Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Two Wars of Gog Magog - Ezekiel 38 and 39 Explained
- By Beginning and End - https://beginningandend.com/the-two-wars-of-gog-magog-ezekiel-38-and-39-explained/ Scripture teaches that there are two distinct battles involving the Gog-Magog coalition. One of the most challenging prophecies in the Bible is the war of Gog and Magog as detailed in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Many sermons, articles and videos have attempted to explain this end times battle in which a group of nations will attack the nation of Israel - only to have God Himself supernaturally intervene to defeat them. When does this war take place? What is the purpose of this conflict? This article will explain the timing and spiritual significance of the Gog Magog wars. The Key To Understanding The Gog Magog Prophecy It takes a great deal of time in God's Word to understand the complex prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Much of the confusion over the understanding of the Gog Magog War is that the language used in Ezekiel 38 and 39 seems to indicate two different times in Israel during two different eras: Ezekiel 38 details Israel during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ - the 1,000 year period on Earth after the Day of The Lord, reign of the Antichrist and Armageddon. Ezekiel 39 (for the most part) describes Israel at the start of the Day of The Lord (also known as the Great Tribulation). This is critical to understand in order to rightly divide this prophecy. Gog Magog - Verse by Verse Analysis The Gog Magog prophecies are actually a series of 5 messages given to the prophet Ezekiel directly from God. They are arranged as follows: Ezekiel 38:1-13 - The Lord's anger with Gog and his armies for their attack on Israel during the Millennium. Ezekiel 38:14-23 - God instructs Ezekiel to deliver a prophecy to Gog regarding the Millennial attack and their defeat by The Lord's supernatural intervention. Ezekiel 39:1-16 - God's prophecy to Gog regarding the attack on Israel at the start of the Great Tribulation. Ezekiel 39:17-24 -The Lord instructs Israel to deliver a prophecy to the fowls of the air and beasts of the field regarding their consumption of the defeated enemies of Israel. Ezekiel 39:25-29 - God's stated purpose for the Gog Magog wars. Ezekiel 38 - Gog's Attack On Israel During the Millennial Reign of Christ Many people argue that the Gog Magog war takes place at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ Jesus. And this is correct. The most basic Biblical evidence of this can be found in Revelation 20: "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."- Revelation 20:7-9. More evidence can be found in Ezekiel 38: "Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords... After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt 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. 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: 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, 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." - Ezekiel 38:2-4; 8-12. These passage in very plain language say that at the time that Israel is attacked it will be a "land of unwalled villages" where people "dwell safely...without walls." The walls of Jerusalem are a key aspect of the stability of the Israelites in the Promised Land. As the enemy has been trying to secure the Holy City for the entire history of the Bible, the twelve tribes were constantly forced to construct and rebuild walls to protect God's city. Even today, Israel is renowned for its defenses, walls and military as it is surrounded by enemies. The only time it will be "without walls" is during the Millennial reign of Christ - when Satan has been imprisoned in the abyss and The Lord Jesus Christ literally rules the Earth from Jerusalem. The Bible describes the reign of Jesus Christ as one of unprecedented peace on Earth: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." - Isaiah 2:2-4. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." - Isaiah 9:6-7. Israel will not be at any threat from attack: "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." - Zechariah 14:8-11. Thus, it is very plainly established, letting Scripture interpret Scripture, that the only time when Israel will dwell safely with no need for walls or defense is during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ - the Prince of Peace. This is further bolstered by the fact that during the Millennium there will be no satanic influence on Earth (as Satan will be locked in the abyss). It is only after the 1,000 years, when Satan is released from his prison that he makes his final attempt to incite worldwide rebellion against God - recruiting sinful rebels from all over the world, including the Gog-Magog confederacy, to attack The Lord at Jerusalem: "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." - Revelation 20:7-9. Thus the first section of Gog Magog can be understood by a literal reading of the text as an attack launched at the end of the Millennium. Section 2 - The Prophecy To Gog It is important to understand that the second half of Ezekiel 38 is when The Lord instructs Ezekiel to prophesy directly to Gog. In this passage the judgments of both wars are mentioned: "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes." - Ezekiel 38:14-16. This passage is still referring to the Millennial war when Israel is dwelling safely. Note that Gog comes with "many people." But in the subsequent verses, the passage shifts to discuss the judgment of Gog for both of the wars against Israel he initiates: "Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." This passage makes several reference to events that occur during the Day of The Lord