Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and proctor of our faith.

Dave McAllister: Someday men will beat their swords into plowshares, but not yet. The Bible predicts a great war in Israel that precedes Armageddon. As nations rise up against the Jewish people, remember only God intervening can end man being prone to violence. War in Israel, that's sign number six that Jesus is coming soon. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is running to win with Dr. Irwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Irwin Lutzer is in a series on seven signs of Christ's return. Turn to Ezekiel 38 as we discuss sign number six, war in Israel, led in part by a future Russia.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Why do we believe that it is Russia? First of all, because as I mentioned, the text says that it's going to come from the remotest part of the north. Now, all that you need to do is to get a globe and then look at the land of Israel and run your finger along the globe to the Arctic Circle and you will go directly over Moscow. There seems to be no other country that fits this description. There's another reason also because it was the Soviet Union, which now of course has broken apart with Russia giving the lead that was the most systematic nation in the world that promoted atheism and the destruction of everything religious.

And as you think about all that the Russian people have endured and all of the persecutions and all of the people that have been put to death most assuredly in the past at least, Russia represented the most godless nation upon the face of the earth. Now, of course that isn't true today and that's why I emphasize again, we must always distinguish between the government and its own people. My wife and I have been to Russia and it is there that we have met some of the most wonderful, sensitive, faithful Christians on the face of the earth.

And our own women's ministry is actually developing a relationship with another women's ministry in Russia and in Moscow so that they might be able to be communion and so that we can help them in what they are trying to do there. But nonetheless, it appears to me that Russia will be the lead invader. Now, enough of that. The question is what's going to happen and the best thing we can do here is pick it up at verse 10. Thus says the Lord God, it will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan and you will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages.

I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates. To capture the spoil, to seize the plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited and against the people who have gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world. It's an interesting phrase because ancient maps had Jerusalem as the center of the world and I guess it is because here Israel, Jerusalem is spoken of as the center of the world.

And what happens? Verse 15, you will come out from the place, the remote parts of the north, you and many people with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army and you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days that I shall bring you against my land in order that the nations may know me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, oh Gog. Now, first of all, we're struck by the fact that these ancient methods of warfare are a problem to us.

You say, well surely this has happened because Russia wouldn't be using horses today and shields. Well, there are two ways to interpret this. One is symbolically. After all, when Ezekiel received this vision from God, he had to have a way to communicate it to his people. He had to be able to speak in terms that the people of those days could understand. He could hardly be expected to talk about tanks and laser weapons and chemical warfare. So he speaks in the language of the ancients and maybe that's the way we should interpret it. Other people have looked at it and said, well, we need to understand that because peace will have been in the land as we shall see in a moment that maybe these conventional methods of warfare might work and maybe there's a reason why Russia today in its army still has a cavalry.

Maybe there's the possibility that they will revert back to some of the ancient methods of warfare, particularly if the peace movement gains some strength and weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed. We're not sure. But here is what we need to know. The reason that these nations gang together on Israel is for two different reasons. Number one, Israel is not expecting an invasion. You'll notice it says, you will go verse 11 against the land of unwalled villages. And I, he says, will go against those who are at rest that live securely. All of them living without walls and having no bars or gates.

Israel will be in a period of peace. Well, if you know anything about Israel today, you know that it is not a country of peace. It is armed. When you go into the Tel Aviv airport, there you see guards. When you go outside, there are guards. There are checkpoints along the road. This Israel today is in a state of readiness, high alert all the time, not knowing when the next attack will come. So it can't refer to this period of time. What would the period of time be that Israel would have so much peace that its villages would be unarmed and people would be able to march in.

Well, I'm not being dogmatic on this, but just think about it. You remember I told you how Antichrist is going to sign a peace treaty with Israel. What if he has so much power as that great European leader? What if he can sign a peace deal? He can bring all of the Arab nations under his authority and he can believe that he will have achieved peace and he will guarantee the security of Israel. So Israel will not have to worry about the problem of war. And it can take all of its resources that are being used for defense today and take that money and invest it in its economy.

