The recent revival of independent democracy will be short-lived, friends. Much has been written of the conspiracies of the ruling elite. They are indeed a new breed of communists. They don't appear to the world to be like old world Communists but they will prove to be far worse. To them, the "New World Order" is a necessity to save the world from itself and save it for them. To them, the people do not know what is best for them so they cannot rely on democracy to bring their salvation to the world.

As a Christian I also know that as long as the majority is on the "broad road", Democracy cannot be a vehicle to bring God's salvation, either. So this elite will hide their true agenda and rely on manipulation. The media and elected officials are a secular false prophet to bring their One World Order. However, the real conspiracy is from much higher up. No, not even Satan. It is God "who worketh all things after the counsel of his will" (Eph. 1:11) to create an atmosphere for repentance in His saints. (Rom. 8:28) And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, [even] to them that are called according to [his] purpose. God will use the whole world to spiritually crucify His elect and then He will destroy the world. His divine order is proven in the repetitions of history to perfect His elect.

Before Tribulation:
1) He raises up the First-fruits in His image.

In Tribulation:
2) He uses them to bring a remnant out of a harlot system.

In Great Tribulation:
3) He uses the harlot to purify or crucify the remnant.

In the Day of the Lord's Wrath:
4) He preserves a remnant of the remnant alive.
5) He uses the beast system to destroy the harlot.
6) He destroys the beast system.

As we have seen, the first thing that happens in the Day of the Lord's wrath is He gathers His people into the ark. During this period He uses the world beast to destroy both the religious and secular harlots. Now we will speak of phase six above, when the wrath of God will be poured out for a year on the world beast system that has persecuted His people. (Isa. 34:8) For the Lord hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. (63:4) For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. (6) And I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

SHATTERED ONE WORLD ORDER

Revelation details each stroke of this year of wrath while the saints are at first in the ark of the Kingdom and then in heaven. (Rev. 15:1) And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having seven plagues, [which are] the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God. (2) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God.

Because of the persecution and martyrdom of the saints during the Tribulation, God sends these seven last plagues, one immediately after another. (16:1) And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. (6) [F]or they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy. (13) And I saw [coming] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: (14) for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. This "war of the great day of God" is the real name of the last world war rather than Armageddon. Although there are many battles, this war lasts for the year of the Day of the Lord. The saints have been safely in the ark for the first forty days of this war when the Lord comes. (15) (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) (16) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Har-Magedon.

In English, Armageddon is the place of the first battle of this war when the U.N. beast army has gathered to enforce their own resolutions to divide Jerusalem but God divides them instead. (17) And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air (fallout); and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done. This judgment "upon the air" probably involves fallout carried everywhere by the winds and volcanic activity triggered by a massive release of nuclear weapons.

This judgment is spoken from the throne through the temple or, in other words, from the Lord through the saints. (18) [A]nd there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. These are all symbols and effects of a great nuclear world war, which causes the greatest earthquake ever. This earthquake spiritually symbolizes the division of the whole earth. (19) And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (20) And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Worldwide corporate Babylon, which is called "a city of terrible nations" (Isa. 25:3), will lose every city, island, and mountain from the nuclear exchange and the earthquake triggered by it. As we have seen, this causes world Babylon to be "divided into three parts", kings of the north, south, and east. Let's examine the world's division into three in another set of Scriptures. (Zech. 14:1) Behold, a day of the Lord cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. (2) For I will gather all nations (beast) against Jerusalem (Armageddon) to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. In the Day of the Lord, the U.N. beast army will gather to take "half of the city" because that is what U.N. resolutions demand.

Then the Lord causes division and civil war in the midst of the beast. (3) Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. (13) [A] great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

What did the Lord mean by the words "as when he fought in the day of battle"? How and when did the Lord fight? (2 Chr. 20:15) Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith the Lord unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

The Lord fought and His method was to divide the enemy, who came as one, into three, north, east, and south in respect to Jerusalem. The enemy then killed-off one another and the remnant of Jerusalem was spared. (22) And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon (north), Moab (east), and mount Seir (south), that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (23) For the children of Ammon (north) and Moab (east) stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir (south), utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. This is the way the Lord said He would fight the last war. He will cause a civil war in the midst of the beast and they will divide under the king of the north, king of the south (Dan. 11:40), and kings of the east (Rev. 16:12).

This nuclear world war will involve the whole earth until it wipes out the beast kingdom. I repeat: (Jer. 25:12) And it shall come to pass, when seventy (seven) years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity and I will make it desolate for ever. (31) A noise (nuclear exchange) shall come even to the end of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith the Lord. (32) Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation (nuclear missiles), and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. (33) And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth.

When the Lord "fought in the day of battle", two-thirds of this corporate beast united against one-third. The two-thirds retained the authority of the world beast kingdom. The king of the north, Ammon, and the king of the east, Moab, destroyed the king of the south, Mount Seir (Edom), and then they destroyed one another. In the last war of the age the Lord will fight "as when he fought in the day of battle" to defend Jerusalem as a type, and the saints worldwide, in fulfillment. The U.N. beast kingdom will divide Jerusalem and the saints, but God will divide them. The king of the north, Russia, with their Muslim allies and some in this hemisphere such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Central America and Mexico, along with the kings of the east, near and far, China, India, Japan, North Korea, and others, will lead the beast kingdom against the king of the south, the U.S., Britain, Canada and Australia, with their allies, and destroy or subjugate them. Then the kings of the east will lead the beast kingdom against the king of the north, Russia and their allies, and "every one helped to destroy another". In this way, the beast "shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces" (Dan. 7:23). Also, three of the ten kings of the continentally-divided earth will be "plucked up by the roots" (7:8) because the leaders of the U.S., Russia, and China will probably rule the continental division associated with them.

