John 14:3

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Titus 2:11-14

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”^[1] emphasis mine

The actions of those who long for the Lord’s appearing are similar to a soldier who knows the commanding officer is about to arrive. To the outsider, the soldier may seem to be fidgeting; however, the adjustments made to the uniform and demeanor are all part of the process of preparation for the arrival of someone who has authority over the soldier. Here, we will examine how we are to live while we attentively watch for the arrival of our Savior Jesus Christ, and why Paul calls His coming “Our Blessed Hope.”^[2]

Before we delve into this marvelous topic, let us deal with the elephant in the room. Some of you may be saying this is the first Sunday of Advent; are we not supposed to be sharing a message of hope and/or promise about the first coming of Jesus? Why is he preaching another end time’s message? Is he really going to talk about this again? The short answer is yes; here is why.

In His first Advent, Jesus came to earth nearly two thousand years ago as a babe whom they wrapped in swaddling clothes. He grew in wisdom and stature and ministered for the last three and a half years of His sinless life, which He willingly laid down for our salvation. After rising from the dead, He ascended to the Father in heaven, where He now makes intercession for you and me until His Second Advent. Therefore, we are to celebrate all He has done thus far while longing for “Our Blessed Hope,” the rapture, when the Father sends Jesus to retrieve His bride, the faithful “Ready Remnant^.”[3] By the way, what better way is there to focus on hope than to discuss the promise Jesus made in the upper room, “Our Blessed Hope,” which brings about the greatest change in us we will ever experience?

Being a former Drill Sergeant, I truly understand the need for reinforcement training, especially when a soldier has just learned new information. Take the topic at hand, “Our Blessed Hope.” Understanding this subject is fundamental to the success of every Christian, especially now. However, many are just learning of the rapture and Tribulation and that we receive a crown of righteousness because we long for the appearing of Jesus (2 Tim 4:8). Therefore, those who do understand that we are soon to depart must continue to teach others until they too become proficient in sharing this information with the unlearned.

Additionally, Spirit-led teachers are not interested in tickling the ears of their students, as this implies that the teacher is teaching what the student desires instead of what the Holy Spirit directs. Unfortunately, we see the results of the many voices teaching what the hearers want to hear: the church has become ineffectual because its teachings are man-centric and no longer grounded in Scripture, which is God-centric. Sadly, this is happening just when the lost need the church more than ever.

You might also ask why is this topic considered fundamental, and why are you making such a big deal out of our understanding of what time it is? The answer is simple. We must understand that the Bible affirms “Our Blessed Hope” and the fact that it is imminent. Because of this truth, we must live as though we know that we are experiencing our last moments as a church on earth. We must have our minds stayed on the Lord. Only from this position of faith can we walk with God in a world that has gone off the rails.

Now, let us more fully consider “Our Blessed Hope.”

The appearing that Paul is speaking of here in the second chapter of Titus refers to the catching away seen in Paul’s discourse to the church in Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Notice the fact that Paul is encouraging those who have lost loved ones to the ravages of time to trust in the fact that the Lord will resurrect them when He comes in the event we just referred to as the catching away. This event, more commonly referred to as the rapture, truly is “Our Blessed Hope”; for in this event, the dead in Christ rise incorruptible and we simultaneously change from corruptible to incorruptible, mortal to immortal. This means that the moment the rapture takes place, we along with the risen, formerly dead in Christ, are forever free from sin, sickness, death, and/or pain, or anything else that beleaguers us now. Wow, with this knowledge, we can clearly see this event as “Our Blessed Hope.” Here is the passage that teaches us of this glorious change:

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Paul again ties our need for right living and working for the Lord, which stems from our expectation of His soon return, to the verses that cite our ultimate glorification. Here, he calls for the believer’s steadfastness coupled with unwavering faith that manifests in bountiful good works done unto the Lord. Simply put, we must continually be about the Father’s business once we come to know Jesus. Some might think this too demanding. However, the Lord encourages us to do all things as unto Him (Col 3:23). This means whatever we do, we are to be mindful of the Lord when doing it. In other words, we should do everything in a manner that pleases God. By the way, we must keep this attitude until our last breath so that we may be overcomers. ^[4]

Before concluding, let us briefly examine one final point. Isaiah speaks of the future coming of the Lord in Isaiah chapter 40. After magnifying the Lord and describing the insufficiency of man, Isaiah gives us the key to our success as last-days servants of the most High God:

Isaiah 40:31

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Clearly, waiting upon the Lord is the only way to live, especially in these dark days. This is because the Lord keeps those who trust in Him, those who are continually mindful of Him… in perfect peace:

Isaiah 26:3

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

We will discuss this peace in detail next week as we celebrate our second week of Advent.

