(Joel 3:1-3) “For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land. “They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.”
(Zechariah 14: 1-2) “Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.”
(Ezekiel 38:1-6) “And the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.”
It was reported that Turkey and Russia have deployed more troops on the ground at the Lebanese border between Israel and Lebanon. According to the latest online report Turkey has now sent six warships to Israel in a daring and unexpected action, extending its assistance to Gaza against the backdrop of growing Middle Eastern tensions. This extraordinary event has provoked heated arguments, geopolitical discussions, and questions about Turkey’s objectives for deploying its naval forces. Erdogan has publicly stated his support for the so called ‘Palestinian cause’ and Hamas.
Putin, while it would seem does not openly endorse Hamas, has never the less showed by his deployment of Russian troops at the Lebanese border that his administration does not favour Israel either. The nation of Israel is currently facing the growing hostility of Hezbollah from Lebanon in the north as they are perpetually engaged in fighting the IDF at the Lebanese border. Added to this, you have the hostility of the Syrian regime backed by Iran, both nations with militant intent towards Israel. America is increasingly engaged in a conflict with the Houthis in Yemen sending armed drones against shipping in the Red Sea.
Also in Iraq American forces are fighting against Islamic terrorist groups that have been attacking American bases in the region. Of course behind these terrorist groups is Iran fighting its proxy war with Israel and the United States designated by the Ayatollah’s of Iran as “Satan “ and “the Great Satan.” Some time ago a video appeared on the internet showing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inciting a large crowd of young Islamic men in a large auditorium who were shouting; “death to Israel!” “death to America!”
The irony of this whole situation in the Middle-East is that neither the UN or the EU or America or Great Britain has made any moves to deal decisively and directly with Iran, “the head of the snake.” Only Israel seems to be preparing itself to deal with Iran. In Daniel Chapter 10 we are told that in the last days there will be a confrontation between Israel with Iran (Daniel 10:13-14, 20). Clearly the nations that are not dealing with Iran’s militancy are not supportive of Israel. Any attempt by the international community to broker a further cease-fire or some other so called ‘peace’ alternate peace initiative related to the war in Gaza will not be in the best interests of Israel’s security.
According to the prophets Joel, Zechariah and Ezekiel, God is drawing these nations they mention to ultimately attack Jerusalem. It will take the coming of the Islamic Antichrist to fuse together these gathering armed forces of the nations to attack Israel. What these nations do not realise is that God is even now putting His hooks into their jaws to bring then down into the valley of His judgement and into the winepress of His wrath because of the way they have been treating Israel (Isaiah 34:5-10).
How far down the track the invasion of Israel by the Antichrist and his armed forces is remains to be seen, however, with the deployment of Turkish and Russian troops increasing on the Lebanese border and Turkish warships in the region “the storm” against Israel is well and truly brewing. Already these “storm clouds” are on the horizon. What will God do with these armies that attack Israel? The prophets Joel, Zechariah and Ezekiel tell us what He will do!
The prophet Joel says that because God is jealous for His Land He will drive this northern army far from Israel into a parched and barren land and ending up in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and that its stench will go up; its smell will rise. Joel also tells us that this army will go into the winepress of the wrath of God (Joel 2:18-20; 3:12-13). See also (Isaiah 63:2-3) (Revelation 14:19; 19:13-15).
The prophet Zechariah tells us that God will go out to fight those nations as He fights on the day of battle and that the feet of the Messiah His Son will stand on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14: 1-5). The Messiah will then take the fight to these Islamic armies of the Antichrist and we are told that His garments will be splattered with the blood of His enemies (Isaiah 63:1-3) (Revelation 19:13). Zechariah also tells us that the fire out of heaven that will consume these enemy forces will be akin to a nuclear detonation where the flesh will melt from their bones while they are still standing and that their eyes in their sockets will melt with the fervent heat and their tongues will rot in their mouths and that those remaining will attack each other (Zechariah 14:12-13). Judah will also be in this fight at Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:14). The future destruction of these armies that Zechariah describes is seen in what happened when the allies dropped their nuclear payload on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII.
The prophet Ezekiel tells us the same story that the prophets Joel and Zechariah tell that upon these Islamic armies God will rain down plague and bloodshed, torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulphur upon them. Fire from heaven will descend even on those nations not actively engaged in the attack on Israel but have not supported Israel (Ezekiel 38:22; 39:4-6). All of these prophecies are referring to the one and the same event which will occur at the Second Coming of the Messiah when He is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7b).
The apostle John tells us that the blood of these armies will flow outside of Jerusalem for about a 180 miles as high as the horses bridle in the winepress of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:19-20). It is as if the prophets Joel, Zechariah, Ezekiel and the apostle John all had individual cameras focused on the one and the same event and filming it from different angles. Ezekiel also tells us the armies of these nations that attack Israel and go down into the pit of Hades in wholesale lots are specifically named and are all Islamic nations today (Ezekiel 32:17-31).
Yes it would seem the nations are gathering and that the war between Israel with Hamas will expand and see the northern conflict escalate as Hezbollah ups the ante on their attacks on Israel from over the Lebanese border. The day is coming when Israel will stand alone and be almost overwhelmed by the Islamic Antichrist leading the hordes of Islam and other nations also having joined them, which will cover the whole land of Israel like a carpet of locusts as Joel prophesies.
However, when it looks like Israel will be destroyed the LORD God will go to Israel’s defence because He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps but will go to the aid of His wife Israel and her spiritual offspring the faithful Body and bride of the Messiah. The Messiah will come and the rescue will occur! As the prophet Joel writes; “The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel! “(Joel 3:16).
