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.
October 2024
BREAKING: Israel Invades Lebanon!
TGP Prophecy Letter – October 1, 2024
Israel recently warned that a ground assault against Lebanon was imminent, and they meant it. As of 10:30pm Monday night, Israeli tanks rolled into Lebanon:
Israeli tanks cross into Lebanon for the first time since 2006 - report – World Israel News
Israel Launches Ground Offensive into Lebanon – The Jewish Press
Israel’s Third Lebanon War is underway. Here’s what you need to know – The Jerusalem Post
At this early stage, Israel has yet to encounter and resistance from Hezbollah (The Jerusalem Post).
We are only a few days away from the one-year mark of when Hamas invaded Israel, and the conflict is clearly not slowing down. Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel since that time, but now that the Hamas threat has been significantly reduced, Israel can now confidently turn their attention toward their northern border.
What will happen? How should we feel about further crisis in the region? While it is too early to tell how far the ripple-effect will go, it seems likely that things will only continue to get worse. But before we consider how the nations are responding, let us first consider how we should as servants of the Lord.
The Lord’s servants are not to love war or violence in any capacity, particularly never to engage in it (John 18:36, Matthew 10:16). Yet it is the God of heaven who rules in the kingdoms of men and “giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:17), and He directs the nations through His angelic messengers to accomplish His will. Contrary to what many would like to think, the Lord’s actions upon the nations is not always calculated to give the inhabitants comfort and prosperity. The Pharaoh of the Exodus was one of the most wicked and hateful rulers to oppress God’s people, yet it is written,
Romans 9:17 – For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
God’s purpose with Pharaoh was to utilize him so that the strength of God’s right arm might be known. Had Pharaoh been a push-over or had been kindly to the Jews and let them go upon Moses’s first request, we would not have had the wonders of the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, and many other miraculous signs which showed that God is all-powerful and full of mighty works. It is for this purpose that God “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart throughout the plagues.
Examples of this sort are numerous. The Assyrians were a wretched and violent group, God raised them up for another specific purpose. He calls them “the rod of mine anger” as God was going to utilize them to exact judgment upon Israel and many other nations in the region (Isaiah 10:5). Therefore, “the staff in their hand is mine indignation.” The Lord works through such nations and utilizes them as tools, and this fact is even specifically called out. A few verses down in Isaiah 10, Assyria is condemned for boasting of their great successes as they did not know that it was God who gave them their success:
Isaiah 10:15 – Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
Such is true for all nations. They are mere tools in the Lord’s arsenal to accomplish what is needed. In regards to what we are seeing now in the Middle East and the rest of the world, these are working toward the most wondrous purpose: the Lord is setting the stage for the return of Jesus Christ to this earth.
While we have discussed this subject frequently and in great depth, we will offer a quick review for new readers, for the things going on in the earth are a just cause for worry. But once we see these things for what they are, our worry turns to joy and excitement! Here is why:
The return of Jesus Christ is a focal point and climax in God’s 7,000-year plan. The past 6,000 years since the fall has been about bringing about a way of restoration to the wondrous conditions in Eden, a rebinding of the relationship between God and man (this is the meaning of “religion”). While man and the earth were cursed as a result of the fall, God provided His son to remedy these problems. The goal of his first coming was to conquer and subdue the enemy within himself (his sinful nature, called “the Devil), but his second coming will be to conquer the rest of the earth and establish the Kingdom of God, Christ himself to sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. Of his reign, we read
Isaiah 9:7 – Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
In multiple prophecies, the Scriptures show that Christ will come to conquer the nations and establish this Kingdom which will eventually encompass the entire planet:
Psalms 72:7-8 – In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. (8) He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Unfortunately, the response of most of the nations will not be welcoming. Of them, it is recorded, “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” (Psalms 2:2-3). The Lord’s work will therefore be one of conquest, the obedient nations who submit enjoying blessing while those who refuse to submit will be destroyed – “The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted” (Isaiah 60:12).
This is what the world is now being prepped for. It is why we see the decline in morality and the demonization of the Bible. But we focus more intently on the things going on in the Middle East because of what prophecy says concerning Christ’s coming. In short, the Bible teaches that Christ will appear to Israel when they are being attacked by a confederacy of Arab nations which will comprise Hamas in the Gaze Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the nations of Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and some aggressors from the Negev region. This confederacy is listed in Psalm 83, and the conflict is described in dozens of prophecies. Because it is from this conflict between Israel and the Arab “people round about” that Christ reappears to Israel, it marks the first step in his battle plans. See Zechariah 12:2, 8.
Therefore, when we see the enemies of this confederacy draw closer together against Israel, this tells us that we are nearing the fulfillment of the prophecy. The closer we are to these Arab nations uniting against Israel, the closer we are to Christ’s return. This, in short, is why we rejoice to see these specific conflicts being developed. In these days of darkness, the Lord does not speak directly to man as He had in Biblical times, but does so through His Word. Prophecy is the tool He uses to tell his servants where they are on the timeline of his prophetic plan. The things we are seeing now (and have been seeing for a good while) tell us that we are drawing very near to the return of Christ. It is this student’s belief that the covenanted of the Lord could be gathered at any moment, for the Scriptures show that Christ it is not only Jesus who saves Israel from her Arab enemies, but the redeemed of the Lord. It is written, “the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zechariah 14:5).
