The Final Jihad
Part Two - Ezekiel's Vision Of The Israel's Next Major War
There is coming a final jihad between the Islamic world and Israel. The United States will play a role in this conflict and our decisions on who will support in this jihad will ultimately determine our national destiny. There is no mention of the USA specifically in scripture. In contrast you cannot ready ANY prophetic scripture without seeing ISRAEL all over the pages. That should give us pause to think today and know that the time is quickly approaching for the coming of the Lord.
By Chris McDonald
Ezekiel 38:1-7 - And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, [3] And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: [4] And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: [5] Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: [6] Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. [7] Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
About 2,600 years ago the prophet Ezekiel described an Islamic invasion against the land of Israel in the latter years or end times. From this description given by this priest of God we see that God is against this invasion and their evil plan to invade His covenant land. This journal will help us identify the nations specifically named by the prophet. Most of the names Ezekiel recorded then are ancient geographical names of countries well known in his day but foreign to us now. We can determine whom these invaders are by identifying inhabitants of those regions today. The list reads like a who-who’s list of Israel’s current enemies.
Let me make a few key statements here to bring the issue of whose involved in this conflict into perspective. First of all, prior to 1948 this list would have meant absolutely nothing to anyone. To be quite frank this list would have had very LITTLE prophetic significance at that time. Why? Very simply, because Israel was not a nation and everything recorded in scripture concerning Israel and the last days deals with her AS A NATION. Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. It was at that time that I believe the REAL time clock for God’s prophetic calendar began ticking. It REALLY began ticking in October 1967 during the Six-Day War when Israel retook total control of Jerusalem from the Arab world and official started the “end” of the Gentiles’ dominion over her.
We are nearly 40 years - a full generation - from 1967. This will occur in 2007. That should give us all pause to see that we are truly living in monumental times as it relates to Bible prophecy. The events of September 11, 2001 I believe began another clock ticking – the future destruction of the United States of America. We have precious little time left I believe before the rapture. ALL THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE TO BRING IN THE HARVEST NEEDS TO BE GETTING DONE NOW! It’s that late neighbor.
As some Bible scholars have alluded to in this passage, this event may be on the very near horizon. Some teach that Ezekiel 38 and 39 is a preview of the great battle of Armageddon. I don’t think there is that much cause to disagree with that per say. There are many references in these two chapters that would confirm that theory. On the other hand, there are just as many statements and passages that would indicate this battle is NOT Armageddon as recorded in Revelation 14 and 19, but a separate end-time battle when “GOG” leads a conglomerate of Islamic nations against Israel to destroy her and take plunder.
Remember this about the Great Tribulation period and the Antichrist. Once the Anti-Christ desecrates the temple in the middle of the 7-year Tribulation period – ALL RELIGONS- be they Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Catholicism or whatever “ISMs” are out there - will be declared illegal by the “beast.” The entire world (or wherever the Antichrist is in control) will be required to swear TOTAL allegiance to the Antichrist and renounce ALL religion outside worship of him. He could very well establish his own religion and give it a name. I don’t know. What I do know is that Islam will mean very little to him. He will not care whether you are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist or Muslim. He himself will more than likely be an apostate Jew who has turned his back on the “god of his fathers.” Daniel wrote as much in his book (11:37) Whenever you see the term “fathers” as it relates to Israel and Old Testament theology it always refers to the object of worship of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the God of heaven.
Dan 11:37
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
(KJV)
The Antichrist will not regard “any god,” be it Allah or Christ. During the first 3 ½ years following the rapture, the man of Sin will bring a false “peace” to the region when he rises to power. This will be the time when the “whore” of apostate religion in Revelation 17 will spread out over the entire earth. But after the Antichrist desecrates the temple and declares himself “god,” the Lord gives him the power to “burn her (the whore) with fire.” In other words, he will destroy ALL RELIGION once he is in control of the earth.