and Daniel's 70th week - the final 7 years before the Second Coming of Christ to Earth. Thus rather than being about the end of the Millennium - it is a reference to the events just before the millennium. In Ezekiel 38:17 - the Lord asks Gog: "Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?" This passage, often overlooked in commentaries on Ezekiel 38 is a glaring indicator to help understand the passage. In the Septuagint (the oldest extant version of the Old Testament and one that conforms most to the King James Version New Testament) the verse reads: "Thou art he concerning whom I spoke in former times, by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel, in those days and years, that I would bring thee up against them." (Ezekiel 38:17, LXX)" Gog is someone referenced in Scripture by multiple prophets. So who could this be? This would be none other than the Antichrist - the satanically empowered false messiah who will rule the Earth for 3 1/2 years before the Second Coming of Christ. But what is critical to understand about the Antichrist is that his spirit inhabits the body of several leaders throughout Biblical history before assuming his final role of global ruler: "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." - Revelation 17:10-11. The First Gog Magog War Occurs At The Day of The Lord During the Day of The Lord, there will be earthquakes so devastating mountains will collapse: "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." - Revelation 6:12-14. This fulfills the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 of mountains being shaken so violently that they are thrown down. As Beginning and End has detailed in our Rapture Series, the opening of the 6th Seal initiates the Rapture and the start of the Day of The Lord - the Biblical name for the final end times period before the Second Coming of Christ (but commonly known as the Great Tribulation). As detailed in our article: The Day of The Lord - The Event The Starts The End of The World, the opening of the 6th Seal triggers devastating earthquakes that lets the entire world know that God has now risen to judge the Earth: "For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall... And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." - Isaiah 2:12-21. Note that in this passage the "high mountains" are brought down low as well as every "high tower" and "fenced wall" when The Lord shakes the Earth. This is precisely what Ezekiel 38's second section predicts as judgment against Gog: "Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." The Gog-Magog initial invasion will be met with a devastating earthquake of the Day of The Lord. Continuing in Ezekiel 38: "And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord." This is the finial indication that the first Gog-Magog invasion coincides with the 6th seal of Revelation 6. When the seventh seal is opened there is "silence in Heaven" - a time of final warning to the Earth before the wrath of God is unleashed in the trumpet and bowl judgments. At the sounding of the first trumpet, The Lord Jesus Christ, at the altar in heaven casts a censer of fire to the Earth and the trumpet sounds unleashing the first judgment: "The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." - Revelation 8:7. The judgments are almost identical to those prophesied against Gog. In fact as explained in our article on the angel at the altar in Revelation 8, the casting of the censer with brimstone and fire occurred in the Old Testament as well as a judgment against rebels against God. Ezekiel 39 - The First Gog Magog Invasion In Detail The Third Section describes the pre-Millennial invasion of Gog Magog: "Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel... Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken." - Ezekiel 39:1-2; 5-8. The Revelation 20- Millennial invasion by Gog and Magog involves the full forces of every remaining rebel against God on Earth. In the initial invasion described above, The Lord specifically preserves "one sixth" of Gog's forces from destruction. Additionally Ezekiel 39:8 reveals the purpose of the initial Gog-Magog invasion: "So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel." This battle and God's supernatural defense of Israel will commence the end times reconciliation of Israel to The Lord Jesus Christ. It will be the start of a spiritual awakening in which Israel will once again acknowledge the God of the Bible and Lord and the remnant will come to saving faith in Christ. This is discussed in detail in our article: "All Israel Shall Be Saved! The End Times Salvation Israel." The "polluting" of God's name is a reference to false worship in the temple: "For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." - Jeremiah 7:30-31. In the end times, Israel will no longer engage in pagan religious worship but will return to Biblical Judaism. Clearly, if this was taking place after 1,000 years of Jesus ruling the Earth in Jerusalem, His Holy name would not be "polluted" "any more." In the Millennium, Christ will be worshiped properly by Israelites who will be sought after by Gentiles for their Biblical wisdom. This verse alone established that the Gog-Magog conflict in Ezekiel 39 is pre-millennial as opposed to chapter 38 which is post-millennial. Note The Lord also says: "...this is the day whereof I have spoken." That "day" is the Day of The Lord, which is mentioned repeatedly in the Old Testament. It is the time when the church has been removed via the Rapture and God turns His Face, mercy and grace back towards Israel. The Start of Daniel's 70th Week "And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God." Once the battle is done, the Israelites will use the weapons for weapons for seven years - coinciding