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By omharris
As a quick disclaimer: I have seen your replies and clearly some of you have a heart for God. Others, spend far too much time listening to the doctrines of demons. Know this, unless they block me I will not quit. I write for a world that is filled with people with a heart like mine; one that has learned to err on the side of mercy. Have a great day basking in the love of Jesus Christ our soon coming King.
Now, on with the post.
Having addressed who or what Gog could be in my previous post, we now look at the directive given to Ezekiel to prophecy against Gog (from a great distance, and through time,) about what God's plan is, for the last days.
Ezekiel 38:3 NASB and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.
Eugene Peterson's “The Message” gives us this, “Be warned, Gog. I am against you.
Ezekiel 38:4 CJB I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all completely equipped, a great horde with breastplates and shields, all wielding swords.
Why would verse four be immensely significant in the Jewish mind?
If you think back to the story of Jonah you remember that Jonah was asked to prophesy against Nineveh and tell them their days were numbered. While that might seem appropriate, especially if you had an intense hatred for the Ninevehites and wanted them dead because they were sadistically cruel and bloody people.
But Jonah also knew something about God that most of us miss, and that was that God's nature was one of mercy. The other thing that Jonah understood was that the Ninevehites were a part of the Assyrian nation, just as Gog is, and they had the nasty habit of dragging their victims back to their lands by putting hooks in their mouths, among other places.
“I will turn you around.”
Another piece of insight for you. Having recently gone to the beach to be with family, I took an ice chest of cold drinks. I dragged that chest from the car, across the beach sand, and now, later in the day, I was dragging it back again. By the time I got to the stairs that lead up to the car, I was exhausted. I could feel the full weight of the ice chest as I went up the first step. Suddenly it got lighter. I actually thought I was going to turn around and see an angel. What I saw was the long-haired young man whom I had just passed carrying a skateboard. My wife, who was about 22 meters behind me, saw the skateboarder and internally had said, Lord, that would be great if that young man helped my husband. With that, the young man stopped, turned, and began to help me without saying a word. You see, God has ways of his will without a word being exchanged; and, the young man, he probably thought it was his great idea.
“and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all completely equipped, a great horde with breastplates and shields, all wielding swords.”
In one of my posts on Ezekiel 38, I went into great detail about the people of that region, the Scythians. One of their claims to fame is that they were skillful horsemen and deadly with weapons as they rode. Would Ezekiel have known that? It is highly possible as the line of descendants that produced these people existed long before Ezekiel did and he would have learned this through oral history.
At this point, I only wish to say, that someone attempted to challenge my previous assertions about Gog, saying, Gog was Satan. Based upon verse four alone is that probable?
Not likely seeing as 1Chronicles 5:4 shows us the lineage of a man named Gog, a descendant of Reuben – the disinherited son of Jacob, but then, Ezekiel's prophecy and the actual occurrence of these events spans well over two thousand years and no one lives that long. The only other thing that has credence is a demonic spirit/ fallen angel that carries that name.
In this battle coming against Israel, who are the players?
Ezekiel 38:5-6 NASB Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6) Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops-many peoples with you.
Persia – Modern day Iran
Ethiopia – At one time Ethiopia was known as Cush.
Put - Put is the Libyans. While Qaddafi may have been a wild man, since his removal the nation has turned into a violent Muslim nation.
Gomer - Sits squarely in modern day Turkey.
Beth-togarmah - This was territory from which the Medes emanated. It is the region in which the Armenians resided. At one point in time, the Assyrian nations bordered Beth-togarmah, and it is the Caucasus region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. While Russia has dominated these people at times they seem to be independent of Russia while maintaining civil war amongst themselves.
There is a strong clue embedded within the verse that says, “in the far reaches of the north, with all its troops-many peoples are with you." Again, this is the Scythian region and one of their claims to fame was Genghis Khan.
Ezekiel 38:7 CJB Prepare yourself, get ready, you and all your crowd gathered around you; and take charge of them.
Consider something here. Ezekiel is writing this while he is in Babylonian captivity; which for him, began around 570 B.C. Now, over 2570 years later, God is finally bringing this collection of assailants together for a horrendous battle. A battle, that for Israel, will look impossible.
Many will add another war in here, the Psalm 83 war. Some even insert it before the events that Ezekiel lays out before us.