When the ancient Medo-Persian bear as the king of the north, beat the Babylonian lion with eagle's wings as the king of the south, it foreshadowed this time. Since this is a civil war in the midst of the first one world kingdom, south does not have to be on the same longitude as north. The Russian bear is north of the 47th parallel and the U.S. eagle is south of the 47th parallel. As Medo-Persia was north and east of Babylon, so Russia is north and east of the U.S. It is also a strong possibility that U.S., British, Canadian, Australian, etc. soldiers in the U.N. beast army will occupy southern Israel and even Egypt. The U.S. could be king of the south on two battle fronts in the U.S. and Israel. (Dan. 11:40) And at the time of the end shall the king of the south (the U.S. with Britain, Canada, Australia, etc.) contend with him; and the king of the north (Russia and allies now leading the U.N. beast armies) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries (the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, etc.), and shall overflow and pass through.

Notice also that "many ships" are used because this attack must come by sea and air since the enemies nationally are divided by an ocean! This invasion is "like a whirlwind" and a flood, the analogies God has given to many in dreams and visions. This is clear that the U.N. world beast with its ten kings will attack the U.S. At the same time these will be in a battle for natural Israel. (41) He shall enter also into the glorious land (Israel in verse 16).

In our Zechariah text there is another confirmation that the Lord causes a civil war in the beast kingdom. (Zech. 14:3) Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. (4) And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (5) And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains. The Lord will fight as "he fought in the day of battle" and only "his feet" shall stand on the mount. The Bible specifically speaks of Him fighting with the nations. In none of these cases did He physically appear to them but the "feet" of His body were there to conquer by His spoken Word the beast kingdom, which in the end-time is revealed in Daniel to be the "feet part of iron, and part of clay" of the image of the beast. Likewise, Jesus is the Head of His body Whose endtime feet will conquer the beast. (Eph. 1:22) [A]nd he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is his body. (Ps. 47:3) He subdueth peoples under us, And nations under our feet. (Mal. 4:3) And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith the Lord of hosts. When Jesus and His disciples walked with the Mount of Olives, under their feet He said to them: "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it" (Mk. 11:23). The spoken word of the saints will bring down the beast kingdom, just as it was with every other beast kingdom in the Word. In the last days the "feet" of the world body of Christ will face and defeat the "feet" of the world body of the beast.

Why would the Lord imply that our war is against the Mount of Olives and why would His "feet" cleave it to the north and the south? This mountain represents the U.N. beast kingdom and their United Religions. It represents the united revived Roman Empire gathered together against Jerusalem and the saints worldwide. As we saw, this empire is represented by the feet of Daniel's vision, with its ten toes being the ten continental divisions of the whole earth with their kings. (Dan. 2:41) And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom.

The eastern foot is the Eastern Block countries with their scattered seed, and the western foot is the Western Block countries with their scattered seed, along with the clay nations allied with each. These temporarily made peace in the U.N. at the end of the Cold War. When God again divides this Roman Empire it will be a three-way split. The iron of the eastern foot will be led by Russia as the king of the north. The iron of the western foot will be led by the U.S. as the king of the south. Then later the clay like China, Japan, North Korea, Muslim nations, etc. shall be divided from both as the kings of the east. In this way the Mount of Olives will fall to the north and south with the clay later divided from both. God will separate this modern day Babel as He did original Babel.

The Mount of Olives gives us a clear confirmation of this three-way split in the beast. If you look on top of the Mount of Olives today you will see an assortment of the seed of Eastern Roman Empire, Western Roman Empire, and Muslim (clay) holy places. There is the Greek Orthodox Monastery (Eastern), Russian Church of Mary Magdalene (Eastern), the Russian Orthodox Monastery (Eastern), Roman Catholic Church of All Nations (Western), Church of Pater Noster (Western), and the Muslim Mosque of the Ascension (clay). Splitting this mountain represents dividing the kingdom of the beast to fight a civil war in order to save God's people from them.

In the same way, the ancient Mount of Olives was called the "mount of corruption" (2 Ki. 23:13) because upon it were the "abomination(s)" to the false christ's of Ammon (east) and Moab (south) and Sidon (north), which were built by Solomon for his heathen wives (1 Ki. 11:8). Here it is again, the three divisions of the earth. In this case Solomon represented the beast who, in like manner, had relations with the harlot religions that he ruled over and brought unity to (Rev. 17:2). (1 Ki. 10:14) Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six (666) talents of gold.

Gideon's army foreshadowed the saints dividing the beast kingdom into three so that they destroyed each other. The saints who did this were in "three companies" because they spoke for the Lord while living in those three different divisions of the world beast kingdom. They were in groups of a "hundred" because that is the number of completion. They are complete for two reasons. They are mature and also one hundred percent of the mature saints in that division are praying to save God's people. (Jdg. 7:16) And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers. (20) And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands wherewith to blow; and they cried, The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. As discussed in the chapter on Maturity and Harvests, the trumpets represent the spoken Word of the Spirit because a trumpet turns breath, which has the same Hebrew word for "spirit", into that which is heard by men. The breaking of the pitchers so that the light may be seen represents the death of the old man and manifestation of the new. With this they divided the beast army, proclaiming, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon". Notice that the Lord's sword is our sword. (Heb. 4:12) For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Let's look at the beast army that was conquered by division. (Jdg. 6:33) Then all the Midianites (the king of the north representing Russia and allies) and the Amalekites (the king of the south representing the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, and allies) and the children of the east (the kings of the east representing China, India, Japan, North Korea, possibly some Muslim countries, etc.) assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel (also known as the Plain of Megiddo, where Armageddon is fought). (7:22) And they (Gideon's army) blew the three hundred trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host. Notice that the beast army came as one but the Lord divided it into three when it attacked His people.

SPARED THE WRATH TO JUDGE THE WICKED

As a sign that the division of the nations is to save God's people, the Lord's feet cleave the Mount of Olives and the Jewish remnant flees into the cleft of the rock. (Zech. 14:4) [T]he mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst ... (5) And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains. Since the Jews are a type for the Church, this also symbolizes the saints fleeing to the cleft of the mountain of the Kingdom of God, the ark, to preserve them in this Day of the Lord as the nations begin to destroy one another.

