The Watchman’s Call

Guest (Male): Standing at the intersection of the word and the world, there is a clear sound for uncertain times. Welcome to the Watchman's Call. Join us as we stand on the ramparts of Scripture to examine the intersection of biblical prophecy and modern culture. The headlines are changing, but the blueprint has already been written. Listen as Pastor Andy Woods uncovers the prophetic significance of the world we live in. The Watchman's Call starts now.

Dr. Andy Woods: And we're continuing our study entitled "The Middle East Meltdown," studying Ezekiel 38 and 39, trying to get a handle on what this prophecy is all about. Because the better we can understand this prophecy, the better we can make sense of what is happening in the Middle East. We've been asking and answering the various journalistic questions that one uses to investigate things, and one of the questions that we asked recently is the "how" question.

How is our world being set up for this end-times scenario? There are actually three things happening in our world that are preparing us for this end-times scenario. The most conspicuous, the most obvious, and sometimes this is called the super sign of the last days, is the restoration of Israel politically and nationally in unbelief. This whole prophecy makes no sense unless there is an Israel for these nations to invade, and we have that today. Israel has been recycled back into their ancient homeland in unbelief in preparation for these end-time events.

Now, Ezekiel gets a little bit more specific because he starts to talk about the mountains of Israel. Notice Ezekiel 39, verse 2. It says, "I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the earth and bring you against," listen to this, "the mountains of Israel." Over in Ezekiel 39, verse 4, it says, "You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and your troops and all of the peoples who are with you."

It's interesting that prior to 1967, there were no mountains in Israel to fulfill that prophecy. But post-1967, now we have mountains in Israel in preparation for the fulfillment of this prophecy. Dr. Mark Hitchcock, in his book "The Amazing Claims of Bible Prophecy," makes this statement. He says, "According to Ezekiel chapter 39, verse 2 and verse 4, Israel must possess the mountains of Israel when this invasion occurs."

"The famous Six-Day War in Israel in 1967 helped set the stage for this event to be fulfilled. Before the Six-Day War, all the mountains of Israel, with the exception of a small strip of West Jerusalem, were in the hands of the Jordanian Arabs. Only since 1967 have the mountains of Israel been in Israel, thus setting the stage for the fulfillment of this prophecy."

What happened in 1967 and what's called the Six-Day War, the month of June, I believe it was June 5th, 1967, is the Israelis won against overwhelming odds. More on that in just a moment. But Israel's territory expanded, bringing mountains into the land of Israel, thus setting the stage even more clearly for the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy, which mandates that these nations, when they come, will come against Israel, and it specifically mentions Israeli mountains.

And you might recall earlier in our series, we said one of the reasons that these nations will invade is to capture Israel's wealth. We referenced Ezekiel 38, verses 12 and 13, where it talks over and over again about how the nations are coming to capture spoil, to seize plunder, to seize silver and gold. And I'm here to tell you that there has not always been this level of wealth in the nation of Israel.

In fact, Mark Twain visited that part of the world in 1867, and he wrote about it a couple of years later in his book "The Innocents Abroad." I believe he wrote that in 1869 after visiting the land of Israel in 1867. This is what he said in 1867 concerning the land of Israel. He calls it "a desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given over wholly to weeds. A silent, mournful expanse. A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. We never saw a human being on the whole route. There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of worthless soil, had almost deserted the country."

So there's nothing here, Mark Twain said in 1867, but a barren wasteland. So how could these nations come against Israel to seize her wealth when there was no wealth to seize? There wasn't even an Israel in existence. Well, look at what's happened to Israel since 1948. She's become a nation again. And look at her gross domestic product. I'm looking at some statistics. These are a little old, so the numbers here are even conservative. But today Israel has a gross domestic product of $46 billion, which is higher than her neighboring nations of Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

The only nation that's even close is Egypt. Jordan has today a gross domestic product of $45 billion, Lebanon $19 billion, Syria—and this goes back to 2010—$60 billion. And here's Israel, 2021, $46 billion gross domestic product. So Israel has now acquired the wealth necessary for these nations to invade as Ezekiel foresaw 2,600 years ago.

In fact, I'm looking at a newspaper article here and it says the value of minerals in the Dead Sea is estimated at $5 trillion. I'm looking at another recent headline and it says this: In the summer of 2010, huge deposits of natural gas were found along Israel's northern coastline. Israel is actually sitting on top of a vast amount of oil. And we're dealing with scenarios in the land of Israel of potential oil discoveries.

Here's another recent headline. It says, "After more than a year of round-the-clock drilling, large amounts of oil have been found on the Golan Heights. Estimates are that the amount of oil discovered will make Israel self-sufficient for many years to come." You now have a scenario in place where the nations will come for Israel's wealth. Now don't forget Ezekiel 38, particularly verse 12 and verse 13. I'm thinking of verse 13. It says that the nations will come to seize Israel's gold and silver.

