The Return of the King of Kings Part 5

                “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, that My fury will show in My face.  For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the face of the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence.  The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

                “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains, says the Lord God.  Every man’s sword will be against his brother.  And I will bring him to judgement with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.  Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations.  Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”
                Ezekiel 38:18-23

Much of what Ezekiel describes in these passages mirrors the vision John saw with the opening of the sixth seal in the book of Revelation.

                “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.  And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.  Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

                “And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
                Revelation 6:12-17

I think both prophets are describing the same event.  I think the Rapture occurs and Gog views this as his opportunity to take advantage of the chaos to destroy Israel.  With the Christians removed, God begins the seven-year tribulation in which he unleashes his wrath on the Earth.  The world already reeling from the chaos of the disappearing Christians, is then devastated by a supernatural calamity that encompasses everything described by Ezekiel and John.  The result is the utter devastation of the armies invading Israel.

It almost sounds like some kind of massive asteroid passing close enough to Earth to upset our gravitational balance and cause a cataclysmic shifting of the tectonic plates while at the same time breaking off pieces that rain down in a horrific storm of fire and brimstone.  The Jews will view it as divine intervention from God.  This will lead them to become a fully-fledged religious state and prompt the building of the Third Temple.
               
The aftermath of all this chaos will also see the rise of the Antichrist.  He will provide answers to calm the world and he will make a treaty with Israel that enables them to build their temple in exchange for refusing to claim any additional territory from the vanquished Muslim nations.  This brief calm after the storm which sees the Antichrist first peacefully consolidating power and Israel returning to God is described by John:

                “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God.  And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.  And I heard the number of those who were sealed, One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed.”
                Revelation 7:2-4

Thus even as the Antichrist signs his false covenant with Israel, God renews his true covenant with his chosen people.  He will protect them even as he unleashes greater horrors on Earth.  The safety of Israel will stand as a stark contrast to the nightmare that will become the Antichrist’s realm.  This will set up his betrayal of Israel three and a half years later.
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I believe current Christians will not have to endure any of the horrors described in the visions of Ezekiel and John.  I believe the Rapture of the Church will occur before God unleashes his wrath.  I will discuss the Rapture in my next post.
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