This World is Likely to see Antichrist come on the Scene before 2015
Current Chief (Assad) of Land of Meshech And Tubal (Greater Syria),
Appeals to Current Ruler (Medveded) of the Land of Magog (Russia),
To Lean on a Current King (Netanyahu) of the South (Land of Israel),
Israel Likely to be Attacked by Gog, Chief Prince of Meshech & Tubal,
Who shall also be the King of the North and long awaited Antichrist!
I don’t expect Assad or Medveded to be in Power when War Begins
And I Don’t Expect Russia to Come Down UNTIL Armageddon Battle!
I DO EXPECT GREATER SYRIA To Counterattack Israel BEFORE 2015!
May 15, 2010
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 125C
June 24, 2003
One or Two Wars Before Armageddon?
As a young man, living in the pre-Hal Linsey books age, I was taught that only one war occurred during the “latter days” before Armageddon. It was a war that began in the Middle East when the antichrist attacked the nation of Israel, and ended some 3 and ½ years later with the final battle of this age – Armageddon. But I now find myself surrounded by a large array of preachers and teachers who are convinced that the war led by Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and found in Ezekiel 38 and 39, occurs before the war that commences some 3 and ½ years before the battle of Armageddon, and that the antichrist is not Gog, but comes out the war led by Gog, and then leads 10 European Union nations against Israel. They teach that when Gog and his armies come against Israel they will be slaughtered, and that Israel will be absolutely successful in thoroughly routing them. Perhaps I overlooked it, but in all my years of looking in many old musty religious archives, I never found a manuscript published before 1760 that taught there were two back-to-back wars just before the battle of Armageddon. It would seem to me that the arrival of Napoleon in Europe set the stage for a shift from bringing the antichrist out of the southern flank of the old Roman Empire to a new scheme of bringing him out of the northern flank. This shift necessitated the invention of two wars. I do not believe the shift should ever have been made.
I believe the attack of the antichrist is found in the following Scriptures, and I believe the attack occurs 1260 days before the end of this age at Armageddon.
Ezekiel 38:10,11 – Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Daniel 7:24,25 – And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
[25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Daniel 11:41 – He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
Micah 5:5 – And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Revelation 13:5,6 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
[6] And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Revelation 17:12.13 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
I believe that the following names all apply to the antichrist in the Old Testament: He is Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal in Ezekiel 38 and 39, the eleventh horn in Daniel 7, the king of the north in Daniel 11:40, and the Assyrian in Micah 5.
The 3 and ½ year war in all accounts follows a certain pattern from start to finish.
(1) The initial attack occurs, and is successful.
(2) After Jerusalem falls, then Israel is driven into the Negev
(3) The Lord leaves Israel in the Negev for 3 and ½ years.
(4) God protects Israel in the Negev during that period.
(5) Antichrist (Gog) attacks Israel in the Negev and God fights for Her
(6) The Lord leaves most of the enemy bodies on the hills of Israel at the final battle of Armageddon.
The following parenthesis (1) through (6) correlate with the six parenthesis above:
Ezekiel 38:8,9 (1) – 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. [9] 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.
Zechariah 13:8 (1) – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
Zechariah 14:2,3 (2) – For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. [3] T hen shall t
he Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Daniel 7:25 (3) – And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Revelation 12:6 (4) – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Ezekiel 39:1-5 (5) – 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: [2] 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: [3] And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. [4] Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. [5] Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Revelation 19:17-21 (5) – 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; [18] 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. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Ezekiel 38:1,2 – And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Gog is a person, the antichrist. Magog is a land, the land of Magog. God tells Ezekiel to set his face against a person, Gog, and against a land, Magog, which is Russia. Gog is NOT the chief prince of Magog (Russia). He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. At the time of Ezekiel’s writings the descendants of Magog were settled in Russia, while the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were settled in Syria. The antichrist will come out of Syria to launch the initial attack. Some 3 and ½ years later Magog (Russia) will come down to join him at Armageddon.
