By Lea Sylvester

The Demise Of Islam And The Seven Years Of World Peace And Prosperity

Robert Hall

The NEXT WAR in the Middle East is NOT going to be the Ezekiel 38&39 war as some today fear/believe! I believe that the next Middle Eastern war is prophesied in Psalm 83 and is going to destroy Islam and bring about a time of WORLD peace and prosperity which will last for a MINIMUM of seven years. The IDF will secure peace for Israel AND, for the rest of the world! (Amen!) Then, the "Third Temple" will be built DURING the seven years of WORLD peace and prosperity which follows. (King David secured peace for Israel and THEN, his son Solomon built the "First Temple" in seven years.)

Muslims will NEVER... ALLOW... the Israelis to have peace - BECAUSE... their presence in lands that (ONCE) belonged to "Allah" ("Al-Ilah" - "the idol") is a SLAP in "Al-Ilah's" face that THEY... INTEND to rectify! The NEXT war in the Middle East will (apparently) bring about the DESTRUCTION OF ISLAM and a time of "peace and security" and PROSPERITY... TO THE WHOLE WORLD which should last for a MINIMUM of seven years just as seven years of "plenty" preceded the seven years of famine in Joseph's day. (Gen. Chs. 37-50) Ezekiel 38&39 is NOT... ABOUT... to be fulfilled! There ARE... "THINGS"... that MUST... happen FIRST!

The "seven years of plenty" followed by "seven years of famine" in Joseph's day was a "type" of the seven years of WORLD "peace and prosperity" that is coming (during which, the "Third Temple" will be built). It will be followed by... "the Rapture of the Church", "the Beginning of Sorrows", the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel (which is the beginning of World War III) and the seven-year long "Tribulation"/"Day of the Lord".

The seven years of WORLD peace and prosperity (should they occur) WILL (most likely) begin somewhere between 2012 and 2016AD (the next one to five years of the NEXT American Presidency. (This is written in early 2012 but published in November 2012.) It does NOT... matter... WHO the next American president is!) God NEVER HAS (and NEVER WILL)... JUDGE a "RIGHTEOUS" nation! (Amen!) Historically, he has ALWAYS judged the ungodly!

The "downward spiral" of this nation has been EVER increasing the more that the UNGODLY... THROW GOD ("Yahoveh" - NOT "Allah") OUT... of the public arena! This nation is presently "circling the drain". BUT... BEFORE it goes DOWN the drain, the Rapture of the Church will occur, and THEN, with the DEPARTURE of THE RIGHTEOUS... GOD WILL... JUDGE... THIS UNGODLY NATION! JUST as God's judgment could NOT fall on Sodom and Gomorrah UNTIL "righteous Lot" had departed from Sodom, even so, God's judgments CANNOT fall on this earth UNTIL "the righteous" (HIS "Church") are GONE! (Amen!)

Some believe that, IF the Israelis attack Iran in the coming months (of 2012/2013) that it will precipitate the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel. IT WILL CERTAINLY NOT! The conditions required in Ezekiel 38&39 to bring about the Ezekiel invasion do NOT YET EXIST! Most likely though it could and indeed MAY very well precipitate the NEXT war in the Middle East - the "Psalm 83 War"! -RH
**************************************
The above statements are NOT... exactly what MOST prophecy teachers are saying these days. A LOT of Christians today watch the news and the economy, the housing market fiasco in America and ALL of the LUNACY going on in Washington and the Middle East and Europe and Russia and conclude that the western Church and America are ABOUT to go THROUGH some VERY... DIFFICULT... times in the VERY... NEAR... future (possibly even including PERSECUTION and possibly even the "EXTERMINATION"... BY OUR OWN GOVERNMENT of "western" Christians in "concentration camps"). (THIS, CERTAINLY will NOT happen BEFORE the Rapture of the Church!)

SOME are even advising people to store up at least a three month supply of food, water and other things (even weapons and ammo, seeds and medicines, water purification equipment, et cetera) because they believe that BAD THINGS are just around the corner because of what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears on the news or read in other publications and media. AND, it really DOES... SOUND... LIKE... BAD THINGS... ARE COMING... that Christians (as well as non-christians) DO... NEED... to prepare for! (And, perhaps we DO... (ALL) NEED to make SOME kind of preparations for SOME THINGS in the future, like natural disasters, etc.)

Perhaps it WOULD be a good thing to have a three month (or more) supply of canned and dried foods and some way to purify water (like a solar still, or "prill beads" or water filters [like "Zero Water Filters], etc.) Because, who knows when and where the next natural disaster (tsunami, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, cyclone, typhoon, flood, et cetera, may strike - much less all of these other things)?

ALL of the talk about future food, water and fuel shortages, hyperinflation and economic collapse, societal collapse, riots, looting, chaos and anarchy and internment camps and wars, et cetera, ARE ALARMING!... BUT!... IS... THIS... THE PICTURE... THAT THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE PAINT FOR US ABOUT THE FUTURE, JUST BEFORE... THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH AND THE SEVEN YEAR "TRIBULATION"?

And the answer to this question is, NO... IT IS NOT! After over 25 years of studying God's prophetic word since the Spring of 1986 (a study into which the Lord Jesus HIMSELF initiated me) I have had NO OTHER CHOICE... BUT, to CONCLUDE that the rapture of the Church occurs BEFORE the seven-year "Tribulation" BEGINS. It is THE... ONLY... LOGICAL choice, ONCE you consider ALL... of the LOGICAL DIFFICULTIES of ALL... of the other AVAILABLE CHOICES!

