End Time World Powers

It's on the storm, rightly so, that consumed a lot of our time, a lot of our preparation, I share a lot of our prayers, a lot of our attention. But we're here just three, well, four days away from the Feast of Trumpets. And the Feast of Trumpets, we'll be talking about the return of Jesus Christ, but the time preceding the Feast of Trumpets, there's a storm of a very different kind that is occurring on the earth. And as we sit here today and as we look at the world around us, I thought it was kind of timely as I was preparing the sermon that, you know, the North Korea, after I had a few days where we didn't see the news at all, you learn how much time maybe you spend on TV when your cable is out for a few days.

But I didn't see the news at all for a few days. And, you know, to see that North Korea had launched another missile just a couple days ago in defiance of what all the world rulers say they want them to do. Another terrorist attack, I understand, in London yesterday. And time keeps marching on, and the same stories keep happening on and on. And as we look at the world around us, we see a different world than we saw five years ago, ten years ago.

And as we look at the Feast of Trumpets and what that will picture that we'll talk more about on that day, the world between now and the time, three and a half years before Jesus Christ returns, is going to go through a lot. And three and a half years before Jesus Christ returns, the world is going to look a lot different than the world looks today. The Bible tells us what to expect. The Bible shows us who the powers of the world will be. And the Bible shows us that those powers that are there today aren't the ones who are going to be there three and a half years before Jesus Christ returns.

So today I want to talk about end-time world powers. I want to talk about time prophecy that leads up to the time of the return of Jesus Christ. And on Trumpets we'll talk about some of the Trumps and the Trumpets and the other things that go along with that day. But first, let's begin back in Luke 21. As we look toward the time of Jesus Christ's return, just like the disciples at Christ's time, we're looking forward to the time of His return and wondering, what is it?

What is it? What will it be like at that time Jesus Christ gave them the prophecy? He told them this is what's going to happen in detail in Matthew 24. In Luke's account of the Olivet prophecy, in Luke 21, Jesus Christ concludes His message or His discourse there with three verses that we need to take note of as we live today and as we look toward that time that is ahead of us.

In verse 34 in Luke 21, He says, But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that they come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. He said that this day is going to come unexpectedly. He said, don't get yourself caught up in all the cares and concerns of life.

We have life's to live. We have to pay attention to our jobs, to our homes, to our loved ones. We have things we do, but don't become so immersed in the world. Don't become so immersed in the entertainment of the world. Don't become so immersed in the things of the world, in the politics of the world, that it shelters or seals out what the truth is and what we should be looking at. Because He says what's going to happen at the time before He returns is going to come as a snare. It's going to come unexpectedly to the people of the world.

But He says, you, it shouldn't come unexpectedly. You watch, He says. And that watch we've talked about before, you know, it has more than one meaning. Yes, He says, watch world affairs. You watch what's going on, and you see, as He says in Matthew 24, when you see the buds on the tree, no, the time is near. You might hear little trumpets going off in your head when you hear things that are going on in the world, and you think, that's ominous, that's different.

It's a time on earth, the history of mankind, that is unlike any others. And things can happen that could never happen before this time. He says, watch those things. Don't bury your head and get all concerned with the everyday things of life because we can all get distracted. We can all spend all our time thinking about everything else and forget what the Bible says and what God is looking to us to do.

But He also says, watch yourself. Watch world events, but you watch what you're doing. You watch your spiritual state. You watch how you're conducting life. You watch what you're thinking about, what you're spending your time on. You be ready and don't let that day come un-awares to you, because if you do, it'll be a very, very sorry state of affairs.

So, let's go back and look at some of the world powers. You know, you know, but let's go back and review here before the day of the trumpets. Revelation 13. Let's look at one that every single one in this room would say, I know one of the world powers that will be on earth and in power 1260 days, 42 months before the return of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 13. Verse 1, John, writing under inspiration as Christ gave him this, he said, Then I, John, stood on the stand of the sea, and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

Here's something coming up from the sea. An evil creature, a strange creature, unlike something we would see in everyday life. This one has all, all the markings of something that is evil and treacherous and violent. And it comes up out of the sea. And when you go back, we've done this before in Daniel 7, it talks about the great sea in the companion prophecy. So we know he's talking about the Mediterranean Sea, and the beast that comes up arising out of this.

It is not, it is not of God. It has a blasphemous name. It is anti-God. Verse 2, The beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon, Revelation 12, 9 tells us who the dragon is, Satan gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world marveled and followed the beast. They were all in shock. They were all in awe. Where did this beast come from? It's kind of like you're walking along, if you live in Scotland, where the legend is of this Loch Ness monster.