Matthew 24:15-18
[15] When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) [16] Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: [17] Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: [18] Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
2 Thes. 2:3-8
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. [5] Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? [6] And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. [7] For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. [8] And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Rev 17:16-18
16 And the ten horns (The Antichrist’s Kingdom during first three one and half years) which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
(KJV)
I believe for this battle spoken of in Ezekiel 38 and 39 to have an Islamic conglomerate of nations united by a religious fiber it has to take place before the beast destroys all apostate religion and demands total worship of HIM. For that reason I am leaning more and more everyday to the school of thought that this battle takes place sometime in the first 3 ½ years after the rapture when Israel has signed the seven-year non-aggression pact with the Antichrist and the world’s religions are still allowed to function.
Daniel 9:23-27
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. [24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. [25] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. [26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. [27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Islam is a growing religion today – some believe its influence could very well overtake Christianity before the next decade is upon us. That is a staggering statement! For this invasion to take place and the Islamic nations be allowed to plunder Israel as they will try to do it has to come at a time when either the Antichrist is not in total control of the world and at a time Israel is at peace. It is for that reason that I do not believe this could be the great Battle of Armageddon. But I will also say this. NO ONE should be adamant about dates in relation to prophetic events. They will happen when God wants them to happen! HE IS IN CONTROL of ALL OF IT and I know that no matter WHEN it occurs, the players in this dastardly act of barbarism will meet a horrific doom on the mountains of Israel as God reigns His judgment upon them. HE WILL BE SANCTIFIED and GLORIFIED in sight of the Muslim world and in the Communist world!! The world will know what we know now – ISRAEL is God’s chosen and the apple of His eye. He IS her reward and rereward. HE IS HER GLORY and the lifter of HER HEAD.
Who Is Gog?
The first name to appear on this list in Ezekiel 38 is the strange name of “GOG.” In 1 Chronicles 5:4, Gog is listed as one of the descendants of Reuben, but that Gog has no relation to the Gog of Ezekiel. There are four things we know from this passage about Gog:
Ezekiel 38:1-5
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, [3] And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: [4] And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: [5] Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
1. Gog is a person, not a place
2. Gog is the leader of this invasion
3. Gog is more than likely the title, not the name, of the persons leading this invasion
4. Gog is from the land of Magog and rules over Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.
Ezekiel says that Gog is “of the land of Magog” and that he is the “prince of Meshech and Tubal.” This clearly identifies Gog as a ruler or prince of nations. The name GOG appears 11 times, more than any other name, and God directly addresses Gog on several occasions in these chapters. Some have said Gog is the Antichrist, which again may be true. Trying to fit the Antichrist in this scenario is not that easy though and one thing I’ve learned from studying prophecy – DON’T TRY TO MAKE IT FIT! If it already fits, then probably you have the correct interpretation! The Antichrist will rise from the revised ROMAN Empire, which will be more of a confederation of European states more so than Islamic states. He will rule most of Europe and eventually seek World domination before it is all over. Gog, however, leads a great Russian-Islamic alliance of nations in opposition to Israel (and the Antichrist himself possibly). Gog leads his troops into Israel for the Battle of Gog and Magog; Antichrist leads his army into Israel at the very end of the Tribulation for the Battle of Armageddon.
Gog personifies the evil forces that gather against Israel to destroy her. Let’s look more closely at the land of Magog to see where this leader comes from.
The Land Of Magog
Magog was the second son of Japheth, the son of Noah (Gen. 10:2).
Genesis 10:2
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
His name appears in the Bible in 1 Chr. 1:5, Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:6. Josephus identifies Magog with an ancient group of peoples:
“Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but who by the Greeks are called Scythians.”
Ezekiel 38:2
Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Ezekiel 39:6
And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
1 Chron. 1:5
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
The ancient Scythians were a great nomadic tribe who inhabited the ancient territory from Central Asia all across the southern part of ancient RUSSIA. The descendants of Magog were the original inhabitants of the plateau of Central Asia. Today the land of Magog is inhabited by the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and possibly even northern parts of AFGHANISTAN. All of these nations are bonded by one thread – ISLAM. And within their borders they have a combined population of 60 million!
