“And it will come about 
on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “that My fury will mount up in My anger. And in My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. And the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. And I shall call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. And with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him; and I shall rain on him, and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire, and brimstone. And I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 38:18-23
Have you been listening to the news about the growing tensions in the Middle East? For the last several years Iran’s President has been openly declaring his intentions to destroy Israel (the little Satan) and the United States (the big Satan). Recently, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood members of their government have threatened to declare Israel in violation to their long standing peace treaty so that they can join in the attack. Covert means have been used to delay Iran’s ability to arm nuclear warheads by assassinating the nuclear scientists. Israel has been considering a preemptive military strike against Iran to take out their nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, Iran has been threatening to cut off our supply of oil by closing the Strait of Hormuz which has already caused speculators to push the price of gasoline up 15 cents per gallon overnight. Fox news has been reporting that gas prices will be over $4 per gallon by Memorial Day.
Who cares? We should all care! We should all be studying the Word to understand these Last Days that we live in today. God seems to be bringing all of the players into place for the fulfillment of the battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39. In this battle He will miraculously intervene for Israel against all of her enemies through the use of the natural forces of earthquakes and meteors. The Lord declares repeatedly in these chapters that His intent for this battle is to make His Holy Name known in the midst of Israel, to end the profane use of His Holy Name, and to let all the nations know that He is the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. So, might this event spark the spread of the gospel to the Jews and all other nations? Could this lead to the last great awakening as He demonstrates His extraordinary power on behalf of Israel?
There has recently been a debate over whether this Battle is a separate battle from Armageddon. It seems quite possible that it is. Regardless, as His church we need to prepare for this battle and how God intends to use it to demonstrate His Holiness to the nations. Might this event be just what the lethargic western church needs to wake up and repent from its complacency and compromise? What if the earthquake God uses to save Israel triggers other earthquakes around the world as well? Are we, as a church body, interceding for our nation by confessing and repenting of our sins?
Our western culture is depraved. It views all religions (with the exception of evangelical Christianity) as a true way to God and heaven. All sorts of sexual sins are no longer viewed as wrong. Sadly, this philosophy has crept into our churches. In two of the letters written to the churches of Revelation, God mentions hating teachings of the Nicolaitans. The word Nicolaitan translates from the Greek as Destruction of People. They taught people to eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. Today, this equates with blending false teaching with Christianity and compromising on sexual sin issues. There are movements in Christianity that are blending together ideas from the New Age movement, Hinduism, Buddhism, and all other belief systems on the premise that there is a germ of truth in each one. Folks, there is only One name given among men by which we can be saved, and that is the name of Jesus! It has become increasingly ‘normal’ even for professing Christian couples to be sexually intimate before marriage just to make sure that part of their relationship ‘works.’ Also, God makes it abundantly clear that all forms of sexual activity that take place outside the covenant made between a husband and a wife is sin. It really is that simple.
Our western church needs to wake up and strength the things that remain. We need to honor God in His Holiness by repenting of our compromise. It is only then that we will be ready for the fallout of this battle that is coming. The forces of evil are seeking to destroy Israel, but God will intervene on her behalf and show His Holiness in the process. The only real reason the nations do not see His Holiness now, is that we, His church, are not living in His Holiness. His shake up of the church and the world is coming; are we ready?