Gog will fall on the mountains od Israel

 

Ezekiel 39:1-13

 

February 4, 2024

 

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus, says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel.  Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand.  You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.  You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

“And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.  Behold, it is coming, and it will be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day of which I have spoken.

“Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs, and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God.

“On that day, I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-Gog.  For seven months, the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.  All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord God.  They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months, they will make their search.  And when these travel through the land, and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. (Hamonah is also the name of the city.) Thus, shall they cleanse the land?

 

A day is coming when God is going to get the nations from the north to attack Israel, and it will be God who fights for Israel, and this mass army will be killed by God.  When Jesus comes, we know that the old serpent will be bound for a thousand years, and then we will have the final battle, and Jesus and His bride will rule, and there will be no more evil, for the source of evil will be cast into hell.

We do not know who Gog is, but it is believed that it is a person.  It looks as if Russia or that area will be the one to gather the other nations to attack Israel.  It's not going to go well for them.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Prophecy Against Gog

 

 

Ezekiel 38: 1-23

 

February 3, 2024

 

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords.  Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-Togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you.

“Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them.  After many days, you will be mustered. In the latter years, you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them.  You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.

“Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth.  Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus, says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it?  You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.  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.

“Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?  But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger.  For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.  The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.  I will summon a sword against Gog^] on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother.  With pestilence and bloodshed, I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire, and sulfur.  So, I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

 

As I stated earlier, the book of Ezekiel is about two areas of prophecy that will happen in the days of Ezekiel, and those that are in the future, chapters 38-39, are yet to happen.  So, I went to a reliable source to see their thoughts on these two chapters.  The following is from (Got Questions).

 

“Gog and Magog appear in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 20:7-8. While these two passages use the same names, a close study of Scripture clearly demonstrates they do not refer to the same people and events. The events are separated by at least 1,000 years. In Ezekiel’s prophecy, Gog will be the leader of a great army that attacks the land of Israel, which is “peaceful and unsuspecting” at the time (Ezekiel 38:11). Gog is described as “of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:2–3). When will Ezekiel’s battle of Gog and Magog occur? 

 

Gog is a person. Whoever Gog is, he is from the land of Magog and is the leader of Tubal and Meshek (some translations add “Rosh” to the list) and a confederacy of other nations: Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:5–6). And, whoever he is, he will have plans to “attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people,” viz., Israel (verses 11, 14, and 18). But, regardless of Gog’s plans, the Lord God is against him and will defeat him soundly (Ezekiel 38:4, 19–23; 39:3–5).

Magog is a land “in the far north,” from Israel’s point of view (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:2). Most Bible commentators interpret “Magog” as Russia, and, indeed, Russia is straight north of Israel, all the way up to the Arctic Circle. According to this view, “Rosh” is a reference to Russia, “Meshek” is either Moscow or the people north of the Black Sea (the area of southern Russia and Ukraine), and “Tubal,” which is always listed with Meshek in Scripture, is identified as a city in Siberia or an area in central Turkey.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Path to the Father

 

 

 

 

The Path to the Father
 
 
Wendell, to restore the heart of a man, if I were giving the introduction, this is how I would begin.  If your dad was flawed or the best of dads, he was not God, your creator, who longs to have an intimate relationship with you. He longs for you to know Him as your Father.  Two quotes come to mind; one by a man who lived in the sixteenth century, whose name was Blaise Pascal
"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone."
 
The other is very much like it, and I do not doubt that Blaise took his thoughts from Psalm 46:10
 
“Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”

Update: I am writing on the book of Lamentations, Chapter 3, beginning at verse 25-28a, “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.   It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.   It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.  Let him sit alone in silence,”  
 
Your identity has everything to do with your search for a relationship with the Father.  If your identity is in anything but Jesus, you will not find His Father.  Being a Baptist is of little worth; having wealth is not the answer, or being a leader in your career, or in your Church, will not help you find the joy of knowing the Father; it begins with a first step, knowing that Jesus Christ is living in you.  The next step is spending time in a quiet room, getting to know God, and I’m excited about your journey.

 

I am only on page 61, but it has some good help, and the key is the heart of the man.  His desires and priorities are not something you can teach, and they pass; it will have to be what they long for.

 
Love the guys and pray that they awake, to desire to have a Father.
 
Ken Shuman sent this quote: It is great; I'm convinced that anger is the fruit, but fear is the root. To produce better fruit in our lives, we need to tend to the roots. Next time you get angry, stop and ask yourself what you are being threatened by."

More updates from today's sermon, in Matthew 20, a mother's request, and more than likely, her sons put her up to it.  They want to be the top dogs; many a man wants that in all areas of life.  But a man seeking a path to the Father wants what our Lord tells him in verses 25-28a, Jesus said You want to be a leader, become a servant.

Some great points Rusty Rice made: “Becoming a servant that a leader, not the guy that believes he should be first. “ He went on to say, “If you make yourself the center of your  world, it is going  to be a small world.”  And my last recall was this: “In God’s kingdom, the man who knows the Father is not at the top of the pyramid; he is at the bottom holding up the others, so that many have a relationship with the Father.”  It's great when a Rice can know such truth.