And all of a sudden you're walking by that lake one day, and the Loch Ness monster reared its head up out of that lake. You'd be stunned. You'd be in awe. You'd be a little afraid, and you'd wonder where did he come from?

And that's what the world is going to look like. When this world, when this beast, when this power comes up, they'll marvel. What? This isn't who we looked to before. This isn't who we used to marvel over. This is a new power. This is a new station in life. Not the one we've always been used to. And they followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast saying, who's like him?

Who's able to make war with him? He's got the military might of the world. How could we stand up against him? Look what he's got! Three and a half years before Christ, that's what will be, that will be one of the world powers. Verse 5, he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.

Three and a half years. Today, no one is looking north of the Mediterranean saying, who can fight with him? Who can make war with him? Where does the world look to today for military might? Who's the one that they would look at today? Where's the country that they would say, who can fight him? Who can bring him down militarily? It's not the beast. That isn't existence yet. It's America, right? America is the place today that people look at and say, who can make war with him? We've tried. They can wipe us out. Their arsenal is too great. There's got to be other ways to bring him down. So the world, three and a half years before Jesus Christ, has a different power that the world is looking at and asking that question. The military might of the world has shifted somehow from where it is today to where it will be three and a half years before Jesus Christ returns. The question is, where is America in prophecy? Where is the greatest nation on earth as we live in it today? Where is it? We'll talk about that a little bit more, but nowhere in Revelation do you find a reference to Israel or Judah. The prophecies three and a half years before Jesus Christ are all in three other world powers, not the ones that are in extent today. So there is a lot going on between now and three and a half years before the return of Jesus Christ.

Militarily, this is where the world is looking to it. We drop down several verses here in Revelation 13 to verse 16. We see that it's not just military might that the beast power controls, but it holds the economic control over the world as well. Verse 16, of course, we'll probably talk more about it on Trumpets, the small beast that rides the big beast, the church that is in concert with the larger governmental system because it is a marriage of church and state at this time. He causes all, verse, most small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Such domination that people aren't even going to be able to go out and buy something simple if they haven't bowed to the beast, if they haven't yielded to him or it, I should say. World dominance. All peoples and verses. Well, I'll go back there in a minute.

World dominance. The world looks at this beast power. Where did it come from? But you know, it's come out of nowhere and it's filled the void that needed to be void, that needed to be filled in the world's eyes. Economic power, military power, and the world looks there, not to the United States of America. That's what the Bible says will happen. And it's not a government, a democratic government. It's not something that you will live, that people will live like they do in the United States. It will dictate, as we just read, who you will worship. And if you don't worship that beast, then you will eat. Then you won't buy, you won't sell.

It's not going to be a democratic nation or government like we have today. There won't be free speech. There won't be rights to protest. There won't be people choosing what they do. There won't be freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. It'll be a totally different world and a totally different system three and a half years before the return of Jesus Christ. A total turnaround from what we have today, the exact opposite between now and three and a half years before he returns.

And it'll be a marriage of church and state, not a separation of church and state like part of the Constitution today, but a marriage of church and state. Much like during the Middle Ages, when the Catholic Church in Europe and the Roman Empire dominated people, killed people, put to death anyone who would dare contradict them, anyone who would dare preach the truth from the Bible. It was their way or the highway, and the highway would have been a much better death than many of the people there had experienced. Back in Revelation, well, back in verse 7 of the chapter here, you see that the beast hates someone. Verse 7, and he's wore here in 42 months. You might think that he isn't wore with another nation here in verse 7, but he's not. It was granted to him to make war with the saints. The saints, you and me, the saints, defined in Revelation 14, 12, as those who have the testimony of Christ and keep the commandments of God. He'll be making war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. What a different world from today that will be in place three and a half years before Jesus Christ returns. A world most of us can hardly imagine, but one that is certainly coming. Well, that's one world power that is evident here in end-time prophecies. Let's go back to Daniel 11. You'll see another end-time power.

Daniel 11. We're going to pick it up in verse 35.

Speaking of the end-time here, as you go through Daniel 11, it's a prophecy that takes us from way back all the way up until the end-time here by the time you get it to chapter by the end of the chapter. But in 35, I wanted to start here because it sounds like Christ's words. Daniel is a prophecy, all of which has come true, some of which is yet to occur. But in 35, verse 35 says this, and some of those of understanding shall fall to refine them, purify them, and make them white until the time of the end.