When the Soviet Union came crashing down in December 1991, Islam quickly enveloped this region like a satanic vacuum. Since 1991, militant Islam, the type that came to America on September 11, 2001, has been on the rise. Before 1991, most of the inhabitants of the land had to secretly practice it because of communism. There are several groups – including the Part Of Islamic Liberation, the Islamic Renaissance Part (IRP) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), working to unite all the Central Asian nations under Islam’s banner and declare Jihad against Israel and the west. Tajikistan experienced a bloody civil war from 1992 to 1997 that had the highest number of casualties in population-to-population of any civil war in the last 50 years. The source of this civil war was a political coup by an extremist Islamic movement.
Another player in this region is the nation of TURKEY. Turkey has been cast aside by the European Union and is now looking elsewhere for global help. She is going to find it in these Islamic nations. Turkey’s recent elections of a pro-Islamic leader do not bode well for Israel or the west. I have always felt TURKEY will play a MAJOR role in the latter days in Bible prophecy. The very last messages of Jesus went to seven churches in ASIA MINOR – TURKEY. That is not by circumstance – there is a big reason why the Lord addressed the churches there in relation to the end times. The developing situation today points to the end-time scenario of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
The Koran and Gog, Magog
It is interesting to note here that Islam has its own version of the Battle of Gog and Magog called the War of Yajuj and Majuj. In two places in the Koran Gog and Magog are mentioned by name. (18:96, 21:96) (Yajuj and Majuj). In Islamic eschatology, ten major signs signal the approach of the end of the age. This battle is number FOUR on Islam’s list. According to Islamic teaching, Gog and Magog are two groups of TURKS that were spreading corruption through the earth during the time of Abraham. Finally, to keep them in check, they were enclosed behind a great barrier. Though they have tried in vain for centuries to climb over or dig under the wall, they will not be able to do so until Allah decrees their release. Then the barrier will collapse, and Gog and Magog will pour out in ALL directions, rushing into the land of Israel to attack the Muslims there. According to Muslim clerics, Allah will wipe them out by means of a disease or plague. The disease is described as either infectious, lethal boils, or a disease that east the flesh from their bones. Mohammed borrowed that imagery straight from the word of GOD! Of course like everything in the Koran, Mohammed conveniently changed certain things to meet his own ends. Ezekiel 38:22 says God will judge the invaders with disease and blood.
Rosh
The name Rosh is found in certain translations of Ezekiel 38:2 and again in Ezekiel 39:1. The word rosh in Hebrew simply means “head, top, summit or chief.” It is a very common word and in common to ALL Semitic languages. It occurs about 750 times in the Old Testament including its roots and derivatives. Rosh refers to a geographical location not a proper name. An ancient group of people known as the Sarmatians were known as the Ras, Rashu, and Rus who inhabited the land of Rasapu. These people inherited the area that today we know as southern Russia. According to Jewish bible scholars, Rosh in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is “undoubtedly the Russians, who are mentioned by the Byzantine writers of the tenth century under the name ROS. These peoples dwell to the north of Taurus – as dwelling on the river RHA (Wolga).”
Russia is a key place mentioned throughout Bible prophecy. Scripture predicts that the Great Russian bear will revive herself in these last days and lead a furious invasion against Israel. All the political talk around Washington D.C. and New York City may have us believe Russia is down and out these days- don’t believe it. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev recently told listeners at a local rally that all the talk of Russia being “broke and defenseless” was mere talk for the “peace lovers” in America who did not want war. He went on to say and I quote, “that talk is a smoke screen for the west, we are as strong militarily as we ever were. We’re just waiting for the west to let down their arms so we can show ours.”
Ezekiel said the leader of this invasion would come “from remote parts of the NORTH.” The nation that is remotely and distantly north of Israel is RUSSIA.
