The Final Jihad

Part One

There is coming a final jihad between the Islamic world and Israel. The United States will play a role in this conflict and our decisions on who will support in this jihad will ultimately determine our national destiny. There is no mention of the USA specifically in scripture. In contrast you cannot ready ANY prophetic scripture without seeing ISRAEL all over the pages. That should give us pause to think today and know that the time is quickly approaching for the coming of the Lord.

 

By Chris McDonald

 

I don’t think there is a person reading this journal today that can truthfully say their life has been the same since September 11, 2001. Whether you are Christian or non-Christian, the events of last year’s terrorist attacks stunned us all. I believe the events of last year have set in motion to a degree the ingredients for an end-time battle spoken of in Ezekiel 38 and 39, which many Bible scholars call the Battle of Gog and Magog.

 

There are some Bible scholars, some of whom I respect deeply and study behind often when it comes to prophecy, which believe the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 is the great battle of Armageddon. I am not going to dispute that theory in this journal. There are several factors in the account of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that could back up that theory without too much stretching or too much messing with scripture to get something to “fit.” Other Bible scholars believe (and this is a growing sentiment even among the most conservative of Bible teachers) that the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will take place prior to the Great Battle of Armageddon and will involve Russia and a vast horde of Islamic nations on all sides who will attack Israel while she is at peace. To be quite frank I believe the more I study this scenario that this may be more of what Ezekiel described than that of Armageddon. Either way I can assure you of two things:

 

  1. The religion of Islam is extremely HOSTILE towards Judaism and Christianity. Islamic fundamentalists hate the Jewish people and they hate Christians.

  2. Whether this war is Armageddon or a end-time battle before the Great Tribulation – the seeds for this battle are in the ground and the fruit of the conflict is not too far over the horizon

  3. God is in control and the end of this battle will be the END of militant Islam as we know it today

  4. The coming Antichrist will have such a grip on the world that MUSLIMS, Christians and Jews will all suffer persecution and even death unless they swear total allegiance to the beast. There will be NO ROOM during the Great Tribulation for allegiances to Allah or to Jehovah unless you like your head on a silver platter.

  5. The events of September 11, 2001 in America turned a page I believe in prophetic history that may have started the clock literally ticking down to the events recorded in Ezekiel 38 and 39. That’s how close we are to something of this magnitude happening.

 

The Future Of Islam

 

There is coming a final JIHAD against the nation of Israel. The future of Islam is not discussed too much among newscasters today simply because most don’t know God or the Bible and only discuss things from a secular, liberal, humanistic view. To mankind, ALL religions of the world are ok, including this demented religion that was formed by a decadent individual named Mohammed and spread throughout the world, not by peace, but by the SWORD. God KNOWS the future of radical Islam, or as some put it- the JIHAD or HOLY WAR against the “infidels.”

 

Despite all this, God loves the Islamic people even though they are in darkness. We plan to write a journal in the coming weeks entitled, “The Ancient Hostility,” which outlines God’s view however of Islam’s hatred for the Jewish people. That hatred goes all the way back to Jacob and Esau, Ishmael and Isaac. It’s not a simple matter. The events of the Middle East today are complex in nature because of this religion that is growing at a rate right now that is quickly overtaking Christianity all over this globe. God is gracious and patient, but when it comes to His people, He protects Israel as “the apple of His eye,” and when any nation, be it Islamic or non-Islamic, comes against the covenant land of Abraham and the children of Abraham, neighbor that nation has a problem and controversy with God! Let me change that – God has a controversy with THEM!

 

America little understands what she is dealing with when it comes to Islam and the Muslims. Our President, who I respect greatly and believe to be a man of God (albeit weak and immature at times), tends to place Islam along side Christianity as “just another peace-loving” religion. The picture though that emerges from the TRUTH about Islam is NOT PRETTY, nor does it paint a religion that is guided by peace. Islam will play a MAJOR role in the end time prophetic plan of God across planet Earth – and especially as it relates to Israel. Islamic followers demand that political power be anchored in religious zeal. That is the spirit behind this last day’s effort to destroy the Jewish people, carve up the covenant land of the West Bank and put Israel in a place where she has no borders or protection against her enemies. 