BUT, BEFORE the Rapture and the events which follow it, the prophetic scriptures tell us that a SHORT TIME of world "peace and security" and prosperity will precede the Rapture, the "Tribulation", the "Day of the Lord" and the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel. The reason that it MUST PRECEDE it is because there is NO world peace OR prosperity DURING the entire seven-year long "Tribulation". If there were, it would NOT be "TRIBULATION"! There is NOTHING BUT destructions and devastations from God from the beginning to the end of the seven years of the Tribulation.

I believe that this coming time of world peace and prosperity will last a minimum of seven years, just as seven years of "plenty" preceded the seven years of famine in Joseph's day. (Genesis 41-48) It will be a time when the Church AND the world will "go to sleep" in "the night". This coming "night" will precede the rapture of the Church. It is the "night" that Jesus spoke of in John 9:4 and Matthew 25:1-13 in the parable of the "ten virgins" who ALL fall into a "deep sleep" in "the night" and are SUDDENLY awakened at "midnight". It will be at the height of the "Laodicean Church Age", which is gathering momentum right now! (Rev.3:14-22) The "Emerging Church" will be the majority church in the last days, but it's future will be an abysmally short one.

I realize that SOME believe that the Olivet Discourse ("OD") is NOT about the Church and contains NO information FOR the Church. In Part Five which is about "Peace and Prosperity BEFORE the Rapture", I will explain how and why they are mistaken. The OD INDEED IS... written SOLELY to Jewish believers who ARE in Israel AFTER the Rapture of the Church. BUT, the (pre-trib) Rapture is only ONE of the many "signs" (to Jewish believers) of his coming. PARTS... of Matthew 24&25 describe the Rapture and events and conditions that precede it since the Rapture is only ONE of the "sign"(s) to the Jews left behind, of his coming.

"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; [because] THE NIGHT is coming when no one can work." (John 9:4 NKJV)

"But while the bridegroom [Jesus] was delayed, they ALL (ALL of "Christendom") slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then ALL those virgins arose [from their deep sleep] and trimmed their lamps."
(Matthew 25:5-7 NKJV)

Here it must be asked, "What exactly IS this "night" that Jesus is prophesying of in which the Church "goes to sleep" and in which, it can NO LONGER "WORK"? ) That this parable is about the Church OUGHT to be obvious! During the seven year long Tribulation, WHO is going to be able to "sleep" and be UNAWARE of the continuing and on-going destructions and devastating things going on around them in the world? During the Tribulation there is NOTHING... BUT... mega-death, destruction and devastation from beginning to end! WHO is going to be able to "sleep" in the midst of ALL of the ongoing destructions and devastations of the "Tribulation"? The Church certainly CANNOT be IN the seven-year "Tribulation" because of these things!

Jesus HIMSELF prophesies that his Church IS GOING to "go to sleep" in some FUTURE "NIGHT"! What can this future "NIGHT" possibly be? We KNOW that it CANNOT be "persecution" or "poverty" or or a time of "war(s)" or "tribulation(s)"! The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has NEVER "gone to SLEEP" during times of war, or poverty or persecution or "tribulation"! It has NEVER been UNABLE to "work" DURING these conditions! INDEED, the Lord's Church has ALWAYS... GROWN GREATLY and THRIVED during these kinds of conditions!

Like Israel of old, the Church "goes to sleep" ONLY when there is "peace and security" and prosperity, and WHEN there is NO war or persecution or "tribulation"! Jesus is speaking of the "Laodicean Church Age", the FINAL age of the Church, a "Church" that is, "rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked —" (Revelation 3:17 NKJV).

This is THE final "Age" of the Church. THIS church is NOT persecuted! This church is "RICH" and "BLIND"! In other words they cannot see the prophesied things that are about to come upon them in the future! This is the condition of the MAJORITY of churches in the world JUST before the rapture of the Church! And, we see it gathering more and more momentum NOW, in our own day! The vast majority of churches are departing from "absolute truth" for "relativism".

We are in the final "AGE" of the Church - the age of the "Laodicean church". The (so called) "Emergent Church" has departed from the "love of the truth" and the authority of scripture as THE written WORD OF GOD, to pursue a "social gospel"! "Apostasy" is growing in the churches in EVERY "denomination"! Just look at the lack of concern for the lost in MOST churches today!
Any church that does NOT support missions to seek and save the lost is basically just a "religious social club" sitting around in suits and ties and gowns congratulating themselves on how "blessed" they are! (AND, "Let's bring in those less fortunate than us (financially) BUT, let's NOT scare them off by telling them they are "sinners" in need of a "savior"!)

What good does it do to improve people's financial and social conditions WITHOUT introducing them to the ONLY Savior (the Lord Jesus Christ) who can give them ETERNAL LIFE, take them to his "Father's House", to their VERY OWN mansion in Heaven FOREVER and deliver them FROM HELL?!!

