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The Rapture Report – 02/17/2019 – Russia, Turkey and Iran hail US withdrawal from Syria

The Rapture Report – 02/17/2019 – Russia, Turkey and Iran hail US withdrawal from Syria
By Chris Schang

The Middle East is getting very interesting lately to say the least. Even more so with the recent announcement by President Trump that he will be withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria soon. I had been wondering how the coming Ezekiel 38-39 scenario could play out in Bible prophecy if the United States was still in Syria. We may have just found out. I think it would be hard for Russia and her Ezekiel 38-39 allies to make a move on Israel with U.S. forces still in the area. But then came the announcement of the troop withdrawal. Suddenly, things began to come into focus on how they could possibly play out.

President Trump has taken a lot of heat for his desire to remove U.S. troops from what is the mess called Syria. While it is understandable that Trump wants to put an end to what has become “endless wars” and that would be good for us and our military as we have been through a lot since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, as we saw by the military resignations immediately afterwards, withdrawing from Syria is not a popular idea with the military because it is felt that we will be putting the Kurds and Israelis in danger. While that is a legitimate concern, I do believe that President Trump, like everything else he does, is going to focus on what is best for America rather than what is best for others. His America First agenda will come into view I believe. This was a campaign promise of his and I believe he wants to make good on it. I think making good on his campaign promise will help speed up Bible prophecy or at least give those involved in the coming Ezekiel 38-39 scenario the opportunity to move forward toward their appointed date with destiny with the God of Israel per the prophet Ezekiel.

The prophet Ezekiel wrote thousands of years ago about a war in the latter years that would involve Israel and what has become the nations of Russia, Iran, and Turkey. The prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 also refer to “many others with thee” as they try to destroy Israel once and for all.

Ezekiel 38:1-8
1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
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:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 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.

The result of this move on Israel is that God uses it to reintroduce himself into the affairs of mankind once again. The prophet Ezekiel wrote that the Russian led invasion would come like a “cloud” onto the northern part of Israel which ironically is exactly where the disputed Golan Heights area is where Iran is trying to establish a foothold.

Ezekiel 38:8
8 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.

Russia and Turkey are also firmly entrenched in Syria as well. These three countries make up the leaders of the Ezekiel 38-39 coalition against Israel. God has promised to intervene and destroy 5/6ths of the invading forces. Even the Russian homeland will not remain unscathed by this event. This event was foretold to happen in the latter years after Israel returned to the land for a 2nd time, never to be uprooted again.

Ezekiel 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
6 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.
7 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.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

The current situation in Syria brings together for the first time in history the three main leaders of the Gog/Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39. They are Russia, Iran, and Turkey. The prophet Ezekiel foretold of this coming invasion in which a “spoil” is the main motivation behind it.

Ezekiel 38:9-12
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.
10 Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
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,
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.

As we know from media reports Israel has developed into an economic, technological, and energy-producing powerhouse. She has discovered oil and natural gas in abundant supplies. These discoveries of oil and natural gas threaten Russia’s economic lifeline as they provide the majority of energy to Europe. Russia has been severely crippled by economic sanctions against it. Israel has recently made advances with her American and European partners to provide a second and more stable supply of energy so that they can cut dependence on the unreliable Russians. This of course has not gone unnoticed by Moscow.

Everything we can see happening in the Middle East shows that we are clearly moving forward towards the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy. How soon it will be fulfilled remains to be seen. Some believe it will be soon, others see it further down the road. I personally do not know the answer, but suggest that we stay sober and watching as things tend to go downhill pretty fast and when you least expect it in the Middle East.

An article that got my attention over the last couple of days is one where Russia, Iran, and Turkey got together to discuss the U.S. withdrawal from Syria. I think it would have been very interesting to have been a “fly on the wall” at such a meeting. The article came out from the IsraelNationalNews.com website. The article went on to report:

“The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran on Thursday hailed the planned US withdrawal from Syria as they met for talks on how to work more closely together in the country’s long-running conflict, AFP reported. Hosting his Turkish and Iranian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani, in the southern city of Sochi, President Vladimir Putin said the three welcomed the expected US pull-out from northeastern Syria.

