangelical Christians have joined this “band-wagon.” Not only do they rewrite history in collaboration with their Palestinian friends but, embarrassed by the Word of God itself, they have called for the “dezionisation” of scripture. Theirs is what I call a “Waffle Iron Theology” meaning that those parts of the Bible that contradict their narrative they want expunged from it just as one cuts the batter, that doesn’t fit in, away from the waffle machine. In short they are playing with matches and those that play with matches should not be surprised if they start a fire! In this game “extreme Palestinian political ambitions are often cloaked in theological garb” as the authors of the article state. They are right! Scripture is twisted and denied in an attempt to overcome its very clear statements about the land of Israel and the return of the Jews to it. These people will never be convinced by a balanced, biblical exposition of scripture. They have made their minds up and will definitely not be confused with facts.

Jesus

In their deluded world Jesus is a Palestinian Freedom Fighter and thus they divorce Him entirely from His Jewish context and roots. He was of course nothing of the sort and He came to Israel because of God’s faithfulness to the Abrahamic Covenant. (Luke 1:46-55) It is this Covenant that is at the crux of the issue, and therefore, they have tried every trick, in their theological box of matches, to try and burn it up. Their problem is even more compounded because the New Testament everywhere fully affirms the Abrahamic Covenant and no where changes or abolishes it. Indeed it is held up to wavering believers as a sure example of God’s faithfulness in the Book of Hebrews. (Hebrews 6:13-20) Paul establishes it in Galatians three and ends the chapter by saying that “if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s children according to the promise (covenant)”. (Galatians 3:29) Jesus was always the object of the Covenant but His people were always the context and platform out of which He came. For precisely this reason God promised the land of Canaan to them as an everlasting possession. (Genesis 17:7-8)This really “sticks up the nose” of the “matchstick players.” They would much rather expunge the Abrahamic Covenant from scripture for this would free them from their problem and empower them to continue their real agenda which is the extermination of all of Israel! After all Palestinian school books teach this!

The God factor

The conflict in the region is really not about so called social justice. I wish it was but sadly it is not. It has everything to do with the dismantling of the Jewish State that is an affront to Islam! This is the truth! It takes many twists and turns and new strategies are embraced all the time in the pursuit of this one agenda. Christians, without a proper biblical grounding, fall for this intrigue all the time and sadly have no fear of God. Now this is not to say that everything that Israel does is right and certainly the indiscriminate killing of civilians by Palestinian terrorists is routinely ignored by these Christians. It’s all Israel’s fault and they are deaf and blind to anything else. They travel to Iran to meet with Muslim Clerics and there, as they do everywhere, they declare biblical Christian Zionism to be sin. When you have no case biblically name calling and smearing is always the position opted for! However, great Christians who have had a profound impact upon our world have held Christian Zionist views through the centuries because they were, in the first instance honoring God! Theirs was a biblical position first, then secondly a question of living in the fear of God and thirdly a recognition of Israel’s unique place in redemption history. History is filled with the wreckage of people who played with matches on this issue and then were burned by the fire they ignited! It will not be different now.

No amount of trickery, debunking of the scriptures or rewriting of history will change the outcome. The Jews have returned to Canaan to stay! That’s it and Christians, if they want to be honest influencers should quit the blame game and encourage both parties to settle their differences within this context!

Malcolm Hedding.

Understanding Church Movements and their views of Scripture

by Malcolm Acts Bible Blog Church Darby evangelical Israel justice Law Scofield

Church movements throughout the years have all approached the Bible differently and this in turn has greatly impacted their life and practice in the world and relationship to Israel and the Jews. While the following models presented are general in presentation they do nevertheless faithfully define these movements and thereby help us to better understand the theological factors that motivate their actions.

The Aerial View
These movements look at the Bible as if it were a sphere. They see method in its pages and embrace the principle. In other words they see a temple in the Hebrew Scriptures, take the principle, and build churches that are in like fashion divided up into two sections. I.e.: A holy place for the congregation and a holy of holies for the Ministers or Priests. They do the same with candles, incense, vestments and “methods” of the New Testament Scriptures like elders, deacons etc.

As regards Jesus death they stress His passion and sacrifice and call on their people to follow His example in sacrificial living etc.
As regards eternity there is very little preaching on the reality of hell. The impression is very often left that all people, who live decently, will go to heaven.
The dangers in this tradition are lack of true evangelical zeal, compromise and Laodiceanism (the lukewarm church).
The Jews are mostly in reflection. That is, their symbols and stories adorn stained glass windows and furnishings.
Their historic engagement is in the arena of social issues relating to justice and righteousness on earth.

The Segment View
For folks in this tradition the Bible is indeed like a sphere but they remove a segment of it. They see principles and embrace method. Much like removing a piece of cake from the whole. It is on this segment that they concentrate. They mainly emphasize the book of Acts as a resource and are reactionary to the wider Church in the world. That is, they are “ purists” in that they believe that they are rebuilding a New Testament Church. Their approach to other expressions of the Church is very often summed in one phrase, “Come out of them my people.”

As regards the death of Jesus it was a passionate expiation of sin and they spend much time preaching on hell and the consequences of sin.
The danger is that very often they are authoritarian in character, have cultic tendencies and fall into the trap of Nicolatianism (power over the laity).
For them the Jews are in history. They are a biblically outdated people with no further role to play in world events.
The historical engagement of this part of the church has been evangelism, as in the house church movement in the United Kingdom of the 80s and 90s. They are isolationists with a heavy emphasis upon a heavenly kingdom. They sometimes even frown upon Christians who vote in national elections. In short they have abandoned the world and its suffering completely. After all it is passing away!

