Ezekiel 38:2 Gog, the Land of Magog 9/25/2005 ßà

The Last Battle (Ezek 38:1-9, 39:17-20, Rev 19:17-18, 2Pet 3:10)

#1. Gog and Magog and Israel (Ezek 38:2-4, Rev 20:7-10, Matt 2:14-15, Hos 11:1, Num 24:17, Isa 49:3,6)

Like a Cloud Out of the North (Ezek 38:9,16, Rev 9:1-2, 20:7, 9:3,16)

#2. The Land of Unwalled Villages (Ezek 38:11, Heb 13:5-6, Zech 2:4-5, Gal 4:25-26, 3:29, Rom 4:16-17, 5:1)

All of Them Riding Upon Horses (Ezek 38:10-16, Rev 9:15-16)

#3. And All Shall Shake at My Presence (Ezek 38:17-23, Rev 20:9)

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel (Ezek 39:6-8, 1Thes 1:8, John 17:3, Isa 26:20-21, 43:2)

Please open your Bibles to the prophecy of Ezekiel, Ezek 38:1 (2X). The purpose of God in this prophecy of Ezekiel is to show us the transition from the OT temple in Jerusalem, to the NT temple of God in the souls of the NT believers, and then after this earth has been destroyed to the new creation, which will be God’s final dwelling place. In this prophecy God tells us at length that the OT temple was destroyed for the wickedness of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. But Judah and Jerusalem were not the only wicked people on this earth, and that is why this prophecy also addresses many nations. Satan is ruling in the hearts of the people in those nations. Therefore God has a special message to the king of Tyre and to the king of Egypt, which are actually messages to Satan that he will be judged. Beginning in chapter 34 are messages to the NT church. Then in chapters 38-39 we read about:

The Last Battle (Ezek 38:1-9, 39:17-20, Rev 19:17-18, 2Pet 3:10)

And in chapters 40-48 we read about the New Jerusalem in the NH&NE. Here is the Last Battle:

Eze 38:1 ¶ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 38:2-3 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

Eze 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

Eze 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

Eze 38:6-7 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

Eze 38:8-9 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

In verse 2 God speaks to Gog. The KJV shows exactly what the Hebrew text reads. Gog is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; Gog is identified with the land of Magog. These names Magog, and Meshech, and Tubal, and Gomer are given in Gen 10 as the sons of Japheth, the son of Noah. And Togarmah is identified as the son of Gomer. And thus these names refer to the Gentile nations West and North of the nation of Israel. These nations have allied themselves with the nations East and South of the nation of Israel, for we read that also Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them. It looks like all the Gentile nations are waging war against the nation of Israel. Why do I call this the Last Battle? Please drop down to Ezek 39:17 (2X), and there we read about the end of that great army:

Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.

Eze 39:18-19 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

Eze 39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

We know that these words refer to the Last Day of this earth, when Satan and all his demons and all people who are with him will be cast into Hell. God told us that in Rev 19:17-18. Please put a sticker in Ezek 38, and also a sticker in Rev 19, for we will be going back and forth between Rev and Ezekiel. In the Rev of Jesus Christ Ch. 19 we read about the Last Battle that will be fought on this earth, Satan and all the nations of the world against the Lord Jesus Christ and His army. This will not be a physical battle; this will be a spiritual battle, for the battle between Christ and Satan is always a spiritual battle. But spiritual battles are outside our range of understanding, and thus God conveys it in earthly terms.

Re 19:17-18 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

And thus we must read the prophecy in Ezek 38 -39 as a prophecy concerning the Last Battle on this earth. Please turn again to Ezek 38:2 (2X). There are not two last battles; there is only one Last Battle. It is the battle that will be fought during the FTP. I touched on the nature of the FTP last week. The FTP will be characterized by an outward peace and safety in this world. For example, we read in 2Pet 3:10, that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night”. Almost no one will be expecting Christ to return at that time, because spiritual battles are not visible to the world of the unsaved.

#1. Gog and Magog and Israel (Ezek 38:2-4, Rev 20:7-10, Matt 2:14-15, Hos 11:1, Num 24:17, Isa 49:3,6) Who is Gog, or who does Gog represent? And who does Magog represent? We read in:

I dare to say that Gog represents Satan. We come to this conclusion when we compare Ezek 38 with the Last Battle written in Rev 20. Please turn to Rev 20:7 (2X). In Rev 20 God summarizes this earth’s history from the cross to the end of time. God speaks about this symbolically as 1000 years.