I hope that's no one in this room. I hope none of us of understanding will fall or will fail. But if we do, and when trials and tests come, God gives those things to us because He wants us to be refined. He wants us to gain strength. He wants us to get closer to Him. He wants us to wear the white garments of righteousness. And those things will happen for a reason. And as they happen to us, I hope we will use the trials and storms of life to learn to grow closer to God and to look to Him and to throw our cares, fears, and everything on Him. In verse 36 it says, The King. And this king we'll see in a minute is called the King of the North. And when you read about this king, it's the same king that we just read about in Revelation 13. A king who speaks blasphemous things, the king who is anti-God, a God whose God is Himself. Then the king shall do according to his own will. The opposite of what men of God do. We are doing God's will. The king will do according to his own will. He will exalt and magnify himself above every God. He will speak blasphemies against the God of God and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished.

That means until the time Jesus Christ returns. Until that time, He will prosper and He will be in power. For what has been determined shall be done. He will regard either the God of His fathers nor the desire of women. He's not listening to anyone. No one's going to detract Him from what His mission is, and that's to bring glory to Himself and to be against God. He shall regard neither the God of His fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any God, for He shall exalt Himself above them all. But in their place He shall honor a God of fortresses, a God which His fathers did not know He shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.

Thus He shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign God, which He shall acknowledge and advance its glory, and He shall cause them to rule over many and divide the land for gain. At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, or the old King James says, shall push him. And the king of the north will come against him like a whirlwind with chariots, horsemen, with many ships, and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.

So we have the beast power. The king of the north is what Daniel calls him. Situated there, north of the Mediterranean, he is a power to reckon with. He is a world power. But we have another world power we see here called the king of the south. And as you read down through the following verses, we don't have to guess who the king of the south is. The country is south, and in that vicinity of the Mediterranean area. Let's read through them just so that we see what the Bible says. He shall enter the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown, but these shall escape from his hand. Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.

Now, we've talked before where the people of Edom and Moab are, and I'm not going to take the time to go through that today. We know that's the area in the Middle East. We know those are the areas around Jordan where the people that will escape. I'll give you an assignment. We've read through this in the Bible reading program. If you go to Bible.UCG.org and you look at Daniel 11 and the last section there in Daniel, it will give you what they'll give you a lot of information, a lot of background on where these nations are. So, you can go there and you can kind of look that up for yourself and see the areas that we're talking about. He shall stretch out his hand, verse 42, against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. We all know where Egypt is. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt.

Also, the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. We know where Libya and Ethiopia is today. We know the area where the King of the South is, but now they are the King of the South. Not a bunch of little nations like we see today, but they push at the King of the North. They've become a consolidated world power at this point. There's someone directing what the King of the North takes notice of what the King of the South, who is pushing at him, is doing. Now, we know from that area of the world, as we watch ISIS and their predecessor, Al Qaeda, and whoever their successor might be, how they push at Britain, how they push at France, how they push at America. We see terror attacks, and we see what's going on just a week ago. We remembered the 9-11 attack, and we see how these nations push at people. It's a different warfare that's ever happened before, and it's frankly irritating when you look at it. And I'm sure our government looks at it and thinks, we just want to eliminate this war. We just want to win this war. We just want to eliminate this threat. But they can't do it, because it's so spread out and so different. So we know something about what the King of the North is feeling, because the King of the South pushes at him. It attacks him. Maybe it is a full-scale attack in a way that's conventional, but I have to wonder, given what we've seen in their predecessors here on earth today. Now, we have to ask, what is it that the King of the North, what provokes him to a point that he would go through and literally, literally decimate the King of the South? Because the Bible says that they're going to be totally eliminated. Let's go back to Obadiah before I go on with a few more comments. Obadiah has a few books a few books forward. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah. Obadiah is just one chapter, but he has something to do, has something to say about this time when Edom and that area of the world over there that becomes the King of the South at the time of the end, a power to reckon with, is making noise on the earth and challenging the King of the North, who the whole world is marveling at. Let's pick it up in Obadiah 7. It says, All the men in your Confederacy. Remember that word Confederacy? It means nations had joined together. It means they're working with one another. And when you have a confederation, you've got a purpose in mind. All the men in your Confederacy shall force you to the border. The men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you. Ah, so somehow this Confederacy that the King of the South is in. The people, the people leave them or deceive them. Those who eat your bread will lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it. Will I not? In that day. Now, whenever we see in that day, we pretty much know what when God is talking about at the time of the end, will I not in that day, says the Eternal, even destroy the wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountains of Esau. Then your mighty men, O team, will be dismayed to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. Why? For violence against your brother, Jacob. Now, remember who Jacob is when we read in the Bible prophecy, right? Back in Genesis 48, when Jacob, then named Israel, was giving the blessing to his sons, and he laid the hands on Jesus and said, Let my name be on you. So, when we read Jacob, we can say, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Jacob, the whole, or even the whole twelve tribes of Israel, not just the little nation of Israel that bears that name today, which is Judah, but all the nations, and certainly Ephraim and Manasseh. For violence against your brother, Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you will be cut off forever.