Psalms 83:3-8 ISV They plot against your people and conspire against your cherished ones. 4) They say, "Let us go and erase them as a nation so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore." 5) Indeed, they shrewdly planned together, forming an alliance against you— 6) the tents of Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagrites, 7) Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, and the inhabitants of Tyre. 😎 Even Assyria joined them to strengthen the descendants of Lot. Interlude.
Psalm 83 has similarities to what we see in Ezekiel 38 and 39, but what I don't see is Cush, and Put – Egypt and Libya. I am not sure those nations can be excluded as the descendants traveled extensively.
Ezekiel 38:8 CJB After many days have passed, you will be mustered for service; in later years you will invade the land which has been brought back from the sword, gathered out of many peoples, the mountains of Isra'el. They had been lying in ruins for a long time, but now Isra'el has been extracted from the peoples and all of them are living there securely.
“After many days have passed,”
Far too many read this and think it merely means weeks later. This phrase, like “the prince that shall come,” that is defined for us in Daniel 9:26, has several encroachments into history. The problem is, these intrusions are spread across thousands of years.
Many is the Hebrew word rab meaning much, many, numerous, and abundance, among others.
Verse eight is clearly a description of Israel.
Ezekiel 38:9 CJB You will come up like a storm, you will be like a cloud covering the land—you and all your troops, and many other peoples with you.'
“You will come up like a storm,”
Sudden and overwhelming. Are all storms sudden? No, in many cases people will say, this is storm weather and it always starts like this. So, the implication is that we have a strong probability of knowing when this will come. Just today (6/29/2018), through the MEMRI website, I learned of a Middle Eastern newspaper that leans heavily toward Erdoğan, publishing an article calling for the Muslim of the world to gather in Jihad against Israel (this article was published in Dec of 2017 – not that long ago. An aspect of the article was a map which showed Israel surrounded on every side with army tanks. Surrounded on every side sounds very much like Ezekiel's words.
“you will be like a cloud covering the land.” - Clouds are formed by thousands of drops of water. We are told that the number seems innumerable.
“you and all your troops, and many other peoples with you.” - These are people of a like mind – Muslims may not be unified in “religion” but they all seem to understand the idea of Jihad.
Ezekiel 38:10-12 CJB "Adonai Elohim says: 'When that day comes, thoughts will well up in your mind, and you will devise a sinister scheme. 11) You will say, "I am going to invade this land of unwalled villages; I will take by surprise these people who are at peace, living securely, all in places without walls, bars or gates. 12) I will seize the spoil and take the plunder." You will attack the former ruins that are now inhabited and come against the people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and other wealth and are living in the central parts of the land.
“ When that day comes,” - Question, does God do anything at random? The answer is NO, as everything is part of a precise and well thought out plan; a plan which includes giving man a free will and the opportunity to choose life or death.
Regardless of the optional qualities, the plan is still in place and intact. So, is it possible that God would leave the option for Gog to design and plan out “his” own destiny? Not a chance and verse ten is no different, as “that day” is entirely in God's hands, and, a part of God's plan.
Another consideration is the terminology “that day.” The phrase is attributed to several events; one of which is the return of Jesus as the warring and conquering Messiah, who also fights a bloody battle in the Jezreel Valley; there is the great white throne judgment and the entirety of the seven-years of God's wrath upon the earth.
Are any of those events what we are looking at here? I do not believe so as there are always other events associated, which we do not see here.
“thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan,” -
The Hebrew word for thoughts is dāḇār and literally means words. I could read this when that day comes, words will pop into your head, you are going to think this is your sinister scheme, but in reality, you will be doing what I have planned all along.
Mind is the Hebrew word lēḇāḇ and also means heart. In God's understanding, the heart and the mind are one in the same.
Devise is from the Hebrew word châshab and means to weave, fabricate, or plot.
“You will say, "I am going to invade this land of unwalled villages; I will take by surprise these people who are at peace, living securely, all in places without walls, bars or gates. 12) I will seize the spoil and take the plunder.”
The context of Deuteronomy 3:5 is applied to Israel's conquer of Og, the King of Bashan. Having destroyed Og's fortified cities they were never rebuilt by Israel. It also demonstrates that cities were typically fortresses; this is not what you see in Israel today.
Deuteronomy 3:3-6 NASB "All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns.
Zechariah 2:4 NASB and said to him, "Run, speak to that young man, saying, 'Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.
I like the way the ISV version translates Ezekiel 38:12, “the people … who live at the center of the world's attention.” Currently, all the world seems to be looking at Israel, once again. Whether Israel is at the center of the world or not is debatable, but God is making that nation the center of attention.
