FYI: Joel will be doing an evening of speaking and Q&A on events in Israel and the Muslim world at Wheaton Bible Church outside Chicago on Saturday evening, June 5. Details at www.wheatonbible.org.
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A pastor friend of mine who is helping us set up the 2010 Epicenter Conference in Philadelphia later this month just sent me an urgent text message with this headline from Israel National News: Rabbis: Flotilla Clash Similar to Gog and Magog Prophecy. As you might expect, it caught my attention right away. Excerpts:
- “The Rabbinical Council of Judea and Samaria issued a statement Thursday in which it said that the results of the incident in which Israel intercepted a flotilla trying to break the naval blockade of Gaza seem like the Biblical description of “the beginning of the Gog and Magog process where the world is against us, but which ends with the third and final redemption….
- “The Council was formed by Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El and includes leading religious Zionist rabbis who are the spiritual leaders of communities in Judea and Samaria….
- “‘Gog and Magog’ is a reference is to chapters 38 and 39 in the book of Ezekiel, a part of which is read on the intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot (Tabernacles). These chapters describe a vision of a war where the world is united against Israel that will precede the final redemption of Israel and the world. The prophecy’s symbolism involves a prince called Gog of Magog, leader of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, who leads a coalition that includes Persia (Iran), Cush, Phut, Gomer, and Beit Togarmah against Israel. There are various opinions regarding the modern identity of these nations.
- “As a sampling of passages from Ezekiel 39 shows, the prophesy predicts that the coalition will be defeated by Israel, at a time following Israel’s gathering from its exile….”
- Meanwhile, an intriguing new article on the Jerusalem Post website today that also feels ripped from the Ezekiel prophecies: “ISRAEL SET TO BECOME GAS EXPORTER.”
- FRIDAY UPDATE: Israel says doesn’t want clash with ‘Rachel Corrie’ — Foreign Ministry calls out to last flotilla ship en route to Gaza, asking it to sail directly to Ashdod. ‘We have no interest in boarding ship,’ statement says. ‘If cargo contains no weapons we will convey it to Gaza’
- Tensions rachet up as Hamas fires 4 rockets at Israel from Gaza
- Prime Minister Netanyahu makes first formal remarks on the Gaza crisis
- President Obama calls Israeli raid on aid flotilla was ‘tragic,’ unnecessary
- Israel risks losing ‘sole friend’ in Mideast, says Turkish PM Erdogan
- FRIDAY UPDATE: Turkey mulls cutting Israel ties to ‘minimum’ over Gaza flotilla
- Turkish protestors: We’re all soldiers of Hamas
- Videos of the Gaza flotilla incident
- Al-Qaida Orders Abduction of Christians, Saudi Royals
- Must-read column by Charles Krauthammer: Those Troublesome Jews — excerpt: “The world is tired of these troublesome Jews, 6 million — that number again — hard by the Mediterranean, refusing every invitation to national suicide. For which they are relentlessly demonized, ghettoized and constrained from defending themselves, even as the more committed anti-Zionists — Iranian in particular — openly prepare a more final solution.”
- FRIDAY UPDATE: “Guns may have been thrown overboard”: Gun-sights, cartridges and coded plans found on ‘Marmara.’
- FRIDAY UPDATE: Israel Navy: 3 commandos nearly taken hostage in Gaza flotilla raid — According to preliminary navy investigation, some passengers on the Mavi Marmara boat dragged three unconscious commandos into one of the passenger halls below deck.
- FRIDAY UPDATE: Israel obeyed international law: Legally, the Gaza flotilla conflict is an open-and-shut case, writes Alan Dershowitz
- Wall Street Journal editorial: Turkey’s Radical Drift
There is growing interest in the Ezekiel prophecies and whether they could play out in our lifetime. I believe it is still too early to say anything definitively. But I agree that current events are strikingly consistent with the prophecies and I believe it is possible that we could see these events unfold soon. The mention of “Gomer” in Ezekiel, for example, refers to the modern-day State of Turkey which will be an enemy of Israel and part of a Russian-Iranian alliance against the Jewish state. I’m not saying the prophecy will necessarily come to pass soon, but I can’t rule out that possibility. We’ve never seen a convergence of geopolitical and spiritual events so consistent with Ezekiel 38-39 in history like we are seeing today. We need to be prayerful, sober, alert and prepared. At the conference on June 25-26 in Philly, I will address the latest developments. But I knew you’d want to see this article.
- To read Ezekiel 38 and 39, please click
- To learn more about The Ezekiel Option, a novel about how the “War of Gog and Magog” could play out in our lifetime, please click here
- To learn more about Epicenter 2.0, a non-fiction book that explains Ezekiel 38-39, please click here
- MEDIA ALERT: Joel to be interviewed on the Janet Parshall show on the Moody Radio Network from 6pm to 7pm eastern Thursday. Topics: Israel, Gaza, Ezekiel 38-39, and the 2010 Epicenter Conference.
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