The Great Middle East War - God turns back to Israel

Judgment on Israel

	Isaiah 17:9-11		Joel 1:16-17		Amos 2:4-6
	In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.		Is not the food cut off before our eyes, Joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed shrivels under the clods, Storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, For the grain has withered.		Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed. But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem." Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment...

As mentioned earlier, Israel will be judged along with her neighbors in the Great Middle East War. In the introduction of this study, it was shown that the prophecies in the first few chapters of Amos have seen a partial fulfillment in the Assyrian conquest. We are told in the passage above in Amos that judgment is coming because Israel has despised the Law. Interestingly, Daniel speaks of a future time that Israel will be punished for transgressing the Law:

Daniel 9:24-27 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."

In the Olivet Discourse we discussed this prophecy in Daniel. Because Israel transgressed the Law, God would punish them under the yoke of Gentile rule for a period of 490 years. 483 of those years had been fulfilled at the time Jesus was crucified. The time-clock on that punishment stopped when the Messiah was "cut off", as prophesied by Daniel. The final 7 years left on the clock will start when a covenant between Israel and the antichrist in confirmed.

As history has shown, most peace covenants are made in the aftermath of war or significant conflict. Because the scriptures are clear that judgment will be mete out on both Israel and their neighbors, the Great Middle East War may be the event that leads to the ushering in of that last period of punishment for transgressing of the Law. So while, the war will punish Israel like at the time of the Assyrian conquest hundreds of years before the 70 weeks of Daniel began, it appears that the Great Middle East War will then directly lead to the punishment of Daniel's 70th week for their transgressing of the Law. In other words, the Great Middle East War is not part of Daniel's 70th week, but may lead to the "confirming of the covenant" in Daniel 9:27 that will restart the 490 year time-clock.

We see more allegories to the harvest in the passages of Isaiah 17 and Joel 1 above, which describe massive destruction that will occur in the war. Recall that in the context of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Israel could be represented as follows: the fig tree (nation), the vine (spiritual), and the olive tree (salvation).

Israel became a nation in 1948, but as mentioned a few sections ago, Ezekiel 37 shows us that Israel as a nation is spiritually dead. Therefore, corporate Israel is not saved nor has the Holy Spirit. To be clear, individual salvation only comes through the acceptance of Jesus as Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, as Jesus fulfilled the Law and nailed it to the cross:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Colossians 2:11-14 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

The Jews, as a nation, have rejected their Messiah. However, when they corporately accept Jesus as Messiah at the end of the Tribulation, as described in the passages below, they will all be saved and receive the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

Romans 11:25-27 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

All of Israel being saved will fulfill the prophecy of the "dry bones" coming alive by the Holy Spirit breathing life into them in Ezekiel 37. However, as we will see in the next few sections, it appears that the Great Middle East War will be the event that initiates the spiritual awakening of Israel.

	Joel 1:13-14		Zephaniah 2:1
	Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; Wail, you who minister before the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, You who minister to my God; For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD.		Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation

The gathering of Israel is two-fold. With regard to the Great Middle East War, Israel will come together as a nation before the Lord. However, it has been the recent re-gathering of the people to the land, not as two separate nations before the exiles, but as one combined nation as prophesied in Ezekiel 37, that will lead to the national gathering before the Lord can occur:

Ezekiel 37:15-17 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.' Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

Ezekiel 37:18-19 "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, 'Will you not show us what you mean by these?'- say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."

Ezekiel 37:20-22 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.

I mention this prophecy in Ezekiel 37 here, because of the context in the previous section about the "dry bones" coming to life, and the apparent spiritual revival that begins to spark after the Great Middle East War. The Joel and Zephaniah passages above show a gathering of the people of Israel together on a national scale, calling out to God in desperation. A spiritual revival will begin to take place after this devastating war.

I have an additional thought regarding this spiritual revival. Because the covenant that is confirmed at the beginning of the Tribulation is later broken by the defiling of a Jewish temple, then the provisions to build the temple should be in the covenant itself. Since Israel appears to begin a spiritual revival in the aftermath of the Great Middle East War, I believe it is likely that any "peace treaty" negotiated afterwards would include provisions to build a temple. This would support the war leading to the confirming of the covenant and beginning of Daniel's 70th Week.

One reason there hasn't been a push to build a temple since Israel took control of the Temple Mount back in the Six-Day War of 1967, is because the Jewish people are largely secular and have no desire to. That desire may change after the Great Middle East War. God may be using the war as a "wake-up" call. The scriptures above show that Israel will be looking to God to deliver them. In addition, we are shown throughout the Old Testament that God turns back to His people after they reach out to Him:

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say to them, "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Return to Me," says the LORD of hosts, "and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts.