Russia’s Current Plight And Why She Will Want To Lead This Invasion
In December 1979 the Russians invaded Afghanistan and was humiliated. When Russian troops withdrew from there in 1989, the mighty empire had suffered its greatest humiliation. For many, that event marked the end of the cold war. Two years later, when the Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991, many believed the bear had gone into permanent hibernation. Her economy is in shambles and that makes the Russian bear a “HUNGRY” bear and a more dangerous one. Here are some alarming things to ponder about Russia:
§ 2 percent population drop since 1992 due to deteriorating health and skyrocketing cases of AIDS
§ 40 percent of population below poverty level
§ 10 percent unemployment
§ 20 percent inflation
Russia in many ways is also humiliated still by her failures of the past. Many hardliners within the Soviet government are seeking to re-exert her influence in the world especially in the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia – AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST. In January 2001 she announced an agreement with Kazakhistan, Kyrgystan, and Tajikistan to create a rapid deployment force of 3,000 men based in Tajikistan. She has also developed strong economic ties to both Iran AND Iraq, which we will discuss more in detail in a future journal in this series. The Russians are coming! But they’re just not coming anywhere – they’re coming to invade ISRAEL in the end times. She won’t be alone in this journey either. It will be her ties to Iraq and Iran that will open the door for other agreements with Islamic nations in the region. And when the hatred for Israel gets to the point that Islamic nations around her can’t take it anymore, they will turn to their economic and more than likely military partner to the north and say “LETS GO PLUNDER AND DESTROY” Israel!
Meshech, Tubal, Gomer And Bethtogarmah
Ezekiel 38:2 and 38:6 list four more ancient names that we need to identify to understand this great prophecy: Mescheck, Tubal, Gomer and Bethtogarmah.
Meshech and Tubal
Meshech and Tubal are mentioned together in Ezekiel 38:2. Meshech and Tubal were the sixth and fifth sons of Japheth, the son of Noah (Gen. 10:2). Many older bible scholars have long thought these represented cities within the Soviet Union, mainly Moscow and Tobolsk in Russia. However upon study of Ezekiel 27:13 we see that these two regions or peoples were trading partners with ancient TYRE (modern day Lebanon). It is highly doubtful that ancient Tyre was trading with people as far north as Moscow and Tobolsk.
The names reveal the names of the PEOPLES known as Mochi/Mushki and Tubalu/Tibareni peoples who dwelled in the area around, primarily south of, the Black and Caspian seas in Ezekiel’s day. These nations today are the in the modern country of TURKEY and possibly parts of extreme southwestern Russia and northern IRAN.
Gomer
Gomer is also listed as one of the nations in this Islamic alliance. Gomer was the first son of Japheth, the son of Noah. While it has been a popular teaching over the years to say Gomer was Germany, a closer inspection of the name shows that the Gomerites were the ancient Cimmerians, expelled in 700 B.C. from the southern steppes of Russia into the area we know today as TURKEY.
Beth Togarmah
According to Genesis 10:3, Togarmah was the third son of Gomer. The word Beth at the beginning of the word is the Hebrew word for “house” or “place of.” It simply means “house or place of Togarmah.” The only indication about Togarmah’s location in the Bible is found in Ezekiel 38:6. “Beth-Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops.” Therefore, we at least know that Togarmah is from the far north of Israel.
In Ezekiel’s time there was a city in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey) known as Tegarma, Tagarma, Til-garimmu, and Takarma. Turkey is far north of Israel and again fits into this conglomeration of nations nicely. Four of the ancient locations Ezekiel gives are found today in the nation of TURKEY. Turkey will play a HUGE role in this end-time coalition. Turkey today is not hard-core Muslim – at least not yet, as some of the other nations in Ezekiel’s list are. But they are still an Islamic nation.