And, although we have not covered the verse yet, it sums up the reason behind all this tumult.
Ezekiel 38:16 ERV...I will bring you to fight against my land. Then, Gog, the nations will learn how powerful I am! They will learn to respect me and know that I am holy.
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By Hidden In Him
I received a troubling dream yesterday from a new friend who has received numerous dreams with warnings that have come to pass. She sent me four dreams she received before he was even elected about the Trump Presidency, but this one in particular stood out to me, because it suggests he may end up being cast into prison for some form on impropriety by his enemies in Washington. I will post the dream first and the interpretation afterwards: "Had a dream that I was in an arena. It looked like a really old ball park that only had dirt on the ground or it could also be a spanish matador arena. Some people were gathered there, I don't know how many, I just remember a few; 20-40 people. At that moment someone announced that Donald won the elections. Trump was in the arena very calm and then said, "ok people, lets start cleaning up". I noticed in the arena there were soda cans all over so the people there started picking them up. I remember seeing my sister and her husband in the back of a car and a man who placed a white duck behind bars, it didn't look like a cage, it looked like a cell; three cement walls and one with bars." The meaning is this: The arena was/ is "the political arena," and the "old ball park" is likely a play on words for how, in Washington, they "play hard ball" so to speak. The 20-40 people gathered here are sworn enemies of Trump, and when Trump says "Ok people, let's start cleaned up [the arena]," this is a reference to his promise to "clean up the swamp" (i.e. Washington) after he got elected. Not that I am using disparaging terms myself, but the Spirit is actually depicting his enemies here as "soda cans," or in other words the "trash" that society would throw out if they knew the truth. But the problem is this: The rest of the dream suggests that rather then "clean up" the political arena, Trump is going to get arrested. The sister and husband "in the back[seat] of a car" is suggestive of sexual indiscretion playing a role in his arrest (more on this in a moment)*, and then a man places "a white duck behind bars.. a cell, with three cement walls and one with bars." It means he will be incarcerated. "White duck" here is a play on the Disney character "Donald Duck" (someone not taken seriously) and refers to Donald Trump, with the white referring to the fact that he is actually innocent. For those who think it not possible, please watch the following video. I realize CNN often exaggerates to paint Trump in a bad light, but this may indeed be serious, and I believe it is a call to prayer for our President. Hidden In Him MSNBC's Joy Reid: What If Trump Refuses To Be Arrested By Federal Marshals? *Since receiving this dream, I have realized that the sexual innuendo of the sister and husband "in the back of a car" is in all likelihood a reference to the affair Trump had with Stormy Daniels, which ultimately will lead to his arrest and indictment. While I believe in intercessory prayer, I'm getting the sense that this prophecy is not going to be averted. Only deep intercession would prevent it, and most of the church isn't paying attention right now. Warnings have gone forth several times to pray for the man in the past, yet at some point you get lulled to sleep, and I sense that's what's happening now.
And the strategy Trump and Giuliani are now banking on now is weak: It appears they believe a ground swell of public support will somehow oppose the move to potentially have him indicted (it would indeed be unprecedented in the history of US politics at the Presidential level). But these will be legal charges, which would make public support null and void, meaning that they're adopting a plan that doesn't instill a great deal of confidence and in all likelihood will not hold any weight.
What he needs is divine intervention of some sort to turn things in his favor, so I ask for those who love the current President of the United States to intercede to God on his behalf.
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By Mark Corbett
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”
- Jesus (Matt. 24:9 NIV)
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, - Paul (2 Tim. 3:12 NIV)
The Bible warns us that we will be persecuted for following Jesus. Because the types of persecution we usually face in countries like the US is usually relatively mild, we can have a hard time relating to this important truth. Yet, all throughout the last 2,000 years of history and all around the world today, Christians often face violent persecution.
For a long time I’ve felt that the short (26 minutes) movie Stephen’s Test of Faith does an excellent job helping us relate to the important Biblical truth about persecution. Although the movie is made so that children and youth can watch it and relate to it, in my opinion it is just as effective for adults. In the form of a dream that a young boy has, the movie reviews examples of persecution throughout history. The movie was made in 1998, and is now available free on YouTube. The YouTube version is not HD, and looks better on a small computer screen. The story is so well told that the lack of HD quality does not really distract from the message.