with the length of Daniel's 70th week the specific time prophet outlined for the final reconciliation of Israel and restoration of the temple in the end times. The fact that the weapons are used for fuel and the very peculiar burial instructions for Gog and his armies also indicate that there is a supernatural element to this invading force. Prophecy To The Birds And Beasts "And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. "And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God." - Ezekiel 39:17-20. Being eaten by birds and beasts in ancient times was akin to the worst kind of defeat in battle. It is referenced many times in Scripture. Both David and Goliath threatened it to each other before David's conquest, for example. This prophecy was to indicate that end times enemies of God: Gog, the Magog forces, the Antichrist and his armies, etc. will ultimately suffer that fate. This is confirmed in Revelation 19: "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." - Revelation 19:17-18. Again, in almost identical language the prophecy is confirmed. The end of section 4 also emphasizes the overall point of the first Gog-Magog invasion: "And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward." - Ezekiel 39:21-22. The unbelieving world will know God is real and rules the Earth. But additionally, Israel will awaken to the same understanding that The Lord is "their God" and this will happen "...from that day and forward." Again, by a literal reading of the text it is clear that the conquest of Gog-Magog is the start of Israel's spiritual awakening. "And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them." - Ezekiel 39:23-24. The Lord's Pronounced Reconciliation Section 5 is God's proclamation of His reconciliation of Israel: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;" Like a loving Father the final section ends with God expressing why Israel went through its trials and tribulations: because of their sin. At the Second Coming of Christ, believing Israel will be regathered in the Promised Land and "dwell safely" for 1,000 years. They will have repentant hearts and faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who was once rejected. Many passages speak of this great day: "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad." - Psalm 53:6. "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof." - Jeremiah 30:18. This was the ultimate purpose. The Lord will bring the believing remnant of Israel back into good standing and let them occupy the nation and Jerusalem with Christ their king and all the brothers and sisters in the faith. Which is precisely the state they are in Ezekiel 38 (dwelling in unwalled villages in peace and safety of the Millennial kingdom). "Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there." - Ezekiel 39:28. Lord willing, it is now clear that Ezekiel 38 and 39 describes two distinct invasions by the Gog-Magog forces that are over 1,000 years apart. The first invasion takes place at the start of the Day of The Lord and is abruptly ended when The Lord Jesus Christ hurls heavenly fire and brimstone to Earth and the judgments of the first trumpet are unleashed. The Second invasion will take place at the end of the Millennium, when believing Israel is dwelling in true peace. Satan will make his final attempt to usurp God but will fail spectacularly, leading to the Devil's final punishment and the creation of the new Heaven and Earth. U.S. Fears Iran Planning 'Massive Regional War' in Middle East - Adam Kredo - https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-fears-massive-regional-war-identifying-iran-source-tunnels-israel/ Trump vows support for Israeli defensive operations after identifying Iran as source of tunnels into Israel The Trump administration disclosed that Iran is behind the construction of several underground tunnels leading into Israel that Hezbollah militants and other terror forces have been using to conduct attacks, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon and communicated fears that Tehran is preparing to lead a "massive regional war." The public identification of Iran isn't likely to surprise international observers, but signals aggressive moves by the Trump administration to tie Iran to the rise of terrorism not just in Israel, but across the Middle East, where Iranian-backed militants continue to strike U.S. interests and allies. The Obama administration, in contrast to Trump, was careful to avoid singling out Iran as the chief force for terrorism against Israel and U.S. allies in the region in hopes of appeasing the hardline regime as it sought to ink the landmark nuclear pact that Trump abandoned earlier this year. Senior U.S. officials familiar with Israel's discovery of these new tunnels-a tactic long used by Hezbollah and Hamas to conduct cross-border raids against Israeli civilians and military personnel-say they mark a massive escalation by Iran's terror proxies. The Israeli military conducted operations to destroy the tunnels earlier this week, shortly after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a one-on-one meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels. The timing of Israel's military operations signal a deep coordination with the Trump administration, which told the Free Beacon the United States will stand side-by-side with the Jewish state as it works to thwart Iran's terror enterprise. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) said the tunnels show Iran used money from sanctions lifted under the Obama administration for military purposes. "Senator Cruz has been tracking the Israeli campaign against these attack tunnels closely, and every day brings new disturbing revelations," said a spokesperson for Cruz. "It's now clear that Iran used its windfall from the Obama Iran nuclear deal to arm Hezbollah for an all-out war against Israel, and that the United States must do more to undo the damage of that deal. Sen. Cruz has also been unequivocal that our Israeli allies have an absolute right to defend themselves, especially against threats and violations of their sovereignty like these attack tunnels." The United States remains "very troubled" by the discovery of these tunnels in Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon that led into Israel across its northern border. "This is another example of Iran's revolutionary foreign policy that is expansionist and destabilizing for the Middle East when Iranian backed Hezbollah is digging tunnels into another country beneath their borders," said Brian Hook, the Trump administration's top Iran envoy. The Trump administration fully supports "Israel in its military operation to address these tunnels," according to Hook. The terror tunnels are just a single piece of Iran's increasingly provocative military intervention across the Middle East, including in Syria and Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Iranian-backed rebels. In just the past several weeks, Iran has test-fired nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missiles-capable of reaching both Israel and Europe-and also continued to harass U.S. naval assets in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane. Iran has been threatening to block the shipping route, prompting fierce warnings from the Trump administration. "Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz again," Hook disclosed. "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. will continue to work with its partners" to ensure the route remains open and free of Iranian attacks. U.S. officials fear these recent moves by Iran are a preview of its preparations for a "massive regional war." "The Israelis have clearly been planning this for months, which means that Hezbollah must have been working on these tunnels for years before they were detected and Israel planned its response," said one senior U.S. official who works on Israel issues but was not authorized to speak on the record about the tense situation. "When you add what Hamas has been doing in the Gaza Strip, and what Iran itself has been doing from Syria, there's no escaping the conclusion that Iran has been waging a low level war against Israel while preparing for a massive regional war," the source warned. Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the tunnels have likely been in the works for some time, and hint at preparation for larger Hezbollah operations against Israel. Hezbollah is believed to have at least 120,000 missiles stockpiled and they are becoming "much more precise" with Iran's aid, according to Amidror, who briefed reporters on the situation during a conference call organized by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, or JINSA. Fears are mounting in Israel that "big numbers" of Hezbollah militants and Iranian-backed fighters could use this type of tunnel to launch a full-scale incursion into Israel, including possible plots to besiege Israeli border towns, Amidror said. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is seeking to thwart Iran's military operations by choking the regime's sources of income. New U.S. sanctions appear to have further constrained Iran's economy, which already had been teetering on the brink of collapse amid popular protests against the hardline regime. Iran envoy Hook told the Free Beacon that despite protestations from some European governments about the implementation of harsh new U.S. sanctions on Iran last month, European companies have been more than willing to go along with the Trump administration in order to avoid penalties. "We have seen only full compliance by European corporations" connected to the international financial system, Hook told the Free Beacon. "We just don't see any daylight between the United States and European companies." Asked about European allies, particularly Germany and France, who are plotting methods to skirt the U.S. sanctions, Hook said the United States is uniquely placed to enforce the new sanctions. The Europeans have been told they must choose between business with the United States or Iran. "The governments who are still in the [nuclear deal], yes, we have a disagreement over the efficacy of the Iran nuclear deal and we think it's a deficient deal that needs to be replaced by a new and better deal," Hook said. He added that the Trump administration will "do everything we can to starve the militias Iran funds and" choke off money being sent by Iran to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hamas, Hezbollah, and a slew of other militant groups. Nearing Midnight: The Generational Shift Is Now - Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ The devil plays a very long game when it comes to winning over nations to his evil agenda. He can have victory over his enemies by simply waiting for them to retire or die. Because he is immortal, it doesn't matter if this process may take several decades. Satan can claim his prize by simply waiting for people to succumb to a sin-nature disease that he instigated. As world leaders and celebrities fade away, they are replaced with people who have less respect for biblical values. I blame the influence of academia and the liberal media for this trend. I wrote three weeks ago that the 2018 midterm election went reasonably well for the Republicans. We lost the House, but we retained the Senate. Most people on the right are focused on the loss of 40 house seats. There is another loss to consider. Between Democrats and Republicans, 60 people decided to step down from office. The most