Turkey has experienced a rash of terrorist attacks by Islamic radicals as of late. There has also been a recent rise of political Islam. As we told you earlier in this journal, Turkey just elected a pro-Islamic government for the first time in over 50 years. A recent crisis within the government catapulted the Islamic party’s popularity among the people who were tired of corruption in the more democratic government that was in place prior to elections held in the summer.
Necmettin Erbakan has led pro-Islamic political parties from “the political wilderness in the 1960s to become Turkey’s biggest and best-disciplined party in the 1990s. The New World Outlook In Europe Party launched a platform as early as 1994, which advocated the nonviolent (thus far) establishment of a Turkish Republic State, opposition to Israel, and the worldwide spread of – you guessed it – ISLAM.
Turkey has gone to great links to be part of both Europe and the Middle East. It is the only nation with land on two continents! The nation’s geography is a mirror of its political and military position as well. It is being pulled both ways – but as we write this – more to the Islamic side. The European Union has repeatedly denied Turkey’s request to be part of the EU, which has angered the government and caused them to look elsewhere. Some Bible prophecy teachers believe there is a decent possibility of Turkey forming a 10-12 Islamic state confederacy sometime in the future that may actually play a bigger role than that of Europe. We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.
Turkey is a friend to the United States for now. She regularly cooperates with the USA in military operations in the region. Her soldiers are even helping us with peacekeeping duties in Afghanistan as of today.
However, that friendship is getting shakier every day. The Turkish government pays the salaries of 60,000 imams and dictates the contents of their weekly sermons – often down to the last word! One political writer observed recently “Islam is the most controversial issue to divide the Turkish republic since it was founded in 1923.” We don’t know what will happen that will make them join Gog’s coalition of nations but we do know that the seeds for this are being planted today. Whatever happens we know Turkey will be one of the invaders against Israel when this end-time invasion occurs.
The Islamic Legion
We have covered seven of the 10 nations coming against Israel so far. The remaining three are even more interesting than these. In his January 2002 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush made a brief statement that created quite a controversy. He named the countries of IRAQ, IRAN and North Korea as forming an “axis of evil” in our world today. Many liberals got upset with him for using the word “evil.” Well God uses it without blinking to describe this demonic effort to destroy Israel. He says the invaders have an “evil plan.” (Ezekiel 38:10)
Ezek 38:10-11
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
(KJV)
In Ezekiel 38:5 God lists an end-time axis of evil. This axis is listed as “Persia, Ethiopia and Put,” being with them with shield and helmet.” One of the nations on God’s list is also on President Bush’s list.
Persia
Ezekiel 38:5 lists Persia as another nation that will join the end-time alliance against Israel. This is probably the easiest of the nations to place in this list. Ezekiel wrote this prophecy in 580 B.C., while Babylon was still the ruling empire. At that time, Persia was not a dominating power, although Persians did sell themselves as mercenaries to other nations (Ezekiel 27:10). About 40 years later, in 539 BC., the Persians conquered the mighty city of Babylon.
An ancient map of the Persian Empire shows us the Persians had one central location – modern day IRAN. The name Persia was changed to IRAN in foreign usage in March 1935 and then to the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution. According to God’s word, therefore the Iranians will join TURKEY, the nations of Central Asia, and RUSSIA to invade Israel in the end times.
Iran is an archenemy of Israel and the west. Between 1989 and 1993 Iran spent $10 billion to purchase weapons from Russia and also began to buy Russian nuclear and ballistic-missile technology. Iran currently has two nuclear reactor sites. In 1992, Iran signed an agreement with Russia to revitalize their nuclear weapons and reactors that had been damaged in the war with Iraq. The agreement called for Russia to supply Iran with two 440-megawatt reactors. It is estimated that Iran will be able to assemble nuclear weapons in five to seven years. In March 2001, Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami visited Russia to forge stronger ties between the two nations. After the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would help resume sales of conventional arms to Iran, and help Iran complete its nuclear reactor near Bushehr.