Pretty stern words from the Almighty God. What you have done, I will see that you will be cut off, and apparently it will be, or appears to be, the King of the North who does that. You will be cut off forever. Now, God is merciful. Whoever dies, they will be resurrected and have an opportunity for eternal life at that time. In the day, he said, that you stood on the other side. In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, remember he's talking about Jacob here, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you, who was one of them. You were there, watching what was going on. When Jacob hit its trouble, when things were confounding it, when people were carrying away his treasures, and when foreigners were there, you stood by. But you shouldn't have gazed on the day of your brother and the day of his captivity. God says, nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah. Little Israel today, little nation of Israel, in the day of their destruction, nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

You shouldn't have entered the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Indeed, you shouldn't have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. You shouldn't have been there at that time when Jacob and Judah were having their problems. You shouldn't have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped, nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. You shouldn't have done that, King of the South. You shouldn't have done that, Edom. You shouldn't have done that, Esau. You shouldn't have been there partaking in the demise of Jacob in the time of his trouble. And because you were, they will pay a steep price. Verse 15, For the day of the eternal upon all the nations is near. As you have done it will be done to you, your reprisal shall return upon your own head. And so, we see a king of the South.

We see a king of the South that is around Jacob at the time of Jacob's demise. Let's go back to Psalm. Psalm 83 is a prophetic psalm, and it speaks of this same time. Psalm 83. And verse 1, says, Don't keep silent, O God. Don't hold your peace, and don't be still, O God. For behold your enemies. Make a tumult.

Remember that the first power we've talked about is anti-God. The king of the South certainly isn't of God. And what we know of that region on earth today, in that area, they have never been about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the true God. They've got their own God. Behold your enemies.

Make a tumult. And those who hate you have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against your people. Now, who are God's people? Israel, Judah, the saints. They have taken crafty counsel against your people and consulted together against your sheltered ones. They've been working on things. They've been looking at your people. They've taken crafty counsel, and they've consulted together against them. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more. For they have consulted together with one consent. They form a Confederacy against you. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebel, Ammon, and Amalek. Again, you can go back to Bible.ucg.org. Pull up Psalm 83, and it will give you the modern-day locations of these nations and who their descendants are. Assyria also has joined with them. They have helped the children of Lot. So, we see the king of the south and end-time power.

He confires. He pays at work. He's part of the confederation. He's conspiring against God's sheltered ones. He's got something going on, and who knows what part he plays in the demise of Jacob. Could it be that the king of the north, who gets tired of being pushed by the king of the south, knows what he is capable of? Certainly, north of the Mediterranean, they've had their fair share of terrorist attacks even more than we have. So, they have a history.

But could he also know the destructive power of the king of the south? Because, at the time of the end, there's the king of the north, the king of the south. One more we'll talk about in a minute.

But there is no America. There is no little nation of Israel. There is no Britain mentioned. There is no Jacob mentioned. There is no Ephraim, Manasseh, Judah, or Israel mentioned. They're out of the picture, 42 months before the return of Jesus Christ. Let me just read one sentence here from the Bible reading program on Obadiah. I meant to do this when we were back in Obadiah. And it was talking about those verses where he talks about them coming in and gazing on Jacob at the time of his trouble and everything. It says, apparently, the Edomites of the end time will continue in the same pattern, cutting off the escape of Israelites, contributing to their devastation, and turning them over to the enemy. So, we see that Edom, or the king of the south, a world player. But if we're going to list one, two, three, two, gets eliminated pretty quickly. The king of the north comes in and he decimates the king of the south. So, one of those powers at the end is gone. And we know it happens at the end because the king of the north, maybe that's how they begin the reputation. Who can stand against him when people marvel about him? Let's go back to Daniel and let's look at the third world power at the end time. Daniel 11. We read down to verse 43. The king of the north is marching through the king of the south. He is overwhelming them. But when he eliminates or when he overwhelms the king of the south, it's not peace on earth. He's got yet another enemy that he has to deal with, another power out there that is significant that he has to deal with. Verse 44, But news from the east and the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. He wants total world domination. The king of the south pushes at him. He destroys them. The news from the north and the east troubles him. And he sees another attack on him coming. Now, the north and the east, we know, are the peoples of Russia and China. When you look at the map, you know what's going on up there in that area of the world. You have, I don't know if it's billions, I think billions of people that live up in that area are Russia and China and Japan, North Korea, Pakistan, India. All that is up there. News from the north and east troubles him. So another world tower that's at that time that the king of the north is taking note of is this conglomeration of people that are in the north and east. And it's a power to be reckoned with. Now, today we see and we hear more about the north and east. They have figured significantly in the news in recent years, recent months and years. North Korea is up there in that area of the north and east. China is there. Russia is there. Nations that we hear about. And we have this little nation in North Korea who just loves, just loves to talk about the United States, just loves to say things like he said last week that his aim is to reduce America to actions.