To make a long story short – I believe there is only one war, the war that begins when Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, attacks Israel, and ends three and one-half years later when Magog (Russia), along with all of Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, comes down to join him against Israel at the final battle of Armageddon – Only to have the bodies of their great armies end up as buzzard bait on the hills of Israel.
BUT AM I PREPARED TO BE WRONG? CERTAINLY! WHAT WILL I DO IF THERE ARE TWO WARS? WELL, I WILL JUST SAY I WAS WRONG, AND WAIT FOR ANTICHRIST TO COME OUT OF THE FIRST WAR, THAT IS, IF I AM STILL HERE.
BUT WHAT IF THERE IS ONLY ONE WAR? WELL, ONLY ONE THIRD OF ISRAEL WILL SURVIVE, JERUSALEM WILL FALL, ISRAEL WILL BE DRIVEN INTO THE NEGEV, AND YOU WILL BE WAITING FOR AN ANTICHRIST THAT IS ALREADY ON THE SCENE, THAT IS, IF YOU ARE STILL HERE.
My advice is to be prepared for either eventuality, even one that may be quite different from how many of these verses are commonly interpreted. I think that falls under the category of “watching.”
Mark 13:37 – And what I say unto you I say
unto all, Watch.
Begin Excerpt from Asia Times on Line Middle East News via World News
Syria asks Russia to lean on Israel
By Sami Moubayed
DAMASCUS – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been in the headlines, first for describing his predecessor Joseph Stalin as a “totalitarian dictator” and then for making the first state visit to Syria by a Kremlin chief since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
Medvedev met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during his Syria visit and in an unprecedented move wrote a front-page editorial for Syria’s daily al-Watan on how important bilateral relations are between Damascus and Moscow.
During the two-day visit, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart agreed a 14-point declaration which included periodic presidential visits as well as cooperation on tourism, education, military affairs, investment and trade and prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
A strongly worded statement was also issued calling for peace in the Middle East based on United Nations resolutions and the restoration of the June 4, 1967 borders of Israel, which would return all occupied land to the Arabs. It also called for a solution to the Palestinian refugee question and the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
At the summit there were calls for Russia to use its influence to convince the Israelis – who the Syrians insist are not interested in peace – back to the negotiating table. This has long been an objective of the Kremlin.
Damascus also called on Medvedev to get the US, “which is not doing enough”, to jump-start serious peace talks on restoring the Golan Heights to Syria.
Assad called on Medvedev to use Russia’s influence – given that it was one of the co-chairs of the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 – to “convince Israel of the necessity of peace”.
For his part, although promising to do his best, Medvedev did not sound optimistic that any breakthroughs were on the horizon. He mention an “increase in tension” that might, he prophesized, “lead to a catastrophe”. If that happens, he said, “Moscow will not stand with arms folded”.
Russian pressure on Israel – depending on who one talks to in the Middle East – might or might not lead to any breakthrough. The Israelis have never trusted the Russians – not during the Cold War nor since – claiming the Russians always take the side of the Palestinians in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Since his landmark visit to Paris in the summer of 2008 the Syrian president has been urging world capitals to play a serious role in bolstering regional peace talks. The US administration of George W Bush was not interested and today the Barack Obama administration is seemingly unable to apply any real pressure on the Israelis, thanks to a troublesome congress at home and a hardline government in Israel.
The Israelis apparently never forgave Obama for his speech in Cairo in June 2009, in which he promised to bring the Palestinians justice and end Israeli settlements in their lands. Earlier this year, they threw dust in the eyes of Vice President Joseph Biden by announcing that they were about to construct 1,600 new settlements in Jerusalem during his high-profile visit to Israel to begin “proximity talks”.
United States Middle East envoy George Mitchell has met with both nation’s leaders in an attempt to rekindle peace talks but few are optimistic they will lead anywhere. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas at best only represents 50% of the Palestinian street in the West Bank as the other half, controlled by Hamas in Gaza, is categorically opposed to any talks as long as the Israeli siege of the strip continues.
The fact that Abbas cannot abandon certain rights related to Jerusalem and refugees – and the likelihood of new war erupting between Israel and Hezbollah this summer – makes it highly doubtful that any breakthrough can be made in the Middle East, no matter how hard the Russians try.
