General Articles<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nOn Dec. 29, 2024, our Lifeway Adult Sunday School lesson was titled \u201cPower Revealed.\u201d And in a nutshell, the writer was saying God led the Israelites out of Egypt and took them to a seemingly hopeless entrapment at the Red Sea to reveal His power and glory by fighting for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It begins with God sending Moses to tell Pharaoh to \u201cLet my people go\u201d (Ex. 5:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pharaoh responded, \u201cWho is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?\u201d (Ex. 5:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God could have moved Pharaoh\u2019s heart to let Israel go, but God hardened Pharaoh\u2019s heart to cause him to resist and to reveal His power and glory to Pharaoh and Israel (Ex. 7:13-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This revelation involved God sending Ten Plagues upon Egypt (Ex. 7:14-12:30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the Tenth Plague (the death of the firstborn, including Pharaoh\u2019s son), Pharaoh sent for Moses and said, \u201cGet you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord\u201d (Ex. 12:31-32), \u201cAnd the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste\u201d (Ex.12:33).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God had brought the unbelieving, arrogant Pharaoh from the point of saying, \u201cI will not let them go,\u201d to the point of saying, \u201cGet out of here,\u201d \u201cGo,\u201d \u201cMake haste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God led the Israelites out of Egypt in an orderly manner (Ex. 13:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went before them by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire, and He took them along an unusual path toward the Red Sea (Ex. 13:17-18, 21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pharaoh was soon told that his people were asking, \u201cWhy have we done this? Why have we let all of our slaves go?\u201d (Ex. 14:5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So God hardened Pharaoh\u2019s heart and caused him to take a powerful army with 600 chariots to chase after Israel (Ex. 14:5, 8, 17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why did God tell Pharoah to \u201cLet my people go\u201d and then harden his heart to go after them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why did God lead the unarmed, helpless Jews to a place where a well-armed military would trap them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jews were afraid, and they thought God had brought them to the Red Sea to die (Ex. 14:10-11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moses told them not to be afraid, God would fight for them, and they would see the Egyptians no more (Ezek. 14:13-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God parted the Red Sea, Israel crossed on dry ground, God destroyed them, and the Jews believed (Ex. 14:18-31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many more examples, but to save time, I will very quickly mention just two more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example one: in the Battle of Gog and Magog, God will put a hook in the jaw of Russia\u2019s leader and drag Russia, Iran, Turkey, and others onto the Mountains of Israel to destroy Israel (Ezek. 38-39).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why does God cause them to attack Israel and then destroy them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said, \u201cThus 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\u201d (Ezek. 38:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example two: God said, \u201cBehold, 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<\/em> against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it\u201d (Zech. 12:2-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy does God cause the nations to turn against Jerusalem and Judah and then destroy those nations that attack them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He will do this to cause the Jews to realize that the Lord of Hosts is their God (Zech. 12:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerning Israel, God said, \u201cThou art<\/em> my battle axe and<\/em> weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms\u201d (Jer. 51:20).<\/p>\n\n\n\nGod doesn\u2019t fight the way nations fight, but God is the source of Israel\u2019s survival, and He always wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are recent events that seem to indicate that the end of the age is close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One<\/strong>, during the night of Dec. 29, 2024, Israeli troops trapped and killed 106 Hamas terrorists in about two hours without losing a single soldier.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAn Israeli source said, \u201cIt was the most significant night we remember in the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two<\/strong>, on Jan. 1, 2025, Israel\u2019s Defense Min. said if Hamas does not release the 100 hostages it has been holding for 454 days and halt its rocket attacks on the Jewish state, Israel will hit Hamas with a force not seen in Gaza for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThree<\/strong>, concerning an Israeli-Hamas hostage deal: on Jan. 5, 2024, outgoing U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken said world pressure on Israel harmed hostage release deals and encouraged Hamas to repeatedly reject them while laying the blame at Israel\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBlinken added, \u201cWhenever there has been public daylight between the U.S. and Israel and the perception that pressure was growing on Israel, we\u2019ve seen it: Hamas has pulled back from agreeing to a ceasefire and the release of hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(My opinion: One reason some hostages have been held for more than 450 days, tortured, raped, etc., is the failure of politicians, universities, and the media to support Israel. It has also prolonged the war and led to the suffering and death of more Palestinians.