 

Ezekiel describes a final invasion of Israel by an Islamic-driven confederacy led by what the Bible refers to as “Gog” and “Magog.” There is little argument that those two terms implies that  Russia herself will be the ring leader of this attack. That may not seem feasible right now with Russia’s current condition but remember Ezekiel didn’t know the region of the world in his day as “Russia.” He said “the land from the north.” Today, there are at least seven former Soviet Union states that are all heavily Islamic-controlled countries. They will be some of the players in this game when it comes to pass very soon.

 

To put it in more laymen terms, the Arab world’s hostility against Israel (and the United States too) will eventually erupt and they will see a chance to do what Hitler and Haman tried to do in the past and what the future Anti-Christ will also try to do in the future following this war – destroy the Jews. It will not be the first time the Arab world has tried to destroy God’s chosen people and take their covenant land.

 

Arab-Israeli Wars Of The Past

 

Since the United Nations partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, there have been five major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982) and numerous intermittent battles. Although Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, hostility between Israel and the rest of its Arab neighbors was complicated by the demands of Palestinian Arabs for an independent state in Israeli territory.

 

Israel’s War For Independence 1947-1949

 

The first war began as a civil conflict between Palestinian Jews and Arabs following the United Nations recommendation of Nov. 29, 1947, to partition Palestine, then still under British mandate, into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Fighting quickly spread as Arab guerrillas attacked Jewish settlements to prevent implementation of the UN plan.

 

Jewish forces prevented seizure of most settlements, but Arab guerrillas, supported by the Transjordanian Arab Legion under the command of British officers, besieged Jerusalem. By April, Haganah, the principal Jewish military group, seized the offensive, scoring victories against the Arab Liberation Army in northern Palestine, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. British military forces withdrew to Haifa; although officially neutral, some commanders assisted one side or the other.

 

After the British had departed and the state of Israel had been established on May 15, 1948, under the premiership of David Ben-Gurion, the Palestine Arab forces and foreign volunteers were joined by regular armies of Transjordan (now the kingdom of Jordan), Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, with token support from Saudi Arabia. Efforts by the UN to halt the fighting were unsuccessful until June 11, when a 4-week truce was declared. When the Arab states refused to renew the truce, 10 more days of fighting erupted. In that time Israel greatly extended the area under its control and broke the siege of Jerusalem. Fighting on a smaller scale continued during the second UN truce beginning in mid-July, and Israel acquired more territory, especially in Galilee and the Negev. By January 1949, when the last battles ended, Israel had extended its frontiers by about 5,000 km6 (1,930 mi6) beyond the 15,500 km6 (4,983 mi6) allocated to the Jewish state in the UN partition resolution. It had also secured its independence. During 1949, armistice agreements were signed under UN auspices between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. The armistice frontiers were unofficial boundaries until 1967.

 

The Suez Campaign Of 1956

 

Border conflicts between Israel and the Arabs continued despite provisions in the 1949 armistice agreements for peace negotiations. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs who had left Israeli-held territory during the first war concentrated in refugee camps along Israel's frontiers and became a major source of friction when they infiltrated back to their homes or attacked Israeli border settlements. A major tension point was the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip, from which Arab guerrillas raided southern Israel. Egypt's blockade of Israeli shipping in the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aqaba intensified the hostilities.

 

These escalating tensions converged with the Suez Crisis caused by the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian president Gamal Nasser. Great Britain and France strenuously objected to Nasser's policies, and a joint military campaign was planned against Egypt with the understanding that Israel would take the initiative by seizing the Sinai Peninsula. The war began on Oct. 29, 1956, after an announcement that the armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan were to be integrated under the Egyptian commander in chief. Israel's Operation Kadesh, commanded by Moshe Dayan, lasted less than a week; its forces reached the eastern bank of the Suez Canal in about 100 hours, seizing the Gaza Strip and nearly all the Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai operations were supplemented by an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt on November 5, giving the allies control of the northern sector of the Suez Canal.

 

The war was halted by a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of all occupying forces from Egyptian territory. The General Assembly also established a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to replace the allied troops on the Egyptian side of the borders in Suez, Sinai, and Gaza. By December 22 the last British and French troops had left Egypt. Israel's forces were not withdrawn from Gaza until March 1957.

 

God's Prophetic Clock Starts Ticking: The SIX-DAY WAR of 1967

 

In the following decade the Suez Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping, the Arab boycott of Israel was maintained, and periodic border clashes occurred between Israel, Syria, and Jordan. However, UNEF prevented direct military encounters between Egypt and Israel.

