Seventy nations

By Rev. Willem J.J. Glashouwer, President Christians for Israel International

About the division plans of the United Nations and of the seventy nations that assembled in Paris on Sunday January 15, 2017 to enforce a two-state solution and to dismantle the Jewish settlements so that Jews from this part of the Promised Land can be swept away – ethnic cleansing – the Most High has a very clear opinion.

The prophet Joel says in Joel 3:1-2: “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to My inheritance, My people Israel, because they scattered My people among the nations and divided up My land…”

It will lead to a judgment of God over the nations in an unprecedented scale. Unfulfilled prophecies from the Bible speak of several wars that will come to the Middle East. Like e.g. Isaiah 17:1-2 that speaks of a total destruction of Damascus, the capital of Syria, that you can see on a clear day from the Golan Heights in Israel. Syria and the present war is daily news. But the total destruction of Damascus never took place in history. But that will happen one day, because the Lord says so.

Or Isaiah 19:16-17 where Egypt trembles for Israel because of what the Lord’s Hand will do against Egypt by the land of Judah (Israel). Or Psalm 83 with in it a first ring of nations around Israel: “…Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more...”[…] “May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that You, whose name is the Lord—that You alone are the Most High over all the earth…”

And Zechariah 12 and 14 in which finally all nations – one could say today: the United Nations – will try to lift that awkward stone called Jerusalem. And what to think of the prophecy in Ezekiel 35–36:1-7 about Edom, the present day Jordan, that will be destroyed?

Or Ezekiel 38 and 39 containing a second, wider ring of countries around Israel who suddenly want to wipe Israel off the map. Gog and Magog. With Turkey, the former Soviet Union and Russia in the background? An Islamic holy war, a jihad, against Israel? But the LORD will step into that situation. Ezekiel 38:18-23 says: “…This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, My hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord… And so I will show My greatness and My holiness, and I will make Myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

“Gog and Magog” are mentioned here. In Genesis 10 we read how the 70 nations of the world came from the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth - the sons of Noah. Those who are familiar with the numerical values of letters and words in Hebrew – the Hebrew language does not have numbers, but the letters of the alphabet are used to indicate numbers. Which means that every word has a numerical value. It is surprising to discover that the numeric value of Gog and Magog is 70: 3-6-3 and 6-40-3-6-3, which equals 70. The number 70 appears time and again in the Bible and Jewish writings. In addition to the seventy nations, languages and sacrificed oxen during Sukkot, Jacob went to Egypt with seventy souls, Moses appointed seventy elders, King David lived seventy years, and the Babylonian captivity lasted seventy years. According to the Rabbis, God has seventy names and there are seventy aspects to the Torah. And the numeric value of Gog and Magog also equals seventy! It is probably no coincidence that there were 70 nations meeting together in Paris, and it may have a deeper meaning. Is it the beginning of a disastrous development that will eventually drag along the whole world into conflict?

How all of these political developments in the end will come to pass, one thing is absolutely sure: God’s Word will be fulfilled. It will lead to the coming of the Messiah of Israel, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

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