A.A. Allen also saw in his vision that during the nuclear and biochemical holocaust in the U.S. the saints were hidden in the cleft of a rock mountain.

Then to my ears came another sound a sound of distant singing. It was the sweetest music I had ever heard. There was joyful shouting and sounds of happy laughter. Immediately I knew it was the rejoicing of the saints of God. I looked, and there, high in the heavens, above the smoke and poisonous gases, above the noise of the battle, I saw a huge mountain. It seemed to be of solid rock, and I knew at once that this was the Mountain of the Lord. The sounds of music and rejoicing were coming from a cleft high up in the side of the rock mountain.

It was the saints of God who were doing the rejoicing. It was God's own people who were singing and dancing and shouting with joy, safe from all the harm which had come upon the earth, for they were hidden away in the cleft of the rock. There in the cleft they were shut in, protected by a great, giant hand which reached out of the heavens and which was none other than the hand of God, shutting them in (the ark) until the storm be overpassed.

The Bible reports this "moment" in history using the same words. (Isa. 26:20) Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. (21) For, behold, the Lord cometh forth 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.

The saints are left on earth, hidden for a forty day "moment" of the flood and then gathered, just as it was with Noah. (Isa. 54:7) For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. (8) In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. (9) For this is [as] the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. (10) For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

According to Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew word for "moment" is Rega, meaning "a wink", i.e., a very short space of time. It is from the word Raga, meaning "to toss violently and suddenly" as in the sea with waves. It also can be used in a favorable manner: "to settle, quiet, or to rest". In that great "moment" when the saints are at "rest" in the ark, Babylon and her enemies are being "tossed violently" with the waves of the flood in the beginning of the "day" of wrath. (Isa. 47:5) [G]et thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called The mistress of kingdoms. (9) but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee ... (11) Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not.

When scientists discovered what they thought was the smallest particle of matter they called it the atom from the Greek word atomo, meaning "indivisible". Now we know that the atom actually is divisible. As a Bible scientist I discovered that atomo, translated "moment" in the New Testament, is also divisible. (1 Cor. 15:51) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment (atomo), in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The atom has been divided.

In the very end of a forty-day moment, or atom, in history, the rapture/resurrection comes. "Twinkling" here is the Greek word rhipe, and means "a very rapid movement", like a wink, which describes the Hebrew word for "moment". Though a "moment" is but a wink in history, the translation of the saints is a far smaller period of time. The power of God is awesome.

Remember in the beginning of Zechariah 14:4 the feet of the Body of Christ divide the nations as these saints are in the spiritual ark of the Psalm 91 protection of God. At the end of that "moment" the saints are translated as the ark lifts off and the saints have the wicked under their feet in judgment. After they reign over this flood of destruction they visibly return with their Lord in the end of verse five. (Zech. 14:5) [A]nd the Lord my God shall come, and all the holy ones (born again Jews and Gentiles) with thee. Then Zechariah gives another explanation of this same scenario. The saints leave on the morning of the "day" of the Lord and then return in the evening. (6) And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light; the bright ones (saints) shall withdraw themselves: (7) but it shall be one day which is known unto the Lord; not day, and not night (sun and moon dark); but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light (saints return). Notice that when there is no light it is because the bright ones have lifted-off in the ark. Jesus said, "Ye are the light of the world". It is only reasonable that when the light returns it is because the Lord and His saints have returned to finish judging the world.

Then the Lord and His saints will make war on the beast and save Jerusalem. (12) And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet. Notice that in this last battle the flesh will be consumed. When the saints returned to earth in the ark, the first order of business was to sacrifice the flesh of beasts on the mountains of Ararat. (Gen. 8:20) And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.

In what I will later prove is the last battle, the saints sacrifice the beasts of all nations. (Ezk. 39:17) Speak unto the birds of every sort, 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. (18) of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. (20) And ye shall be filled at my table with all men of war ... (21) and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

Jude and Revelation address the ark returning to finish-off the nations in one last sacrifice of flesh. (Jude 14) Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, (15) to execute judgment upon all. (Rev. 19:11) And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True ... (14) And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses ... (15) And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword (the spoken curse), that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God ... (17) And I saw an angel saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come [and] be gathered together unto the great supper of God; (18) that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of all men.

In summary the year of the Lord's wrath begins with a U.N. beast force gathered to divide Israel, while persecuting the saints worldwide. At this time the Lord speaks through His remnant body, who are in the spiritual ark of divine protection, to divide the nations as Russia, China and company nuke the U.S. and company, and the sun and moon are darkened. After forty days of the saints being supernaturally protected through this, they are translated as the ark rides above the destruction. Then China and company fall out with Russia and beat them in the next battle. Then another peace treaty is made and Russia leads all the nations in an attempt to finish the job on Israel, who is much hated and blamed for all of this. At that time the Lord comes with His saints to destroy the beast army and set up the kingdom. There is even more proof for these end-time battles.

Daniel's visions of the beast kingdoms are proven to be a succession of world-ruling kingdoms which conquered one another down through history. However, they are also proven to be "latter days" factions of a one-world beast conquering one another in a civil war. (Dan. 2:28) [B]ut there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

In this vision the historic kingdoms foreshadow end-time kingdoms that succeed one another in battles to rule the world. Continuing Daniel's text, I will identify first the historic kingdom and then its fulfillment as an end-time kingdom like so: (historic/end-time). (31) Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible. (32) As for this image, its head was of fine gold (Babylon/U.S.), its breast and its arms of silver (Medo-Persia / Russian confederacy), its belly and its thighs of brass (Grecian Empire divided into four nations / Germany, China, etc.), (33) its legs of iron (Eastern and Western Roman Empire /Eastern and Western block nations), its feet part of iron (Roman Empire, the U.S./U.N. beast), and part of clay (the seed whose forefathers were never a part of the original Roman Empire).