consequential retirement announcement came when Speaker Paul Ryan told his colleagues he would not seek reelection to his House seat. At age 48, Ryan was replaced by Bryan Steil, who will be nearly 12 years younger than the soon-to-be former speaker when he takes office next month. Even though Steil was strongly endorsed by Donald Trump and Mike Pence, a dozen years will likely mean a large shift in his voting record. When the President fired Senator Jeff Sessions, he removed one of the last "fuddy-duddies" in Washington, DC, that thought marijuana was a bad thing. There is little chance that any future attorney general will seek to restrict the usage of pot by enforcing federal law. The loss of a whole generation to moral decay makes it nearly impossible to turn the tide. After the Brett Kavanaugh fiasco in the Senate, many Republican leaders expected a blowout for their party in the November election. Most voters didn't respond to the violation of "due process" and "the presumption of innocence" because they don't respect or know what these terms mean. A recent Brookings Institution poll found that nearly half of college students believe that hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment. Fifty-one percent of college students think they have a right to shout down a speaker with whom they disagree. Nineteen percent of students think that it's acceptable to use violence to prevent a speaker from speaking. The free speech movement of the 60s was started by liberals. It just shows how crazy things have gotten to have the left playing the role they once protested against. The state of California is rapidly being taken over by the generational shift. In this year's election, all nine seats in Orange County are now in Democratic hands. Howe and Strauss in their 1991 book, Generations, define the millennial cohort as consisting of individuals born between 1982 and 2004. This group of people has been heavily indoctrinated into the liberal agenda. In recent elections, they voted for the Democratic Party in number in the sixty percent range even in deep Red states like Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Most people who follow Bible prophecy would probably think that we have more immediate problems than a generational shift. Because we are so much on the razor edge in the balance of political power, a small shift in power will make it impossible for Republicans to ever win another presidential election. If Texas or Florida were to become a blue state, we will have a government run by one Party. The Bible provides example after example of generational decay in the history of Israel. God's chosen people would be given a sound government, and it would repeatedly fall into chaos until the Lord sent someone to restore order. Because we appear to be so close to the tribulation hour, I do not see the possibility of reform. Things are going to continue to go from bad to worse because all generations ignore God's warning. This is why I repeatedly say the rapture is the only hope. "Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. "For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God" (Psalms 78:1-8). Your Phone Apps Are Tracking Every Step You Take & Every Stop You Make - By Daisy Luther - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=2806 You're being watched constantly, at least if you have a cell phone with apps on them. A recently published report showed how seemingly innocuous apps were gathering information about how a person goes about their day. They refresh constantly, collecting data about your location. These companies are tracking every step you take, every stop you make, and then selling it to the highest bidder. Now, before I get the predictable chorus of people telling me they'd never ever use a smartphone and that if they did have one they wouldn't enable location data on it, I can call BS (baloney sandwiches) on at least 44% of you because...well...Google tells me this. I get emails from Google every week telling me from what type of devices people access my website. I did not sign up to ask for this information - this is what Google does. So while many of you are not using a mobile device, many of you are. How the location apps are tracking every step you take Everyone looks like dots on a map to the smartphone apps, but the information that can be put together is positively chilling. Here's what a day looks like for one of these "dots" on a map: Yet another leaves a house in upstate New York at 7 a.m. and travels to a middle school 14 miles away, staying until late afternoon each school day. Only one person makes that trip: Lisa Magrin, a 46-year-old math teacher. Her smartphone goes with her. An app on the device gathered her location information, which was then sold without her knowledge. It recorded her whereabouts as often as every two seconds, according to a database of more than a million phones in the New York area that was reviewed by The New York Times. While Ms. Magrin's identity was not disclosed in those records, The Times was able to easily connect her to that dot. The app tracked her as she went to a Weight Watchers meeting and to her dermatologist's office for a minor procedure. It followed her hiking with her dog and staying at her ex-boyfriend's home, information she found disturbing. "It's the thought of people finding out those intimate details that you don't want people to know," said Ms. Magrin, who allowed The Times to review her location data. Magrin was recorded more than 800 times making the trip to and from her place of work. Have you enabled location services? If you have location information enabled on your phone, you're being watched. There are more than 75 companies with apps that know where you live, where you