Ezekiel!

2 December 2012: In the 6th Century before Jesus Christ the LORD God raised up by the Holy Spirit a priest to become a great prophet and a watchman for the whole house of Israel. We know him as Ezekiel. Just prior to Israel's captivity and exile to Babylon this priest-prophet Ezekiel became the literal voice of God to Israel, reminding Israel of why they were sent into captivity and promising their restoration to the land in the future. The key point to remember when reading this prophetic work is that when Ezekiel spoke he spoke as the LORD God who put the words in his mouth. Where Ezekiel wrote 'Thus says the Lord God," it is literally the Lord God speaking, and Ezekiel is charged by the LORD God to speak these words irregardless of whether Israel will listen and heed them or whether Israel will ignore them.

This is a look at Ezekiel in a manner that is slightly different than has been traditional and will treat chapters 20 through 28 as a cohesive unit of prophecy. In these chapters, which many overlook because of the perceived all-importance of the Battle of Gog-Magog in chapters 38 and 39, there is much to learn from as I believe they set the prophetic stage for events which immediately precede that final and critical pre-70th Week event. In these chapters Israel has been partially restored to the land and as the LORD God continues to set the conditions by which He ultimately will turn His full attention to Israel; when He will have ceased to hide His face from them and will have poured out His Spirit on the house of Israel.

65 years ago Israel's restoration to the covenant land began as Israel was still in rebellion and, for the most part, Israel remains in that rebellious condition to this day. However, this rebellion is irrelevant to the Lord in going about His purposes prior to the coming of His Kingdom on this earth and fulfilling the promises of His covenant with Israel. So the same conditions exist today, as they did 65 years ago, as they existed when Moses informed Israel of the additional covenant of Moab (Deuteronomy 29: see verse 4). This is the focus of the Lord's word to Israel through Ezekiel in chapter 20; the LORD God is telling the Israel we know today that they are currently no different than when He brought them out of Egypt. Nothing has changed, and will not change until the LORD God pours out His Spirit upon Israel - Israel will remain hard of heart, spiritually blind and deaf even though they no longer wander in the wilderness of the nations of this world (Ezekiel 20:23-24).

Yet the promise of the Lord for Israel's restoration to the land began and remains in progress, for it is in the land of Israel that the LORD God shall accept them as a sweet aroma and pour out His Spirit upon them for His name's sake.

Beginning in Ezekiel 25 and continuing through Ezekiel 28 we find prophetic proclamations against the same groups - Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia and Lebanon - that are found in Asaph's Psalm 83. The concluding verses of Ezekiel 28:24-26 provide both the time frame and the result of the prophetic proclamations against the peoples: prior to the prophetic events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39!

“And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.”

 We are witnessing each day the threshold of these prophecies fulfillment, a process of fulfillment which began 65 years ago with the first Arab vs. Israel battles of November 1947.

America's Role in the Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy

27 November 2012: What I am now absolutely convinced of is that even though America is not specifically or literally mentioned in Bible prophecy that can be discerned at this point in history, America is playing a key role in events which will result in the fulfillment of a plethora of specific and literal Bible prophecies.

Operation Amud Anan: So Now We Know...

14:30 EST 21 November 2012: IDF Armor and ground forces will hold their pre-invasion positions... for now. It's just a matter of time until Islamic treachery causes a renewal of hostilities.

19:30 EST: Cease fire, what cease fire!?!? 20 additional Gaza terror missiles have hit at least 6 civilian communities in Israel since the alleged cease fire went into effect; an 11-year old Israeli child is the first victim of the continuing terror assault. 

Earlier this evening the English-language IDF website announced "IDF completes objectives for Operation Pillar of Defense."   HAMAS remains alive and continues to attack Israel. Operation Amud Anan is mission incomplete! And the IDF spokesperson says that HAMAS is in distress? No, the civilian population of Israel is in distress because it remains a target for the terrorists. Politicians know nothing about warfighting, only combatant commanders know how to achieve victory.

 HAMAS celebrates its victory over Israel

UPDATE AND ANALYSIS 0600 22 November 2012:  In post-election and post-hurricane America we're waking up on our traditional Thanksgiving Day holiday where Americans will soon attend local high school football games while a feast is prepared in our homes. This feast is the cornerstone of our giving thanks to the many blessings bestowed by the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob upon us in the past year and the year yet to come. I don't know about other American households, but in mine we will give these thanks in the name of HaMashiach Yeshua.

