Shalom from Israel. I have good news. Two weeks ago or 2 1/2 weeks ago, I was in Jerusalem: And the tomb is empty. Amen? It's so important that we know that. One of the things that people around the world are deprived of is basically, the understanding that not only that our days are numbered. But that every single event in the world has been foretold by God, through his prophets. And that God is super-interested that his children will know his plans. We don't have to go to any "psychic" shop. We don't have to pay money to an ugly lady to look into a crystal ball. And tell us some baloney. We have it all here. It's all in this Book. The Bible says in Isaiah 46, “I am God; There is no other. I am God; There is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times things that are not yet done. Saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” God wants his children to know his plans. He declares them. Those prophets of old were amazing people, free of their ego and their whole self. All they were called for was to be conduits through which God, the Holy Spirit, would speak to the people. So, when we look at the words of the prophets? We have to remember, it's not them who were speaking. It's God speaking through them to you, even today. Wishing that all of you will know his plans. So you will not be scared, but be prepared. That's what it's all about. One of the terms that the world is using often is "Gog and Magog". Am I right? Unfortunately, most people around the world that use that term? Don't even know where it comes from. I mean, they use it just as they use other terms. Where does it come from? And how come we find that term 2 different times? One in the Book of Ezekiel, and one in the Book of Revelation. Two different times, describing two different wars. First of all, Gog is a description of a leader. He is the Prince of Magog. Who is Magog? What is Magog? Genesis 10:1-10, “Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham...” Well, it's not a kosher name, ham... Let’s go back. “Shem, Ham and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.” It's very interesting. These are names of people that came out of the loins of the sons of Noah. Basically, this is the post-flood repopulation of the world. You can see behind me, the map of the "spread-out" of those names and where they come from. So, when we talk about Magog, you can clearly see, [it's] on the verge between Europe and Asia, on the northernmost part of the spreading-out of the people where, today, Russia is. Now, sometimes a name of a geographical location becomes a term of use for the spirit of the place, the person or a certain event. For example, the term "Armageddon". I don’t need to tell you, every time somebody wants to describe something catastrophic? He's going to say, “This is an Armageddon.” I mean, when they produce a movie about some catastrophe? Guess what? What will they call the movie? Armageddon. I mean, you see that. So, it's not necessarily that they really talk about Armageddon. Which by the way, is the Greek from the Hebrew, "Har Megiddo". The Mound of Megiddo, which is in the Jezreel Valley in Israel. The same goes with Babylon. Now Babylon, we know that it is where Iraq is today. But for example in the Scriptures, we have in Revelation 17:5, a description of “Mystery Babylon”. So, you see that the spirit of Babylon is now describing: Someone else, something else or somewhere else. So, we definitely can understand that although we have twice, in two different parts of the Bible, the term Gog and Magog. It doesn't have to refer to the exact same places. It refers to the spirit of that which it is originally, all about. The first time we hear about Gog and Magog is in the Book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. You must understand, the Book of Ezekiel is an amazing prophetic account of that which God has been doing, is doing and will be doing in the near future. Ezekiel 36 speaks of how God is speaking "healing" to the dead soil of the land of Israel before Israel came back. The Bible said in Ezekiel 36, “And I speak to you, 'O mountains of Israel, shoot forth your branches. And yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come.'” Then Ezekiel 37 continues, with the rescue of the remnant of the Jewish people from the European Holocaust. You really see how Ezekiel was brought to a valley full of dry bones. And he is depressed, asking God, “What is this that I'm looking at? And God says to Ezekiel, Ezekiel, this is the entire house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost. And we ourselves have been cut off.' But tell them, O Ezekiel, ‘O my people, I am about to take you out of that graveyard. And I will pull you out. And I will set you on your own soil.'” So God basically, in chapter 36, spoke of the healing of the land prior to the return of the Jewish people. In chapter 37, it is the rescue of the remnant. And in chapter 38, we are introduced already to Israel, safe and secure and prosperous in their own land. You see, in Chapter 37, he brought them to their own soil. Now, they're in their land. God is doing what God is saying. Is that clear? Now, the reason I'm saying that is because he wants us to recognize him as such. When he said in chapter 37, regarding the return of the Jewish people back to their land? The Lord said the following thing in regard to that. And he says that, “I am the one that is promising that and I also am doing that.” In verse 14, he says the following, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you will come to life. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it.” And performed it basically. That's what God wants us to remember. So, now we move from the moment he healed the land... Which, by the way, the land was dead. I don't you know if you know that? Nothing was growing in the Land of Israel prior to the return of the Jewish people. Mark Twain shows up in the 1870s. And writes a report describing how dead and desolate the land is. Now, we export food to the whole world. Now, we have more species of vegetables and fruits that we can grow in 5 different climate zones in a country that is the size of New Jersey. Now, I want you to know... Now, we're being introduced to chapter 38 and chapter 39. This is the phase of where we're introduced to... And it says, “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face towards Gog, of the land of Magog, the Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” Which means... Just so you understand: Gog is the name or the description of the leader. And he is the Prince of Magog. And Magog is the generic name from Genesis 10, of that portion of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. That in many different theological explanations, you see the resemblance of: Rosh to Russia, Mesheck to Moscow, Tubal to Tubalisk and all of that. But they move on. And you see that he's speaking of an invasion into the land of Israel orchestrated by Gog, but with: Persia, with Gomer, the house of Togarmah, with Put and Cush that join them as well. This is a description of 5 different countries that will come against Israel while Israel is safe, secure and prosperous. Now, I know that it's kind of weird for you to hear that Israel is safe and secure. But I want to tell you something: Downtown Dallas is more dangerous than Jerusalem. Just so you know. A trip to Israel... The most dangerous part in the trip to Israel is the road to DFW. Just so you know. And the biggest danger within Israel is overeating. Just so you know. ... I'm trying to say, we have never had it so safe, so secure and so prosperous as we have it, right now. You have to understand, we are the 2nd generation of Holocaust survivors. When they came to Israel, as chapter 37 describes, they came with the understanding that we were nearly, completely, annihilated. Now, in the early years of Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967 and even 1973, we were in daily danger of being annihilated, of being completely extinct. Do you understand that the Arab countries around Israel? Vowed to destroy Israel, at any moment. We don't live in such a reality anymore. Egypt has peace with Israel. Jordan has peace with Israel. And we have in Syria and Lebanon, civil war. The last thing they care about at this point? Is Israel. Do you understand? We've never had it so good also, when it comes to the financial. ... The Israeli GDP, I think, is unbelievable. We're almost scratching the 40,000 dollars per person. Now we're talking about a stock market that is skyrocketing. We're talking about unemployment that is very, very low. We're talking about the fastest growing economy in the Western Hemisphere. And we are in a state of war basically, with some of our neighbors in a way. Yet, we prosper. By the way, not because we're so good. It is because He is so good. And I want you to understand: We live in the days where our villages are unwalled, our cities are unwalled. Yes, we have a wall in Jerusalem, but that's an ancient wall. What do you want? It's an old city. ... You have to understand something. In the old days every village had a wall, every city had a wall. We were always feeling the danger. But we don't have it anymore. I can send my kids to play out in the yard and everything will be great. So, Israel is in those days... Now we see how Rosh, Mesheck and Tubal, which is Russia. How Persia, which is Iran. How Gomer and Togarmah, which is Turkey joining with Libya and Sudan... They are ganging all around Israel to come and destroy it. I wish I had the time to go over all the current events. So you understand that - this is it! In 2017, we have Russia, Turkey and Iran in Syria, on the border with Israel. And we have the only two African countries right now, that don't recognize Israel, are Libya and Sudan. That’s it. So, then we have another war described in Revelation 20. As the war that will happen or will take place, at the very last portion of