The "Philadelphian Church Age" (Rev. 3:7-13) was/is the age of the "Evangelical", "Pentecostal" and "Charismatic" churches of the eighteenth through the early twenty-first century. Some will STILL exist during the "Laodicean Church Age" but they will be in the minority (and, NO ONE will LISTEN TO THEM anymore)! (This includes Pentecostals and Charismatics also!) Of them, Jesus says in the Revelation;

"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." (Revelation 3:10 NKJV)

The "Philadelphian Church" (the faithful "Evangelical Church" [of the 21st century] will be KEPT "from the hour of trial" (the "Tribulation") and taken to the "Father's house" (the New Jerusalem) at the Rapture. The Laodicean "church" (the "five foolish virgins") will be left behind. The "Philadelphian Church" will go INTO the wedding feast of the Lamb as the five "wise virgins" do. The Laodicean church (the five foolish virgins) will NOT enter in because Jesus himself says that HE DOES NOT KNOW THEM! They will suffer through the Tribulation! The "wise virgins" will become the "bride of Christ". The "foolish virgins" will become the "bride" of the antichrist.

You know, it is only natural that, when "the night" (John 9:4) comes, "no man can work". When the work day is done, and the "night" comes, it is TIME to "go to bed" and "go to sleep" and to GET READY for A NEW DAY! This is what Jesus is speaking of in these scriptures! Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and THEN shall the end come." (Mat.24:14 KJV)

When the "gospel" (the "good news") of the death and resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin, and of the AVAILABILITY of ETERNAL LIFE (to ALL who "CHOOSE" to believe "the GOSPEL") has gone out into ALL the world to "take a people for his name out of EVERY tribe, tongue, people and nation", THEN, "THE END" will come! THEN, "the night" (John 9:4) will come and "Christendom" will "go to sleep"... BEFORE the Rapture! Then, at "mid-night", the Lord Jesus will awaken his "Bride" (the Church) and come for her "in the night" and take her to his "Father's house" (John 14:1-3) where the "marriage" will take place and be "consummated".

There will be NO wars going on when the Rapture occurs, NO persecution of Christians; there WILL BE world peace and security and prosperity. The "Laodicean Church" will "go to sleep" BECAUSE, it is "rich", "blind" and "in need of nothing" (unaware of approaching, imminent destruction.) It will NOT be being persecuted, and there are NO wars going on (because Islam will no longer exist! Amen!)

Scripture does NOT come right out and DEFINITIVELY tell us WHEN the Rapture is going to be, whether it is to be "pre-tribulation", "mid", "post" (or "other"). BUT, after considering ALL... of the arguments of ALL of the other, different views, THE... most... LOGICAL CHOICE... is a "pre-Tribulation" Rapture!

On one side of the Rapture the scriptures tell us there is WORLD peace and security and prosperity with no wars or persecution or poverty, during which, the Church and the world "goes to sleep", "in the night", unaware of the "Day of the Lord" approaching "like a thief in the night". And, on the other side of the Rapture there is "tribulation", WWIII, persecution, mega-death and destruction, meteor, asteroid and comet strikes, the "mark of the beast", WWIV and then finally, "Armageddon" (all spanning seven years) with the opening of the Second Seal taking PEACE from the earth at the VERY BEGINNING of "the Tribulation"!

You CANNOT convince me that the Church is going to "go to sleep" through the first half (OR through the whole seven years) of the Tribulation when nothing BUT... wars, persecutions, destructions and natural disasters are going on! The Church can ONLY "go to sleep" BEFORE the "Tribulation" begins! (The Church can ONLY "go to sleep" when there is peace and prosperity and a LACK of wars and persecution!) (Amen!) DURING the seven years of the Tribulation, NO ONE is going to be "sleeping" because, DURING the seven years of the Tribulation, there is NOTHING... BUT... wars and persecutions, death and destructions and natural disasters FROM BEGINNING TO END!

The probable reason that God did NOT give us a definite time for the Rapture to occur appears to be three-fold: 1) He deliberately WANTED to CAUSE controversy which would cause his people to "dig" into his word and DILIGENTLY search out for themselves what the truth REALLY IS about coming future events. 2) He wanted to gain eternal glory for himself. And, 3) he wanted those who know and love him and and his word and WHO LOVE THE TRUTH to gain eternal glory for themselves by DILIGENTLY... SEARCHING his Word for the truth UNTIL they arrive at it! The scriptures ALSO tell us that God places HIS WORD... ABOVE... his own reputation! (Psalm 138:8)

As Proverbs 25:2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." (Proverbs 25:2 NKJV)

Because God is omniscient, he knows the future and he could EASILY have told us EXACTLY when the Rapture would occur so that there would have been no controversy over it at all. BUT, he CHOSE... NOT to do so because he had these other things in mind. Proverbs 25:2 tells us that it is to the glory of God to conceal a matter and to make men have to search out his intended meaning. Those who arrive at the truth of the "matter" (because of their love for God and his Word and because of their love for and DESIRE for THE TRUTH) will receive an eternal "glory" for it and so will God! (Don't let biblically ignorant men CONVINCE you to NOT study God's prophetic Word!)

SO, there is a great and ETERNAL reward for diligently studying God's prophetic word and EARNESTLY desiring to arrive at the CORRECT understanding of it. Because of this eternal reward, EVERY Christian should EARNESTLY DESIRE to study prophecy. And, biblical PROPHECY (what God's Word teaches about the future) is THE... MOST... FASCINATING... of ALL... of the subjects of the Bible to study! It is a mystery for the detective in each of us to solve. It is a picture puzzle that MUST... be studied INTENSIVELY and CLOSELY EXAMINED from EVERY angle in order to assemble it correctly. ONCE... you get ALL of the pieces CORRECTLY assembled, the "Big Picture" of God's prophetic word about the future appears before your amazed eyes! BUT, you cannot do it without help from teachers! DON'T let the false teachings of men cheat you out of the reward that God has for you! It is to your own eternal glory (as well as to his) to search this matter out carefully in God's prophetic word UNTIL you EVENTUALLY arrive at the truth! (If you TRULY, WANT to know the truth, GOD will arrange it!)

