August 31 - Miriam

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Ezekiel 37-39; 32:1-6.

Well, I'm really kind of at a loss as to how to post about today's reading.  The Valley of Bones in chapter 37 is generally agreed, according to my reading, to have been fulfilled when Israel became a nation again in 1948.  Chapters 38 & 39 are very controversial chapters, apparently.  According to the reading I have been doing, it is quite clear that the battle described in these chapters has not yet happened, so the prophecy is unfulfilled at this time.  That leads to enormous speculation on the part of theologians to determine who Gog (leader) and Magog (league of nations) are, where they will come from, and when they think this will happen in relation to the end times.  (None of the reading I did predicted a year or anything, but used rather a timeline of the endtimes, as described in Daniel and Revelation, with occasional references from Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Gospels.)

There is so much information, some saying one thing and some saying another, that I don't really wish to try to dive into specifics.   Generally speaking, Gog is thought to be the Antichrist.  The other nations mentioned, who are to make up Magog, are generally thought to include Russia and Turkey, possibly some other European nations, and one referred to Ethiopia as well.  It seems to be agreed that this battle is separate and apart from Armageddon.  Therefore it would have to take place before Armageddon.  Where it falls in the timeline of the endtimes exactly is a matter of some debate.

Personally, I don't feel a need to try to figure all of that out in advance.  What purpose could it possibly serve to expend so much time and energy on something that hasn't happened yet and may not even happen in our lifetime, when there are so many other things in our present - our day-to-day lives, and the world that exists around us right now - that require our efforts and attention?  Not at all to say that we should disregard prophecies - indeed they are very important - but it seems to me more helpful to view current events with the prophecies in mind rather than try to predict in advance.  People have tried time and again to say when the world will come to an end, and have been doing so since biblical times.  It may end tomorrow.  It may not end for another thousand years.  One often tends to miss the actual signs of prophecy fulfillment when one believes he or she has determined beforehand how it will happen.  We've been instructed to "Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come."  Mark 13:33  God's ways are not our ways, as we've seen time and again throughout our reading up until now.  How can we possibly be so arrogant as to predict how He will fulfill the prophecies that have yet to be fulfilled?   


I liked this comment in Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on chapter 37:

Events yet to come will further explain this prophecy. Nothing has more hindered the success of the gospel than divisions. Let us study to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; let us seek for Divine grace to keep us from detestable things; and let us pray that all nations may be obedient and happy subjects of the Son of David, that the Lord may be our God, and we may be his people for evermore.

Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 32:17-33:20; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Psalm 137:1-9; 1 Chronicles 4:24-5:17.