Prophecy Letters
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." Matt. 13:16-17
The Prophecy Letter is a circular letter that we send out relating to the development of latter-day prophecy.
August 2022
The Drumbeats of Psalm 83!, A Cause-and-Effect of Latter-Day Prophecies, Putin: Maybe Not the "Rosh" Prince?, Where is the Pope?
TGP Prophecy Letter – August 29, 2022
The Drumbeats of Psalm 83!
The war of Psalm 83 is a topic that we find ourselves writing on in nearly every Prophecy Letter. One reason for this is the fact that is so clearly applies to our day, for multiple key phrases of the chapter appear in the news headlines on a weekly, if not daily, basis. The other reason relates to the timing of our Lord’s return, for our studies have found this last Arab-Israeli war to be the very first instance where we see Christ with his immortalized saints appearing in public. If, therefore, we appear with him to save Israel from her enemies “round about”, then it necessitates that Christ will have already returned, made up his jewels (Malachi 3:17), and, in our belief, have celebrated the marriage supper of the lamb. We believe that none of these three events will occur on the public stage, but will be carried out secretly.
By this reasoning, if we are able to see the stage set for the war of Psalm 83, we are forced to conclude that our Lord is directly at the door. He could return at any moment! We must take careful heed not to fall into the same pit as others who brush off such warnings under the foolish excuse prophesied so long ago, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4). All things most certainly are not continuing “as they were”. The events in the world are clearly progressing toward the return of Christ, and if we begin to slack for any reason, we may suddenly find ourselves in the presence of the Lord’s angel unexpecting and unprepared. With the number of signs we are being given, such a disposition is simply not excusable. Our desire is to be found lovingly watching and waiting for our Lord as a bride longs for her bridegroom! We pray that there will be no dread within any of us in this moment, but rather the purest joy! It is for this purpose and to this end that we will continue to belabor and report on this most important topic.
On August 5th, Israel struck a number of targets belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. While the operation only lasted three days, the terrorist group was nevertheless able to fire nearly 1,000 rockets into Israel. The conflict appears to have ended (for now) and Israel claims that their objectives were accomplished. On the surface, this appears to be nothing more than another “skirmish” that Israel has with her Arab neighbors. However, other developments in the past year and the general direction of the Middle East situation beg us to take this “small conflict” more seriously, pointing to a greater conflict yet to come.
Israel knows that something greater is coming. The latest Gaza conflict led Israel to call up 25,000 reservist soldiers. One brother commented to us that Israel may have used this Gaza conflict as a front to building their army for a war on Iran. The developments over the past many months point more and more to an outright Israeli-Iranian conflict. As we note in nearly every Prophecy Letter, our present belief is that an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran will result in the temporary neutralization of Iran and act as the spark that ignites the Psalm 83 war. So far, the news reports continue to point to this scenario (Israel National News).
Israel just came back from a conflict with Islamic Jihad in Gaza, represented in Psalm 83 by the geographic title “the Philistines” (Psalm 83:7). Nevertheless, Israel is already awaiting war with another Psalm 83 entity to the north, “Gebal” and “Tyre” (Psalm 83:7). These entities comprise modern-day Lebanon, the headquarters of the terrorist group Hezbollah. Read what the news is saying:
IDF on high alert, wary of possible Hezbollah attack - World Israel News
WATCH: IDF Paratroopers Prepare for War with Hezbollah - United with Israel
Gantz: A Hizballah attack on Israel’s gas assets would spark war - DEBKAfile
IDF on high alert over fears Hezbollah could launch attack to derail maritime border talks - JNS
Islamic Jihad, Hamas leaders meet in Beirut in effort to strengthen ties - The Jerusalem Post
Now, note who is stoking the fire behind the scenes:
Iran is continually making strides to cement their relationship with Israel’s surrounding Arab countries, hoping to literally encircle the tiny nation just as the prophecies say: “I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:2). Consider the following recent headlines that reveal Iran’s aims:
IRGC head reveals multi-point strategy against Israel - analysis - The Jerusalem Post
'World leaving us on our own against Iran' – Israel National News
Iran Prepares To Take Out Israel – Right After Nuclear Deal Is Signed - Prophecy News Watch
We encourage all to read this last article from Prophecy News Watch as we believe it clearly illustrates Iran’s intentions and actions in the region. It particularly notes the relevance of the Iranian nuclear deal on the situation:
“they (the mullahs of Iran) will be able to step up their already significant efforts to eliminate Israel and export their Islamic Revolution to Arab and Islamic countries. Iran already occupies four Arab countries: Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq."
Note that three of these four countries are specifically called out in Psalm 83!
