Basis for our Studies this Year:
The Bible tells us that the “End (of the world) is declared from the “beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). Certainly, this means that the early Biblical record of human history bears End-time prophetic significance. But, it’s actually even more specific than that. The original Hebrew word translated as “beginning” in Isaiah 46:10 is תישאר (rê’shı̂yth). This is the root of Bereshith, which is the Hebrew name of the first Book of the Bible, “Genesis”. In other words, prophecies of the End of the World are found in the Book of Genesis.
The Torah is one of the five keys for unlocking End-time Prophecy… Prophecy is unlocked through the Statutes!
Genesis 10 and the Prophetic Table of Nations - the Amorites:
Scripture tells us that Genesis is a prophetic template
· Isaiah 46:10 – “The end is declared from the Beginning (Genesis)”
· Genesis 10:2 - The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Bible Prophecy foretells conflict and war between nations – of a global magnitude:
Matthew 24:3 foretells events that are specific Signs of the End, one of which is war:
· Matthew 24:6-7 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
The Prophecy of the Great War – Ezekiel 38:
Ezekiel 38:1-2
“And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
· Gog is listed as the leader of the allied powers that come against the Mountains of Israel.
· Gog is described as being in the land of Magog?
· So, who and where is this?
o Gog – the word – is connected with “mountain” – not a literal name, but a leader
Ezekiel 38:3
“And say, Thus saith Yahweh GOD; Behold, I Am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”
Ezekiel 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 armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.”
Ezekiel 38:5-6
“Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.”
Ezekiel 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… 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.”
Who are the Mountains of Israel? – The Mountains of Israel are the Target of Attack
In Bible prophecy Mountains represent “cities” / “heads” (leaders)…
· Daniel 9:16 “O Yahweh, according to all Thy Righteousness, I beseech thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.”
· Revelation 17:9 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”
Who is the City of Jerusalem (aka Mount Zion) in Prophecy? The City of Jerusalem, in positive End-time Prophecy, is God’s saved people.
• Isaiah 51:16-17 “And I have put My Words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine Hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem...”
• Zechariah 2:1-2 “…And behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.”
End-time Prophecy usually is fulfilled in both a literal and a figurative way… So, if it follows this pattern, literal Israel (the land) could be the target AND also spiritual Israel (being believers/Commandment-keepers) could be the target.
Media and Persia
Isaiah 46:9-10 -“Remember the former things of old; for I Am God, and there is none else, I Am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things which were not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”
The story of the Middle East (with its modern nations) begins in the book of Genesis. After the Flood, Noah and his family (totaling 8 people) were the sole survivors. Everyone alive on earth descends from these three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth (these are the forefathers of the world today).
In Genesis Chapter 10 we find the very first map of the world’s nations. Noah’s 3 sons reboot the human race by giving him 16 grandsons. The Bible also tells us the region where each son and his family settled.
The genealogy of Genesis 10 shows the
lineage of Noah’s sons.
Here we find the two patriarchs who would later give rise to the Persian Empire: Madai and Elam
Japheth’s son, Madai, is the father of the Medes. Madai and his growing tribe, which came to be known as the Medes, settled in the region which is now modern-day Iran and Iraq.
The second son who was the ancestor of Persia was Shem’s son, Elam. Elam and his family-tribe settled near the Persian Gulf, in the region that now makes up western Iran.
Genesis 14 tells of the first inter-national war. Chedolayomer, king of the Elamites, joined with three other eastern kings and invaded Canaan. These four plundered cities, enslaved people and took much spoil. These four kings (and their armies) struck Sodom, which was the home of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. They took many captives (Lot and his family were among them).
By the time of Sodom’s capture, Elam was already a powerful nation. Elam was the first nation to attack Abraham’s family (Abraham’s family, in the Last Days is aka Israel, it every saved person). So it could be accurately that Elam was the first to strike against God’s people.
When Lot was taken captive, Abraham went into action. He armed 318 of his trained servants and chased down the invaders. With prayer and strategy, he attacked them by night and defeated them.