In Israel and in Islamist-controlled Gaza, Judea and Samaria they have awoken to a different paradigm. The promise of a decisive Amud Anan IDF victory over Islamist terrorists in Gaza has evaporated overnight much in the same way that a decisive IDF victory over Hezbollah in Lebanon evaporated during a summer now 6 years removed. A fearful Israeli government has capitulated the sovereign Israeli necessities of life, liberty and the pursuit of security to the whims of a Leftist American regime, its Islamist al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun allies in Cairo and the terrorists in Gaza and Tehran whom they coddle. 

From the jaws of victory defeat has been achieved, and the celebrating terrorists in the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza know it as well the disheartened Israeli citizens in Ashdod, Askelon, Be'er Sheva, Sderot and dozens of other towns across the breadth of southern Israel know it. The people of Gaza read the IDFs leaflets, and they know this morning that the IDF did not cross the border. Among the people of southern Israel their current Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his Cabinet Officers have lost all pretenses of credibility. They follow not the will of YHWH, but the will of worldly men who despise Him. Their political futures aren't worth a single Israeli Sheqel Hadash for they have guaranteed the citizens of all Israel an immensely more destructive war which many will not survive according to the prophet Isaiah. Iron Dome was good, but it wasn't that good. Iron Dome can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers and it will be in the next war.

Also gone is any chance for a political settlement between the Palestinian Authority (PA) under Mahmoud Abbas/Abu Mazen and Israel. HAMAS has proven itself vastly superior to the PLO/Fatah. HAMAS has won the hearts and minds of the Palestinian street. In his final act of abject desperation Mahmoud Abbas/Abu Mazen will present his dead-on-arrival PA statehood bid to the UN General Assembly in a few days time (next week). What he remains blissfully unaware of is that the so called two-state solution is dead on arrival because HAMAS has now thoroughly convinced the Palestinian street that their version of a one-state solution is achievable through direct action and conflict, through kinetic jihad against Israel. Mahmoud Abbas/Abu Mazen will now be rejected and suffer the same fate as Ibn Ali of Tunisia, Mubarak of Egypt, Qadhaffi of Libya, Saleh of Yemen and (soon) al-Assad of Syria and Abdullah of Jordan. The Palestinians have been won over to total jihad and their battle cry will be "Give Us Palestine or Give Us Paradise (Death)."  The stage has now been reset for the final act of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 24 through 28.

In the image above, which has gone viral today via social media and was web published by The Israel Times, IDF infantry soldiers use their bodies to spell out the words "Bibi Loser" in Hebrew. Two words that summarize thousands more spoken in the aftermath of Operation Amud Anan.

0800 23 November 2012: A Few End Notes

I can only pray to the LORD that the constant retreat and capitulation of just the past 20 years (1992-2012) by every Israeli government since PM Yitzhak Shamir (Likud - 2nd Term '86-'92) decided to talk to Israel's "inner ring" enemies will finally come to a conclusion in the near future. Such retreat and capitulation has been been a consistent theme in the 7 successive Israeli governments of Yitzhak Rabin (Labor), Shimon Peres (Labor), Netanyahu (Likud 1st Term '96-'99,), Ehud Barak (Labor), Ariel Sharon (Likud-Kadima) and Ehud Olmert (Likud-Kadima) to the present 2nd Term of  Bibi Netanyahu. In the face of resurgent Islamofascism such retreat and capitulation is as inherently deadly for Israel as it is for every non-Islamic nation on earth. But there's a reason for this and it has nothing to do with the God of Israel's fathers. Quite the opposite, and, in fact, it gets worse.

This brings me to my second note. Following the ceasefire and in his official address to the citizens of Israel on November 21st, Prime Minister Netanyahu did not once invoke the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(Israel). That's right, not even lip service was paid to the God of Israel's fathers. As if this Divine omission requires some additional evidence, I submit to you dear reader that Bibi Netanyahu made it abundantly clear in his address that Israel and Israel alone embarked upon Operation Amud Anan, and it did so with the support of utterly godless international allies. Who did Bibi Netanyahu thank for the Operation Amud Anan defeat before all Israel and the nations of the earth? He thanked the American president Barack Hussein Obama, the American secretary of state Hillary Clinton and "the Egyptians." 

And now my final note. The above describes the crux of the exigent condition of the modern state of Israel. Can it possibly be any more unambiguous? On 21 November 2012 the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(Israel), the Almighty YHWH, was (and remains) absent and completely unacknowledged by the leader of Israel's government. This is an Israel which remains in disbelief; an Israel without a Temple of God. This is an Israel far removed from the Israel we know will come to exist in the future as foretold by the Lord's prophets, when the fulness of the Gentiles will have been brought in.