The Linear View
Christians in this tradition see time and purpose. For them the Bible is like a long line of events, beginning at the Book of Genesis, that are broken up into dispensations of time. History is thus dispensational in that the dispensations of time reflect a different aspect of heavenly purpose. These dispensations of time are ages and there are five of these in sequence. That is, ages of innocence, conscience, law, grace and fulfillment.

Those who hold to this tradition have embraced Darbyism, though many who hold to this view of the Bible wouldn’t know it. In America it is called Scofieldism.

As regards the death of Jesus, it is a passionate rescue plan and as a consequence there is much preaching on end time events.
The dangers in this tradition are tunnel vision, the devaluation of Biblical truth and very hardened eschatological views. They easily birth false apostles and do not engage the world compassionately.
For them the Jews are a prophetic sign and they have no real concern or interest in them other than their capacity to fulfill end time expectations.
They engage the world evangelistically with much emphasis on the “lateness of the hour.”

The Legal View
This view sees action and consequence. That is, all have sinned and therefore fall short of the glory of God or; the wage that sin pays is death. The Bible is thus a book of “The Covenant.” Salvation through all of time has only been by grace on the grounds of Jesus Finished work on the cross. The promise of the Son that He would die for the sins of the world was given, before time began, and thus, theologically, He died before the foundation of the world. The various Covenants of the Bible reinforce the Abrahamic Covenant which is God’s great decision to save the world and constitutes the first proclamation of the Gospel. (Galaltians3:8) The God of the Bible thus enters into a relationship with humankind based on legal undertakings that are set out and enforced in the covenants.

As regards Jesus death it is a passionate act of propitiation. He, on the cross, satisfied the demands of God’s character that is reflected in the moral or majestic law (Ten Commandments). Jesus was born under the law, lived perfectly under the law, was condemned under the law and died under the law.
The dangers are that one’s expression of faith becomes too technical and doctrinal losing warmth, love and compassion. Since this view recognizes the role that Israel plays in God’s plan of world redemption it can produce warped theological views and sometimes Israel can supplant the place that Jesus should occupy in believer’s lives.
Jews and Israel occupy a central role in this theological position since they are the custodians of the oracles of God and Gentiles share in their spiritual things.
The historical engagement of this part of the Church is seen in philo-Semitism and world evangelism.

Conclusion
This is a general but fairly true definition of Church groups. There is something good and bad in all of them and it is for us to think about them and construct our view accordingly.

I leave you with this challenge.

Malcolm Hedding

The Non-Pentecostal Pentecostals

by Malcolm Acts Blog Church control Holy Spirit Nicolatianism Pentecostal renewal tongues worship

I travel all over the world and have a world view of the Church that few indeed have. This is particularly true of churches that claim a Pentecostal testimony. Their meetings are up-beat and even dynamic music-wise, but the manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit in terms of the congregational gifts of tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy is nowhere evident. I fear that we have swapped these things for a dynamic platform and music ministry! To be Pentecostal in name only is not good enough and even to have conferences and “get-togethers” about the subject is not good enough. We need the dramatic “breaking in” of the Spirit in our meetings. There is no substitute! After all, scripture says that the verbal gifts of the Spirit are for the edification and up building of God’s people.

How quickly we have abandoned our heritage for second best. Just thirty years ago a new outpouring of the Spirit took place, all over the world that brought the reality of God back into our meetings and churches by the ecstatic gifts of the Spirit. Who can forget books like, “Nine O’clock in The Morning” by Dennis Bennet and others, like Derek Prince and Michael Harper, who wrote of their encounter with the Holy Spirit and the consequences for their lives and that of their churches?

I well remember sitting in meetings and being overwhelmed with joy as we sang sweet melodies in the Spirit without musical accompaniment. How I long for those days. The presence of God would swell and crash down all around us as we sang in other tongues to the glory of God. Prophetic words would follow and tongues and interpretation. It was electrifying and the outsider and those believers unaccustomed to this would affirm, “Truly God is in your presence!”

Now we sit in bland meetings so well orchestrated that God by His Spirit cannot move, even if He wants to! Professional platform ministry is the order of the day but our lives are left dry and thirsting for life, the life of the Spirit. All the while scripture declares that to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The truth is we are witnessing what Jesus called Nicolaitanism! That is, power over the laity is exercised to the extent that even the ordered manifestation of the Gifts of the Spirit cannot take place. Much of this is the situation in many Pentecostal Churches!

What happened and who cares? I am often told that it is too difficult to control this phenomenon in congregational meetings. This is not true. The early church had multiple thousands in their meetings and yet the Spirit moved in power. Some big churches during the renewal days of the late sixties and early seventies had “word groups” in their meetings that exercised the Gifts of the Spirit. These were proven individuals who had demonstrated a maturity in this area of ministry. Much like the leaders in the Church at Antioch as recorded in Acts 13. The truth is, we are far too scared to abandon our churches to the moving of the Spirit. It’s a control thing!

May God give us thirsting faith and may He, as a consequence, send renewal again into our lives and congregations. This renewal brings the presence of God into our meetings in a way that nothing else does and can and this in no way devalues the central place that preaching must and should hold in our congregational gatherings. I believe that Jesus is preeminently seen in the proclamation of His word and thus all things should be done “decently and in order”.

Yours for the blessing of the Church,