War With Russia part 1

Transcript

GR 431
1/24/1982
War With Russia Part 1
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

We’re continuing our study of prophetic events as laid out in the Word of God. We’ve looked for the last number of weeks at those things which God says are going to transpire in the future. We're in that period of time in our considerations called the tribulation. That seven-year period which follows the rapture of the church during which God is completing His program with the nation Israel. Pouring out His wrath upon the unbelieving world.

We looked in our last study together at the nature of the tribulation. Found it to be a time of wrath. A time of God’s wrath poured out upon the unbelieving world, A time when His wrath is demonstrated against the sinfulness of mankind and noted that in spite of this awesome display of the wrath of God against man’s sinfulness, men refuse to repent and bow the knee before Jesus Christ, It’s also a time of Satanic wrath, when Satan in the middle of the tribulation is cast to earth and great wrath which is directed against the nation Israel and against all those who come to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, There will be a time of tremendous turmoil and suffering in the world,

I want to look further this morning at some specific happenings. Particularly in the middle of the tribulation having to do with some of the nations of the world especially the nation Russia and what God says about its future. Prophetic matters. Before we look into the Old Testament, turn to 2 Peter chapter 1 in your Bibles. Second Peter chapter 1. Just to remind ourselves of how the prophets received the message they had. We look at some of these matters that are so specific in details regarding nations of the world. Identifying these nations. The events that are going to transpire. Even as believers we can sometimes sit back in awe and say, "How can that be?" We need to remind ourselves that the revelation is so specific, that the prophecies are so clear because the God who orders all things according to His plan is the One who has given this revelation.

In Second Peter, chapter 1, verse 20, "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation." Or I think better translated, "one's own origination", of its own origin. In other words, the prophesies of Scripture did not come from the prophet's mind. Did not originate in the thinking of an individual. And he explains it in verse 21: "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God", So God determined to reveal the future and the Spirit of God moved men of God so that they might communicate the Word of God, Now -we would expect that it would then be clear and not be surprised at the details because since it's God's plan, and He has ordered all things down to the minutest detail, it's not surprising that He should speak about these details ahead of time. And that's what we find in the Scriptures,

Come back to the Book of Ezekiel, We want to back up to chapter 37 before we get into chapter 38, And we could go back to chapter 36, The content from 36 through 39 of Ezekiel tied together on God's plans for Israel. The judgment that He is meting out on them for their unbelief; and then the glories of the promised restoration. That even though He judges Israel so severely, even though they're chastened so harshly, they are scattered throughout the world, they are brought to ruin and you would think from a human perspective to annihilation. But they are spared by the mercy and grace of God and are destined ultimately for glory.

