Restored Israel

admin May 3rd, 2011

There is a battle coming… the epic battle of Gog and Magog. But it will not occur like most people think. It will not begin or end with the evangelical “rapture” or the “second coming” as most people imagine it. In fact as the events unfold exactly as Ezekiel foretold, and instead of Christ’s coming or a rapture, Israel is conquered by neighboring Arab nations, many will loose faith. The following article will detail the prophesies of the Old Testament concerning the prophesied battle of Gog and Magog, and walk through the detailed additional information given in modern revelation The Book of Ben Kathryn (link to background info).

In summary, the coming battle will involve a preemptive attack by Israel on Syria(?) ["Assyria" could be Iran?] which will set in motion a war which involves the entire Middle East, Russia and the United States. If this interpretation is correct, essentially Israel will attack Syria who will have a secret alliance with at least Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and likely also Russia

Many have speculated about the identity of Gog and Magog. With the revelation of the Book of Ben Kathryn, the true identity and modern significance of these places has become a bit more clear. A thorough reading of the scriptures as well as allusions in the the Book of Ben Kathryn make it clear that many of the common beliefs concerning battles of Armageddon/Megiddo and Gog and Magog are complete misinterpretations.

Gog and Magog are mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. Eight times in Ezekiel 38-39 and once in Revelation 20:18. It is also alluded to in the Doctrine and Covenants and is referenced twice in the Book of Ben Kathryn. Lets walk through these references to see what they teach.

The Bible Dictionary says of Magog,

“In the Bible, a land and people near the Black Sea. Their king, Gog, shall lead the armies of Magog in a last great battle before the second coming of Christ (Ezek. 38:2; 39:6). The scriptures speak of another great battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium between the forces of God and the forces of evil (Rev. 20:7–9; D&C 88:111–116).”

The duality of these prophesies is evident. The reference in Rev 20:7–9 clearly states that this battle will occur “when the thousand years are expired” and “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison”. Rev 20:5–6 further proves that this battle is after the first resurrection and thousand year millennium. D&C 88:110–115 reiterates this point saying that “after the space of a thousand years” Satan shall be loosed for a little season and shall “gather up his armies” for the “final battle of the great God”. This event however, would appear to be a completely separate event from that spoken of in Ezekiel.

The references in Ezekiel 38 & 39 come directly after Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones symbolizing the resurrection of the nation of Judah and restored Israel with the reunification of the sticks of Judah and Joseph. To really understand what all the hype about Gog and Magog is all about, you really must read these chapters in the New International Version of the Bible. Once you have read these chapters carefully, we can use the Book of Ben kathryn to dispel most of the myths concerning these events.

First off, the battle spoken of here, is most definately an event still in the future. Starting in Ezekiel 38 the Lord says,

“2 …Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
3 Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord…
8 … A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel.
9 You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud…

The reason why this is such an important event is not because it will involve all the nations of the world or become some type of endtime battle of Armageddon, but instead it is because this is the sign the the Lord has given as a global signal for the end of the
Times of the Gentiles and the final restoration of Israel. As he says in Ezek 38:18–23,

“18 …When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over!
19 In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day.
20 All living things—the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth.
21 I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other.
22 I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur!
23 In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The book Micah and Ben Kathryn further illucidate this fact. In BOBK chapter 22, directly after speaking of the 70th week of the gentiles and the withdrawl of God’s spirit from them, we are given these verses (with allusions to Micah 5 we will discuss in a minute) where we are told that Israel is to be returned to 70 last years of captivity and wilst the land “trembleth even by reason of [military] boots” the “congragations of the nations [gentiles] shall be broken by the staff of Jacob.” Read carefully,

IN that day I shall set to me eight princes of my people. And upon them and my prophets shall my spirit come, to direct the ways again, and for a sign and a pillar unto Israel. They shall raise up my standard as aforetime, and my people shall look up and be healed.
2 Fear not, thou trembling land; for a great thing have I done in all the land. For, lo, I am returning this second time the captivity of my people Israel. Whilst the land trembleth, even by reason of boots, do I swell your borders and enlarge your house. My laws do go forth, amidst the up-cry they are heard in Judah and Jerusalem. Laud ye the LORD in his land! And tell ye the nations to repent at his doings.
3 And it shall be a hissing to the nations in that day, a source of offense, and as a shout of rejoicing is to him that seeketh solace. I shall gather the congregations against the house of Israel as one that gathereth an army to battle, and as one pulleth the bit in the foamy mouth. But I shall be jealous again for my people, Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day that the congregations of the nations shall be broken by the staff of Jacob. I have made it a double staff and a quartershaft, and Jacob shall vanquish his enemies; on the right and on the left shall the staff strike as unto the sting of behemoth’s tail; and in that day Israel shall know that it is I, the LORD, who is their righteousness, and that I have not changed from my purpose, for my purpose is spoken before the world was, and it shall be lauded after the world passeth away.