Thank God for sending His Only Begotten Son, also referred to as the Prince of Peace, whose willing sacrifice, resurrection, and ascension provided the faithful a tremendous hope that Scripture calls “Our Blessed Hope.”

Conclusion

Understanding that “Our Blessed Hope” is real brings great peace to those of us who embrace the fact that even though what happens next is out of our control, God is able to perform that which He has promised us. Further, God has provided direction for us “While We Wait.”^[5] He has told us to “Watch – Warn – and Win Souls”^[6] until He calls us home. Additionally, great joy comes from knowing that our precious loved ones who died in Christ will rise incorruptible to meet us in the air in our changed bodies as we all meet Jesus face to face for the first time.

***Special Message***

It is vital that we persevere in our mission to share the gospel of Christ to anyone the Lord places in front of us. Above all, remember, we must not engage the enemy or attempt to engage in evangelism in our own power, for it is only in the Lord that we can succeed in these endeavors. After all, Scripture tells us that we can do all things through Christ, which strengthens us (Phil 4:13). With this knowledge, after dawning the full armor of God, go forth and “Be – Salt and Light,” ^[7] as good “Soldiers of the Way.” ^[8]

Website: In His Commission

View this week’s sermon, which features this article on our Facebook page.

[1]”Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the King James Version.”

[2] For greater understanding, see the article, “Only the Ready are Raptured.”

[3] For greater understanding, see the web page, “Ready Remnant.”

[4] For greater understanding, see the article, “Help Us Lord – To Overcome.”

[5] For greater understanding, see the article, “While We Wait.”

[6] For greater understanding, see the article, “Watch – Warn – and Win Souls.”

[7] For greater understanding, see the article, “Be – Salt and Light.”

[8] For greater understanding, see the article, “Soldiers of the Way.”

 

Most Bible and prophecy teachers, including myself, believe that Gog will be the principal leader – whether diplomatically and/or militarily – of the nation of Russia and the de facto leader of the invasion of Israel, as spoken by God through the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 38 and 39:1-16. Gog’s invasion of Israel is accompanied by a slew of Islamic nations, making this invasion immense by military standards.

God singles out Gog within Ezekiel’s prophecy and essentially has a one-sided dialogue with this evil man, making Gog’s intentions much clearer for the reader of the text to follow. But what about the Islamic nations? Do they have the same goals and aims as Gog does? Or is their mission and objective different?

God says to Gog concerning the Islamic nations that have met him for their invasion:

“Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.” – Ezekiel 38:7

Has Gog reached out to these many nations, asking each if they are willing to join him, knowing their demonic hatred of Israel, or did they show up on their own as they saw Gog’s forces coming to the northern borders of Israel that they may join in Gog’s invasion of their historical enemy? If he has reached out to these nations, has he revealed his objectives or has he subtly hidden his true intentions?

While we will not be able to necessarily answer the above questions Scripturally, we may be able to offer some plausible logical suppositions for the reader to consider on this and other aspects of this invasion.

Our brief study is primarily focused on Ezekiel 38:10-13.

All underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

“Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” – Ezekiel 38:10-12

God, as He is addressing Gog through the prophet Ezekiel, says that Gog “shall think an evil thought” and “shalt say” that he intends to go to Israel “to take a spoil, and to take a prey.”

Observe that this is Gog’s “evil thought.” Is this the same evil thoughts that are in the Islamic nations’ minds? More on this thought momentarily.

What exactly is this “spoil” and “prey” that Gog hopes to attain? Is this the Islamic nations’ desire as well?

Next, the LORD, through Ezekiel, reveals some rhetorical questions that are posed by other nations when this invasion begins:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” – Ezekiel 38:13

As with so many wars, especially in the time that Ezekiel received this prophecy from the Lord, nations would come against other nations for “a spoil” for “silver” and “gold” and “to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil.” These resources were valuable commodities in ancient times. Even today, many wars are fought over resources, just as they did in Biblical days, though the resources may have changed.

Treasure?

Many have speculated that Israel will find what is believed to be treasures from Solomon’s Temple that, according to those who hold this view, were hidden away by the Prophet Jeremiah just before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. There are divergent opinions on where this treasure may be hidden if it indeed still exists in Israel. The Jewish Talmud, tradition, and the extra-Biblical passage of 2 Maccabees 2 are used as potential proof texts. As I have warned the body of Christ before, we should be extremely wary of extra-Biblical sources, relying solely on the Word of God alone.

