As many of us are aware, the current outlook for a world war is highly likely. They seem ready to go full force once the Lord commands. Wars and rumors of wars in these very last days were predicted by the Holy Scriptures. To those who do not know the Lord’s final message of Elijah, these can be extremely worried times. As SDA we all profess to believe in the soon coming of Christ, but the vast majority are hazy in understanding the final world’s war forecast based on Scripture.
This haziness really does not need to exist if one truly seeks the truth as spoken by His prophets. Let’s take a look at this subject, to know what we should expect in regards to war related events to come.
To begin with, we know that the Word tells us there shall be a big world war over the promised land.
Zeph. 2:1, 2, 4, 5 –“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you…. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the Word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.”
The fourth verse definitely implies that the “nation” is to gather together in the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron, in the land of the Philistines, in the land of Canaan — in Palestine.
In view of the fact that this scripture is now being unfolded, and also the fact that there is but one people, one nation (the descendants of the ancient scribes, priests, and Pharisees who rejected the Lord and who have not even to this day accepted Him, that are hardly desired anywhere in the world) that is now doing all she can to gather together in Palestine — in view of all this, the present-day Jews are that undesired nation.
…Moreover, in these verses, two truths stand out clearly: (1) that in vain the Jews seek to establish themselves in the Promised Land; (2) that we who are bearing the message of the great and dreadful day of the Lord are counselled to seek meekness and righteousness, for thus only shall we “be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger,” that is, merely bear knowledge of the message will not save us, there should be corresponding deeds with it. (Timely Greetings, vol. 1, no.22, p.25-26)
So here is our first and next expectation in regards to war– the world’s battle over the land of Israel. Already we see the pieces of the puzzle starting to come together in the surrounding areas. Russia is there, USA is there, the Arab powers are there, Israel is there and many nations represented by NATO are there.
Of special note, China, as of the last few months has started to set up its presence in the middle east as well. See this link http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/12055805/China-is-moving-intyo-Syria-why-is-no-one-worried.html
During the upcoming gigantic war, an even more spectacular event occurs, and it will be a world shaking event–the long prophesied SDA church judgment. How do we know this? The message is tells us–
“..while the powers of earth are engulfed in a gigantic war, the wicked in the church shall be cut off, no more to pass through her.” (Tract 14, p.22)
We aren’t told how long the war is to be, but with the very powerful destroying weapons in use today, one can see that it would take a relatively short period of time to desolate any land. Remember the whole purpose of this war is to clear out the land, which God had promised in the Scriptures, and give it to His end time people “Israel and Judah”. The 144,000 first and then the called out ones from Babylon. These are the people destined to possess the land.
“For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.” (Jeremiah 30:3)
After this war is over then we can look at the next war related event, which is really a disarmament.
“And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls 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…. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation.” Zechariah 2:4, 5, 10-13.
Isa. 2:4 — “And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Not the nations, but Inspiration Itself declares that in the day God judges the living, then those nations who go to the mountain (Kingdom church purified) of the Lord “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks” — they will go farming instead of spending their strength in war.
The nations that do not accept the Lord’s “rebuke,” in that day, though, will madly arise against the “mountain” of the Lord, as forecast by the prophet Joel, saying: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” Joel 3:9- 12. (Timely Greetings, vol.1, no. 5, p.5-6)
This is very interesting. During this disarmament, one group of the post war living, choose the Lord and His protection and the other refuse and shall learn the hard way that you can’t fight the great I AM and win. All this happens pre-millennially, here on earth in front of the world. We see that two opposite reactions happen– swords into plowshares and plowshare into swords.
In describing this most unusual time the message explains-
“When the Lord thus takes “the reigns in His own hands” (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300), and again rules the church as a theocratic government (in the last days), “it shall come to pass,” as says Isaiah, “…that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Isa. 2:2-4.
So with the ushering in of this everlasting kingdom, and the consequent restitution of all things, there shall be on the one hand a great awakening among the nations; scrapping vast stores of war implements which they have for years been laying up, they shall seek to go up to and become subjects of the kingdom, and to join the armies of the Lord, allowing Him to fight for them; while on the other hand there shall be feverish war preparations among those who refuse to awaken: hurling all into a super armament program, they turn even their farm implements into weapons of war against the kingdom of Christ — His church” (Joel 3:9-12; Zech. 12:3). (Tract 8, p.19-20)
Madness will grip the unbelievers making them “feverish” to defeat God’s people. Having seen the Lord work a mighty miracle and bring back the glorious land of Israel very quickly, and after the world war, the unbelievers shall devise plans to overthrow the land. Why? let us read–
“This is what the Sovereign LORD says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!
I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them! (Ezek. 38:10-12)
But the Lord will reveal His power —
You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.(Ezek. 38:16)
So this attempt by the unbelievers shall come to naught. It’s like God says “give it your best shot you heathen, bring it on.” And they do, only to be made a spectacle before the world.
