Multitudes In The Valley Of Decision

"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of my people, my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also DIVIDED UP MY LAND." Joel 3:1-2 This is the generation in which God has brought back the Jews who were scattered throughout the world for 2,000 years. And in this generation he is going to gather Israel's enemies to war in the Valley of Jehoshaphat which is just outside Jerusalem, and there the enemies of Israel who come against Jerusalem are going to be destroyed. There are three last-days wars coming which we know of. There may be others, but the Bible specifies three. First will be the Psalm 83 war. Psalm 83 names the peoples who will come against Jerusalem, and these are the countries immediately bordering Israel. In this great war God will bring an end to the so-called "Palestinians" who have caused terror in the land of Israel. These are the peoples who are loudly declaring that they will drive Israel into the sea and take her land. But God has news for them. In this war THEY will be destroyed and Israel's territory will be greatly increased. vs:19 “Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land." In the second war, foretold in Ezekiel 38, there will be a coalition of nations under Russia (Gog of Magog), Iran (Persia), and Turkey (House of Togarmah.) Iran has been boasting for years how they are going to eliminate Israel forever. Well, God has news for them also! Surely they will come against Israel, but in this war God himself is going to destroy them. The third war will be the war of Armageddon in which all the remaining nations who hate Israel will come against her, surround Jerusalem, and come to their end. Until then, the subject of Israel is the great subject which polarizes the entire world. On the one hand are those who have no interest in God's Word, along with those who support the enemies who are determined to create their Islamic state within the borders of Israel. Yes, they want to create their country WITHIN Israel's borders; if that's not obvious, nothing is. This includes the Arabs and other Muslims, the Palestinians, the UN, and most of the world. On the other hand are the believers - those who know God's Word and who have refused to believe the lies that Satan has created against God's people Israel and her land. It all comes down to one thing: one's response to the Word of God and what he has said about "the last days." vs 14: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Believers in the Bible are proclaiming to all who will hear that these are the days prophesied from the ancient Scriptures concerning "the last days," because all the signs mentioned are right now on the scene. The multitudes will make their choice - whether to accept the Word of God, or whether to side with the deception concerning the Satanic AGENDA behind these things. Most of the World will reject what God has to say on the subject, and they will go into the Great Tribulation where the wrath of almighty God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world. Make your choice for the Word of God - or against it - now while there is still time. But know this: refusing to make a choice, is a choice. There will be terrible, terrible judgment upon those who have ignored or refused the Word of God. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." Matthew 24:21 Their defiance will reap its reward then, and hell will follow. All the signs of the times are declaring that that time is about to begin. If you are not sure about your eternal state, it's time to turn to Jesus Christ and surrender your life to him. If you do, you will be saved and these judgments will not be yours. More: God's Covenant With Israel

Then They Shall Know Who Is God And Who Isn't

"Thus says the Lord God:

'When I have gathered the house of Israel

from the peoples among whom they are scattered,

and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles,

then they will dwell in their own land

which I gave to my servant Jacob.

And they will dwell safely there, build houses,

and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely,

WHEN I execute judgments

ON ALL THOSE AROUND THEM WHO DESPISE THEM.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.’ ”

Ezekiel 28:25-26

..."they will dwell safely" ..."when they will dwell securely..."

Right now Israel is not dwelling safely. The Gentiles hate Israel. The United Nations despises her. Israel has been gathered back to her land, but that land is surrounded by the Arabs who hate her so much that they are willing to give their lives to destroy her.

But God has said that he will be hallowed as the God of Israel in the sight of the Gentiles. How can that be? Their hatred of Israel and of the Jews possesses them.

Oh but yes, it surely will be. It will be "when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them." THEN they shall know that God is the God of Israel - and that he is NOT the "moon god" called Allah.