 

By 1967 the Arab confrontation states of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, became impatient with the status quo, and border incidents increased. Tensions culminated in May when Egyptian forces massed in Sinai, and Cairo ordered the UNEF to leave Sinai and Gaza. President Nasser also announced that the Gulf of Aqaba would be closed again to Israeli shipping. At the end of May, Egypt and Jordan signed a new defense pact placing Jordan's armed forces under Egyptian command. Efforts to de-escalate the crisis were of no avail. Israeli and Egyptian leaders visited the United States, but President Lyndon Johnson's attempts to persuade Western powers to guarantee free passage through the Gulf failed.

 

Believing that war was inevitable, Israeli Premier Levi Eshkol, Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan, and Army Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin approved preemptive Israeli strikes at Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, and Iraqi airfields on June 5, 1967. By the evening of June 6, Israel had destroyed the combat effectiveness of the major Arab air forces. Israel also swept into Sinai, reaching the Suez Canal and occupying most of the peninsula in less than four days.

 

King Hussein I of Jordon rejected an offer of neutrality and opened fire on Israeli forces in Jerusalem on June 5. But a lightning Israeli campaign placed all of Arab Jerusalem and the Jordanian West Bank in Israeli hands by June 8. As the war ended on the Jordanian and Egyptian fronts, Israel opened an attack on Syria in the north. In a little more than two days of fierce fighting, Syrian forces were driven from the Golan Heights, from which they had shelled Jewish settlements across the border. The Six-Day War ended on June 10 when the UN negotiated cease-fire agreements on all fronts. Many bible scholars believe that God’s prophetic time clock for the events discussed in this journal began ticking when the Jewish state regained control of Jerusalem. Some have went to say that the end had begun on the “times of the Gentiles” spoken of by Christ in Matthew 24 and 25. 

 

The Six-Day War increased several fold the area under Israel's control. Through the occupation of Sinai, Gaza, Arab Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Golan Heights, Israel shortened its land frontiers with Egypt and Jordan and temporarily increased its strategic advantages vis-à-vis the neighboring Arab states. But the addition of more than 1,500,000 Palestinian Arabs to areas under Israeli control threatened internal security. It is these lands that the liberal news media wants you and I to believe Israel illegally occupies. But friend, even the facts from secular history prove otherwise. These lands were won by Israel through conflict AFTER BEING ATTACKED FIRST! If the Arab worlds wants Israel to stop occupying land – maybe they need to stop attacking innocent Israeli civilians!!!!!!

 

The October War Of 1973 (YOM KIPPUR)

 

Israel was the dominant military power in the region for the next six years. Led by Golda Meir from 1969, it was generally satisfied with the status quo, but Arab leaders repeatedly warned that they would not accept continued Israeli occupation of the lands lost in 1967. After Anwar al-Sadat succeeded Nasser as president of Egypt in 1970, threats were more frequent, as was periodic massing of troops along the Suez Canal. Egyptian and Syrian forces underwent massive rearmament with sophisticated Soviet equipment. Sadat consolidated war preparations in secret agreements with President Hafez al-Assad of Syria for a joint attack and with King Faisal of Saudi Arabia to finance the operations.

 

Egypt and Syria attacked on Oct. 6, 1973, pushing Israeli forces several kilometers behind the 1967 cease-fire lines. Israel was thrown off guard, partly because the attack came on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the most sacred Jewish religious day. Although Israel recovered from the initial setback, it failed to regain all the territory lost in the first days of fighting. In counterattacks on the Egyptian front, Israel seized a major bridgehead behind the Egyptian lines on the west bank of the canal. In the north, Israel drove a wedge into the Syrian lines.

 

After 18 days of fighting in the longest Arab-Israeli war since 1948, the UN again halted hostilities. The costs were the greatest in any battles fought since World War II. The three-week war cost Egypt and Israel about $7 billion each, in material and losses from declining production or damage.

 

The political phase of the 1973 war ended with disengagement agreements accepted by Israel, Egypt, and Syria after negotiations in 1974 and 1975 by U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger. The agreements provided for Egyptian reoccupation of a strip of land in Sinai along the east bank of the Suez Canal and for Syrian control of a small area around the Golan Heights town of Quneitra. UN forces were stationed on both fronts to oversee observance of the agreements.