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(More: On Jan. 7, 2025, a Hamas spokesman said no captives can be released until Israel agrees to a permanent end to the current war in Gaza and a full withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. \u201cWe are determined to stop the aggression and for the enemy to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and for relief and reconstruction to be without Israeli conditions.\u201d Regarding the administration of Gaza after the war, Hamas hopes to form a national committee with other Palestinian Arab groups to govern the coastal enclave.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(More: On Jan. 7, 2025, Pres.-elect Trump repeated his warning that if Hamas doesn\u2019t release the hostages by the time of his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, the gates of Hell will open, and it won\u2019t be good for anyone.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four<\/strong>, concerning Israel being a great army at the end of the age (Ezek. 37:10): on Jan. 8, 2025, an Israeli military official said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Israel\u2019s military will remain in place in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is fully dismantled.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anywhere Hezbollah tries to rebuild itself, they will meet the Israeli army, and there will be retaliation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If the Lebanese army doesn\u2019t fully deploy, if they don\u2019t dismantle Hezbollah in south Lebanon, and if they don\u2019t push Hezbollah out of south Lebanon, the Israel\u2019s forces will remain in their positions to protect the citizens of Israel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Five<\/strong>, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Jan. 4, 2024, Iran\u2019s Foreign Min. warned that another Israeli strike on Iran will lead to a large-scale war.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix<\/strong>, concerning wars and rumors of wars and the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Jan. 6, 2025, a committee that assesses Israel\u2019s preparedness for threats warned that Israel needs to prepare for a war with Turkey and its proxies, chief among them Islamist rebel forces in Syria who have seized control over Damascus and are now working to establish a new government.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSeven<\/strong>, concerning wars and rumors of war (and a potential Psalm 83 war): on Jan. 7, 2025, it was reported that Israel asked Egypt why it has significantly increased its military forces in the Sinai peninsula in violation of the peace agreement between the two nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEight<\/strong>, concerning open borders, a borderless world, and terrorist attacks in the U.S.: on Jan. 1, 2025, a former CIA official said Al-Qaeda claims that it has more than 1,000 trained terrorists in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe driver of a rented pick-up truck drove it into a crowd of people in New Orleans, killed 15, injured more than 30, and caused the Sugar Bowl to be postponed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The driver was probably a U.S. citizen, but he had an ISIS flag in the back of his rented truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was later reported that he attended a pro-jihad Muslim Brotherhood Mosque in Houston, that he recently traveled to the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, and that investigators found a Koran in his house that was opened at a verse about martyrdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(FYI: Several of the terrorist groups that have helped take over Syria have ties to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(My opinion: U.S. citizens have every right to be concerned about who has come across America\u2019s wide-open borders in the last four years.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(More: Shortly after the attack in New Orleans, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors marched in New York City demanding an uprising against Israel, calling Zionism a cancer, and calling for an end to all aid to Israel.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nine<\/strong>, concerning wars and rumors of wars: on Jan. 7, 2025, Pres.-elect Trump warned NATO members that they should spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, a significant increase from the current 2 percent target.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTen<\/strong>, concerning a covenant of peace in the Middle East: on Jan. 2, 2025, Pres.-elect Trump nominated Morgan Ortagus to be the Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOrtagus said, \u201cThe most important thing is that through President Trump, we bring peace and stability (peace and safety) to a troubled region, and I\u2019m grateful to play a small role in that endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eleven<\/strong>, concerning the tracking of all buying and selling: on Jan. 5, 2024, it was reported that So. Korea will start evaluating a new digital ID system in nine regions of its nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSupporters claim that the new ID system will keep people safe and avoid fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(My opinion: The creation of digital ID systems will lead to the tracking and control of everyone on earth starting at the middle of the Tribulation Period. Millions, perhaps billions, will refuse to comply and be killed. Those that do comply will be eternally doomed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twelve<\/strong>, concerning deceit at the end of the age: on Jan. 4, 2025, it was reported that Germans were told:<\/p>\n\n\n\n