Thank you for selecting this message by Dr. James Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman preaches verse by verse through the entire book of the Bible. From all of us at Living Water of Lapine here in Central Oregon, we hope that it will encourage you and feed you spiritually. And if you would like to leave a message after the sermon, our contact information is found on the sermon page where you found this sermon. Now may God richly bless you as you listen. I don't know how your week has been, but I've had a challenging past couple of weeks. But I was encouraged along the way with a story that I want to recount to you at this time. It was in the fall of 1991, a car driven by a drunk driver had jumped its lane and smashed head first into a minivan that was driven by Jerry Sitzer. Sitzer and three of his children survived, but Sitzer's wife, four-year-old child, and mother died in a car crash. Over the years, Sitzer has offered some profound reflections about loss, grief, and suffering. In his book, for example, A grace revealed, Sitzer shares the following story about how his son David responded to the tragic accident. My son David is and always has been quiet and reflective. After the accident, he was the least likely to talk about it. But when he chose to, he usually had something significant to say or ask. I had to be ready to respond to him when he sent cues indicating he was ready to talk. Our best conversations happened in the car. One particular conversation has stayed fresh in my memory. David was eight at the time. We were driving to a soccer match some distance from our home. Typical for these occasions, David was quiet. The car was full of silence. Not a heavy silence, but a liquid silence, as if some question was brewing inside him. Do you think Mom sees us right now? He suddenly asked. I paused to ponder. I don't know, David. I think maybe she does see us. Why do you ask? I don't see how she could, Dad. I thought heaven was full of happiness. How could she bear to see us so sad? Could Linda witness our pain in heaven? Could that be possible? How could she bear it? I think she does see us, I finally said. But she sees the whole story, including how it all turns out, which is beautiful to her. It's going to be a good story, David. Like I said, I'm not sure how your week has been, but isn't it a powerful thing when we are in the midst of a challenge to realize the complete sovereignty of God? and to be able to say it's going to be a good story. This is what I'd like our focus to be on this morning as we continue our study of biblical prophecy. Let's use it to marvel at God's sovereign plan for the ages. He is in full control. All of this is going somewhere. It's going to be a good story. He invites us to participate with him in his eternal plan that he has accurately announced through his prophets. When we first began our study through the book of Revelation, I mentioned that there are about 550 prophecies in the Bible which are like tributaries that feed into a large river. That river being the book of Revelation, the Bible's last book. Revelation puts it all together for us with one large flow that is going somewhere. I also told you that we would be looking at some of those other prophecies, how and where they flow in to this larger river. That is what we did the last time we were together, and we're going to be doing perhaps for the next several weeks. We are going to look at some of the important tributaries that make up the flow of this river that we call Revelation. Now, we have recently finished the first three chapters in the book of Revelation, the big river. And in chapter one, we were given the outline, the topographical map of the river. In Revelation 1, 19, it says, write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this. And so John was told to write about three main areas, which these three areas comprise the book of Revelation. Number one, the things that you have seen. Now John had just seen a very striking image of Christ as to his The first thing that he is told to include in the book of Revelation, which he does in chapter one. Number two, those things that are. So when John finished describing the image of Christ that he had seen, he launches into a two chapter description of the entire church age. Revelation chapters 2 and 3, which John was living in at the time. It was the present age of the church. But there were future historical periods that were included in that age, the things that are, seven in all. There were the seven letters to the churches. And they are full of parallels to seven distinct periods of church history. We have been looking at those in chapters two and three and how they parallel very distinct periods of the church ages. The last parallel in church age being the one that we currently live in. As he wrote the letter to the Church of Laodicea, we can see that, okay, this is the final period before Christ returns. Well, the church period will end. And so John was also told to write, number three, those things that are to take place, and it says, after this. So John starts chapter four with these words, after this. In other words, after what he has just described, this complete church age. So from Chapter 4 and going onward, we are told of the things after the church exists here on earth. The descriptions that we get from Chapter 4 to the end of Revelation describe the various scenes in heaven, the great tribulation, and