Syria -“the Hagarenes” (Psalm 83:6)
Lebanon – “Gebal” and “Tyre” (Psalm 83:7)
Iraq – “Assur” (Psalm 83:8)
Iran has great influence in these areas, and if Israel deals a heavy blow to Iran (which is appearing more and more likely), Iran is almost certain to call upon her proxies to avenge her. The article continues,
"Iran already has its own proxies in the Gaza Strip: Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In Lebanon, the mullahs have the Hezbollah terrorist militia, which has created a state-within-a-state there and is also continuing to issue threats to attack Israel.”
“The three terrorist groups -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah -- for the past three decades have been launching terror attacks against Israel from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip."
Here we have the Gaza Strip added into Iran’s arsenal, a plot of land that corresponds perfectly to that of the ancient Philistines. From this one article, we find a total of four modern entities that are under the influence of Iran and presently seek the demise of the Jewish state as prophesied, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (Psalm 83:4). These four modern entities comprise five out of the ten nations of Psalm 83. The others (Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, Ammon, and Amalek) geographically correlate to the country of Jordan and the Bedouin tribes in the Negev; two entities which have shown themselves to be more opportunistic players who are not a brazen as their fellow Arabs and Muslims. If they join another war against Israel, they will likely do so only if the chances of success are high. For this reason, we believe that they will only officially join the coalition after Iran is neutralized and the other Arab states begin to act.
As in previous Prophecy Letters, we emphasize the absence of Persia (Iran) from Psalm 83. Since Iran is Israel’s greatest threat, their exclusion from the Psalm must be accounted for. This omission suggests to us that something must occur to prevent them from having a role in the Proximal War significant enough to warrant their mention. This is the core reason for our belief that Iran will temporarily be taken “out of the game”. Given the incessant talk and growing likelihood of an Israeli strike on Iran, this scenario appears to become more and more likely with every passing day, and Israel just proved that they can do it. On August 25, Israel simulated this strike and flew their F-35s into Iranian airspace (United with Israel).
Brothers and Sisters, the signs are abounding! In our studied opinion, the stage is as nearly set! The current US Administration is soft on Iran and has already told Israel not to seek their assistance for such a strike. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has tried contacting President Biden to discuss the Iran deal, but his attempts, as of late, have been rejected under the excuse of the President being on vacation (World Israel News). One scholar has recently stated, “high-ranking officials in the Biden and Obama administrations are sympathetic to Iran and willing to look the other way when it comes to the Islamic Republic’s support for terror” (World Israel News). Israel is running out of options, and they are well aware of it. A large-scale conflict appears to be right around the corner.
Now, if the saints are with Christ when these proximal Arabs are destroyed (Zechariah 14:5), you and I must have been gathered already. This is a point that we rehearse again and again, but we do so because we believe the present hostilities between Israel and her Arab enemies to be the clearest, most blatant indicator that our Master is at the threshold. It bears repeating again and again, for the thought of some being caught “off guard” with so much evidence before us is a distressing thought. If any of us are waiting for a sign to tell us to “make ready”, we need wait no longer!
A Cause and Effect of Latter-Day Prophecies
Scripture shows the Psalm 83 war and the Ezekiel 38 war to be entirely separate events that occur at different times, with different players, and for different reasons. While separate events, however, they are not entirely unrelated. In fact, we have found both Scripture and recent events to illustrate a cause-and-effect relationship between the two wars. Gog appears to come down against Israel as a result of the Psalm 83 War. We earnestly wish to discuss all of the evidence for this stance, but we have discussed it some in times past and have much left to say in this article. In short, the Psalm 83 war will result in Israel being “safe” (betach) and having greatly increased her riches from the spoils the Proximal Arabs (Zechariah 14:14, Isaiah 33:22-23). This spoil comprises the spoil that Gog desires (Ezekiel 38:11-12)! We believe that Gog comes down due to the outcome of the Psalm 83 war. Israel is safe, and the Arabs round about her have been defeated, destroyed and spiled. Enter this headline:
Palestinian general talks military, intelligence cooperation with Moscow - World Israel News
Palestinian ties with Russia? It is not strange that there are ties between Russia and some of the Psalm 83 entities. In fact, we should probably expect it! This doesn’t mean that Russia will come against Israel at the same time that the Arabs do, for the prophecies simply do not say this. It does mean, however, that we can possibly perceive another motivating factor for Russia to come down to Israel. The Scriptures clearly show Iran to be a Gogian ally (Ezekiel 38:5), and the two countries and forging closer ties every day. Consider a few recent articles:
Russia to partner with Iran for backdoor oil sales - report - World Israel News
Iran-Russia axis grows as new energy deal on track to dominate world market – Israel365 News
If Iran is harmed by Israel, Russia now has “license” to avenge her ally. All of this is given even more weight if the Palestinians (Philistines) enjoy ties with Russia at the time that they are destroyed by Christ and the saints. Russia will then have the excuse to avenge not only Iran, but also her Palestinian “friends”.
