CHAPTER 18
GOG-MAGOG SCENARIO
“The
Eschatological Conflict”
By Doug Krieger
Pergamos Ministries
The Tribulation Network
www.the-tribulation-network.com
Ezekiel
38:1-6 “The word of the Lord came to me; Son of man, set your face against Gog,
of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against
him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog,
chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your
jaws and bring you out with your whole army - your horsemen fully armed, and a
great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.
Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer
with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops -
the many nations with you.’”
What we are witnessing in the Middle East today,
is, in sum and substance, a disturbing “Clash of Civilizations” sparked not
solely by “spoil” but by spiritual forces beyond the grasp of the secular mind.
A Crusader mentality has and will continue to take hold upon the leadership of
the West; and, that imagery is all the more exacerbated by Islamicists who
cannot and will not see the conflict in any other context.
“The United States and Great Britain are
currently engaged in the Tenth Crusade, an effort to assert control over the
Middle East. This crusade began in 1983, when Ronald Reagan sent troops into
Lebanon to prop up a Western-leaning government after Israel had invaded the
country. Up till then the United States had not been the target of car bombings
and the like. But within months the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed,
killing hundreds, and the United States has since been lumped in with earlier
Crusaders as an aggressor deserving of counterattack. What is the source of such
a conflict? Although some see it as a struggle for control of oil, that is
only the latest wrinkle of a conflict deeply seated in the psyches of all
concerned. It is the spiritual aspects, not the economic, that hold the key.”
(The
Tenth Crusade, Dennis O’Brien)
JIHAD IS WORSHIP
Why this passion and ultimate suicidal effort to
oust the West from “Islamic lands?” There is far more going on here than meets
the secular eye . . . and, in a word, the highest form of worship within
Islam—pure worship—is HOLY WAR! Especially, against the infidels, the
exploiters of wealth and Islamic culture!
“In its literal sense jihad in Arabic
simply means struggle - striving to one’s utmost to further a worthy cause.
There is a difference, however between the word, struggle and jihad.
The word struggle does not connote the sense of reward or worship in the
religious sense of the word. But when the word jihad became a part
of Islamic terminology, the sense of reward or worship came to be associated
with it, that is to say, if struggle is struggle in the simple sense of word,
jihad means a struggle which is an act of worship, the
engagement of which earns reward to the person concerned. As the Quran says:
Strive for the cause of God as you ought to strive.” (22:78) (Understanding
Jihad, By Farida Khanam, 4 July 2000)
TECTONIC PLATES BETWEEN THE WEST
AND ISLAM
“It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source
of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily
economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of
conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful
actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will
occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of
civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between
civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.” (Professor Samuel
Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, 1993, P.22)
There’s little room for discussion, dialogue,
moderation, temperance, diplomacy and the like, when two tectonic
plates—ratcheted to their maximum strain—demand RELIEF!
“The central notions of dualism between Good and
Evil, Salvation through an Expected Messiah, and the Final Battle between St.
Michael and Satan animate these world religions (i.e., Judaism, Christianity and
Islam) and their devotees. Pragmatism, reason, and common sense have little
place in these primitive Semitic world views. All conflict is interpreted as
part of a cosmic struggle between Good and Evil and there is no room for
compromise or tolerance. Our American Evangelicals and Neo-Conservatives have
bought into these delusions as much as Islamicists and if left unshackled will
lead us all to world conflagration.” (Understanding the
Middle East: the Enemy of My Enemy May Be My
Enemy,
Norman Ravitch)
And, where will all this lead? Only a fool
would assume that somehow the West, with its Israeli ally (now that both are the
brunt of terror) have any designs on pulling up their tents from the cradle of
civilization, or ultimately, from the Beautiful Land (“He will also enter the
Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall . . . he will gain control over the
hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt;
and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels . . . he will pitch the
tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain”
(Daniel 11:41-43, 45).); nor will Islam reinvent itself!