the 1,000 Millennial Kingdom. The Bible describes in verse 7, “And when the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison. And he will come out to deceive the nations, which are in the 4 corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth. And surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. ...And fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” So, we see another war with the same name, Gog and Magog. But completely different time period, completely different area. And different people that are attacking. And those who are being attacked are also different. So, we have to understand. The duplicated use of the names, Gog and Magog, in Revelation is to show that these people demonstrate the same rebellion against God and his people. And antagonism towards God and his people as those in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Ezekiel 38 and 39 speaks of Israel, the Jewish people, the land of Israel today. Whereas Revelation 20 speaks of the saints that are in Jerusalem once we have the Millennial Kingdom. These are two different things. But it's amazing. It's the same spirit. The spirit of the one whose name is Satan. By the way, his name is not Satan. Satan in Hebrew means “the adversary.” It's a description of who he is. And it's interesting, because his spirit is always, always against those whom God is using and God is choosing. Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament: Are the only 2 groups of people in the history that God called them, “My witnesses.” In Isaiah 43, he calls Israel, “You are my witnesses.” In the Book of Acts chapter 1, he calls the church, “You are my witnesses.” And always the criminal wants to destroy the evidence and kill the witness. And that's what we have, right now. We see that we're in the same boat. As a Christian, you cannot hate Israel. As a Christian you cannot hate Israel because we're in the same boat. The enemy hates us both. And if you end up hating that which God loves? I'll tell you something, you'll start loving that which God hates. So, the two are not the same war. In the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39, the armies come primarily from the north. The Bible says in Ezekiel 38:6, verse 15 and in 39:2, “They're coming from the northern part of the earth.” From Russia, it's the main thing. The battle in Revelation, as you see, is from the 4 corners of the earth, from all directions. The 2nd difference is: There is no mentioning of Satan in the context of Ezekiel 38 and 39. We're talking about Revelation 20:7, the context clearly places the battle at the end of the Millennium, with Satan as the main character. Ezekiel 39 says that the dead will be buried for 7 months. And there will be no need to bury the dead in the battle of Ezekiel. It's the one described in Revelation. Do you understand? Revelation is the end of the Millennium. There is no need to. Because right next to it comes, of course, the Great White Throne of Judgment. So, why would you bury anyone for 7 years? The 4th difference is: That the battle in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is used by God to bring Israel back to him. That's the key point in this message. The 1st Gog and Magog is about how God delivers Israel from its enemies. And wants to be glorified through that. So, he brings Israel back to him. In Revelation 20, Israel has been already faithful to God for a 1,000 years. Remember, all Israel will be saved when Christ returns with us to the Mount of Olives. ... The Israel that is there will be saved... All of us will be one family and we'll be faithful to God. So, this is not the same battle. Because God doesn't need to draw Israel back to him in Revelation. Now, we have to understand. ...In the first message this morning, we spoke of Daniel’s 70 weeks. We learned that for 69 weeks he dealt with Israel. Then came a long period of what I call: The valley between the mountain peaks. Where he dealt with all of you, even in Texas. That's when brisket was invented, the Lone Star was placed and all of that. But then the 70th week is back to deal with Israel. ...The focus is shifted back to Jerusalem as well. So, the shift back to Israel is once the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? God has given all of you... How many of you here are Jewish people, by the way? Oh, 1 and 1/2, which is okay, by the way. You don't have to be Jews to be in God's family. In fact, I don't understand why so many Gentiles want to become Jews. Trust me, you don't need to. We don't need more Jews. In fact, the Bible says that you need to provoke the Jews to jealousy. You don't need to be provoked to jealousy. Do you understand that? But the shift back to Israel is basically a sign that the time of the Gentiles is about to come in. And this is why it's so important. In Luke chapter 21:24, Jesus said, “Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Jesus already says there is a set time for the Gentiles. And once it's