Let me pick up a verse or two with you out of chapter 36. Verse 16-: "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. Therefore, I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land because they had defiled it with their idols... I scattered them among the nations, they were dispersed throughout the lands. According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. Until they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, "These are the people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land. But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went." Remember Ezekiel was one of the prophets of the exile. The Babylonian captivity is the time setting. Israel has been carried into captivity by the Babylonians under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar. Israel has been scattered over a century earlier, the Northern kingdom had been carried into captivity by the Assyrians and now Babylon has carried away the Southern kingdom into captivity. Israel has been dispersed among the nations. And God's judgment is upon them because of their unfaithfulness to Him.
Come over to Chapter 37. And to give you a fuller picture, I'd encourage you to begin reading with Ezekiel 36 and read these four chapters sometime this afternoon perhaps, "The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley." You see, it's the Spirit of God moving upon Ezekiel now to give him a vision and picture of God's purposes with the nation Israel, What about this people that are under the chastening hand of God. Is God finished with the nation Israel? Has He determined to scatter them through the world and not leave a trace of Israel anymore? The middle of the valley Ezekiel is set down "and it was full of bones. And He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. And He said to me, 'Son
of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, "0 Lord God, Thou knowest," Interesting the faith of Ezekiel. He looked at these dry, parched, weathered bones and say, 'Impossible', He says, 'God, you know whether they can live again. Depends upon what you decide to do, whether these dry, parched bones can live again,' And just a little insight into the faith of the man, Ezekiel. Verse 4—"Again He said to me, 'Prophesy over these bones and say to them, "0 dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."' As soon as you read this, you begin to think of that song. We could have sung it this morning to refresh our minds, but it's probably better we didn't. "Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ’Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews back on you, make flesh grow upon you, cover you with skin, put breath in you that you may come alive and you will know that I am the Lord.' So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone." Now, we as preachers take great comfort in some of the spiritualizing of Ezekiel 37. I don't know what it would feel like to be a prophet and told to go and here you have a valley full of dry bones and God says, ’Now, Ezekiel, preach to them.' Some preachers feel that they do that on a regular basis. Ezekiel prophesies, he speaks the word of the Lord, and the bones start to rattle, they start to be pulled together because they've been scattered. These are not orderly skeletons even. They're bones in disarray. "I looked, behold, sinews were on them, flesh grew, skin covered them; but there was no breath in them", Verse 9—"Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, "Thus says the Lord God, Come from the four winds, 0 breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life,’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, they came to life, stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." Very picturesque presentation. And we're not left to guess at the interpretation, at the significance of this vision of dry bones, because Verse 11 comes immediately. "Then He said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.'" So what does the valley of dry bones depict? It depicts the nation Israel, dry and withered, no spiritual life under the chastening of God—scattered and ruined, "Behold they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off,' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, "Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; I will bring you into the land of Israel, Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life, I will place you on your land, your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it." declares the Lord.’" Israel scattered as these bones through the nations of the world. Devoid of spiritual life. But God says, ’I am going to call them back from their graves,' Picturing here not primarily physical resurrection for Israel. But calling them back into their own land. For as a nation they have been scattered through the world in other nations and it's like a grave yard. But God is going to call them back to their own land. To establish them in Israel with Jerusalem as its capitol and you can read the rest of chapter 37 pictured with the sticks united into one nation. Down to verse 24, David the servant of God, will be king over them. They'll have one shepherd and walk in obedience to the Word of God. Very significant biblical prophecy. That the nation Israel will be restored to the land in the latter days. Now many find significance in our day in that in 1948, Israel was again established in the land of Palestine, I would not want to say that that is the fulfillment of what God has prophesied. But I can clearly say that when we come to the seven years tribulation, Israel is established in the land, Now, I think it is interesting that Israel is established in the land today. Just another factor pooled in that fits with other matters coming together, There's a glorious destiny for the nation Israel, They will be established in Palestine. My faith won't be shaken if Israel is deported out of Palestine this year. All I'll have to say is "Well, God will bring them back again." We don't expect that to happen, but I do know when we get to the tribulation period, the seven-year time that we're talking about, Israel will be in the land, and being prepared for what God is going to do.

Now you come to chapter 38, Israel is in the land in chapter 38. In the land of Palestine, Now something is going to transpire during that period of time—this seven-year period, Israel is going to be attacked in Palestine and there's going to be evidently tremendous turmoil in those days which is very graphically described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. We want to focus our attention particularly on the nations that are involved and what happens as Israel is settled securely in the land,
There is a federation of nations brought together which launches an all-out attack on the nation Israel in an attempt to destroy her and to take plunder from that nation,

Verse 1 of chapter 38: "The word of the Lord came to me saying, ’Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog the Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ’Thus says the Lord God, "Behold I am against you,
0 Gog, prince of Rosh, Mesheck and Tubal.'" Interesting exercise for you in your study. Go through chapters 38 and 39 and circle or underline in your Bible all the times that God says, "I shall do something. I am against you. I will turn you about" in verse 4, "I will bring you out. I will do this, I shall do this," See how strongly God says that He is in control directing all of these activities and even the details of the warfare. Now these nations strike us as rather strange, As you read them, Gog of the land of Magog, The name Gog refers to the ruler of this nation, Most identify it as a title perhaps as we would use President or Emperor, There are several derivations of the word but it does depict at least the man who is the ruler, the prince, of this leading nation. It's Gog of the land of Magog.

Now, these names given here enable us to identify the people. And the way we do that is to go back to Genesis chapter TO, and just turn back there. And we see these different descendants of Noah and they can be traced to where they settled in the world, Magog, In Genesis chapter TO, Let me begin reading with verse T, "Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah," So here are the family records for the three sons of Noah, "And sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras." Now right there you see a number of the names that we confront in Ezekiel chapter 38. There's Gomer, Magog, Tubal, Meshech, right there in that verse. So chapter 10 of Genesis becomes a key for understanding who we’re talking about in Ezekiel 38. They're not just names, but they're particular descendants of Noah. And these descendants of Noah can be traced to where they moved and settled in the world. So that helps us to identify these people rather clearly. It's not just a guess, now who would these be? But they're rather clear.