We do know, however, that at the midway point of the Tribulation, that the ark is found in heaven:

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” – Revelation 11:19

While God is absolutely opposed to Israel returning to Temple sacrificial offerings, logically, God would have taken the ark to heaven after Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, at the very latest. After all, there is already an ark replica available to Israel to use in the Third Tribulation Temple.

While I do not dismiss the treasure possibility out of hand, I do see this a little differently.

Certainly, silver and gold are still of monetary value today, but that could change in a heartbeat, as even silver and gold may lose all their value when the worldwide economy crashes, as we know it will from Revelation 6:6. People will be more concerned about feeding themselves and their families than investing in a precious metal whose only value is what man says it is. In my eschatological understandings, the worldwide economic collapse will coincide in The Gap between the rapture and beginning of the Tribulation, which is in the timeframe of when I expect the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel will occur.

For me, there are other more viable and logical modern-day resources that I see being much more valuable than treasures of silver and gold because, as we noted above, the essential resources needed in today’s world have changed. And because these resources have changed, we need to understand that most of the resources valuable today were not even in existence or known to the world in Biblical times.

Therefore, we should apply a little logic in our investigation on what these spoils and prey may actually be.

The Absolute Necessity of Energy in an End-Times World

One commodity that is of immense value in today’s world and will be until Jesus comes back is energy of all types. Energy is a universal standard commodity that every nation on Earth needs to survive and thrive.

Vladimir Putin and other national leaders have rightly claimed that whoever breaks out first and successfully with AI will rule the world, and energy is of the utmost necessity in this endeavor. In fact, AI utilizes vast amounts of energy!

Antichrist will also need vast amounts of energy to operate his worldwide Mark of The Beast economic and worship system; therefore, energy will be of vital importance to this system’s success. Energy may also be another hidden motive when Antichrist – in attempting to annihilate the Israeli people after the Abomination of Desolation, purging the nation of Israel of every Israeli in the Promised Land in the Great Tribulation – prepares to install his Mark of The Beast economic and worship system.

So, how can we come to a logical conclusion of energy being potentially the main objective of Gog’s invasion of Israel as recorded for us in Ezekiel 38, since these modern-day energy sources were not in existence and/or unknown in Biblical times? Can we make sense of energy commodities, using the same ancient spoils and prey that God uses in Ezekiel?

Silver and Gold

“Silver and gold” are derived from earth and rock.

In just the same way, so is one of the world’s greatest energy sources and multifaceted elements in innumerable products for modern-day humanity, oil! We drill in the earth and frack in rocks to obtain this precious commodity, very similar to how the world has procured silver and gold since creation.

Though Israel is currently ranked 67 in the world in crude oil production and does import additional oil, this could always change as more deposits could be found. However, for such an incredibly small country to be 67^th in the world is pretty darn impressive, and even with their current production of 15,000 barrels a day and what they will have in import reserves would seem to be an easy spoil for Gog in his evil plan.

Personally, I would not be surprised in the least to hear of Israel finding more oil reserves – potentially vast amounts of reserves – in the not-so-distant future.

During the time immediately following the rapture, going forward, I expect that “climate change” will not be the fantastical, farcical issue that it is today, and even if it was, Gog would certainly care less.

Oil, when refined into petrochemicals, often has a silver and/or gold tint or hue.

Oil and/or petroleum is also known as “black gold”!

Cattle

The Hebrew word for “cattle” in both references of Ezekiel 38:12-13 is 4735 מִקְנֶה “miqnê” and means cattle, livestock, cows, sheep, goats.

When this interpretation came into my mind, I was blown away. This can only be understood in today’s generation.

Today, there is a war on cattle in this crazy world we live in, something never seen or even thought about in past generations. Climate fanatics are obsessed with the flatulence of cattle, especially cows, known as methane gas. Methane gas from living creatures is obviously a natural gas. Natural gas?!?!

God, in his omniscient foreknowledge, knew that this environmental idiocy would occur in the end times. He also knew that natural gas would be a valuable energy source in the future. Therefore, it is no stretch to suggest that cattle are representative of natural gas as an energy source. There would seem to be no better way for God to use this Hebrew word for cattle, knowing what would transpire in the last days, and linking cattle to the energy source of natural gas.

Natural gas is Israel’s primary energy source for electricity production!

The Leviathan gas field recently discovered off Israel’s Mediterranean coast boasts 22 trillion cubic feet in recoverable natural gas!

Gog will certainly covet this immense energy source!

Goods

The Hebrew word for “goods” in both references in Ezekiel 38:12-13 is 7075 קִנְיָן “qinyān” and means thing acquired, acquisition, possession, purchased property, wealth, getting, goods.

