Author’s note: This article was written a week earlier, so I didn’t include my thinking on the most recent sabotage of the Nord Stream Pipelines that carry gas from Russia to Europe. This action adds further to the things shaping for the Gog-Magog prophecy as presented in this commentary.

Gaslighting” is considered a form of psychological abuse whereby a person or group manipulates one or more people into questioning their sanity and perception of reality. People who gaslight may intentionally or unintentionally use this form of abuse to exert power or control over others, with the goal being to manipulate them.

The above is the precise definition I got from the Internet. Certainly, “gaslighting” is a term used to paint those who do it in a bad…well…a bad light. We often hear it used in politics when one side accuses the other of gaslighting through fear or intimidation—in order to gain advantage over an opponent.

Manipulation is itself an unattractive thing in most cases, as it implies twisting in a deceptive way in order to get one’s way. But in the case of this commentary, I believe “gaslighting” and “manipulation” are absolutely righteous things. That is because that is exactly how I see our God is positioning one of Bible prophecy’s most heinous actors yet future in order to achieve the desired goal of that character’s judgment.

Of course, I use the term sort of tongue-in-cheek because the Gog-Magog assault described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 involves the force led by the leader possessed by the Gog spirit. And, I and others believe the spoil Ezekiel says Gog will seek with the invasion into Israel might be well in view at this very moment.

That spoil the invaders will want might well be oil–petroleum. And, of course, natural gas–thus the perhaps not-so-clever title of this article.

The Lord Himself will manipulate—will gaslight—the leader we believe will be from the land of Rosh (Russia). God will, according to the prophet Ezekiel, make manifest Gog’s evil intention.

“And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 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” (Ezekiel 38:3–4).

God’s Word predicts further:

“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).

Amidst all of the phenomenal things we see developing in regard to stage-setting for prophetic fulfillment, God’s gaslighting the Gog-Magog forces gathered above Israel today is most significant in my view. The fact that most all nations of Europe are facing a winter without sufficient fuel to heat homes and even to power electrical necessities is nothing short of profound in figuring all of this, prophetically speaking.

And, while our God hasn’t caused this stage-setting for one of history’s most focal, end-times judgments, His omniscience has certainly controlled mankind’s sinful proclivities to the point it might be called heavenly manipulation.

Russia has all but cut off Europe from critical natural gas supplies, knowing the winters are brutal and European leaders are at his mercy. Or so Mr. Putin must think…

But God’s chosen nation (although they most often act as anything but these days), Israel, is also being used in a supernatural “gaslighting” way, if I might use the term again.

Israel, it appears, is now on the threshold of being able to fulfill all of Europe’s needs in this regard. As of this moment, there are still matters to be manipulated and worked out. But one can almost tangibly feel the setting-up of the situation that might–and I believe will—bring about that enraged attack from Israel’s north.

Israel is cutting into Vladimir Putin’s money-making—power-grabbing—business. My question, of course: Will this be primary in acting as the “hooks in the jaw” of whoever will lead that Magog force over the mountains of Israel?

Here are brief excerpts of developments in the matters involving Israel and European fuel needs.

“Israel is not part of Europe, the theme of this issue of in FOCUS. But Israel’s trade, political and social relations to the continent are central to its thinking – and to that of Europe. As European countries – particularly Poland and Ukraine – worry about their reliance on Russian gas during frigid winters, Israel has forged an energy future that may challenge Russian leverage over European policy.

“Amidst the almost unbroken gloom and doom (mostly well-justified) about just about everything in our fracturing world, it is a pleasure, for a change, to write about a development that is almost entirely good news. Israel, for the first 50 years of its existence, was almost totally devoid of natural resources, with the exception of some potash exports from the Dead Sea area. This was the basis of the joke that God promised the Israelites that he would lead them to a land of milk and honey, but he neglected to mention that all the oil and gas would go to others.