fulfilled, then Jerusalem will no longer be trampled by the Gentiles. Just so you know, the Temple Mount... Although Jerusalem is back in our hands ever since 1967- the Temple Mount is not yet in our hands. I mean, yes, Israeli police and Israeli sovereignty, but this place is still under the religious jurisdiction of the Muslim Waqf, not of the Jewish authorities. So, it's still trampled, in a way, by the Gentiles. And in Romans chapter 11 in verse 25 it says, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery. Lest you should be wise in your own opinion that blindness in part has happened to Israel until...” What? “The fullness of the Gentiles has come in...” And then he says, “And then all Israel will be saved.” So, we see that God... By the way, the Bible says that God is the one who blinded Israel. God is the one who gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear. Because they hardened their hearts. It is the only group on planet Earth that God blinded. Do you understand? Satan blinds the people around the world. God blinded Israel for a reason and for a season. The reason: They hardened their hearts. The season: For the Gentiles to come in. Look how much he loves you. That he blinded his people. So you will be able to receive the message, the gospel and the good news. And be saved in the time that he has given you: Between the 69 weeks and the 70th week. Amazing, isn't it? Now, of course, we understand that in the scriptures the restoration of Israel, as he shifts his focus back to them, first comes in the physical way. ... We are talking about the physical restoration, then comes the spiritual restoration of Israel. We live in the days, all of you... I mean, the average age here is about what, 20? See? I love you, you can tell. We live, right now, still in the times known as the times of the: Gentiles. And God, we can already see, started restoring Israel physically. First of all, the restoration of the land in Ezekiel 36. Then the restoration of the people in Ezekiel 37. Then we see the return back to the land in Isaiah 43. And then Jerusalem back in Jewish hands in 1967. So, physically, we can already see that the shift of the attention is coming all the way back to Israel. First, in the physical. The Bible always says, "Then comes the spiritual." Look at Ezekiel 36 what he says, “For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries. And I will bring you into your own land.” So, the physical restoration has begun. But then he says, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. And I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols.” So, the spiritual one has to be following the physical one. And we are the generation that witness the physical restoration of Israel. Let's go back to that chart. You're about to see - if we can? That the spiritual restoration is when Israel goes through those trials. Gog and Magog, as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, is God's attempt to win the Jewish people, the people of Israel, back spiritually. That's when he starts dealing with them. Then, of course, we're talking about the tribulation period. You have to understand something. If you have, as believers, plans to stay here during the tribulation? Fine with me. I'm out of here. I don't know about you? My God told me through his Word that I'm not destined for the wrath of God. Amen? My God told me through Jesus that there are certain signs that should happen, should take place in the world, that will tell me that I need to look up for my Redemption is drawing near. As in Romans 8, the redemption of the body out of this world. So, my God tells me that he will take me out of the hour of trial, not through the hour of trial. So, for all... concern, we need to be out of here before the tribulation. Amen? And the tribulation is the time God is going to deal with Israel. That's the last week. This is the 70th week of Daniel. This is the time that God is not going to send messengers from First Baptist of Euless. This is the time that he's going to somehow raise 144,000 from, what? The tribes of Israel! Because his prime subject and target are the people of Israel. And guess what? You look at Revelation and you see how the enemy is after the woman that gave birth to the child, Israel as a nation. Do you understand that the spirit of the Antichrist, right now? Is against us, the believers. And the only thing that shields us is the Restrainer, the Holy Spirit that is within us. But once the restrainer is going to be taken out of the way. And we are out of here, that's it. He is going to be unleashing a very, very vicious war against? The other part of God's people, the people of Israel. So, it's going to be the tribulation as well. And then, of course, when we will return with Jesus. If you remember? We will return with Jesus. ... We can see that Jesus, the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 63, will come from Bosra. ... Bosra, by the way, is the area in Jordan