The Battle of Gog and Magog

The Battle of Gog and Magog

“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 now all of them dwell safely.” Ezekiel 38:8 (NKJV)

            Why is this scripture from the Old Testament times so important to Christians today?  We are now living in a day that God told us was coming and it has happened. When Israel was taken over by other rulers and scattered among the nations of the world, he promised there would come a day that Israel would once again become a nation.   In 1948 the Jews fought and won the land and it was declared the Nation of Israel. Since that time thousands of Jews have returned to Israel from all different nations and Israel has thrived.

            Today, all eyes are on Israel and it has become the most important country in the world and everyone wants to own it.  It is surrounded by those who want to destroy it and by those who want its rich resources. So what is its future?  Let’s go back to Ezekiel 38:15-16 (NLT), “You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, and you will attack my people Israel, covering their land like a cloud. At that time in the distant future, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the LORD.” (To understand the complete picture, I would urge you to read Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 in the Bible.) 

            Gog and Magog are referenced as Russia today and among those are Persia (Iran), Ethiopia and Libya to name a few. This is what brings about the “War of God and Magog.”  As most of you know, Iran wants to kill all the Jews and claim Jerusalem as its capital.  It looks as though all these countries are poised to attack, but only God knows when.  I’ve no doubt it will happen in His time.

            Now on to the rest of the story in Ezekiel 39:4-6 “You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and wild animals. You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign LORD.  And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”  This great mass of people will be miraculously destroyed by God who keeps watch over Israel.  We don’t know how it will happen, but we know there are enough weapons to burn for 7 years. 

            The ending scripture of Chapter 38, verse 29 is to be noted. “And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”  This is verification of Chapter 37:22, “I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms.”  This is why we should give little worry to those who claim Israel will be destroyed. It’s not going to happen!

            I recently heard this statement in a clinical study “a helicopter dad”, which means they hover over their child.  What a great statement, we have a helicopter Father in heaven who hovers over his children.  Where would we be without Him; where would Israel be without Him?  Israel is the ‘apple of his eye’ and will remain that until the end of time as we know it.

            The Holy Spirit of God also watches over us personally; nothing happens to us that he doesn’t know about.  Some day we will realize he was there all the time and we went through times that we thought our prayers were not answered.  A time will come when you will see that it was part of God’s plan.  Just like Israel and all they went through over thousands of years, but in the end God gave them what he promised. 

            As for now, what exciting times we live in.  We hate seeing what is happening around the world, but we see and know it is part of God’s plan.  This is how we know the beginning and the end.  We are written on the palms of God’s hand so he will always remember us.

            Yes, wars may come and go, but God is in charge.  The War of Gog and Magog is probably the next war to come and it will take place before the Battle of Armageddon.  Prophesy is like watching “Coming Attractions’ except we don’t know when it’s coming.  However, we can be assured it will happen!

When Faith Overcomes Fear

When Faith Overcomes Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7

Reading in Psalms I thought to myself, how David, a great King of Israel, had so many fears.  I looked it up in the Psalms and ‘fear’ was mentioned 59 or 60 times.  Some of the times were positive and some were negative, they were all surrounding the word ‘FEAR’.

One phone call can strike ‘fear’ in your heart.  It may be something you heard or saw on the news.  Fear is not just a word; it is a thing.  It’s a thing you cannot see coming at you, but you feel the impact nevertheless.  I will use myself for an example. About six years ago, I went to the doctor because I had a lump in my breast. When he said to me, “You have cancer”, I felt the hair rise up on my arms and fear descended on me.  I imagined the worse things possible.  Then in a quiet time I began to talk to God/

“Father, I am a believer and I have chosen to follow you.  I know this fear I feel is not from you [and I quoted 2 Timothy 1:7].  I had to have faith to believe who you said you are and I did.  Now, Lord, I am going to rely on you to see me through whatever I must do.  Let faith in you rise up in me to trust you with the outcome.”  At that time God gave me strength to go on.  Suddenly, Faith overcame my Fear!

From then on, I had no more fear and sailed through a double mastectomy and then doing what I had to do.  Here I am today, changed both physically and spiritually, with greater faith than ever before.  God is an awesome God and I cannot live without Him.  Praise God!

Do I still struggle with faith?  Yes, every day.  Fear is a powerful thing that wants to attach its self to you and hang on tight, but our God is more powerful and He can break that hold quickly.  We can either allow fear to ruin our lives, or allow God to fill us with faith that is strong enough to break any bondage.  I could relate to you many stories in my lifetime when I had no faith, but God didn’t give up on me.  Instead, let me share a truth in the Living Bible, Psalm 84:5-7, “Happy are those who are strong in the Lord, who want above all to follow your steps. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of springs where pools of blessing and refreshment collect after rains.  They will grow constantly in strength and each of them is invited to meet with the Lord in Zion.”

There is so much wisdom in these verses that I must go in a little deeper for you.  When we have given our heart to the Lord, we want to do what he has shown us and that is to follow his steps.  Throughout our lifetime, we will face sorrow, fear, tragedy and pain and that is just life.  We often face despair and depression, and this verse warns us that we will go through those Valleys of Weeping.  However, we will immerge from that valley through when our Faith overcomes our fears and there will be pools of refreshment and blessings waiting for us.  The Blessing is this; we will be stronger; stronger in faith, stronger to come against the enemy of our soul and strong in our relationship with God.