And he's been saying this for years, and sometimes, I think a few years ago, people just kind of laughed them off and thought, you're a small nation. You're not, you don't have anything, anything going for you, but look what has happened. And he said it enough and he has backed it up with enough weapons that today even our military and our news media is taking him seriously. Today he could. Today he's got a missile that can reach the United States. Today he has a hydrogen bomb. Today he could, and he's very close, acknowledge immediate that he could really reduce America or a sizable part of it to ashes or maybe do something to affect the whole country. He's up there in the north and east, and Russia and China are right up there as well. You know, we hear a lot about Russia and, and the President Putin. He came out just last week and the comment that he made in the aftermath of one of the missile attacks is, you know, when we were talking about more sanctions, more diplomacy, talk about it more, remember what he said? He said, North Korea would rather eat grass than give up their nuclear program. He knows, he knows just how serious they are. They're not just playing a game. They're just not trying to rattle a cage. He knows how serious they are. It's like you can do whatever you want to that country. They would rather eat grass than give up that nuclear program.

You've heard our President say, China could end all this. North Korea is dependent on China. They could end this if they wanted to. They haven't done it. They haven't done it. Let me read you something. It was sent to me, actually, by a member of the Council of Elders. I did write down the analyst's name, but he is a news analyst and a world affairs analyst.

Here's what he said. This is just a portion of what he says. Again, he's looking at the world news and he's looking, you know, and it's his opinion, but I thought it was very interesting. He said, Some of our leaders, imagine that China and Russia will help the United States contain the North Korean threat. This idea is another self-deception. The Russians have given North Korea weapons of mass destruction. China provides North Korea with conventional weapons and food. There would be no North Korean threat to South Korea, Japan, and the United States if Russia and China had not nurtured it. Ask yourself why Russia and China have gone to so much trouble.

If you have the courage to see, the answer is not far to find.

Why would the North and East be interested in allowing Kim Jong-un to continue his path?

Why would they not stop it when they have the power to stop it immediately if they wanted to? Could it be that they harbor the same hope that he did? Could it be that there is an underlying distrust, dislike, and President Putin has made his dislike of America known on several occasions? Could it be that he's the little nation that's kind of out there in front? But the idea of bringing down the world power of today is something that appeals to them.

At the time of the end, when the King of the North is the power, they will be going up against him.

They'll want world domination. Maybe something like that now. Well, the North and East have figured in world history before. Let's go back to Ezekiel 38. Let's look at one of the attitudes of this nation or of this region of the world after the millennium.

Because unlike the King of the South, they will survive into the millennium. Ezekiel 38 verse 1. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel saying, Son of man, set your face against God, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Now, the church is long taught that Gog and Magog is the area of Russia and China. It's not only the church. If you go online, you will see that many of the churches that deal with prophecy have traced back and they say that Gog and Magog are Russia and China, North and East, and not just Russia and China, but the area that's up and there.

Josephus himself, when he was talking, he said that the Gog and Magog is the Scythians.

And the Scythians, if you go back in history, where they dwelt was in that area of the Caucasus Mountains in the Black Sea area. And they were a group that was different than normal. They were a band. They were nomadic and they didn't really build cities, but they were a powerful, powerful force on earth. They were known as very skilled warriors. There are stories about how detailed they were and how they had their bows that other nations just couldn't match them.

And they figured prominently in some of the world events. Some historians would say that it was the Scythians who prepared the way for the Babylonians to overthrow Assyria.

The Scythians, Gog and Magog, the people who settled in that part of the world.

Philo of Alexandria, he was in the first century historian. He called the Scythians Magog, and he called them southern Russia.

You may have heard of one of the famous Scythians, Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan. He was a disaster. You don't want to come in contact with Genghis Khan. He murdered millions of people. I don't know, I should say millions, but I think he's one of the most noted murderers in history. Not a good man, not but a very evil man, a very skilled warrior, and he wreaked havoc across that area. It's even a legend that the Great Wall of China was built to keep the Scythians out. They were that concerned with the Scythians coming in, invading their areas. They were fierce and a cruel people, and they were absolutely very, very, very good warriors. Let's go on here in Ezekiel 38.