There have been things in the past that I have believed about God's prophetic Word, but when MORE understanding comes, I have had to CHANGE my beliefs and BRING THEM INTO LINE with God's WRITTEN WORD! This is something that we ALL have to do IF... we wish to arrive at THE SAME UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRUTH that God has! (Amen!) It is God's desire that ALL of his children arrive at the SAME understanding of HIS WORD that HE has. (Amen!) ONLY THEN, can WE see the "Big Picture" of the future AS HE SEES IT!

Prophecy MAY be a difficult subject, BUT, just because a subject is difficult should NOT stand in the way of our desire and attempt to understand it! Physics IS a difficult subject! BUT, difficulty should NOT stand in our way IF we TRULY... DESIRE to study a subject and earnestly DESIRE to arrive at the CORRECT understanding of it!

There are MANY teachers... ALL with different ideas about Physics (or any other subject). You MUST study as many of their ideas as possible until you finally SORT THROUGH THEM ALL and arrive at a conclusion that is satisfactory to you. It is the same with the study of biblical truths. The only difference is, nearly one third of the Bible is prophetic (things about the future). God MUST... have THOUGHT that it is VERY... IMPORTANT, that his children study his prophetic word and "arrive" at a CORRECT UNDERSTANDING... OF THE FUTURE, OR, he would NOT have devoted SO MUCH of his WORD to JUST ONE SUBJECT! (Amen?)

Because there are many teachers of prophecy just as there are of Physics or History, et cetera, sitting under the instruction of just ONE teacher is just NOT the way to arrive at the CORRECT understanding of the truth! God gives us different teachers, because he has given different INSIGHTS to DIFFERENT teachers. NOT MANY have ALL of the truth (the "Big Picture") about ANY subject! God NEVER... gave ANY... of the Old Testament prophets the WHOLE "Big Picture" of the future! He gave bits and pieces of "the Big Picture" to EACH of the prophets which are scattered ALL over the Bible!

IF we, today, want to understand "the Big Picture" of the future as God sees it, it is up to each of us to CORRECTLY assemble ALL of the various parts of the prophetic puzzle (which are scattered ALL over the Bible in little pieces) into one "Big Picture" of the future! Different Bible teachers have different insights into ALL of these different pieces of the prophetic puzzle. And, just like a picture puzzle, ALL... of the pieces MUST fit CORRECTLY... IF... you TRULY... WANT to SEE the "Big Picture" (AS GOD SEES IT)! IF... the pieces are assembled INCORRECTLY, the picture is distorted and contradictions abound. When assembled correctly, EACH piece of the puzzle will complement the pieces around it - not contradict or conflict with them!

In 1 Peter 1:16-19, Peter stated that EVEN THOUGH he had been an eye witness of the vision of the second coming of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, HE BELIEVED that the WRITTEN prophetic Word of God (the OT prophets) was/is MORE "sure" (secure, safe, reliable) than ANY "vision" or dream that anyone today might have. In fact, anyone (TODAY) who has a vision or dream or prophetic word that CONTRADICTS God's WRITTEN WORD, get as far away from them as you can and don't EVER go around them again! God does NOT (in these last days) give "new" revelation that contradicts his written Word - the Bible!

Isaac Newton is considered to be the greatest scientist that has EVER lived! He said, "If I seem to see FARTHER than other men, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants." In other words, he credited his great scientific discoveries to his teachers (whom he considered to be "giants") who had gone before him, whose writings and teachings he had believed and received and he used them as the foundation upon which he built his own great discoveries!

ANYONE who THINKS that they can just read the Bible for themselves and do NOT need teachers who have studied the Bible before them to HELP them arrive at the truth - is mistaken! (I am speaking of such difficult subjects as prophecy - NOT about such simple things as salvation. Anyone can read the Bible and get saved. [However, come to think of it, even the Ethiopian eunuch needed Phillip to help teach him the meaning of the prophetic scriptures in Isaiah 53 that he was reading in order to lead him to salvation!])

The scriptures tell us that God has given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers... to... TEACH... US! If we did not NEED teachers, God would NOT have given them to the Church in the "five-fold ministry"! Some use the excuse of 1 John 2:27 as a reason NOT to listen to others who TEACH the Word of God.

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." (1 John 2:27 KJV)

God has given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers... TO TEACH US! The Bible tells us that there are FALSE apostles, prophets and teachers. Do you know what they all have in common with God's TRUE apostles, prophets and teachers? THEY ALL TEACH! The purpose of the "anointing" (that the apostle John spoke of in 1 John 2:27) is to HELP US DISCERN between the TRUE and the FALSE teachings of those who teach! ANYONE who says that they DON'T need a man to teach them is either IGNORANT, OR is in REBELLION against God! We ALL need teachers to teach us! That is WHY God GAVE "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers" in the first place! (Ephesians 4:11-15) (Amen!)

Don't study just ONE viewpoint of JUST... ONE teacher! Study THEM ALL (or at least as many as you can afford! ("Buy the truth and sell it not!" That is, IF... you WANT to arrive at the truth! Of course, if you do NOT have a LOVE for or a desire for the truth then you will certainly NOT arrive at it!)