A study in dispensations show that God will return to Irael during Daniel's 70th Week. The "Great Middle East War" may be the instrument used by God to turn the Israel back to Him before the covenant is confirmed and the temple is built.

As a point of interest, the chapter prior to the prophecy of the "dry bones", in Ezekiel 36, is a detailed description of the conditions of the land at the time that the Jewish people would return after the global exile. As we see below, they would return to a desolate land, but then make it bloom like the Garden of Eden.

Ezekiel 36:8-11 But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 36:12-15 Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you bereave them of children." 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they say to you, 'You devour men and bereave your nation of children,' therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore," says the Lord GOD. "Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore," says the Lord GOD.'"

Ezekiel 36:16-21 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name - when they said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.' But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

Ezekiel 36:22-27 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Ezekiel 36:28-32 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. Not for your sake do I do this," says the Lord GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!"

Ezekiel 36:33-38 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it." 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. Like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."'"

Today the desert is blooming after being desolate for centuries. These prophecies pertaining to the land have been fulfilled in our generation. Since all of this has happened in the span of one generation, it is not out of the question that the prophecies surrounding this passage will also be fulfilled within that same generation.

God to the rescue!

	Joel 1:15		Obadiah 1:15-16		Numbers 24:17
	Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.		"For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been.		"I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel...And destroy all the sons of tumult.

The "day of the Lord", which will be against all nations, will be "at hand", it will be "near" at the time of the Great Middle East War. In other words, the time this war occurs will be close to the "day of the Lord", or beginning of the Tribulation, but it will not have officially started yet. The wars in the Tribulation will have global consequences (Revelation 6:4). On the other hand, the Great Middle East War will be a regional war.

As a side note, regarding the timing of the Great Middle East war, all the wording about the harvest in the parallel passages mentioned a few sections back, may be hinting that the war will occur during the time that the crops are ready to harvest; late summer to fall

The following passage in Jeremiah shows that when God turns back to Israel, it will be during a period of judgment. The Great Middle East War, where judgment will come on both Israel and their neighbors, may be a pivotal event that leads to "the day of the Lord".

Jeremiah 30:18-20 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob's tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them.

Jeremiah 30:21-24 Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?' says the LORD. 'You shall be My people, And I will be your God.'" Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD Goes forth with fury, A continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, And until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will consider it.

As we continue on, take note of the bolded wording here in Jeremiah, and how it parallels the passages in the next section.

	Psalm 83:12-15		Amos 1:14-15		Jeremiah 49:19
	O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire, So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm.		Amid shouting in the day of battle, And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. Their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together," Says the LORD.		"Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling place of the strong; But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is that shepherd Who will withstand Me?

	Isaiah 17:12-13		Zechariah 9:14-17		Zephaniah 2:2-3
	Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.		Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land - For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women.		Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the LORD's fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD's anger comes upon you! Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD's anger.

The passage in Jeremiah 30 from the previous section, describes God's fury as a whirlwind. We see in nearly every parallel passage above that God is going to come against Israel's enemies "like chaff before the wind", or a "whirlwind", in anger and fury. Zechariah tells us that "God will save them [Israel] in that day". Jeremiah 49 tells us that God will make the enemy "run away from her [Israel]". Isaiah tells us that the enemy "will flee far away".

A destructive form of a whirlwind is a tornado. Everything is destroyed in the path of a tornado and blown far away, which is the picture that Jeremiah and Isaiah give here. Israel may suffer horribly in the Great Middle East War, but they will miraculously survive yet another war, because God will help destroy and push out their enemies.

When God rescues Israel, Isaiah tells us that the nations will "rush like the rushing of many waters" and "make a noise like the roar of the seas". In other words, Israel's neighbors will come "rushing" against her to annihilate her. But God will bring victory to Israel, which will result in an uproar from the nations.

As has already been mentioned, it appears that nuclear war will be used in this war. We will come back to this again in a few sections. But think for a moment, how the already hostile world toward Israel would react when they defeat their neighbors, in what will presumably be a nuclear exchange. I believe Isaiah appropriately describes the inevitable; that the nation's reaction will be like the "roar of the seas".

In addition to the probability that the Great Middle East War will lead to the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week, there are several parallels to the war that may suggest that the rapture of the Church occurs in close proximity to it. Click here to read these parallels. There also appears to be a dispensation change, with God turning back to Israel.