Verse 3. To the Gog and Magog, God says, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. I'll turn you around. Now, this happens after the return of Jesus Christ. This happens after He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But, as you know, just because Jesus Christ returns and the Holy Spirit is poured out on people doesn't mean they change instantaneously.

Just like you and I didn't change instantaneously when we received the Holy Spirit, we spent the rest of our lives allowing God to purify us and refine us. It would be great if we would receive the Holy Spirit and everything changed and we became the people that God wanted us to, but we have to make that happen. We have to make the choices to make that happen and allow God to do that. It doesn't happen for the people in the millennium, that they become perfect, peaceful, wonderful people automatically. They still harbor some of the thoughts and some of the faults of their life, and here of this group of people they've got something about them, an attitude that even in the Kingdom of Matthew and after they've seen their armies gather, because it says in Revelation 16, where the armies of the East come and they gather together for the battle at Armageddon, along with the rest of the troops, they still harbor something here. Verse 5, we see there's others with them. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet.

Now, I'm going to refer you back to Bible.ucg.org. You may look at Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya and say, well, that doesn't make sense, but you know those aren't the original words in the Bible, and if you go back you will see an extensive and exhaustive discourse on who those nations may be, and it looks like it's all the nations of the East, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the areas over there. They're all in the confederation. They're all there here after the beginning of the millennium, and they don't have good things in mind. Let's start down to verse 10. God speaking to this group of nations, thus says the Lord God, on that day it will come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind and you will make an evil plan.

They've got something on their mind. You will say, I'll go up against the land of unwalled villages. I'll go to a peaceful people who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates. The picture that you would see in the millennium of a people that are safe, of people that are at peace, but this group doesn't harbor that same feeling.

You will go there to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, the waste places that we'll talk about before that have been rebuilt that people are living in again, and against the people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods who dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, Dedan, the merchants, the Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder? Is that why you're coming? Is that what you're looking to do? Therefore, Son of Man, prophesy and say to God, Doctor says to Lord God, on that day when my people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company, a mighty army, skilled in war, skilled in battle, skilled in combat, with an attitude that isn't fit for the kingdom of God, but an attitude that lives over from the time before. And they will come to attack, but God will intercept it. And in verse 39 it says that the dead will be buried for seven months as a result of this, that many people. But look at the animosity of that dog and may-god toward the people of Israel. Did they just develop that animosity after Christ returned? Or is it something that was there before? Is it something that was there before that just carried over and they're acting it out again? Three great powers, king of the north, king of the south, we ex out, but dog and may-god, dog and may-god are there in the 1260 days before Jesus Christ.

But the power of the world today is not there. And in the end, we see that the armies of the east and the armies of the beast meet up to combat each other. No America, no Britain, no little nation of Israel, just those two, and Christ defeats them. What happened to Israel? What happened to the descendants of Israel? Jacob. Let's go back to Ezekiel 5.

Sorry, let's look at Ezekiel 6.

Now, you'll remember that Ezekiel lived and prophesied after the ancient nation of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians. They were no longer a nation at this time, so when we read in Ezekiel the prophecies about Israel, it's something that is to happen in the future.

Hasn't happened yet. Ezekiel 6, verse 2, son of man, God says to Ezekiel, set your face toward the mountains of Israel. You look at the nations comprising Israel and who they are today and prophesy against them and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys. Indeed, I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars will be desolate, your incense altars will be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.

I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. Modern day Israel has turned from God. Modern day Israel will have the blessing of God withdrawn from it, and God will exact the punishment on them for the deeds they have done. Verse 6, in all your dwelling places, the cities will be laid waste. It never happened in ancient Israel. It's a future prophecy. Your cities will be laid waste, and the high places will be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate. Your idols may be broken and made deceased. Your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. What you are about, what you have become, it all disappears. Your cities will be laid waste. You can go back to Leviticus 26, when God gives a prophecy to Israel, and He goes over and says, over and over again, Israel, turn back to Me. And you get down to the prophecy where the cities will be laid waste. It never happened to ancient Israel. Today, it can happen. It takes one bomb to desolate a city, to decimate it. Today, there are powers that have the bomb or that are in the process of developing it that can make this happen. Trumpets should go off in our ears. When Christ says, watch, we should be watching. And that means we should be watching ourselves as well, and how we are living our lives. I mentioned Leviticus 26. You can also mark down, I believe, Deuteronomy 28, where the same prophecy is there. Cities laid waste in Israel. After, in the millennium in chapter 38, we saw those waste places rebuilt, and the people who have been gathered back from around the world living in them. Let's go back one chapter to Ezekiel 5.