In a parallel vision in Daniel 7, he speaks of these four consecutive beast kingdoms and their battles in the end-time. (Dan. 7:3) And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. (4) The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it. (5) And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. (6) After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. (7) After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse (diverse in that it is the corporate beast, having devoured all the rest) from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

The common historic interpretation of this is that the lion with eagle's wings was Babylon, the bear was Medo-Persia, the leopard with four heads was Greece, and the ten-horned beast was Rome. Each of these kingdoms conquered the previous kingdom so that they lost their dominion "yet their lives were prolonged" (12). In this way the seed of all of these kingdoms, plus two previous kingdoms, are alive today as the seven heads: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Revived Rome as the U.S./U.N./U.R. dragon, and then the U.S./U.N./U.R. beast being the eighth head. The original Roman Empire was the head that was wounded unto death, but will live in the Tribulation as a revived Roman Empire (Rev. 13:2, 3). This last beast "shall devour the whole earth" (Dan. 7:23).

I want to share with you a deeper, but just as true, meaning concerning the wars between these kingdoms. That is to say, they are more than historic; they are also future. Daniel pointed to an end-time interpretation, saying the king's dream of these successive kingdoms "shall be in the latter days" (Dan. 2:28). In other words, these wars are also between end-time kingdoms. The beast kingdoms that once conquered the physical kingdom of apostate Israel are a type of the end-time beast kingdoms that will conquer the flesh of the spiritual kingdom of Israel, the Church. In the same way, the principality (evil spirit) that once ruled over physical Babylon now rules over spiritual Babylon. Daniel's revelation was a dual prophecy identifying both the physical ancient kingdoms by their historic symbols and their modern day spiritual counterparts with the same symbols. The battles between these end-time kingdoms will begin in the Day of the Lord when, united together, they attempt to conquer Israel and the remnant of the saints worldwide. The first kingdom, Babylon, was "like a lion, and had eagle's wings (Dan. 7:4). The major military nations that are identified here are the U.S., Britain, Canada, and Australia. When the division comes, the Russian bear will lead the nations to conquer the lion with eagle's wings. It is told to "Arise, devour much flesh" and subsequently "three ribs were in its mouth" (5).

These three ribs are three continental divisions, which are North America, Europe, and Australia. This will begin the first real World War and the Day of the Lord. Then the Russian bear will be beaten by the leopard. (6) After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. The leopard was originally Alexander the Great's Grecian kingdom that divided into "four heads". These four generals divided-up the kingdom after Alexander's death.

In Daniel 8:8 and 11:4 these are identified as the four winds, which originally were four kingdoms of nations north, south, east, and west of Israel. They were Syria in the north, Egypt in the south, Asia Minor in the east, and Macedonia in the west. In the end, the leopard with its multicolored coat will once again identify a multi-national, multi-racial alliance. Germany has the symbol of the leopard today and, like Alexander's kingdom, was divided to four generals for reconstruction upon Hitler's death at the end of WWII. Germany was famous for its blitzkrieg (literally "lightning war") but Alexander perfected this first.

Germany will unite with other U.N. nations to conquer the Russians and allies. The leopard was believed in ancient times to be the result of crossing lions with panthers; hence its name leo-pardus, or "lion-panther". The leopard of Germany would unite some NATO allies of the conquered lion and some of her cubs to join in the war against the bear. The lion is also a traditional symbol of Spain. It is depicted on coats of arms or flags of several Asian nations, Burma, the Philippines and Hong Kong. It is a favorite symbol in Taiwan, India and Sri Lanka. The leopard is common to Africa and southern Asia (kings of the east) and there is evidence that nations from some of these areas will ally with Germany against Russia and allies, especially after its nukes are spent on the U.S. and allies.

An angel spoke to Dumitru Duduman of this war against the bear after its conquest of the U.S. Here is a portion of that revelation.

When God will hit America, all the nations will be terrified. God will raise up China, Japan, and many other nations, and they will beat the Russians. They will push them back to the gates of Paris. There they will make a peace treaty, but they will make the Russians their leader. All the nations with the Russians as their leader will go against Israel. It's not that they want to; God makes them.

As we have seen, the beast is a U.S. of the world in three stages: the U.N., the dragon, and the Revelation 13 beast. This last-stage world beast will make war on the saints during the last half of the Tribulation (Rev. 13:7). The saints here are both the remnant of natural Israel, now turned to God, and the true Gentile Church. (Mt. 24:8) But all these things are the beginning of travail. (9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake.

At the end of the Tribulation when the beast is in danger of wiping-out some of the most holy of the saints, and when its U.N. army is gathered to enforce its will on natural Israel, God will divide the beast, and its members will make war against each other. That is where the (1) lion/eagle, (2) bear, (3) leopard, (4) beast wars come from. This is a civil war in the midst of the beast and, as such, these wars are actually only battles in a one-world civil war. In this way the beast will "devour the whole earth" (Dan. 7:23). Just as the lion/eagle leads the U.N. beast and fights its battles now, the bear and leopard will in their time. Notice that number (4) is once again called the beast because all the remnants of the previous wars are gathered again to divide Jerusalem for the sake of an elusive peace that cannot be. As the angel told Dumitru after the leopard beats the bear, "All the nations with the Russians as their leader will go against Israel".

WHEN IS THE EZEKIEL 38 & 39 WAR?

