Prophecy

[Molly]

The Antichrist's empire described in Eze 38 and 39 is all muslim today.  There are no signs of any of these nations abandoning their Islamic foundations, instead they are becoming more radical. 

Eze 38 lists the nations of this final beast empire.  The antichrist here is referred to as Gog.



And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

4 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:

5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

--Eze 38



Ezekiel describes how Gog will come against and invade a land that sounds very much like the modern country of Israel.



Get ready. Be prepared. Take command of the huge armies that are gathered around you. 8 After many years you will be called together to fight. Later, you will march into a land that has not had war for a while. Its people were gathered together from many nations. They came to the mountains of Israel. No one had lived in those mountains for a long time. So the people had been brought back from other nations. Now all of the people live in safety. 9 You, all of your troops and the many nations with you will march up to attack them. All of you will advance like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering their land."  Eze 38



Ezekiel gives us the specific names of countries that will invade Israel.  Gog is identified as the one spoken of by the prophets in ancient times. 

   

16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.

--Eze 38



Eight nations are mentioned as part of Gog's empire.  All except for Persia [Iran] are named after sons [grandsons] of Noah.

Where did Noah's sons and grandsons settle?  Mishech and Tubal traded with ancient Tyre, concluding that they are in modern Turkey, northern Iran, and Southern Russia.  Today this region is Islamic.  Magog is today the Islamic soviet republics and parts of afghanistan.  Some say Magog is Syria.  Persia is easy, that's Iran.  Cush borders Egypt, the nation of the Islamic Republic of Sudan.  Put is the nation of Libya.  Gomer is known as ghimorrei, central Turkey.  Togarmah is also Turkey, SE Turkey near Syrian border. 

Five of the 8 nations occupy modern Turkey and some southern Russian Islamic republics.  Israel is surrounded on all four sides by nations of Islam. 

Revelation 17 describes the final beast kingdom, the eighth,  that will invade Israel before the return of Jesus.



And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

--Rev 17



There are seven beast kingdoms.  These are kingdoms of Satan.  John gives us a way to identify the last beast kingdom before the return of Jesus.

Five are fallen when John is writing:-- Egyptian,  Assyria, Babylon, Medea-Persia, Greece,

One is--  Roman

The other is not yet come--  Ottoman Empire

This last one, the seventh, will be mortally wounded [1923] and revive at the end times [has not happened yet] as the eighth.

The ten horns are ten kings of countries that the Antichrist will rule over as an Empire [caliphate].

[Molly]

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[Doug]

The Antichrist's empire described in Eze 38 and 39 is all muslim today.  There are no signs of any of these nations abandoning their Islamic foundations, instead they are becoming more radical. 

Eze 38 lists the nations of this final beast empire.  The antichrist here is referred to as Gog.



And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

4 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:

5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

--Eze 38



Ezekiel describes how Gog will come against and invade a land that sounds very much like the modern country of Israel.

Except, Ezekiel described the land that the armies of Gog and Magog attack as "the land of unwalled villages."

Ezekiel 38:11-12
And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

The modern Jewish state in Palestine can't be in view, as there is a prominent wall there, the Israeli West Bank barrier, 760 km long, up to 8 m high, made of concrete slabs and sniper towers in populous areas and barbed wire fences in other places.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier

Besides, the invaders are "all riding horses." They are armed with spears, swords, bows and arrows, shields, bucklers, etc. In the end, if all this is taken literally, they are eaten by birds.

From a Jack Chick tract

Doug

[Molly]

And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;

Once you get inside Israel, it's unwalled and you can move freely from village to village.  As compared to medieval Europe, for instance, which had a wall around every village that could be defended by those living inside.

So I think it still fits the prophecy in its current state.

if all this is taken literally, they are eaten by birds.

Ever hear of vultures and crows?

Besides, the invaders are "all riding horses."

Interesting, the Muslim eschatology describes two armies riding horses to Mecca from the north and the south.  One army carries black flags and one carries white flags.  They are announcing the return of the Mahdi [muslim Messiah; our Antichrist].

This happens before they attack Israel.


PS eschatology is much more important and central to Islam than it is to Christianity.  As usual, we will be the last to know due to ignorance of God's word.

[Doug]

And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;

Once you get inside Israel, it's unwalled and you can move freely from village to village.  As compared to medieval Europe, for instance, which had a wall around every village that could be defended by those living inside.

Do you mean the wall becomes invisible, when one is "inside"? 

So I think it still fits the prophecy in its current state.

Sure it does, but, maybe not the one you are thinking of.