 

Under an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed on Mar. 26, 1979, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. Hopes for an expansion of the peace process to include other Arab nations waned, however, when Egypt and Israel were subsequently unable to agree on a formula for Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the 1980s tensions were increased by conflicts between Israeli authorities and Palestinians in territories that actually belong to Israel. It was from this conflict in 1973 that the seeds were planted for the emergency of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the mid-1980s. The PLO launched numerous guerrilla attacks on Israeli settlements in Galilee. In 1982, Israel had had enough and invaded Lebanon to retaliate against the PLO for such attacks.

 

 

OPERATION "PEACE FOR GALILEE" (1982)

 

On June 6, 1982, Israel launched a full-scale invasion of Lebanon to destroy PLO bases there and to end the attacks across its borders. Meeting little resistance, Israeli commanders pushed northward, reaching the outskirts of Beirut within a week. Fighting with Syrian forces also erupted; nearly 80 Syrian MiGs and 19 missile batteries in the Bekaa Valley were destroyed without loss of a single Israeli plane. That was a trend through out ALL the Israeli-Arab wars. Stories of supernatural events assisting Israel screamed in the face of historians and ungodly politicians that GOD WAS FIGHTING FOR HIS PEOPLE! God was on the side of Israel. Why? Because He said He would be! Praise God.

 

By the end of June, Israel had captured most of southern Lebanon and besieged PLO and Syrian forces in West Beirut. The siege ended through U.S. mediation in August, when Israel agreed to leave Beirut provided Syrian and PLO forces also withdrew. A multinational force from the United States and Western Europe supervised the Syrian and PLO evacuation. On September 15, after the assassination of Lebanese president-elect Bashir Gemayel, Israel reoccupied Beirut and authorized Gemayel's Phalangist militia to "cleanse" Palestinian refugee camps of any remaining PLO fighters. The Phalange massacred hundreds of Palestinians, sparking Israeli antiwar protests.

 

Israel signed an agreement with Lebanon ending the state of war in May 1983, but Lebanon renounced the pact under Syrian pressure in March 1984. Public pressures in Israel led to the withdrawal of Israeli troops by June 1994, leaving 1,000 "security personnel" to assist its Lebanese allies. While Israel's borders remained secure, its internal stability was threatened by continued demands for Palestinian self-determination and by an intifada (uprising) in the occupied territories launched in December 1987. Israel and the PLO signed a series of agreements on Palestinian self-rule beginning in 1993 that led to the turnover of much of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to Palestinian control and Israel and Jordan formally ended their state of war in 1994. But peace talks between Israel and Syria (which had resumed in December 1999) soon broke down, and a new wave of violence erupted after a Sept. 13, 2000, deadline for a final accord between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority was not met. Thus, despite much progress (including Israel's withdrawal from the buffer zone it had long occupied in southern Lebanon in May 2000), permanent peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors remained elusive.

 

Israel’s Next War?

 

          Since September 2000 when the PLO began its most recent “Infitada” or uprising against Israel’s existence, many have wondered when all of this Arab hatred against Israel would and will eventually erupt into the next Middle East war. I believe the answer can be found right in God’s word through the words of Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39. We know from studying Bible prophecy that there are five MAIN events left on God’s prophetic timetable for Planet Earth prior the Millennium Kingdom when Messiah Jesus will set up His earthly Kingdom:

 

§         The Rapture Of The Church To Heaven

§         The Seven-Year Great Tribulation Period

§         The Three-And-A-Half Year World Empire Of The Anti Christ

§         The Campaign Of Armageddon (World War III)

§         The Physical Second Coming Of Yeshua To Earth To Set Up His Kingdom In Jerusalem

 

The rapture is the next great event on God’s prophetic timetable. This will occur when all who have personally accepted Christ as their LORD and Saviour, the living AND the dead, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and go with Him back up to heaven. At least seven years later, these same believers will return with Him to earth at His Second Coming.

 

1 Thes. 4:13-18

    But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. [15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. [16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. [18] Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 

1 Cor. 15:50-58

    Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. [54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. [55] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 

John 14:1-3

    Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 

          The Tribulation is the final seven years of THIS AGE. It will begin with a false peace treaty between Israel and the Antichrist and end with the Second Coming of Yeshua to earth. During this time the Lord will pour out His wrath upon the earth in successive waves of judgment. But also during this time the Lord will pour out His grace by saving MILLIONS during this time. The great outpouring of the Holy Ghost is tied directly into the timetable of this “tribulation period” in scripture spoken on in Revelation chapters 6-19.