I am reminded by the Lord of His prophetic word to us at this time.

Romans 11:25-27

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 

 For this is My covenant with them,When I take away their sins.”

Acts 15:13-17

"And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:  Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

 ‘After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,Says the Lord who does all these things.’^"

^Maranatha!

Operation Amud Anan: We Who Bear Witness!

Israel's Iron Dome defense system in Ashdod intercepting missiles from Gaza on 15 November 2012

The IAF Strike that killed HAMAS military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari (a/k/a Ra'ad Ater) and his son. Notice the tell-tale flashes of  the airborne laser designator targeting al-Jaabari's Kia automobile on the center of the roof.

0600 EST 16 November 2012: This "Operation Amud Anan" Eschatology Today blog entry will pick up where the "Regional MidEast War Appears Imminent" blog entry left off.  It is unknown as this point if the warfighting of the Amud Anan operation against Gaza's Islamic terrorists will morph into the prophetic full-scale final action of the ongoing Psalm 83 War, but as with every military action since November 30, 1947 this action is most certainly a part of Asaph's prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes.

For those of us  in the United States, please bear in mind that from the east coast Israel Standard Time (IST) is 7 hours ahead of us and this differential increases by one or more hours for every time zone westward to Alaska and Hawai'i. 

Israeli armor, infantry and paratrooper soldiers received their final commander's briefings 90 minutes ago. The landwarfare phase of Operation Amud Anan will likely execute within moments if it has not already begun.

UPDATE 0830 EST 17 November 2012: With HAMAS terror rockets hitting Israel's capital city (Jerusalem) and largest metropolitan region (Tel Aviv) like intermittent Nazi V-1 buzz bombs hitting England during WWII, the expected ground war has yet to materialize. Something is in abeyance, but what that something actually is remains unknown after 72 hours of missile vs. airstrike warfare. Some media are intimating that something constitutes back-channel negotiations between the U.S., apocalyptic-minded Iran-Hezbollah, Israel, HAMAS-PA-Egypt.

These are parties who do not directly or normally converse with one another even when shots are not being fired, so I remain skeptical that this explanation is accurate. I think Israel is building its land forces for an overwhelming invasion of Gaza, but has yet to actually make the political decision to: (A) take full control of the territory in the aftermath or (B) the likelihood of engaging Egyptian forces as the result of a full-scale invasion. Whatever the case, PM Bibi Netanyahu had better be extremely cautious and trust Barack Hussein Obama only as far as he can spit. Muslims rarely backstab their brethren, especially in the midst of total Islamic jihad. This is a situation that the apocalyptic Iranian Shi'a have been fervently praying to a false god to bring to fruition while their program to acquire nuclear weaponry remains at a full gallop and a very, very short ride to completion. One might expect Ayatollah Khamenei to issue such an order under the present circumstances. I am sure PM Netanyahu has this probability at the top of his considerations.

As we all know, it is the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is in control of these and future events for the sovereign purposes of establishing His Kingdom on this earth. Pray that His Will is done.

UPDATE 0800 EST 18 November 2012:  Overnight developments - True to their Islamic nature the terrorists of HAMAS have taken to detaining innocent, non-muslim foreign nationals all over Gaza to serve their purposes as hostages/human shields and a hedge against punishing IDF actions. This tactic is a certifiably productive method to turn normally supportive European and Asian public opinion against HAMAS' cause, but nobody ever accused HAMAS of being overtly intelligent. These foreign civilians were in Gaza for a reason.

PM Netanyahu spoke to Israel at noontime today and made very clear that the land warfare escalation ("a significant expansion") is very close to occurring. Leaflets urging Gaza civilians to stay clear of HAMAS and other terrorist facilities have been dropped yet again. The IAF today also launched strikes intended to destroy HAMAS primary real-time radio frequency and SATCOM centers. IDF boots on the ground in Gaza cannot be far behind. With multiple terrorist suicide squads anticipating the IDFs arrival a 'kill anything that moves' directive might be in play from the outset - the civilian population has been warned. Increased vigilance in Judea and Samaria is the standing order.

