A Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

       "Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear THE WORD OF THE LORD. This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: The enemy said of you, "Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession." ' Therefore prophesy and say, 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: Because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people's malicious talk and slander, therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear THE WORD OF THE SOVEREIGN LORD: This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you--this is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: In MY burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made MY land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.' Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I speak in MY jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. Therefore this is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.

       " 'But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for MY people Israel, for they will soon come home. I AM concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I AM THE LORD. I will cause people, MY people Israel, to walk upon you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.

       " 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: Because people say to you, "You devour men and deprive your nation of its children," therefore you will no longer devour men or make your nation childless, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD. No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD.' "

       Again THE WORD OF THE LORD came to me: "Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman's monthly uncleanness in MY sight. So I poured out MY wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. And wherever they went among the nations they profaned MY holy name, for it was said of them, 'These are THE LORD'S people, and yet they had to leave HIS land.' I had concern for MY holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

       "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I AM going to do these things, but for the sake of MY holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of MY great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I AM THE LORD, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD, when I show MYSELF holy through you before their eyes.

       " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put MY SPIRIT in you and move you to follow MY decrees and be careful to keep MY laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be MY people, and I will be your GOD. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I AM not doing this for your sake, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!

       " 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited." Then the nations around you that remain will know that I THE LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I THE LORD have spoken, and I will do it.' 

       "This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I AM THE LORD."

Ezekiel: chapter 36

The Valley of Dry Bones

       The hand of THE LORD was upon me, and HE brought me out by THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. HE led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. HE asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

       I said, "O SOVEREIGN LORD, YOU alone know."

       Then HE said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear THE WORD OF THE LORD! This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I AM THE LORD.' "

       So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin 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 it, 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " So I prophesied as HE commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.

       Then HE said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: O MY people, I AM going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, MY people, will know that I AM THE LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put MY SPIRIT in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I THE LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares THE LORD.' "

Ezekiel: chapter 37, verses 1 - 14

One Nation Under One King

       THE WORD OF THE LORD came to me: "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.

       "When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' say to them, 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I AM going to take the stick of Joseph--which is in Ephraim's hand--and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in MY hand.' Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be MY people, and I will be their GOD.

       " 'MY servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow MY laws and be careful to keep MY decrees. They will live in the land I gave to MY servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David MY servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put MY sanctuary among them forever. MY dwelling place will be with them; I will be their GOD, and they will be MY people. Then the nations will know that I THE LORD make Israel holy, when MY sanctuary is among them forever.' "

Ezekiel: chapter 37, verses 15 - 28

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

       Why do the nations conspire

          and the peoples plot in vain?

       The kings of the earth take their stand

          and the rulers gather together

       against THE LORD

          and against HIS ANOINTED ONE.

       "Let us break their chains," they say,

          "and throw off their fetters."

       THE ONE enthroned in heaven laughs;

          THE LORD scoffs at them.

       Then HE rebukes them in HIS anger

          and terrifies them in HIS wrath, saying,

       "I have installed MY KING

          on Zion, MY holy hill."

I will proclaim the decree of THE LORD:

       HE said to ME, "YOU are MY SON;

          today I have become YOUR FATHER.

       Ask of ME,

          and I will make the nations YOUR inheritance,

          the ends of the earth YOUR possession.

       YOU will rule them with an iron scepter;

          YOU will dash them to pieces like pottery."

       Therefore, you kings, be wise;

          be warned, you rulers of the earth.

       Serve THE LORD with fear

          and rejoice with trembling.

       Kiss THE SON, lest HE be angry

          and you be destroyed in your way,

       for HIS wrath can flare up in a moment.

          Blessed are all who take refuge in HIM.

Psalm 2

The Rider on the White Horse

       I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called FAITHFUL AND TRUE. With justice HE judges and makes war. HIS eyes are like blazing fire, and on HIS head are many crowns. HE has a name written on HIM that no one knows but HE HIMSELF. HE is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and HIS name is THE WORD OF GOD. The armies of heaven were following HIM, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of HIS mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "HE will rule them with an iron scepter." HE treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of GOD ALMIGHTY. On HIS robe and on HIS thigh HE has this name written:

              KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

       And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of GOD, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."

       Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against THE RIDER ON THE HORSE and HIS army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of THE RIDER ON THE HORSE, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Revelation: chapter 19, verses 11 - 21

The Thousand Years

       And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

       I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for JESUS and because of THE WORD OF GOD. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with CHRIST a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of GOD and of CHRIST and will reign with HIM for a thousand years.

Revelation: chapter 20, verses 1 - 6

A Prophecy Against Gog

       THE WORD OF THE LORD came to me: "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I AM against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops--the many nations with you.

       " 'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

       " 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people--all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" '

       "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: In that day, when MY people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. You will advance against MY people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against MY land, so that the nations may know ME when I show MYSELF holy through you before their eyes.

       " 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by MY servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 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. In MY zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at MY presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all MY mountains, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 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.'

Ezekiel: chapter 38

The Valley of Hamon Gog

       "Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: 'This is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I AM against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD. I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I AM THE LORD.

       " 'I will make known MY holy name among MY people Israel. I will no longer let MY holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I THE LORD AM THE HOLY ONE IN ISRAEL. It is coming! It will surely take place, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD. This is the day I have spoken of.

       " 'Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up--the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD.

       " 'On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So 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 the day I AM glorified will be a memorable day for them, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD.

       " 'Men will be regularly employed to cleanse the land. Some will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those that remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search. As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. (Also a town called Hamonah will be there.) And so they will cleanse the land.'

       "Son of man, this is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: 'Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls--all of them fattened animals from Bashan. At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. At MY table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,' declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD.

       "I will display MY glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD. And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to ME. So I hid MY face from them and handed them over to there enemies, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid MY face from them.

       "Therefore this is what THE SOVEREIGN LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for MY holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward ME when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show MYSELF holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide MY face from them, for I will pour out MY SPIRIT on the house of Israel, declares THE SOVEREIGN LORD."

Ezekiel: chapter 39

Satan's Doom

       When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of GOD'S people, the city HE loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Revelation: chapter 20, verses 7 - 10

The Dead Are Judged

       Then I saw a great white throne and HIM who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from HIS presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation: chapter 20, verses 11 - 15