 

          During the last half of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will rule the world – politically, economically, and religiously. The entire world will give allegiance to him or suffer persecution or death (Rev. 13:1-18). It is debated among some Bible teachers whether the Antichrist’s rule will actually be worldwide but let me say this. Whether its’ worldwide or not, his influence WILL be worldwide. The scripture makes it clear that even those not under his control “will wonder and marvel after the beast.” That is a whole other topic for discussion another time!

 

          The battle of Armageddon is the final event of the Great Tribulation period. All the armies of the earth will gather to come against Israel and attempt once and for all to eradicate the Jewish people. (Rev. 14:19-20; 16:12-16; 19:19-21). Actually these armies will be led by the Antichrist. The Antichrist we believe will be an apostate Jewish person who will persuade Israel he is her “messiah” for a season only to show his true colors in the middle part of the Tribulation and become the “abomination of desolation” as spoken of by Christ in Matthew 24.

 

Rev. 14:19-20

    And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. [20] And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

 

Rev. 16:12-16

    And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. [13] And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. [14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. [15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

 

Rev. 19:20-21

    And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

 

The climatic event of human history is the literal, physical, visible glorious return of Jesus Christ to planet earth. He will destroy the armies of the world gathered against Israel and set up His Kingdom on earth that will last for one thousand years. (Rev.19:11-21). It’s at that time when ALL ISRAEL shall be saved as a nation and cry together “Blessed is He who COMES in the name of the Lord.” Neighbor, that time is upon us soon.

 

          Somewhere in this foray of prophecy there will be a final jihad against Israel from the Arab world. No one can agree on the timing but we ALL agree it’s going to occur because the Word of God decrees it and neighbor when the Word of God decrees it – IT SHALL COME TO PASS! Russia and an Islamic alliance are going to invade Israel. Sixty years ago we couldn’t have said that because there WAS NO STATE OF ISRAEL prior to 1948. Some sixty years ago millions of Jewish people were being herded together and incinerated by the millions in the Nazi houses of horror, better known as death camps. While Jews were fighting for their very survival as people, the idea of a rebirth of their nation would have seemed like nothing more than an illusion. NOT TODAY.

 

          The world today is a lighted powder keg waiting to explode. Since the events of September 11, we have seen first hand what type of enemies we as the United States face. The interesting footnote to all this is that Israel’s enemies have become OUR enemies. Her fight for survival since her inception against this same Islamic hatred has now taken on a whole new meaning for most Americans. Where many in America were very much in the dark of the current Middle East situation prior to September 11, 9-11 has made many us find out for ourselves what is driving so many to want to do so much hurt and destruction to both America and Israel.

 

Islamic Jihad: The Force Behind The Current World Disorder

 

          As much as I respect President Bush he is DEAD wrong about his assessment of Islam. The beginning of modern radical Islam can probably be traced to the Iranian revolution in 1979, led by Ayatollah Khomeini. The takeover of the American embassy in Tehran and the internment of its staff are etched in the minds of all Americans. After 1979, the Iranian revolution was exported to other nations and gained momentum in the 1980s. But a movement that was already gaining ground was rocketed forward and exploded onto the scene thanks to three main events from 1989 – 1991:

 

§         The Defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan in 1989

§         The Gulf War in Early 1991

§         The Demise Of The Soviet Union In December 1991

 

Since 1991, militant Islam has literally exploded onto the scene. On September 11, 2001, that explosion was felt on American soil. I believe the Word of God tells us that there is also coming an explosion of Islamic conflict on Israel’s soil as well.

 

          Before we go any further, I want to discuss the term “Islamic Jihad.” Most Americans hear that term everyday and do not understand what it really means. Jihad is a traditional Muslim word for HOLY WAR against the unfaithful that would stand and oppose Islam’s spread and doctrine. Islam itself means “submission.” Ezekiel 38-39 describes the final jihad. Ezekiel tells us three reasons WHY this horde of nations will invade Israel:

 

Ezekiel 38:9-13

    Thou shall ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. [10] Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, [12] To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. [13] Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

 

          Ezekiel never uses the word JIHAD in this passage but the three reasons why these invaders attack Israel describe perfectly what we know as modern-day Islamic Jihad:

 

§         Death To Israel

§         To Plunder

§         Death To The West

 

        According to God the first reason these nations come is to cover the land of Israel like a storm, to turn their hand against Israel. They will be motivated by a SATANIC hatred for the Jewish people to completely cover their land and wipe them off the face of the earth. This is the stated goal of EVERY ISLAMIC NATION. Since 1948, the Muslim nations of the world have been in a constant state of war with Israel and we showed you earlier in this journal. The only Arab/Muslim nations not in a declared state of war with Israel today are: Egypt, Turkey and Jordan, yet even they would be more than happy to see the Jewish state gone.