work, where you go to the gym, and many other details about your personal routine. According to the report by the NY Times, these apps are updating with your location 14,000 times per day, pinpointing your location within a few yards. And the businesses involved think it's perfectly fine. "Many location companies say that when phone users enable location services, their data is fair game." About 75 companies have access to how cell phone users spend their time. This includes children who are often given phones these days so that parents can reach them at all times. This creepy tidbit was also discovered in the archives of data to which The Times was given access when once set of data showed the user of the phone going to the playground to school then back home. Location targeting is a massive, horrifying business, and it's booming. The businesses involved track you, analyze your data, and either sell it or use it themselves. They claim that they have no interest in your identity - they're only looking at your patterns. But those with access to the raw data -- including employees or clients -- could still identify a person without consent. They could follow someone they knew, by pinpointing a phone that regularly spent time at that person's home address. Or, working in reverse, they could attach a name to an anonymous dot, by seeing where the device spent nights and using public records to figure out who lived there. One company, creepily called Reveal Mobile, has location-gathering code embedded into more than 500 apps, many of which provide local news. Some estimates say that location targeting is going to be worth $21 billion this year. How they make money by tracking you The way they make money is simple - they track you and sell the information to people who want to advertise to you. Then, the people who bought your information use patterns discerned through tracking you to sell you things. The exception to this is Google, which physically tracks you so that they can sell ads to people who want to reach you as opposed to selling your information specifically. The app developers can make money by directly selling their data, or by sharing it for location-based ads, which command a premium. Location data companies pay half a cent to two cents per user per month, according to offer letters to app makers reviewed by The Times. Targeted advertising is by far the most common use of the information. Google and Facebook, which dominate the mobile ad market, also lead in location-based advertising. Both companies collect the data from their own apps. They say they don't sell it but keep it for themselves to personalize their services, sell targeted ads across the internet and track whether the ads lead to sales at brick-and-mortar stores. Google, which also receives precise location information from apps that use its ad services, said it modified that data to make it less exact. Smaller companies compete for the rest of the market, including by selling data and analysis to financial institutions. This segment of the industry is small but growing, expected to reach about $250 million a year by 2020, according to the market research firm Opimas. The small companies are heading toward making 250 million. The small ones. With that kind of money at stake, you know this is only going to become more prevalent. Here are just a few of the apps that are selling your information. As a reminder that nothing in this world is actually free, here are some of the "free" apps that may be tracking you right now, wherever you're sitting down to read this article.
If you're curious whether apps on your phone are tracking you and selling your information, here's a place you can plug in the name of your app and get a report. The only app on my phone with location enabled was Waze, which, thankfully doesn't seem to be selling my information at this point in time. According to The Daily Mail, Android has 1,200 apps with this kind location-sharing code while iOS has only 200. Think about the types of things that can be discovered about you. An app that constantly updates your location could find out a lot of intimate details. Here are a few examples of the invasive things that could be discovered:
Basically, every daily habit you have, someone knows if you use a cell phone with the location enabled. Every step you take, someone knows where that step is taking you. Every place you stop at for a period of time - someone knows that too. The thing is, people are giving their permission to be tracked. You know when you add something to your phone or computer and it forces you to grant permission for something that you don't really understand in a long disclaimer that hardly anyone actually reads? Then you click on the little checkmark saying "yeah, sure, whatever?" That's the moment you gave one of these companies permission to track every move you make. Companies that use location data say that people agree to share their information in exchange for customized services, rewards and discounts. Ms. Magrin, the teacher, noted that she liked that tracking technology let her record her jogging routes. Brian Wong, chief executive of Kiip, a mobile ad firm that has also sold anonymous data from some of the apps it works with, says users give apps permission to use and share their data. "You are receiving these services for free because advertisers are helping monetize and pay for it," he said, adding, "You would have to be pretty oblivious if you are not aware that this is going on." But it is easy to share information without realizing it. Of the 17 apps that The Times saw sending precise location data, just three on iOS and one on Android told users in a prompt during the permission process that the information could be used for