More recently a salvo of 15 Grad artillery rockets hit the city of Ashdod at about 2 PM IST today.  It is now evident that HAMAS is coming to the realization that its unrestrained and inaccurate onesy and twosy missile fire is not having the desired terroristic effect upon the Israeli population. Had HAMAS read the history of Londoners during WWII they'd have known to expect a negative result from this tactic. Nevertheless, they have apparently deployed their version of a Russian-made BM-21 grad rocket launcher from its underground bunker and fired a salvo against Ashdod. The salvo apparently impacted Ashdod in two distinct locations. No reports of injuries as yet.

UPDATE 19 November 2012: The Potential Prophetic Implications of Operation Amud Anan

Four days ago I began looking into any potential prophetic significance apart from the obvious significance found in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 28:24-26. The first prophetic note to be made is that Ezekiel 28:24-26 clearly illustrates the safety and security Israel will live in just prior to the Gog of Magog invasion will have been won in the existential Psalm 83 war that has been fought against the Muslim Arabs for the past 65 years come Friday, 30 November 2012.

“And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.”’”

The second prophetic note is that the Israel Defense Forces selection of the name for the current operation comes straight from the text of Exodus 13:17-22, verse 21 specifically (NKJV):

"Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”  So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud (Ed. "Amud Anan") to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.  He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people."

God did not lead all of Israel by Amud Anan directly into His promised land. The Suez Canal did not exist, nor was there any natural barrier between Egypt and the promised land to impede the progress of Israel to it. There was only the land of the Philistines and the war with them that would ensue which God said might cause Israel to preferentially turn back and return to the slavery they had known for hundreds of years in Egypt. So God led Israel by 'Amud Anan,' 'Pillar of Cloud,' southwards along the wilderness of the eastern bank of the Sinai Peninsula all the way to the present day location of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The details of the crossing are found in Exodus 14, and the specific identified locations in the text explain that Israel crossed from the bottom tip of Sinai across the Strait of Tiran, the maritime boundary between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and into what is today the western most portion of Saudi Arabia, and what had been in those days the ancient land of Midian. It was here that Israel crossed the Strait of Tiran between walls of water, and following close behind them was the cream of Pharaoh's entire army - his chariot corps, his horsemen and foot soldiers. And it was here that God also had led them,  as as we are told in Exodus 14, for the purpose of their annihilation.

Are there prophetic implications for "Operation Amud Anan?" Is this the battle which will culminate in a repeating of history in the annihilation of the cream of the Egyptian Army in the Sinai? It may well be, but we will have to wait and see what transpires. We who bear witness that is!

UPDATE 12:29 AM EST 21 November 2012: Operation Amud Anan continues as it has for the past several days with strikes and counter-strikes. The reported ceasefire negotiation has produced nothing and the much anticipated ground invasion remains on hold. What is evident is that Israel has been systematically destroying HAMAS ability to govern Gaza. What remains to be seen is if Israel will carry forward and destroy HAMAS itself and what Egypt and other Arab governments will do in response. Meanwhile, back in Iran, the nuclear weapons program continues.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to US SECSTATE Clinton: “If there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem with diplomatic means, we prefer that, but if not, I’m sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people.” This statement came after the terrorists in Gaza rejected Israel's offer of a 90-day ceasefire during which his government would assess the "goodwill" of its enemies toward a long-term solution.

What HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups and their Iranian and Egyptian and Arab benefactors have thus far failed to comprehend is that the ceasefire which halted the IDFs Operation Cast Lead in January 2009 was predicated upon the condition that rocket attacks originating in Gaza had to stop completely. That condition was breached just days after the ceasefire and when IDF troops had withdrawn from Gaza. Since then well over 1,000 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel. There is no way that the Israeli government can return to the status quo of the Operation Cast Lead ceasefire and the past 3 years and 10 months. Operation Amud Anan must proceed to mission complete status. IDF troops are likely to enter Gaza and begin hunting down the terrorists at any moment.

UPDATE 1 PM EST 21 November: There is currently a rush by media to report a ceasefire, but there are various interpretations of when this ceasefire is to take effect. Hillary and the Egyptian FM Mohammed Amr announced it in Cairo.  Best information is that the ceasefire will commence at 2100 (9 PM) Israel Standard Time which is 1400 (2 PM) US Eastern Standard Time (one half hour from now).

Egypt is to assume responsibility for Gaza under the terms of this ceasefire. This ceasefire was agreed to in a phone call between Obama and Netanyahu with Obama saying that Bibi must give the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood-led government "a chance."

Netanyahu is absolutely crazy to place any trust in either President Obama or Egypt's MB government. His chances of re-election or leading Likud will diminish accordingly.