Did you know that we are in the “Last Days”, also known as the “End Times”? This time started when Jesus ascended into heaven in front of His followers at Bethany. It will end when He returns to the very spot from where His feet left the ground (from just east of the Mount of Olives). (Luke 24:50-51, Acts 1:9-11)
When Jesus’ closest followers (Peter, James, John and Andrew) asked Him about the “End of the Age” and when His return would happen (a funny question while He was sitting right in front of them) He began to give them a lengthy synopsis of what will happen in the future (See Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21). We call this teaching the Olivet Discourse.
You might be wondering what “age” they are talking about. The way I see it, they are talking about the age of mankind and Satan ruling the Earth. That will be the time when Jesus comes to rule the Earth personally. He will come and take charge, showing us how it is supposed to be done.
During the Olivet Discourse we read about some very frightening circumstances that will befall the people of the entire Earth. His words aren’t just for a small group or nation of people, as some suggest; they are for everyone. How do we know this? Jesus said to them, “what I say to you I say to all” (Mark 13:37, ESV, partial quote). Also, supporting verses from other Bible books, like Revelation, make it clear that the events He speaks of will be global and cataclysmic.
This post is going to be presented in three parts. In this first part, I’ll discuss what will take place prior to the seven-year tribulation that He mentions in His Olivet Discourse. Part Two will discuss the Tribulation, and Part Three will discuss what happens after the Tribulation. So without further delay, let’s jump into our study of the End Times.
Ezekiel’s War
Jesus begins His discourse on the end of the age by telling His four friends this:
“See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”
Matthew 24:4-5, ESV
Right from the start, Jesus warns His faithful that there will be lots (and lots) of posers —people who claim to be Him or some version of Him. Deception will be rampant at that time. Expect this religious deception to be global. This deception will continue into the tribulation and all the way through it.
Along with the deception will be warfare and conquest. When Jesus appeared to John, while John was on the Isle of Patmos as an old man, Jesus gave him a vision of four riders on horseback. Some folks call these the Four Horsemen, or Riders of the Apocalypse. Each one signifies a particular aspect of the beginning of the Last Days. We find these visions recounted for us in Revelation, chapter 6. The first Rider of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6:1-2 represents Conquest. Similarly, the second Rider has the ability to take peace from the world (Revelation 6:3-4).
These End Times events are actually found in several books of the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments. It can take quite a while to study all of the information from all of the sources and then it can be a challenge to put it all together. This is something that I have worked on for many years so that I am now able to teach others what I have learned about it.
Prior to the events of the Tribulation, we can expect to see a few indicators that the time is nearly upon us. One of the indicators, as we just saw, is deception. Another is warfare in the form of conquest (one nation attacking another in order to subdue it). Both of these factors can be seen in the books of Ezekiel and Daniel.
Ezekiel’s book gives us a very interesting story of a man named Gog, of a land called Magog. While some Bible teachers are reluctant to identify this man as the antichrist, I am not. After reading Ezekiel 38 and 39 and comparing these chapters with Daniel, chapter 11 (plus verses in other Bible books), I have concluded that Gog is definitely the antichrist.
Here’s what we learn from Ezekiel about this man named Gog:
- He’s from The Caucasus (that region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, which includes southern Russia, all of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey), called “Magog” by Ezekiel. (v. 2)
- He is called the “Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal”, which might be Turkey. (v. 2)
- God is against him. (v. 3)
- He leads a great army and a military coalition of many nations against Israel (v 8-12, 39:2). These nations include:
- Persia (present day Iran) (v. 5)
- Cush (Muslim region of present day Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia) (v. 5)
- Put (Libya) (v. 5)
- Gomer (northern Caucasus) (v. 6)
- Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north (also northern Caucasus) (v. 6)
- He is present during God’s wrath. (v. 19-23)
- Jesus kills him when He returns to Earth. (39:3-5)
- Jesus sends fire upon Gog’s homeland (39:6)
The prophet Daniel says the following things about the antichrist in Daniel, chapter 11:
- He’s a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given (v. 21)
- He shall come in without warning and obtain power over the kingdom (his homeland) by flatteries. (v. 21)
- Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even Israel. (v. 22)
- And from the time that an alliance is made with him [with Israel] he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a few people. (v. 23)
- Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of Israel. (v. 24)
- He meets with the defeated Israeli leader at a conference table (v. 27)
- Libyans and Cushites follow him against Israel (V. 43)
- News from the east and the north will alarm him, probably meaning that Jesus has decimated his homeland and that of his allies (v. 44)
- And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain (probably the Valley of Megiddo). Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him. (v. 45)
The similarities between Gog and antichrist are too great to deny that they are the same man (at least, for me). What are the odds that two men, living in the same time period, will have these things in common:
- Great leader, leading a large army and coalition
- Invades Israel from the north with a sudden attack
- Aligned with Libya and the region of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan
- Homeland suffers at God’s hand
- Present during God’s wrath
- Killed in Israel by God during the final attack
Plus, other verses confirm that antichrist is killed by Jesus upon His return to Earth. And when Ezekiel says that Gog is the one that God prophesied about years before it only supports this view.
Although I’ve given a peek into what will come later in this study, for now we can see that prior to the Tribulation a man will rise to power in one of the nations of the Caucasus region. He will ally himself with other muslim nations and suddenly attack Israel (successfully).
But around the world other things will be happening as well. Religious deception, other wars, uprisings, and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6, Luke 21:9), earthquakes, famines, pandemics…the list is long and terrifying.
Paul told Timothy this about the Last Days:
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5, NLT)
So in the not-too-distant-future (I believe) we will see a contemptible man coming to power in one of the Caucasus nations. He will amass an army and coalition (perhaps even a Caliphate) and unexpectedly attack Israel from the north. This is the beginning of what we call “Ezekiel’s War”, which continues until the arrival of Jesus and His angel armies, and is the beginning of the final days of mankind’s grip on Earth. The timespan of these events seems to be about eight years, plus or minus a few months.
In part two, we’ll look at how the United States Navy might get into the act and scare off the antichrist from a second invasion of Israel.
You can read more about this in my book, End Times Made Easy, available on Amazon.
Next – The Tribulation
