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THE GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1—“The Eschatological Conflict”

Jihad is Worship
Tectonic Plates between the West and Islam
Eschatological Schools of Interpretation: Confronting the “Brethren”
Is the Futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week a Roman Catholic Plot?

Part 2—The Rise of Gog: Islamism Unleashed . . .

Syrian Update
U.S. Strategic Policy in the Region
Surrounding Gog and Magog (Including Syria)
Enough to Drive You Crazy . . . from Russia with Love!
Enter the Turks
Turkey and Israel
Turkey, Iran and Syria “So Happy Together”
Iraq Chimes In
Persia . . . Gomer . . . The House of Togarmah

Part 3—The Rise of Gog: Identifying Gog, Persian Update

Summary (“The Gog-Magog Scenario”) and Introduction
Gog and Magog . . . Their Identity

Part 4—Gog’s Opposition: The Antichrist

The Foci of Gog-Magog: Israel and the USA
Antichrist does not attack Israel
From Gog to the Coming of Messiah
Confirming our Thesis of Antichrist in Daniel 11:36:45
U.S. Building Forts on Iraq Border

Part 5—King of the North: Turkey and Iran (Magog)

The Face of Satan
Unity of the Muslim Ranks and Its Awakening
Persia and Other Peoples – Watch Egypt!
Chart of Ancient Tribal Designations to Modern States

Part 6—King of the South: Egypt, Sudan & Libya

Vs. “The Willful King”

“Damascus Shall be a Ruinous Heap”
The “Spoil” of the Willful King (King of Tyre)
Give them Liberty or give them Death!

THE

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

by

Doug Krieger

Introduction

Plans are afoot for “Total War” in the Middle East! Iran’s nuclear facilities—hell-bent on producing another “Islamic Bomb”—are rattling Washington’s cage and driving Israel nuts. Iran and Syria this past year signed a “defense pact” to tell Washington it’s “enough already” and by signing the pact raised the stakes; now, “an attack on Iran is an attack on Syria and visa versa.” Now, Turkey has gotten into the fray by exchanging “economic and security” accords with both Syria and Iran and has told Iran that all three of them (Turkey, Iran and Syria) could “wage war” if needed to stop the Kurds (which really sets well with Iraq’s immediate confusion). And, Turkey told the USA’s involved in “terrorist acts” just like Israel! Meanwhile the US is building upwards of 35 “forts” along the Syrian-Iraqi border!

Gog is on the rise . . . the “Road to Damascus” is being paved with new alliances. Iran’s Defense Minister held a “war counsel” with Lebanon/Syria’s Hezbollah’s leadership to “plot and plan” against the Zionist enemy. Iraq’s defense minister just told the press that “Iran is our greatest enemy!” Syria’s President Assad just cut a deal with Moscow for a $20M “illegal” missile deal (January 2005) that will be all that Bush and Israel can handle! So, the Administration is threatening “sanctions” against Russia!

Under Secretary of State Armitage in mid-January (2005) told Syria to “lay off” with supporting international terrorism and stop the funding and training of insurgents now numbering upwards of 30,000 in Iraq. Meanwhile 70+ “terrorist acts” are being committed DAILY in Iraq against coalition forces; and US casualties soaring to around 1,400 dead.

This thing’s unraveling . . . what does the Bible say about it? Answer: One whole bunch! This series of articles is a MUST READ to stay on top of this . . . to know what’s coming down and when and what to do about it. Life may be going on as “normal” (“as in the days of Noah”) but we’ve got news for you . . . THAT’S A MYTH—just ask the G.I.’s in the Persian Gulf!

Yeah, we’re aware that certain folks think this is all hogwash and that we’re, like Bush, living in Armageddonland—fantasizing the nightmare. No, we’re here as watchmen on the wall to warn, to encourage, to strengthen the Church in her most critical hour. God hasn’t left us adrift . . . He’s told us beforehand how this plays out. It’s time to become aware of the “times and the seasons” and to wake up and get involved, and get right with the Lord! There are issues here that we all must address, understand, and certainly . . . “lead many to righteousness.”

We commend this series to the Lord and to His people and to a world that is spiraling out of control . . . don’t let this hour pass without getting involved in the unsealing of the end of days . . . Why? Because you’re in it!

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

Part 1—“The Eschatological Conflict”

Ezekiel 38:1-6 “The word of the Lord came to me; Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army - your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops - the many nations with you.’”

What we are witnessing in the Middle East today, is, in sum and substance, a disturbing “Clash of Civilizations” sparked not solely by “spoil” but by spiritual forces beyond the grasp of the secular mind. A Crusader mentality has and will continue to take hold upon the leadership of the West; and, that imagery is all the more exacerbated by Islamicists who cannot and will not see the conflict in any other context.

“The United States and Great Britain are currently engaged in the Tenth Crusade, an effort to assert control over the Middle East. This crusade began in 1983, when Ronald Reagan sent troops into Lebanon to prop up a Western-leaning government after Israel had invaded the country. Up till then the United States had not been the target of car bombings and the like. But within months the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed, killing hundreds, and the United States has since been lumped in with earlier Crusaders as an aggressor deserving of counterattack. What is the source of such a conflict? Although some see it as a struggle for control of oil, that is only the latest wrinkle of a conflict deeply seated in the psyches of all concerned. It is the spiritual aspects, not the economic, that hold the key.” (The Tenth Crusade, Dennis O’Brien)

JIHAD IS WORSHIP

Why this passion and ultimate suicidal effort to oust the West from “Islamic lands?” There is far more going on here than meets the secular eye . . . and, in a word, the highest form of worship within Islam—pure worship—is HOLY WAR! Especially, against the infidels, the exploiters of wealth and Islamic culture!

“In its literal sense jihad in Arabic simply means struggle - striving to one’s utmost to further a worthy cause. There is a difference, however between the word, struggle and jihad. The word struggle does not connote the sense of reward or worship in the religious sense of the word. But when the word jihad became a part of Islamic terminology, the sense of reward or worship came to be associated with it, that is to say, if struggle is struggle in the simple sense of word, jihad means a struggle which is an act of worship, the engagement of which earns reward to the person concerned. As the Quran says: Strive for the cause of God as you ought to strive.” (22:78) (Understanding Jihad, By Farida Khanam, 4 July 2000)

TECTONIC PLATES BETWEEN THE WEST AND ISLAM

“It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.” (Professor Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, 1993, P.22)

There’s little room for discussion, dialogue, moderation, temperance, diplomacy and the like, when two tectonic plates—ratcheted to their maximum strain—demand RELIEF!

“The central notions of dualism between Good and Evil, Salvation through an Expected Messiah, and the Final Battle between St. Michael and Satan animate these world religions (i.e., Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and their devotees. Pragmatism, reason, and common sense have little place in these primitive Semitic world views. All conflict is interpreted as part of a cosmic struggle between Good and Evil and there is no room for compromise or tolerance. Our American Evangelicals and Neo-Conservatives have bought into these delusions as much as Islamicists and if left unshackled will lead us all to world conflagration.” (Understanding the Middle East: the Enemy of My Enemy May Be My Enemy, Norman Ravitch)

And, where will all this lead? Only a fool would assume that somehow the West, with its Israeli ally (now that both are the brunt of terror) have any designs on pulling up their tents from the cradle of civilization, or ultimately, from the Beautiful Land (“He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall . . . he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels . . . he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain” (Daniel 11:41-43, 45).); nor will Islam reinvent itself!

In our last series on “The Road to Damascus” we highlighted Scripture and contemporary geopolitical realities regarding Syria’s role in the Middle East and her complicity regarding her harboring a network of terrorist organizations—while funneling “insurgents” and funds into Iraq—these articles will act as a follow-up to that original subject, as well as draw peculiar attention upon the Biblical and contemporary realities taking place in those nations to Israel’s immediate north (including Syrian updates), and south—while initially elucidating the “eschatological battles” being waged within the ranks of Christendom over these issues.

We’ll identify the massive alliance of nations under Gog’s leadership in light of the research from antiquity, contemporary theories, and finally make conclusions to their geographic locations. The “theological stakes are high!”

ESCHATOLOGICAL SCHOOLS OF INTERPRETATION . . . . . Confronting the “Brethren”

Those of us who maintain a “Futurist” position in our eschatology (e.g., there will be a future Antichrist who will be fully engaged in the aforementioned Gog/Magog War (Daniel 11:40-45) affirm that Antichrist will head up, what we interpret to be the final manifestation of absolute Gentile World Power as depicted in the Image seen in Daniel—i.e., that final empire which mirrors Rome’s Empire (now revived), comprising economic and political hegemony, supported by apostate religion (i.e., the Christian religion)—is irrefutably none other than the present leadership of the West: The USA. That is precisely why we feel what we are discussing is absolutely relevant and of the highest priority for God’s people to hear and for the world “out there” to know!

On the other hand, we are keenly aware that “Historicists and Preterists” eschatological schemes deride our conclusions. Why? Because, though they are dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, they, nevertheless, have formulated a system of hermeneutics which, at their extreme, terminate all Bible prophecy (as the Preterists do) to have concluded by the end of the First Century and most likely at the destruction of the Jewish Temple, under Titus, in 70 A.D. Whereas, the Historicist “advances” beyond 70 A.D. and attempts to interpret historical events of the last two thousand years with the book of Revelation and other Bible prophecies (e.g., Napoleon’s seizure of Papal lands, even the incarceration of Pope Leo VII, in 1809 as the one “wounded by the sword and lived” of Revelation 13:14; thus, marking the end of the 1,260 days). Preterists and Historicists have outstanding evangelical leadership within their ranks; after all, Martin Luther’s “breakthrough” took place when he saw the Papacy as the Antichrist!

Many of the Historicist’s interpretations are “out there” . . . though well-intentioned, they, nevertheless, are sometimes so farfetched that despite their “Biblical applications” to history (e.g., trying to make sense of the Papacy and the martyrdom of countless Christians under Rome’s Inquisition, while bringing comfort to the brethren), they appear awkward and even laughable; to wit:

“The Thunders of the Vatican

At the epoch belonging to the Vision, the thunders well-known throughout Christendom, and acknowledged as having authority, were those that proceeded from the Seven-hilled, City of Rome, the Papal Thunders, the Thunders of the Vatican. In reference to them these expressions occur continually in the histories of those times.

There is no need to relate how, very shortly after the publication, of the Theses (i.e., Luther’s 95 Theses), the Papal Thunders of intimidation began to make their voices heard against them.” (Exegesis of Revelation 10:4 regarding the “Seven Thunders” The Reformation in Revelation by Reverend E.P. Cachemaille M.A. Caius College, Cambridge)

The simple truth be known . . . both (Historicism and Preterism) accord little if any relevance to contemporary Israel and even deride her materiality as a “secular outrage” or an eschatological imposter and as a “Scriptural imposition/fabrication!” Heralding Israel’s rebirth is NOT exciting at all to these dear brethren! “Messianic Scenarios” bear them no interest!

Furthermore, the fixation of the early Protestants and their progenitors upon the Holy See of Rome as the embodiment of all that is Antichrist precludes any and all personifications of a future embodiment of that Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition in whom the Abomination of Desolation shall reveal his true purpose! Differences of opinion are so extreme between the Historicist and the Futurist (the Antichrist is yet future) that only one can be correct; to wit, Ralph Woodrow’s pronouncement:

“What differences exist here! One says the 70th week is future; the other says it is fulfilled! One says there is a huge gap between the 69th and the 70th weeks; the other requires no gap. One says the 70th week pertains to Antichrist; the other to Jesus Christ! In view of such glaring differences, both of these interpretations simply cannot be correct.”

Woodrow then proceeds to argue the case for historicists wherein he concludes that, although the precise use of the year/day matters up to the “anointing of Messiah” at the Baptism of John (483 years + 3 ½ years of the Lord’s earthly ministry for a total of 486 ½ years), the next 3 ½ years (after Jesus “breaks THE covenant” with the Jews in the “midst of the week” leaving the last 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th Week immediately following his crucifixion) terminates “somewhere around” the gospel’s entry to the Gentiles with Cornelius (another example of the “give or take” method of the historicists). Consequently, the 70th Week has already been fulfilled . . . all of it! There is no gap between the 69th and the 70th Week of Daniel; it’s “consecutive” and that’s HISTORY; we’re over and done with it!

We will go into more detail concerning the futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week, it’s implications for Christians and Jews, and the Gentile World Powers; as well as the reasons why many well-meaning brethren refuse to come to terms with the futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week. Suffice it to say we affirm that the Antichrist is yet to come. However, in saying this, we do not conclude that the “spirit of antichrist has gone out into the world” even now, as it has in past times (I John 2:18).

Also, that he (i.e., Antichrist) will “confirm a defense pact” (Daniel 9:27; Isaiah 28:15, 18) with the nation of Israel at or near the commencement of the, yet future, Gog/Magog War of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Most Historicists who know of Sir Robert Anderson’s “The Coming Prince,” are “outraged” or in “denial” over his conclusions and chronologies. How could the former head of Scotland Yard forecast a future Antichrist based on a yet future 70th Week of Daniel? How dare he dislocate Daniel’s 70th Week from the initial 69 Weeks? This is either a Jewish conspiracy or Catholic cover-up! This is all the more confirmed by Sir Anderson’s amazing statements which “prophetically insisted” that Israel’s immediate ingathering was a foregone “prophetical conclusion” regardless of their persistent dispersions and Ottoman’s Empire; to wit:

“Judah’s promises, on the contrary, imply that blessing will reach the Jew as a Jew, not only recognizing his national position, but confirming him therein . . . it may be asked, does not the dispensation (of Grace) run its course until the return of Christ to earth? How then can Jews be found at His coming in a place of blessing nationally (Sir Anderson’s emphasis), akin to that which they held in a bygone age? All will admit that Scripture seems to teach that such will be the case ([4] In proof of this, appeal may be made to these very prophecies of Daniel; and later prophecies testify to it still more plainly, notably the book of Zechariah.)

And further . . .

“But Israel’s history has yet to be completed; and when that nation comes again upon the scene, the element of miraculous interpositions will mark once more the course of events on earth. On the other hand, the analogy of the past would lead us to expect a merging of the one dispensation in the other, rather than an abrupt transition; and the question is one of peculiar interest on general grounds, whether passing events are not tending towards this very consummation, THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS TO PALESTINE.” (cir. 1895) (My emphasis)

One final incitement for the Historicist and the Preterist among us:

“Then again, the return of the Jews to Palestine is one of the strangest facts of the day. There is scarcely a country in the world that does not offer more attractions to the settler, be he agriculturist or trader; and yet, since The Coming Prince was written, more Jews have migrated to the land of their fathers than returned with Ezra when the decree of Cyrus brought the servitude to a close. But yesterday the prophecy that Jerusalem should be inhabited “as towns without walls” seemed to belong to a future far remote. The houses beyond the gates were few in number, and no one ventured abroad there after nightfall. Today the existence of a large and growing Jewish town outside the walls is a fact within the knowledge of every tourist, and year by year the immigration and the building still go on. (Sir Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince, Chapters 12 and 13, initial; and final quote from Appendix 3, another edition of the same text)

IS THE FUTURITY OF DANIEL’S 70TH WEEK, A ROMAN CATHOLIC PLOT?

