Turkey Is Dressing… :: By Terry James

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Terry James

Thanksgiving, the holiday, is just past, and thanks-giving is yet in the future when all the things Jesus and the prophets forewarned will play out on the timeline of human history leading to our Lord’s return. Turkey is at the center of that thanks-giving future, and the nation by that name is hastily dressing—militarily—for its part in a key prophecy, according to the prophet Ezekiel, as we have looked at numerous times.

To reiterate our overview, I revisit what I’ve written before in this regard.

A major leg of the Ezekiel 38-39 Gog-Magog coalition is coming into view. The Turkey leg is now on the end-times table of Bible prophecy.

We are given the nations that will make up that attacking force by the prophet Ezekiel:

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee” (Ezekiel 38:2-6).

Modern-day Turkey covers most of the territory that made up ancient Togarmah. Ezekiel was told to prophesy that the house of Togarmah will be among the horde from the north of Jerusalem that will assault Israel near the time of Christ’s return.

Many things have been written that analyze developments to Israel’s north. It is as if those with spiritually attuned eyes and ears are being given a play-by-play unfolding of this coalition.

Russia is pared down from its configuration as the nucleus of the former Soviet Union. It more or less once again covers territory that it encompassed when Ezekiel gave the Gog-Magog prophecy. Meshech and Tubal comprised that territory. The “Gog” demonic spirit will, according to this prophecy, inhabit the chief prince, or leader of Russia. This leader is also destined to be the leader of the entire coalition.

Developments toward these prophecies have been nothing short of phenomenal lately.

Russia, after falling apart as the USSR, is again a powerful force. It has inserted its influence, including a considerable military presence, into the region directly north of Israel.

Iran, which is the centermost territory today that once was called Persia, has joined Russia as a close ally—again, just to Israel’s north. Russia and Iran’s military assets co-mingle in the region to influence Syria, another end-times player.

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, as we’ve said many times, looks to be the prototype for the leader who will be Gog of the Gog-Magog force prophetically scheduled to invade toward Israel to the south.

The prophet Ezekiel was told to foretell that God, Himself, will put hooks into the Gog-leader’s jaws and jerk him southward like a fisherman would set hooks into a big fish’s mouth and reel him in.

Now Togarmah (Turkey) is hastily in the process of militarily dressing for its end-times fulfillment as part of the Gog-Magog assault on God’s chosen nation.

[Turkish] President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey’s air operations against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria were only the beginning and it would launch a land operation there when convenient after an escalation in retaliatory strikes.

He said Turkey was more determined than ever to secure its southern border with a “security corridor” while ensuring the territorial integrity of both Syria and Iraq, where it has also been conducting operations against Kurdish militants.

“We are continuing the air operation and will come down hard on the terrorists from land at the most convenient time for us,” Erdogan told his AK Party’s lawmakers in a speech in parliament.

“We have formed part of this corridor (and) will take care of it, starting with places such as Tel Rifat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab (Kobani), which are the sources of trouble,” he added.

Russia has asked Turkey to refrain from a full-scale ground offensive in Syria, senior Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev said on Wednesday after a fresh round of talks about Syria with Turkish and Iranian delegations in Kazakhstan. (“Turkey plans to take action on Syria when it would be in its best interest to move forward,” Reuters, 11/23/22)

Syria, of course, is another key player in end-times prophecy. Damascus, as we have looked at many times, is prophetically scheduled for destruction. All Gog-Magog players in the Ezekiel 38–39 drama have their attention on Syria. This is the area to watch of great prophetic interest.

“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).

The Gospel From Acts :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Grant Phillips

Jesus told the remaining eleven apostles in Acts to take the Gospel to Jerusalem, to all Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth when the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Holy Spirit did come, as recorded in Acts 2. After Jesus gave them these instructions, He was taken up to Heaven while they looked on. They then returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Prior to Pentecost, Peter addressed a crowd of about 120 of Jesus’ followers to say they needed to replace Judas Iscariot. I personally believe that this is another of Peter’s “jumping the gun” moments, and they should have waited. Jesus already had a man chosen to replace Judas, who would arrive on the scene in Acts 7:58.

My reasons for this are:

  • This is typical Peter.
  • They had not received the Holy Spirit at this time and were not in His will.
  • Jesus chose each and every apostle and was quite capable of choosing the replacement for Judas.
  • Who will be an apostle is Jesus’ call, not theirs. They were usurping His authority.
  • Jesus chose Paul to replace Judas: Acts 9:15; Galatians 1:15-17.
  • Matthias is never heard from again.
  • Just because it is stated they chose Matthias to replace Judas doesn’t make it so.

