The Conflict In Israel And The Impending Invasion From The North Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

CrossWay Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

We are living in a world that is growing ever more chaotic without any real solution or leadership to the problems we’re facing. Jesus said this would be the case, as he talked about the days immediately before his return as like the days of Noah and times when there would be wars and rumours of war. We are going to look at an important prophetic event that is found in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 38. It is commonly referred to as the Gog-Magog war in Israel. What I want you to understand first, is that I believe this is an event that will happen sometime immediately around the rapture. I also believe the conflict we are currently witnessing in Israel is not the the war in Ezekiel 38. However, I do believe that the current conflict is a prelude to this war as we see the powers aligning to come against Israel. That should be an indication of how close we really are today.

The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you. 7 “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you. 10 “Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’ 14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 17 “Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. (Ezekiel 38:1–18)

On October 7th of 2023, terrorists from Hamas in Gaza broke through the security fence and started a barbaric rampage against Israeli citizens on the morning of a shabot at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. They fired into a crowd of young Jews attending a concert for peace, they stormed villages (called Kibbutzes) throwing grenades into bedroom windows, setting fire to houses, beheading infants, putting live infants into ovens, torturing parents, raping women in the streets, and kidnapping woman, children, and the elderly. At the end of the massacre there were over 1200 people dead and more than 200 people kidnapped or missing.