The war in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is greatly misunderstood in timing, scope, and length. I will prove that this is not a pre-Tribulation war as traditionally taught but the same post-Tribulation, all-nations war we have been discussing. (Ezk. 38:1) And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh (or "chief prince"), Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, (3) and say, Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh (or "chief prince"), Meshech, and Tubal: (4) and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords: (5) Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; (6) Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with thee. (7) Be thou prepared, yea, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy companies that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

The leader of this invading army is "Gog" the "prince of Rosh" which is a lot like "prince of Rush" or Russ-ia. A more likely translation, since "Rosh" can mean "chief", makes "Gog" the "chief prince" or principality over "Magog". This fits with his nature shown elsewhere. Gog is said to be a "guard unto them", meaning he is the protector of this great company, which is impossible for a man. Even though his whole army is wiped-out, Gog does not die in the war because he is a principality that inhabits and rules this body of people through his demonic minions. As such, his body will die in this war and be buried in "Hammon-gog" (Ezk. 39:11), meaning "the multitude of Gog." As a spirit he will live on to raise up the nations to war against the saints a thousand years later at the end of the seventh millennium in Revelation 20:7. This proves he is either a principality or very old man.

Since Gog rules the northern army and is the real king of the north, his own land must be a leader in international politics. "Magog" means, in Hebrew, "The region of Gog", which many ancient writers and historians such as Hesiod, Herodotus, Philo, and Josephus say were the Scythians that lived in the area of Russia. Some say "Magog" is Georgia, which is barely bigger than Israel and is not such a significant influence that it would be leading the nations as is Russia. The Great Wall across the north of China was called in the 8th century, Sud Yagog et Magog, "The Rampart of Gog and Magog"; Georgia is not anywhere near China but obviously Russia is north of The Great Wall. Gog is also called the Chief Prince of "Meshech, and Tubal", which originally settled northeast Turkey. They appear to have migrated under Gog's jurisdiction tosouthern Russia and Georgia, her satellite. This is a perfect place on the path of the northern army by the Black Sea to unload troop ships from Cush and Put. "Cush" is Hebrew for Ethiopia. "Put" is Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritania. "Persia" is the people of modern Iran. "Gomer" settled in the Rhine and Danube Valleys, indicating Germany. "Togarmah" refers to Turkey, Armenia, and Turkestan.

It appears that Gog gathers Magog out of the far north and gathers allied nations as he descends toward Israel. (Ezk. 38:15) And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army. This does not include all those who already live in the battle theater, nor the armies from the south or east that take part in this war. Let's examine Ezekiel's list of the names in this great northern army: Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Togarmah (38:3, 5, 6). Six of these, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, and Togarmah, were conquered by ancient Babylon but, along with the rest, will be drawn by God to the mountains of Israel to be utterly destroyed by the nukes of modern Babylon in the southern army, the U.S.

We can find these names in other Scriptures which clearly identify the timing as "the day of the Lord". (30:3) For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations. (4) And a sword shall come upon Egypt ... (5) Ethiopia (Hebrew: Cush), and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. We see here that two of the northern army will be joined by others that come to the battle theater from other directions and are destroyed together in "the day of the Lord". Tradition has taught this was a pre-Tribulation war but as we have already discovered, the "day of the Lord" is "after the tribulation" when the sun and moon are darkened in Matthew 24:29 and Acts 2:20. Three more are mentioned in the same text that were and will be destroyed in the Day of the Lord. (32:24) There is Elam (Persia) and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword ... (26) There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Babylon also conquered half of Turkey, which was inhabited by Togarmah.

Jeremiah also spoke of this war as being in the Day of the Lord. (Jer. 46:9) Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow. (10) For that day is [a day] of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, Lord of hosts, hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. Joel called them the "northern army", which attacks Israel after the Tribulation in "the day of the Lord". (Joel 2:11) And the Lord uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (20) but I will remove far off from you the northern [army,] and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, its forepart into the eastern sea, and its hinder part into the western sea; and its stench shall come up, and its ill savor shall come up, because it hath done great things. We are then told this is after the sun and moon are darkened, which Matthew 24:29 said was after the Tribulation. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord cometh. Clearly, the destruction of this northern army is after the Tribulation when the nations become divided over Israel.

Let's examine Ezekiel's list again: Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Togarmah (38:5, 6). Persia is the only name here that identified a geographic kingdom. The other names here are not just nations, as tradition has taught but the descendants of Noah's sons, Japheth and Ham, listed in Genesis 10:1-6 below. By geometric progression Noah's grandsons populated the whole earth, not just a few nations. You will also notice that "Gog" is the only name in Ezekiel's list that was not among Noah's grandsons, which is another proof that he is not a man but a principality. Japheth's sons, whose seed is in the northern army, are underlined here. (Gen. 10:2) The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. One great-grandson of Noah is mentioned: (3) And the sons of Gomer: Togarmah. Forefathers not underlined in this list have children already in the battle theater and would not be mentioned among the northern army that came down from the north. These in the battle theater are overwhelmingly Islamic enemies of Israel who will also be involved in this war.

As we will see, "all nations", that is all of Noah's grandson's seed, will be gathered together against Israel. "Madai" fathered the Medes, who are now the nation-less Kurds that generally live in east Turkey, northeast Iraq, northwest Iran, northeast Syria, Armenia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and beyond. "Javan" fathered a people who settled in Turkey, Greece, Syria, Yemen, Arabia, and beyond. "Tiras" fathered children who settled in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, and beyond. Ham's sons, whose seed are in the northern army, are underlined here. (10:6) And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan. Those not underlined are not in the northern army but already live in the battle theater. The seed of "Mizraim" settled in Egypt and beyond. The seed of "Canaan" were dispossessed and scattered by the Hebrews but live in the battle theater and beyond.

The other son of Noah, Shem, fathered "Elam", who settled Persia, which is mentioned in the northern army. Persia today is Iran and parts of Afghanistan. (10:22) The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram. The rest of Shem's local seed not underlined already live in the battle theater or south of it and would not be listed in the far northern army coming down to Israel. The seed of "Asshur" settled in what was known as Assyria, which was initially south of Armenia and north of Babylonia in what is now mostly northern Iraq and northern Syria. The seed of "Arpachshad" settled in Chaldea in southern Babylonia and Israel because he was the ancestor of Abraham. The seed of "Lud" was scattered in North Africa, Asia Minor and Assyria, and was thought to have founded Lydia, now western Turkey. The seed of "Aram" founded Syria and beyond.