When speaking of the Gospel, some feel that the Gospel of salvation by grace alone can only be found in Paul’s letters. This just isn’t true. Salvation has always been by grace alone whether we’re reading the Old Testament, the Gospels, Acts, Hebrews, or the letters of John, James, or Jude. The only ‘work’ ever included and accepted in the doctrine of salvation has always been the work of Jesus on our behalf. From Adam and Eve to today’s generations, salvation has always been by grace, not works.

So, my point is, can we use the book of Acts to share the Gospel? Absolutely! The most familiar verse in Acts is probably Acts 16:31 which says, “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'” Can we use any passages prior to chapter 16? We certainly can.

God has dealt with mankind through different methods, but always through grace, in other words, different dispensations. We are currently in what is called the age of grace (although it’s always been about grace) or the church age.

Some believers, as I mentioned earlier, believe that we can only use Paul’s letters for the true Gospel of grace. For example, they believe that the Church did not begin at Pentecost and there is no need for water baptism. Let me be very clear about water baptism. Water baptism is important, and every new believer should be baptized (immersed in water), if at all possible, but it CANNOT, WILL NOT, AND HAS NEVER saved anyone. If you recall, the thief on the cross, that became a believer in the Lord, was in no position to be baptized.

The following article from gotquestions.org will be very helpful in understanding what I’m saying. What is mid-Acts dispensationalism? What is the Grace Movement, and is it biblical? | GotQuestions.org

The last sentence of the article from gotquestions.org states, “While we disagree with them on water baptism, the role of the law before the church age, and the exact start of the church age, we consider mid-Acts dispensationalists to be our brothers and sisters in Christ.” I feel the same. Though we may disagree, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Assuming you read the article from gotquestions.org, I would like for us to walk through several passages of Scripture in the book of Acts and see firsthand that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is alive and well in this wonderful book written by Luke.

While we use Ephesians 2:8-9 as a guide, let’s take a look at several passages in the book of Acts to see if they follow the same teaching.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Call On:

Acts 2:21

“And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

Peter quotes a prophecy for the last days taken from Joel 2:28-32. What they were experiencing at Pentecost was a sampling of the fulfilling of this passage in the Tribulation. To call on the name of the Lord is certainly not inconsistent with Ephesians 2:8-9.

Thru Jesus:

4:12; 5:31-32

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Acts 2:21, 4:12, and 5:31-32 are all clear that salvation is through Jesus Christ, so again, there is no disagreement with Ephesians 2:8-9. Also, if you will read John 14:6, you’ll see that God makes this clear through another apostle (John) that Jesus is who we call upon to be saved, and there is no other way.

Repent:

Acts 3:19; 17:30; 20:21

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

This is stated in Peter’s second sermon to his Jewish brethren. Some may say this isn’t for the Church, that repentance is for Israel (think John the Baptist) and faith alone is for Israel.

What does ‘repent’ and ‘converted’ mean? Repent simply means to change your mind, and to be converted is to change directions. In other words, “change your mind and go to Jesus.” Isn’t this what God demands of all mankind to be saved?

Israelite or Gentile, we must all change our mind about what we believe and go to Jesus, i.e., repent and be converted. Again, this is totally consistent with Ephesians 2:8-9.

Believe:

Acts 10:43; 11:17; 13:38-39; 15:7-9; 16:31; 18:8

“To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

To be born again, I must believe in Jesus, that He died for me, was buried for me, and rose from the grave for me. He is the only way I can spend eternity with God in Heaven, so I will follow Him.

“Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8).

I also included this verse because of the last five words, “hearing, believed, and were baptized.”

Hearing: If we are not willing to listen, we will never know how to be saved.

Believed: Without belief in Jesus as our Savior, we will never be saved.

Were baptized: The Corinthians referred to in this passage were baptized AFTER they believed and were saved. Water baptism is important, but it cannot save anyone.

Turn:

Acts 14:15; 26:18

“and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them'” (Acts 14:15).

“to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18).

Notice that Acts 14:15 emphasizes that we “turn from these useless things to a living God” and that Acts 26:18 emphasizes that we turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.

We must turn FROM these things TO God. This is repentance and being converted. We change our mind about what is keeping us from Christ and instead turn to Him.

Faith:

Acts 14:27; 20:21

“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

The book of Acts is for both the Jews and also to the Greeks (Gentiles). The message is the same for all and has never changed. Salvation has always been by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html