This is one great benefit and privilege that the latter-day saints are given. As we live in the midst of the latter-times, we have the ability to study and discover how all of these prophecies fit together to see the logical outworking of events. The latter-day events are not random, unrelated events, but are a progression of incidents that illustrate how the flesh-driven world will perceive and respond to the actions of the Messiah as he establishes his Kingdom. We can perceive the natural order of events due to the predictable responses of the flesh. With this particular topic of the Russian confederacy and the Arab confederacy, we are able to see how these two wars can occur for totally separate reasons, with different players, and at different times, while also seeing how one logically results in the other. The honor of trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together is certainly a blessing and privilege that should not be taken for granted!
Putin: Maybe Not the “Rosh” Prince?
The past few years have seen headlines questioning the health of Russian President Vladimir Putin. These articles were not given too much weight as they were relatively sparse in number and somewhat questionable in authenticity. The difficulty lies in the utter secrecy of Putin. He has gone to great lengths to hide any illnesses and prevent such hindrances from making the news, for this would make him appear “weak”. Now, however, it appears that these reports might have been authentic all along. More and more news agencies are reporting on Putin’s sharply declining health, and it is beginning to interfere with his day-to-day tasks:
Russia-Ukraine war: Putin 'won’t be able to hold meetings due to health' - Metro News
Vladimir Putin rumoured to be using body doubles as health ‘sharply deteriorates’ - IOL
There’s also the testimony of numerous on-camera appearances that contradict his “strong-man” image, showing him oddly grasping a table while sitting, not utilizing his right arm, and walking with a significant limp. All of these are brushed off by his administration as falsehoods, but speculation remains.
Why does this matter? Putin appears to have all of the characteristics to be the Russian ruler when Gog descends to Israel, and this has led some to claim with absolute certainty that Putin IS and WILL be the Rosh Prince of Ezekiel 38. While this could easily be true, we caution others from speaking so strongly on this topic, particularly given Putin’s declining health and advancing age. While Putin certainly fits the bill for the Rosh Prince when Russia comes against Israel, we are not given any ironclad Scriptural proof that Vladimir Putin is this man. Something could easily befall him, but we do believe that whoever his replacement is, they have already been chosen and will rule in the same manner that Putin does.
Where is the Pope?
Amidst all of the exciting developments regarding the players of the first two latter-day wars, we might be wondering, “Where is all the news about the Pope: the leader of spiritual Babylon?” The Papacy is not making the headlines, and we recently went out of our way to try and find some developments regarding this topic to no avail. All seems fairly “normal”. Is this an issue? If the Pope is supposed to lead the world’s rebellion against Christ’s rule in the beginning stages of his Kingdom, shouldn’t he have more prominence in the world?
Not necessarily. The conclusion we have reached from our studies is that the Pope will not assume his prominent role until after Christ returns. This world is presently doing all that it can to remove religion from the picture. While Catholicism has watered down the teachings of Scripture to attract more people, the antagonism to organized religion still remains. Yet, Revelation 20:7-10 clearly demonstrates this power as deceiving Gog and the rest of the nations to war against the saints and the “beloved city” (Revelation 20:9). Something, therefore, has to change. We believe this change will be effected by Christ’s return. He will return and make his first public appearance to the world in destroying the Arab nations of Psalm 83.
Obadiah 1:21 - And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.
After clearing the Promised Land and establishing his throne in Jerusalem, he will then disarm Israel and reveal his true identity to the rest of the world, speaking “peace” to them:
Zechariah 9:10 – And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
This speaking of “peace” does not mean that only soft and good things will be spoken to the world, but is to be understood in the sense of
Deuteronomy 20:10-17 – When thou (Israel) comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. (11) And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. (12) And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: (13) And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: (14) But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. (15) Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. (16) But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: (17) But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee:
This command was given to natural Israel and formed their basis for conquering and acquiring land. They were first to speak peacefully to a nation or city, and if they submitted, they were spared and would serve Israel. If they did not submit, they were to be destroyed. Note carefully that the inhabitants of the land of promise were not to be given the opportunity to submit (vss. 16-17). This offer of peace applied only to “all the cities which are very far off from thee” (vs. 15). This same thing applies to Christ and the saints. When the time comes for Christ to conquer and inherit his Kingdom, the present alien inhabitants (ie, the nations of Psalm 83) will not be spoken “peacefully” to, but will be “put to shame, and perish” (Psalm 83:17). It is then that Christ will “speak peace” to those nations which are “very far off”, encompassing the rest of the planet!