These words have comforted me so many times when I have wandered into the Valley.  You may argue that science has many helps for you and you should follow that direction and pray too.  Many years ago when I was a young woman, I was barely surviving in a life filled with fears.  I was afraid to live and afraid to die.  I was filled with all kinds of pills and drugs and struggled with severe treatments; they told me I had ‘manic depression’.  Nothing worked and life had no meaning.

Then one day God spoke silently to my heart and told me this was my last chance to serve him and that was the most fear I ever had in my life.  I knew if I didn’t give my heart and soul to him, I would never see heaven; I felt such rejection, it was unbelievable.  That day was a day that turned my sadness into joy and hope took root in my heart. I said ‘yes’ and I have never looked back and continue to serve the Lord with joy and gladness every day.

Never discount the fact that God can set you free from fear and give you hope instead of hopelessness.  What do you want from God today?  Do you want your mind and your thoughts renewed?  Believe what the Bible tells you what God can do for you; he can “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

Pray this prayer and mean it in your heart:  “Father, please take away all these fears in my thoughts and in my mind. Instead, fill me with your Spirit and draw me close to you. Set me free from all the things that are troubling me and give me the faith to believe.

After The Fireworks

After the Fireworks

“But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat .

          I hear the sound of a celebration.” Exodus 32:18 (NLT)

            Did you know that there were celebrations happening way back in the time of Moses?  Even before that, the Egyptians had celebrations that lasted for several days.  For example, the Festival of Isis, a goddess of ancient Egypt, was held as a celebration of spring and rebirth; they also held a festival of Isis at the time when the Nile began to rise. This is nothing new and continues today.

We just finished our celebration of Independence Day with parties, picnics and fireworks.  I think we heard fireworks going on for at least four days.  Now it’s back to regular living and our lives continue as usual. What changes did that celebration make in our lives?  Did we even think of what it meant, or was it just time off work, fun things to do and getting together with family and friends?  If so, we apparently missed the total idea of why we were celebrating, which was the freedom of our country.

We are now back to living in the “calm before the storm”.  Behind the celebration a whole lot of things were going on like North Korea planning to hit the U.S. with a giant missile.  There was Germany rising up again hating America (makes you wonder if there will be a Third Reich) and Russia working with Iran and Syria and becoming allies.  Did anyone think about this while they were shooting off fireworks? Look at this verse in Matthew 24:38-39  “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

I must tell you that I’m not writing this to cause fear in your hearts; I’m writing this to warn you that one of these days this is going to happen and I want you to be saved and serving God when that time comes.  I feel as though the Holy Spirit has put these teachings on my heart as a way to make others aware of the truth in the Bible. Having said that, I will continue with this teaching.

Things are not always as they seem; the world is not always as it seems.  We have enjoyed the freedoms of this county all of our lives and the freedom of speech along with it.  I can’t even imagine living in a place that have almost none of what we experience here.  Over the past years we have watched this country slide downward in sin.  As sin grows and is accepted, faith is downsizing and not accepted.  So many families live their lives on compromising. The young people of today are deeply confused as to what’s right and what’s wrong because of what they see and hear. 

One issue that confuses our youth is, “What’s wrong with living together?”   Here is what they see, famous people like movies stars and sports idols do it, people running our country do it, people that go to church do it and even parents and grandparents allow it.  I didn’t even mention all of the people who are okay with it.  Another issue that has become so acceptable is “Abortion”.  They never would call it by its real name, “Murder”.  They look at it like ‘Abortion’ is a necessary action while ‘Murder’ is a criminal action.

These are just a few of the things going on in this country and continues to grow in numbers and won’t stop until Jesus returns.  He will come unexpectedly and it will be too late to be sorry or to want to change your life.  You may open your mouth to say something, but your word won’t be completed and you’ll be gone.  Maybe right now you are saying that you don’t believe this and you don’t want to hear about it.  Okay, I won’t say any more about how you can still accept Jesus as your Savior before it’s too late and be saved from the wrath to come. 

Independence Day

Independence Day

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 
John 8:32

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it two days later on July 4.

The British had control over the Thirteen Colony’s which desperately wanted to free themselves from British rule. The war lasted from 1775 -1783 even though the Declaration of Independence was signed.  The British had a strong Navy, but were weak in the countryside and on land.  The entire war changed when France was joined by Spain and the Netherlands and the war ended in 1783.  Many were killed and much blood was spilled.

There was another day when it seemed as though the enemy won the battle and blood was spilled. The people thought it was all over as the blood ran down the ground and seeped into every little opening.  Friday was a devastating day for those who were in attendance.

Wait! Sunday arrived as Independence Day.  Freedom arrived with a bang and would never be stopped again.  Jesus overcame the enemy and when he died on the cross he willingly gave freedom to every person in the world. Freedom to make choices; freedom of how to live; freedom to live forever and freedom to love.

It took thousands of people to die so our country could live in freedom.  It took only One Man, Jesus Christ, to set millions free for eternity. The 4^th of July is a great time to celebrate the Freedom of our country and it is always time to celebrate the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ so we might have total Freedom.