In our last series on “The
Road to Damascus” we highlighted Scripture and contemporary geopolitical
realities regarding Syria’s role in the Middle East and her complicity regarding
her harboring a network of terrorist organizations—while funneling “insurgents”
and funds into Iraq—these articles will act as a follow-up to that original
subject, as well as draw peculiar attention upon the Biblical and contemporary
realities taking place in those nations to Israel’s immediate north (including
Syrian updates), and south—while initially elucidating the “eschatological
battles” being waged within the ranks of Christendom over these issues.
We’ll identify the massive alliance of nations
under Gog’s leadership in light of the research from antiquity, contemporary
theories, and finally make conclusions to their geographic locations. The
“theological stakes are high!”
ESCHATOLOGICAL SCHOOLS OF
INTERPRETATION . . . . . Confronting the “Brethren”
Those of us who maintain a “Futurist” position
in our eschatology (e.g., there will be a future Antichrist who will be fully
engaged in the aforementioned Gog/Magog War (Daniel 11:40-45) affirm that
Antichrist will head up, what we interpret to be the final manifestation of
absolute Gentile World Power as depicted in the Image seen in Daniel—i.e., that
final empire which mirrors Rome’s Empire (now revived), comprising economic and
political hegemony, supported by apostate religion (i.e., the Christian
religion)—is irrefutably none other than the present leadership of the West:
The USA. That is precisely why we feel what we are discussing is absolutely
relevant and of the highest priority for God’s people to hear and for the world
“out there” to know!
On
the other hand, we are keenly aware that “Historicists
and
Preterists” eschatological schemes deride our conclusions. Why? Because,
though they are dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, they, nevertheless, have
formulated a system of hermeneutics which, at their extreme, terminate all Bible
prophecy (as the
Preterists do) to have concluded by the end of the First Century and most
likely at the destruction of the Jewish Temple, under Titus, in 70 A.D.
Whereas, the Historicist “advances” beyond 70 A.D. and attempts to interpret
historical events of the last two thousand years with the book of Revelation and
other Bible prophecies (e.g., Napoleon’s seizure of Papal lands, even the
incarceration of Pope Leo VII, in 1809 as the one “wounded by the sword and
lived” of Revelation 13:14; thus, marking the end of the
1,260 days).
Preterists and
Historicists have outstanding evangelical leadership within their ranks;
after all, Martin Luther’s “breakthrough” took place when he saw the
Papacy as the Antichrist!
Many of the Historicist’s interpretations are
“out there” . . . though well-intentioned, they, nevertheless, are sometimes so
farfetched that despite their “Biblical applications” to history (e.g., trying
to make sense of the Papacy and the martyrdom of countless Christians under
Rome’s Inquisition, while bringing comfort to the brethren), they appear awkward
and even laughable; to wit:
“The Thunders of the Vatican
At the epoch belonging to the Vision, the
thunders well-known throughout Christendom, and acknowledged as having
authority, were those that proceeded from the Seven-hilled, City of Rome, the
Papal Thunders, the Thunders of the Vatican. In reference to them these
expressions occur continually in the histories of those times.
There is no need to relate how, very shortly
after the publication, of the Theses (i.e., Luther’s 95 Theses), the Papal
Thunders of intimidation began to make their voices heard against them.”
(Exegesis of Revelation 10:4 regarding the “Seven Thunders” The Reformation
in Revelation by
Reverend E.P. Cachemaille M.A. Caius College,
Cambridge)
The simple truth be known . . . both
(Historicism and Preterism) accord little if any relevance to contemporary
Israel and even deride her materiality as a “secular outrage” or an
eschatological imposter and as a “Scriptural imposition/fabrication!” Heralding
Israel’s rebirth is NOT exciting at all to these dear brethren! “Messianic
Scenarios” bear them no interest!
Furthermore, the fixation of the early
Protestants and their progenitors upon the Holy See of Rome as the embodiment of
all that is Antichrist precludes any and all personifications of a future
embodiment of that Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition in whom the Abomination of
Desolation shall reveal his true purpose! Differences of opinion are so
extreme between the Historicist and the Futurist (the Antichrist is yet future)
that only one can be correct; to wit,
Ralph Woodrow’s pronouncement:
“What differences exist here! One says the 70th
week is future; the other says it is fulfilled! One says there is a huge gap
between the 69th and the 70th weeks; the other requires no gap. One says the
70th week pertains to Antichrist; the other to Jesus Christ! In view of such
glaring differences, both of these interpretations simply cannot be correct.”