The Tehran Conference of 1991 in Iran was attended by members of radical Islamic movements and terrorist groups from at least 40 countries. At this conference the attendees declared themselves to be against making ANY kind of peace with Israel. Iran is also a key supporter of Hezbollah, the “party of God,” which terrorizes Israel on a regular basis. In early 2002 the Israelis intercepted a shipment of Iranian arms headed to the Palestinians that was seized in the Red Sea. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks in Washington D.C. and New York City, Iran has taken center stage to bring Muslim and Arab nations together against Israel – and the United States. Iran will be a major player in this end-time battle and happy to be there!
Cush
There are two North African nations mentioned in Ezekiel’s list – the fist being Ethiopia and the second being translated Cush. The ancient kingdom of Cush in Ezekiel’s day was the land just south of Egypt on the Nile River. Today the nation that occupies this land is SUDAN. One would be hard-pressed to find a more rabid enemy of Israel and the west than Sudan. On June 30, 1989, General Omar Hassan Bashir mounted a successful military coup d’e’tat in Sudan. However, the real power behind the new regime was Hassan al-Turabi and his extremist party, the National Islamic Front (NIF). Sudan was immediately and totally converted to an Islamic military dictatorship.
Sudan supported Iraq during the gulf war and even gave Osama Bin Laden refuge from 1991 to 1996. They have become a rallying place for every hard-line Islamic movement imaginable. In April 1991, in the wake of the Gulf War, al-Turabi along with leaders from about 50 hard-line Islamic movements from the Arab Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, including PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat – founded the popular Arab and Islamic Conference. (PAIC). His intent was to crystallize all the hard-line Islamic militants and nationalists under a single banner. Similar meetings in December 1993 and April 1995 followed this gathering. Some have labeled Sudan’s new terror “terrorisms new Mecca.” The amazing thing is that God placed Persia and Cush along side Israel’s end-time enemies some 2,600 years ago! Contemporary Iran and Sudan are VERY close. Sudan is Iran’s best ally and Iran supplies Sudan with military supplies, oil, and military training. Sudan gives Iran docking rights at Port Sudan on Red Sea shipping routes. This connection is right here before our eyes, setting the stage for the final jihad against Israel.
Put
Put is the modern nation of Libya. Ancient Put was the land just to the west of Egypt. We all know the history between Libya and the United States. Muammar Qaddafi took control of Libya in 1969 and has been an international rogue state and sponsor of international terrorism ever since. What most don’t know is that Libya does not even off TOKEN efforts to resolve the Middle East crisis refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. When the chips are laid out for this end-time invasion of Israel – Libya will be more than willing to come along side.
Many Peoples With You
More nations will be allied with this coalition. Who those nations are we do not know because the Bible does not list them. It would be an educated guess but we feel strongly that some of the “other nations” will be:
§ Possibly Iraq
§ Syria
§ Jordan
§ Egypt
From this list it is clear that at least SIX allies and possibly others will come together for this end time invasion of Israel: Russia, Turkey, Iran, Libya, Sudan and the nations of Central Asia (Former Soviet Republics). All of these nations except one – Russia – are Muslim nations. Iran, Libya and Sudan – three of Israel’s most ardent opponents are also listed today by the U.S. Government as states that support and export terrorism. These nations are forming ties that will have prophetic implications later as we speak. And neighbor as we close this journal let me say something we say often these days – it’s getting late.
When Ezekiel wrote these words some 2,600 years ago it was hard to imagine that this type of alliance would be formed. Ezekiel did not know these regions as the countries we know them as today. But the Word of God is true and the seeds are planted in the ground for this last days Islamic invasion of Israel. It is a time to draw as close to God as we possibly can in these last hours before Yeshua comes.
In our next journal in this series we are going to look at the timing of this event more in detail and discuss what God does to these who will come against the Holy Land. Praise God. Shalom.
*note: Some material used in research for this article comes from Mark Hitchcock’s excellent book, The Coming Islamic Invasion of Israel,” Multnomah Publishers, 2002,