April 21, 2024: Isaiah 46:8-10 - He is God, and there is None Else

“Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure…” - Isaiah 46:8-10

God, through his prophet Isaiah, reminds His people to remember the foolishness of worshipping false gods and comparing them to Him; nothing compares to the one true and Almighty God:

“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and even declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:6-8)

God tells His people that men act like children when they put their faith and trust in false gods, expecting them to save them out of their troubles and to bless them when they worship them. They are deceived by the source of their false god worship, and that source is Satan. Isaiah wrote of this deception earlier in his book:

“And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree [a block of wood]? He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isaiah 44:17-20)

In His word, the Bible, God repeatedly tells Jacob and Israel to remember the things that He has told and shown them. He tells them to be men and not babies, and to know that He alone is God. He tells them in advance - 150 years in advance - of a man who will be born and named Cyrus, who will become king of Persia and will set them free from their captivity in Babylon. It is God Himself who is able to proclaim such a thing before it happened; no false god or idol is able to do such a thing. God challenges them to proclaim something in advance and see if it comes to pass:

“That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Produce your cause [case], saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought [is nothing]: an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. Behold, they are all vanity [worthless]; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.” (Isaiah 41:20-29)

God knows that when His people, when anyone, puts their faith and truth in worthless idols and false gods, they set themselves up for disaster to come upon them. That is why He gave us His word long ago that tells us of things that would happen long before they ever happened so that when we read that they have happened or see them happen with our own eyes, we would know that HE IS ALMIGHTY GOD and there is NONE LIKE HIM. I cannot emphasize that enough, but like many people, I had to learn that for myself the hard way. I put my trust in my own false gods and idols, only to learn that they couldn’t save me.

We are at a pivotal point in our world today. As I continue writing this devotional, today is April 14, 2024. It is the day after Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed seven Iranian officials in Syria, two of whom had planned attacks on Israel by their proxies. On April 19, 2024, Israel launched missiles at an air defense radar site near a nuclear facility. Ever since the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas in which over 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered, everything has escalated and people are aligning themselves more and more against Israel, exactly as God prophesied would happen in the last days before Jesus’ second coming.

God also prophesied through the prophet Ezekiel of a battle that would happen between Israel and several countries, and one country was named by the former name of Iran, which is Persia. Many people who read and study the Bible, myself included, believe the other countries that are named in the Ezekiel 38-39 war that will be allied with Iran will include Russia, Turkey, Sudan, Libya, and Ethiopia. Dr. Andy Woods also believes the “stan” nations including Afghanistan will also be in this alliance against Israel. Many believe, myself included, that the person named or titled “Gog” who is referred to in Ezekiel 38-39 will be the leader of Russia, which could be Russian President Putin. Time will tell if the events we currently are seeing transpire between Israel and the nations that are coming against it will fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39. We do know this: it will happen because the word of God said it WILL happen:

“And the word of the LORD came unto me [Ezekiel], saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back [around], 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: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands [troops]; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands [troops]: and many people with thee.” (Ezekiel 38:1-6)

In the Scriptures above, God told the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy to this person named or with the title of “Gog” from “the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” Gotquestions.org explains the origin of “Meshech” and “Tubal”: (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Meshech-and-Tubal.html)

Meshech (also spelled Meshek) and Tubal were sons of Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah who survived the flood with him (Genesis 10:1–2). Meshech (whose name means “long, tall, or drawn out by force”) is the sixth son of Japheth. The land of Meshech is closely associated with that of Tubal, especially in a prophecy of Ezekiel. The region of Meshech is often identified as being north of the Black Sea (southern Russia and Ukraine and possibly the Republic of Georgia), and Tubal as an area in central Turkey.

The book of Ezekiel is written approximately between 593-565 BC. God is speaking to this person named Gog or possibly where “Gog” is a title, such as “president” is a title, thousands of years before the events foretold in Ezekiel 38-39 would happen. In the Scriptures below, it specifically says it will happen “in the latter years,” and based on Scripture, I do not believe it has happened yet. I believe it very well could be that current Russian president Putin is “Gog” of “Magog” referenced in the Scriptures above. As we know, Russia is at war with Ukraine, and Putin may turn his armies around from Ukraine and head south into Israel with his coalition of nations to invade Israel through the mountains of Israel. God then tells Gog:

“Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come unto the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against [on] the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.” (Ezekiel 38:7-8)

The Scriptures above state that Gog will assemble with his troops and he will be a guard to them. Gog will then go into the land of Israel through the mountains. At the time this will happen, Israel, who will have been scattered among the nations, will be brought back into their land. This is exactly what has been happening since May 14, 1948 when the nation of Israel was formed after WWII. Notice it also says specifically that Gog will come to the land “against [or on] the mountains of Israel.” Pastor Andy Woods in his in-depth study of Ezekiel 36-39 noted that it wasn’t until the Six Day War in 1967 that the mountains of Israel were put back under Israeli control when it won the war and took control from the Jordanian Arabs (see: https://slbc.org/sermon/19432/). This is why it is so critical to Israel that its borders not be set back to what they were prior to 1967, as Israel would be left indefensible. When Barack Obama was president, he specifically urged Israel to return to those borders: See: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43091459)

Obama's urging that a Palestinian state be based on 1967 borders — those that existed before the Six-Day War in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza — marked a significant shift in U.S. policy and seemed certain to anger Israel.