Re 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Re 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Re 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Re 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

In this passage Gog and Magog are lumped together. By himself Satan is a spirit. In order to bring all this evil in the world Satan must indwell human beings. That is where Magog comes in. The name Magog means “Land of Gog”. And what is the land where Satan dwells? Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He and his fallen angels are ruling over all unsaved of mankind, over this entire world. That is why Gog and Magog encompass “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”. These are all the nations of the earth, because there are only four quarters. Who are they fighting? They “compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city”. They are fighting the remaining servants of Christ, who are citizens of the Heavenly Jerusalem. But in Ezek 38:8 they are doing battle against “Israel”. Is it possible that “the saints” are identified as “Israel”? And that is indeed true, for one of the meanings of Israel is Christ. Please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel according to Matthew, Matt 2:14 (2X). There in Matt 2 Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus fled into Egypt to hide from the wrath of king Herod. And after the death of Herod they returned to the land of the Jews. But there in Matt 2 we also find the clue that God is calling Jesus “Israel”. We read in Matt 2:14,

Mt 2:14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

Mt 2:15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

Where in the OT do we find this saying? Clearly these words direct us to the prophecy of Hosea.

Ho 11:1 ¶ When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Clearly the baby Jesus is called here “Israel”. Once we open our minds to the fact that Christ is also called Israel we find a great deal more in the OT to support this. For example, God put His words in the mouth of the false prophet Balaam when he spoke of the coming of Christ to judge all the unsaved.

Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

Please turn to the prophecy of Isaiah, Isa 49:3 (2X). You find Isaiah in the middle of your Bibles,

after Psalms, Prov, Eccl and Song of Solomon. Here in Isa 49 God clearly identifies the Lord Jesus Christ as Israel. Christ says in verse 1, “from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of My Name”. There are not many who were named before they were born, but the Lord Jesus is one of them. He was named Jesus at His conception in the womb of Mary. And then He continues in verse 3,

Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Here He is called “Israel”. Is this speaking of Jacob, or is this speaking of Christ? Drop down to V 6,

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

This can only refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, for He alone can be salvation unto the end of the earth. If Christ is called Israel then those who are the Bride of Christ are also called Israel. Therefore in Rev 20:9 “the camp of the saints” is the same group of people who are in Ezek 38:8 called “Israel”. These are not all of Jewish descent, but they are spiritual Jews in the eyes of God as defined in Rom 2:28-29. Please turn again to Ezek 38:8 (2X). But could “the camp of the saints” and “Israel” not refer to the physical Jews who are evangelizing for Christ in the 1000 year reign of Christ on this earth? That is not possible, for “the camp of the saints” is also identified as “the beloved city”, and that cannot refer to the city of Jerusalem there East of the Mediterranean. When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. God indicated thereby that the Holy of Holies was no longer the place where God dwells. It means that the temple was no longer the temple of God, and the city of Jerusalem was no longer the beloved city of God. After the cross there is only one beloved city, not two. God does not have two different plans of salvation, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. There is only one plan of salvation for all. Let us now look at Ezek 38:9 (2X).

Like a Cloud Out of the North (Ezek 38:9,16, Rev 9:1-2, 20:7, 9:3,16)

Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

It is significant that God mentioned a cloud, not only here but also in verse 16. Look at verse 16,

Eze 38:16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Satan and all his bands shall cover the land in such great multitudes that they resemble a cloud. When we read this we are reminded of that end time battle where Satan and his angels are released from the Bottomless Pit. Please turn in your Bibles to Rev 9:1 (2X). In Rev 9 we see two end time battles. They are not two but one. There is only one end time battle which is described in more than ten different ways in the Bible, because the real spiritual battle cannot be seen with human eyes, and thus God describes it for us in earthly terms. God’s purpose is not to scare us, but to warn us for the nature

of the spiritual battle in the FTP, so that we will not be snared in the lies of Satan. God says in Rev 9:1,

Re 9:1 ¶ And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was

given the key of the bottomless pit.