Maybe you haven’t heard that Daniel’s 70th Week, as yet future, was really a Roman Catholic plot concocted by Jesuits!

Dean Henry Alford (Protestant) and the Catholic writer, G.S. Hitchcock, concur on Futurism’s tenants, and perhaps, even its origins:

“The Futurist School, founded by the Jesuit Ribera in 1591, looks for Antichrist, Babylon, and a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, at the end of the Christian dispensation. The Preterist School, founded by the Jesuit Alcasar in 1614, explains the Revelation by the Fall of Jerusalem, or by the fall of Pagan Rome in 410 A.D.” (G.S. Hitchcock, The Beasts and the Little Horn, p. 7).

Dean Henry Alford (Protestant), in the “Prolegomena” to his Greek Testament, declares:

“The founder of this [Futurist] in modern times…appears to have been the Jesuit Ribera, about A.D. 1580.” (Henry Alford, The New Testament for English Readers, vol. 2, part 2, p. 351 [bottom numbering].)

“The Preterist view found no favor, and was hardly so much as thought of, in the times of primitive Christianity…. The View is said to have been first promulgated in anything like completeness by the Jesuit Alcasar . . . in 1614.” (Ibid, pp. 348, 349 [bottom numbering].) (Note: Francisco Ribera—1537-1591; Luis de Alcasar—1554-1613)

How this Catholic plot was concocted when, in point of fact, the Futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week was held by the early Church Fathers (thank God for the Orthodox), some of whom were absolutely emphatic . . . take Hippolytus, bishop and martyr of the faith, in his Treatise of Christ and Antichrist written in the 2d Century:

“§43. With respect, then, to the particular judgment in the torments that are to come upon it in the last times by the hand of the tyrants who shall arise then, the clearest statement has been given in these passages. But it becomes us further diligently to examine and set forth the period at which these things shall come to pass, and how the little horn shall spring up in their midst. For when the legs of iron have issued in the feet and toes, according to the similitude of the image and that of the terrible beast, as has been shown in the above, (then shall be the time) when the iron and the clay shall be mingled together. Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For he says, “And one week will make a covenant with many, and it shall be that in the midst (half) of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall cease." By one week, therefore, he meant the last week which is to be at the end of the whole world of which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias will take up the half. For they will preach 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the nations.” (my emphasis throughout)

Apparently, Hippolytus is part of the Roman Catholic plot! Is there any wonder then, that the Historicists are a bit enraged (to say the least) when Sir Anderson sums up their pathetic insertions into the historical drama:

“The historical interpreters of prophecy have grasped a principle the importance of which is abundantly proved by the striking parallelisms between the visions of the Apocalypse and the events of the history of Christendom. But not content with this, they have on the one hand brought discredit on prophetic study by wild and arrogant predictions about the end of the world, and on the other, they have reduced their principle of interpretation to a system, and then degraded it to a hobby. The result is fortunate in this respect, that the evil cannot fail to cure itself, and the time cannot be far distant when the ‘continuous historical interpretation,’ in the form and manner in which its champions have propounded it, will be regarded as a vagary of the past” (Sir Anderson’s, The Coming Prince, Note C, Appendix 2).

Thus, having said all of the above . . . delineating the “food fights” among the eschatological schemes within Christendom . . . allow me to dispense with this fray and proceed to the undeniable consequence of Israel’s plight; and of Islam’s irreconcilable difference with the West and what they consider to be the “Puppet of the USA” viz., Israel. Yet, ere we pass from this eschatological imbroglio, let me add a poignant thought: Unless Christians confront the Futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week head-on . . . they will continue to labor under a grand delusion that today’s geopolitical realities are, at best, happenchance, irrelevant and disengaging. Their participation in the greatest hour of human history—history for which they desperately attempt to interpret—will pass them by in ignorance and unbelief. But all those aforementioned “eschatological conflicts” are about to be rendered mute, as the forces of Gog and Magog, and the Syria Card are about to fall!

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

Part 2—The Rise of Gog: Islamism Unleashed . . .

Alliances Form

Having dealt with some of the theological issues facing eschatologists amongst the various forms of Christendom who consider such of great importance in so far as one’s weltanschauung (worldview; e.g., Historicism, Preterism, and Futurism), we now press on into the polarizing world of geopolitical analysis (for the time being keeping our Biblical insight and imperatives on the ready). We do this because we are exhorted in Holy Writ to “speak the words of this prophecy” with clarity and without compromise (Revelation 10:11 . . . “You must prophecy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings”). Simultaneously, and hopefully, as Issachar, “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (I Chronicles 12:32a).

SYRIAN UPDATE

Our last update on the ultimate dropping of the “Syrian Card” on our Road to Damascus left us pondering Syria’s precarious involvement in funding and harboring a network of terrorists (a.k.a. “freedom fighters”) and Iraqi-bound and funded “insurgents” (a.k.a. “terrorists”). Why precarious? Well, just so happens that the USA and Israel “surround” these Islamic socialists and have for better or worse orchestrated a policy of isolation.

Neocons have been talking about Syria’s demise within the context of “democratizing” and “reconfiguration” of the Middle East (ridding it once and for all of international terrorism, and making it “safe for democracy”) (Please see Frank Reilly’s “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth,” regarding Vice President Dick Cheney’s “The Project for a New American Century,” 1992) for an eye opener on why we’ve concluded that the White Horse of the Apocalypse having a field day across the planet!

Isaiah 17 and 18 provided an eschatological picture of Syria’s demise at the hands of a “smooth-skinned, tall, fearsomely-treading down, and terrible people from beyond the immediate environs of the Middle East (reached by sea); a NATION powerful, whose land the rivers divide, and a land once surveyed and a people whose original peoples were subjugated . . . . Guess who? (Isaiah 18:2-3, 7).

Now comes this most recent word on the “Syrian Front” . . . . (and we will be obliged to tie this into Turkey’s “whereabouts” in all this):

“Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahwani told the daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that the men, who are well-organized and trained (i.e., “the insurgents”), include former Baath party members, Islamic militant groups and unemployed former army members. ‘We officially call them terrorists,’ he told the London-based newspaper. ‘They are between 20,000 and 30,000 armed men operating all over Iraq, mainly in the Sunni (central section of Iraq) areas where they receive moral support from about 200,000 people.’

“He said the insurgents receive financial support from former leading Baathist Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed and Sabaawi al-Hassan, a half brother of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Al-Ahmed and al-Hassan are in Syria and easily moving in and out of Iraq, al-Shahwani said. Saddam’s former deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, also is working with insurgents, he said.” (AP, 01/05/05).

Now, as the plot continues to thicken for the build up towards Damascus (pick your road through Mt. Hermon or up the Levant and down into Syria), remember, President Bush has warned Syria about “meddling” in Iraq’s internal affairs (Translation please: “Don’t mess with Texas.”). That goes for Iran too!

US STRATEGIC POLICY IN THE REGION

To understand the immensity of US involvement in the Middle East—notwithstanding the inane thought to dislodge the US Imperialist form the Levant . . . there is no way that the US (dragging her allies along for the ride) has any intention of disengagement from the burgeoning conflict. Anthony Cordesman, back in October, 2002 resoundingly clarified the strategic escalation as fait accompli:

“The punch line is simple. When we talk about Iraq, the Middle East, the Gulf, our strategic interests, and the world’s economy, the fact is that all of our projections of energy supply indicate that we will be dependent on the world’s key source of oil exports for decades to come. We can’t make this going away with fantasies about other energy resources, by political discussions of domestic energy policy that ignore the realities of what such polices can or cannot hope to accomplish, or by exaggerating the role of smaller oil powers. We have one vital strategic interest in the Middle East: energy exports. Barring a technological miracle, that dependence will continue for decades. Our capabilities-based strategy will have to deal with the reality of planning and being ready for a major regional contingency in the Middle East for at least another two decades.”

And, just in case that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is not listening, Anthony’s presentation to this group of Arab interests entombed, PRIOR TO THE INVASION OF IRAQ, let alone the “evolution in military affairs” (A slight “veiled allusion beyond urban warfare anticipated in Iraq and found “elsewhere” in the region?) how all this will come about:

“Moreover, we are critically dependent on “globalism” (get used to it, my comment) in terms of the ability of other nations to buy our exports and invest in our economy. Not only must we compete for oil imports at market prices in a world market – an issue that makes where our oil imports come from in any given period largely irrelevant. Our vital strategic interests depend on the global availability of oil at moderate prices, not on our own imports.

“We are not ‘preempting’ an imminent threat of attack from Iraq, we are carrying out a systematic campaign to deal with a long-standing proximate threat whose weapons of mass destruction may reach an unacceptable level of capability at a time we cannot predict with any precision. The issue is not, therefore, one of whether we preempt in the normal sense, but a very different issue of defining the conditions under which a slow and systematic process of proliferation is so threatening that we should take preventive military action.”

Had enough yet?

“We are not skipping a generation to adopt new tactics and technologies and implement the revolution in military affairs. In fact, we face yet another near term major regional conflict where we must rely on evolving platforms, weapons, and C4I/SR/BM systems—most of which were used in some form in the previous Gulf War.

“We may talk about “netcentric warfare,” but the reality will still be limited by issues like “bandwidth,” the low density of key sensor platforms, communications equipment and problems, intelligence processing and a host of long-standing problems that Afghanistan showed all too clearly still limits our operations. Moreover, we have no convincing mid to long-term architecture that can even define our specific procurement and system goals. At best, we are conducting an ‘evolution in military affairs’ on the basis of constant improvisation and dialectics. (Anthony Cordesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 2002, Draft)

Now, that doesn’t sound like the USA is planning on folding its tents and stilling away into the Arabian night somewhere, does it?

SURROUNDING GOG AND MAGOG (Incl. Syria)

Although we have not gone into (later we will) a full identification of Gog’s entourage, let us note the build up of US Forces in the region—this in light of Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, New Year’s “encouragement” of Syria to police her borders (Translation Please: Stop or we’re coming your way!). Oh, and “flat get out of Lebanon, while you’re at it!”

Indeed, the pre-positioned US Military forces scattered throughout the region . . . ready to pounce upon Syria’s disingenuous behavioral patterns of promoting international terrorism through harboring, training and facilitating mayhem throughout the region—a rather determined endeavor to maintain “Islamic integrity” in the region, one could surmise—bespeak of Cordesman’s original “Strategic Plan” for the region.

Take, for example, this brilliant idea of moving a US “Peace Keeping Force” to join the Brits and other US “sensing devices” already on Cyprus (for starters). Or we could, now that Eastern Europe’s in the bag, try encircling Turkey (hardly an “ally” for overflights during the initial Crusade into Iraq; and also a cause for “deep concern” . . . we’ll get into this later) by setting up four or five bases in Bulgaria (really, not a bad idea thinks NATO’s top commander in Europe, U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Jones). Well, that’s on top of our new bases in Romania:

“‘This was not a planned deployment,’ said Air Force 1st Lt. Chris Watts, a public affairs officer. The Romanian base became a last-minute substitute after Turkey denied basing rights to American troops invading Iraq through the north. That decision ‘changed a lot of things,’ said Watts. The number of Americans in the Constanta area fluctuates between 1,000 and 3,000 people. There are 500 support airmen, plus up to 2,000 troops who are part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force, which monitors air operations in Northern Iraq and provides airlift to troops.

Then, again, take a gander at the gazillion American bases scattered throughout the world (http://www.globemaster.de/regbases.html or http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pentagon/maps/9.html) wherein the 2.4 million USA Armed Forces have the capability of projecting upwards of 75% of its forces “outside” her immediate borders—juxtaposed to Europe’s 2.3 million of which only 2/3% can transverse their given countries!

Wouldn’t you know it; Islam’s beginning to wonder what’s up here:

“U.S. military installations in the region extend from Turkey (or once did) to near the Chinese border, and from former Soviet republics in the north to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The facilities surround Iran; are situated in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and are close to Syria and Lebanon. Several were created to address the confrontation with Iraq, and continue to support operations there.

“‘No one could have anticipated in the summer of 2001 that the United States would be basing forces at Karshi Khanabad, Uzbekistan, (let alone Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) or conducting a major military operation in Afghanistan,’ Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told Congress last year.

“Experts fear the ubiquity of U.S. forces may fuel belief in radical Islamic claims that America is bent on controlling the oil and politics of the Islamic world. A poll that the nonpartisan Pew Research Center conducted in Muslim nations in the region found significant portions of their populations believed just that.

(http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/politics/8258973.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp)

Now, from whence cometh that notion? Oh, well, the Orthodox Georgians can help too; in fact, let’s just make the US Military presence in Georgia PERMANENT! Did someone say encircle?

It just gets a whole lot better . . . like, what is going on here anyway? Are we looking for a MASSIVE BUILDUP of forces in the region? Listen to this and ponder the “ubiquity” of US forces in the region:

“After the first Gulf War, large military bases were left behind in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and basing rights were established in the Gulf States of Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and United Arab Emirates. One prize from the otherwise humiliating Somalia adventure was the acquisition of basing rights across the Red Sea in Yemen’s Port of Aden, where the U.S.S. Cole made its home port. Operations in Yugoslavia resulted in even more bases in Hungary, Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo. In order to conduct the war in Afghanistan, the Bush administration required new bases in Afghanistan herself, as well as various basing rights in Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. According to Campbell’s CSIS study, these ‘new US bases in Central Asia, established to assist the Afghan campaign, may end up serving longer term aims, such as prosecuting the war on terrorism or, perhaps, checking a rising China.’”

“Although there may never have been a plan to establish permanent military bases in Iraq herself, the neocons have known all along that until Iraq is stabilized—which may still take a long time—all the lily pads in the Persian Gulf region are in danger.

“There need not be a major conflict for new bases to be established. As part of the War on Drugs’ Plan Colombia, a number of bases were established within and around Colombia in the 1990’s. This included forward bases in Honduras, Ecuador, Curacao, Peru, and Brazil. During Operation Enduring Freedom, the Philippines were reoccupied only a few years after U.S. withdrawal. Even Poland and some Black Sea ports (Romania and now Bulgaria and Cyprus, as well as Greece and Italy) saw the establishment of new bases last year to help with the most recent Iraq conflict.