People opposed to Israel as well as those claiming to be friends of Israel, including the United States, have been pushing this to this day as part of a “two-state solution,” particularly since the October 7, 2023 attacks, with people supporting the Palestinians chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What this means with respect to Israel is that “It calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, erasing the State of Israel and its people.” (See: https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/From-the-River-to-the-Sea)

In the book of Ezekiel chapter 38, God then gives us the reasons why Gog and his troops will invade the land of Israel:

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 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 having 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.” (Ezekiel 38:10-12)

The invasion occurs because Gog wants to take something from Israel and to turn his hand against the people of Israel. What is it that Gog seeks to plunder from Israel? Time will tell.

There is much debate about these verses because it states that Gog will go up into a land where there aren’t any walls and where the people are dwelling safely, and some translations use the word “securely” instead of “safely,” and when the people are at rest. That certainly does not describe Israel in our world today, when it is almost constantly at threat of being attacked by the nations that surround it. This is as recent as April 14, 2024 after Iran attacked Israel directly from within Iran for the first time in history. Let us read more about what God told the prophet Ezekiel to write to Gog of Magog:

“And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 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 [nations] may know me, when I shall be sanctified [hallowed] in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 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? 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. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking [earthquake] in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead [bring judgment to him] with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” (Ezekiel 38:15-22)

God is the One who will bring this person named Gog and his armies with him to his land - God’s land - in the latter days. God says His prophets foretold this would happen long ago. Did you catch that? God says: “and I will bring thee against my land.” All of the time we hear the arguing over whose land it is, and God clearly tells us it is HIS land. There will be a great earthquake in Israel, and men all over the world will shake because of what they will see. Gog and his troops with him will turn on each other, striking each other with their swords as they have the wrath of God from heaven sent upon them. God tells us His purpose in doing this:

“Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23)

Ezekiel then writes that the ravenous birds and beasts of the field will eat the bodies of Gog and his troops who were with him in the mountains of Israel. God will send a devastating fire in the land of Magog so that they will know that He is the LORD. God tells us that Israel will burn the weapons of Gog and his troops for a period of seven years, and that for seven months, Israel will search for and bury the dead of Gog and his troops. (Ezekiel 39:9-20). God again tells us His purpose in all of this:

“And I will set my glory among the heathen [nations], and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. so the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. and the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity [bring back the captives) of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; after that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses [unfaithfulness] whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 39:21-29)

God allows His people Israel to make their own choices, and that includes their ability to sin against Him, and He also allows them to suffer the consequences of their sin, just as He allows us to do. In the battle of Gog and Magog, a massive coalition will come against Israel from the north, but it will not be Israel that defends itself from being wiped off from the face of the earth, nor any other nation or alliance of nations. Only God Himself will defend them, causing their enemies to turn against each other and God will bring upon them desolations from heaven. It is only at this point when Israel finally realizes that it was God who will have brought them back into the land of Israel from all of the nations to which they had been scattered and sent into captivity. It will be at this point that Israel will finally turn from their sins and their worship of false gods and idols and will finally turn to their Messiah, Jesus Christ, and will be saved. We know that it is only at this point in time when all their sins will be forgiven, because until they finally turn to Jesus in belief, they will still be in their sins and rebellion against God. When they do finally turn to Jesus, God says He will not need to hide His face from them anymore because of their shame against Him, and that He will “have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:29) This is also prophesied in Ezekiel 37:

“And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen [nations], whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelllinggplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heaven shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Ezekiel 37:21-28)

The people of Israel will never be erased from the earth. God will bring them back from the nations to which they were dispersed, as we have seen being to happen since 1948, and they will be gathered into the land that long ago God gave to them. There is a time coming that Israel will finally dwell in ALL of the land that God gave them and not just part of it, as they have always done. They will be united together, and will not defile themselves, as they currently do and always have, sinning against God. They will finally be cleansed of all their sins. They will have one King over them, and I believe the “David” referred to is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who is from the lineage of King David from the tribe of Judah, as written in the Bible. While King David will be resurrected to life and may possibly rule with Jesus in Jerusalem, it will be Jesus Christ who will be their King of kings and Lord of lords, forever.

In the Scripture verses above, God says He will make an everlasting covenant of peace with them. This peace can only come after Jesus Christ returns to earth and after His millennial (1,000-year) reign, when at the end of that reign, He will cast Satan into the eternal lake of fire and all sinners who died in their sin will be cast into it as well, forever eliminating sin. It is only at that time will true peace exist in a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. Thus, we know that these prophecies have not been fulfilled yet and refer to a time yet future, as prophesied in the book of Revelation:

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful [cowardly], and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8)

Just as in the book of Isaiah, God gave to the prophet Isaiah His prophecies hundreds of years in advance that foretold of Judah being taken captive to Babylon for seventy years and being set free by a man who would be named Cyrus and would become king of Persia, so too did God give prophesies to a man named Ezekiel that foretells of things to come way into the future, in the latter days. I truly believe that what we are seeing now in April 2024 between Israel and Iran and its other enemies is not the actual battle of Gog and Magog - yet - but it is setting everything in place for it to happen. Alliances are being made between Israel’s enemies, the chess pieces are being placed on the board, but it will be in God’s perfect timing as to when the battle of Gog and Magog happens. When it does, it will be God Himself, the ONLY God, who will defend and save His people Israel; America will not defend them, Israel will not be able to defend itself, and no one will come to the aid of Israel. Until that time comes, we do best to heed God’s word, for even though what He says will happen has not happened yet, IT WILL HAPPEN, for He is God and there is none else. He declares the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that have not yet happened. His counsel shall stand, and He will do all His pleasure. ✝️