One More Story
In addition to the true stories we see in Stephen’s dream in the movie, I would like to add one more true story. This story took place while we were living in a Muslim majority nation. We had friendly, good relations with many of our Muslim neighbors during the fourteen years we lived there. But there were radical Islamic groups which brought persecution to Christians living in our city and province.
We always had nationals living in our house with us, which was a blessing for many reasons. One of these nationals had a good Christian friend whom I’ll call Mary. Mary was from a Christian family. Mary lived outside the city, so when she visited our home she would take public transportation into the city. The most popular form of public transportation was mini-vans which had been turned into mini-buses. There were thousands of these.
One day when Mary arrived at our home, she was visibly shaken. In fact, she appeared to be in shock. She immediately entered the room of her Christian Indonesian lady friend who was living in our home at that time. After a couple of hours she came out. She then told us what had happened on the way to our house.
Mary was on a mini-van bus heading into the city. Her bus stopped and a young man got on whom she did not know. Based on the books that he was carrying and the fact that he got on at a stop near a small Christian college, she guessed that he was a Christian.
As the mini-van bus entered the city they encountered a massive traffic jam. The young Christian man said, “I can see that something is going to happen here.” Eventually they got to the source of the traffic jam. A group of radicals had set up a roadblock.
When the mini-bus reached the roadblock, radical Muslim students forced it to stop. They requested the citizen ID cards (which include a person’s religion) from all the male passengers on the bus. The young Christian man explained that he had lost his ID card. The radical students then demanded that he recite the Islamic Creed, "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet." The young Christian man calmly said, "I'm sorry, I can't do that, I'm not a Muslim, I'm a follower of Jesus."
The Muslim students then forced the young man off the bus. They held him down and severely beat him. They then placed his head under another vehicle behind the mini bus and told the driver to go forward.
The driver of the other vehicle was almost certainly Muslim, but he refused to drive forward. This made the radical students angry, and they beat the young Christian man again. As Mary's mini-bus pulled away, the last thing she saw was the Muslim students throwing the body of the young Christian man into a large sewage canal. She assumed he was dead.
The next day a local newspaper confirmed Mary’s story reporting the five Christians had been hospitalized as a result of being beaten at this roadblock. Setting up a roadblock and checking for Christians was not a one time thing in our city. It was called “sweeping” and occurred multiple times.
Although Mary was from a Christian family and identified herself as a Christian, it was not clear that she really had accepted the Lord yet when she witnessed this terrible event. Almost exactly a year to the day after this event, we were blessed to witness Mary’s baptism after she wholeheartedly committed her life to Christ.
Mary lived in a setting where Christians were often persecuted. She witnessed firsthand a traumatic case of violent persecution. But this didn’t prevent her from choosing to follow the Lord.
We knew other Christians who experienced persecution during our years living in a Muslim nation. I’ve shared two of their stories in blog posts here and here.
Two Applications
What should we do in light of the Bible’s teaching about persecution and these stories which verify that this teaching still applies in the world today? Here are some ways we should respond:
1. We should be encouraged to stand firm in the Lord when we are threatened with or experience persecution for following Him and living by His Word. Persecution takes many forms: slander, lost relationships, and lost income are not as severe as being beaten, imprisoned, or killed. Yet, we should not underestimate how painful and costly these less severe forms of persecution can be. When you face these, remember Jesus and stories of others who have stood firm, stories in the Bible and stories throughout history, and with God’s help stand firm.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Eph. 6:13 NIV)
2. We should pray, work, and give for the continued spread of the gospel in spite of strong opposition.
We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. (1 Thess. 2:2 NIV)
3. We should remember those who are suffering severe persecution. Prayer is powerful. We can pray for the persecuted. We can also give financially to support gospel ministry and Christian work in areas where there is severe persecution. Finally, we should be prepared to go if God calls us and to support others who are sent by God.
Remember the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily. (Hebrews 13:3 CSB)
This was originally a post on my blog.
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By Redder
Hi, my name is Redder.
I have a solid belief in Jesus Christ and I love Him very much. I am Christian and I have had my struggles with faith for a very long time until a few years ago. I am in my mid-twenties. I have a unique outlook on life, and I hope to bring that perspective to these forums. I will probably talk about taboo subjects that NEED to be talked about that isn't very prevalent in the circles I've been in recently (or ever).