And that might mean that Israel would then be in a position to gain a tremendous amount of power, a tremendous amount of wealth and that also would be now a reason why these nations gang together. Why? Because the text says in verse 12 to capture the spoil, to seize the plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places. And Israel, as we know, in the Dead Sea itself, it is said that there are trillions of dollars worth of minerals. And of course, the Arab nations that are involved in this, they want to exterminate Israel anyway.

So they come up against Israel. Well, question is though what happens. This is one of the reasons why we know this has never never happened in history because if you do not know what happens, you're going to be shocked and surprised because God is personally going to defend his people. And the Bible tells us exactly how he's going to do it. You'll notice it says in verse 18, it will come about on that day when God comes against the land of Israel declares the Lord God. God is speaking and he says, my fury will mount up in my anger and in my zeal and in my blazing wrath, I declare on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

And the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beast of the fields, all the creeping things that creep on the earth and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at my presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, every wall will fall to the ground and I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his neighbor and with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him and I will reign on him and his troops and on the many people who are with him.

At torrent shall reign with hailstones, fire and brimstone. And I shall magnify myself, sanctify myself and make myself known in the sight of many nations and they will know that I am the Lord God. Takes your breath away. Earthquakes, hail, pestilence, fire, brimstone. God is going to reign on all of these armies and destroy them. In fact, the destruction is going to be so bad that we read in the next chapter is going to take Israel seven months to clean up and to bury all the dead people. Can you imagine the stench? Says in 39 verse 11 and it will come about on that day that I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea.

That means they're going to take them on the other side of the Jordan River into what today is known as the land of Moab and it will block off the passers by. So they will bury Gog there with all of his multitude and they will call it the valley of Hamon Gog, which is the hordes of the dead. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. And that's it. They're gone. Now, the question is, what does that do to world events? Put yourself in the seat of Antichrist if our scenario is right.

He's sitting in Europe. He has a peace treaty to keep all of the Arab nations and those who are against Israel and Russia in line and suddenly God comes and destroys all of those armies. Well, that might be the proper time then when he really does say to himself, I am God. Remember how last time I told you how he will enter into the temple of God and proclaim himself to be God. It could well be that these events actually should be reversed in order and that what happens is he gains so much supremacy because he does not have the pressure anymore of these nations.

He thinks he can take over the control of the world and he goes to Jerusalem and proclaims himself to be God. What a story. What I'd like to do today is to give you three reminders of God's attributes that kind of just jump out at us from this passage of scripture. First of all, we see the sovereignty of God, the sovereignty of God. God says to Russia, if our identification is correct, God says, I am going to pull you out of the north and I am going to judge you. As a matter of fact, it says in verse four, I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws and I will bring you out and all your army, your horses, your horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords.

I'm going to drag you out of the north and I'm going to drag you to Israel to destroy you.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, my friend, that certainly is a remarkable prophecy, but we have to understand that prophecy is in God's hands and not ours. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled When Jesus Returns. The purpose of this book is not necessarily to give us a roadmap, a sequence of events, but rather to help us see various aspects of prophecy through the eyes of those who have studied and to give us hope in the midst of a chaotic world. For a gift of any amount, we're making this book available for you. Please take advantage of this offer because we believe it will help you in your spiritual journey.

Once again, the title is When Jesus Returns.

Dave McAllister: The sovereignty of God is lesson number one from sign number six. Irwin Lutzer has brought part two of War in Israel, another sign in his series, seven signs of Christ's return. Next time, some final lessons we can learn from a coming great war. When Jesus returns, living in expectation of the end times, that's a book compiled by Jan Markell. It contains the best teachings on Bible prophecy from a wide range of authors. This book is our gift to you for your gift of any amount to support running to win. For full information, call us at 1-800-215-5001.

That's 1-800-215-5001. Online, go to offer rtw.com. That's offer rtw.com or write to us at Running to Win, Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win comes to you as a ministry of the Moody Church.