It's interesting that when you study the Solomonic time period, it talks about how gold in the land of Israel was as common as rocks. It was as common as gravel itself. And we have to ask ourselves at some point, what happened to all of that gold? Because when you study what Nebuchadnezzar took from the land of Israel into the Babylonian captivity, certain vessels and things like that were taken. But it's interesting that the mass amount of gold that you see in the Solomonic time period was never taken by Nebuchadnezzar.

And when the Israelis returned from the Babylonian captivity, as given by the specific information in Ezra and Nehemiah, vast amounts of gold were not brought back from Babylon. So what happened to all the gold? What happened to all of the silver? My conjecture is that it was buried by the Israelis. It was hidden because they didn't want Nebuchadnezzar to get his hands on it.

And in fact, it was hidden so well that perhaps subsequent generations didn't even know where it was buried. And so I'm here to hypothesize this—this is just a little bit of speculation on my part—but the Israelis are on the precipice of a major, massive gold discovery. They're going to find out where that gold is. And once it's discovered, that will precipitate this invasion. It will furnish the motive of these attackers.

It's interesting that when you look at the leadership of Russia, I'm thinking of Putin, he has a great affinity for gold. He talks about gold quite frequently. And so this becomes another way that our world is being set up for this end-time invasion. Now, don't forget Ezekiel 38 and verse 19. It talks about a giant earthquake in the land of Israel. Ezekiel 38, verse 19, says, "In my zeal and in my blazing wrath, I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel."

Is the land of Israel now situated for a giant earthquake? Here is a recent headline. It says, "Scientists say thousands could die because Israel, which sits on a major fault line, has ignored warnings to strengthen homes and schools. After a series of minor tremors rattled northern Israel over the last two weeks, experts warned that the country is negligently unprepared for a major earthquake that would likely kill thousands of people, including children."

This article is very interesting. It says this threat of an earthquake, as Israel sits on a major fault line, is even a greater threat to the Israelis than Iran itself. And so what I am seeing is even the geography of our world, even the topography of our world, is prepared for the specifics of God's word to be fulfilled in this end-time invasion.

Not only has Israel been regathered in unbelief, but the alignment of the various nations—13 nations total spoken of in Ezekiel 38—is exactly where God said they would be at the end of the age. One of those nations that we mentioned is Russia. And Ezekiel had his prophecy about Russia long before Russia became a nuclear superpower, long before the Communist Revolution in Russia in 1917. And he saw this nation, Russia, coming from the remote north.

Now, in recent days we've seen Russia invade Ukraine. And it's just a matter of looking at a map. Where is Ukraine? Ukraine is not in the southern opposite direction, let's put it that way. It actually is in the southern direction, I should say; it's not in the northern direction where Russia's invasion of the Ukraine would take Russia the opposite way. Ukraine is located between Russia and Israel.

So this prophecy of an invasion of Russia coming from the remote north into the land of Israel, all of a sudden when you look at what Russia did recently with the Ukraine, coming from the north into Ukraine, starts to make a lot of sense because that's the trajectory that Russia seems to be moving onto and into. Now, a lot of people mock our interpretation of this because of the references to horses and horsemen.

Ezekiel 38 and verse 4 says, "I will turn you about, I will put hooks into your jaws, I will bring you out and all your armies, horses and horsemen." People say, "Come on. Are you telling me that Russia is going to come into the land of Israel on horses? That's ridiculous." And the truth of the matter is it's not ridiculous, because the prophecy is very clear that Russia will come into the land of Israel to seize plunder because she will have to navigate the mountains of Israel.

How do you navigate a mountain? You can't do it with a tank or something of that nature; you typically have to be on horseback. Now, here's a recent headline telling us that Putin of Russia has actually dispatched horses and horsemen into Ukraine. This one comes from Newsweek, February 10th, 2025. The title of it is "Russia Appears to Deploy Troops on Horseback in Ukraine."

Here is another headline from Newsweek, this one dated February 27th, 2025. The title of it, and it's got all kinds of pictures and everything: "Russia Deploys Donkeys, Camels in Ukraine Amid Resupply Struggles." So suddenly this invasion from a north on horseback doesn't look as far-fetched as perhaps one might think.

Now, when you look at a map, you see the land of Israel and you see her surrounded by different nations that we have identified: Turkey, Russia, Central Asia, Iran, the Sudan, and Libya. And can I ask you a very simple question: What do all of those nations have in common with the exception of Rosh or Russia? What does Central Asia have in common with Iran, or the Sudan, or Libya? And you would be right if you answered the question as follows: Islam.

Islam is the tie that binds these nations together. And I believe as Islam has spread throughout the world and, more specifically, spread throughout this region, it furnishes the theological and ideological motivation for this particular attack. Why is that? Because to Islam, in Islamic thinking, Jerusalem is a holy site. Now, they believe this even though the name "Jerusalem" never appears in the Quran. They say it's referenced in something called the furthest mosque.

Although Jerusalem does appear about 800 times in the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, it never appears in the Quran. Yet Muslims believe that Jerusalem is their third holiest site following Mecca and Medina because they believe that is where Mohammed ascended back to Allah on a horse or a steed. And the horse's name, of all names, is Buraq. I cannot make this stuff up.

And so they believe that Jerusalem is their city. And as they believe that Jerusalem is their city and is one of their holy sites, you can understand why these nations would invade the land of Israel in the last days. The spread of Islam furnishes the motivation for the attack. The thing to understand about Islam is people have a tendency to look at it as just another world religion, like Buddhism or Hinduism, but Islam is much more than that.

As you get into the documents of Islam—the Quran, the Hadith, etc., etc.—most of the material deals with political conquest. A very small percentage of it deals with religious concepts. And so Islam is more than just another religion or an alternative world religion; it is a world conquest ideology akin with Marxism itself. And I find it very interesting that all of these nations that we have identified, with the exception of Rosh or Russia, are Islamic.

Russia, of course, being Marxist. And so we have today the red-green axis, red Marxism, green Islam, cooperating with each other to conquer the entire world. And that's what Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 foresaw 2,600 years ago. So the alignment of the nations is exactly right. Now, let's focus just for a minute on Iran. Prior to the revolution in Iran where the Shah was toppled and replaced with the Ayatollah in 1979, Iran was a modern, progressive country.

Women could wear shorts, short skirts, women could drive, women could pursue education. But look at how everything in Iran changed in 1979 when the Ayatollah toppled the Shah and Islam became a Shiite Islam theocracy. And in fact, it's interesting that since Operation Epic Fury began, the Iranians have actually killed 42,000 of their own people.

President Donald Trump on his Truth Social tweeted out about this, sort of criticizing the Pope, or Pope Leo, who was condemning Trump for Operation Epic Fury. Trump said not long ago, "Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed protesters in the last two months and that for Iran to have a nuclear weapon is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter. America is back, President Donald J. Trump."

Now, whatever you think about Trump, whether you like Trump or dislike Trump, my point is not here to get political. It's simply to show that the character of Persia in terms of its world conquest mindset is exactly where Ezekiel said it would be 2,600 years ago. And people say, "Well, come on now. Operation Epic Fury has destroyed Iran's navy," etc. "How could they invade Israel in the last days?"

Well, keep in mind that what is propping up Persia or Iran today is China and/or Russia. We've mentioned Russia, haven't we, in this series? Here is something coming from the Middle East Forum. The headline is "Are China and Russia already involved in the Iran war?" The subtitle of this article is, "Both countries play roles that protect Tehran diplomatically and support aspects of its military effort."

What is happening in Iran, in my opinion, is just sort of a speed bump for them, but it's not a U-turn because they're being backed by principal powers, world powers: China and Russia. So Iran is exactly where Ezekiel said it would be in the last days in terms of its character. One of the nations we've identified in all of this is Turkey. Did you know that Israelis used to take their vacations in Turkey? Not anymore.

Notice the words of Frank Gaffney, and he made this statement all the way back in 2006. According to Frank Gaffney, President of the Center for Security Policy, Turkey is transitioning from "a secular democracy with a Muslim society into a state governed by a radical Islamic ideology hostile to Western values and freedoms." Turkey is exactly where God said it would be in the last days.

The character of these nations as predicted by Turkey concerning Turkey, Iran, Russia is jumping right off our headlines into fulfillment. One of the things that's very interesting to watch with these various nations is how they cooperate with each other. Russia constantly cooperates with Iran and Turkey. Turkey constantly cooperates with Iran and Russia. Almost every headline that you read today, these three principal powers are in cahoots together, cooperating with each other.

And that would make sense because in order for these nations to invade the land of Israel in the last days, there must be some form of cooperation between them. We see that constantly. And then let's not leave out Tarshish and let's not leave out Saudi Arabia. Ezekiel 38, verse 13, you might remember says this: "Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all of its villages will say to you, 'Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?'"

You have an interesting prophecy as part of all of this, that when this invasion occurs, Sheba and Dedan or Saudi Arabia won't like it, neither will the merchants of Tarshish. Now, why is that? Why would Saudi Arabia protest this invasion? Why would Saudi Arabia not be on board with this invasion? And the answer to that question is something called the Abraham Accords.

The Abraham Accords are not peace treaties; they're normalization agreements with nations, really, that never have been at war with Israel. And the way the Abraham Accords work is Israel opens up to said nation the four Ts: trade, travel, tourism, and technology, in exchange for a Muslim nation simply recognizing Israel's right to exist. And Saudi Arabia is now enjoying that with Israel.

Saudi Arabia is gaining economically from Israel thanks to the Abraham Accords. And there have been different Gulf states that have entered into these Abraham Accords with Israel. All of the analysts guestimate that Saudi Arabia is the next one to fall within the jurisdiction of the Abraham Accords. So now you have an explanation why Ezekiel's 2,600-year-old prophecy of the protest of Sheba and Dedan makes sense. Saudi Arabia won't like the invasion because she is benefiting from her relationship with Israel. More on this in our next show together. God bless you.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to the Watchman's Call, exploring the intersection of prophecy and culture. This program is a ministry of Sugar Land Bible Church, a place where the Bible is taught and the times are discerned. Visit this Sunday in person or connect with them anytime at slbc.org. That's slbc.org. Until next time, may the Lord give you a spirit of discernment in the week ahead.