“Apart from a pretty wide gap in Africa and another across mainland East Asia, the U.S. military now has forces deployed throughout the arc of instability. China will likely remain a problem for years to come, but, as far as Africa is concerned, the Wall Street Journal reported in June that the United States plans to create bases from Djibouti, on the Red Sea, across North Africa to Morocco, on the Atlantic.” (Sean Moir, Valley Forge, PA, Chronicles Magazine)

ENOUGH TO DRIVE YOU CRAZY . . . from Russia with love!

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. That’s why the US is complaining to high heaven that Russia is violating an unsigned agreement!

On January 12, Kommersant (Russian Publication) reported that Russian-Israeli relations were on the rocks. Why? Well, Syria’s young President, Bashar al-Assad, is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss deliveries of the Igla shoulder-held anti-aircraft missiles worth $20 million. The deal will be signed in St. Petersburg on January 24-28, 2005. Again, wouldn’t you know it . . . here we were trying to get an agreement with the Ruskies to stop this kind of stuff and then, of all things, before we could cut our deal with the Vladimir, he goes off and pulls this!

“At the same time as Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov was holding talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher was meeting with journalists. ‘The US policy on this is very clear. We’re against the sale of weaponry to Syria, against the sale of lethal military equipment to Syria, which is a state sponsor of terrorism,’ Mr. Boucher said icily. ‘The Russians know about our views.’ Without elaborating, he spoke of some kind of specific deal, abstractly threatening Russia with sanctions: ‘The practice of imposing sanctions exists under US law. And we will have to consider it, if such a deal takes place.’”

Isn’t it interesting that Israel is sideways with the Russians too? To wit:

“As the Israeli press has reported, this is not the first such request. According to Israeli media information, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent a message to President Putin several months ago saying that Russia was breaking promises given to Israel and endangering the Jewish state. According to Israeli sources, the Russian side tried to calm Israel, explaining that Syria would not be getting Igla shoulder-held systems but rather vehicle-mounted units that were much more difficult to convey secretly to terrorists. However, the Israelis were not satisfied with these promises: Iglas are easily dismounted from vehicles and once again turned into portable units.” (January 17, 2005 Kommersant, Russia’s First Independent Daily . . .Dmitry Sidorov, Washington; Grigory Asmolov, Jerusalem; Mikhail Zygar, Konstantin Lantratov provided information for this article. Note: A full breakdown on Syria’s missile capabilities are provided at the Kommersant site).

Meanwhile, Hamas (radical arm of Palestinian “resistance”) simply refuses to go along with the new cease fire proposed by newly elected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Coupled with the myriad of suicide bombs is Israel’s recent spat with Hezbollah (a.k.a. “The Party of God” and the Syrian connection)—all helping to keep the pot boiling.

ENTER THE TURKS

Ever since the Turks, under Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan’s “Justice and Development Party” (Turkish: Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi or AKP . . . a “moderate” Islamic party which emerged from the demise of the staunchly Islamist Welfare Party after the Turkish military broke it up in 2000) refused USA overflights during the Iraqi incursion, things have gone terribly bad between the two (i.e., the USA and Turkey).

Of course, this spat is amplified by the “Kurdish Question” afflicting not only Turkey, but Syria and Iran (let alone Iraq).

In late 2004 PM Erdogan signed a free-tree accord with former enemy Syria—making an unprecedented and landmark two-day visit to Damascus.

“‘We are in agreement. We want a comprehensive cooperation in the region,’ said the Syrian premier, adding that Erdogan had also agreed to increase the flow of water into Syria . . . a ‘new era’ in relations began when Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad visited Turkey in January (2004) on the first such visit by a Syrian head of state . . . Turkey has pushed for closer relations with Syria since the US-led invasion of Iraq, despite warnings from Washington to limit its cooperation with Damascus . . . Turkey and Syria have since the March 2003 invasion of neighboring Iraq signed a series of economic and security agreements, including one to jointly combat crime and terrorism (Kurds?).

And one more thing:

“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, war-torn Iraq and the Kurdish question also figured in the Otri (Syrian)/Erdogan talks.” (Burak Akinci, “Newly found friendship between Turkey and Syria,” November 23, 2004, Middle East Online)

Furthermore, Turkey and Syria issued (01/04) a joint warning over moves that could damage the “territorial integrity” of Iraq. Also, ever since Syria turned over Abd Allah Ocalan and his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who’d been waging a bitter separatist campaign against the Turkish government, tensions between Syrian and Turkey measurably improved.

But it only gets better:

“But today the situation is far different (i.e., the relationship between the USA and Turkey). On May 20, 2004, for example, Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused both Israel and the United States of ‘state terror.’ The pro-AKP press was vociferous in its anti-American tone, especially after the start of the war. Columnist Ahmet Taşgetiren, for example, wrote in Yeni Şafak that, the ‘administration that President Bush shares with the neo-cons has created a logic of use of force which brings shame to its nation just as Hitler's.’ The Iraq war also added fuel to the Islamist fire in Turkey. Both the pro-AKP Yeni Şafak and the once-marginal Vakit—which opposes the AKP only in its pro-EU agenda—have moved into the mainstream with conspiracy theories to explain how the Iraq campaign is a U.S.-Jewish-Israeli attempt to dominate the Middle East. (Soner Cagaptay, “Where Goes the U.S. Turkish Relationship? The Middle East Forum, Fall 2004, Vol. XI)

Cagaptay emphasizes that the anti-Americanism in Turkish society is found, not only in the Islamist camp, but in virtually all segments of the population with Turkish newspapers “awash with theories attributing all problems in the Middle East to the United States.”

When Turkey blocked overflights and opening up a two-front war in Iraq by the US-led coalition, it automatically threw the US into the arms of the Iraqi Kurdish militias (who now demand a reward for their efforts to secure Northern Iraq . . . and, Americans seem obliged). Is it any wonder that the once pro-American Turkish military now suspects that the USA, as a result of fostering a “Kurdish proto-state in Iraq,” believe the US had an “Independent Kurdistan” in mind from the beginning?

The Kurdish populations of the region (outlined in black) are sizeable (Turkey: 12 million; Iran: 7 million; Iraq: 5 million; Syria: Less than 2 million); so, 25+ million constitutes a horrendous problem for these nations!

TURKEY AND ISRAEL

Once considered a positive “working relationship” between Turkey and Israel (e.g., military exchanges, trade, etc.), that relationship has all but unraveled, given the current rhetoric coming out of Ankara. When Israel targeted killing Hamas leaders (who were targeting Israelis), PM Erdoğan referred to the killings (viz., Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin) as a ‘terrorist act.’ The daily Yeni Şafak labeled Yassin’s assassination ‘Israeli Terrorism.’

The fact that Islamicists in Turkey are clamoring for closer ties with Iran and the Arab Middle East, doesn’t bode well for either Washington or Israel.

TURKEY—IRAN—SYRIA (Music) . . . “So Happy Together”

The prospect for such an alliance (given their mutual concerns in opposition to an independent Kurdish state, and their animosities towards the USA for a whole variety of reasons) is a thought postulated by some pundits in the region.

For one, Syria and Iran have already formed a military alliance. Iran’s stunning reversal not to conclude such “military agreements” took place at the close of February, 2004. The “defense pact” was signed in Damascus committing Iran to Syria’s defense against “the Zionist entity” (a.k.a. “Israel). Syria had encouraged the military ties.

“Sources in Tehran say the Iranians were at first reluctant to commit to a course that could make war with Israel almost inevitable. All changed sometime last November when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian ‘Supreme Guide,’ decided that the only way to deal with the perceived threat from America was to raise the cost of any attempt by Washington to implement further ‘regime changes’ in the Middle East.” (“AN AXIS RESURGENT—Regimes in Iran, Syria forge new ties,” by Amir Taheri, New York Post February 28, 2004).

Now, we’re talking about a formidable arrangement. The Iranians have for years supported Syrian-Lebanese based Hezbollah and their war against Israel. Iran’s defense minister, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani (who signed the pact with his Syrian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Mustafa Tlas) said the “defense pact” extends to Lebanon! Consequently, off to Beirut went Shamkhani where he presided over a “war council” wherein “the entire political and military leadership of Hezbollah” was in attendance. Topic: “Closer coordination between Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of whom are backed by Iran.”

It must be understood that the “defense pact” is superimposed over an already existing Iranian military presence in Lebanon and Syria.

“The Iranian military mission in Damascus consists of over 500 officers and experts in weaponry and military intelligence. The Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard has a contingent of 1,200 men in Lebanon on missions including training, deployment and maintenance of certain categories of weapons, and military intelligence.” (An Axis Resurgent)

Basically, what Syrian did was to “formalize” an already existing arrangement that Iran had with these organizations and broadened it to include Damascus; however, the “depth” of the current military pact is astounding, especially when Iran’s defense minister Shamkhani said, “Iran, in turn, must be regarded as Syria’s geo-strategic depth.”

Thus, we have the cozy relationship between Syria and Iran, and between Turkey and Syria, now how about Turkey and Iran?

According to columnist Kamuran Ozbir from Istanbul:

“The thought is very attractive (such a threefold alliance) and dates back a long way. Should it be actualized then it could have major and strategic effects both regionally and internationally. In fact, it could have repercussions similar to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Arab nationalist movement of the 1950s and Ataturk’s revolution at the start of the last century.” (Istanbul Ortadogu (Ankara Edition) 26 Jul 04, p. 6).

This Turko-Farsi-Arab triumvirate has but one thing in mind: To stop the USA-Israeli Axis from “democratizing” them!

“Everybody knows that the reason for the attack on Iraq was that the American administration sees this place as the start point for changing the region and the world . . . and the material at the head of every tense and delicate development: oil!” (Ozbir)

Now, how did they figure that out? Shortly after Ozbir’s article (January 27, 2004), PM Erdogan headed for Iran:

“Its timing is interesting because it is taking place just at a time when Turkey’s relations with Israel are cooling, particularly as a result of harsh criticism by Tayyip Erdogan himself, and when the animosity between Israel and Iran has become more intense.” (Cengiz Candar, “Where To With Iran? And How Far?” 27 Jul 04, Istanbul Ortadogu (Ankara Edition).

Candar cites PM Erdogan’s brilliant suggestion to the Iranians:

“We could wage war together, with a force in which Syria would also participate, against the efforts to establish an independent Kurdish state in our region.”

“IRAQ CHIMES IN” . . . and the music continues . . .

Well, how about Iraq’s Interim Administration, where do they fit in, now that the USA a strides the banks of the Tigris? Behold the prophetic words of Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (himself a Kurd!) at a regional meeting held in Cairo:

“Instability in Iraq will not remain in Iraq, but will spread into the surrounding areas” (and without providing names, pointed to Syria and Iran as being responsible for the instability in Iraq).

Zebari’s charges against both Iran and Syria for fomenting violence and undercutting Iraqi efforts at “democracy” are well known:

“Iran is Iraq’s number one enemy . . . supporting terrorism and sending enemies to Iraq . . . a good many people who had fought in Afghanistan have been captured in Iraq, and these individuals have confessed that they received assistance from the Iranian security forces.” (Candar)

And now, a little Biblical conclusion . . .

“PERSIA . . . GOMER . . . THE HOUSE OF TOGARMAH”

The Gog-Magog conflagration prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39 in light of all that has been said, presents an utterly astounding picture (which we will see in depth in our next article) of what we are witnessing this very moment in these aforementioned “realignments” and geo-political reconfigurations.

Ezekiel 38:1-6 “The word of the Lord came to me; Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army - your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops - the many nations with you.’”

It is exceedingly accurate to assume that both Gomer and Togarmah are ancient tribes and peoples within the modern state of Turkey. The coalition of forces mentioned in Ezekiel 38:6 include Gomer, the first son of Japheth. The “Gomerites” were considered the ancient Cimmerians who were expelled from the southern steppes of Russia around 700 B.C. into what is today’s Turkey. “Togarmah” (the third son of Gomer) was in Ezekiel’s day a city in the region of Cappodocia (Turkey) and was known by various names (Tagarma, Takarama, Tegarma, Til-garimmu).

Persia, is far and away the easiest of designations: Modern Iran.

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

Part 3-The Rise of Gog: Identifying Gog,

Persian Update

Summary and Introduction

To the chagrin, dismay, and a whole lot of doomsday consternation on the part of both Christian and “secularists,” those of us within the “futurist” camp of the Church are endlessly assailed for perpetuating myth and hyping Armageddon scenarios ad infinitum, ad nausea!

Some go so far as to say we’re “aiding and abetting” none other than President George W. Bush in his evangelical “Armageddon” mindset (akin to that of Ronald Reagan’s). Some are amused at our persistence to fit every possible event on the planet into the “beginning of sorrows” scenario and, ipso facto, enflaming the simpletons “out there” that it’s all comin’ down . . . so go ahead, “You’re not hurting me; just makin’ a fool out of yourself!”

Not so with a goodly number of “secularists” who view us as part and parcel of a vast right wing conspiracy or a bunch of crazies akin to a deviant strain of apocalyptic insanity just when the planet’s careening out of control (like we really need this now) here comes another anarchist!

Then we have our beloved Protestant Historicists who are convinced that we’ve somehow missed the whole point and have purposefully or unwittingly swallowed the whole Jesuit enchilada that the Papacy is NOT the Antichrist and are chasing “eschatological rainbows” . . . or, worse yet, that we’re involved in an insidious Zionist conspiracy, ultimately designed to blow up the Dome of the Rock!

Finally, our Preterist brethren (Protestants and Catholics), who think all Biblical Prophecy within the book of Revelation was fulfilled somewhere around the destruction of the Herodian Temple under Rome’s Titus in 70 A.D., think we’re either deeply deceived, crackpots, and even theologically dangerous—especially in the age of the internet.

Well, accusations and delirium aside, we who affirm that the “Climax of the Ages” – including the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland (I know that grates a bunch of you out there) – is upon us. We simply cannot contemplate (given the immense importance that our Lord put on the close of this age prior to His Second Coming . . . Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and His statements within John’s book of Revelation . . . to say nothing of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and a host of Hebrew Prophets who spoke of this time) that the Scriptures leave humankind hopelessly adrift, without addressing the most turbulent time in history! Neither can we fathom a God Who would not reveal and unseal those mysteries to His people within the framework of the entire Word of God—attesting by the “signs of the time” that these climactic events are upon us in absolute confirmation of His original deliveries regarding these “end of days.”