The seed of the above mentioned men who live in those locations and are also spread throughout the earth are part of "all nations" that come against Israel. Ezekiel 38:1-6 was primarily pointing out here the army coming from "the uttermost parts of the north", but that does not mean that they all lived there. The seed of these individual men have a tendency to stick together. Just as nations in other parts of the world who have a common heritage with the predominant seed of the U.S. tend to come and fight alongside her, so it will be with this northern army. However, there will be a division between the northern and southern armies, which are also listed in the text.

As part of a U.N. beast force, Gog leads the northern army against Israel. (Ezk. 38:8) After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them. (9) And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy hordes, and many peoples with thee. These armies of the U.N. beast come to the mountains of Israel to enforce a U.N. resolution to divide Jerusalem with the Palestinians. Zechariah said that "all nations" will come to divide Jerusalem with the words "thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee" and "half of the city shall go forth into captivity" (Zech. 14:1,2). As you probably know, the Palestinians have demanded "half of the city". When the nations divide Jerusalem, God will divide them. (3) Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. Here in Ezekiel's text we are told of this division. (Ezk. 38:21) [E]very man's sword shall be against his brother.

It will begin in this Day of the Lord as Gog unfolds his "evil device". As we saw, in a prearranged plot, China will attack Taiwan and North Korea will attack South Korea, and while U.S. forces are out of the country and spread thin on so many battle fronts, the Russians and allies will strike. (Ezk. 38:10) It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt devise an evil device: (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 securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates. This cannot be Israel, as most believe. She cannot be "at rest" for vast armies are at her doors in verse (8). She is not "unwalled" but has plenty of walls, including a huge wall separating them from the Palestinians.

It is the people of Babylonish U.S. who "dwell securely" and "are at rest" because of her nuclear walls and gates but, as we saw, because of a sudden first-strike "ambush" her "walls are thrown down" and "her high gates shall be burned with fire". Ezekiel continues to tell us of Gog's hidden intent. (12) [T]o take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn thy hand against the waste places that are [now] inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth. The U.S. is a "melting pot" of "people that are gathered out of the nations". Notice that part of the enticing spoil is "cattle and goods". Israel has very few cattle. Their cattle couldn't feed that vast army a hamburger! It is the U.S. that is famous for "cattle and goods".

As Babylon of old was the "middle of the earth" as far as trade and merchandise goes, so the U.S. is now. The Hebrew word for "middle" is tabbur, which means "navel". Revelation 18 is clear that the whole body of the earth is fed through the "navel of the earth", Babylon. This whole Hebrew phrase, tabbur of the eretz is found in only one other place in the Bible. Prophetically enough, it was identified as Shechem, which we identified earlier as the harlot that had a covenant with the beast, Abimelech, to kill the seventy sons of the Man-child, Gideon. (Jdg. 9:34) And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. Notice that Shechem was "ambushed" by four companies of the beast army. Gaal in Shechem noticed them saying, "See, there come people down by the middle of the land" (37) or tabbur of the eretz. It is Babylonish U.S., at the head of the beast in our day, that will be guilty of the blood of the saints who will be raised by the Man-child (Rev. 17:6, 18:24). It was Israel that was guilty of this in Jesus' day and will be once again with the remnant. In accordance with this both the U.S. and Israel will be attacked.

The king of the south, the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, and allies get this sudden revelation of the king of the north's real intent when they are attacked in conjunction with a first strike on the U.S. (13) Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil? Sheba was a great grandson of Ham who settled a land by that name in what is now southwest Arabia, Yemen and northeast Ethiopia across the Straits of Babel-Mandeb. Dedan is also a great grandson of Ham and brother to Sheba who settled in Edom, which was south of the Dead Sea in what is now southern Jordan. These Muslim peoples are allies in the war on terrorism with "the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof", which is another type of the modern lion with eagle's wings. Again, Britain's national symbol is the lion, and her "young lions" are the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the rest of the commonwealth nations. Tarshish was a grandson of Japheth whose seed also founded these English-speaking nations. The "merchants of Tarshish", like the "young lions" of Britain, were made famous for their great sea-going ships and trade, however merchant ships today are sea-going and air-going. It has been very hard for historians to tie-down any singular land called "Tarshish".

There was a city of trade in the western Mediterranean near Gibraltar, Spain by that name and perhaps that is where Jonah fled. But the term seems to have been connected with areas known for sea trade in Spain, Italy, north Africa, south India, Greece, etc., hence "merchants of Tarshish". The harlot, representing the U.S., is rebuked for making merchandise of the nations (Nah. 3:4; Rev. 18:3). Soloman and Hiram, king of Tyre, both had a "navy of Tarshish" (1 Ki. 10:22) and "Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold" (22:48). Nations with great seagoing ships and navies like the U.S. and Britain were termed "Tarshish". In the time of the end, ships of Tarshish are the first to bring sons of Zion to their land (Isa. 60:9), which sounds like the U.S. and Britain.

The isle of Tyre is most often connected with the "ships of Tarshish" and in fact was called their stronghold. (Isa. 23:1) The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for it is laid waste ... (14) Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste. As we saw in the last chapter, Tyre is one of the clearest types of the U.S. in the Bible. Tyre imposed her dominance by her merchant ships of Tarshish. The U.S. has imposed her dominance by air- and sea-going "merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof" (Ezk. 38:13). This western resistance to the king of the north, joined with Middle Eastern allies, represents the king of the south. As we have seen, the kings of the east first ally with the king of the north to destroy the king of the south, and then they fight to destroy each other. All this shows the Ezekiel 38, 39 war to be more than just a few nations, but all nations.