Again, speaking of Israel, and remember when Israel, Jacob, laid his hands on the sons of Joseph, he said, let my name be on you. Ezekiel 5, verse 12.

Let's pick it up in verse 11. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, surely because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, I will also diminish you. My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. One-third of you shall die of the pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst, and one-third shall follow by the sword all around you, and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

Those are tough words to read when you know who he's speaking of.

Now, some would look at that and say, how can that be America?

How could that be speaking of America or Britain? A third of the people die by pestilence or famine? We have this wonderful health care system, right? We have this wonderful food system. We have more food. We can withstand droughts. We can withstand things that come upon us. But, as we talked about before, we live in a world where this country and other countries like it could be thrown into famine literally overnight. One EMP, properly placed, would wipe out our computers, would wipe out our electric grid, and within three days, starvation would be setting in on America. Transportation would cease. No one would have access to food. There's no way to get it from the farms and the fields into where we are. And America, Britain, anywhere it goes, would literally be sent into a famine, and pestilence would ravish the people.

It's not something that someone has just dreamed up. It's well documented. When Kin Jun-yun talks about he wants a missile, and he now has a hydrogen bomb he can attach to the top of that ICBM, he's got something in mind. When Iran wants a nuclear program, they've got something in mind.

They know how they can attack us and undermine us. It's out there. It's documented. You can go online and read about these things. And our government knows about it, but they have done nothing about it. So that could happen. We live in a world where that could happen. I'm not saying that is what will happen. I'm saying it could happen. One-third of you will fall by the sword all around you, except for the Civil War. There hasn't been a war fought on the soil. But we read about the King of the South looking by, looking at people, and other foreigners have gathered in, standing by and just letting it happen and gazing and kind of having a good time about it all.

So something is going to happen. Something is there, and I will scatter another third to all the winds. You know, in Israel, ancient Israel was defeated by the Assyrians. The Assyrians took them out of Israel, and they put them in one place. And then, with Babylonians conquered the Assyrians, they wandered off into the Black Sea area, and then over into Europe, and over to Britain. Today, Israel isn't scattered. We know where the nations of Israel are.

But in this time, they'll be scattered all over the wind. They're going to be taken away. They'll be put wherever their captors want them to be. Will that be in the beast power area? It could well be scattered through the winds, scattered through the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

Who does this to America? When does it happen? They're not there 1260 days before the return of Jesus Christ. But it does happen. Let's go back to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 30. Jeremiah 30, verse 4.

These are the words. And again, Jeremiah, another prophet. Israel has already, the ancient nation of Israel has already been taken captive, so he's not prophesying about Israel. It's already gone and been taken captive by Assyria. He's prophesying to Judah, but these are words for the future. Chapter 30, verse 4. These are the words of the eternal sport concerning Israel and Judah. Both. Thus says the eternal, We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see whether a man is ever in labor with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor and all faces turn pale?

Could that day have come upon them unawares? Were they caught sleeping? Were they so enamored with the entertainment and the politics and the talk of this world that they didn't see it coming? It was all around them. The trumpets were blaring, but all of a sudden it's here, and they are faced with fear. They're unprepared. They're unready. What has happened to them they never thought was possible? That shouldn't happen to any of us. God tells us, You watch. You be ready. You watch world events. You watch yourself. You make sure that you know what's going on. But the world is caught unawares. They don't know what is happening around them. Alas, for that day, there's that phrase again, that day, for that day is great. There is none like it. It is the time of Jacob's trouble. It's the time that Israel, it's the time that the nations of Israel have great trouble. The Great Tribulation, the Bible calls it, three and a half years.

But when the three and a half years start, they're not there. They're not there.

When does it happen? When does it occur? How does it occur? Who does it? Is it just one of those world powers? Is it all three of them? Is it any combination of them? Let's go a few books forward to Hosea, right after the book of Daniel. Hosea 5. Verse 4.

As you look down and the verse is leading up, you see Ephraim mentioned, you see Israel mentioned, you know who he's talking about, the house of Israel, the house of Ephraim, the nations that we know where they are today, says verse 4, they don't direct their deeds toward turning to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, and they don't know God. They don't know the God that you and I know. They don't know the God of the Bible. They don't know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The pride of Israel testifies to his face. Therefore, Israel and Ephraim stumble, and their iniquity, Judah stumbles with them. The nations of Israel, or Israel and Ephraim, that we know are America, Britain, Australia, New England, and Judah, the little nations of Israel over there. Judah stumbles with them. With their flocks and hers, they will go seek the Lord, but they won't find him. He's withdrawn himself from them.