As we have in our other writings contested:

(1) The Rise of Antichrist; the Revival of Western Empire (i.e., Rome); the onslaught of Apostasy afflicting the Church; the Ingathering of the Exiles (i.e., the Jews) to their ancient homeland; “The Beginning of Sorrows” concomitant with the Rise of Antichrist . . . . are upon us NOW! (Revelation 6; Matthew 24:3-8; Ezekiel 36-37; Luke 21:29-33)

(2) Economic and military “Globalism” is the manifestation of The King of Babylon’s Rule and Reign . . . it is the leadership of the West, the USA, whose “hegemonic” might encircles the globe as no other empire has since Rome (dwarfing the Imperial Power of antiquity)—this is a fulfillment of salient prophetical passages from Daniel and the Revelation, and confirmed by other Scriptures in both Testaments. That this Empire is both commercial and military, buttressed and welcoming support by the Apostate Church—and that is a “Great Deception!” (Daniel 8:23-26, 11:35-39, 11:40-45; Revelation 13, especially 13:4; and his economic hegemony in Revelation 18)

(3) Events in the Middle East will unfold by:

(a) The ingathering of the Jews to Palestine (fate accompli) (throughout Scripture, esp. Ezekiel 36 and 37)

(b) The pre-positioning of the West’s Forces throughout the Middle East (fate accompli) (Daniel 11:40-45, Isaiah 18, among others)

(c) Syria (Damascus), the puppet government in Lebanon (Tyre); and the stronghold in Ephraim, as well as Biblical Gaza (i.e., the Palestinian Authority)—all three are prophesied, prior to the Gog-Magog conflagration, to be a “ruinous heap” (Syria; Isaiah 18); “destroyed and devoured” (Lebanon; Zechariah 9:3-4); or “fearful, very sorrowful, her expectations dried, its leadership perished, and shall not be inhabited and her pride will be cut off” (the Palestinian Authority; Zechariah 9:5-6) (These Scriptures must be taken in light of their continuity with the remainder of Zechariah 9:9 through chapter 14).

(d) The Gog-Magog Conflagration will take place either immediately preceding or after the infamous signing of “a defense pact” between Israel and Antichrist (Daniel 9:27, Isaiah 28:15 and 18); and furthermore, these “forces of Gog” (both those nations to Israel’s north and south) are clearly delineated in Ezekiel 38 and 39 wherein Israel is the target of their wrath; and that in Daniel 11:40-45 and Isaiah 17:12-14 and Isaiah 18:1-7 the Antichrist and his forces are the target of Gog’s wrath (the same conflagration, however). The outcome of this conflagration is determinant . . . the immediate rebuilding of the Jewish Temple and the reinstitution of the sacerdotal rites; with the forces of Gog destroyed (Ezekiel 38-39)

(e) The “Testimony of the Two Witnesses” (Israel and the Church, Revelation 11:3-6) will commence upon the signing of the aforementioned “Treaty with Death and Sheol” and a great world revival will ensue as prophesied in Revelation 14:14-16; simultaneously with the onslaught of the Four Horseman of the Revelation (Revelation 6:1-17). This is the first half of the 70th Week of Daniel (although the “revival” extends into the 2nd Half of Daniel’s 70th Week (Revelation 11:3; Daniel 12:3)).

(f) “The Abomination of Desolation” (which could transpire within the context of a rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem) occurs in the “midst” of Daniel’s 70th Week and is both “spiritual” (i.e., the incarnation of Satan into the body of Antichrist; transforming him into the “Man of Sin,” “the Lawless One,” and the Son of Perdition (among other titles)) wherein he becomes the BEAST (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 36; 7:8, 25; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; II Thessalonians 2:3-12; Revelation 11:7; 12:9, 12, 17; 13:1-8; 17:8-13).

(g) The final 3 ½ days/years of Daniel’s 70th Week will witness the beast who will “make war against them, overcome them, and kill them . . . (make) war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 11:7; 12:17).

(h) The final 3 ½ days/years of Daniel’s 70th Week is called in the Hebrew Scriptures, “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Daniel 12:1) and “The Great Tribulation” in the New Testament (Revelation 7:14) . . . and after 3 ½ days/years the Rapture and the Resurrection of the Righteous will occur (Revelation 11:11-12; Daniel 12:2; I Thessalonians 4:12-18).

(i) The “Wrath of the Lamb” will be poured out upon the earth and the ultimate, final campaign of Armageddon will take place (I Thessalonians 5:9-11; Revelation 18:4; Revelation 14:17-20; Revelation 11:14 and 18; Revelation 16:1-17).

(j) Within the “bowls of the wrath of God on the earth” will be the final judgment of Babylon the Great (Revelation 17, 18 and 19)—including Apostate Babylon (Rev. 17); Commercial Babylon (Rev. 18); and, Political Babylon (i.e., the King of Babylon) (Rev. 19).

(k) Simultaneously following the judgment upon Babylon the Great, will be the Second Coming of the Messiah, who shall reveal Himself in fullness to both Jew and Gentile, wherein “All Israel shall be saved/delivered” (Romans 11:26; Isaiah 59:20-21; Zechariah 12:10-13:7); this will usher in the “Messianic Era” known as the Millennium (Zechariah 14; Revelation 11:15, 20:4-6; Daniel 7:26-27). This is the “Messianic Scenario.”

(l) Note: Incumbent upon the understanding of the “intensity” of these Last Days’ prophecies is the “prophetical realization” that the “spirit of antichrist” has already gone out into the world from the times of the early Church (I John 2:18). Although MANY of the prophetical accounts have general historical applications (i.e., an “initial application” or “adumbrative significance” throughout the “Church Age”) their “specificity” or literal fulfillment is, nevertheless, MANDATORY at the close and/or transition of the present age; only then, do the Scriptures convey continuity of meaning and spiritual cohesion. Historicism and Preterism, although well-intentioned, simply cannot account (though gallant be their attempts) for vast portions of eschatological applications. Obfuscating Israel’s materiality and fixating upon the Papacy as the Seat of Antichrist, has blurred the vision of believers to “stand and deliver” in these most critical of times (Revelation 11); and, consequently, dimmed their prophetical witness!

GOG and MAGOG . . . THEIR IDENTITY

Gog (Ezekiel 38:2-3, 14, 16, 18, 39:1, 11; Revelation 20:8) is a satanic principality (Cf. Daniel 10:13, 20). Behind the operations and implementations of the image/kingdoms witnessed in Daniel’s visions (Daniel 2:32-45; 7-8; 10:10-11:45) are those vile inspirations spoken of in Ephesians 6:12 and alluded to in Colossians 1:16, 2:10, 15; Romans 8:38; Ephesians 1:21, and 3:10. They, like their antitheses, Michael and Gabriel (Daniel 10:13, 21, 12:1, Jude 9, Rev. 12:7; Daniel 8:1, 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26) occupy the highest angelic capacities (Gog/Satan; Michael and Gabriel of the Almighty’s command). These are the “Archangels” mentioned in Scripture (I Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 9); whereof G. H. Pember comments in his text, Earth’s Earliest Ages:

“In the tenth chapter of Daniel we read of the Satanic Prince of Persia, and also of the Prince of Grecia; but the angel of the Lord who opposes the former does not take a similar title. Nay, from his own words we may see that his post is no permanency; he is merely sent down for a special purpose, and retires when it is accomplished, leaving the Prince of Grecia unassailed. And how deeply significant, how worthy of our most solemn thought, is his complaint that, upon his entrance into the heaven of our earth, he found, with a solitary exception, all its principalities either hostile or indifferent! (Dan. x. 21.) From the whole region of the vast rebel empire there came forth but one loyal prince of God to aid him in his conflict with the power of darkness. This faithful archangel was Michael; nor is it difficult to account for his presence in the regions of the air. For he is described to Daniel as “your prince,” and afterwards as “the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people” (Dan. x. 21; xii. 1). It appears, then, that he is the spiritual ruler of Israel; and so, that when God chose a people upon the earth for Himself, He took them out of the jurisdiction (Acts xxvi. 18; Col. i. 13) of Satan, and appointed one of His own princes to govern and protect them. Hence with fierce enmity the Prince of Darkness seems to have matched himself against Michael, and to have directed in person his desperate assaults upon the alienated principality. One of his victories is recorded in the Book of Chronicles, where we are told how he “stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel” (I Chron. xxi. 1).” (G. H. Pember, Earth’s Earliest Ages, Kregel Publications, pp. 43-44 and Chapter 2).

Gog is referred to in Ezekiel 38:2 and 38:3 as the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”

“. . . set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal . . . I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”

Furthermore, the recitation of Revelation 20:7-8 suggests not only is Gog and his allies, Magog, beyond the frame of fallen humanity and principality, but the very “spiritual essence” and personhood of Satan himself reveals Gog’s true identity; for Satan is bound a 1,000 years and released from his prison after his Millennial incarceration:

“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:7-8 also 20:9-10).

Thence, we are persuaded that behind these earthly kingdoms (e.g., Persia, Greece and the prophetic Meshech and Tubal) is an archangelic figure, the fallen Prince of this World and of the Power of the Air (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; Ephesians 2:2) whose warlike identity/descriptions constrains us to see this is but an amplification of his activity, and thusly, we conclude this is none other than Beelzebub, the “PRINCE OF THE DEVILS” himself (Matthew 9:34, 12:24; Mark 3:22)!

Even so, as Babylon’s great political “Ruler of this World” his description fits that of the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:3-23; Jeremiah 51:25, 44); and of the Prince and King of Tyre—Babylon’s “Commercial Empire” of the Last Days (Ezekiel 27 and 28) wherein it is said: “You were the anointed cherub who covers . . . you were on the holy mountain of God . . . you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you . . . by the abundance of your trading (merchandise) you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stone” (Ezekiel 28:14-16).

Gog is his actions, but behind the activity of his name is the “Destroying Mountain” –the Prince of Meshech and Tubal, of all those who follow in his train (Magog) and profane with disgust what God has chosen. For as “the Dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born . . . her Child (Jesus) was caught up to God and His throne (His ascension) . . . so the Great Dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him . . . and the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God (Israel) and have the testimony of Jesus” (the Church) (Revelation 12:4, 9, 17). Thus, he as Gog has come to devour Israel, though they be a “Valley of Dry Bones” and deceptively do they assume their “safety” and have taken down their walls (Ezekiel 38:11). Now, let us identify the armies of Gog: Magog. But prior to our departure, may I confirm these discoveries by the exegesis of the great Bible expositor, former editor of Eternity Magazine, and Senior Pastor of Philadelphia’s 10th Presbyterian Church, whose “Expositional Commentary on the Revelation” is perhaps his foremost eschatological accomplishment and gift to the Church in these Last Days, the late Donald Grey Barnhouse:

“We do not think that the portion of Dr. Scofield’s note which would make Gog the prince and Magog the land will stand the test of careful scrutiny after reading the chapters. The phrase ‘the land of Magog’ no more means that Magog is land than the phrase ‘the land of Hitler’ would mean that Hitler was the land. We believe that both Gog and Magog must be looked upon as personalities, whether human or of the spirit realm remains to be seen . . . .

“Gog and Magog in Ezekiel clearly refer to personages who are active a thousand years before this scene in the Apocalypse (Ref. Revelation 20:7-10). There can be no doubt whatsoever that the great struggle in which they are involved in the Old Testament prophecy is that which leads up to the battle of Armageddon. This is clearly indicated by the statements that after the destruction of the armies of these leaders, ‘The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward’ (Ezek. 39:22). The thousand years most certainly follow the incidents concerning Gog and Magog in Ezekiel’s prophecy.

“But we also see, in Ezekiel, that Gog and all his multitude is buried (Ezek. 39:11) at the time he is destroyed. This would give clear indication that there is a human being involved. But we believe that there is more than this. Not from speculation but from legitimate inference we can discern one or two other details. In Ezekiel we have two beings, Gog and Magog, who are leaders in the revolt against God and His people. They come under the wrath of God and their forces are destroyed. But a thousand years later, in the end of the final test of man, we find Satan loosed from his prison and somehow involved with characters with these same names. We believe, therefore, that just as Satan entered into Judas (John 13:27), whether personally or through one of his mighty principalities and powers we do not know, and as Satan clothed the human being called the wild beast, with his power, his throne, and great authority (Rev. 13:2), thus making him the Antichrist, so Satan possesses some princeling, perhaps named Gog, through one of his mighty angels who own his sway. A more striking example may be found elsewhere in Ezekiel where we see a being who is clearly a man, the prince of Tyre, leading us on to a description of another being, the king of Tyre, who is clearly Satan.

“That, then, which has satisfied our minds in this matter, is that some of Satan’s mighty angels, principalities, or powers which rule the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12), take hold of earth’s dictators, use them for their ends, and are defeated by God at the great conflict of the destruction at Armageddon. The human instrumentalities are destroyed, but the demon forces live on, held back by the power of God until Satan is released after the thousand years. Whereupon they seize again some willing earthling and seek to lead the peoples against God in their final rebellion” (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation, An Expositional Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House, pp. 387-8)

Dr. Barnhouse’s exegesis does not vary from our own, only in that we have determined, without caveat, that behind and within the fallen human and principality is their incarnate Thief . . . . “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (John 10:10; II Corinthians 11:14-15).

. . . . to be continued as Gog bestirs Magog

. . . .but I leave you with this just in from the eyes and ears of our network of our . . .

PERSIAN UPDATE

WASHINGTON (CNN) –

“The Bush administration has been carrying out secret reconnaissance missions to learn about nuclear, chemical and missile sites in Iran in preparation for possible air strikes there, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday (January 16, 2005). The effort has been under way at least since last summer, Hersh said on CNN's ‘Late Edition.’

“In an interview on the same program, White House Communications
Director Dan Bartlett said the story was ‘riddled with inaccuracies.’
‘I don't believe that some of the conclusions he’s drawing are based on
fact,’ Bartlett said. Iran has refused to dismantle its nuclear program, which it insists is legal and is intended solely for civilian purposes. Hersh said U.S. officials were involved in ‘extensive planning’ for a
possible attack – ‘much more than we know.’ ‘The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids,’ he wrote in ‘The New Yorker’ magazine, which published his article in editions that will be on newsstands Monday.

“Hersh is a veteran journalist who was the first to write about many
details of the abuses of prisoners Abu Ghraib in Baghdad.
He said his information on Iran came from ‘inside’ sources who divulged
it in the hope that publicity would force the administration to
reconsider. ‘I think that’s one of the reasons some of the people on the inside talk to me,’ he said. Hersh said the government did not answer his request for a response before the story's publication, and that his sources include people in government whose information has been reliable in the past. Hersh said Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld view Bush’s re-election as ‘a mandate to continue the war on terrorism,’ despite problems with the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

“Last week, the effort to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq --
the Bush administration’s stated primary rationale for the war -- was
halted after having come up empty. The secret missions in Iran, Hersh said, have been authorized in order to prevent similar embarrassment in the event of military action there. ‘The planning for Iran is going ahead even though Iraq is a mess,’ Hersh said. ‘I think they really think there’s a chance to do something in Iran, perhaps by summer, to get the intelligence on the sites.’ He added, ‘The guys on the inside really want to do this.’