Real progress, however, can be made in economic matters between Syria and Russia. The Syrians are focused on becoming a regional hub in terms of gas, oil and transportation, building on their excellent relations with countries like Russia and Turkey.
When addressing one of the numerous Syrian-Turkish business forums, Assad once spoke of an “economic space” that “one day will be complete, [where] we will then be linking the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Arab Gulf”. He added, “When we link these four seas, we will become the obligatory connector for this entire world, in terms of investment and transport.”
Syria could serve as a hub for joint investments in energy, industry, agriculture, telecommunications, banking and technology as well as a route for Arab and Asian oil and gas to European markets via the Mediterranean. Turkey could then become a connecting point for electricity networks between Europe and the Arab and Asian regions.
Transportation of goods by rail is already underway from the Iraqi port city of Um Qasr in the Arabian Gulf to the Syrian port city of Latakia, which lies on the Mediterranean. There is also a project to bring the Kirkuk-Banias pipeline into operation with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd). Another pipeline is in the works, with a capacity of 1.4 million bpd that will link the Iraqi gas plant in Akkas to a Syrian plant linked
to the Jordanian and Egyptian plants which would branching out to Lebanon and Europe.
During a 2009 visit by Greek President Karolos Papoulias to Damascus, he raised the same topic with Syrian officials. His country, he said, could serve as a connecting point between the Black Sea, the Adriatic Ocean and the Balkan Peninsula, where 4,000 Greek and Russian companies are already in operation. A Russian company is currently working on two gas factories in the Syrian midland, with a production capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per day, while a Russian oil company is undergoing excavation works in the Abu Kamal region, near the Syrian border with Iraq.
The Syrians believe they are capable of becoming the arrival and distribution point for goods coming from the Mediterranean, the Gulf and neighboring countries, something raised before the Turks at a summit in Istanbul on May 8, and with Medvedev during his recent visit to Damascus on May 11. To do that, the Syrians need peace in the Middle East, something that is becoming increasingly far-fetched given the inability of the Obama administration to apply any pressure on Israel. This is where Russian diplomacy can come into play.
The two sides have a long history of sound relations dating to the 1940s. Veteran Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov famously visited Damascus in the summer of 1944, refusing to recognize the French Mandate over Syria or meet any French official during his stay, insisting that his only interlocutors were elected Syrian officials.
Two years later, the Soviets used their veto power at the UN Security Council to drown a European initiative to extend the French Mandate over Syria and in 1956, during the height of the Suez Crisis, then-Syrian president Shukri al-Quwatli landed in Moscow to start a formal relationship that has been uninterrupted for the past 54 years, followed by his defense minister Khaled al-Azm in the summer of 1957, where he signed economic and military treaties with the Soviets.
Back then, Quwatli pleaded for support of the “great Russian army that defeated Hitler” in saving Egypt from a British-French-Israeli war over the Suez Canal. The relationship was further cemented with strong Russian backing for Syria during the war of 1967, taking a new turn when president Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970.
Although Assad refused to sign a friendship agreement with the Soviet Union throughout the first 10 years of his presidency, he nevertheless relied on Soviet experts
to train and arm the Syrian army, build roads, bridges and the famous Euphrates Dam. Since he came to power in 2000, Bashar al-Assad visited Russia in 2005, 2006 and in 2008, less than two weeks after the US-backed Georgian army rumbled into South Ossetia, which infuriated the Kremlin.
Sending a strong message to the Russians ahead of his 2008 trip, Assad spoke to the Russian Kommerstant newspaper: “The Caucasus and Europe are impossible without Russia … I think that after the crisis with Georgia, Russia has become only stronger … It is important that Russia takes the position of a superpower, and then all the attempts to isolate it will fail.”
His words were music to the ears of officials at the Kremlin, who saw a good ally in Assad, a man who realizes that the Russians are back and intends on using this strong reality to advance his own country’s interests, vis-a-vis stability of the Middle East and restoration of the occupied Golan Heights to its rightful owners.
Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.
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