In fact, the rapture may be the catalyst that gives the "crafty counsel" of Arabs the freedom and motivation to come against Israel at that point in time. This group of Muslims may see this supernatural event as a sign from Allah. After the rapture of the Church, the rest of the world will be in chaos after the disappearance of perhaps millions of people from the face of the earth. In other words, many nations, namely Israel's allies, will likely be wrapped up in internal affairs after the rapture of the Church that would keep them from coming to Israel's aid. I discuss in detail the possible progression of these events on my speculation page.

	Psalm 83:16-17		Isaiah 17:14		Ezekiel 36:6-7	Jeremiah 49:23
	Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD.Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish...		Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.		"Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations." Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame.	Against Damascus. "Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted

The curse for curse clause in Genesis 3:12 seems to fit here: "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you". We started this study talking about Israel's surrounding neighbors spouting off arrogant threats to annihilate them and take the land for themselves. Instead, God comes to the rescue and puts these nations to shame by giving much of their land to Israel instead; to whom it rightfully belongs anyway.

Recall from earlier that Hamath and Arpad, mentioned here in Jeremiah, were gods worshiped by people in the Damascus region centuries ago. As we will see in a few sections, God will put to shame all other gods by "reducing them to nothing", as the prophet Zephaniah puts it. A major portion of this plunder will be the land that the enemy currently occupies. In fact, as we will see in a few sections, Israel's borders will expand to engulf much of the real estate of her current neighbors.

The passage above in Isaiah 17 shows us how long the war will last. It will begin in the evening hours and end before morning. As we will see in the next section, the use of nuclear weapons may be the reason the war is short-lived.

	Psalm 83:14		Joel 1:19-20		Obadiah 1:18	Jeremiah 49:2
	As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire		O LORD, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field also cry out to You, For the water brooks are dried up, And fire has devoured the open pastures.		The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau," For the LORD has spoken.	Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance," says the LORD.

The use of fire is a theme found throughout the Great Middle East War. I have not included the Amos passages here again, though every nation is predicted by the prophet to be judged with fire. The devastation described is reminiscent of the destruction on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan at the end of World War II. The scale of devastation here has led many to believe that nuclear weapons will also be used in the Great Middle East War.

The devastation to Israel in the Great Middle East War supports the idea that Israel's existence will be threatened to the point that they will have no choice but to unleash what is called the "Samson Option"; where Israel would take down their enemies with massive retaliation in the form of nuclear warfare.

Because Israel's enemies listed in this war do not have known nuclear weapons, it is likely that the massive amounts of loss of life on Israel's part may come in the form of biological weapons, as was mentioned back in the section about Syria. That being said, there is some structural damage mentioned in Amos 2 to Jerusalem's "palaces", which could be targeted government buildings and/or official's residences with the use of conventional weapons.

God will be the one judging these nations, but we see in Obadiah above that Israel will be God's weapon. As a recap, we have seen that Israel's immediate neighbors will form a confederacy against her. Because Israel has despised God and His Law, God will initially use their neighbors to judge them. This will result in Israel crying out to God. God will hear them and then turn around and use Israel to judge the nations that hate them.

The passage in Jeremiah above shows us that after the Great Middle East War, Israel will take possession of their inheritance, which is what was promised to Abraham, but only realized under King David's and Solomon's rule. We will discuss the expansion of Israel's land more in a minute.

As an interesting side note, the Gog and Magog War appears to occur shortly after the Great Middle East War. Incidentally, we see that Israel will use nuclear decontamination methods to clean up after the Gog and Magog War:

Ezekiel 39:12-16 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified," says the Lord GOD. "They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man's bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land."

Will Israel do this because of the fire and brimstone poured out by God in the Gog and Magog War? Or will they use this method of cleanup because a nuclear war had just taken place in the region previous to the Gog and Magog invasion? It possible that Israel will not have time to clean up after the Great Middle East War before Gog and company come in for the kill after the confirming of the covenant, which we will talk more about in the next section.

	Zechariah 9:11-13		Zechariah 10:3-7		Ezekiel 37:9-10
	"As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you. For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man."		"My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle. From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every ruler together. They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the LORD is with them, And the riders on horses shall be put to shame. "I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the LORD their God, And I will hear them. Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad; Their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.		Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."'" So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

These passages do not speak specifically of fire, but continue with the theme of God using Israel as His weapon to judge their neighbors. Not only that, but we see that God will be turning back to Israel again. We also see in these passages, prophecies about the re-gathering of the house of Israel back into the promise land. As was touched on earlier, our generation has been a witness to this re-gathering since Israel became a nation. But it appears that after the Great Middle East War, the Jews will be returning en mass back to the Holy Land.