“Hersh identified those inside people as the ‘neoconservative’ civilian
leadership in the Pentagon. That includes Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith --
’the sort of war hawks that we talk about in connection with the war in
Iraq.’ And he said the preparation goes beyond contingency planning and
includes detailed plans for air attacks: ‘The next step is Iran. It's definitely there. They’re definitely planning ... But they need the intelligence first.’ Emphasizing ‘diplomatic initiatives.’

“Bartlett said the United States is working with its European allies to
help persuade Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons. Asked if military action is an option should diplomacy fail, Bartlett said, ‘No president at any juncture in history has ever taken military options off the table.’ But Bush ‘has shown that he believes we can emphasize the diplomatic
initiatives that are under way right now,’ he said.

“Hersh said U.S. officials believe that a U.S. attack on Iran might
provoke an uprising by Iranians against the hard-line religious leaders
who run the government. Similar arguments were made ahead of the
invasion of Iraq, when administration officials predicted U.S. troops
would be welcomed as liberators.

“And Hersh said administration officials have chosen not to include
conflicting points of view in their deliberations -- such as
predictions that any U.S. attack would provoke a wave of nationalism
that would unite Iranians against the United States.

“‘As people say to me, when it comes to meetings about this issue, if
you don’t drink the Kool-Aid, you can’t go to meetings,’ he said. ‘That
isn’t a message anybody wants to hear.’ The plans are not limited to Iran, he said. ‘The president assigned a series of findings and executive orders
authorizing secret commando groups and other special forces units to
conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as
many as 10 nations in the Middle East and South Asia,’ he wrote.

“Under the secret plans, the war on terrorism would be led by the
Pentagon, and the power of the CIA would be reduced, Hersh wrote in his
article. ‘It's sort of a great victory for Donald Rumsfeld, a bureaucratic
victory, Hersh told CNN. He said: ‘Since the summer of 2002, he’s been advocating, ‘Let me run this war, not the CIA. We can do it better. We’ll send our boys in. We don’t have to tell their local military commanders. We don’t have to tell the ambassadors. We don’t have to tell the CIA station chiefs in various countries. Let’s go in and work with the bad guys and see what we can find out.’

“Hersh added that the administration has chipped away at the CIA’s power
and that newly appointed CIA Director Porter Goss has overseen a purge
of the old order. ‘He’s been committing sort-of ordered executions’ Hersh said. ‘He’s been -- you know, people have been fired, they’ve been resigning.’ The target of the housecleaning at the CIA, he said, has been
intelligence analysts, some of whom are seen as ‘apostates -- as
opposed to being true believers.’”

“Set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog . . . Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Gog . . . I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army . . . all of them handling swords . . . Persia . . . after many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and all of them dwell safely . . . you (i.e., Gog) will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you . . . on that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan” (Ezekiel 38:2-5, 8-10).

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

Part 4—Gog’s Opposition: The Antichrist

THE FOCI OF GOG-MAGOG (Who’s being attacked?)

40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:40-45).

1 “The word of the LORD came to me: 2 ‘Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army-your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops-the many nations with you’” (Ezekiel 38:1-6).

There are at least two major portions of Scripture which depict the coming confrontation between the forces of Gog, along with his allies known as Magog, AND the forces of Antichrist (whose forces will be pre-positioned throughout the Middle East and strategically in cooperation with the IDF (i.e., the Israeli Defense Forces)). These Scriptures are found in Daniel 11 and in Ezekiel 38 and 39; and to some extent in Isaiah 17 and 18.

Again, the primary focus of the confrontation in Daniel 11 is between the forces of “The King of the North,” along with the “King of the South,” in concert against the forces of Antichrist; whereas the focus of this very same struggle in the book of Ezekiel pits Gog and Magog against Israel. In other words, we are speaking here of the SAME CONFRONTATION; however, Daniel illuminates the forces of Gog and Magog as the “King of the North” and the “King of the South” who come up against the pre-positioned forces of Antichrist (obviously positioned between the two “Kings”). If you would, Daniel’s perspective is within the context of the exile and his strategic orientation emphasizes “Gentile World Power”; therefore, the embattlement highlights a “pincer movement” “against him/engage him” (i.e., Antichrist . . . . the final leader of Gentile World Power).

On the other hand, what we witness in Ezekiel’s account clearly focuses the forces of Gog and Magog (while delineating specific tribes/nations and people both to the north (a.k.a., “King of the North”) and to the south of Israel (a.k.a. “King of the South”) in their coordinated attack against Israel. We are obliged to suggest that the pre-positioned forces of Antichrist and those of Israel, since the attack is lodged against both of them, are closely coordinating their defenses and offenses!

ANTICHRIST DOES NOT ATTACK ISRAEL (at this point)

Some expositors suggest that the forces of Antichrist (in Daniel 11) are attacking Israel in that Daniel 11:41 states: “He (Antichrist) will also enter the Beautiful Land (i.e., “the glorious land” which is “glorious” to Daniel’s “people” or to “Israel”), and many countries shall be overthrown (but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon or what is today’s Jordan) . . . and he (Antichrist) shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Daniel 11:41, and 45).

There is, however, no suggestion in Daniel 11:40-45 that Antichrist attacks Israel (i.e., Please stick to the literal meaning of the text!). In Daniel 9:27 “the coming prince” (i.e., Antichrist) concludes a seven-year “defense pact” with Israel. This “treaty” is supportive (deceptively so, however) of Israel’s immediate defense needs, as well as (in all likelihood) Israel’s aspirations for the restoration of her Temple and the sacerdotal rites associated with it. Either the Gog/Magog confrontation precipitates such “a covenant/treaty/defense pact” or such a “treaty” concludes the outcome of the Gog/Magog War and ipso facto, initiates the 70th Week of Daniel. In Ezekiel 38 and 39 the lands of Jordan are conspicuously absent from the federation of nations allied with Gog; and, for that matter, Dedan and Sheba (ancient lands/nations/tribes within the Saudi Arabian Peninsula appear remiss with the intentions of Gog.

In point of fact, Dedan, Sheba AND “The Merchants of Tarshish” (i.e., the West, headed up by the USA; with the emphasis being upon an “International Trading Empire” akin to that of ancient Tyre) are in direct opposition to the intentions of Gog/Magog, primarily for “economic reason” (Are we surprised?):

13 “Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?’” (Ezekiel 38:13).

Again, we will discuss at greater length these “ancient designations” but now we clarify the major alliances juxtaposed to one another and the chronology of this singular confrontation.

Let me quote Robert Duncan Culver’s classic work, Daniel and the Latter Days (Dr. Culver was formerly professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Grace Seminary and Professor of Bible and Apologetics at Wheaton College and Trinity Seminary in Chicago), and clarify an “apparent discrepancy,” between our analysis and that of Dr. Culver’s, while reinforcing our conclusions as to this “initial confrontation” between the forces of Antichrist/Israel against those of Gog/King of the North/King of the South.

“He (Antichrist) shall seek to destroy Israel (referencing Daniel 11:41, 45) in his own “glorious land” (Palestine) and to obliterate the then revived worship of Israel in the land. This is the most obvious explanation of the statements that ‘he shall enter also into the glorious land,’ and that ‘he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain.’ Most commentators of all schools admit that this is, indeed, the literal meaning. We further believe that the prophecy, ‘he shall come to his end, and none shall help him,’ is fully explained in a literal fashion by Paul (II Thess. 2:2 ff.) and by John Rev. 19:11 ff.). This interpretation accepts the doctrines of a final Antichrist, of a restoration of Israel to the land in the latter part of this age, and of a millennium during which Israel is blessed to follow this age.” (Robert Duncan Culver, Daniel and the Latter Days, p. 169)

Ostensibly, we are not in disagreement with Dr. Culver. To the contrary, the progression of confrontations in Daniel 11:40-45 substantiate our thesis; namely: Antichrist is initially supportive (allied with) and defending Israel and this may be as a result of either a “Memorandum of Understanding” prior to the actual Gog/Magog conflagration or the very “Defense Pact” alluded to in Daniel 9:27. The sequential unfolding of Antichrist’s endeavors in Daniel 11:40-45, concluding in Daniel 12:1-2 is as follows:

FROM GOG TO THE COMING OF MESSIAH

(1) The initial thrust of the King of the South in collusion with the King of the North against Antichrist (and against Israel in Ezekiel 38 and 39).

“And at the end time the king of the South will collide with him (a.k.a. Antichrist), and the king of the North will storm against him (a.k.a. Antichrist) with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships;” (Daniel 11:40a).

Corresponding with Ezekiel 38 and 39:

“After many days you (Gog; a.k.a. King of the North/King of the South) will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants (i.e., the Jews) have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations (i.e., out from the Diaspora), and they are living securely, all of them. And 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. Thus says the Lord God, ‘It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan, and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations (i.e., the Jews), who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’”

(2) The actual War against Gog/King of the North/South and its aftermath results in the total defeat and destruction of Gog/Magog (a.k.a., King of the North/King of the South), as well as a massive counterattack by the forces of Antichrist.

“. . . and he (i.e., Antichrist) will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through” (Daniel 11:40b).

Corresponding with Ezekiel 38 and 39:

(a) The initial recognition that “Israel is in trouble” . . . the forces of Antichrist and his “economic allies” will challenge Gog’s intentions (How ironic . . . but not the first time that the Almighty has used him whose “house is divided” for the “abundance of his merchandise” has gotten the best of him.):

“Sheba, and Dedan (Saudi Arabian Peninsula nations), and the merchants of Tarshish (the West; especially its leader), with all its villages, will say to you, ‘Have you (Gog) come to capture a spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’”

(b) “‘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 (divine intervention on behalf of Israel) . . . And I shall call for a sword against him (Gog) 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, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

There are, at this point in the Ezekiel account, numerous subsequent passages which detail/amplify the destruction of Gog and Magog; however, we must now turn to Daniel’s account wherein the “aftermath” of God’s destruction is detailed; whereas Israel’s immediate “victory” issues forth in a massive “clean up,” (Ezekiel 39:9-20); international recognition of “Israel’s God,” and “His purposes on their behalf” (Ezekiel 39:21-29); as well as the commencement of His UNVEILING to His people (Ezekiel 39:29). It will be according to Ezekiel 39:26 that Israel now enters into a period of “security in their own land” but Antichrist, though he may at this time “enforce the Treaty,” persists in his “wars of liberation” and . . . .

(3) Antichrist enters Israel . . . “He (Antichrist) will also enter the Beautiful Land (Israel) (Daniel 11:41a).

Immediately after the armies of Gog/Magog are resoundingly defeated—the King of the North and the King of the South are sent to flight and the counterattack has commenced—Antichrist will “enter” the land of Israel and will no doubt be heralded as their liberator!

(4) Many countries (no doubt Gog’s “allies” and the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38, allied with Gog (i.e., Magog)) are defeated on their “home turf” . . . “And many countries will fall” (Daniel 11:41b).

Antichrist not only defeats Gog, enters Israel, but he also occupies the nations which originally launched the attack against him and, of course, against Israel; however, and interestingly enough, Jordan (i.e., “Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon” . . . Daniel 11:41) are spared his wrath. This, in today’s world, could readily be Jordan’s fortune.

(5) Antichrist occupies Egypt and the other countries in the coalition, and perhaps others in the region primarily for “economic conquest” (including Libya, and other African nations like Sudan/Ethiopia) “Then he (Antichrist) will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will gain control over the hidden treasurers of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels” (Daniel 10:42-43).

“Economic hegemony” is the very footprint of the Antichrist! “The Ships of Tarshish,” “The King of Tyre,” and many other allusions of this end time’s figure reveal his motif as the leader of that final and most unique of all empires the world has ever witnessed: “Commercial Republic” . . . and that is precisely what Charles Krauthammer declared the USA insofar as our alleged desire NOT to covet territory—and why would we, if we could gain their “hidden treasurers of gold and silver, and over all the precious things” (e.g., oil)?

(6) Antichrist will then launch further global conquests from both the North (obviously north of Turkey, Iran, etc.) which most probably has to do with the “European theater of operations” (stretch your imagination) and from the East (and you don’t have to go far to stretch your imagination there). Thus, in all likelihood, Russia and China (perhaps Pakistan and Indonesia (other Moslem countries) and/or even India may be in view here, where Antichrist will continue his “pursuits” of conquest and world empire.

“But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many” (Daniel 11:44).

(7) In his global expanse, something has caused him to “relocate” his “World Capitol” to the Middle East from his previous domicile. We could contemplate a “strategic relocation” or that which might have been “forced upon him” by natural consequences (e.g., “economic catastrophe” and/or “natural disasters” may suggest the permanence of his move); however, if we are to research the Scriptures . . . it has always been his prerogative to usurp the Holy One’s aspirations and to counterfeit and supplant what the Almighty desires. Thus, is it any wonder he would he do the following:

“And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas (Mediterranean Sea) and the beautiful Holy Mountain (Jerusalem)”

(Daniel 11:45).

Here we suggest that Antichrist, full of global power, makes an audacious move from “wherever” he once headquartered—his original administrative center—and plants his “strategic” and “administrative center” in the very land committed under divine trust, flaunting his final rebellion in the face of the Almighty! Indeed, his deception has become so profoundly convincing, that the world will acknowledge the sanctity of his move into the “center of the world”—only fitting recognition in consolidation of his power and glory . . . we are close to the last half of the 70th Week of Daniel, the “Abomination of Desolation,” and the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Daniel 12, which follows Daniel 11).

(8) “Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45b). But prior to his disaster, the concentration of his satanic powers are cast to the earth and indeed: ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE . . . “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time” (Revelation 12:12).

Abruptly the eschatological script catapults the career of Antichrist to its immediate conclusion! However, Daniel 12 picks up the “gap” between the Abomination of Desolation (wherein “Antichrist” receives a “wound” in the head and is miraculously “resurrected” before the entire world (Revelation 17:8-13)); and commences his “war against the saints” (Revelation 12:17); and the “Campaign of Armageddon” (Revelation 16:12-16, 19:17-21; Zechariah 14:1-3) and the ultimate “wrath of God and the Lamb” (Revelation 11:18, 14:14-20; 16:17-21; followed by the Coming of Messiah (Revelation 19:11-16; Zechariah 14:4, 9).