“Finally, in 1999, Noble Energy of the United States and the Delek Group of Israel began to plan and then carry out exploration and development of natural gas reserves off the coast of Israel. Ten years later, the Tamar commercially-viable gas field was discovered, and development began. Two years later, the massive Leviathan field was also discovered and is now in the course of development. (Natural Gas: What it Means for Israel and Europe, Norman A. Bailey, PhD, professor of economic statecraft at The Institute of World Politics, 2018)

“One of Israel’s major concessions when it signed the Camp David peace agreement with Egypt was giving up the Alma oil field in the Sinai Peninsula. Discovered and developed by Israel, the field seemed to be Israel’s only hope of becoming energy-independent.

“Rather than becoming independent, Israel depended on other countries like Egypt, Russia, and Azerbaijan for oil.

“Since then, Israel was known as one of the only countries in the Middle East with no natural resources. But that all changed in 2009 when a large natural gas reserve of 311 billion cubic meters (BCM) was discovered off the coast of Israel.

“Today, Israel’s gas reserves are so rich that they can supply not only Israel but Europe as well. And that’s precisely what happened on Wednesday when Israel and the European Union signed a natural gas agreement. The agreement was forged in Cairo in Egypt, as the gas will flow via Egypt’s pipelines. Signing this trilateral agreement is Europe’s solution for replacing the Russian gas imports it has relied on for decades.

“Western Europe is trying to distance itself from Russia, including economic boycotts. This phenomenon provided Israel with a rare opportunity to provide natural gas once provided by the Kremlin.

“Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem on Tuesday: “With the beginning of this war and the attempt of Russia to blackmail us through energy, by deliberately cutting off the energy supplies, we decided to cut off and to get rid of the dependency on Russian fossil fuels, and to move away from Russia and diversify to trustworthy suppliers,” adding that “It is an outstanding step bringing our energy cooperation to the next level.” (“Israel to supply natural gas to Europe and its connection to a blessing from Deuteronomy,” David Sidman, June 16, 2022, Biblical News)

There seems no other prophecy we can see developing in clearer fashion than the Gog-Magog attack. There are differing views of when it will occur. Some believe it will take place before the Rapture of the Church, some after, and some simultaneously with that great home-going. But to the truly attuned Bible prophecy observer, preparations for that assault are shaping dramatically day by day, even hour by hour, proving, to my way of belief, that this world is on the brink of the Tribulation.

Before that most terrible time of history, Jesus will step onto the clouds of glory and call His bride, the Church, to Himself so His judgment and wrath can fall on the rebels of planet Earth.

If you want to be part of that glorious leap from the planet when Christ calls, to be taken out of harm’s way, here is how.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).

“Scanning a Fearful Future Part 10” (the conclusion of the series) was completed early in 2011. We’ve revisited that series of articles on two additional occasions, I believe. I am convicted that here, in September 2022, it’s time again to look ahead—”scan”—into the ever-deepening march of humanity toward the consummation of this Genesis 6-like age.

Many prophecy watchers won’t agree with my take on the matters I present in this addendum because it’s not scripturally provable. But I don’t claim it is; admittedly, the thoughts I put forward are conjecture rather than necessarily Holy Spirit-prompted.

I do believe, however, that my thinking is legitimately evidence-based, considering my long-time Bible-centered observation and dissection of these wicked times.

My only reluctance in dealing with these matters stems from the frequently expressed realization that my thinking—like that of many of my colleagues—is too often—Amero-centric. That is, we too often consider our nation to be at the center of everything when we look at prophetic progression.

With all that as a preface, I nonetheless must once again say I see America as perhaps key to the wrap-up of the Church Age (Age of Grace).

Is America in Bible prophecy? That, of course, is among the questions often asked. Always, my answer is: No—not by name.

Is America the Babylon prophesied in Revelation chapter 18? My answer to that has evolved over much study to be “perhaps.” But, again, it can’t be proved to be that condemned city/system of evil that has afflicted all the world with sin. However, America is, almost undoubtedly, a part of that commercial and cultural system.