Your brother in Christ,

Bob

I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People

 

Ezekiel 37:15-28

 

February 2, 2024

 

I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’  And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.  And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’  say to them, Thus, says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah^, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.  When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, then say to them, Thus, says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.  And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.  They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

“My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.  They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.  I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.  My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

 

It might be helpful to begin with a reminder, it found in John’s gospel chapter 1:1-3,” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

 

With that established, why did God use Ezekiel, and not just put a big screen in the heavens so that all could see His plan for Israel and Judah?  The answer might be found in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  

 

God often used word pictures, such as the two sticks joined together, to tell His people about His plan. We find word pictures all through the Bible, Psalms, Isaiah, and John, all of which Jesus used in His sermon on the Mount.  Some that were used to depict God, Jehovah is depicted as a King, a Lawmaker, a Judge, and a Warrior​—someone you should respect. He is also portrayed as a Shepherd, a Counselor, a Teacher, a Father, a Healer, and a Savior​—someone you can love. (Taken from the internet).

 

When the why, did He do that comes into my very small mind, these verses come to mind: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Valley of Dry Bones

 

 

Ezekiel 37:1-14

 

February 1, 2024

 

The Valley of Dry Bones

 

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.  And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.  And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live? ” And I answered, 'O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So, I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus, says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”  So, I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’  Therefore, prophesy, and say to them, Thus, says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

 

A valley of dry bones, turned into a mighty army by God. Question: Do you know of a dictator who can do that?  We, the Church, are a mighty army, a chosen people, a holy nation. Our Lord can take dry bones and make a mighty army, and we fear China and Russia; what is wrong with us?

 

It may be hard for you and me to grasp that taking a valley of dry bones scattered all over a valley and God telling Ezekiel to prophesy over them, and yet that is what happens when one obeys God.  Unlike you and me, Ezekiel learned to obey and do as God directed him. What if we, the Church, learned to do so? 

 

What if the Church followed orders? What if we loved others as ourselves, not choosing the ones we would love and the ones we chose not to love?  What if, as we go, we share our hope in Christ Jesus and how He has changed our lives?  What if you honor God above all others, and study the Scriptures looking for directions on living life on planet earth?

 

What if you and I obey God the first time we hear the Spirit speak to us, for anything less than that is not obedience?

 

Then, and only then, would the Church be that mighty army marching to war, living in the power of a God who can make an Army out of dry bones.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

​

Note: As a member of the Body of Christ, His Church, I had to ask myself these painful questions.  How did you do?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

                                                           Ezekiel 36:22-38

 

January 31, 2024

 

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

“Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus, says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.  And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.  I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.  And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.  I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.  Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.  It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

“Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.  And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.  And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’  Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

“Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock.  Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

It has never been about you; it has always been about God.  We live in a culture that teaches it is all about us, in sells we were taught the (WIIFM,) "What's in it For Me", and it is the way many inside the church and outside the church run their lives.  But our Creator God has never put that into your heart, for it has been clear from the beginning it is all about Him. 

 

As one reads these verses, it becomes clear that the Church, each of us who enters by the faith we were given by God, and His grace that has been poured out on us, that we have been given a new heart, a new spirit, and that the Spirit of God now indwells us.

 

What is the Church? It is not a building, nor is it a religion, nor a denomination; it is individuals who were getting their needs met outside of Christ and were drawn by God’s Spirit to a place of agreement that they needed Jesus.  And have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 12:12-14,24b-27 gives us clarity on what takes place after one has entered into Christ.   ^“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 

 But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Now you are the body of Christ and individual members of it.

Is the Church still the Church when it does not abide by what the Scripture states?  Let me address that with Scripture about the Church, both in Revelation and 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”  We are witnesses to that in our time on Planet Earth.  And Revelation tells us that we will see falling away, of the seven churches, two were like many in our time, they were: “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.  Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

You may be in one of these types of churches. Ask the Lord if you are to stay and be a light to a very dark place or to leave, and find a body that follows the teaching of the Scriptures.

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

                                                           Ezekiel 36:1-15

 

January 28, 2024

 

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,’  therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people,  therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around,  therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey.  Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations.  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach.

“But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home.  For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.  And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.  And I will multiply on you, man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.  I will let people walk on you, even my people, Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children.  Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God.  And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel was taken captive with the people of Israel.​  Ezekiel was a priest who was among the Jewish captives carried away to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar in approximately 597 B.C.

 

The countries were pleased to take the best of the grazing land, the cities that were deserted, and even Edom, took joy in the fall of Israel, so they brought God’s wrath on themselves.

 

Ezekiel is prophesying about a time in the future when God will return His people to their homeland and bless them greatly.

 

It is amazing how many people are ignorant of the Scriptures, for God has spoken, He will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel.   Ignorant is not an out.  

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice