Notes for week 1

Here's what I drew up for our first week:

I'll start by giving you a little something from Ezekiel.

"Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36: 22-26 (KJV)

Now let's focus on the last few verses here. It says that God will take the Israelites out of the nations ("gather you out of all countries") and bring them back to Israel ("and bring you into your own land."). Now this is one of those verses that makes me flatly say that the Bible is truth. What is the possibility that there could be a guy who says to a nation "This nation's going to fall apart and be taken by your neighbors but down the road, you'll come back together and form the nation again," and it actually happen? Israel was wiped off the face of the map for years. The Jewish people were spread across the nation. The fact that the Jewish people could even maintain an identity over that long of time with that much persecution and no home land is amazing in itself. That alone beats the odds.

But then the fact that they get their nation back is nothing short of amazing. In 1948 Israel became a nation again. This all makes Babe Ruth calling his shot look like child's play. The statistical probability of this just happening is crazy. If Vegas was taking bets on this, I imagine I could have became a millionaire by just betting a buck.

Still not impressed? Let's look a little further into the insight Ezekiel recorded for us.

"1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." Ezekiel 38: 1-3 (KJV)

Lots of funny names in here. Until we do some research. Let's look at this last verse here. "I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." What in the world is Gog? Apparently the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Well if you look up Meshech, you'll learn that Meshech set up a little known city called Moscow back in the day. Moscow happens to be the capital of a little known country called Russia. This whole translation of this is confirmed later on in verse 15 "And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:" (KJV) It clearly says that this will come from the north. If you look on a map, Moscow is almost directly north of Israel.

So now that we've identified this party, let's keep going.

"After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee." Ezekiel 38:8-9. So it sounds like this force (which we know to be Russia) will come against Israel (those "gathered out of many people"). But Russia won't be alone in this attack.

"Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet" Ezekiel 38:5 Two of these names can be found on a map easily. That's Ethiopia and Libya. But what about Persia? Do a little research and you'll learn that Persia is now called Iran. Wait? Isn't Iran run by Ahmadinejad who has said that he believes it's his God given job to wipe Israel off the face of the earth?

I don't know. But it seems like what Ezekiel wrote closely mirrors what we're seeing today in the newspapers. We have an Israel to talk about. Russia's to the north and is, as of this moment, not the most friendly country in the world. And Iran hates Israel and has announced intentions to attack. It's all really crazy stuff.