There is a lot going on at the moment, in the international political scene. The run-up to the End Times seems to have been placed into high gear, and things are moving so fast that it is hard to keep-up with them.

There has been a lot of speculation, of late, that the new Russian-Iranian alliance is preparing for the Gog/Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39. This is especially so since the Americans seem bent on appeasing the Iranian leadership in their quest to produce a nuclear missile.

Just as the disciples were in a hurry for Jesus to re-establish the kingdom to Israel in the first century, and it wasn’t His time, so it is today that many Christians are in a hurry for the End-Times to play out.

I’m here to say “Don’t rush God”. His timing is always perfect, and He can always be counted on to do it when the time is best.

One thing that most appear ignorant of is the fact that the Psalm 83 war will occur first. That war is closer than the Gog/Magog war. In fact the current Muslim Brotherhood push to take over the nations of the Middle East appears to be in preparation for that war.

The good news is that the MB has come up against several roadblocks in their quest. The fact that Syrian president Bashar al Assad has not caved in to the MB is a good thing for the region. I’m not saying that Assad is a good guy, he’s actually pretty bad, but he is not nearly as bad as the rebels who are bent on his ouster. Under Assad, people of different faiths have been able to live side-by-side, which will not be the case under the MB.

Yes, I know, Assad keeps on threatening Israel, but he doesn’t do anything about it. It really appears to be a tactic used to maintain his support among the Muslims. This also appears to be the biggest beef among many of the rebels; he hasn’t attacked Israel yet! I think that maybe he is too smart to follow through on the rhetoric! The same can’t be said for the Muslim fanatics who are fighting him.

Oh, and by the way, a lot is said about the 140,000 people who have been killed in the Syrian civil war over the last three years. I hate to say it, but this kind of thing happens in war; When you rebel against your government, you should expect that they just might kill you for that rebellion, and your family just might die if you hide among them, and use them as a human shield!

Here is what the Apostle Paul said about the power of the government, which has been placed there by God;

“3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Romans 13:3-4

Don’t forget that Nero, one of the most evil tyrants in world history, was on the throne when Paul wrote Romans, and Paul nowhere says it is acceptable for Christians to rebel against the powers that be, even if they are Nero, Stalin, Hitler, or Obama.

The military coup in Egypt has also been a huge setback for the MB. General Al Sisi has taken power in Egypt, and by doing so has delayed the coming storm. I don’t expect him to last too long, as the MB is busy working their treachery behind the scenes, but in the mean time the Egyptian people will have a bit of a rest.

But I want to focus more on the idea that the Gog/Magog war is imminent, because it is not. The passage in Ezekiel 38-39 lists many nations, and only two of them are aligned today. Russia and Iran.

Two nations does not make a coalition, especially if the biblical coalition includes other nations. Meshech and Tubal were the patriarchs of Russia, and the Persians are the modern day Iranians, but Turkey (The Turkic peoples of Turkey, Turkmenistan, and I believe Uzbekistan as well. Interestingly, the Chinese Uyghurs are also a Turkic tribe.) Libya, and Ethiopia are not ready to join the coalition just yet.

This week Turkey scrambled eight jets when a Russian airplane got too close to the border. It sounds to me like the Turks and the Russians are not quite at the point of cooperating on a joint military exercise in the Middle East.

Libya is so divided, that they are close to civil war, and not at the point of joining a Russo/Iranian coalition, and will not be in a position to do so for several years, I think.

The nation identified in the Ezekiel account as Ethiopia, is probably a reference to Sudan, but in any case, neither Ethiopia, nor Sudan, are in a position to join the Gog/Magog armies any time soon.

Many other conditions of the Ezekiel account have not yet been met, either. For instance, Israel will become much more prosperous before that day, and they will dwell at peace. Israel has not had peace since 1948.

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. Eze. 38:8

There were rocket attacks against Israel this week. It is a lie to say that all of Israel is dwelling safely today.

And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

The security fence running around the Palestinian areas would seem to have to be removed before the Gog/Magog war conditions will be met. This means that there will be a peace between Israel and the Palestinians before the Gog/ Magog war! It will not be a one-day peace, but a lengthy time of peace which can really be called a “peace”! This must be for several years.

No. The conditions for the Gog/Magog war have not yet been met, so we know that this war is not imminent. While the Psalm 83 war is not imminent either, look for it to be fulfilled first, and much sooner than the Gog/Magog war.

Dan Knezacek