Re 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

When the time of the end is near, Christ opens the Bottomless Pit to release Satan and all his fallen angels. Remember, this was promised in Rev 20:7. The multitude of the army of Satan is so great that it appears as a cloud which darkens even the sun. In Rev 9:3 this cloud descends on the earth as an army of locusts, and in Rev 9:16 this cloud descends on the earth as an army of 200 million horsemen. Who is causing this catastrophe on the earth? Christ does it, for He opens the Bottomless Pit releasing Satan and his angels. And Christ brings this army of demons on the earth to afflict those who have not the seal of God in their foreheads, to hasten the time when the cup of His indignation will be full. And thus we see in Rev 9 two other descriptions of the same spiritual battle that will be waged in the FTP. Please turn again to Ezek 38:11 (2X). Here we see that Satan and his demons are waging war against

#2. The Land of Unwalled Villages (Ezek 38:11, Heb 13:5-6, Zech 2:4-5, Gal 4:25-26, 3:29, Rom 4:16-17, 5:1)

Eze 38:11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages<06519>; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

What is this land? Verse 8 says that it is the land of Israel, “which has been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them”. The land of Israel symbolizes the visible part of the Kingdom of God, which always has been a wasteland in the OT time, but which now in the NT time is brought forth out of the remnant of the Gentile nations. What is the big deal about these unwalled villages? Verse 11 says, these are people “that are at rest, that dwell safely”, and verse 8 says, “and they shall dwell safely all of them”. Please turn to the prophecy of Zechariah, Zech 2:4 (2X). You find the prophecy of Zechariah near the end of the OT. Do we presently dwell safely? And why can we feel as if we dwell safely? It is because Christ protects us and Christ fights for us. We are safe and secure in His hands. The Lord Jesus said in Heb 13:5-6, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me”. We are His property, and He will draw a hedge around us so that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. In Zech 2 God hastens to tell us of this our safety. We read in Zech 2:4-5,

Zec 2:4-5 And (the angel) said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls <06519> for the multitude of men and cattle therein: For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

God speaks here about Jerusalem in the NT era, and God does not speak about Jerusalem there East of the Mediterranean, for that ancient city of Jerusalem is no longer the city of God. We must always remember that the NT is the latest revelation that carries the greater weight. Please turn to the Epistle to the Galatians, Gal 5:25 (2X). What does God say about the city of Jerusalem, the city of bricks and mortar? In Gal 4 God reveals something very striking about the present day Jews and the present day Jerusalem. God tells us that the story of Abraham and Hagar and Sarah was designed as an historical allegory. It was historically true, but Hagar and Sarah were pictures of two covenants, one that gendereth to bondage, and one covenant of grace that makes men free. To our surprise God says

Gal 4:25-26 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

This message must be printed in our memory: “Jerusalem which now is, is in bondage with her children”. The present day city of bricks and mortar there East of the Mediterranean is represented by Hagar, and is in bondage with her children, which means that the present day unconverted Jews are still in bondage to sin and Satan, just like they were when they were born into this world. They think that they are children of Sarah, but God says that they are children of Hagar. The Bible says that all mankind comes into this world in bondage to sin and Satan. Only those who have been saved by grace, through the cross of Christ, have been delivered from this bondage. But those who are still in bondage are on a slippery slide into Hell, because they cannot free themselves from this bondage. When after the cross God glowingly speaks about the “beloved city”, or the “holy city”, God is not speaking about the earthly city of Jerusalem, but about the “Heavenly Jerusalem”, for the earthly city has come under the curse of being in bondage to sin and Satan. Gal 4:25-26 makes this point perfectly clear. But Sarah represents the Heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of “us all”. These words “us all” do not refer to every human being in the world, for a part of the human race belong to Hagar. Sarah is the mother of “us all” who are children of Abraham. And who are the children of Abraham? They are all those who have received the grace of salvation through the blood of Christ, and who have received the faith of Abraham as evidence that they have been “Born Again”. Please turn one page to Gal 3:29,

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

All those who have become saved are children of Abraham and Sarah, and are heirs according to the promise, like Isaac and like Jacob became heirs to the promise of eternal life in Christ. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 4:16 (2X). God confirmed this promise with an oath, and God confirmed this in our hearts by giving us faith. What faith did He give us? No, He did not give us the faith of Christ, but He gave us the faith of Abraham. The faith of Christ was the faith that His Father would not leave His soul in Hell, but that He would see His Father again after the agony of suffering the equivalent of an eternity in Hell for the sins of all those whom He came to save. And because Christ did have that faith, He willingly endured what He had to endure, and that is why we are saved through the faith of Christ. But when He saved us He gave us the faith of Abraham. Abraham had a great faith. The Bible says, “Abraham believed God”, not Abraham believed in God, which means that Abraham believed what God has said. When God saves us He gives us the faith to believe what God has said, and then we believe the Bible from cover to cover, for we read in Rom 4:16-17,