Woodrow then proceeds to argue the case for
historicists wherein he concludes that, although the precise use of the year/day
matters up to the “anointing of Messiah” at the Baptism of John (483 years + 3 ½
years of the Lord’s earthly ministry for a total of 486 ½ years), the next 3 ½
years (after Jesus “breaks THE covenant” with the Jews in
the “midst of the week” leaving the last 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th
Week immediately following his crucifixion) terminates “somewhere around” the
gospel’s entry to the Gentiles with Cornelius (another example of the “give or
take” method of the historicists). Consequently, the 70th Week has
already been fulfilled . . . all of it! There is no gap between the 69th
and the 70th Week of Daniel; it’s “consecutive” and that’s HISTORY;
we’re over and done with it!
We will go into more detail concerning the
futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week, its implications for Christians and
Jews, and the Gentile World Powers; as well as the reasons why many well-meaning
brethren refuse to come to terms with the futurity of Daniel’s 70th
Week. Suffice it to say we affirm that the Antichrist is yet to
come. However, in saying this, we do not conclude that the “spirit of
antichrist has (not) gone out into the world” even now, as it has in past times
(I John 2:18).
Also, that he (i.e., Antichrist) will “confirm a
defense pact” (Daniel 9:27; Isaiah 28:15, 18) with the nation of Israel at or
near the commencement of the, yet future, Gog/Magog War of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Most Historicists who know of Sir Robert Anderson’s “The
Coming Prince,” are “outraged” or in “denial” over his conclusions and
chronologies. How could the former head of Scotland Yard forecast a future
Antichrist based on a yet future 70th Week of Daniel? How dare he
dislocate Daniel’s 70th Week from the initial 69 Weeks? This is
either a Jewish conspiracy or Catholic cover-up! This is all the more confirmed
by Sir Anderson’s amazing statements which “prophetically insisted” that
Israel’s immediate ingathering was a foregone “prophetical conclusion”
regardless of their persistent dispersions and Ottoman’s Empire; to wit:
“Judah’s promises, on the contrary, imply that
blessing will reach the Jew as a Jew, not only recognizing his national
position, but confirming him therein . . . it may be asked, does not the
dispensation (of Grace) run its course until the return of Christ to earth? How
then can Jews be found at His coming in a place of blessing nationally
(Sir Anderson’s emphasis), akin to that which they held in a bygone age? All
will admit that Scripture seems to teach that such will be the case ([4] In
proof of this, appeal may be made to these very prophecies of Daniel; and later
prophecies testify to it still more plainly, notably the book of Zechariah.)
And further . . .
“But Israel’s history has yet to be completed;
and when that nation comes again upon the scene, the element of miraculous
interpositions will mark once more the course of events on earth. On the other
hand, the analogy of the past would lead us to expect a merging of the one
dispensation in the other, rather than an abrupt transition; and the question is
one of peculiar interest on general grounds, whether passing events are not
tending towards this very consummation, THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS TO
PALESTINE.” (cir. 1895) (My emphasis)
One final incitement for the Historicist and the
Preterist among us:
“Then again, the return of the Jews to Palestine
is one of the strangest facts of the day. There is scarcely a country in the
world that does not offer more attractions to the settler, be he agriculturist
or trader; and yet, since The Coming Prince was written, more Jews have
migrated to the land of their fathers than returned with Ezra when the decree of
Cyrus brought the servitude to a close. But yesterday the prophecy that
Jerusalem
should be inhabited “as towns without walls” seemed to belong to a future far
remote. The houses beyond the gates were few in number, and no one ventured
abroad there after nightfall. Today the existence of a large and growing Jewish
town outside the walls is a fact within the knowledge of every tourist, and year
by year the immigration and the building still go on. (Sir Robert Anderson,
The Coming Prince, Chapters 12 and 13, initial; and final quote from
Appendix 3, another edition of the same text)
IS THE FUTURITY OF DANIEL’S 70TH
WEEK, A ROMAN CATHOLIC PLOT?
Maybe you haven’t heard that
Daniel’s 70th Week, as yet future, was really a Roman Catholic plot
concocted by Jesuits!