O.K, Come back to Ezekiel 38. The land of Magog and make some references because many people feel that since the events of our present modern era, there's an attempt to identify these people in such a way as to make them fit our preconceived ideas of prophecy. But, for example, Magog, Josephus, Now Josephus didn't have any axe to grind with modern-day prophecy, himself not even being a believer as far as we know, wrote around the time of Christ—so long before modern day. Identifies these people of the land of Magog as the Scythians. And you can go to a modern day encyclopedia and read where these people have settled. They have settled in the area of Russia, that northern area from Palestine. They are the Russian peoples—the Scythians.’ Those are the people of Magog. Most generally accepted broadly as far as their identification here, The prince of Rosh in the land of Magog, I think that the King—the New American Standard—the way that it has this translated, the Prince of Rosh rather than Chief Prince as the King James has it—the Prince of Rosh. Rosh being a proper name. And mention a man here. Gethsenius. Gethsenius is famous as a Hebrew lexicographer. Now he did his lexicon in 1854, before, long before modern Russia as we.-know it. And there he clearly and he's identifying the Hebrew word Rosh here, identifies it as Russia. And there were others of the time, I've just selected one or two key people that go back beyond our present days. So you can see this just isn't something someone sat down in 1966 and decided this is the identification that ought to be made. He believed on the derivation of the word as perhaps the outstanding Hebrew lexicographer, that that was clearly the identification of Rosh.

Meshech. Now Meshech we saw in Genesis 10:2 is another son of Japheth and Gethsenius, the lexicographer that I just mentioned, he identifies Meshech and Tubal as ancient names for major areas and cities in Russia. For example, he identifies Meshech as a tribal name for Moscow and attempts to show in his lexicon that Moscow is simply Meshech and that’s the ancient tribal name because of these peoples. Now natural that the head of the line, his name would be carried on for the people who descend from him. Now there are others who take Meschech and Tubal and identify them with the peoples more in the area of Turkey. I believe Charles Ryrie makes that identification. But either way, the areas generally—Turkey will be involved in the region we are talking about. And just a question of whether Meshech and Tubal are still delineating specifically within Russia or more broadly within the allies.

All right. Those are some of the names, I want to look a little bit at the geography here first, I think you can identify Russia as the major adversary of Israel during the tribulation days up until the antichrist persecution period, they are the major enemy. Two ways. One by the names that are used, We just looked at Magog, Rosh, Meshech, Tubal and you can read any book popular or more detailed. Hal Lindsey in his book, THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH has a chapter dealing with the identification of these nations. It's rather popularly written. You can also identify them by the geographical location which helps to remove any question and I think it’s interesting God has identified them both ways so that there’d be no question.

In chapter 38 in verse 6, "Gomer with all its trooops (and we’ll come back to these allies in a moment) Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops-many peoples with you," Down to verse 15, "You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north," An expression, In verse 6 and in verse 15—the remote, the uttermost, the farthest parts of the north. From where this enemy descends. Now all you have to do is take a map and set it down all directions, remember in Scripture, are given from Palestine, That's where God is focusing His attention. So the directions are all considered from the nation Israel—from Palestine, You take your map and set it down and go north. In fact I believe that due north of Jerusalem is Moscow, so you go north to the uttermost part of the north, to the remote north from Palestine and where will you be? You'll be in the land of Russia, where the descendants of Japheth have settled. The land of Magog. Identified both ways,