This is the war that begins at the end of the Tribulation with a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the Russians, when all nations as the U.N. beast army come to impose their will on Israel. (Ezk. 39:6) And I will send a fire on Magog (Russians and some allies), and on them that dwell securely in the isles (mostly the U.S. and Britain because of their nuclear capability). We have seen in Hebrew that "the isles" are better understood as "continents" following when the single land mass in Genesis 1:9 was divided after Babel to further separate the nations. (Gen. 10:5) Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands. The people of North America and Britain "dwell securely in the isles" because of being separated from their enemies by water, just as it was with the island of Tyre.

Tyre is the clearest type of the U.S. next to Babylon. Tyre's fall in Isaiah 23 and 24 is quoted as a type of the destruction of the U.S. in the famous vision given to Evangelist A. A. Allen discussed in the last chapter. "The voice of God" quoted Isaiah 24:1-6 in this text as speaking of the destruction of the U.S. In part: "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left" (Isa. 24:3-6).

The U.S. breaks God's covenant and the people of the earth will be "burned, and few men left" just as in the Ezekiel nuclear exchange. In our Isaiah text, a remnant of the righteous escapes this burning and rejoices just as the saints will in the ark before it lifts off. (13) For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done (reaping what is left after a harvest). This is the remnant of the saints in the ark after the Tribulation harvest of martyrs. (14) These shall lift up their voice, they shall shout; for the majesty of the Lord they cry aloud from the sea. (15) Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the east (Hebrew: "fires")... in the isles of the sea. (16) From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous.

North America is an "isle of the sea" that is in "the uttermost part of the earth" from Israel, to whom this is primarily spoken! The Russians and some allies known as Magog, and the U.S., are also "uttermost" from one another. When God says concerning the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war that "I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the isles", He is at least speaking of a nuclear war between Russia with their allies, and their uttermost enemy, the U.S. When we continue the Isaiah 24 parallel text we can see the timing of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war is the Day of the Lord, after the Tribulation. (18) [F]or the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. Compare this to the account of the flood which came "after the seven days" of Tribulation. (Gen. 7:11) In the six hundredth year of Noah's life were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. This tells us that the Ezekiel war is in the year of wrath. As we continue the text we see more evidence that this war is at the end of the earth as we know it, when it is knocked off its axis. (Isa. 24:19) The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is shaken violently. (20) The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. This identifies the last world war, rather than a pre-Tribulation war.

Another way to discover the timing of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war is to compare its description with the last war in the Day of the Lord's wrath at the end of the Tribulation. All nations are represented in both descriptions, because they are one and the same battle. Compare their prophecies of the nuclear exchange and the resulting great world earthquake in the "wrath of God" (Rev. 16:1), or the "great day of God". (Rev. 16:14) [G]ather them together unto the war of the great day of God ... (16) into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon ... (18) and there were lightnings (nuclear), and voices, and thunders (nuclear); and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. (19) and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (20) And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Notice that every city and mountain falls in this last, greatest earthquake. Compare this with Ezekiel's prophecy of the same nuclear world war and earthquake. (Ezk. 38:18) [W]hen Gog shall come against the land of Israel ... my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. (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 ... 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. How could every wall, city, and mountain fall at the beginning of the Tribulation, when most believe this happens? Could there be a Tribulation if this happened at the beginning? This has to be after the Tribulation because at least one of these mountains, Olives, falls at the Armegeddon war in the Day of the Lord. (Zech. 14:1) Behold, a day of the Lord cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. (2) For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ... (4) And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west ... Since this mountain didn't fall seven years before, this is where the mountains fall. This war is clearly after the Tribulation. Notice also that this happens "at my presence" (Ezk. 38:20), or the time of the coming of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation.

Compare also their prophecies of the great hailstorm, which is a side effect of the nuclear exchange. (Rev. 16:21) And great hail, [every stone] about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great. Compare that last war with Ezekiel's war. (Ezk. 38:22) I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. This strange event will happen in the last nuclear exchange.

Compare the great slaughter of end-time armies to feed the ravenous birds of every sort. How many battles are there in which the bodies were left for the birds? (Rev. 19:17) And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come [and] be gathered together unto the great supper of God; (18) 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 thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great. Compare that last world war with Ezekiel's revelation of the same war. (Ezk. 39:4) Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. (17) And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord: Speak unto the birds of every sort ... that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. (18) Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth.

As we have seen, at the coming of the Lord after the Tribulation, He destroys Israel's enemies by dividing the attackers and so it is in Ezekiel's scenario. (Ezk. 38:20) [A]ll the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence ... (21) And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord: every man's sword shall be against his brother. Because of the presence of the Lord and this devastating judgment, all nations including natural Israel come to fear the true God and acknowledge Him. Although the elect of natural Israel were saved before this time, in the end of the Tribulation the remainder will now understand that the Gospel was the truth. (Ezk. 39:7) And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. (22) So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day and forward. This revelation of God to the nations cannot happen at the beginning of the Tribulation, the traditional time of Ezekiel's war, for they would neither follow the beast nor persecute spiritual or physical Israel.

The great armies that God sacrifices to the birds are called the "fatlings of Bashan", which is the area of Syria from Damascus and south. (39:18) 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. It appears God will bring the northern army through Syria, fattening them up in Bashan, and then bring them over the Golan Heights to their slaughter. It is possible that, at this time of the division of the world beast, Damascus is destroyed. (Isa. 17:1) The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. It is possible that Damascus is nuked along with King Assad. The Bible Code by Michael Drosnin reveals a single skip sequence on page 134, "Armageddon, Assad holocaust". "Syria" and "Russia" and "China" and "USA" appear with "world war". Also on page 135 we see, "Gog, land of Magog", "Syria", "Gog", "A great horde, a mighty army", and "Magog". Once again "Armageddon" reveals this to be an end of the Tribulation war.