Going back a few sections to the reaction of the world being like the "roar of the seas" after the war, there will no doubt be an increase in anti-Semitism that may play a part in sending the Jews back to their homeland. It will be such an incredible return, that God said it would be greater than the miracle of the parting of the red sea:

Isaiah 51:10-11 Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Recall, from the prophecy of the "dry bones" in Ezekiel 37, that God has resurrected the nation of Israel. They will begin a spiritual revival when they corporately receive breath from the Lord. However, it won't be until the end of the Tribulation that Israel will receive the Spirit of the Lord (Zechariah 12:10).

Within the Ezekiel passage about the "dry bones", we see that Israel will be known for their "exceedingly great army". Sure enough, Israel's military today can be described as an "exceedingly great army". It is interesting to note, that the percentage of Israel's military considering themselves as "religious", is climbing more all the time. This trend matches what Ezekiel said about the great army becoming spiritually awakened by the breath of God. As we see in the passages at the beginning of this section, God will be using this great army to judge Israel's neighbors.

The prophecies in Ezekiel 25-28 against Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, and Tyre were all fulfilled in history during the Babylonian conquest. However, at the end of these fulfilled prophecies, we see that the Ezekiel 28 passage below is a future prophecy that reaches out to the end when God will judge all of Israel's neighboring enemies.

Ezekiel 28:25-26 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."

After the Great Middle East War, when God judges Israel's neighbors, the Jewish people will feel secure for the first time since their return from exile, as shown in Ezekiel 28. Keep in mind that Israel "dwelling securely" is a pre-requisite condition that is to be met before the Gog and Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39. The Hebrew word "betach", literally translated as "dwelling securely", is found in both passages of Ezekiel 28 and 38. "Betach" literally means to be confident and trusting. In other words, Israel may feel secure, but may not actually be secure after God judges their neighbors.

Israel's confidence and sense of security may be stemming from a confirmed peace covenant after the Great Middle East War that leaves most of Israel's enemies defeated. This notion is supported by the following passages that describe the covenant that will be confirmed at the beginning of the Tribulation:

Isaiah 28:14 ...hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves."

Isaiah 28:18 & 22 Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it... Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.

Isaiah 26-29 are about God judging Israel and the "whole earth" (Isaiah 28:22), which places these chapters in the Tribulation period. It appears that Israel makes the "covenant with death", because they mistakenly believe it will make them secure by becoming a refuge for them. The problem is that Israel will not be seeking security in God, even though God will come to their rescue when they cry out to Him during the Great Middle East war. Therefore, the covenant Israel confirms with the antichrist will lead to death.

The confirmation of the covenant will mark the beginning of the Tribulation, or more precisely, Daniel's 70th Week (Daniel 9:27). This is discussed more fully in the Gog and Magog War study and the Pre-Tribulation Rapture study.

Expansion of the land

	Jeremiah 49:1-2		Zephaniah 2:6-7		Numbers 24:18-19
	Thus says the LORD:"Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities? Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance," says the LORD.		The seacoast shall be pastures, With shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; They shall feed their flocks there; In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will intervene for them, And return their captives.		"And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city."

	Obadiah 1:17		Zechariah 10:8-10
	"But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Obadiah 1:19-21 The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South. Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the LORD's.		I will whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them; And they shall increase as they once increased. "I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall live, together with their children, And they shall return. I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, Until no more room is found for them.

In these passages, we are shown how much land Israel will gain beyond their current borders after the Great Middle East War.

Jeremiah tells us that the area of Gad will be returned. This area lies in current day Jordan. Obadiah shows us that the land grab will also cover the mountains of Esau (in Edom which is in southern Jordan), Philistia (the Gaza Strip), Ephraim and Samaria (the West Bank), Gilead (mountains east of the Jordan River), Zarephath (a city between Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon), and the cities of the South (the Negev). Zephaniah shows us that the Mediterranean coast (from the Gaza Strip north and including Lebanon to the Euphrates River) will be given to Israel. Zechariah also shows that Israel will take the land of Gilead (mountains east of the Jordan) and Lebanon.