This being established, let us see how the nations are responding at this early stage. While many will post-pone their input to see how the rest of the world is responding, this should suffice for now.
The US Response
The American response has been mixed. Biden is no fan of Netanyahu, and he told Israel not to invade Lebanon, demanding a cease-fire instead (New York Post). Yet the US has sent more air support and warships to the region in what is being painted as “support” for Israel in case the war gets out of hand and Israel needs assistance:
US boosts air support and hikes troop readiness to deploy for Middle East – Reuters
However, it is my belief that there’s another reason for sending the forces. While they can certainly be used to help Israel, they can just as easily be used to deter Israel. Israel knows how the US feels about their actions, and having “big brother” standing right next to them the whole time is likely intended to influence their decisions. We know from prophecy that Israel must eventually stand alone against the Arab confederacy in order to cry unto their Messiah, but the time for this does not seem yet.
The Iranian Response
Of great interest is how Iran will respond to this. Hezbollah is essentially a puppet for Iran, and Israel’s recent assassination of their leader was an enormous blow to Iran. It was expected that Iran might retaliate by intervening directly against Israel, yet they stated that Iran would not be sending forces to the region (AFP). It seems that Iran may think it’s too risky to get involved with how things have been going, and they are reassessing how to best wield control over the region. It is entirely possible that Iran will take a more aggressive approach, but it seems at this stage that the time is not yet. We know that they will eventually come against Israel, but this is after Christ has returned and while take place when Russia comes against the land (Ezekiel 38-39).
The Turkish Response
We look to Turkey’s response because they too will one day come against Israel when Russia comes down. Yet it appears that they may have an indirect role in this first Arab conflict, potentially helping to muster the Arab nations together into a confederacy. They have been calling for a united Arab front against Israel, and now that Israel has taken out Hezbollah’s leader and is invading Lebanon, they are continuing their dangerous rhetoric:
Erdogan-affiliated paper: 'World won't be safe until Israel is destroyed' – Israel National News
Other Responses
While many nations have yet to comment on the matter, we can expect wide-spread anger and hatred against Israel. The United Nations is becoming more and more hostile to Israel (if that is even possible), and this largely reflects the world’s position. It was just reported that these relations have sunken to new depths (AFP).
On the world religious stage, we see the false prophet of Revelation playing his part to muster the nations against Jerusalem. Revelation 16:13-16 shows certain entities speaking doctrine and principles which “go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty”, and one of the main players in this scheme is called the False Prophet – a fit name for the one who calls himself “God on earth” and claims to speak on His behalf. The Pope’s response to Israel’s assassination of the terrorist leader Nasrallah is as follows:
Pope Francis calls assassination of Nasrallah “immoral” and “disproportionate” – Israel365 News
While this is certainly no cry for direct with Israel yet, the way nations are influenced is not through swift, bold statements, but by a slow-drip method of consistently and moderately voicing antagonism against the enemy. This way, people come to the conclusion “on their own” (or so they think) that war is the only viable and commendable action.
In summary, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon has just opened a new front of war, and some of the biggest and most drastic changes to the world scene are accomplished through war. If this war continues to expand to include the nations of Psalm 83, we will grow even more in excitement. Yet we mortals must recognize that we are limited in our ability, and it’s possible that the other Arab nations decide to sit this round out if their chances of success are not great enough. Either way, the present situation is cause for self-examination, rejoicing, and humble preparation as we await the return of Christ.
************UPDATE************
An incredibly significant development has arisen since we sent out our comments earlier this morning. At the time, Iran said very little about responding to Israel's invasion of Lebanon, but now the following reports are coming in:
Iran preparing imminent missile attack on Israel, US says - FOX News
US says Iran is preparing missile attack on Israel - BBC
The article from FOX says,
"'The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,' the official said. 'We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.'
"Another U.S. official told Fox News that Iran could launch its attack as soon as Tuesday afternoon, saying that the U.S. has seen additional movement of missiles in Iran to prepare for the now "imminent" attack.
"The official added that Iran's attack could look like the one it launched in April against Israel, which had more than 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones."
While have yet to see the strike, the fear is that this could lead to a direct confrontation between the US and Iran. It is too early to forecast how severe this could be, yet it is important to point out that we have been expecting something which would prevent Iran from being a direct player in this final war between Israel and the Arab nations "round about". The Scriptures omit "Persia" (modern Iran) from the Psalm 83 confederacy for a purpose, and we therefore conclude that something will prevent them directly intervening in any significant capacity, although it is possible that they could play the "puppet master" and order the Psalm 83 nations into action. We wait to see.
Please keep an eye on these developments as it will be difficult for us to provide updates with how fast things can materialize!
In the Hope of Israel,
Tanner Hawkins