Something else that must be kept in mind when considering this theory about the fall of Damascus is that two beast empires, in one of their types, represented the end-time world Beast Empire. Both of these as two witnesses conquered Syria and partially burned Damascus before they fell and the head of both as a type is the U.S. In Jeremiah 49:23-27; 34-39, Babylon conquered Syria, burning Damascus, just before conquering Elam (Iran), which is just before her own fall in Jeremiah 50. Speaking of the same events in Jeremiah 25:25, 26 the "kings of Zimri" (Syria) fall just before Elam (Iran), which is just immediately before Babylon is destroyed. Zimri was a king of Syria around 1780 B.C. and was probably Zimran, a son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:2). Syria is Shemite, just as Israel is.

The Assyrian Empire also conquered Syria and Damascus before invading Israel and Judah, threatening Jerusalem, when God killed 185,000 of them in one night and the rest fled (Isa. 37:36, 37). This sets up a scenario whereby Damascus could be partially burned near the end of the Tribulation during a clash with the U.S. and then, when the division of the One World Order comes, as they come against Jerusalem, she is nuked along with the many armies. (Isa. 17:12) Ah, the uproar of many peoples, that roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty waters (the flood of the Day of the Lord)! (13) The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm (nuclear storm). (14) At eventide, behold, terror; [and] before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that despoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. Armies of nations will be blown away in one night as chaff and dust, which describes nuclear warfare.

Notice in verse 13 that the nations would be "like the whirling dust before the storm". This is almost a direct quote from Psalm 83, which as a sign is also in verse 13. (Ps. 83:13) O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind. (15) So pursue them with thy tempest, And terrify them with thy storm. Many have wondered when the war in Psalm 83 happens. This appears to be an indication that, although these nations will be presented the cup of wrath during the Tribulation, their ultimate end will come at the Armageddon war. Ancient peoples all around Israel who live in the battle theater are listed as coming with one accord to attack her. This is beginning to happen now. Even historic enemies are coming together over their common dislike of Israel and the U.S. (5) For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant: (6) The tents of Edom (Jordan) and the Ishmaelites (Saudi Arabia); Moab (Jordan), and the Hagarenes (Arabs); (7) Gebal (Lebanon), and Ammon (Jordan), and Amalek (Sinai nomads); Philistia (Palestinians) with the inhabitants of Tyre (Lebanon): (8) Assyria (Iraq, Syria, Turkey) also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot.

Middle Eastern historians agree that until the 1948 and 1967 wars there has been no such alignment of nations against Israel. These are also listed among the peoples in Jeremiah 25 to whom Babylonish U.S. brings the cup of wrath during the Tribulation. At this time the elect among the Muslims will see their god is not saving them from great devastation and will turn to the Lord. (16) Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Lord. (18) That they may know that thou alone, whose name is the Lord, Art the Most High over all the earth. Although the elect among these Muslims come to accept the Lord by the end of the Tribulation, their nations as a whole won't know the Lord is God until the Day of the Lord when the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war happens.

There is another strong indication in our text that these nations meet their final judgment at this time. (Ps. 83:11) Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna; (12) Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession The habitations of God. Notice that these leaders of the Psalm 83 war are said to meet with the same end as those mentioned in a war that happened after seven years of bondage that drove Israel into their wilderness, representing the Tribulation. (Jdg. 6:1) And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. (2) And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

At this time a Man-child with an army of overcomers was raised up by God to conquer the oppressors who had gathered together as three armies. (33) Then all the Midianites (the king of the north representing Russia and allies) and the Amalekites (the king of the south representing the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, and allies) and the children of the east (the kings of the east representing China, India, Japan, North Korea, possibly some Muslim countries, etc.) assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel (also known as the plain of Megiddo, where Armageddon is fought). (34) But the Spirit of the Lord came upon (Hebrew: "clothed itself with") Gideon ...

At this time the Man-child, Gideon, gathered a three-hundred-man army, which had overcome all the trials that God had put before them, against an army that is said to be "like locusts for multitude" (7:12). Gideon's army then blew their trumpets, or, as we have seen, spoke the Word of the Spirit, and the three sects of the nations were divided by God to destroy each other. (7:22) And they blew the three hundred trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host ... Remember that the Man-child and saints will be here for forty days of the Day of the Lord and they will divide the beast kingdom.

The remnants of these armies were conquered by Israel, and Oreb and Zeeb mentioned in Psalm 83, were slain. (7:25) And they took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan. Zebah and Zalmunna, were killed by Gideon. (Jdg. 8:21)...And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels necks. This all indicates to me that the war in Psalm 83 ends up at Armegeddon with the destruction of the world armies of the north, south, and east. Another fact that ties these wars together is that Isaiah prophesied that God would destroy the Assyrians in the same way when they came against Zion. (Isa. 10:26) And the Lord of hosts will stir up against him (Assyria) a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt. This has never been fulfilled in the natural but will be at the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war in the Day of the Lord. In the remaining verses of Isaiah 10 the Assyrians take out the cities north of Jerusalem in verses 28-32 but upon arriving there they are destroyed in the next two verses. (33) Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low. (34) And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron ... Just as the Man-child Gideon was filled with the Spirit and blew his trumpet, symbolizing the breath of the Word of the Spirit, so in the next verses the Man-child is filled with the Spirit and destroys the wicked with "with the breath of his lips". (11:1) And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. (2) And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him ... (4) and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Some say that the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war must happen before the Tribulation because the weapons are burned for seven years. (Ezk. 39:9) And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years.

Some say that since earth is destroyed after the Tribulation there wouldn't be seven years left. This is false because, as we saw in chapter nine on Two Witnesses, Peter compared the destruction of the earth in the flood with its later destruction by fire (2 Pet. 3:5-7). The ball of mud was not destroyed at the flood, only the surface was. So it will be in the Day of the Lord because "the earth abideth for ever" (Eccl. 1:4). Only the surface of the earth shall be changed like a garment. (Ps. 102:25) Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. (26) They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.