where Petra is today. And all those Jews that will flee to that place, because they do not accept the mark of the beast. And do not accept the Antichrist as God? They will have to flee. Jordan will open its gates and they will go all the way to that area. And Jesus will bring them back, all the way. He will be on Mount of Olives. And then, of course, all Israel will be saved. So, the spiritual restoration will begin with Ezekiel 38. All the way to the 2nd coming of Jesus, described in Zechariah 12 and Zechariah 14. My point is this. If Ezekiel's war is the 1st Gog and Magog? And we understand that we are almost there? You must remember, that where you are in the 1st Gog and Magog? Will determine where you will be in the 2nd Gog and Magog. Do you understand that? If you, for some reason, decide to stay here? Then guess what? You will probably not be in the 2nd Gog and Magog. Why? Because, a) you're probably not taken. So, you don't come back and you don't live forever. 2. If you remain here and you were never taken? You will not live that long to be at the end of the 1,000 years, Millennial Kingdom. You'll live 80 years, 90, 100 years, but not 1,000. So, I will say this. As believers, we could be out of here before the 1st Gog and Magog. Do you understand that? The question today is, Are you ready for the 2nd Gog and Magog? Do we understand? The 2nd Gog and Magog is the attack of Satan. And everyone that joined him against the people of God, Jews and Gentiles alike. Do you understand that? You want to be in the 2nd Gog and Magog. Because that means you are saved. You did come back with Jesus. You are reigning with him. And this is why you are being attacked. So, I can't believe I'm saying that. But I am looking forward to Gog and Magog. But to the 2nd one. I'm not looking forward to the 1st one. I want to be out of here before. I want to be out of here before. I want to be with the Lord Jesus. Because he said that he is coming to receive us unto himself. Receive us unto himself. Isn’t that beautiful about the Lord? He could have sent someone to bring us. He decided, once again, to leave his throne and descend. This time he wanted it to be a fun experience. So, he comes halfway only. And we go half way. And we meet him, where? In the air! In the clouds! Do you understand? ... Every time I'm landing... And I fly a lot. Every time I'm landing, I'm looking out of the window. And you know how it is, there are the clouds. Everything is so clear above. And so filthy underneath. ... Every time we go through the clouds, I'm saying goodbye to the meeting place. I'm saying, I'm going to my earthly home. But I'm looking at my meeting place with my Lord, very shortly. And I'm telling you, it's the best meeting place. Do you understand that this is the first time ever in the history of planet Earth? That you will finally understand who is a believer and who is not. This is the first “All Believers Conference.” Nobody will have any excuse. We'll all show up. It's quite amazing, isn't it? And it's all going to happen... It's not a slow-mo thing, like Mary Poppins, that we're going... I mean, we're going to be, in the twinkling of an eye... Boom! We´re going to change... Whoosh! Be there and meet him in the air. And he's so loving to take us... Instead of sending us over there and not knowing where to go. And asking the angels for direction. No! He is welcoming us. He's taking us to the mansions that he has been building for us for the last 2,000 years. By the way, just so you know. For the last 2,000 years, he's building for us mansions that will only last for seven years. “What are you talking about...?” Well, let me tell you. We're going to be in heaven only 7 years. And then, what? We return back with him. Then we reign with him for 1,000 years. And then there's no more, this heaven. Because he will make new heaven, new earth. And the New Jerusalem is going to come down. So, this heaven is our home for only 7 years. ... So, I don't understand the people that are saying that we should be raptured after the tribulation. All that work for the mansions, for what? Five minutes! Guys, the question today, this morning, is: Gog and Magog, which one are you going to experience? And which is the one you're looking forward to see? And be present at that time? And I can tell you, I'm not looking forward to the Ezekiel one. I'm planning on being out of here. But I am banking on being in the beloved city with my beloved family, seeing the one last attempt of Satan to fight before it's his very last breath. So, I thank God for the term, "Gog and Magog". Because to me? It gives me hope that I'm going to be skipping the "biggie" that is coming around the corner. And I will be here to see the fall of Satan, for eternity. Amen? Amen! So, I pray this morning, that you gained a better understanding of Gog and Magog. And you understand that what we need to look for is the 2nd one. And the question is: Are you ready for the 2nd one? Thank you and God bless.