My belief that America fits within the final system of wickedness is confirmed with each news report. As stated on several occasions, considering the use and abuse of the most vulnerable among humanity is evidence of how far from the heart of God mankind has “progressed.”

The fact that such upside-down thinking and conduct are said to be “progressive” proves how culture in America has the “reprobate mind” of Romans 1:28. Those who claim to be “progressive” are, in fact, moving in the direction opposite of Heaven’s command to the human race. This mindset is inflicting on the very young the evil that can be churned only through minds attuned to the god of this world.

As stated before, history attests that every major civilization on record has come to its inglorious end while engaging in child sacrifice and unspeakable abuses by the adult generations during those times of collapse and demise.

Time and time again, we’ve looked at abortion in America today and have concluded that murder in the mothers’ wombs is, in the majority of cases, used as contraception to cover for sexual misconduct and/or irresponsibility. The practice can be likened to sacrifice upon the altar of convenience—like the pagans, and even Israel, once sacrificed infants upon the white-hot, stone hands of Moloch.

And now parents are dressing children as young as age 4 as transvestites and parading them in honor of LBTQ… etc., etc., rainbow, Genesis 6-like activities.

We have reports of all that went on with the Jeffrey Epstein island evil involving under-aged girls, and even of pedophilia among younger children who were abused in horrendous ways by well-known people. Yet the national media has swept all such reports under the proverbial rug of forgetfulness. And America has been at the direct center of all this anti-God activity. The most blessed nation in history—in terms of material blessings and perhaps second (only to Israel) in spiritual blessings—has become perhaps the most debauched, lascivious, licentious nation ever.

This brings me to the crux of this subject.

As some know, I believe Jesus prophesied the time of the Rapture. I don’t mean, of course, that He told us the day or hour, as He Himself said only the Father knows that. But I’m more convinced than ever that He gave conditions precisely as they’ll be when He calls believers into His presence.

“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” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

And here is where I know I’ll receive some degree of resistance regarding my Amero-centric perspective on Jesus’ words of Luke 17: 29-30.

“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:28-30).

Here Jesus likened the time He will next intervene into the affairs of mankind to the days when Lot lived and worked in Sodom. The very day Lot went out of that wicked city (out of which the angels led Lot and his family), judgment from God fell and totally destroyed both Sodom and its sister city, Gomorrah.

In this Luke passage, Jesus was referring to that moment–the Rapture. As we’ve looked at many times, He couldn’t be referring to the very end of the Tribulation, when as many as three-fourths of the earth’s population will have died during the seven years of God’s judgment and wrath. At that time—the time of His Second Coming (Genesis 19: 11)—it won’t be business as usual, as given in this prophecy. The few rebels left on the planet will be hiding in caves from God’s King who is coming through the scrolled-back blackness on the bright clouds of glory.

Now, to bring it down to our present closing hours of this age, I propose that the Lord might have had in mind a particular people and nation as He described how things will be at the moment of the Rapture.

Here goes my Amero-centricism again.

America today is the greatest nation in all of recorded world history in terms of spectacular advancements and achievements. It is the apex nation in this regard. No other has come close—that we know of…

We hear constantly that all the world is about to collapse in financial catastrophe, and even perhaps explode in nuclear war. These predictions have been around for years. Yet the world is buying, selling, marrying, planting, building—all the things Jesus prophesied for the time when, like in Lot’s time, God’s people will be removed from the earth.

While Europe is quickly dissolving in energy-crisis mode and the financial systems of the world seem about to collapse, Americans are still, like the folks of Sodom, living in ways Jesus described: we’re buying, selling, building, etc.

I maintain the Lord might well have had in mind this very nation we call America as the model for the future time of the removal of God’s people.

Our nation fits as the super-achieving, productive society and culture of Christ’s analogy. And, certainly, at the same time, our society and culture align with the wickedness of Lot’s day.

Scanning a fearful future, to the Christian, is really to be scanning a fantastic future! All of this points to the blessed hope of Titus 2:13: Believers are on the very cusp of coming into the joint heirship with the Son of God we are promised.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!