God has given different insights into the prophetic scriptures to MANY different teachers. By studying as many as you can (IF you know and love Jesus and God has given you a "love for the truth" and a "hunger" for his Word) God ("Yahoveh") will begin to show you things that MAKE SENSE to you UNTIL the DAY FINALLY comes that you FINALLY understand "The Big Picture" of the FUTURE, JUST as... HE... sees it! (This is the will of God for his people! He does NOT... DESIRE... for his children to be IGNORANT of what his prophetic word teaches about the future! He WANTS them to KNOW THE TRUTH! BUT, they must FIRST... TRULY DESIRE IT!)

To correctly assemble ALL of the various PARTS of the prophetic puzzle, involves studying the MANY different insights that God has given to the "giants that have gone before us" and to learn how to arrange them CORRECTLY until the "Big Picture" FINALLY appears BEFORE our amazed eyes (and mind)! That is how Isaac Newton did what he did! (And, it is how ANYONE else can do the same today when it comes to the study of God's prophetic WORD! Amen!)

BECAUSE he ALREADY KNOWS the future, God KNEW that by CONCEALING his intended meaning and MAKING men search it out, that they would come up with different views and opinions and understandings which would cause controversy and cause them to try even harder and dig even deeper into his Word more and more DILIGENTLY to try to understand the TRUTH. And that is the way that the "Big Picture" unfolds to those who love the truth! And, because Proverbs 25:2 tells us that it will be to the (eternal) "glory" of EVERY person who DOES search this matter out and who DOES end up arriving at the truth in this matter, it is important for EACH of us to search this matter out (not ONLY to arrive at the truth for ourselves, but also to receive the "glory" that God has for EACH of us for doing so!) And, it is ALSO to the ETERNAL GLORY of God to have hidden this matter and to MAKE US (MERE "mortals") HAVE to search out the truth! (Hallelujah! Amen! And, It IS fun! It's a mystery waiting for u to solve it!)

In our day, many are looking at the events in the Middle East and Russia and Iran and wondering if the fulfillment of the events prophesied in Ezekiel 38&39 ARE ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE and, the answer to this question is; NO... they are NOT! BUT, the "stage" of "HISTORY" IS being set for it! We can see it coming through "newspaper exegesis" (as some today like to call it). HOWEVER, there ARE, SOME things that MUST happen FIRST... BEFORE Ezekiel's prophecy can be fulfilled!

Ezekiel 38

1 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. (Ezekiel 38:1-3 NKJV)

8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people[s] on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the [Gentile] nations, and now ALL of them dwell safely ["securely"] [IN Israel - ALL OF THEM]. (Ezekiel 38:8 NKJV)

11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, ["securely"] ALL of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people [re]gathered from [ALL of] the ["gentile"] nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take GREAT plunder?’ ” ’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, [securely] will you not know it? 15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 38:11-16 NKJV)

Is this the condition of Israel today? Are ALL of the Jews of the world regathered BACK to the land of Israel from ALL... of the nations of the world to which Yahoveh their God has scattered them? Are they dwelling in peace and security WITHOUT walls and bars and gates? HAVE they acquired GREAT PROSPERITY, "silver and gold" and "cattle and goods" ENOUGH to cause Russia and Persia/Iran to come down to take "A GREAT SPOIL"? The answer to ALL of these questions is, NO... They have NOT! NOT YET!

ALL... of the Jews of the world are NOT... regathered BACK to Israel! They are NOT dwelling in "peace and security" WITHOUT walls and bars and gates! They have NOT... yet acquired the GREAT WEALTH that Ezekiel prophesies of. Thus, we do NOT... NEED to speculate on whether or not Ezekiel 38&39 are ABOUT to be fulfilled - they are NOT... ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED! ONCE... we see ALL... of these OTHER things come to pass then YES, we CAN... KNOW FOR CERTAIN, that the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion IS... IMMINENT!

BUT, something has to happen FIRST... to CAUSE... ALL... OF THE JEWS in ALL... OF THE NATIONS to which they have been scattered in this world, to WANT... to return to Israel! Something HAS to happen to CAUSE them to WANT... to return to Israel and to acquire "peace and security" and THE... GREAT PROSPERITY that Ezekiel describes BEFORE the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion. What could it be?

The "Psalm 83 War" described in author Bill Salus' book, "Isralestine: The Ancient Blueprints For A Future Middle East" is a brilliant exposition of Psalm 83 and the resulting destruction of Islam and their Arab enemies that surround Israel. It provides a very REASONABLE EXPLANATION for WHY... Israel's surrounding Arab enemies who HATE her, do NOT join Russia and Iran in the Ezekiel 38&39 attack on Israel. It also provides a convincing explanation for how certain scriptures describe the world and/or Israel in "the last days" as being in "peace and security" and prosperity "BEFORE" certain EVENTS come to pass such as;

1) BEFORE the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel;
2) BEFORE the "day of the Lord" ("DOTL");
3) BEFORE the seven year "Tribulation" and;
4) BEFORE the "Rapture of the church".