Having said all of the above, we do not disagree with Dr. Culver but simply expand upon his thesis. Thus, as Antichrist “enters the Beautiful Land” and establishes his presence through his victorious struggle over Gog, and subsequent counterattacks, as well as “countering rumors” from the north and east, he will undoubtedly “confirm a defense treaty” with Israel for SEVEN YEARS but in the midst of the “week” he will break the agreement (Daniel 9:27) . . . for he will not only establish his administrative center nigh Jerusalem, but immediately from the “Abomination of Desolation” (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) will commence his “war against the saints” (Revelation 11:7, 12:17, 13:4; Daniel 12:1):

(9) The “tribulation of the saints” commences as Antichrist, transfigured into the “Image of the Beast” via the “Abomination of Desolation”; launches his greatest wrath, not only against all those peoples, tribes, tongues and nations resisting his efforts at TGE (“Total Global Empire”), but against those who “keep the commandments of God” (Israel) and “hold to the testimony of Jesus” (the Church) (Revelation 12:17b); against the Two Olive Trees (Israel) and against the Two Lampstands (the Church) 11:4, 7-10; Daniel 12:1).

It is during this “time of distress (trouble) such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time” . . . (Daniel 12:1) . . . “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues . . . these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation” (Revelation 7:9, 14) that we rehearse the glorious intervention of the Deliverer (the Messiah), our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to preserve and rapture “We who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep . . . the dead in Christ shall rise first . . . then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (I Thessalonians 4:15-17).

(10) “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise . . . and at that time your people (Israel), everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life . . . (Daniel 12:1-2) . . . and after the three and a half days (the last half of Daniel’s 70th Week) the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.” (Revelation 11:11-12).

This is the scenario of earth’s final week. The scope of the prophetic time table is divinely calculated . . . we have traversed from Gog to the Coming of Messiah. At the conclusion of Jacob’s Trouble, of the Great Tribulation, is both the Rapture and the Resurrection of the righteous PRIOR to the final Campaign of Armageddon and the visitation of the Wrath of the Lamb upon Babylon the Great (Revelation 17, 18, 19).

CONFIRMING OUR THESIS OF ANTICHRIST IN DANIEL 11:36-45

Robert Duncan Culver in Daniel and the Latter Days (pp. 163-168) cites numerous expositors and personal exegesis to illuminate the human figure of Antiochus Epiphanes (the Greek Seleucid king, Daniel 11:21-35) wherein his human form morphs into the cosmic identity of the end-times Antichrist. One of his references is from the German expositor C. F. Keil (Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel), who, like Culver and many others (Amillenarians (Keil) or Premillenarians (Culver)), confirms the metamorphosis of this vile creature:

“These circumstances . . . show that in the prophetic contemplation Daniel 11:20-45 there is comprehended in the image of one king what has been historically fulfilled in its beginnings by Antiochus Epiphanes, but shall only meet its complete fulfillment by the Antichrist of the end” (Commentary, 462, 463).

Culver continues his own exegesis:

“In the fourth place, since this fourth party may be identified by correspondence with other predictions of Antichrist, as Antichrist, it seems most likely that the point at which his career is begun in the prophecy (v. 36) is the place at which to begin the eschatological interpretation. Begin somewhere it must, and it is not possible to introduce it later in the chapter.

“With the main portion of the prophecy of Antichrist (11:36-45) there is no necessary quarrel either with Amillennialists or with Postmillennialists. Reputable representatives of both these schools join with Premillennialists in recognition of the fact of antichrist, and of the general character of his person and career. Neither is there any disagreement over the final reward of the righteous (12:3). All Christians are in agreement on this” (Daniel and the Latter Days, p. 168).

The late Dr. John F. Walvoord of Dallas Seminary validates Antichrist’s identity as well:

“‘The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard of things against the God of gods’ (v. 36). Some interpreters have attempted to relate this king to Antiochus IV mentioned in the earlier verses of this chapter. However, the evidence of history is that Antiochus IV died shortly after fulfilling the preceding verses in the year 164 B.C. Some think he was insane at the time of his death. In any event he did not fulfill any of the events described in the latter part of this chapter, beginning in verse 36.

“A more plausible explanation is that this ruler referred to the little horn of Daniel 7:8, 21-24 as well as to the beast out of the sea (Rev. 13:1-10). In this identification he will be the future world ruler and a Gentile.” (Walvoord, Prophecy Knowledge Handbook, p. 271)

Dr. Walvoord’s end-times’ scenario fundamentally (insofar as Antichrist is concerned) mirrors what you have read here; however, and again, what we have linked is Daniel 11:40-45 with Antichrist’s immediate war with Gog/Magog in that Armageddon does not pit the “King of the South” and “the “King of the North” against Antichrist, but both Southern and Northern Confederations are altogether present in the Gog/Magog conflagration (i.e., there are not three major conflicts at the close of the age . . . there are but two: Gog/Magog and Armageddon).

Furthermore, the nefarious and despicable dealings of the Prince of this World cannot be underestimated. The ascendancy of Antichrist during this period of human history is as that of Judas himself . . . “until Satan entered into him” to commit the dastardly betrayal. Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse lent credibility to his whereabouts in our last tome (i.e., Satan’s incarnation into the very body or “human temple” of Antichrist takes place in the “midst” of the 70th Week of Daniel). Therefore, he who comes “but for to steal and to kill and to destroy” (John 10:10) and who is termed by Daniel in 9:27 as the one of “complete destruction” – the one termed the “pale horse” of death in Revelation 6, has but one intention: DEATH BY DESTRUCTION.

His divided house could and does pit Gog against Antichrist for the sole intention of the aforementioned goal; for by the complete annihilation of humanity would his purposes be defined, and the Almighty’s thwarted without a trace of mankind upon the globe! No, there are but two conflicts and Satan will initiate his awful conflagration behind the mysterious warlike figure of Gog (Barnhouse also confirmed this suspicion); then transfer his toxic influence and personage into the hapless image of Antichrist at the Abomination of Desolation—just as he inhabited Judas!

Shortly before, during, or immediately after Gog/Magog, Antichrist will initiate the “Treaty with Death and Hades” (Isaiah 28:15, 18). Thence, these two conflicts are as two bookends to the 70th Week of Daniel. Within these two bookends we witness his “defense pact” with Israel; his rise to TGE (“Total Global Empire”); the “Abomination of Desolation” (in the “midst of the week”) and the subsequent termination of his “defense agreement” with Israel; his “war against the saints”; the Rapture and Resurrection (at the terminus of the 70th Week); the climax of the Armageddon Campaign; and the Coming of the Deliverer/Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords culminating in the Millennial Rule and Reign of Messiah.

. . . . . to be continued . . . but first news concerning the pre-positioning of Antichrist’s forces in the region and NEXT TO SYRIA!

U.S. BUILDING FORTS ON IRAQ BORDER

January 18, 2005 9:27 a.m./US/Mountain AL WALID, Iraq, on the border with Syria (CBS). By CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick:

“The line of trucks and cars waiting to approach this Iraqi—and U.S—manned checkpoint on the border with Syria stretches for dozens of miles. Drivers are forced to wait days before they’re allowed to pass into Iraq. And many are turned back. Most of them are men of fighting age. A force of about 500 Iraqis patrols this area of the border. Overseen by U.S. Marines, the Iraqis call themselves the ‘Desert Wolves.’ Many are former soldiers from Saddam Hussein’s regime and most are recruited from Tikrit (Saddam's hometown), Samarra and Baghdad.

“They were trained in Jordan to take over for a border police force that was largely disbanded because of corruption. Acting on the orders from the interim Iraqi government, Marines stripped many of the former guards of their weapons and vehicles. Securing these borders is a priority of Task Force NAHA, based at Camp Korean Village near the town of ar Rutbah. And at the remote Al Walid border crossing, just over two dozen Marines work with the Iraqis, overseeing their inspection of cars and trucks.

“The U.S. military is also supervising a complex of 32 forts being built along the borders with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. The Marines move the Iraqis into them as quickly as possible, because in the past the forts have been looted and destroyed before they could be manned.

“U.S. officials say the number of foreign fighters they’ve detained has decreased in this area. But while the order to turn back men at the al Walid checkpoint may be having some effect, military officials admit they still see evidence the Syrian-Iraqi border is being infiltrated elsewhere. Flyovers suggest desert berms have been breached and there is evidence of ‘rat lines,’ where foreign fighters may be making their way into the country.

“At one outpost in the so-called ‘Triangle,’ where Iraq’s border meets Syria and Jordan, 50 Iraqis are manning a fort, still under construction. It sits so close to the border, Syrian soldiers are clearly visible, and come out to watch, as a convoy of Marines heads to the fort to check on the progress of the Iraqis. When the Marines arrive, the Iraqi commander asks for kerosene (for heating) and drinking water. U.S. military officials admit supplying these outposts will be difficult and they’re working with the Iraqi government to speed up deliveries. Logistics will continue to be a problem as more of the forts are built and manned.

“Still, Capt. Abbas, the commander of this unit of Desert Wolves, says his men feel good about the job they’re doing. He says they believe much of the violence in Iraq is being inflicted by foreigners. In the future, he hopes to keep those outsiders from making their way into the country undetected.

“The Marines hope the border patrol forces will eventually number more than 1,200. ‘But this is a start,’ said Marine Capt. Chris Curtin. ‘They understand and have demonstrated a desire to make a difference out here.’
And when the Iraqis become more competent at their jobs, Curtin says that will not only protect U.S. forces fighting insurgents elsewhere in the country but will stabilize all of Iraq.”

http://kutv.com/topstories/topstories_story_018113151.html

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

Part 5—King of the North: Turkey and Iran (Magog)

“This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take awhile.”

President George W. Bush . . . cir. 2001

“In the eyes of many Muslims, events in the last three years seem to lend credence to the view that the Christian West is, once again, at war with the Muslim world” (Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chairs the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, Malaysia; his presentation was before a convocation of the World Council of Churches in Malaysia).

U.S. President George W. Bush said he would not rule out military action against Iran if that country was not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear weapons program. “I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table, if it (i.e., Iran) continues to stonewall the international community about the existence of its nuclear weapons program.”

“We have to avoid a clash of civilizations at all costs. One has to avoid falling into this huge trap, this monstrous trap conceived by the instigators of the assault” (French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine).

And so, the ratcheting of the rhetoric continues unabated! Please, do not think that the USA does not understand the “religious dynamic” involved in the conflict . . . most assuredly it does! A “crusade” could never be launched against the forces of Gog and Magog from the effete Europeans (the French, the Germans, the Spanish), who can’t incorporate the roots of their Christian heritage into the EU’s Constitution! Whereas, the USA inherently understands the dimension of the current conflict all too well, juxtaposed to a post-Napoleonic, secularized/socialized, and war-wary (because they can’t win one on their own) Europe:

“Brainwashed and trigger-happy American teenagers, whipped into a frenzy of bloodlust and fanaticism by their superiors Soldiers are being sent into the meat grinder with evangelical Christian rites, Christian rock music, and heavy metal, and told by officers that they are battling “the face of Satan,” and “saving Iraq from rape, torture, and murder.” Marine Colonel Gary Bradl glorified in the killing spree, declaring that “the enemy has got a face. He’s called Satan. He’s in Fallujah and we’re going to destroy him.”

“Well, is he [bin Laden] the enemy?... Or is this man [Saddam] the enemy? The enemy is none of these people I have showed you here. The enemy is a spiritual enemy. He’s called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan.”

(Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, Slide Show, First Baptist Church, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, June 30, 2003)

Superiors? Listen . . . what does this sound like?

“There are a lot of things that are said by people that are their views,” he (Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld) said, “and that’s the way we live. We are free people and that’s the wonderful thing about our country, and I think for anyone to run around and think that can be managed or controlled is probably wrong.”

“There is a very wide gray area on what the rules permit” but that “at first blush, it doesn’t look like any rules were broken.” (General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

The “religious dynamic” of the current “War on Terrorism” goes beyond a secular perspective in the “modern era.” The leadership of the West is cognizant of the “spiritual perspective” that must be kept and preserved before the people, and especially before the forces that oppose the likes of Gog! It is the FACE OF SATAN transcending the objective reasoning of a post-Christian Europe. No cajoling or scientific observation will convince the USA otherwise, especially coming from the likes of Jacque Chirac or a Gerhardt Schroeder.

Indeed this can only be met by the religious fervency of Jihad:

“Within extremist Islamic circles, hatred of America (‘the Great Satan’) and Israel (‘the Little Satan’) go hand in hand. There are interesting debates among the Islamists over which is their greatest enemy. Some argue for America, on the grounds that Israel is merely an outpost of the ‘Crusader’ empire centered in the United States. Others suggest that the ‘Zionist entity’ is the greater threat, on the grounds that a Zionist conspiracy secretly controls the U.S. government. But there is no denying that the two are closely linked in the Islamists’ minds because both countries stand for everything they detest.” (Max Boot, A Single War, The New York Post, Dec. 2002)

. . . and from Islam’s lips to your ears . . . .

“…Muhammad, Allah’s Messenger, heralded to those killed for Allah that they are Allah’s most preferred people. When a man comes to the Messenger of Allah and says, ‘Who is the man most preferred by Allah?’ [Muhammad] says: ‘A believer who participated in Jihad with his body and his money for the sake of Allah.’ These are the people most preferred by Allah.

“The Prophet could, by means of the unity of the Muslim ranks and its awakening . . . will defeat America as long as it supports our enemy, as long as America insists on being against our people and against our cause and our holy places, and against our people and our leadership. As long as America holds these criminal opinions, we will defeat it with Allah’s help. Indeed, we consider America to be our No. 1 enemy, as long as it supports our enemy (i.e., Israel). Must we be killed by only American planes? [Must] our homes be destroyed only by means of American tanks? Must our enemy control us only by means of American support? America is our No. 1 enemy, and we see it as our No. 1 enemy as long as we learn from the lessons of the Battle of Tabouk [which took place in October 630 AD]: ‘Make ready for them whatever you can of armed strength and of mounted pickets.’ [Koran 8:60] We are prepared and ready, but victory is from Allah.”

(Friday Sermon by Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris at the Sheikh Ijlin Mosque, Gaza City, August 22, 2003, Broadcast on PA-TV)

UNITY OF THE MUSLIM RANKS AND ITS AWAKENING

“1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 ‘Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army-your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops-the many nations with you.”

Theories abound regarding the identification of Gog’s allies (i.e., Magog) . . . and I list but a few; and, in so doing, reveal the various locations of these ancient tribes and peoples:

1. RUSSIA: The Hebrew word ‘rosh’ can be found in various translations in Ezk. 38:3 (“And say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.’”—NKJV). This to some Bible expositors identifies with Russia; and, thence, “Tubal” with “Tiblisi or “Tobolsk” and “Meshech” with Moscow.

This theory simply does not hold the weight of antiquity nor Biblical justification . . .

