Still time to go

Submitted by Michael S. (United States), Nov 22, 2014 at 05:04

Hi, Tom.

You commented re the article,

Iran, Turkey economic ties should expandTehran, Nov 20, IRNA
-- http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/219391#comment_submit

You said this indicated the unfolding of prophecy before our eyes. I imagine you are referring to Iran and Turkey coming closer together. The pertinent prophecy would then be:

Ezekiel 38:
[3] And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

[4] And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
[5] Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
[6] Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
[7] Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
[8] After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

If Gog is taken to be the ruler of Turkey (where Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Beth Togarmah are today), then the prophecy indicates that Turkey would be allied with Iran for an attack on Israel; and as you say, perhaps this is beginning to come together.

Some people simply dismiss prophecies out of hand, for various reasons. For those serious about this prophecy, as you and I seem to be, there are some key elements:

1. The prophecy talks about an attack on Israel, "...the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them..."

There are two times in history, when Israel was "brought back" from exile -- around 500 BC, after the Babylonian Captivity; and in the Twentieth Century.

2. The attack is supposed to fail, resulting in an Israeli victory.

"According to recorded history, the Armenian King Tigran II (95 to 55 B.C.), The Great "King of Kings," conquered most of the northern part of the Fertile Crescent including Syria and for a short time, extended his political influence over Israel which at the time was ruled by the Jewish Hasmonean kings."

-- http://www.armenia.co.il/en/armenians-in-israel.html

That's the closest thing I can find, in which Israel was attacked by a king whose seat of power was in Turkey -- in this case, in eastern Turkey (Gyges, or "Gog", ruled from Lydia, in far western Turkey). The Roman general Pompey had already conquered Judea & Samaria in 63 BC, so it's hard to think of this episode as being against an Israel that was "dwelling safely". Besides, Tigranes was not defeated by the Jews, but by the Roman Lucullus. Nor was Tigranes allied with the Persians, Nubians and Cyrenians. In short, Ezekiel 38 has never been fulfilled.

The clock is ticking concerning Iran, but I think we have some time to go yet.

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