These articles are taken from an e-Book of the same title: "The Ezekiel 38/Psalm 83 Prophecies: Russia, Iran and Muslim Nations in Biblical Prophecy”
| Introduction to Ezekiel 38-39
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| The amazing prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39, written 2,600 years ago, have received a lot of attention recently because of current events in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Russia. Think about that for a moment. Of what other religious book in existence do 2,600-year old specific prophecies command the attention of millions of people? There is none. And what we discuss here is only one of hundreds of examples written by the prophets; indeed almost 30% of what they wrote was prophetic!
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| The Identity of the Players in Ezekiel 38
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| Below I will provide my interpretation on the modern identity or probable/possible identity of the ancient geographical locations listed in Ezekiel 38.
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| Further Confirmation
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| Most prophecy experts confirm this general picture of Russia and a coalition of Muslim nations. Consider a few examples that we cite below and later.
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| Looking Deeper
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| We will now proceed with a more in-depth discussion of this prophecy.
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| Back to the Future
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| Many Israelis today are hoping for a potential Russian/US alliance that will protect them from Iran, but this would comprise the same fatal mistake ancient Israel made in trusting their protection to alliances with surrounding pagan nations rather than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who called them as a people for His own pleasure and possession. He is the only one who can protect them, no one else.
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| Psalm 83
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| A number of commentaries have pointed out that collectively, the specific nations listed in this Psalm as seeking to destroy Israel have never yet jointly existed in history, which indicates this may have a dual fulfillment, both ancient and future.
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| Vast Oil and Gas Deposits as The Hook
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| In Ezekiel 38 God says he will place a "hook" in the mouth of the leader of Magog and draw him and his coalition down to Israel. While such a "hook" could involve any number of things, as noted above, one obvious possibility would be vast oil and gas deposits in Israel.
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| Specific Gas and Oil Finds
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| In January 2011 it was announced that Israel had found another 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Haifa, worth almost $100 billion, and it was said to “spark a frenzy” by the Wall Street Journal.
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| Iran in the Bible and Biblical Prophecy
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| Iran is clearly the most significant danger faced by modern Israel (as well as America and the world) and some experts see Iran's nuclearization as imminent.
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| God’s Prospering of His People
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| Indeed, if God had not prospered Joseph under the Egyptian Pharaoh, making him second-in-command over all Egypt; if he had not prospered Mordecai and Esther in the Persian Empire, preventing the genocidal destruction of the Jews, and if he had not placed Daniel second or third in power in the neo-Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires, the world would be a far, far darker place today.
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| Modern Iran, Prophecy, and Geopolitics
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| Switching to the modern era, the radical Islamist Iranian Revolution of 1979 changed matters drastically and put in motion a number of factors that are relevant to biblical end times prophecy.
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| Once Again
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| By: John G Weldon, PhD
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| In many ways, it was the Iranian Revolution of 1979 that provided the geo-political platform for Iran's inclusion into the Gog prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39. But prior to the 1979 revolution and subsequent events, how difficult would it have been to see the Persia of Ezekiel 38 fulfilling the role declared there 2,600 years ago?
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