He rescued Lot and freed the captives. The Elamites had been humiliated by Abraham and his small band of men. It had been an impossible victory, similar to the story of Gideon and his small band of men. That night God empowered Abraham to defeat and break the alliance of the four kings. And it delivered a powerful message – no power, no matter how great, can defeat those who are the blessed Children of Yahweh.
From this point, in the Biblical record, nothing more is said about these people for a long time… But in the silence, they grew in number. And the Elamites and the Medes shared the same land.
The Elamites and Medes become the Persian Nation… Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied of the role Persia would play in prophecy.
Elam and Media were sent as Divine Instruments of Judgment against Babylon (for idolatry)… Babylon had already been a Divine Instrument of Judgment against Israel (for idolatry)…
Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and burned
down Solomon’s Temple. Babylon had carried out this mission, similarly, as
God’s instruments of Judgment for Israel’s idolatry. But Babylon, in the
process of being used as a Divine “sword” of judgment, also had opportunity to
learn of Yahweh in this mission.
o
Daniel and his brothers were taken into
captivity there. These young men brought the light of Truth to Babylon. Daniel
lived in Babylon, bearing testimony of the Truth from the time they were
teenagers, until Daniel was about 60 years of age.
o
God revealed Himself to Babylon in miraculous
and mighty ways, repeatedly during Daniel’s life there. Daniel headed the magi,
which – under Daniel’s leadership - became a world-renowned order of holy and
scholarly sages – filled with the wisdom of God.
o
Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar had
acknowledged Yahweh as God. But it was a recognition that didn’t stick. By
the time Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Belshazzar, was on the throne of Babylon, the
king and its kingdom had fully turned to their idolatry. Only now, their
idolatry was worse than before Daniel came.
o
Because now, they KNEW BETTER. And they were
flaunting their choice for rebellion against God by drunkenly celebrating the
king’s birthday, drinking from the holy Temple vessels, just to express how
deeply their spurning of Yahweh went, in their hearts.
§
Belshazzar is judged because he KNEW the Truth:
§ Daniel 5:22-23 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this. But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”
o
When
Yahweh Judges Babylon by sending the Persians, He has already labored with them
for Salvation! They were blessed to be used as Divine Instruments.
§
Babylon KNEW the Truth – and they had rejected
it. Thus, Babylon, which was once used as an instrument of God’s Judgment to
discipline Israel for its idolatry and rebellion… Babylon, which had been blessed while it was
God’s Instrument- in multiple and miraculous revelations of Yahweh… Babylon, had not used the time it had been
given well. And now, Yahweh was rendering Judgment against Babylon for idolatry
and rebellion.
o
And now, another pagan nation had been selected
to work with Yahweh. This nation, which He had chosen as His Instrument of
Judgment against Babylon, was the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, just as He
had warned through Prophet Isaiah He would do.
o
Isaiah had foretold that Yahweh would use the
Medes and Elamites to destroy Babylon, if it continued in its idolatrous
fashion, having been given so much Light. The prophecy is found in Isaiah 21.
o
Yahweh had told prophet Isaiah that a pagan
Persian king – who was yet unborn when the prophecy was given – would be
Yahweh’s agent to free Israel from exile. More than 150 years before the birth
of this Persian king, Isaiah called him by name, and said that he would be
God’s Instrument to rebuild the holy Temple in Jerusalem.
o
Not only that, Isaiah revealed that the
pagan-born king Cyrus of Persia would be Yahweh’s anointed.
Just as Yahweh had done with Babylon, also with Persia,
Yahweh was not only using the pagan power as His Instrument, He was revealing
Himself to Persia and its king through it. You see, no one can be used of God,
and not also be blessed with deep revelations of Him in the process. It is a
blessing to be used!
Of course both prophecies came true. In 8th
century BC, Deosseus, king of the Medes united the kingdoms of Elam and Medai,
founding the first imperial capital on soil where Iran stands today.
This empire grew into a mighty war machine that was strong
enough to destroy Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian empire, which was one of
Israel’s most brutal enemies.
And with the takedown of Assyria, the prophecy of how Yahweh would use the Persians for liberation began to be fulfilled.