Look over in Daniel chapter 11, and keep your finger in Ezekiel. Daniel's just after Ezekiel, And the 11th chapter, talking here about a conflict that is going to be engaged between the head of the western forces, the antichrist, and the allies of this northern enemy, Russia as the leader. And you'll know how they're identified again in verse 40 of Daniel 11, "At the end time the king of the South will collide with him," Talking about the antichrist. "And the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, many ships," So there again, this enemy is identified as the king of the North, So I believe that it's clearly laid out in Scripture that the enemy of Israel in these tribulation days is identified as Russia, Now I believe what we've seen in our modern day is the solidifying of a nation—Russia. Interesting, 100 years ago when Gethsenius did his lexicon some others wrote around that time period. You know Russia was not a power to be dealt with, a backwards, relatively uncivilized if I can use that word, people. Not a major force as we consider them today. How rapidly they've come on the scene to be a major force. And a major force allied against the nation Israel, but even that's come about because Russia was in favor of Israel becoming a nation in 1948 and they voted for that. And relatively rapidly we see things falling together. Preparing the way for what is going to happen. I don't think that anyone has any great surprise, would be surprised if Russia would attack Israel. During some of the recent battles over there, there were statements made by leaders such as Moshe Dyan that Russia was the real enemy of Israel and their next war would be fought probably with Russia. Now again that didn't come out of a motivation to fulfill biblical prophecy. And he may not have been right. It may be the war after the next one. But somewhere along the line what Ezekiel says is going to happen, is going to happen. Come back to Ezekiel 38. Let's look at some of the allies of Russia.

Russia has several nations allied with them, God has said in verse three that He is against Gog, the Prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, "I will turn you about, I will put hooks into your jaws, I will bring you out.” You note in that verse, "I will turn you about, I will bring you out". "All your army, horses, horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords." Now note verse 5, the allies here, "Persia, Ethiopia, Put" verse 6, "Gomer, Beth-togarmah" these allies of Russia. Not too difficult to identify. Persia. Now Persia's easy to identify. Until modern times, it carried the name Persia. Then it was changed to Iran. Now it’s interesting. It wasn’t so long ago that just about everybody here I'm sure remembers within the last couple of years that perhaps the staunchest ally of the west and that particular region of the world was Iran, Persia, I remember I’d read this and Ild say, "Wow, how's that going to happen?" You know you’ve got the Shaw and the powerful military he has. I wonder how they’re going to get switched around to be an ally of Russia, but you know, when God sets things in motion, it doesn't take long for things to happen, does it? And perhaps you read the same article I did in one of the news magazines within the last few weeks. I was going to dig through my stack and cut it out but I didn't get around to it, about the agreement that Iran is entering into with Russia, Russia has offered its services and Iran is being driven to the point that they're going to need to do that. It doesn’t surprise anyone and it won’t surprise anyone if Iran is solidly within Russia’s control in a relatively short period of time. And we stand by in the west and say, "What can we do?" That’s just the way it is. Well, you know there’s really nothing you can do because Ezekiel chapter 38 says that’s the way it's going to be. And a so you see it doesn't take 50 years for God to bring about rapid changes. You take a nation that is strongly allied with the west and in a short period of time, it is completely turned over, Iran is crucial to what Ezekiel 38 says is going to happen because when there is a land attack against the nation Israel, Iran will form a good channel for Russia to move through into the land. And you can look in the news magazines at the maps there and see the relationship that's being drawn even by secular commentators. Ezekiel 38 God says Persia^ Iran will be allied with Russia. So don't have any questions in your mind,
"I wonder what's going to be the outcome of Iran?" Don't lose any sleep over it. Don't send any money to strengthen anybody who’s going to make Iran more solidly west, because it's a matter of time now. That's not a prophecy from me. In other words, if Iran tilts back to the west again for a while, that doesn't shake my faith. All I'm saying is the way it's going to be in the tribulation. We're not in the tribulation yet. I keep wanting to make that clear. Because I would not want to be executed as a false prophet as I've shared. But it will be allied with Russia.

Ethiopia. Now Ethiopia the word is Cush that you have in the margin of your Bible. You have a little number 1 in front of Ethiopia and you look over at the number 5 in the margin and it says "literally Cush" as you have it in the King James, now there's some question about its identification. Whether it's modern- day Ethiopia. Some want to identify it with Sudan. But the region is relatively clearly established. Whether—how broadly—and some of these lines aren't confined just as we would draw them today, But they identify the region and it may encompass some of the peoples around them. But that region of Ethiopia-Sudan is in view with Cush or Ethiopia. Interesting, Gethsenius, again writing over a hundred years ago now. Almost a hundred and thirty years ago,' Said that Cush or Ethiopia is an identification because of the descendants here of the blacks of Africa. The black nations of Africa. They are the descendants of Cush. And we see the stirrings in black Africa in the work of communism there and Russia’s attempt to secure allies.