A few important points to make here:

The land that Israel gains in the Great Middle East War is the same area of land that was promised to Abraham. Though Lebanon was promised to Abraham, it was not taken by Israel in the Old Testament conquests. Lebanon was listed among the nations that God left to test Israel (Judges 3:1-4). Later Lebanon was an ally during the reigns of David and Solomon.

Other than the area of Lebanon, the rest of the land that will be taken in the Great Middle East War used to be part of Israel's kingdom under the reign of David and Solomon.

Genesis 15:18-21 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates- the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory.

Lebanon will be taken as spoil in the Great Middle East War (Obadiah 1:19-21); although it is already rightfully theirs, as promised to Abraham and his descendants:

Ezekiel 47:13-17 Thus says the Lord GOD: "These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. "This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by the road to Hethlon, as one goes to Zedad, Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazar Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran). Thus the boundary shall be from the Sea to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward, it is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

Ezekiel 47:18-21 "On the east side you shall mark out the border from between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side. "The south side, toward the South, shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the South. "The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side. "Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

From the description of the land expansion after the war, it appears that the Abrahamic land covenant will most likely be the "covenant" that is confirmed after the Great Middle East War. This supports the notion that the Great Middle East War is the event that will lead to the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week.

The land east of the Jordan River will be considered part of Israel before the "Gog and Magog War". It is shown in scripture that Gog and his defeated armies are buried in Israel, but east of the Dead Sea.

Ezekiel 39:11 "It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea [Dead Sea]; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.

Joel 2:20 "But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.

The map pictured above to the left shows possible borders of Israel after the Great Middle East War, based on the passages at the beginning of this section. If you compare this map to those of the millennial land grant and the greatest extend of the kingdom under David and Solomon, you will notice that it is slightly larger. While the eastern extent of the millennial land grant is not really known, keep in mind that the area of Jordan will become a "perpetual waste" (Ezekiel 34, Zephaniah 2:9), which will continue into the Millennium. Therefore, even though Jordan will be under Israeli sovereignty during the Tribulation, they will not live there during the Millennium, hence the difference in borders in the suggested maps.

Sovereignty over the captives

	Obadiah 1:20		Zechariah 9:6-7		Amos 1:5
	And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South.		A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, And shall be like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.		I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir," Says the LORD.

These passages describe the remnant of people that will be left from the nations that come against Israel in the Great Middle East War.

The captives will be moved to the north in Lebanon, east into Moab, and to the west into Gaza. These captives will be under Israel's sovereignty, as these lands are included in the land expansion described in the previous section. There is encouraging news in the Zechariah passage, as we find that the captives accept the God of Israel after the Great Middle East War. Because the captives will serve the God of Israel, it is likely that they will live under Israel's sovereignty willingly in the designated areas listed in these passages and be at peace with Israel.

Obadiah 1:20 tells us that the Jewish captives from Sepharad will posses the cities of the South, which is in the Negev. Sepharad is another name for Spain. In other words, after the Great Middle East War, it appears that circumstances will encourage Spanish Jews to emigrate to Israel.

Collateral damage

	Zephaniah 2:12-15		Zechariah 10:11-12
	"You Ethiopians also, You shall be slain by My sword." And He will stretch out His hand against the north, Destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, As dry as the wilderness. The herds shall lie down in her midst, Every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; Their voice shall sing in the windows; Desolation shall be at the threshold; For He will lay bare the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, "I am it, and there is none besides me." How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.		He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart. "So I will strengthen them in the LORD, And they shall walk up and down in His name," Says the LORD.

In Psalm 83 the coalition against Israel is fairly clear cut. The members of the confederacy are Jordan, the West Bank, Lebanon, Gaza and Syria. However, in the parallel passages above we find a few countries that are not listed as aggressors in Psalm 83 to contend with here.

Ethiopians, or the Cushites, are largely in present day Sudan, but may include present day Ethiopia too. They are not listed in the Psalm 83 coalition, but in the Gog and Magog coalition. It is possible that even though they are not in the coalition, there could be collateral damage that extends as far as Sudan or Ethiopia. This might explain their presence in the Gog and Magog coalition. They may be out for revenge.

Iraq is interesting. It was neutralized in the aftermath of the second Gulf War led by the United States several years ago. While it is true that the region of Babylon was ruled by the Assyrians before the Babylonian empire rose, the heart of the Assyrian empire was centered in current day Syria and western Iraq. This is important to note, because Assyria is mentioned as a member of the Psalm 83 coalition. I do not believe Iraq as a nation will be involved in the Psalm 83 coalition. The region of Iraq is better represented by the heart of the ancient area of Babylon, which is not in view in the Psalm 83 parallel passages. However, the area of Mosul, located in western Iraq and in the region of ancient Nineveh, does receive, presumably, collateral damage in the Great Middle East War.