What is this offer of peace that Christ will extend? Revelation 14 describes the entirety of it and even tells us precisely when this will be spoken! We start at the beginning of the chapter to include this aspect:
Revelation 14:1-7 – “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. (2) And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: (3) And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. (4) These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. (5) And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. (6) And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, (7) Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
After the Lamb of God stands on mount Zion with his redeemed brothers and sisters, then “the everlasting gospel” is preached to the nations! The offer of salvation and Christ’s plan to expand his newly established Kingdom will be revealed to the world with the wise admonition to “Fear God, and given glory to him”. While we did not include them above, verses 9-11 warn the world of the consequences for rebelling against Christ and worshipping the beast and his image. In essence, the world will be told, “This is the Lord’s wondrous plan. Be WISE and submit to his rule. Do not rebel and worship the beast and his image! The end of those who do so will be utter destruction!”
This is the event that we believe will skyrocket the Pope to the prominent role he is prophesied to have. How will the world respond to Christ’s ultimatum? Will a world that has labored so intensely to remove God and Christ from their thinking decide to change course and submit to them? Not quite. The second Psalm records their response to Christ’s offer:
Psalm 2: 1-3 – Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, (3) Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Most of the nations will utterly reject this ultimatum and instead choose to rebel and vainly attempt to destroy Christ and his immortalized multitude (an important aspect that they will likely not be aware of!). There is nothing more vain than the thought of succeeding against the Lord and destroying a band of immortalized people.
Now, we get to our main topic of the Papacy. How will the nations come to the conclusion to rebel? Will it be on their own? Christ’s ultimatum will undoubtedly shock the world, and seeing their way of life threatened, they will turn to inquire as to who this “Jesus” really is. Where will the world go for answers of religious nature? Undoubtedly, the Pope. The Papacy, who calls himself “The Holy See”, will not appreciate Christ proclaiming that HE is the Messiah and the Lord’s anointed. He will declare Jesus the antichrist and the devil and encourage the entire world to rebel with all of their might, for this is “the Lord’s will.” As stated in Revelation 20:10, the nations will thus be “deceived”. The admonition of the angel in Revelation 14 to not receive the mark of the beast shows this to be the power that should be ignored.
Unfortunately, the Scriptures show that most of the world will rebel, but as some nations are left, it is understood that some will submit. Once the Babylonian system is destroyed, however, the remaining men and women will finally realize, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit” (Jeremiah 16:19). They will no more rebel, but, having their eyes finally opened, will say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (4) And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:3-4).
And so, let us not worry about the Pope’s relative “irrelevance” and lack of sway in the world. Things will progress exactly as the Lord said they would. While looking out at the world and keeping the command to “Watch” (Mark 13:37), let us also look to ourselves to ensure that we are giving our very best effort to walk in the way prescribed, for the signs indicate that the days of our fleshly troubles are drawing to a swift, final close! “Even so, come, Lord Jesus”! (Revelation 20:20).
Tanner Hawkins
Israel at War with Gaza!
TGP Prophecy Letter – August 5, 2022
Though many may already know this, we wanted to ensure that the word is spread: Israel is at war with the terrorist faction Islamic Jihad. The conflict began just today as a result of Israel strategically striking infrastructure that was known to be used for Islamic Jihad operations. The terrorist group responded by sending over 100 rockets into Israel, most of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome. You can read an article on this here:
Why is this significant? This terrorist group is based in the Gaza strip; the exact geographical location of the ancient Philistines! Psalm 83 tells us of a time when a confederacy of nations round about Israel will come against her at once in an attempt to wipe her off the map. The Philistines are part of this confederacy:
Psalms 83:5-8 – For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: (6) The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; (7) Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; (8) Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
We see the Philistines’ relevance to latter-day prophecy in a number of other passages as well, the most straightforward being Isaiah 11. This chapter is known for being chock-full of latter-day and kingdom age details. We note two verses at this time:
Isaiah 11:13-14 – The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. (14) But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Israel will “fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west”. We note, however, that more players from Psalm 83 are present in this prophecy as well. Israel will also “spoil them of the east together… Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.” Our conviction that Psalm 83 and Isaiah 11:14 are parallel prophecies.
In light of today’s news, we soberly and urgently ask, Is it possible that what is presently happening could escalate and lead to the fulfillment of these passages? It most certainly could! There is no telling how events might unfold. We eagerly wait to see the reaction of Israel’s other Arab neighbors, for if they also become involved in this conflict, these ancient prophecies are almost certainly upon us. Our understanding is that Christ and his immortalized saints will rescue Israel from this wicked confederacy of Arabs. How near his return might be!
The things we are seeing are certainly reason for all of us to try and absorb the implications of these events and prepare for our Lord and Judge. The signs indicate that he is nigh!
Tanner Hawkins