Next nation is interesting—Put, Put is Lybia. And we hear enough about Lybia today. It’s been identified in a couple of ways. Some commentaries and people identify it as a region next to Iran or Persia. Some would identify it as modern-day Lybia, Probably more identify it with Lybia as it exists today. Whichever way, you can see what is happening. The Arab nations and tie into the black African nations forming an alliance together with Russia which fits pretty much the pattern as it’s seen even today,

They have another people in verse 6 called Gomer. And we saw Gomer in Genesis 10 too. Another son of Japheth. And these people settled in the region of what is now eastern Europe. East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, that’s the area that the descendants of Gomer settled. Again, a place that's solidly within the confines of the Russian empire. What about Togarmah? Beth-togarmah in verse 6. Now he was a grandson. We won't go back—you can go back and read Genesis 10. In Genesis 10, verse 3, he’s a grandson of Japheth, One of the sons of Gomer, the third son of Gomer, now this refers to the Armenian people. They settled the area that’s known now as Armenia or the region of Turkey. Some would broaden it to include central Asia. That whole region there. Interesting. You go all the way back to the Assyian peoples, Assyian some 700 years before Christ. They make that identification as the people of Togarmah settled in the region of Armenia, and it's interesting, Armenian literature refers to its own land and people as the house of Togarmah, So again these names have been carried on through the centuries in identifying these people. So the peoples of Turkey and Armenia and how much more broadly that would encompass the people there is not clearly defined. But we can locate the area. Then it's a matter of how much of that area will be included. Perhaps is not as clear. And that's allowed open to be open here because you'll note in verse 6, at the end of the verse, "Many peoples with you" In verse 9, "You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you." Verse 15 "You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army. Come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days that I shall bring you," You ought to underline that. "I shall bring you." The nation Israel is going to undergo this fierce attack. These many peoples besieging, descending on the nation Israel, Who's behind it all? God, He is bringing them up. Because He has purpose for the destruction of these peoples. "I shall bring you against My land." Isn't it interesting? God still claims Palestine for Himself. It is My land for My people and I shall bring you up against them. Sounds like, now wait a minute, it's a conflict of purposes. If it's His land and His people, you'd think He'd put a wall around them. But that's not the case. "In order that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, 0 Gog," What God is going to do is reveal His tremendous character in bringing Russia and her allies against Israel, He'll reveal something of His glorious character, His power. His purpose in bringing them up is to destroy them and thus demonstrate His power. Now this ought to cause us to have a realistic picture as believers of world events.

Number one, Russia is not destined to rule the world. Now I realize that if that word gets out it cuts down some of the great propaganda presses. Now I realize Russia would like to rule the world, Russia is going to make a move in Ezekiel 38 that will give it a major step in that direction because as we'll see in our study this evening, this move to attack Israel is really a move against not only Israel but the western alliance under the leadership of the antichrist. But Russia is not destined to rule the world. Communism is not destined in its present form, under Russia and her allies, to conquer the world. Neither Israel nor the revived Roman empire. Now that does not mean there may not be major battles, conflicts, and so on. But, you come to Ezekiel 38, the lines are still drawn. You see this in Daniel chapter 11 also. And the west and Russia are still opposed so that gives me some comfort. I think, "Well, will Russia conquer the world? No." I don't know that that doesn't mean that Russia will not destroy the United States. Now we have a hard time, as we've talked about, fitting the United States into prophecy, so I may be moving to Europe relatively soon. I know it's there in the tribulation and that's all I care about because I'm leaving before the tribulation as you are aware. You are too. But Russia not destined to rule the world.