Revelation 13:3
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

The "beast" is a composite of Daniel's four beasts. They represented Babylon, Persia, the hellenistic Greek empires, and Rome. The Roman province of Judea was given a deadly wound in 70 A.D. This was healed, in the formation of the Jewish state in 1948.

if all this is taken literally, they are eaten by birds.

Ever hear of vultures and crows?

Umm.. do they consume the chariots too?

Ezek. 39:20
Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.

Strange crows.

Besides, the invaders are "all riding horses."

Interesting, the Muslim eschatology describes two armies riding horses to Mecca from the north and the south.  One army carries black flags and one carries white flags.  They are announcing the return of the Mahdi [muslim Messiah; our Antichrist].

This happens before they attack Israel.


PS eschatology is much more important and central to Islam than it is to Christianity.  As usual, we will be the last to know due to ignorance of God's word.

Literalism often leads to interpretations that contradict other scriptures and offend common sense.

Doug

[sheila]

IMO  that unwalled land is the seperation wall between jew and gentile being put away. that one new man in Christ...

    a jew is a jew in the spirit..as a spiriualt man..with a circumcized heart of flesh[christ] not stone[law/ministry of death].

  pouring His spirit out on all flesh is the fall of the wall of seperation....face it..are not all the little children partakers of flesh and blood?

  and what little children? the children of the kingdom of light.

[sheila]

when He lumped all sin in the flesh as condemned..and gave free gift of eternal life to all....He pulled down the wall of seperation...so that no flesh could boast.

[Doug]

IMO  that unwalled land is the seperation wall between jew and gentile being put away. that one new man in Christ...

I agree. Ezekiel's "land of unwalled villages" is the place of "them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates." This is the "rest" of Hebrews 4:9, promised to those in Christ. And "neither bars nor gates" means that they are free.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

It is the "better land" of Hebrews 11:16. No walls there.

Doug

[lomarah]

Love it sheila!

And this post got me really excited:

Isee 1948 Israel as sign in earth[flesh and blood can not please God]  Isreal,true Isreal is not about circumcision of flesh..but heart..in spirit.

   the seeing Christ returning on the clouds of heaven is the spirit being poured out on beleivers of Christ..latter rains..that cause the branch..fig tree to sprout

  and put forth leaves for the healing of the nations[all nations blessed]

   signs in heavens and earth..is just that

   the fruit is when He takes away ALL THEiR SIN[law was fulfilled by Christ] cast it far away..as far as the east from the west..it is Jesus return in the power and glory of the Father[coming on the clouds of heaven like lightening]

  to the saints that had been trampled on and overcome[gospel of salvation of all mankind]   unregenerated flesh and blood Isreal will not inherit[see 40 years perish in

 wilderness]  It is the generation of Christ/tree of life sprout that put5's out tender shoots and leaves[leaves cover and shade nakedness of sin from feiry displeasure

  of judgement

  the city divided into 3 parts from earthquake[once again shake heaven and earth]   jews,christian and muslims....christ=holy of holies..jews holy[law] Ishmeal's

 role as outer court nations...this is a sign in the earth/or flesh

  that stone ofthe revelation of Christ declared by the Holy spirit that grows is the mountain of blessing that fills the earth..reign/rain of Christ comes on the clouds

  of heaven and causes the tree with oil in itself[spirit/truth/life] to grow tender and put forth leaves..healing of the great wound of sin...a fig poultice..

  of which a sign was asked....how will I know I will go up to Temple of the Lord[Tabernacles]

  these are signposts to help you walk in the way[spirit]

   It is all Him..He does it all by His spirit


 

I love thinking about these things. And those who can hear say it's coming soon. 

[Molly]

IMO  that unwalled land is the seperation wall between jew and gentile being put away. that one new man in Christ...

I agree. Ezekiel's "land of unwalled villages" is the place of "them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates." This is the "rest" of Hebrews 4:9, promised to those in Christ. And "neither bars nor gates" means that they are free.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

It is the "better land" of Hebrews 11:16. No walls there.

Doug

well, then you're about to get attacked according to Eze38.


The Bible is very specific that once the fulness of the Gentiles is reached, then, the Jews will be brought in and Jesus will return because the Jews will be calling on him for help.


38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
 
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord

--Mat 23

[Doug]

IMO  that unwalled land is the seperation wall between jew and gentile being put away. that one new man in Christ...

I agree. Ezekiel's "land of unwalled villages" is the place of "them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates." This is the "rest" of Hebrews 4:9, promised to those in Christ. And "neither bars nor gates" means that they are free.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

It is the "better land" of Hebrews 11:16. No walls there.