Ro 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Ro 4:17 ¶ (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

And because God has given us this faith of Abraham, we are totally at peace and we fear no evil from what man can do unto us. Please drop down to Rom 5:1 (2X), where we read,

Ro 5:1 ¶ Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

And since we are totally at peace with God, and fear no attack from man or from the Devil, we dwell as it were spiritually in a land of unwalled villages, because God, our Defender and our Avenger, “will be unto us a wall of fire round about”, like He promised in Zech 2:5. Please turn in your Bibles again to the prophecy of Ezekiel, Ezek 38:10 (2X). Let us now look at the army of Satan who is trying to convert us to his side, like he has accomplished in most of the world.

All of Them Riding Upon Horses (Ezek 38:10-16, Rev 9:15-16)

It is a great and mighty army which Satan and his demons have recruited from all the nations in the w.

Eze 38:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things (lit: words) come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:

Eze 38:11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

Eze 38:12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

Eze 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

Eze 38:14 ¶ Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

In verse 10 literally we read in the Hebrew text, “It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall

“words” come into thy mind”. Words shall be the new strategy that Satan uses to attack those whom he hates. In the FTP he will try to seduce the saints with gospels that are so close to the true Gospel that even the elect might be deceived, if that were possible. This is the nature of the FTP. And although Satan comes silently, with words, God describes him as a formidable foe, and his armies are described as riding on horses. Horses are used for war. It is an all out war that he is waging on the saints, greatly outnumbering them. Please turn to Rev 9:15 (2X). Think of it: Almost all the churches in the world, gone apostate, are ganging up on a few faithful believers in the world. What are the chances that the children of these believers will marry those who are faithful to the Word of God? Very slim. It is as if we are doing battle with an army of 200 million horsemen. And that is indeed the case. We read in Rev 9,

Rev 9:15-16 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

200 million horsemen on one side and perhaps one million saints on the other side. Who will win this battle? Let us turn again to Ezek 38:17 (2X), and see how this battle unfolds. God says here:

#3. And All Shall Shake at My Presence (Ezek 38:17-23, Rev 20:9)

Eze 38:17-18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.

Eze 38:19-20 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

Eze 38:21-22 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

So we see, the saints do not fight. God will fight for us. When the situation becomes unbearable for the saints, when Satan will have wrecked our households, when our children choose to leave home and are shacking up with someone of the opposite sex, when hurricanes and earthquakes are ravaging our houses and our jobs, when we barely can make ends meet, and when we are about to collapse emotionally, then God fights for us and God will put an end to all of this turmoil. And what we read in verses 20-22, is that not typical of the phenomena that we will be seeing at the end of time? Yes indeed. On the Last Day it will be raining fire and brimstone out of heaven, just like in the days of Lot. And then we find the same event described in Rev 20:9 in different words. And there we read:

Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel (Ezek 39:6-8, 1Thes 1:8, John 17:3, Isa 26:20-21, 43:2)

Please drop down to Ezek 39:6. Ezek 39 is a review of the battle that went on in Ezek 38. God says

Eze 39:6-8 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

God will send a fire on Magog, the Land of Gog, which means on the entire world, and God will also remember to send a fire “among them that dwell carelessly”. It means that God “in flaming fire is taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”, as we can read in 1Thes 1:8. To know God is salvation. The Lord Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”. And thus we must study our Bibles, for we must know Christ, and by God’s grace we shall know Him. But let us be careful to understand that we cannot know Him by studying hard our Bible, or by praying on our knees for many hours, or by giving alms to Katrina victims, and so on. We do not earn to know Christ by anything we do. Knowing Christ is entirely a gift from God. Please turn about 230 pages to your left (à) to the prophecy of Isaiah, Isa 26:20 (2X). In Isa 26:20-21 God is giving His saints advice to calmly take whatever there is to endure during the FTP, because it is only for a short time. This is the main point: It is only for a short time. Don’t lose your cool. We read in Isa 26:20,

Isa 26:20 ¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

Isa 26:21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

It does not mean that we should literally hide in our houses and lock the doors, since the FTP will last many years; we should not be starving ourselves to death. But it means that we should stay calm in whatever calamity comes our way. These calamities are not meant to hurt us, but they are meant for those “which have not the seal of God in their foreheads”. God says in Isa 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”.

AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.