For they have dwelt treacherously with him. They have begotten pagan children, people who don't follow the principles of God, but who follow the principles of the world around them.

Verse 7, A new moon shall devour them and their heritage.

A new moon will devour them and their heritage. One month, within one month, they'll be gone.

No longer world powers. No longer factors.

They will be someone that the world marvels at. They will look at them with an astonishment.

I didn't finish what I was going to read back there in Ezekiel 5. Maybe we should go back. Let's go back to Ezekiel. Let the Bible speak for itself.

Ezekiel 5, verse 14, I read about one-third by sword, one-third by pestilence, one-third scattered. Verse 14, Moreover, I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by. So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Eternal, have spoken.

When the world sees what happens to you, you who I gave everything to, you who I gave preeminence on the earth, you who I gave power to, when they see what happens to you, they will be astonished.

They will step back and they will taunt and they will wonder, how did this happen to this great, great nation that we all look to, the economic and military might of the world, the greatest nation and group of nations that ever lived? How did this happen to you?

A new moon will devour them. And then the world will look to a beast power that emerges out of the sea. They'll look to them because they have the military might, they have the economic might, a totally different government, but they'll look to them because the nations that God has blessed has forfeited those blessings by the actions and their behavior and the way they live their lives and from turning from God. A new moon will devour them.

Think the world will be astonished?

Can you see why it says in Jeremiah 30, the color will drain from people's faces?

Although they'll be holding themselves in pain, wondering what has happened, what has gone on?

Go back to Daniel. I'm going to turn to Daniel 12. I'm just going to throw out a few questions. I don't have the answers, but just some things to think about. We know cities will be laid waste. We know what the prophecies say. We don't know exactly when they'll happen. We might get a clue here in a few minutes when they'll happen. Might, I will say. But who does it? Who does it? Is it the king of the north? Is it the beast power that destroys the mightiest nation that has ever been on earth? Is that how he gets the reputation? Who can make war with him? Is it the king of the south?

He certainly has made plenty of noises in our lifetime. Could he develop nuclear abilities? I think the world's think tanks would say, yes, they can, and it's just a matter of time.

Do they have a part in bringing the greatest nation that ever came, that ever was, down?

Does God and may God? Those North Korea? And what they're doing, does that have a part in it? Does it all work together? Is it one nation or is it a group of them? Are they all standing by in a confederation? How do we bring down the nation that has ruled the earth, in essence, for the past several years? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly who.

We know there's three powers. We know all those powers have their eyes set on Israel, not the little nation of Israel, but Israel. All of them, we hear the warning signals. All of them hate modern-day Israel. All of them would love to destroy modern-day Israel. And out of the ashes, that becomes modern-day Israel. A beast's power rises up, and the whole world looks to it.

And 1,260 days from then is when Jesus Christ returns. In Daniel 12, after we read about the king of the north and the king of the south and the news from the north and east, in verse 12, it says, "...at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands, watch over the sons of your people, and there will be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a nation even to that time, never a tremendously awful time for the people of Israel, a great tribulation that will occur for a nation that thought they had it all but lost it all." But God always shows there's hope, and at that time, He reveals to Daniel, your people will be delivered, everyone who was found written in the book.

Let's stop down to verse 7. Daniel sees a couple men. In verse 7, he says, "...and I," Daniel speaking, "...Daniel heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever, it will be for a time, times, and half a time, the same three and a half years, the same forty-two months, that the beast's power is in existence. Now when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things will be finished. Then Christ will return." Daniel writes, although I heard, I didn't understand, and I said, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many will be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked will do wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand. But the wise shall understand. The wise should be you and me. None of the wicked will understand. That day will catch them unawares, but the wise, the wise shall understand. Now from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up. I'm not going to turn to Matthew 24. You can look it up later. Matthew 24 verses 15 through 18. Christ, Olivet, prophecy, He says, when you see the abomination of desolation set up, those in Judea flee. So from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and that abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days, 30 days before the 1,260 days begins.

So the question I will leave is, what happens in those 30 days?

Because when the 1,260 days arise, there's a new world order that's on the earth.

And if we listen closely, if we listen closely for the first time in history, we can hear little trumpets blowing on something that could lead to what these Bible prophecies are talking about. Let's conclude back in Luke 21 where I started. Luke 21 verse 34.

Take heed, Christ said, take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come upon you unexpectedly.

For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.