 

        I want to state something here along these same lines. The current news media will have you believe that the PLO’s claim of East Jerusalem and the West Bank is over land. It is NOT. Israel does not “occupy” Palestinian land. Israel OWNS the land and it belongs to HER to begin with. The uprising and suicide bombings you see each week almost in Israel is not over land – it’s over this very same issue I just stated above. The PLO wants to see the complete annihilation and destruction of the nation of ISRAEL. PERIOD. There are no compromises in the minds of the Palestinians. For the news cameras though Mr. Arafat will tell us that he is a peace loving man and he is only fighting for the impoverished families of the Palestinians living in settlements in these areas. THAT IS A LIE. It is in Mr. Arafat’s heart to see Israel eliminated. The PLO does NOT want peace. They DO NOT want to co-exist with Israel. They DO NOT want to share Jerusalem. They DO NOT want to allow Israeli citizens to be remain safe from terrorism. THEY WANT ISRAEL DESTROYED. You as a child of God need to understand that. There are some I’m afraid that don’t. There are some that believe the lies of the liberal news media.

 

        But friend, every single act of terrorism on Israeli soil in the last 36 months has usually come during a time when Israel has buckled under U.S. pressure to form a Palestinian state. EVERY million-dollar or billion-dollar tragedy and natural disaster that has hit the United States has hit this land whenever we have pressured Israel to give up Covenant land. We will deal with that more in a future journal. But Joel’s warning in the 3rd chapter of his book is just as real today as it was when those words were penned over 1500 years ago:

 

Joel 3:1-3

    For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, [2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. [3] And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

 

          God is about to plead with the nations about parting his land. Those who continue down this path will face utter destruction. I have said it for months that the downfall of America will be tied into two things- the rapture of the church and her handling of Israel. Trouble is coming to America.

 

        The second reason these nations will come is to cash in on the wealth of Israel. God says they come to “to capture soil and to seize plunder…. to capture great spoil.” These nations come out of greed, envy, and jealousy to take away all they can from Israel. Not only do they want to eradicate Israel, they want to enrich themselves at her expense as the Nazis did during the horrific events of the Holocaust of 1938-1945.

 

          The third and final reason they will attack is to come against the Western World. Many believe that when this invasion occurs that Israel may very well have already signed a peace treaty with the Antichrist. She will be enjoying PEACE albeit a false peace. The invaders will come “upon those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates.” (38:11). Since Israel will be under either western protection or from the forces of Antichrist, an attack against Israel will be Islam’s attack against her western allies, mainly Europe (European Union) and possibly whatever is left of the United States at the time.

 

          Militant Islamic regimes would love nothing more than to invade Israel at a time of supposed peace and tranquility, crush her, and plunder her of all her wealth. Their venomous hatred for Israel knows no bounds. This invasion will be a jihad to end all jihads. It will be the last great attempt by militant Islamic countries to wipe out the Jewish people and their promised land once and for all. But their end will be swift, horrible and destructive. GOD WILL DESTROY THESE NATIONS AND THEIR LEADER – GOG AND MAGOG.

 

          In these series of upcoming journals on the coming jihad we will take a look at several questions about this coming jihad using a simple equation of questions. We’ve answered the “why” in this article, we will look at “who,” and ‘when” and “what” in the next journal.

 

          As we close here, let me say a few things and encourage you who are reading this. If you are a child of God, these things should not and will not frighten you. If anything it will cause you to rejoice to know that we are getting closer and closer to the rapture of the church. Titus called the rapture of the church – “the blessed hope.” Paul described it as a time when mortality will put on immortality and corruption will put on incorruption. We are on the precipice of that right now. Neighbor, I feel it in my bones that something big is about to happen.

 

          Yeshua said when you see these things coming to pass – LIFT UP YOUR HEADS REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH! And it’s getting close to that time today. I pray you know Yeshua as Lord. If you don’t there is not a better time to make the slate clean before God than right now as you read these words. It’s getting late neighbor, it’s getting late. Shalom.

 

Because It's Getting Late Neighbor

 

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