“Historian Edwin Yamauchi notes that, even if one transliterated the Hebrew ro's as a proper name (as the Septuigent does), it can have nothing to do with modern Russia. Yamauchi writes, ‘This would be a gross anachronism, for the modern name is based upon the name Rus, which was brought into the reign of Kiev, north of the Black Sea, by the Vikings only in the Middle Ages.’ Yamauchi goes on to analyze the nomenclature ‘Gog and Magog’ and reaches the majority scholarly opinion, namely, that we simply cannot positively identify the antecedents of these historical names. However, the identifications of Meshech and Tubal are not in doubt. Few scholars today equate them with Moscow and Tobolsk. Rather, combined ancient testimony attests to the fact that Meshech and Tubal were located in central and eastern Anatolia (Asia Minor) (i.e., Turkey), respectively. (C. Marvin Pate and Calvin B. Haines, Jr., Doomsday Delusions: What's wrong with Predictions About the End of the World, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995, p. 62-63). The point we wish to make is that it seems difficult for those who predicted the Soviet Union would be the great enemy to the north that would swarm over Israel to acknowledge the fact that the empire is no more. Instead, they amend their interpretations to fit the current scene.” (Pate and Haines (1995))

I find it academically refreshing to note Professor Yamauchi’s avoidance of antiquity’s geographical whereabouts of either Gog or Magog, but his logic and historicity (backed by his outstanding research and credentials) in the identification of both Meshech and Tubal within Western Turkey (i.e., Asia Minor) is precisely on target. The Moody Bible Institute map on this page places Meshech, Tubal, Togarmah, and Gomer clearly in Turkey (along with Magog).

Insofar as “Tubal” is concerned, Easton’s Bible Dictionary nails the location with deliberate accuracy:

“TUBAL: The fifth son of Japheth (Genesis 10:2). A nation, probably descended from the son of Japheth. It is mentioned by (Isaiah 66:19), along with Javan, and by (Ezekiel 27:13), along with Meshech, among the traders with Tyre, also among the confederates of Gog (Ezekiel 38:2,3; 39:1), and with Meshech among the nations which were to be destroyed (32:26). This nation was probably the Tiberini of the Greek historian Herodotus, a people of the Asiatic highland west of the Upper Euphrates, the southern range of the Caucasus, on the east of the Black Sea.”

And, with regards to “Meshech,” we substantiate his whereabouts, once again, in these aforementioned lands of antiquity:

“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.” (Ezek 27:13 KJV).

Here we find that Tyre, the ancient Phoenician trading nation/empire, trafficked in Copper throughout the Mediterranean.

“In Roman times much of the copper was obtained from the island of Cyprus (southern Turkey). - Universal Standard Encyclopedia. By 2,000 BC the use of metals had become widespread throughout an area stretching from western and central Anatolia [Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran] across the flanks of the Taurus [Southern Turkey] and Zagros [Western and Southern Iran] mountains and to the edge of the central desert of Iran.” (Grolier Encyclopedia 1995).

“Meshechs (Meshekhs/Mosokhs, Mushku in Akkadian, Moschoi in Greek) were an ancient, non-Indo-European and non-Semitic, indigenous tribe of Asia Minor Anatolia (Greek ανατολη (anatole) for ‘rising of the sun’ or ‘East’; compare ‘Orient’ and ‘Levant,’ by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana ‘mother’ and dolu ‘filled’), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. They occupied a territory somewhere to the south of present-day Georgia (საქართველო Sakartvelo in Georgian), known from 1990 to 1995 as the Republic of Georgia, is a country to the east of the Black Sea in the south Caucasus. A former republic of the Soviet Union, it shares borders with Russia in the north and Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan in the south.

“Meschech is possibly in Cappadocia. In ancient geography, Cappadocia was an extensive inland district of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). In the time of Herodotus the Cappadocians occupied the whole region from Mount Taurus to the Euxine (Black Sea). Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in the south by the chain of Mount Taurus, to the east by the Euphrates, north by Pontus, and west vaguely by the great central salt desert. But it is impossible to define its limits with accuracy. Strabo, the only ancient author who gives any circumstantial account of the country, greatly exaggerated its dimensions; it is now believed to have been about 250 miles in length by less than 150 in breadth.” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex)

Again we are talking about Turkey, portions of Iran, and at the extreme, areas bordering Turkey and Iran (e.g., Azerbaijan and perhaps Chechnya)

2. HASHEMITE KINGDOM: This conjecture is of dubious popularity; however, it does hold some credibility. It argues that the coalition of nations under Gog are Islamic Nations who will rise up against Israel in the Last Days and will be led by either Iraq or Jordan or by the “Turks.” Therefore, the enemy to the “North” of Israel bears direct connection to those areas of Syria, Iraq and Turkey; and that these lands occupied by Magog are Gomer, Togarmah, Meshech and Tubal.

We have in our previous articles discussed the immediate “ruinous heap” awaiting Syria, as well as her puppet state, Lebanon; and “Gaza” with “the stronghold of Ephraim” (Ramallah) (a.k.a. “the Palestinian Authority”) as found in Isaiah 17, Zech. 9:1-6). However, the identities of Gomer and Togarmah (or Beth Togarmah, “the House of Togarmah”) are of interest at this juncture.

Gomer was the first son of Japheth (Genesis 10:1). Some historians/geographers identify Gomer as the ancient Cimmerians who were driven from the southern steppes of Russia around 700 B.C. into today’s Turkey:

“Cimmerians, ancient people of S. Russia of whom little is actually known. They are mentioned in Homer, but they emerge into history only in the 8th cent. B.C. when they were driven by the Scythians from their former home in Crimea and came to the region around Lake Van (in present-day E. Turkey). Defeated (634 B.C.) by the Scythians, the Cimmerians swept across Asia Minor, plundering Lydia and breaking the power of Phrygia. The biblical Gomer may be the eponym of the Cimmerians, and they are mentioned in the inscriptions of the Assyrians, with whom they warred.” (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.)

Other research regarding Gomer is a bit more “colorful.”

“The first of Noah’s grandsons mentioned is Gomer. Ezekiel locates the early descendants of Gomer, along with Togarmah (a son of Gomer), in the north quarters (Ezekiel 38:6). In modern Turkey is an area which in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records that the people who were called Galatians or Gauls in his day (c. AD 93) were previously called Gomerites.

“They migrated westward to what are now called France and Spain. For many centuries France was called Gaul, after the descendants of Gomer. North-west Spain is called Galicia to this day. Some of the Gomerites migrated further to what is now called Wales. The Welsh historian, Davis, records a traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Gomer ‘landed on the Isle of Britain from France, about three hundred years after the flood.’ He also records that the Welsh language is called Gomeraeg (after their ancestor Gomer).” (Asian Internet Bible Institute)

The issue here is that Gomer’s logistics, as it pertains to Ezekiel, is domiciled in modern Turkey.

A consideration of Togarmah or Beth Togarmah is the clearest designation in these same ancient lands: In Ezekiel 27:14 Togarmah is mentioned after Tubal, Javan and Meshech as supplying horses and mules to the Tyrians, and in Ezekiel 38:6 it is said to have supplied soldiers to the army of Gog (Gyges of Lydia). In the Assyrian inscriptions horses came from Kusu (neighborhood of Cappadocia), Andia and Mannu, to the North of Assyria.

In our previous article on this topic we discussed that Togarmah was the third son of Gomer. In Ezekiel’s time there was a city in the region of Cappodocia (Modern Turkey) known as Tegarma, Tagarma, Takarama or Til-garimmu. In that Tyre was supplied horses and mules from Togarmah, we conclude—though some researches are adamant that modern Armenia is the ancient site of Togarmah—Ezekiel’s preponderance of evidence indicates otherwise; thus, the “Moslem Nation of Turkey” is once again given the designation. Additional research substantiates the Armenia/Turkey connection:

“The sons of Gomer were ‘Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah’ (Genesis 10:3). Encyclopedia Britannica says that the Armenians traditionally claim to be descended from Togarmah and Ashkenaz. Ancient Armenia reached into Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from Togarmah.” (Asian Internet Bible Institute).

3. CAUCUSES REGION: These are the allies of Gog and Magog (the Arab nations) with the Muslim states of the former Soviet Union—most of Russia proper is omitted from the ultimate conflict, and only its southern extension is involved.

This theory dates from the time of Alexander the Great who is supposed to have built a wall to stop invasions from that area and when that wall collapses Gog and Magog will come forth and the world will end. Apparently Caucasus literally means “Fort of God.” Noah’s descendents are charted as follows:

Noah
Japheth
Gomer Magog Madai Javan Tubal Meschech Tiras
| |
| |-------Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, Dodanim
----------
Ashkenaz
Riphath
Togarmah

It is believed that the names of the descendents of Noah are mentioned because they are ethno-geographic, that is, they refer to the geographic areas into which they moved after the flood. (Magog Watch)

4. EUROPE THEORY: Gog and Magog, as the sons of Japheth, immigrated into regions of Europe; therefore, this theory conjectures that if this be the case, then Europe is fully engaged in the Gog/Magog conflict. This theory; however, is not widely accepted among expositors (Notice Gomer/Magog’s Locations):

5. INDO-EUROPEAN THEORY: This thesis is a combination of both the Caucuses, Europe and Northern Islamic Nations (Turkey, Iran, Syrian (Kurdistan, Jordan, Georgia, Armenia, etc.). “Somehow” the coalition of nations includes alliances of nations both Islamic and Christian . . . including Russia and the Islamic republics of Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc.).

These are the most dominate “theories” on Gog and Magog; and, of course, there are variations of these more popular themes; however, after consideration of the “King of the North” (the northern confederation of nations involved in the “Gog/Magog War,” there seems to be little doubt that these nations comprise those Islamic Republics of Turkey, Iran and, at their extremity, Islamic Republics within the Caucuses region of the former Soviet Union.

PERSIA & OTHER PEOPLES—WATCH EGYPT!

Without hesitation, the modern Islamic Republic of IRAN is the Persia of Ezekiel 38:6; while “Ethiopia (Hebrew “Cush”) is primarily the region of the “Upper SUDAN” (towards Egypt) and LIBYA is the Hebrew ancient “Put.” Insofar as the “Southern Confederation” of nations allied with Gog, aside from Cush and Put (Sudan and Libya), Daniel 11:40-41, wherein the attack centers upon Antichrist, lists (in addition to the Libyans and the Ethiopians or the Sudanese) the EGYPTIANS (Egypt). “He (Antichrist, after the defeat of Gog and his “Southern Allies”) shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels” (Daniel 11:43).

Significantly, in the Daniel 11:40-45 scenario, the Libyans and Ethiopians are mentioned (giving credibility to the congruence of the parallel struggle of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 conflict); however, in Daniel 11:42-43 EGYPT is not only integrated into the conflict, but its first mentioning indicates a superior position within the confederation of the “King of the South” and stipulates the INITIAL CONFRONTATION against “him” (i.e., Antichrist) erupts from the King of the South: “At the time of the end the King of the South shall attack him; and the King of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind,” etc. (Daniel 11:40).

Again, our affirmation is that ALL THESE GEOGRAPHICAL DESIGNATIONS (found in Ezk. 38-39, Daniel 11:40-45 and Isaiah 17:12 through 18:7) are in today’s modern Islamic States with the notable exclusion of JORDAN (Daniel 11:41); SYRIA/LEBANON/GAZA (PLO) due to the events in Isaiah 17:1-5; Zechariah 9:1-8; IRAQ (Ancient Mesopotamia/Babylon); and those nations on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula (ancient Sheba and Dedan) which would include Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf States, and find their “economic solidarity” and protestation in concert with the International Trading Empire (a.k.a., the “COMMERCIAL REPUBLIC”) known as the West of the Ancient World: The Merchants of Tarshish (Ezekiel 38:13: “Sheba (Aden/Yemen), Dedan (Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States/Oman), the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions (obviously, the “trading partners” of Tarshish) will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army (Magog) to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”

Although Israel proper may represent an “economic miracle” . . . there is utterly no comparison to the wealth of the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. That is what disturbs and that appears to be the attention of Gog! Biblical confirmation of SUDAN’S (i.e., “Ethiopian’s”) involvement in Ezekiel 38:5 and Daniel 11:43 adds credibility to the singular conflict found in Ezekiel and Daniel’s account. The chart below helps clarify the ancient and modern names of these designations and the “theories” associated with them. The final designation in Ezekiel’s accounting is a rather all-inclusive statement; however, based upon the immediate “Islamic Alignment of Nations” one would be hard pressed to conjecture that the “many people with you” would exclude all non-Islamic states:

CHART OF ANCIENT TRIBAL DESIGNATION TO MODERN STATES

ANCIENT NAME
MODERN NATION
EXPLANATION

Rosh
Russia or Chief
Ancient Sarmatians known as Rashu, Rasapu, Ros, and Rus.

OR

Translated as the adjective Chief. However, other historians disregard “Rosh” altogether as a “land” and connect Rosh to “Prince”

Magog
Central Asia or Turkey
Ancient Scythians - Islamic southern republics of the former Soviet Union with a population of 60 million Muslims. This territory could include modern Afghanistan. Others place Magog as “The followers of Gog” or within the Anatolia; i.e., Turkey

Meshech
Turkey
Ancient Muschki and Musku in Cilicia and Cappadocia.

Tubal
Turkey (also southern Russia and Iran)
Ancient Tubalu in Cappadocia.

Persia
Iran
Name changed from Persia to Iran in 1935.

Ethiopia (Cush)
Sudan (Upper)
Ancient Cush, south of Egypt and primarily the Upper Sudan.

Put
Libya
Ancient Put, west of Egypt.

Gomer
Turkey
Ancient Cimmerians - from the seventh century to first century B.C. in central/western Anatolia.

Beth-Togarmah
Turkey
Til-garimmu - between ancient Carchemish and Haran (southern Turkey).

Many peoples with you
Other Islamic nations
Other “Islamic Nations” – i.e., EGYPT, Dan 11:42-43)

This concludes our immediate research into Gog, and his allies (Magog) . . . “The King of the North” and “The King of the South.” We will turn more of our attention in the next blog to the Iranian and Egyptian “Theaters of Operation.”

Suffice it to say, these are perilous times . . . more so than at any time in human history because of the unbelievably destructive capabilities of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in the hands of so many nations AND other organizations on the face of the earth. The proliferation of these weapons is perhaps the singular most significant “unknown” within strategic planning centers around the globe. We await the fate of Damascus . . .

“Damascus . . . they have heard bad news . . . they are fainthearted . . . there is trouble on the sea; it cannot be quiet . . . Damascus has grown feeble; she turns to flee, and fear has seized her . . . anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor” (Jeremiah 49:23 and 24).

GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

Part 6—King of the South: Egypt, Sudan & Libya

Vs. “The Willful King”

“Then the king (a.k.a., Antichrist, the leader of Western Civilization) shall do according to his own will (i.e., “the Willful King”): he shall exalt and magnify himsel f above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods . . . At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him (“The Willful King”) . . . and the king of the North shall come against him (“The Willful King”) . . . he (Antichrist; a.k.a., “The Willful King”) shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt (a.k.a., the “King of the South”) shall not escape” (Daniel 11:36, 40A, 42).