You see brethren, the Lord’s holy land shall be the epicenter of the final Gospel proclamation. Thus, it will be both glorious for the believers and dreadful and worrisome to the unbelievers. Satan at this time is rallying the world for his counter play–the one world religion, the Sunday sacredness-Mark of the Beast system.
Two stark and very different ways to go! No middle course or non-decision. Get the world’s mark and be free to buy and sell, exist in comfort. Or get out of Babylon and come to the kingdom, which has true comfort and the Lord’s bountiful riches. Though most of the called out ones will arrive in the kingdom safely, unfortunately some will have to suffer persecution and not make it there.
The word explains how inviting the land will be —
“Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.” ( Isaiah 60:11)
So great will the Loud Cry be that even some kings and rulers of the world will come into the land to accept the Lord’s kingdom, beginning right there in Israel. The 144,000 are looked upon with great appreciation.
“And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.” (Obadiah 1:21)
So we see four consecutive war related scenarios with the addition of the a fifth as explained below. 1) The gigantic world war over Israel 2) the 144,000 first arrive and the land is miraculously revived and the weapons are destroyed in the land 3) The unbelievers (which shall be the majority living upon the earth) shall not believe that God is with His people or their land, and attempt to invade (by war) the unwalled land 4) God shall make an example of them for all to see. 5) As per below, the plagues come and when the seventh plague hits, the wicked lose their minds and decide to pursue the righteous of God. The battle of Armageddon begins. The angels of God fight for them.
What and where is Armageddon? Four Inspired references show specific views of this last struggle.
The Armies of God Take the Field—We need to study the pouring out of the seventh vial. The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon. When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber, and the armies of the living God will take the field (Manuscript 175, 1899
“..under the seventh plague, the hosts arrayed for the battle of Armageddon will fight with, and will be decimated by, the armies of Heaven (Testimonies, Vol. 6, pg. 406), and that Christ shall appear in all His glory, destroy the remaining wicked, resurrect the righteous dead (1 Thess. 4:15-16), and usher in the millennium (Rev. 20:5). (Timely Greetings, vol. 2, no.10. p.31)
So we see that as the final plague comes, the bitter and angry wicked make their last play, only to lose out to the brightness of His coming in the clouds. The wicked no doubt are delusional and think , under the auspices of Satan, that the ones causing the horrible plagues are the righteous ones. While not a war as such in the true sense , it’s a fierce concerted effort to destroy God’s people. The Armageddon battle is cut short by the Lord.
“As the saints left the cities and villages, they were pursued by the wicked, who sought to slay them. But the swords that were raised to kill God’s people and fell as powerless as a straw” — (Early Writings, pp. 284-285.)
In describing the scenes of the end of Armageddon, SOP explains —
“It was at midnight that God chose to deliver His people. As the wicked were mocking around them, suddenly the sun appeared, shining in his strength, and the moon stood still. The wicked looked upon the scene with amazement, while the saints beheld with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Signs and wonders followed in quick succession.
Everything seemed turned out of its natural course. The streams ceased to flow. Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law.” (Early Writings, p.285)
We should keep in mind that , as we have seen, the land of Israel will be protected by the Lord. Therefore the great battle of Armageddon will take place in the world. The message offers clarity–
“….”Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4), is a call for them to come out of her dominion, that they share not in her sins, nor receive of her plagues. Those who respond to the Lord’s bidding, must, of course, have a sin-free place to go to, where they may “dwell safely,” though there be “neither bars nor gates” around it (Ezek. 38:11). To this haven they shall be “brought forth out of the nations, and [there] they shall dwell safely all of them.” Ezek. 38:8. So, “all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Isa. 54:13.
God’s people at that time can no more serve the Lord in “Babylon” and in “Egypt” than they could have in the days of Ezra or of Moses, for when the plagues are poured upon Babylon, as the “fire and brimstone” were poured upon Sodom and Gomorrah, then if they be living among worldlings, they can no more escape the damage of the plagues than Lot could have survived the fire, had he stayed in Sodom. So all who want to escape the foretold ruin verily must come out of Babylon, as Lot and his family came out of Sodom. (Tract 12, p.46-47)
So it appears that this last great battle will be between God’s people who are out of the cities and living in the country or hills . Those who for one reason or another have not made it to the Holy land. The mobs shall attempt to destroy them and when this happens en masse–God delivers them. In other words, Armageddon is the very last battle before the thousand-year reign in heaven.
In closing, now is our time to prepare ourselves to be found worthy to be one of God’s Loud Cry truth warriors. The war scenarios are not at all frightening to those who trust in the Lord’s Word as spoken by His prophets. We have much to look forward to as the victory will be for those who are on the side of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Amen.
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