advertising. Only one app, GasBuddy, which identifies nearby gas stations, indicated that data could also be shared to "analyze industry trends." It's very true that nothing is free. They'll tell you they need your location to identify your favorite sports team or give you personalized weather reports or to warn you of traffic jams, but that isn't the only reason they want to track you. These companies want to collect your information and sell it. Repeat after me: NOTHING IS FREE. Daily Jot: If you are looking for offense, you'll find it - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com In giving advice or counseling about personal relations, I often answer accusatory questions with a simple phrase, "If you are looking for offense, you'll find it." There are any number of issues that you can drum up in your mind and justify about anyone or anything if you look hard enough. That's where we are in today's society. Everywhere you turn, people are offended. You can't say something about liking tomatoes without someone saying that it is racist. The most innocent of comments are interpreted as something of ill intent. Such is the case with a simple song that has become associated with the holiday season. Most view it as a fun duet, others want it banned because they say it advocates date rape. According to Wikipedia, ""Baby, it's Cold Outside" is an Academy Award-winning popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944, which gained wide recognition in 1949 when it was performed in the film Neptune's Daughter. Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave." The female singer says she should be leaving and the male part says "But, baby it's cold outside." He tries to get her to stay. The woman keeps saying "no" to the man's urgings to stay. At one point, the woman wonders, "What's in this drink?" It's been considered an innocent, and fun holiday classic. That is, until left wing thought police and ultra-feminists decided that the song was an anthem for date rape and violence against women. Actor/singer Dean Martin made the song part of his Christmas performances and his daughter Deana Martin has carried on the tradition. Martin defended the lyric about the drink on Fox News Monday, saying, "When she says, 'Hey, what's in this drink?' I don't think she's talking about some pill being put in that drink. It's like, 'Is this punch? You know, what's in this drink? Is it vodka? It was nice. It's just breaking my heart that people would turn that around." Feminists have verbally attacked Martin for singing the song, and she calls her attackers "crazy." Even a radio station in San Francisco banned the song, but had to reinstate it because of the public backlash. There is a terrible trend in society these days of accusing people of awful things when they never even thought of them. The accusers are the ones who think and do the things they accuse. These accusers are judging from the content of their own hearts. The scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving the sins and healing a man with palsy. In Matthew 9:4, Jesus rebuked the scribes, asking, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" Unfortunately, there are enough vile people in the world to turn the most innocent of things into something offensive. They are coming from perverse minds and looking for offense. Like the scribes, they put an evil focus on the good things. Next thing you know, these offended people will be wanting to ban public prayer, school Christmas plays, and Nativity scenes in the town square. Wait a minute...they have. Daily Devotion: The Man Who Tried to Stop Christmas - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. -Matthew 2:7 King Herod was the man who tried to stop Christmas. With all his wealth and power, he came to complete ruin. Historical writings tell us that in the final year of his life, his body was infected with disease. Ironically, Herod pretended to be a worshipper. He said to the wise men, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!" (Matthew 2:8). Yet Herod was a false worshipper. There are people like him today. They say they believe in God, but they live a life that contradicts what the Scriptures teach. Herod wanted to be the king of his own life, but he really was a slave. He ended up being not the King of the Jews but the king of fools. Herod ended up on the ash heap of history like dictators before and after him, reminding us that those who live wicked lives eventually will reap what they sow. Adolf Hitler went into his bunker and shot himself as his nation crumbled around him. Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole and was eventually executed by his own people. Muammar Gaddafi was hunted down by his own people, beaten, and shot to death. All those who blaspheme God, fight with God, or try to stop the work of God eventually will fail. Yet God's Word ultimately will prevail. Philippians 2:9-10 says, "Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." One day, everyone-every man, every woman, every believer, and every nonbeliever-will bow before Jesus Christ. 
FROM THE HEART
IF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED THROUGH THIS MINISTRY, THEN WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR GIVING - WE ARE TRULY, TRULY, THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks! Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 Prophecy Update is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt - non-profit organization, and all your donations are tax deductible. If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to: DONATE NOW Or Visit our website: http://prophecyupdate.com/donations/ Or write us at: Prophecy Update P.O. Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516 
|
|