Doug

well, then you're about to get attacked according to Eze38.

The "better land" is invaded, and attacked by the armies of Gog and Mgog, and their horses. They come against "the land that is brought back from the sword" [Ezek. 38:8] and "the mountains of Israel," which are symbols of God's promises to the saints. And they come against "the prophets of Israel."

Ezekiel 38:17
Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

The invaders are people who misinterpret the words of the prophets. They are also described in Rev. 20:8-9. The "land of unwalled villages" in Ezek. 38 is not the earthly Palestine. There have been walled towns and cities there for thousands of years, and today the walls there are more prominent than ever before.

Photo by Dr. Stephen Sizer

The prophet Zechariah wrote, "In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness." [Zech. 12:4] Horses are likely symbolic of those who lack understanding. [Psa. 32:9]

IMHO, anyone who fails to notice the walls that characterize the present day Jewish state must be... blind!

Doug

[sheila]

 ahhh..yes....He will save the jews from their sin,too....when they realize they have no righteousness of their own..under the law..

  so...I see no temple there[where sacrifices of red heifers..rams,lambs..purified material temple furnishings[some are of the opinion

  the temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem,before His return]

   but this is the temple that must be rebuilt..first the cheif cornerstone must be accepted...the revelation that Jesus Christ, the Son of God

  is their Messiah...for I say..that thou art Peter..and on this stone[revelation of God] I will build my church..Blessed art thou,Peter

  for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you..BUT THE FATHER IN HEAVEN

   Song of Songs.....I opened for my lover,but my lover had left;he was gone.My heart sank at his departure.I looked for him..but did not find him

  I called him but he did not answer....

  ...before I relized it my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people

[sheila]

yes,Doug...their horses are but flesh....the horses and chariot's of Israel are not.....armies of heaven with Him riding white horses/spirit..conducting

  spiritual warfare in rightousness and truth

[Molly]

I have nothing against interpreting end times eschatology this way [that is, church centered], but what worries me is the country of Israel is going to come under more and more danger in end times, and Christians who feel this way are not likely to support her.

The church has to make provision for the Jews because God does.


25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
 
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
 
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
 
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.
 
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
 
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
 
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

--Rom 11

[Molly]

"The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins," says the LORD.
--Isa 59:20


Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

"Behold your God!"

--Isa 40:9




32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

--Joel 2:32



I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,

and my salvation will not delay;

I will put salvation in Zion,

for Israel my glory."

--Is 46:13




17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,

and it shall be holy,

and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.

--Obe 1




Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

--Psa 14:7, --Psa 53:6




"Thus says the Lord:

Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt on its mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

--Jer 30:18




25 "Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.

--Eze 39:25




11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed,

when I restore the fortunes of my people.

--Hos 6:11




"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, Joel 3:1



26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

--Rom 11

[sheila]

I know Molly....but we must not war against flesh and blood..lest we become a bloody man...

    Someone in the crowd said to him,"Teacher,tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me"  Jesus replied,'Man,who appointed me judge and arbiter

  between you?"  Then he said 'watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions"

  [or in how much land a nation may possess]

   Now,this can also apply to the muslim's nations around little Israel..and to any and all of us.

    the Most I can do..is pray in the spirit...'Lord,open their eyes"

[Molly]

Ok, Sheila--You pray for them and I'll send them Patriot missiles and F-18 fighter jets.

 

[sheila]

   

     

[Paul L]

For further reading with regard to the futures of Gog & Magog, read Rev 20:7-9, this is the fulfillment of Ezek 38 & 39. It is what explains why there are "unwalled cities" in the land of Israel, and "them that are at rest", and "that dwell safely with no gates".

There has been no warfare in the land & its' vicinity for a thousand years, Israel has been dwelling in peace. After the millenium Satan is once again loosed for a season & inspires Israel's old antagonists to descend upon them. For some reason Israel's old enemies still have not learned their lesson, but Ezek 38 & 39 is the prophecy that explains in great detail how Rev 20:7-9 will be fulfilled. The entirety of the Book of Revelation is mostly a summation (condensed version) of all the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Of course we read about horses & chariots in these prophecies, at the start of the Millenium Christ will brutally crack down on present day mechanized warfare & enforce civil obedience in which life on Earth will once again be a throwback to pre-industrial revolution lifestyles, horse & buggy if you please.

[thinktank]

For a while I also believed that Islam was the 8th beast ottaman empire. But now I do not, because it is just another religion, that forbids worship  of a man.