Jesus' second coming to earth when he will rule from Jerusalem. And the last time we were together, we looked at and tried to answer the question, what happens between Revelation chapter 3, this entire church age here on earth, and the descriptions John was given about the tribulation and the second coming of Christ, which begins in chapter 4. So we looked at some of the tributaries to the big river from the prophecies in Ezekiel. We saw that before the Great Tribulation a few things must happen and they are prophesied both by Jesus in the New Testament as well as the Older Testament. So in Matthew chapter 24, last time we were together, we were looking at verses 1 through 8 and we learned that there would be birth pangs from which we could start a countdown to the end of the age. There would be a great multinational war that is gonna be distinguishable from anything that has ever been seen before, and it's gonna be paired with some more distinctive entities of famines and earthquakes, distinctive from any previously seen. World War I and World War II, which World War II was an extension of World War I, qualify as the sign, especially when we look at the worldwide famines that occurred alongside of those wars, and we did last time when we were looking at it, as well as the increase of earthquakes, which we are seeing today, there are on the increase of magnitude of 8.0 and greater. Those also, we saw an increase surrounding both of those wars, and there is an increase today of those. Another tributary feeding into the big river between chapters three and four is Ezekiel chapter 20 and Ezekiel 22. We also looked at that last time. These are just two prophecies. There are many more which speak of Israel returning to the land of Canaan. Isaiah chapter 11 speaks of it. Zechariah also speaks of it. It is clearly established that they're coming back into the land. And we were looking at it, we saw that Israel would be brought from wrathful circumstances, that they would also come back to the land unbelieving. The Jewish Holocaust during World War II was a wrathful condition, which exterminated 23 million Jews. This brought world sympathies to the Zionist movement and made it possible for all the Jews to establish statehood in their own homeland in 1948. So what we saw then, we see in fulfillment to Ezekiel chapter 22 that they are going to be brought out of a wrathful situation Passage in Ezekiel chapter 22 also made it clear that the Jews would come from all over the earth as unbelievers. From wrath and for wrath. The second wrath would bring them back to belief in God. Ezekiel chapter 22 verses 17 through 22. We focused on that last time. The next great wrath that they're gonna experience is designed by God to bring him all the way back to himself, and he will accomplish just that. Listen, the great tribulation that we read of in the book of Revelation will be a judgment over the entire earth, but its primary purpose is to bring Israel back to God. as it is prophesied all through the Older Testament. And it will. Let me show you another prophecy in Ezekiel. Turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 36, please. I'll give you a couple of seconds to get there because Ezekiel may not be where you go every day for your devotions. Give you a little bit of time to find it. Ezekiel chapter 36. Ah, yes, I see those little poofs of dust rising. Ezekiel chapter 36. And we'll begin with verse 22, verses 22 through 27. Take a look at that with me. Therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God. It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I'm about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God. when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanliness, and from all your idols, and I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart. and a new spirit. And I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules. Wow. Says he's gonna bring him back into the land. And he's going to put his spirit in them. And he's going to give them a new heart. All of this is in the context of Israel, folks. I don't know if you were here when I was presenting my doctoral dissertation before faculty members of Western Seminary and several others, and we invited Mottle Bailston to be here. And I was talking about the Holy Spirit living within a believer and leading us and guiding us and so forth. And I misquoted that verse. Model called me on it. This is really about the Jewish nation returning and coming back to the Lord. Wow. Well, that's not the end of all that Ezekiel has to say about it. He's got a lot of other things that he talks about here. It's as though God is anticipating that everyone's question would be this. How in the world is God going to give them this new heart? How is he going to change this people who have shown stubbornness to him? How's that going to happen? How's he going to bring them from unbelief to belief? They're in the land now. and they're in the state of unbelief. And we're seeing here in Ezekiel that God is gonna bring them to belief. Well, how? And so Ezekiel doesn't hesitate to give us the answer. We already know that wrath is gonna play a big part in it. We saw that in Ezekiel chapter 22, but it's not gonna happen all at once. It'll be accomplished in stages. In fact, the process will begin before the Great Tribulation through another major event that will be occurring. Ezekiel describes the other event. It hasn't happened yet. We'll see that