Sermon Notes - Ezekiel 38 - Prophecy Wars and Rumors of Wars - Littleby Baptist Church - March 20, 2022

 1.     Last Week

a.      The end times will be like labor pains… as the time grows closer the frequency and intensity of events will increase.

b.     We talked how apostacy is growing.

c.      People are turning form God, even people who have professed to believe are flat-out rejecting God.

d.     Sin is being pushed on the innocent and it is being celebrated in the sickest of ways.

e.      The Itchy Ear syndrome is growing.

f.      People are flocking to those who tell them what they want to hear and rejecting those who speak the truth.

g.     But… the closer we draw to our Lord’s return and the more we study the Word of God, the more we will understand.

                                                    i.     God’s Word will unfold for us.

                                                  ii.     We need to stand fast…Trust in Him… and share the Love of Christ with everyone.

2.     One of the tricky parts of looking at End Time Prophecies is that there aren’t many prophecies that talk about the years leading up to the Tribulation.

a.      Romans 1 and some others paint a picture of how things will deteriorate.

b.     There are some that give us an idea of some of the things that will happen before the Tribulation.

c.      Most are about how bad it will be during the Tribulation.

d.     The church will be taken before things get bad. We are not going to live through the Tribulation.

e.      But one of the biggest things we don’t know, is how bad is it going to get before the Tribulation starts.

3.     Matthew 24:4-5

a.      We talked a little about this last week, with the ear tickling syndrome.

b.     People are flocking to the feel-good false teachings and turning from God.

c.      They are placing hope in these messages, these other people.

d.     Hope is being placed in false prophets and it is false hope.

e.      People are being deceived.

4.     Matthew 24:6-7

a.      Wars, famines, and earthquakes.

b.     Today we will focus on wars and rumors of wars.

5.     Ezekiel 38:1-6

a.      God will use Gog, the leader of Magog to carry out His will.

b.     He will put hooks in their jaws to steer them where God wants them to go.

c.      One question that has been asked recently is Putin Gog. Could he be? Maybe.

                                                    i.     Did God appoint him? Yes. Is God using him? Probably.

                                                  ii.     Do we have enough information to make a definitive stand, No.

                                                iii.     Putin may pave the way and the next leader of Russia is Gog. Until events play out, it would be pure speculation.

d.     Who are these nations today?

e.      The borders are not drawn the same today as they were then, so there is some overlap and variation on who is who.

                                                    i.     Magog – Russia

                                                  ii.     Meshech and Tubal – former Soviet states

                                                iii.     Persia - Iran

                                                iv.     Cush – Sudan and parts of Egypt and Ethiopia

                                                  v.     Put – Parts of Libya

                                                vi.     Gomer - Ukraine

                                               vii.     Beth-togarmah – Parts of Ethiopia and Libya.

f.      All of these nations will gather together when the time comes to attack Israel.

                                                    i.     Ukraine will either be a part of Russia or partner with them.

                                                  ii.     We could be seeing the events leading up to this prophecy unfolding before us.

                                                iii.     It is too early to tell.

6.     Ezekiel 38:7-13

a.      There are a few things mentioned in these verses that we should breakdown a bit.

b.     Restored from war – Many believe this was fulfilled in 1948 when the new nation of Israel was established.

c.      Regathered people – As of late 2021 7M Jews live in Israel, 45%.

                                                    i.     What % will equal a regathered people? Probably something > 50%.

                                                  ii.     So not there yet.

d.     Live securely, live in safety

                                                    i.     The Abraham accords signed in 2020 between Israel and United Arab Emirates.

1.     Sudan, Morocco, and Bahrain have also signed the agreement.

                                                  ii.     Turkey and Egypt are seeing Israel as important which will contribute to their safety.

e.      People who have been acquiring cattle and possessions.

                                                    i.     Gross Domestic Product is a measure of goods produced by a country in a specific period of time.

                                                  ii.     In 2000 Israel had a GDP of $19K

                                                iii.     In 2011 Israel ranked 32^nd with $31K

                                                iv.     In 2021 they were ranked 19th at $44K, ahead of Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.

                                                  v.     They have the 2^nd best economy out of 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

                                                vi.     In the recent years they have found significant amounts of oil and natural gas.

                                               vii.     In the last twenty years, Israel has become a regional energy powerhouse.

                                             viii.     They are selling fuel to countries that have been their adversaries.

f.      Year by year Israel is becoming more and more prosperous.

g.     When we look at these verses in Ezekiel, I think we can see that Israel has not checked all the boxes on the list, but they have checked some.

                                                    i.     They could all be checked in the near future.  

7.     Damascus is the capital of Syria, an enemy of Israel.

a.      Isaiah 17:1, Damascus, the capital of Syria will become a ruinous heap.

b.     This is a prophecy that will be fulfilled before our Lord’s return.

c.      Having looked at pictures of Damascus, this prophecy could be filled pretty soon.

d.     What is interesting about this is Russia is supplying arms to Iran, Iranian sympathizers, and the Syrian government.

e.      Israel regularly fires missiles into Syria, into Damascus, attacking Iran and their allies.

f.      Israel is attacking the allies of Russia, Magog.

g.     We have also seen in the last couple of weeks that Israel is taking a stand with the USA and others against Russia.

8.     With the events in the news today, we can see why Russia would turn against Israel, someone they have had a good relationship within the past.

9.     With the natural resources in Israel, we can see why Russia would be tempted to invade to seize spoil and carry off plunder.

10.  Zechariah 12:1-3

a.      This is a hard truth.

b.     These verses state that all the people, will stand against Israel.

c.      Their will be a time when the Nation of Israel will have no allies.

11.  Ezekiel 38:13

a.      Some translate the ‘merchants of Tarshish’ as colonizers, Europe and indirectly the United States of America.

b.     If correct, this would tell us that the USA and other Western countries would stand around and talk and question what Magog is doing, but not act.

c.      Something that would have been hard to picture, but in this overly politically correct world it is getter much easier to see that our government stand by and watch as their allies are attacked.

                                                    i.     We are seeing it today.

12.  This is not the first time in history when people thought that the time was ripe for our Lord’s return.

a.      But when you look at these things, we are truly seeing prophesy being fulfilled or close to be fulfilled.

b.     Some of the boxes are being checked, boxes that I would argue were not checked when previous generations thought that the Tribulation was about to hit.

13.  Matthew 24:6

a.      See that you are not alarmed…

b.     In other words, remember that you Hope is secure in Jesus.

c.      Your place is with Him for all eternity.

14.  God is on His Throne.

15.  He is in absolute control.

16.  Philippians 4:4-7

a.      Rejoice in the Lord Always… not just when things are great, but always!

b.     Don’t worry about anything.

c.      Trust in the peace of God, which is beyond all understand.

d.     His Peace will guard our hearts and our minds.

                                                    i.     Not just touch our hearts and minds.

                                                  ii.     Guard them, protect them, put a protective barrier around them.

e.      If we trust in Him, His peace will help us stay the course.