I think though that it might play a part in Gogs army. The problem however is that the passages speak of Gog as a mighty army of alliance nations that will attack  unwalled villages in order to take a spoil.

1. Israel is not dwelling in peace, but rather in constant war, rocket attacks, etc and a massive walled defence.

2. Islamists are seperated, with different ideolgies. There are islamic type dictators, there are those who want to destroy Israel, there  are those who wish to make Jerusalem their capital and save the mosque.

In fact that is an interesting thought. Will the Islam sit back and let Iran threaten the dome of the rock and destroy it?

Maybe Islam will rally to save Israel from Iran, for this time and season, for it is the season of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the demonstration of his holy revival and not of world war 3.

[thinktank]

I have nothing against interpreting end times eschatology this way [that is, church centered], but what worries me is the country of Israel is going to come under more and more danger in end times, and Christians who feel this way are not likely to support her.

The church has to make provision for the Jews because God does.


25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
 
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
 
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
 
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.
 
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
 
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
 
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

--Rom 11

Yes and the time will come when the church will need the Jew, that the Jew will finally help the gentile, that he will hold on to the skirt of a  Jew as he has heard that God is with the Jew as Israel becomes Gods kingdom on earth, the mightiest nation upon the earth, fulfilling scripture.

[Molly]

Joel Richardson on the new movie released by Iran -- the coming of the Mahdi is upon us.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURM70Ly-Us&feature=related







The movie recently made by Iran:  The coming of the Mahdi is upon us [and, yes, he's riding a white horse]--with subtitles in English.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwiadYT-N9k



Watch these two videos and Israel won't seem so paranoid anymore.

[WhiteWings]

I still don't get the difference.

I don't believe that. It's extremely obvious.
Mmmm, offlibne time now. My internet cafe counter is close to  0 $

[Paul L]

Yes, and the time will come when the (gentile) church will need the Jew, that the Jew will finally help the gentile, that he will hold on to the skirt of a  Jew as he has heard that God is with the Jew as Israel becomes Gods kingdom on earth, the mightiest nation upon the earth, fulfilling scripture.
[/quote]

And you have just written exactly what Rev 20:7-9 is all about, except for your use of the word "church" where I have inserted "gentile" alongside of it. Most Christians simply do not understand what the 1000 years of the Millenium is about.    It is about Christ only beginning to restructure the order of the world's ruling elite, the prelude to this is the more ominous task of first doing away with the armies of the false messiah to Israel (so-called AntiChrist) by the end of the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy.

The biggest share of time consumed during the 1000 years of the Millenium, is rebuilding Israel and returning the 12 tribes of Israel from the lands of the Gentiles in order that it will become Christ's proclamation to the world for dissemination of the gospel. After the 1000 years are over & Gog & Magog & all the remainder of men's governments are finally dispatched to the ashbin of human history, then the New Jerusalem descends from heaven to find it's place on Earth, it will be only then there will be no more war on Earth.

[Doug]

"The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins," says the LORD.
--Isa 59:20

Didn't Jesus already do that?

Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

"Behold your God!"

--Isa 40:9

The "high mountain" is the "mountain of the Lord's house," the was raised up to the "top of the mountains," the throne of God in heaven, when Jesus ascended to his Father. Jerusalem was raised up, and became the heavenly Jerusalem, and those who believe in Christ are raised up with him. The earthly Jerusalem was a mere type and shadow of the heavenly one. The gospel flows from the church, the heavenly city, not the earthly one.

32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

--Joel 2:32

That would be the heavenly mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem.

Hebrews 12:22-24
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.

I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,

and my salvation will not delay;

I will put salvation in Zion,

for Israel my glory."

--Is 46:13

Again, this is the heavenly city.

17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,

and it shall be holy,

and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.

--Obe 1

Those who escape from the world, become the Israel of God.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

--Psa 14:7, --Psa 53:6

Paul said, "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." [Philippians 3:3]

According to the law, Jews who did not believe in Christ are not Israel; [Acts 3:23] they are branches broken off from their tree. [Romans 11:17]

25 "Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.

--Eze 39:25

Not all who call themselves "Israel" are Israel, Paul said.

Romans 9:6-8
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed,

when I restore the fortunes of my people.

--Hos 6:11

Not Jews after the flesh, but after the spirit.

Romans 2:28-29
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, Joel 3:1



26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

--Rom 11

In the judgment, all nations will learn of God, and will be taught the gospel, including Jews who until now have remained in unbelief.

Romans 11:32
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Doug