Secondly, Russia is destined to be the settled enemy and foe of Israel and the western world as we'll see; because the western world when we get to the tribulation will be allied with Israel in spite of all the pressure for oil, you know connections, and to make adjustments; when we get to the middle of the tribulation-—the first three and a half years into the middle of the tribulation—the west is the friend of Israel, Daniel 11 will help clarify that as well, So the lines will remain drawn. So I don't want to have any artificial ideas that there is hope for a permanent peaceful alliance with Russia and her allies. That just is not to be. I view the whole disarmament issue in this light. There is no hope for a disarmament that will bring the end to conflict, and we'll see a little bit of this tonight. Question whether we are talking about modern nuclear weapons in this conflict or we're talking about a reverting to more primitive weapons which may be a result of a nuclear disarmament. But I do know Russia is settled as the foe of the west right down to the tribulation. It helps me have a perspective, a proper perspective on what is going on in the world today. That means that I as a believer--'I see what God is going to do—I don't find myself particularly absorbed in the political affairs of the world. Because I find what God is doing. He’s got His hand on it all. I see what Russia's doing. What her allies are doing. I say,
"How could the United States be so stupid to do what they did in Iran?" "How could
we let this happen?" I figure, I sit back and say, "Wait a minute. The hand of
God is on it. I’m not going to waste any of my time cranking out material on this.
I want to say it's fitting what God says is going to happen." It frees us up as believers to do what God has called us to do in this world. And that is to make Jesus Christ known in every place. God's got everything under control. All the nations of the world being moved according to His plan. Isn't that exciting?

The reason we spend time doing this—one of the reasons. There are several reasons that we have looked at in our study of prophecy. But one of the reasons is so that as we read what is going on in the newspaper, hear it on the news, we can sit back with great comfort (not complacency) and say, "My, and my God's doing that." You know it's exciting in its own way to see the transformation of the nation of Persia or Iran, It doesn't mean I was glad for it. But, it's exciting as a believer isn't it? To see the hand of God at work. Say that, that boggles my mind. It seems like it's chaos there. It seems like hopelessness. But you know what's going to come out of it? God's intended purposes. That that nation be allied as He said it would. And it's true of that whole area. So, go home, get out the map, look at this region, fix it in your mind. Then as you hear things happening related to what God said. Now, keep in mind this war. Another point and we'll be elaborating this this evening but I want you to be aware of it. I do not believe from my study of the prophetic passages that Russia could attack Israel today.in fulfillment of Ezekiel 38. And hard to see how Russia could attack Israel without precipitating the major kind of conflict that we'll be talking about. Russia will not be ruling Israel in the middle of the tribulation. So I see at least three and a half years before those purposes are realized. But you see the web being prepared, the chain being joined. I think Iran is a key link in the fulfillment, and we'll talk a little bit about it this evening, of how Russia will invade Israel and thus set the stage for carrying out this prophecy.

Two things and we're done for now, We'll do the second half in our study this evening. I hope you can come back. You don't want to miss Russia getting destroyed. We've just said who all the allies are, now you ought to come back and see them really get their due from God, and He has a rather complete and thorough way of dealing with nations. It always amazes me. This will come up in Armageddon too. You take all the forces, all the powers of the world, God breathes heavy and they're destroyed. Man seems so puny. Claims to be so mighty. Claims to be so powerful. Russia makes a classic mistake when it attempts to vent its rage against the people of God, Israel. I say a classic mistake, that's looking at it from the human perspective. They misjudge the foe. But from God's plan, it's to judge them for their sinfulness.
Two things—one. Where are you as a person in light of the overall plan of a sovereign God? You know, interesting to look at these events that have to do with the nations of the world. But God does not deal just with nations, He deals with people—individual people. And His programs are just as specific. His plans just as detailed. He's done that in securing and providing a salvation for us. By having His Son, Jesus Christ, die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Have you come to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Savior. This One who has laid out the details of coming events is the One who has also provided salvation for all who will believe in His Son, Who else but a sovereign God could have given such a revelation as we have in Ezekiel? And this same sovereign God says that there is not salvation in anyone else, in any place else, but in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Have you come to believe in Him?

Then Secondly, for those of us who have come to believe in Him. Are we living as those who are the children of a sovereign God, Terribly disturbing to me to see Christians who get caught up in the turmoil and the fears and the anxieties of the world and the age in which we find ourselves. We are a people who are secure in every way. My Heavenly Father, my God, is the One who is controlling the affairs of all these nations. I don't have to have any sleepless nights. I don't have to be all stirred up going a hundred miles an hour about it. I can go about making Him known, proclaiming a message of life because I serve the God who is working all things according to His plan.

Let us pray together...