We will examine EACH of these events in the above listed order in the next four parts of this series which will be followed by the conclusion. AGAIN, it is MY BELIEF that a seven-year period of WORLD PEACE AND SECURITY AND PROSPERITY - PRECEDES... the rapture of the Church, the seven-year long "Tribulation", the "day of the Lord" and the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel, JUST as seven years of "plenty" preceded the seven years of famine in Joseph's day. (See Genesis Chapter 41) During this seven years of world peace, security and prosperity, the third temple will (most likely) be built BEFORE the Rapture, and the Lord's Church WILL GET TO SEE IT HAPPEN! That a period of world peace PRECEDES the seven-year "Tribulation" OUGHT to be a well known FACT to anyone who studies prophetic scripture! It is so obvious in the scriptures! In Revelation 6:3&4 (which occurs near the very beginning of the Tribulation) we are told that the second seal is opened and the rider of the red horse "take[s] peace from the earth".

IF... THE WHOLE WORLD is AT PEACE... BEFORE the "Tribulation" begins and the rider of the red horse is the one who removes it, the WORLD PEACE that John prophesies of OBVIOUSLY PRECEDES the Tribulation because of world peace and prosperity and the demise of Islam SOMETIME BEFORE the Second Seal is opened! (Amen!)

Islam will NEVER allow Israel OR the rest of the world to have PEACE as long as WE are NOT under THE SAME spiritual delusion that THEY are under, and worshipping the SAME... FALSE "god" ("Al-Ilah" - "the idol") that THEY worship! AND, as long as the Israelis are occupying land that once (temporarily) belonged to their false "god"... "Allah"!

("Allah" and "Yahoveh" are NOT the same "GOD"! (And anyone who says they are is either knowingly or unknowingly trying to deceive you!) "Yahoveh" is the Creator of ALL that exists! "Allah" is ONLY... the ancient "moon god" ("Al-llah") of the ancient "Ishmaelites" [the ancesters of the present day Saudi Arabians]!) The ONLY way that "ISLAM" will ALLOW the rest of the world and Israel to have peace is - if the rest of the world converts to Islam or if "ISLAM"... NO LONGER EXISTS... BEFORE the Rapture of the Church occurs and the Tribulation begins! (Amen!)

"Islam" considers that land that once "belonged" to "Allah", ALWAYS "belongs" to Allah and so, since 1948, THEY have been (unsuccessfully) trying to get it back for "Al-Ilah"! NOR, will they CEASE to try UNTIL... they either SUCCEED or Islam is destroyed! (Of course, THEY will NOT succeed, therefore, they MUST be destroyed!) THEY believe that the reason for their repeated SUCCESSION of FAILURES since 1948 to get the land of Israel BACK for "Allah" is that, THEY... are JUST... NOT... COMMITTED enough to "Allah"! When in POINT OF FACT, THEY have BLINDLY pitted themselves against the Creator of the Universe ("Yahoveh") who will certainly NOT... ALLOW... his COVENANT people, Israel, to be destroyed by THOSE WHO HATE THEM! (Amen! And Amen!)

In the book of Daniel we are told,

"Then he (the "antichrist") shall confirm a covenant with [the] many [Israelis] for one week [literally "one seven" - i.e. According to the context, seven years]; But in the middle of the [seven years] He (the "antichrist") shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate (or, "desolator" - [the one who causes the desolation]).” (Daniel 9:27 NKJV)

The futurist interpretation tells us that the "he" spoken of in Daniel 9:27 is the "Antichrist" ("AC") and that, at the halfway point of the seven-year "covenant" (that he makes with Israel) he puts a stop to the sacrifice and offering that will be going on in the temple (DURING the FIRST HALF of the seven year "Tribulation"). (This would suggest that the third temple WILL be built BEFORE the seven-year "Tribulation" begins! Amen!)

In Malachi 4:4&5 we are told,
“Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet [BEFORE] the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." (Malachi 4:4, 5 NKJV)

These scriptures tell us that sacrifice and offering will be going on in the temple DURING the FIRST HALF of the "Tribulation". (This means that the temple MUST be rebuilt BEFORE the "Tribulation"/"Day of the Lord" begins and that God will send Elijah the prophet BEFORE the "Day of the Lord" begins. And, that sacrifice and offering will cease at "mid-trib". The "Day of the Lord" has NOT yet occurred. BUT, it IS coming in the very near future.) These scriptures imply that the third temple is built BEFORE the "Tribulation" and the "Day of the Lord" begins! (Amen!)

In Revelation Chapter 11, John is told to measure the third temple. Then, that is followed by the prophecy about the "two witnesses". We are told that their ministry lasts for 1260 days (3&1/2 years). Logic tells us that their ministry is the first half (1260 days) of the Tribulation - NOT... the second half! How do we know this?

Scripture tells us that the Tribulation lasts for 2520 days (seven years) or two 1260-day periods each half separated by the "abomination of desolation". Jesus returns on the very last day (of the 2520 days). IF the two witnesses ministered during the second half of the Tribulation, their dead bodies would lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3&1/2 days AFTER Jesus had RETURNED while the world is rejoicing for 3&1/2 days over their deaths and sending presents to one another in some perverted form of "Christmas"! LOGIC tells us this is simply NOT POSSIBLE for BOTH events to be occurring at the SAME time!

Matthew 24:30&31 tells us that THE WHOLE WORLD will see Jesus when he returns and he will send his angels to gather the wicked AND the righteous and the WHOLE WORLD will mourn because of him - NOT be rejoicing in the streets over the deaths of the two witnesses while simultaneously mourning the second coming of Jesus and being gathered by his angels! This is NOT the same thing that Revelation 11 tells us! OBVIOUSLY then, LOGIC tells us that THE ONLY WAY to reconcile this "conflict" is that their ministry MUST occur during the first 1260 days of the "Tribulation" and it begins with the signing of the seven-year covenant between Israel and the AC. (Daniel 9:24-27) And, their deaths MUST occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation. (Amen! NOT the end!) Daniel tells us that "the abomination of desolation" ("AOD") is what puts an end to sacrifice and offering. The AOD occurs at the midpoint of the "Tribulation" 1260 days after its beginning.