THE GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO

During the past week, we have presented a series of articles outlining the prophetical events and participants surrounding the final conflict prior to, or immediately following, the commencement of Danie l’s 70th Week, which shall be signified by the signing of the infamous “Treaty with Death and Sheol” by that final figure who shall present himself as Israel’s “Deliverer” and “Protector”—having vanquished Gog’s armies (a.k.a., Magog) in a stunning military defeat against Gog’s Northern Alliance (“King of the North”) and the Southern Confederacy as (a.k.a., “The King of the South”).

Again, the focus of this horrific conflagration as witnessed through Ezekiel’s prophetic utterances in chapters 38 and 39 of his text is Israel; whereas, the focus of Gog’s outrage in Daniel 11:40-45 is Antichrist. Initially, the “King of the South” “shall attack him,” and then in a colossal pincer movement, the “King of the North,” “shall come up against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships.” The nations aligned with Gog from the north, as we outlined in our previous article, are ancient designations primarily within Turkey, and, of course, primarily in modern; whereas the “southern strategy” of Gog (a.k.a., “King of the South”) is dominated by Egypt in Daniel 11:43.

Egypt’s participation in the Gog-Magog incursion is substantiated by Put (Libya) and Cush (Sudan). Both these ancient lands are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5 (where Israel is the target of the attack) and, in context with Egypt, in Daniel 11:43 (where Antichrist is the focus of the onslaught). The name of “Egypt” in Ezekiel 38 is not absent; historically, the “King of the South” in the context of Daniel 11 is, of course, “heading up” the “Southern Confederation” (i.e., The House of Ptolemy, the Greek-Macedonian) is well known to be domiciled in Egypt; and, in the context of the Maccabean revolt and of Daniel’s immediate understanding of the “early prophetic fulfillment” (i.e., pitting the Ptolemy/Egyptian dynasty against that of Antiochus/Syrian) it would be historically accurate to equate the “King of the South” with Egypt.

Clearly, the involvement of Put (a.k.a., Libya) in both Ezekiel 38 and Daniel 11 gives unquestioned confirmation that her military alliance is to the west of Egypt and wholly engaged within the constellation of nations headed up by the “King of the South” (a.k.a., Egypt).

It is the adumbrative connotations which project these immediate prophetic fulfillments during the Maccabean revolt into the future end-times Gog-Magog Scenario, wherein the human face of Antiochus Epiphanes morphs into the hideous expression of the cosmic Antichrist, at the close of this age (this was confirmed by other expositors in our last missive; from Daniel 11:36 through 45 the intrusive presence of THE Antichrist is observed).

Sudan’s defeat (a.k.a. Cush or ancient Ethiopia; cf. Isaiah 17:12-14)) within the “Southern Confederation” of nations appears to orchestrate a separate peace in Isaiah 18:1-3 with “a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation powerful and trading down, whose land the rivers divide” (whom we conclude is that final end times “Empire” of Antichrist) (Note: Sudan clearly represents those “African States” to the south of Egypt AND, undoubtedly, allied with Egypt against a mutual enemy; therefore, these “nation states” would hold substantial Islamic majorities.).

THE RISE OF THE “KING OF THE SOUTH”

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him . . . he shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape . . . he shall have power . . . over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Cush shall follow at his heels” (Daniel 11:40, 42-43).

Although the “initial thrust” of the Gog/Magog consortium of nations appears committed to a “Southern strategy,” that conclusion would be “faulty strategic thinking” in that the entire flavor of Daniel’s presentation typifies the classic “pincer movement” of two military behemoths encircling their objective—their movements are totally coordinated. However, it is of note that the “King of the South” receives proprietary mentioning in the joint maneuvers recorded in Daniel 11:40a.

“‘While the U.S. and its allies are fighting Islamist ideology and terror,’ Michael Meunier observes, ‘Egypt, a supposed Western ally, is drastically undermining their efforts. In an alleged attempt at ‘historic reconciliation,’ President Mubarak has recently released Egypt’s most notorious and dangerous Islamist leaders, along with over 1,000 of their cohorts.”

“This is bad news for the nation’s Christians: ‘Among the chief leaders of the Gammaa el Islamiya, Karam Zohdi, Fou'ad El-Dawalibi and Assem Abdel-Maged were released last month on the supposition that for the past several years they had taken an active role in the spread of a pacifist ideology within the characteristically violent group. The violent Gamma el Islamiya revitalized their campaign of terror in the 1990s, seeking to overthrow the government and killing hundreds of people, including police, tourists, and their easiest targets – the Christians.” (Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch)

Andrew G. Bostom (Professor of Medicine at Brown University) stresses the entrenched and ubiquitous nature of Islamic fundamentalism throughout Egypt’s “educational system” in “Textbook Jihad in Egypt.” Tracing Jihad’s serpentine progress throughout Egyptian society demonstrates—notwithstanding the $2B in US “aid” afforded Egypt each year as recognition of her “peace” with Israel and totaling some $58B since 1948)—the ascendancy of radical Islamism in the region (i.e., Sudan and Libya and North Africa in general).

The tenuous nature of Egypt’s “alliance” with the US, and the mercurial nature of “Peace Broker” amongst the nations of Islam, appears to have reached the breaking point, with overwhelming consternation over US endeavors throughout the region, not only past but wholly present! I think it behooves us to consider President Mubarak’s January statements this week (January 20-26, 2005), especially as they pertain to Syria—notwithstanding Egypt’s smokescreen and incessant overtures for peaceful relations with the West (Al-Aram English on-line Weekly from Egypt); also, listen to the Egyptian press, its tone and equivocation, as well as pathetic rhetoric as it attempts to “balance” its anti-Americanism with Arab angst:

“The president has been making no secret of his profound concern over the regional situation. In two lengthy interviews he accorded this week to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on US TV, and the Saudi satellite TV channel Al-Arabia, President Mubarak expressed his concern not just on developments in Palestine and Iraq, but the situation on the Syrian front.

“‘We are in a swamp,’ the president said.

“The analysis by the president reflected the huge losses sustained by Arabs in general, especially by the Palestinians, and for that matter the Syrians. Reconciliatory stances taken by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on relations with Israel have been shrugged off by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who decided to suspend contacts with the Palestinian Authority and to order his army to act with even more force against the Palestinian people.

“Syrian attempts to re-initiate talks with Israel have also been brushed aside by Sharon. Meanwhile, Iraq seems to be sitting on a time bomb in view of the determination of the interim government to go ahead with national elections on 30 January despite the violence and an inter-Iraqi civil disagreement on the poll’s date.

“‘I think things could get very complicated if the [Sunnis] insist on boycotting the elections,’ Mubarak told Al-Arabia.

“In both interviews, Mubarak cautioned against moves not fully thought through in handling the Palestinian and Iraqi files. According to Mubarak, a good part of the problems faced in Palestine and Iraq are due to miscalculations and poor judgment. He alluded to several warnings he gave the US over its tolerance of Sharon’s intransigence and aggression against the Palestinian people ‘who are suffocating under occupation and dire living conditions.’ He also made reference to his repeated warnings to the Americans about invading Iraq.

“Mubarak resumed renewing his warnings, especially on Iraq. On air, he told Americans that if they remain stuck in house-to-house warfare, they could end up in a situation as complicated and as degrading ‘as the one faced by the American army in Somalia’ in the 1990s.

“The subtle language used by the president in blaming the Americans for the current regional situation was not about finding excuses for Washington’s misguided diplomacy in the Middle East. The rationale, diplomatic sources say, is that Cairo hopes to ‘talk some sense into the Americans.’”

The violent overthrow in Egypt of the so-called pro-US regime of Mubarak by Jihadists or the legitimate election of an Islamicists government (e.g., Islamic Brotherhood) becomes more likely each day!

“DAMASCUS SHALL BE A RUINOUS HEAP”

Updating the “Syrian Card” (which we forecasted on December 24, 2004 and entitled: “The Road to Damascus . . . Catalyst for the Gog-Magog War”) is this confirmation from DEBKAfile (an Israeli intelligence blog) released on January 11, 2005, 2:44 PM (GMT+01:00):

“US and Iraq All Set for Strike against Syria. Israel Is Braced for Hizballah Second Front

1. It will not take place before President Bush is sworn in for his second term on January 20 or Iraq’s general election ten days later.

2. The Americans will not start out with a large-scale, orderly military offensive, but rather short in-and-out forays; small US and Iraqi Special Forces units will cross the border and raid bases housing Iraqi guerrillas or buses carrying them to the border. If these brief raids are ineffective, the Americans will upscale the action.

3. The Allawi government will formally request the United States to consign joint Iraqi-US forces for action against Syrian targets, so placing the US operation under the Baghdad government’s aegis. In other words, Iraq will be at war with Syria without issuing a formal declaration.

4. It is fully appreciated in Washington, Baghdad and Jerusalem that intense American military warfare against Syria could provoke a Hizballah backlash against Israel. Damascus may well activate the Lebanese Shiite group to open a second front on Israel’s northern border. The Syrian ruler is expected will tolerate a certain level of American low-intensity, low-profile action. But, because of his reluctance to strike back directly at American or Iraqi targets, he will field the Hezballah – and not just for cross-border attacks but to galvanize the terrorist cells it con trols and funds in the West Bank and Gaza Strip into a stepped-up offensive against Israeli targets. These Palestinian cells have proliferated over the years, particularly in the Fatah and its branches, encouraged by Yasser Arafat’s cooperative pact with the Hizballah which remains in force after his death.

“Therefore, the key Middle East happening in the coming weeks will be US military strikes against Syria. The election of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Authority chairman, his invitation to the White House, the formation of the Sharon-Peres government coalition - albeit on very shaky legs, and the talk of imminent Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations, will prove to be no more than sideshows of the main event.”

THE “SPOIL” OF THE WILLFUL KING

This crushing account of Egypt’s defeat, along with her confederated states—as Gog’s southern flank crumbles in disarray—turns the “economic tables” on end. Whereas the “treasures” and “precious things” of Daniel 11, and the would-be “plunder” and “booty” (i.e., “spoil”)—and, decidedly the “gold and silver” in both accountings (Ezekiel 38:13 and Daniel 11:43—sought after by Gog and his allies (Magog), have been incorporated by the Willful King! Alas! “Power over” the treasures and precious things has gone full circle.

The operative phrase here is POWER OVER. That is precisely what the Willful King’s intentions have been from the commencement of this conflagration. The Apostle Paul inserts this understanding into the fray: “We are not ignorant of his (i.e., “Satan’s”) devices” (II Corinthians 2:11). For “he was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him . . . when he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 4:44).

Murder and lies go hand in hand. Wherever there is “the lie” there is murder . . . this is precisely what is involved here; however, this is all the more accentuated as materialism (a.k.a. “merchandise”) is thrown into the mix:

“Your riches, wares, and merchandise . . . all your men of war who are in you . . . by the abundance of your trading (i.e., “merchandising”) you became filled with violence within, and you sinned” (Ezekiel 27:27; 28:16a).

Ezekiel’s expose of the King of Tyre, much like that of Daniel’s prophetic revelations of Antiochus IV, the Syrian king who ruled from 175 to 163 B.C. (Antiochus Epiphanes or “Glorious One”), initiates the temporal character of a man who morphs into the transcendent disfiguration of the one who was “in Eden, the garden of God . . . the anointed cherub who covers” (Ezekiel 28:13a, 14a)—the infamous King of Tyre, whose violence filled the pre-diluvium earth (Genesis 6:11), and whose merchandising signature is inseparable from violence, war, and death. Thus, the one termed “Epimanes” (not the legitimate “Antiochus Epiphanes” or “Glorious One”) rightly fits his metamorphosis : “Madman” (a.k.a., the Willful King) (Please see footnotes on p. 1251 of the NKJV, Spirit Filled Life Bible, Thomas Nelson).

The point to made in all of this is obvious: War and violence—and those who “traffic” therein—shall, under the incites of the UBER MERCHANT (a.k.a., King of Tyre), like two incensed vultures contending over the same carcass, biting and devouring one another, inflict death and destruction until there is but one standing who takes the hapless prey.

GIVE THEM LIBERTY OR GIVE THEM DEATH!

Europe, the world in general, and especially Islamic nations, predictably greeted the President’s inaugural address with vitriol and invidious statements in abundance. Coupled with Vice President Cheney’s remarks that liberty’s extensions upon our foes, in order to defend and protect our friends, would be “by force of arms if necessary,” just about put the Iranians over the top!

This administration has issued its final answer: POLLS TO THE WIND (throw them out)!

On Sunday (January 16, 2005), the New Yorker magazine (“The Coming Wars” by Seymore M. Hersch) reported U.S. forces have penetrated Iran, seeking out targets for possible military strikes (although Bush officials have disputed the account, they certainly did not categorically deny its substance). Now we hear from Cheney’s own lips that Israel (which she denies “at the moment”) just might attack Iran (January 23, 2005):

“‘If, in fact, the Israelis became convinced the Iranians had significant nuclear capability, given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the
diplomatic mess afterwards,’ Cheney said.” (Jerusalem Post, January 23, 2005).

Not to be outdone by the Cheney/Israel remark, Mohammad Emami Kashani, a top Iranian cleric, fired back with defiance:

“Americans and Zionists” (to whom he was speaking) . . . “The world will catch you red-handed. If you ask the people in the world, everyone will tell you how despised you are . . . People will become increasingly aware of your plots and hopefully you will not achieve anything” (John Daniszewsky, “U.S. Tough Talk is Greeted with Defiance in Iran” Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2005).

The above article continues:

“Israeli politicians said they have no imminent plan to attack Iran, while some commentators in other parts of the world expressed unease at the sweeping and what some termed ‘messianic’ tone in President Bush’s inaugural speech marking the start of his second term.”

In sum: The “liberty” proposed by President Bush throughout the world, has not been greeted with glee but with a deep sense of foreboding, confirmed by Vice President Cheney’s follow-up remarks.

I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

The world sits on the brink of its most formidable conclusion. Though the storm clouds of international disasters encroach; and armies march in demonic formation “against the Lord and against His Anointed” – the final outcome has been announced:

23And in the latter time of their kingdom,
When the transgressors have reached their fullness,
A king shall arise,
Having fierce features,
Who understands sinister schemes.
24His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power;
He shall destroy fearfully,
And shall prosper and thrive;
He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
25 Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
But he shall be broken without human means.

He shall come to his end, and no one will help him . . .

(Daniel 8:23-25; 11:45b).

23 Thus he said:
The fourth beast shall be
A fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.
24 The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.
25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.
26 But the court shall be seated,
And they shall take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.

(Daniel 7:23-27)

anatolia

gog - mogog scenario

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