It would be “a positive step that would help stabilize the situation in this region, where ultimately the legitimate government should re-establish control,” he was quoted as having told a joint press conference after the talks. Russia and Iran — who both back the regime of Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad — and rebel supporter Turkey have positioned themselves as key foreign players in Syria’s long-running war.”

The article further reports:

“In December, US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced that he was immediately withdrawing troops from Syria. Trump had initially called for a 30-day timeframe to complete the pullout, but after meeting with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump agreed to delay completion of the withdrawal.

Earlier this week, the top US commander overseeing American forces in the Middle East said the United States is likely just weeks away from starting the withdrawal of ground troops from Syria. The United States has had troops in Syria backing Kurdish-led forces fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) group. In announcing the withdrawal from Syria, Trump cited the defeat of ISIS, which overran large swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a “caliphate” in land it controlled.”

As a result of the announced withdrawal the following comments were made:

“The Kurdish-led fighters were on Thursday battling to expel ISIS jihadists from the small town of Baghouz in eastern Syria, the last bastion of their “caliphate” that once controlled large parts of the country. Putin said Thursday’s talks were “constructive and business-like” and that “close coordination” was crucial to ensuring long-term stability in Syria. He said the three leaders agreed to “strengthen cooperation” in the so-called Astana framework — a process initiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey that has eclipsed parallel peace talks led by the United Nations. They also agreed to work together to put together a constitutional committee that would work to resolve Syria’s political future, Putin said, adding that another round of talks would take place in Astana in late March and early April.

Rouhani said Thursday’s talks were “very helpful and frank” and insisted on Syria’s territorial integrity, calling for a “purge of terrorists” from the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib. He also suggested he did not believe the US was planning to withdraw from Syria. “We have no optimism about what the Americans say… but if they do withdraw, it will be very good news,” said Rouhani, according to AFP. Erdogan, meanwhile, called for the removal of the Kurdish forces battling ISIS in northeastern Syria.”

As we can see, the Russians, Iranians, and Turks are planning on what to do with Syria after the U.S. eventually withdraws from there. If the U.S. withdraws and leaves it to them to decide, we will have no leverage in what post-conflict Syria will be like. But I think that is what is needed for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. President Trump hinted that the U.S. would watch carefully from Iraq after the withdrawal, but I don’t think that will turn out very good in light of the prophecy surrounding Ezekiel 38-39. The prophecy notes that the West and others will simply throw a mild protest when it looks like there will be an invasion of Israel. No one will come to Israel’s aid, except for God. Which is exactly the way He wants it.

Ezekiel 38:13
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?

God will do this for the magnification of his name.

Ezekiel 38:18-23
18 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.
19 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;
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
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.

I believe that we need to be focusing on the current events in Israel and the Middle East right now. There is a lot going on in Syria than meets the eyes. The unbelieving world will be caught off guard when the dominoes begin to fall in regards to Ezekiel 38-39. But those of us who believe the Word of God will not be surprised. We have been given the sure word of Bible prophecy. It is like a light in a dark place.

And if we can see the shadows or storm clouds of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy on the horizon, we can know that the blessed hope is getting even closer as many of us believe that the Ezekiel 38-39 conflict will be what turns God’s focus off the church and back on to Israel. It is believed by many that God does not focus on both Israel and the church at the same time. God’s reintroduction to the world in Ezekiel 38-39 is good proof that the rapture of the church will have likely occurred by then if we are right. If not, we know for sure that it will happen before the wrath of God is poured out during the seven-year Tribulation period on Earth. So, with that, it is my opinion that we need to be looking up, for it is clear that our redemption is drawing nigh with each passing day!

God bless!

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