Do you see all the allusions? The nations will be gathered to battle “as one pulleth the bit in the foamy mouth” exactly as Ezekiel said, he “will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army” (Ezek 38:4). Notice also the references to Micah 5.

“5 When the Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses,
we will appoint seven [shepherds] to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.
6 They will rule Assyria with drawn swords and enter the gates of the land of Nimrod.
He will rescue us from the Assyrians when they pour over the borders to invade our land.” (NLT Translation: King James translation is very poor here)

We already read of these “eight principle men” (Micah) or “princes” as they are called in Ben Kathryn. The shepherds are mentioned by Ben Kathryn three chapters earlier in 19:6 (in a minute we’ll get to how these seven prophets come to rule Assyria and the gentiles with the sword of the Word of the Lord). Notice they are called on the scene at the time when the Assyrian shall be led as an animal with the armies of the gentiles to attack Israel. The Lord through Ben Kathryn further links this Assyrian attack with Gog as he further explains the returned “captivity of my people” spoken of in the afore mentioned verses. He speaks to Israel in chapter 66,

” 2 Ye turn aside your faces from the merchandise of Gog, and the affliction of the maidens of Magog, in that they are caused to be made harlots. Therefore I have turned my face away from thine indenturing to America, and thou shalt be indentured for a season as the harlots of Magog, the merchandise of Gog and Damascus. But thy bed shall not cause thee to earn thy redemption. I, the LORD, shall redeem thee. I shall redeem thee from the indenture wherewith the maidens of Magog have been indentured, for thou lovest thy whoredoms and seekest not to be free of them. I shall smite Damascus in battle, for it is the head of a serpent that doth coil through Tyre and Zidon, Berytus, and unto Aleppo. Its tongue dangleth out, and the venom on its tip is Amman.”

So modern Israel is told that in the same way that they are currently “merchandise” or puppets to the United States government, after the coming war they will be indentured or captive to some extent to “Gog and Damascus”. The “serpent” mentioned here is spoken of often in Ben Kathryn and is a conspiring group of Arab nations headed by Syria and including at least Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Ezekiel 38:2 seems to suggest that Gog is the leader of Magog which is a land encompassing the nations of Meshech and Tubal who are in turn trading partners with Tyre (Ezek 27:13). The land of Magog is thought by many to refer to modern Russia, which seems quite probable given Ben Kathryn’s allusion to the forced “harlots of Magog”. Indeed since at least the 1990′s, Russians have dominated the human trafficking (forced prostitution) industry in Israel and much of the middle east (ref). Given that many sources put Magog in several regions of the ancient Assyrian Empire such as Turkey or Iran, it is possible that Magog refers to those modern regions. But given all the evidence it seems likely that all these prophesies are suggesting that Gog, the leader of Russia is going to be caused by God (per Ezek 38:2–8) to send its army along with an alliance of Arab nations (Syria at the fore) to attack Israel. The effects of which WILL NOT bring about the second coming of Christ (as so many Millennialists suppose), but will instead indirectly lead to the gradual fall of the Wests global hegemony and the advent of restored Israel as described by the Bible and book of Ben Kathryn in my article “Prophesy in the book of Ben Kathryn”

The seven shepherds and eight principle men we talked about are discussed further in the book of Ben Kathryn chapter 19. Here the Lord compares his people to sheep whom he led to seasonal pastures (the Gentile Nations), and how the Lord will fire his hired seasonal shepherds (Islam & Gentile Christianity) and raise up new prophets/shepherds (restorationalists) to lead them back to thier original pastures (nation of Israel) and how he will patch up thier sheepcotes…

5 …Doth not a shepherd take his sheep to seasonal grass, and when the season turneth yet again doth he not take them to the old pastures and the old cotes to graze? Behold as the sheep graze he mendeth the cotes and then leadeth them into safety. Or seeing a fire come to the seasonal grass, will he not hasten, especially when seeing that the old grass groweth ready?
6 Therefore thus prophecy thou unto thy brethren, the children of Israel, So am I a shepherd unto Israel, saith the LORD, and so shall I do. Follow my paths and come to my sheepcote, for my shepherds have gathered speckled sheep. But I will not mix ye, saith the LORD. I shall sack my shepherds and scatter their speckled beasts. And from my pure sheep I shall raise me up seven shepherds. For from sheep born of another pasture, of the seasonal grounds, shall I speak unto this people and lead my people back, counsel them, govern them, and restore them to the old cotes.

After this battle of Gog and Magog and the captivity and restoration of the nation of Israel, the world will know that the biblical prophesies of the final battles are fulfilled. As Ezekiel says in Ezek 38:17, the world will be askiing when this attack takes place “Are you the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through Israel’s prophets that in the future I would bring you against my people?” And when Israel is not rescued by the second coming as so many gentile christians beleive, they will realize that they “prophesied amiss”. Instead the modern nation of Israel will be miraculously saved from total destruction only to be absorbed into a new empire for “70 years more captivity” (BOBK 63:5). But after this captivity, the nation will be restored, the temple will be rebuilt and the people of Israel will take the place of Rome and the catholic church as the social and religious center of the western world. At that point the world will realize that the battle of Armageddon or Migiddo was fulfilled long ago (see Ben Kathryn 20:15, as well as this article), and that the battle of “Gog and Magog” was indeed the turning point in Israeli history and that Christ did indeed save his people to begin the last dispensation.

“THUS saith the LORD God; And it shall come to pass in the days after the fullness of the nations hath come in, that they will no more say: “Last days;” and no more shall it be heard. But they who walk in my paths shall be gird with a pap of iron, and my words shall be written thereon. Upon my word shall they engrave “sandal,” and they shall say of my name: “Mine identify and mine honour.”

There are literally thousands of references in the Old Testament referring to the events described here and sensationalized by dispensationalists as the “final battle”. Zechariah speaks of it when saying,

“2 I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.
3 In that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves…
6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot [cauldron] in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.”

compare this to the verse in ben kathryn,

“6 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold now in the dusk vision, a great caldron set upon broken desert ground. What doeth it? And I said, “It pitcheth round, as on a whirligig, and doth not steady, but the water slosheth at every point of the brim.”
7 So bring I upon the Earth at every quarter, convulsion and upheaval, dismay, a setting on edge, fumes and smoke and a steamy vapour. As the water feedeth the desert from tumult, so shall old seed sprout from upheaval. Publish it abroad. Fear not, for I shall put the fear of thee on mine enemies, and at the time appointed I shall give thee the heart not of a rabbit but of a lion. At my word they shall have confusion of face, for lo, I have not aspoken by prophet since days of old.” (BOBK 1:6-7, compare Jer 1:13)

“8 And the LORD instructed me, Go place a caldron at Damascus Gate, for out of the north I will bring tumult on this land and on this city Jerusalem. It shall be a river. The American shall pass through this gate to Joppa way, as a river also, and he shall no more return. For I make Jerusalem a caldron and the Syrian as the boiling water seeking its stony hearth.
9 For they have provoked me in all that they have provoked, saying, The American will deliver us. I am angry with Jerusalem and discontent with Tel Aviv. I shall make Jerusalem as the handle of the caldron, and Tel Aviv a morsel in the seething therein. I moreover shall make your walls as the potsherd and Tel Aviv as the shards of its residue.” (BOBK 44:8)

Also perhaps explore the similarities of Zechariah 12-14 with BOBK chapter 45.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as that plague. (Zech 14:12–14)

12 Flee unto the multitude of cities, but a flood shall overtake you all. Flee unto the sea, but upheavals shall upset you. Flee not and stand haughtily in your place, but the green fire of heaven shall descend upon you, and ye shall lose your hard eyes. Thus saith the LORD, seethe your meat in the caldron, and draw the flesh upon a seething fork, that ye may know the LORD’s intention upon you in that day. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, I shall cause great fear to come upon all the northlands ; and bodies shall make their homes their tomb. The American shall walk on foot. I shall bring up they from the south for fear of what shall befall. The seething shall take them; it shall consume their tongues first; their eyes shall be consumed, beast and man, great and small. Yet for all this I shall not speak peace upon the earth, nor stay mine hand until I make an utter end from the Old Gate westward, and a wind to cleanse upon the East Gate to the islands afar off, until the houses of their god’s are bare and their gold an abomination.
13 …See your stars crash down, they which ye have placed in orbit. Who can turn the moon, and who is he that bringeth the heavens upon us? Who can change man’s speech by waves ye know nought of? It is I, the LORD. Glory is my going forth. Justice is my burning fire about me. (BOBK 45:12-13)

This seems pretty similiar to the Ezekial verses we already quoted about the invasion of Gog and Magog. Read again, and wonder will this geologic/cosmic destruction occur at the same time as the invasion?

“18 …When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over!
19 In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day.
20 All living things—the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth.
21 I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other.
22 I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur!
23 In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Note that the above Zechariah verses are directly after the well known verses of the second coming,

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel…
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light; the bright ones shall withdraw themselves:
7 but it shall be one day which is known unto Jehovah; not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light.
8 And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

However, the book of Ben Kathryn seems to suggest pretty clearly that Christ will not come personally before this final coming dispensatoin (the dispensation of restored Israel). So are all these the same event? Is the attack by syria the same as Gog/Magog as well as this coming solar flare? Will it be this solar flare that destroys the army going after Israel? Will it bring the plague mentioned in the D&C? Is the D&C plague the same as the “bug” mentioned in BOBK. These are some thoughts to ponder.

lots of great o.t. refs to final battle.

http://ldolphin.org/kingdom/ch13.html

add notes about these sites..

http://www.answering-christianity.com/gog_magog_bible_quran.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking#Russia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Russia

http://nlt.scripturetext.com/ezekiel/27.htm

Tags: ben kathryn, israel, prophesy

• Insights & Ramblings , prophesy , works in progress
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