Obviously, this word conveys a host of non-specific items. But regarding our theoretical assumptions, we are looking for other potential energy sources or valuable resources that Israel may have now or will acquire in the future for themselves, either by divine providence or purchase power.

Like most other nations, Israel purchases many forms of energy from other nations. Therefore, whatever varied energy sources Israel may have on reserve would be a contributing driving force behind Gog’s intentions. The Israeli people are some of the most intelligent and highly innovative people on the planet – just one more divine gift to God’s cherished chosen people.

There is also the Salt Sea (also known as the Dead Sea) that holds vast mineral wealth that Gog may be interested in plundering.

For instance, Israel exports potash, a useful fertilizer that would certainly be a valuable spoil during times of famine. Another useful Israeli resource is bromine, which is used in various applications including water treatment, fire retardants, pharmaceuticals, and plays a role in agriculture, electronics, and energy storage.

Again, it is very interesting that God condemns Gog for coming against His people “which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” These modern-day resources have been a gift from God to His people Israel, many produced from the effects of the global flood in the days of Noah that have just recently been revealed to them as they have returned to their God-given Promised Land.

When it comes to goods in Israel that Gog may covet, might we add the vast amounts of military hardware and weaponry Israel has acquired over the decades to the equation? Gog would certainly desire and require to rearm himself after devouring much flesh in his numerous military campaigns!

“And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.” – Daniel 7:5

For more on the Russian Bear and the other three beasts of the end-times, please see Daniel 7: The Four Beasts of the End-Times.

Why Israel and Not Saudi Arabia?

This is a great question, as Saudi Arabia appears to be one of those nations that are questioning and protesting Gog’s invasion of Israel, represented by Sheba and Dedan in Ezekiel 38:13. Here are some logical answers that come to mind.

1. Israel is finding massive amounts of oil and natural gas on a regular basis, and these discoveries could intensify even more as time goes on.
2. Saudi Arabia is Islamic.
3. Though Islamic sects can often hate each other, the one item in this world that unites them is their disdain and hatred of Israel.
4. Russia knows that Islamic nations will certainly aid him in his attempted overthrow of Israel.
5. Since Gog is aligned with many Muslim nations, the last thing he would want is an Islamic religious war that would thwart his intentions.

What About the Islamic Nations?

Here again are the same rhetorical questions that were posed to Gog by other nations:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” – Ezekiel 38:13

How would the Islamic nations answer these rhetorical questions? Of course, we do not know for sure, but I would suggest that they would answer no. Why?

Immediately after the rapture of the church, not one single person will have the indwelling Holy Spirit, until, of course, the first converts come to Christ; the first of which may be the 144,000 Israeli Witnesses.

Antisemitism has grown exponentially in just the last year alone, as every problem in the world has seemingly been attributed to the Israeli people and the nation of Israel, so after the rapture of the church, Islam will be primed for their revenge. Their time to destroy Israel, in their demented minds, will have come!

Since Islam is already a highly demonically inspired religion, hell-bent on the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of the Israeli people, their obsessed hatred of all things Isreal will be Satanically supercharged after the rapture. It seems more than reasonable that because of this, their entire aim and mission is driving Israel into the sea at the instigation of Satan and his henchmen.

I propose that this invasion is not for spoil in the eyes of Islam, but rather this invasion for them is for the express intent to conquer and destroy Israel and her people, effectively to compete Hitler’s “final solution” and ultimately frustrate and defeat the plans of God at the instigation of Satan.

This laser focus on the destruction of Israel by the Islamic nations would certainly benefit Gog, as his eyes are specifically on the spoil and the prey.

Conclusion

I envision in my mind’s eye Gog reaching out to these Islamic nations, informing them that he is going against Israel, and if they are interested in taking care of their Israel problem, that they should join him.

It is my contention, though I am not adamant, that the Islamic forces that come against Israel with Gog may very well be ignorant of his evil intent to spoil and plunder Israel’s energy sources and other vital resources. It is hard to fathom that these Islamic nations, demonically inspired as they will be, have any other intention than to drive the nation of Israel into the sea and destroy the Israeli people. This tunnel-vision focus on the mission to destroy Israel and her people by the Islamic nations would obviously benefit Gog immensely.

If Vladimir Putin is Gog – and he may very well be – then this quote from the following article is apropos: “Russia now actively works toward Israel’s destruction.” Prophetically and logically, it will be the Satanically inspired Islamic horde of nations that Gog will amass at Isael’s northern border in Syria, side-by-side with his own troops, that Gog hopes to achieve his “evil plan.”

Thankfully and praiseworthily, the God of Israel, in protecting His chosen people and land, at this time, has His own plan!

***

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

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