The fact that John is told to measure the temple JUST BEFORE the two witnesses begin their ministry again SUGGESTS that the temple is ALREADY built BEFORE their ministry begins! This in turn gives additional credence to the idea that a seven year period of peace and prosperity (in which the third temple will be built) precedes the "Tribulation".

King David secured peace for Israel through military means and THEN, Solomon built the first temple. It took him seven years to build it. It would appear that the Israeli Defense Force ("IDF") will gain peace and security for Israel (AND, for the rest of the world) in the coming Psalm 83 War and THEN, seven years of world peace and prosperity will follow during which the third temple will be built while ALL of the world's Jews return to Israel and acquire the GREAT prosperity that Ezekiel 38 speaks of! It will take some time for them to acquire. If this turns out to be the case, the Church will (most likely) STILL BE HERE to see it HAPPEN! (Amen!)

And it came to pass IN the four hundred and eightieth year AFTER the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, IN the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month [after Nisan], that he began to build the house of the Lord. (1 Kings 6:1 NKJV)

And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams. In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it. (1 Kings 6:36-38 NKJV)

In ORDER to BUILD the third temple, the Israelis MUST... HAVE PEACE with their Arab neighbors! It will NOT... come about through any so-called "road map peace plan" brokered by any so-called "quartet" nor will it come about through a peace deal brokered by the antichrist AFTER the Rapture! The Arabs presently have ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO BELIEVE that they NEED to make peace with Israel! (They STILL BELIEVE that they can take them through VIOLENCE - EVEN THOUGH they have lost war after war with them!) Therefore, peace will come about through the FINAL military defeat of Israel's Arab enemies by the IDF in the coming Psalm 83 war! (Amen!)

The so-called "road map PEACE PLAN" will NOT... END UP leading to peace! It is what will end up LEADING to the Psalm 83 war! It is VERY obvious that the Muslim Arabs have ABSOLUTELY... NO... INTENTION of making peace with Israel! They are merely using the western "democracies" desire for CHEAP OIL to place themselves into a more favorable position for their next war with Israel. ANOTHER WAR... that THEY will NOT win! Indeed, they will ONLY end up bringing THEIR OWN destruction upon themselves ALONG with the destruction of Islam!

The Arabic nations surrounding Israel are NOT named as JOINING WITH the nations listed in Ezekiel 38&39 when they attack Israel and yet TODAY, they are among THE most VOCAL HATERS of Israel! WHAT is going to happen in the future that makes them decide to NOT throw in their lot with the Russian/Iranian led coalition of the prophecy in Ezekiel 38&39 when they attack Israel? WHY... would they CHOOSE... to NOT... join POWERFUL ALLIES in an attack that (judging by the eyes of the flesh) would almost CERTAINLY succeed in destroying their hated enemy (Israel) and getting "their land" back for their "god" ("Al-Ilah") and gain for THEMSELVES a portion of what Ezekiel describes as a "GREAT SPOIL" - a part of the GREAT WEALTH OF ISRAEL that Ezekiel says WILL exist at this (future) prophesied time?

Something MOMENTOUS, OBVIOUSLY, MUST happen BEFORE the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion that causes them to stay OUT of the attack on Israel. The Psalm 83 war is a perfect explanation for WHY they do NOT go to war against Israel WITH the Russians and Iranians in Ezekiel 38&39 and, of how this yet future time of world peace and prosperity comes upon the world BEFORE the Russian/Iranian led invasion of Israel.

The inner circle of Muslim Arab nations surrounding Israel WILL apparently go to war one LAST time against Israel. They will come SO CLOSE to succeeding that the Israelis will think that THEIR NATION IS LOST and that... they will have NO OTHER CHOICE... BUT... to resort to... "The Samson Option".
Israel has a protocol called "The Samson Option". IF... they BELIEVE, that THEY are going to be overrun by Arab armies, THEY... WILL... USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS to avenge themselves on their enemies the same way that Samson did in the Bible (Judges 16:23-30) and take their enemies "down" with them as he did. (Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir thought that she was going to have to use it in 1973.)

Israel certainly has nuclear missiles that target Mecca and Medina, the two "holiest" sites in Islam. With their destruction in the Psalm 83 war, Islam will fall and Muslims all over the world will THEN turn their backs on their false god "Al-Ilah" ("the idol") bringing an end to Islam's terror tactics and bringing peace to the WHOLE WORLD (until the opening of the Second Seal removes it [Rev.6:3&4]). After all, what kind of "god" is UNABLE to protect his own "holy" places from being destroyed - obviously, a FALSE "god"!

"Allah" is NOT "Yahoveh", who is the Creator of ALL things, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Avraham, Y'tzak and Yakov)! "Allah" was only one "idol" (the "moon god") among 360 other idols that WAS among the ancient Ishmaelite's "pantheon" until Mohammed, a mere man, through violence, elevated "Allah" above the rest of Ishmael's idols so that he could create HIS VERY OWN "monotheistic religion" like Christianity and Judaism with himself at its head. (As if a mere man could "elevate" one (so-called) "god" above another!) [MEN do NOT "elevate", "gods" - GOD ("Yahoveh") elevates men!]

