For those of you who’ve got better things to do than pay attention to Middle East politics (assuming anyone in this present day actually fits that profile,) Hamas recently won the majority in the Palestinian Parliament. To give you a little background, the two major Palestinian political parties have been Hamas and Fatah. Both have committed great atrocities against Israel (Yasser Arafat led Fatah and the PLO; in my estimation he could be easily viewed as the father of modern terrorism when one investigates the inhuman, monstrous covert operations his people have carried out,) but Hamas has been far more openly militant and belligerent toward the sovereign state of Israel.

Indeed, Hamas (which literally means “Islamic Resistance Movement”) has openly stated their prime objective as “destroying the Zionist entity that occupies Palestine, and establishing Palestine from the sea to the river based on Islamic principles.” Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi claimed “to remove Israel from the map” as Hamas’ goal. Fatah made an attempt to appear reasonable and more or less neutral; Hamas never has.

Hamas just won the majority in the Palestinian parliament.

If that doesn’t make your heart beat just a little faster, you haven’t been paying attention.

No surprise, both Israel and the United States of America have publicly refused to cooperate or negotiate with a Hamas-run Palestine. And rightly so; to do otherwise would be to adopt the appeasement-driven philosophy of Neville Chamberlain. But I digress. Things are heating up in the Middle East. It’s an area that’s always been hot, but it’s getting gradually hotter.

Think with me a moment. Hamas’ election. The Gaza Strip eviction. Ariel Sharon’s political maneuvering. Iran’s nuclear program. The Liberation of Iraq. September 11^th. Am I insane, or is there an eschatological thread through all of this? According to Daniel’s prophecy of the Times of the Gentiles (the prophecy found in Daniel 2 which outlines God's plan for the nations from Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon up to a time yet future, when Jesus Christ returns to planet earth to set up his kingdom,) we’re currently in the iron-thigh-period of God’s countdown to the Day of the Lord, and there’s a two-way split (two legs.) Historically, the east-west split began with the dividing of the Roman kingdom by Emperor Valentinian in AD 364, but while the initial Roman split faded into the oblivion of history's flow, the east-west global power split has been persevered in the democratic western countries and the Islamic eastern republics. Israel is caught right in the middle. September 11^th may’ve set in motion events none of us truly understand. That east-west split has widened. Just how long will it be until we move to the ten-way partition that Daniel prophesied? Not long, I think, and every one of Daniel’s prophecies prior to this have thus far come true with eerie accuracy.

The three prime centers of power in the seven-year-tribulation John predicted in the book of Revelation are Rome, Jerusalem, and Babylon. Jerusalem has always been the object or attention and contempt in the post-1940s world. Babylon’s position has, in the past few years, increased in potential with the US liberation of Iraq. Coincidence? I don’t think so, and if I’m right, don’t be surprised if Italy and Rome come into sharp focus politically speaking in the near future.

And now, Iran threatens to “wipe Israel off the map” as they speed toward the finalization of a nuclear weapons program, and Hamas gains political control of the Arab-Palestinian government. Most notable, however, is the very recent declaration by Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. He has invited Hamas for talks in Moscow, and has stated that Russia does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Stop for a moment, and let that sink in. Whether you realize it or not, this could be monumentally important.

There is a prophecy in the Book of Ezekiel (the book in which we find the prophecy of Israel’s re-establishment in 1947) which speaks of a great battle between Israel and several other nations. From the text, Ezekiel 38:1-6:

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn you about, and put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords; Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Homer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many people with him.’”

Exactly who are these nations and armies mentioned? We know without any doubt that they include Turkey, Iran, Germany, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Germany, extrapolating based on the areas these ancient peoples inhabited. And it has been speculated that Rosh is no other than Russia. Such a speculation is reasonable and even likely, and if it is, the implications of recent events could be fascinating indeed.

Ezekiel prophesied about this battle (if it can be called that) in which this confederacy of nations invades Israel to plunder her riches. (Ezk. 38:10-13) The invaders will be in the “mountains of Israel” (Ezk. 38:7-9) where they will be totally destroyed by God, miraculously and supernaturally. (Ezk. 38:17-23)

Friends, if this battle is indeed between Israel and a coalition of Turkey, Iran, and Russia (or, more aptly, between Yahweh God and said coalition in an attempt to invade Israel,) is it any stretch of the imagination to speculate that it could take place within the next year? I don’t think so. What is even more exciting is that the Rapture, that blessed event in which Christ promised to take all those who love him off the earth prior to the seven year Tribulation, could happen either before or very soon after this battle. We are to live as though Jesus’ return is totally imminent, that it could happen at any moment, and I’ve ever tried to. But now, in these days, it is all too easy. The likelihood that we are living in the End Times is, I think, very promising. If we aren’t…I can’t wait to see what they really are like, because even reading today’s headlines is an awful lot like reading out of Ezekiel or Daniel. It’s extremely exciting!

What, then, shall we do? Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts; live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. (Titus 2)

God Bless,
David Gunn

[Tuesday, May 09, 2006 Update:]

In the days when I first posted this, many of the skeptics scoffed at those of us who saw an eschatalogical connection between today's geopolitics and Ezekiel's prophecies. They told us that it was quite a stretch to see any connection between Russia, Hamas, and Iran. We were just being sensationalistic, we were told, and even arrogant.

Understand, please, that I am in no way proposing the idea that Jesus Christ must come back in my lifetime because there appears to be a strong connection between the geopolitics of today and many eschatological prophecies. That is simply not the case; it could possibly be another good two thousand years before he decides to come back again. Or three thousand. Or five thousand. But is it likely? I don't think so; too many eschatological events seem to be coming to a head. It could be soon! It may be soon! And, I think, it probably will be soon! But must it? No. God cannot be boxed in, and we must do our best to avoid even trying to do that.

However, for those who pointed out that Russia-Hamas-Iran is not really a very clear or concrete cohesion the likes of which could lead to the battle of Gog and Magog, please turn your attention to events that have transpired since I first posted this. Russia and Iran are now cooperating directly in regards to the building of a nuclear power plant. Sorry, skeptics, but the connection is no longer nearly as vague or shadowy as you'd like to think. Iran and Russia are getting close, and anyone who thinks the USSR is really and truly dead is just being naïve. Is it close? Is it?

I don't know, but it would truly take a man of blind and irrational faith to claim that all this is a coincidence when the board is being set for events prophecied several thousand years ago. And they call our faith a crutch...

To God be the Glory,
David