Dean Henry Alford (Protestant) and
the Catholic writer, G.S. Hitchcock, concur on Futurism’s tenants, and perhaps,
even its origins:
“The Futurist School, founded by
the Jesuit Ribera in 1591, looks for Antichrist,
Babylon,
and a rebuilt temple in
Jerusalem, at the end of the Christian dispensation. The Preterist School,
founded by the Jesuit Alcasar in 1614, explains the Revelation by the Fall of
Jerusalem, or by the fall of Pagan Rome in 410 A.D.” (G.S. Hitchcock, The
Beasts and the Little Horn, p. 7).
Dean Henry Alford (Protestant), in
the “Prolegomena” to his Greek Testament, declares:
“The founder of this [Futurist] in
modern times…appears to have been the Jesuit Ribera, about A.D. 1580.” (Henry
Alford, The New Testament for English Readers, vol. 2, part 2, p. 351
[bottom numbering].)
“The Preterist view found no
favor, and was hardly so much as thought of, in the times of primitive
Christianity…. The View is said to have been first promulgated in anything like
completeness by the Jesuit Alcasar . . . in 1614.” (Ibid, pp. 348, 349 [bottom
numbering].) (Note: Francisco Ribera—1537-1591; Luis de Alcasar—1554-1613)
How this Catholic plot was
concocted when, in point of fact, the Futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week
was held by the early Church Fathers (thank God for the Orthodox), some of whom
were absolutely emphatic . . . take Hippolytus, bishop and martyr of the faith,
in his Treatise of Christ and Antichrist written in the 2d Century:
Ҥ43. With respect, then, to the particular
judgment in the torments that are to come upon it in the last times by
the hand of the tyrants who shall arise then, the clearest statement has
been given in these passages. But it becomes us further diligently to examine
and set forth the period at which these things shall come to pass, and
how the little horn shall spring up in their midst. For when the legs of iron
have issued in the feet and toes, according to the similitude of the image and
that of the terrible beast, as has been shown in the above, (then shall be the
time) when the iron and the clay shall be mingled together. Now Daniel will
set forth this subject to us. For he says, “And one week will make
a covenant with many, and it shall be that in the midst (half) of
the week my sacrifice and oblation shall cease." By one week, therefore,
he meant the last week which is to be at the end of the whole world of
which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias will take up the half. For they will
preach 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and
to all the nations.” (my emphasis throughout)
Apparently, Hippolytus is part of
the Roman Catholic plot! Is there any wonder then, that the Historicists are a
bit enraged (to say the least) when Sir Anderson sums up their pathetic
insertions into the historical drama:
“The historical interpreters of
prophecy have grasped a principle the importance of which is abundantly proved
by the striking parallelisms between the visions of the Apocalypse and the
events of the history of Christendom. But not content with this, they have on
the one hand brought discredit on prophetic study by wild and arrogant
predictions about the end of the world, and on the other, they have reduced
their principle of interpretation to a system, and then degraded it to a hobby.
The result is fortunate in this respect, that the evil cannot fail to cure
itself, and the time cannot be far distant when the ‘continuous historical
interpretation,’ in the form and manner in which its champions have propounded
it, will be regarded as a vagary of the past” (Sir Anderson’s, The Coming
Prince, Note C, Appendix 2).
Thus,
having said all of the above . . . delineating the “food fights” among the
eschatological schemes within Christendom . . . allow me to dispense with this
fray and proceed to the undeniable consequence of Israel’s plight; and of
Islam’s irreconcilable difference with the West and what they consider to be the
“Puppet of the USA” viz., Israel. Yet, ere we pass from this eschatological
imbroglio, let me add a poignant thought: Unless Christians confront the
Futurity of Daniel’s 70th Week head-on . . . they will continue to
labor under a grand delusion that today’s geopolitical realities are, at best,
happenchance, irrelevant and disengaging. Their participation in the greatest
hour of human history—history for which they desperately attempt to
interpret—will pass them by in ignorance and unbelief. But all those
aforementioned “eschatological conflicts” are about to be rendered mute, as the
forces of Gog and Magog, and the Syrian Card are about to fall!
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