One of my perspectives is that I am a gamer. I can see Christianity being attacked more and more in AAA games (the highest calibur of games, the most expensive, and attracts the highest audience usually) that are released every year. A few examples of this would be World of Warcraft (you've might have heard of it), with scripture being directly quoted and twisted in their cinematics.. In the YouTube Video (search on YouTube for the cinematic "Rejection of the Gift" and it should be the first video to pop up. (It won't let me link videos directly here).
(In the example I left, you can see the direct correlation between 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 2:07 in the video.)
This is not the work of man, but is orchestrated by Satan. It is very subtle, and it is very deceiving. I'm not afraid to talk about Satan. This is spiritual warfare and I think a lot of people have forgotten that this is a war.
There are countless other examples of Christianity being twisted (as a whole, not just 1 person) through this medium (Farcry 5, Diablo, Crowfall, etc.). I have countless examples.
My purpose of visiting these forums is to show people the deception that is being pulled over the world by Satan (like this one example), to share my unique perspective with you (as we all do), and hopefully to discuss it.
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By He4gaveMe2
UPDATED: I have been trying to research. And I have been praying for clarity. And maybe it will just take time for me to understand what I need to understand.
When I became a Christian again after a very long hiatus. Like over 25 years! I learned more about the 7 gifts. (I had a pentecostal friend that told me of them in passing before I rededicated). Anyhow, I never asked for any in great depth, but said in passing in prayer I really would love to heal people for him.
I never pushed though, because quite frankly, I didn't want God to give me something I wasn't prepared for instead of what I asked. HA!
But last night while I was praying I was telling him whatever his will was regarding a situation I would understand. Well, in the middle of the night I was woken up, and I was very awake. Very aware I was awake, and worried I would miss my appointment at hospital in morning if I couldn't get back to sleep, type of awake.
Well I had a vision! *sigh* It was extremely intense. And I realized he was showing me something really important. ( not sure I should go into it unless I understand things first. Unless I should for helps sake?) Cross that bridge later in this?
But now I am trying to discern and pray for a little bit of understanding. And Test the spirits comes to mind. But when I was calling out heavenly Father the vision over and over, it did not go away. (Even when I walked away I still called out his name in fear of spiritual things and whatever was tormenting me so to speak, it would go away immediately. Not during this vision. So, I am thinking it definitely from the Heavenly Father.
It was about spiritual warfare that I know. I'm not sure if about me (I'm leaning toward no) or it about things coming and glimpse of what's really going on in (war in heaven) coming here. It seemed metaphorical in some parts and literal in others parts. I am so confused. For those that have this gift... What can you advise? How do you know to interpret? How do you test the spirits? I mean technically this could be the enemy coming to confuse me.
I could not shake the feeling it gave me all day. And I realized if indeed this was his plan all along all those years ago... And that is my gift I will take it. And I realized I don't mind. (not that I'd really have a choice if i said I'd follow his will not mine). I find it odd timing.
Also please understand this.. When I pray and pour my heart out.. I do it in my head. My eyes are closed. The reason I do this is because I am very aware how the enemy works and if he hears me, or sees my actions or emotions, he knows how to try to prevent me easily knowing how to mess with me.
So now.. this gift. Or is it? When do I know to share them? How do I know it really is a gift and not deception from other end? Just how exactly do I "test" the spirits? When do I share these things I'm shown? I started a blog a bit ago, so I can help other people understand the much deeper picture. And I thought also.. great timing... I put it off awhile and then I realized I was pushed to do it. So I guess this "gift" if real will be shared there as well, if and when I get to understand better if indeed real gift.
Am I allowed to ask for other gifts???? I really still want to heal people. Including a healing over here would be great. lol Hard to do as much as I need and want when barely functioning.
OK Thanks in advance for any input! :-)
A little history:
When I was a very young I was very sick. In hospital a lot since a baby. But around 3 I started to see things and for some reason I calmed down when I saw something in my room in corner just standing there. I knew it was there to protect me, yet it still made me a little fearful. I had other experiences. But I was not born to Chrsitian family, so had no clue. They didn't go to church until I was older. I became a christian when I was early teens.
After I left home I had visions off and on. And were never wrong. Even though I wasn't Christian anymore, I still "believed" somewhat and had in back of my head. But I ended up praying and asking he take this away from me. (I never actually knew about Christian prophecy per say, and thought it was only in bible times. ) And I walked away so that would not have done anything for me or him. The ability to see was taken away as I asked.
I was relieved!
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