in just a moment when we look at chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel. But before we look at that major event in those chapters, I'd like to show you how Ezekiel makes it abundantly clear that giving Israel this new heart, giving them his spirit, is going to be done in stages. Now that is the subject of Ezekiel chapter 37. You might already be familiar with Ezekiel chapter 37. It's the subject of a children's song that is so mindlessly sung and happily sung by millions The foot bone connected to the ankle bone. The ankle bone connected to the shin bone. The shin bone connected to the knee bone. Hear the word of the Lord. You heard that song. Maybe sung by somebody better than me. Truthfully, this is a happy passage. God is sovereign. And we can see him today working out his plan perfectly. Let's look at Ezekiel chapter 37. Look at verses one through six here with me. In Ezekiel 37. The hand of the Lord was upon me and he brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley. It was full of bones. And he led me around among them and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, you know. And he said to me, prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, behold, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord." Israel today is the Valley of Dry Bones. Yes, they are back in their land. Yes, they are there under a political system, but there is no spiritual life. They are there primarily as a political entity. It fits very well the description of the dry bones without the breath of life. And breath, by the way, is the same Hebrew word ruach. Don't repeat me, because you might get a little bit of spit on the back of your person's neck in front of you. is the same word for breath or spirit. Jewish people have gathered there from all over the earth. But the vast majority are agnostic or atheistic today. Yes, they have a political being. They exist as a state in the eyes of the world, but they have not been brought back to belief yet. They have not had life. breathed into them. It's going to happen in stages. Look at verses 7 through 14. So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then 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 the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army. Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are indeed cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord God when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord. Now, the rest of the chapter reveals that Israel's regathering would be as one nation, not two. When Ezekiel prophesied, the Jewish people were divided between the 10 tribes of the north, which was known as Israel, and the two tribes of the south, which was Judah. But Ezekiel reveals that when they come back into the land, they're no longer gonna be split as Israel and Judah. They will be one. And that is how they returned. Now the next thing to happen in this process of giving them a new heart and his spirit of bringing Israel from unbelief to belief is described now in chapters 38 and 39. Now the church may be raptured off the earth before what we're about to read here happens. It's not clear, may or may not be. But we do know that the major event of these two chapters hasn't happened yet. Secondly, it will happen before the Great Tribulation. And number three, just like the Great Tribulation, it is part of the process whereby God is bringing his people from unbelief to belief. Ezekiel now, chapter 38, verses one and two. The word of the Lord came to me. Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Gog. That is the title of the ruler of the land that Ezekiel knew as Magog. Gog is a title like Pharaoh, Kaiser, or Tsar over the territory of Magog. So whoever is ruling over the territory of Magog at the time of this event that we're about to read here is Ezekiel's Gog. Magog, Meshach, and Tubal were the tribal territories that covers the vast area that we know today as Russia. Ezekiel's Gog will be the ruler of Russia at the time this event takes place. Let's pick up now verse three, Ezekiel chapter 38, verses three through six. And say, thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshach and Tubal. And I will turn you about and put hooks in your jaws and I will bring you out and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. Persia, Kush, and Put are with them. All of them with shield and helmet. Gomer and all his hordes. Beth, Togarmah, with the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes. Many people are with you. Russia's not gonna be alone. But Russia is gonna be heading up A group of nations in a military attack. And before we see where they attack, let's discuss who these other nations will be. And we know this because of the land that is described and so forth. And we know this from ancient literature where we see them referred to. But Persia, you probably already recognize, that is Iran. You can read in the news today that Putin is getting pretty close to Iran. Have you seen the treaties that he's forming with them? Kush is Ethiopia. Put is the mention next and it's often translated, I've heard it mistranslated as Libya, but Libya in ancient days was known as Lub. And that's probably what Ezekiel would have referred to if he meant Libya. I don't think he's referring to Libya. Put is far more likely to be Somalia and that borders Ethiopia or Cush as Ezekiel saw it. The next is Gomer from which there is overwhelming evidence that this is a modern day Germany. Even the Jewish Midrash and the Talmud refer to Gomer as Germania. And then finally, there is Beth Togemara, which is present day Armenia. So the leader of Russia will put together a confederacy of nations, Russia, Iran, Ethiopia, Somalia, Germany, and Armenia. And this confederation is going to launch an attack. Notice please who's bringing all of this about. Who it is that is in full control? It's God. It's God that brings them down. As we continue to read, keep the sovereignty of God in your focus for this invasion. God is going to punish Russia and Germany and these other nations who we have seen to be very anti-Semitic over the years. Let's read now verses 7 and 9 of chapter 13. Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. Then verse 9, you will advance coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land. And you and all your hordes and many peoples with you. Well, the passage continues to address Russia's leader who leads this invasion. It will lead them into the mountainous regions of Israel. And guess what? That is basically much of Israel. The mountains of Israel extend the length of the center of their country. They start at the Valley of Jezreel and they go south, petering out just a little bit north of Beersheba. The region includes the cities of Dothan, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Bethel, Ai, and most importantly, Jerusalem. And that's probably the goal of the invasion. Never before now has the land of Israel fit this exact description. Being brought back from the sword since being scattered in 70 AD by the Roman General Titus. Gathered from many peoples of all nations, the four corners of the earth, as it was prophesied. And having mountains that had been a wasteland for many years and are no longer. Never in its history was this ever true about Israel until the recent years, since 1948. Now we're ready to look at why they will invade, verses 10 through 13. Thus says the Lord God, on that day, thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme and say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls and having no bars or gates to see spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited. and the people who were gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods who dwell at the center of the earth. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all her leaders, all its leaders, will say to you, have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your host to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods to seize great spoil? Cattle and goods, silver and gold are general Old Testament references to the spoils of war. They're after plunder. They'll come to take what they can get. Exactly what Russia and the others want is not clearly spelled out. We can only say for sure that Israel will have something that they want and they're gonna come to take it. Many have speculated. They'll come because of oil deposits under the Dead Sea, maybe. Perhaps 45 billion tons of sodium, chlorine, sulfur, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and bromide. There's all kinds of natural resources there. Don't know. Whatever it is, it will be for Russia's self-interest. Now, very interesting, verse 13 says that there's gonna be some nations that are going to protest. Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish, and all of its leaders. Sheba and Dedan are the countries in Northern Arabia. Probably some of the Arab nations will not like Russia's presence in the Middle East. Tarshish is Spain. But the phrase that follows that and all its leaders is a very unfortunate translation. I was reading from the ESV and that's very unfortunate that they translated it that way. I can understand why they did because they saw that phrase and they said, well, to the English reader, let's smooth it out here. It's all of its leaders. I wish they would have left it the same because it's a Hebrew idiom. The Hebrew idiom means, any nation that comes out from her. Now, see if this is Spain. How many nations have come out from her? All of South America except Brazil. So they're gonna be the West that's going to put, and you could build a case that maybe the United States is included in that, because Spain came around the coast, didn't they? On our eastern coast before the English came, and of course the western they came and settled, so maybe the United States is included in that, but the West is going to put up a protest here. Point is this, it's gonna be some form of mild protest, but no action taken. Wow, doesn't that describe what we could expect from today's world? Russia will invade and the rest of the world will do nothing but issue a mild protest. So we know why Russia will come, we see their motive. Next, let's look at why God brings them. Verses 14 through 16. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to God, thus says the Lord God on that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In the later days, I will bring you against my land that the nations may know me. When through you, O God, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. God is revealing his glory to the entire earth. He will reveal it by the action that he is about to take that is undeniable. This is God acting. And we see that action in the next verses. Verse 17 through 23. Thus says the Lord God, are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath, I declare on that day, there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the fields and all the creeping things that creep on the ground and all the people who are on the face of the earth shall quake at my presence. and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog, on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed, I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes, and the many peoples who are with him, torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Israel receives no help from the rest of the world, but God responds. God defends helpless Israel through number one, an earthquake, massive earthquake, Verses 19 and 20. Number two, causing the soldiers to turn on themselves in a civil war. Verse 21. And number three, through pestilence, blood, flood, hailstone, fire, and brimstone. Lot of natural disaster. What people today call acts of God. Truly, it will be. Verse 22. Now, Chapter 39, verses one through six. And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, thus says the Lord God. Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshach and Tubal. And I will turn you about and drive you forward and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north and lead you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and I will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel. You and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you, I will give you to birds of prey, every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall in the open field for I have spoken declares the Lord God. I will send fire on May God and to those who dwell securely in the coast lands and they shall know that I am the Lord. Please notice what is said in the next verse. Verse seven. In my holy name, I will make known in the midst of my people Israel and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it's coming, and it'll be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day of which I have spoken. Verse seven, a revival occurs in Israel. This begins the process. of God bringing his people back to himself from unbelief to belief. Revival also breaks out in the world but we see that God is in the process now of bringing national repentance to Israel, his people. He's still going to bring the great tribulation to bring it about in its completeness. The next two verses give us a strong clue as to when this is going to happen. You see, none of this can happen before the Tribulation because when Christ comes after the Tribulation, it's going to be a peaceful reign with Christ. It's not going to happen after the Tribulation. That's when Christ's peaceful reign will be. All of this is completely inconsistent to that reign of Christ and peace on earth. And the invasion hasn't happened yet. It won't happen after the Tribulation. And what we're about to find out, it cannot happen during the Tribulation either. because of verses nine and 10 here. They say this. Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs and spears, and they will make fires of them for seven years. so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God. Well, during the period of the tribulation, we're gonna see when we return to the big river, Revelation's prophecy. that during the last three and a half years of the tribulation, Israel's gonna be put to flight. They're gonna be scattering. They're gonna be running. They will not be burying the dead. They're not gonna be collecting fuel for their fires during that three and a half years. So we were just told for seven years they're gonna be doing this. So it can't happen during the tribulations. It's gotta happen sometime before the tribulation. at least three and a half years before. They'll have to start doing it at least three and a half years before the Great Tribulation. Now, remember, the church on earth can be raptured at any moment. Any moment. Before I finish this message. We can go at any time. then perhaps the invasion of Israel will occur. If so many Westerners are gone, maybe that'll give boldness to Russia to invade. This is part of God's process of turning the hearts of Israel back to himself. It's gonna result in significant revival, but more is gonna be needed. So three and a half years later, when the great tribulation begins, the process of giving them a new heart continues, bringing about complete national salvation of the Jews. Folks, sovereign God is at work. We can see it today. We can already see this plan in motion. And let me say plainly, This same sovereign God is bigger than any problem you currently face in your life right now. I've been talking about prophecy as though it's a river. So let me ask, have you put yourself into the river of God's will? into the flow of what he is doing and will continue to do as it moves rapidly now toward its final destination. May I encourage you to place your problems, your entire life into this flow. Ask God to use your circumstances to bring honor and glory to his name in light of the flow of his sovereign will. To even use those challenges that you are facing right now in light of this great plan that he has. Say, God, Would you answer my prayer in accordance to your perfect will, in accordance to what it is you're doing, in all of your sovereignty? Would you use these circumstances of my life to increase your fame? You see, we've read it's all about him making himself known. God even used my difficulty to make yourself known. I know that in the end, God, it's a good story. Amen? Let's pray.