Today, the ancient area of Nineveh is occupied by a people group known as the Kurds. The Kurds have constantly been struggling with both Turkey and the rest of Iraq. There have even been proposals made to allow the Kurds to break away and be their own country. If this occurs before the Great Middle East War, I wouldn't rule out their direct involvement in the Psalm 83 coalition, as politically they could be considered part of ancient Assyria. Click here for more on the role of Iraq (aka "New Assyria") in the Tribulation.

While Egypt is not listed as an aggressor in Psalm 83, the passage above in Zechariah shows that God will judge the leadership of Egypt at the same time as Syria. While this passage reaches out to the Millennium when both countries will follow the God of Israel, it is possible that Egypt could be drawn into the conflict.

At some point before the "Gog and Magog War", all of Israel's enemies will have to be neutralized in order for them to "feel safe", as was discussed a few sections back. The following passage suggests that this pre-requisite to the "Gog and Magog War" will be met when God executes judgment on all of Israel's neighbors. If Egypt gets drawn into the conflict, then this prophecy concerning all of Israel's bordering nations could be fulfilled in the Great Middle East War.

Isaiah 28:25-26 '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 Judgment on Egypt seems to have something to do with the Nile River. Here is another unfulfilled passage regarding the Nile:

Isaiah 11:11-12 It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 11:13-15 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dryshod.

We see that Ephraim and Judah would be reconciled again as one nation, when the people of Israel return a second time from exile, as was prophesied in Ezekiel 37. We have witnessed the beginning of this return in our generation. A few verses down in this Isaiah passage, we move into an unfulfilled prophecy where Israel will defeat the people in Philistia (the Gaza Strip), Edom (southern Jordan), Moab (central Jordan), and Ammon (northen Jordan); all members of the Great Middle East War.

This passage in Isaiah goes on to describe a battle toward the south. As Israel is coming against the people in the west (Palestinians in Gaza?), the tongue of the Nile Delta will be destroyed. It says that God will destroy it with His mighty wind (or whirlwind) as discussed a few sections back. But God said that He will use Israel to judge the nations around them. Perhaps the mighty wind will be a nuclear blast set off close to the Nile Delta. (For more on Egypt in light of current events, click here).

If Israel feels that their existence is threatened, there is no doubt that they will unload all they got on their enemies. This strategy has been called the "Samson Option", named after the biblical story in the book of Judges, where Samson knocked down the pillars in a Philistine pagan temple, killing himself and all his enemies. You can imagine in a dire situation like this, that there may be confusion on who exactly the aggressors are and who should be targeted. This could be why Egypt, Ninevah, Sudan and/or Ethopia end up with collateral damage, even though they are not listed as aggressors in Psalm 83.

Man will look to his Maker

	Psalm 83:16-18		Isaiah 17:7-8		Zephaniah 2:11	Zechariah 9:1
	Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.		In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.		The LORD will be awesome to them, For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; People shall worship Him, Each one from his place, Indeed all the shores of the nations.	The burden of the word of the LORD Against the land of Hadrach, And Damascus its resting place (For the eyes of men And all the tribes of Israel Are on the LORD)

In conclusion, we will end on a sobering, but positive note. The Great Middle East War will be a spiritual turning point for not only Israel, but for mankind. In Zephaniah, we are told that God "will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth". Many people will come to worship the God of Israel after the war.

Israel will defeat all of their immediate Muslim neighbors. The rest of the Islamic nations will be put to shame, as described in Psalm 83. Instead of coming to accept the God of Israel, as many people will, the remaining Muslim nations in the Middle East will try to save face and come against Israel, being lead by Russia in the "Gog and Magog War". Israel will be left defenseless after the Great Middle East War, especially if they end up using most of their weaponry as would likely be the case. God will come to Israel's rescue again and supernaturally defeat Gog's massive army, making Himself known to all the nations.

Ezekiel 39:7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

There will be no more Allah, or any god left standing after the war in Ezekiel. Neither will there be atheism after this supernatural war. Still, many will reject God and follow after the revived Mystery Babylon religion, and later, the antichrist. They will die in the Tribulation Judgments and be lost eternally. The good news, however, is that a multitude will accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, after the Lord shows Himself in the Great Middle East and Gog and Magog Wars.

Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"