With the destruction of Islam, not ONLY will Israel FINALLY have REAL PEACE! THE WHOLE WORLD will enter a time of "peace and security" and GREAT prosperity which will precede, the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion, the "Day of the Lord" ("DOTL"), the Rapture of the Church AND the seven-year "Tribulation" by a MINIMUM, MINIMUM, of seven years! (Amen!)

I believe that these events will happen within the next five years - the last of President Obama's term (or two terms, should he be reelected) - 2012 to 2016. (The Tea Party could split the Republican vote, allowing Obama to be reelected. BUT, NOT to worry; God is STILL on his throne and HE is STILL in control of HIS UNIVERSE! NO MATTER WHO gets elected in 2012, the Devil and his children STILL do NOT have enough "votes" to win in the end! AMEN! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Thank you Father God Almighty! Amen!)

As bad as things look NOW for the world economy, the Devil and his children are NOT going to SUCCEED in bringing about a total economic collapse of the world's economy (BEFORE the rapture of the Church occurs) and establish a WORLD GOVERNMENT for Satan and his AC!

We KNOW... from the scriptures, that A... WORLD GOVERNMENT IS... COMING! BUT... THE Word of God INFORMS US that it will NOT happen BEFORE the MIDPOINT of the seven-year Tribulation! (Amen.) The "one-worlders" and their leader (Satan) would LIKE to MAKE it happen BEFORE the rapture of the Church, but they will NOT succeed! (Amen!) "The restrainer" (2 Thes. 2:6-8) WILL "restrain them" until THE APPOINTED TIME comes! (Amen! And Amen!) Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning the things that are coming in the future! God is STILL on his throne! Do NOT be afraid! Yahoveh (the Creator) (and his Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ) IS STILL IN CONTROL OF HIS UNIVERSE! NOT "Al-Ilah" and certainly NOT Satan! (Amen!)

Yahoveh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (with whom he has ETERNAL, EVERLASTING COVENANTS) is NOT going to ALLOW his covenant people, the Jews, to be destroyed because of some "blood feud" with the Arabs that goes ALL the way back to Isaac and Ishmael and Jacob and Esau just because "Yahoveh" chose Isaac and Jacob instead of Ishmael or Esau! (OR, because of some biblically ignorant "christians" who today, IGNORANTLY think that THEY are NOW, THE "ISRAEL OF GOD" and that God is TOTALLY finished FOREVER with NATIONAL ISRAEL! Anyone who believes THAT is simply, absolutely, totally, biblically ignorant and BLIND to the truth of the ONLY TRUE God and his "covenant keeping" character!)

The Arabs are slow learners. EVERY time that they have EVER come against Israel in war, they have LOST! NOTHING is going to change this time! (THEY STILL, JUST, DON'T, GET IT!) There is a reason for this - those who CURSE God's COVENANT PEOPLE (Israel) WILL BE CURSED by Yahoveh and those who BLESS Israel WILL BE BLESSED by the Creator - "Yahoveh" - who is blessed forever! (Amen!) So, IF you WANT to be blessed by God, then BLESS THE NATION OF ISRAEL (in ANY and EVERY way that you can, especially financially, here in these last days before Jesus comes! Amen!)

After they come against Israel in the Psalm 83 war, the Arabs will NEVER, EVER, lift up a hand against Israel... EVER... again! That is WHY they do NOT join in the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel with the Russians and Iranians! They will be so ENFEEBLED by Israel's use of nuclear weapons against them in the Psalm 83 war that they will NO LONGER be a force worth reckoning with and, THEY will FINALLY have learned, that those who curse Israel will be cursed by Yahoveh, the Creator of the Universe, and THOSE who BLESS Israel WILL BE BLESSED by him! (Amen!) They will NOT be able to STOP the Israelis from taking back what "Yahoveh" has promised them through their "fathers", Avraham, Y'tzak and Yakov! They will FINALLY learn their lesson - DO NOT MESS with Israel, God's CHOSEN, COVENANT PEOPLE or, YOU... WILL... BE CURSED! (Amen! And Amen!)

A case COULD be made that verses 13-16 of Psalm 83, COULD be a description of the use of nuclear weapons and AFTER their destruction, the MUSLIM survivors will seek the name of "Yahoveh" ("Jesus the Christ" - "Yahshuah ha Mashiach")! OTHER prophetic scriptures tell us that "Rabbah", (present day Amman, Jordan), Damascus (Syria) and Bozrah (also in Jordan) will be UTTERLY destroyed in the future. Most likely, this will occur DURING the Psalm 83 war (and NOT during the Tribulation). (If I were a Christian living in those cities and the surrounding towns, I would be moving out for AT LEAST the next five years!) Islam is ABOUT... TO FALL! (Don't settle "downwind" from those cities, because of nuclear "fallout"!)

Now, let us look at certain scriptures which describe the world (and/or Israel) as being in peace and prosperity...

1) BEFORE the Ezekiel 38&39 invasion of Israel;
2) BEFORE the "day of the Lord" ("DOTL")
3) BEFORE the seven-year "Tribulation" and;
4) BEFORE the "Rapture" of the church.

These are parts Two through Five of this series. Part Six is the Conclusion. This is part One of this series, the Introduction.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! (Amen!) -RH

(All scriptures are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.)