Be watching for this, because he brought them back to the land of their forefathers in 1948, and it is now near the time for these prophecies to be fulfilled and when they are, all will know that the God of Israel is the most high, the Almighty. It will be clear who is God and who is not. He will bring terrible judgments against those who hate his people Israel and Israel will then dwell safely in their land, the land which he gave to Abraham, Abraham's son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob in an everlasting covenant. (Ezekiel 16:60)

The story of Israel is well underway and the whole world is watching. The sentiments of the world are upon Israel's enemies, "the poor Palestinians," the worshipers of a false god who is not god, no, but IS the "god of this world." They call him Allah but in fact he is Satan himself. Jesus said Satan comes "to steal, to kill, and to destroy." It's only so obvious.

The world thinks the Arab-Israeli conflict is a conflict between the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac and Jacob, and indeed it is. But it goes beyond that. THIS IS THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SATAN AND GOD. Satan is amassing all his forces for the showdown between himself and the God of Israel, and then the conflict will be settled once and for all:

"The devil, WHO DECEIVED THEM,

was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone

where the beast and the false prophet are.

And they will be tormented day and night

forever and ever."

Revelation 20:10

"When I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them,

THEN they shall know that I am the Lord their God. ”

Whose side are you on? Must we choose sides? Oh yes, you either believe the Word of God or by default you find yourself on the losing side.

Not to choose is to choose. We are all are born in a fallen state, into a fallen world, a world under the dominion of Satan himself who the Scriptures say is "the god of this world" (2nd Corinthians 4:4). That is why Jesus said we must be born again. To be born again is to be delivered from the world system under “the god of this world” - to be born into the kingdom of God.   

"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

whose minds THE GOD OF THIS WORLD has blinded,

who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,

who is the image of God, should shine on them."

2nd Corinthians 4:4

The Only Death A Believer In Christ Will Ever Know

"Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death.” John 8:51 What an amazing statement Jesus made here. Sometimes words in the Scriptures are so foreign to the way we think that we just skip over them, not taking to heart what is being said. How can Jesus say that if one keeps his Word, he will never die? Do you think he meant exactly what he said? When one questions the validity of a Scripture passage, one way to learn more about it is to look to see if the same principle is repeated anywhere else in the Scriptures. This particular Word of Jesus Christ IS repeated: The setting is the death of Lazarus as Jesus comes upon the graveyard scene and meets the two sisters who question why he didn't come earlier, crying that he might have healed their brother so that he wouldn't have died. In the conversation that ensues, Jesus once again makes that remarkable statement: "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:26 How can this be? We've all known many believers who have died. Was Jesus wrong about this? Jesus went on to ask: "Do you believe this?" The noted Bible scholar Chuck Missler said that when you see an apparent contradiction in the Bible, you should follow it through and search it out because there's a gem waiting to be discovered. No, Jesus was not wrong when he said that those who believe in him shall never die. When a believer in Jesus Christ dies in this world, he immediately opens his eyes in heaven. So truly, truly, every believer in Jesus Christ simply changes location when they leave this world and enter the next. It’s not death, it’s simply a change in location. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2nd Corinthians 5:8) The person who dies in this world doesn’t cease to exist. He enters into a new life of an abundance of joy. Death therefore, is actually a glorious thing. The believer will immediately be welcomed by loved ones who have gone on before; it will be a tremendously exciting experience filled with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." If every believer could thoroughly understand this, death would no longer be the terrible thing that those of us on this side think it to be. There was never a single moment in the departing saint's life that could have been equaled to the joyful arrival in heaven to a tremendous welcoming group of loved ones. And once the joy and hugs and embraces and excitement is finished ...the believer ...will be taken to meet ....Jesus. There is no joy in existence that can even come close to the joy of a believer being welcomed by the one he/she believed in for so long without seeing. I read a short passage one time that I've always remembered. It was the story of a ship leaving the docks and heading out into the horizon. On the waterfront the loved ones are watching and waving and sobbing as the ship slowly departs. But ...on the other side ...are the shouts of glory, "Here she comes!" And that is death, the only death the believer in Jesus Christ will ever know.