d éd zeh iel 3 9
j^ a ie ô t in e , /v t uââi a a n
Ninth in a Series of Prophetic Messages
By Louis T. Talbot, D.D.
W E WHO have witnessed the de struction and abandonment of great stockpiles of weapons and munitions following World War II can imagine to some extent the great burning of the weapons from a conflict in which possibly twenty millions of people will be destroyed which will take place when Gog and his armies are de feated. The disposal of the bodies of the slain will also present a serious problem in that day. The Buried of the Dead throughout Seven Months We turn to 39:11-16 for a description of the magnitude of the task of burying the slain from Gog’s army: And it shall came to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog. and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a re nown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the burners have buried it in the vhlley of Hamon-gog. And also the name o f' the city shall be Hamonah. Thtis shall they cleanse the land. In the first place, God will give unto Gog a vast cemetery, so that those who pass by may know what happened to the one- whose greed and lust led him to attempt to plunder the land and the people of Jehovah. Its name is to tell the same story, for this cemetery is to be called “the valley, of Hamon-gog,” meaning “ the valley of the multitude of Gog.” It is interesting to note here that, while we have not previously seen just what will happen to Gog, the prince, in verse 11 we are told that Gog, too, will be buried in the land, which he will seek to conquer. Let us stop here a moment to contrast two scenes. Do you remember that in the thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel another valley was brought to our at- Page Ten
remember that not only will judgment be sent by God upon the army of Magog, but fire and punishment will also be visited upon the land itself. No doubt the punishment at home will be sc great that all who are able will be busy bury ing the dead there. And, according to verse 13, the defeat and death of the army of Gog will be for an object les son before all men, reminding them that Jehovah of ancient Israel will vindi cate His people. And through all this He will receive honor and glory. Would that the nations of the world would turn from their wicked ways of defiance and insult to God, bow their knees, and ac knowledge His right to rule and reign over the world that He has made! But the heart of the natural man is “ des perately wicked” and opposed to God’s will. The Lord has been speaking in grace and mercy for more than nineteen hundred years and yet the greater per centage of the population of the earth has not turned to God. Nor will unregen erate man acknowledge God’s interest in the earth. Therefore, to this Christ- rejecting world God must one day speak in terrible judgment.' And this punish ment upon Gog and his army is but one of the judgments that will be meted out upon the earth as God thunders His wrath. The last book in the Bible is filled with a description of the judg ments of God. My dear friend, if you are reading these pages and have not yet come in to the family of God, let me solemnly warn you that those who will not have the love of God as manifested in His Son, must some day be the objects of His fierce wrath. Today the way is open. Yea, the door into the new life that is to be found in Christ Jesus is open wide. “ Whosoever will” may en ter in, and have everlasting life. I pray that you may come; and coming, find life and peace and endless joy in Him, whom to kiiow is life eternal. The Feeding of the Beasts and the Fowls upon the Flesh of the Mighty Let us turn now from the scene of the great burial to that pictured in 39:17-20: And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble ySurselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great (Continued on Page 27) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
tention? That one was filled with dry bones which represent the nation of Israel. The valley graveyard, in this case, represents the Gentile nations, among which Israel has long been scattered. In this scene of bleak deso lation Ezekiel was told to prophesy; and as he obeyed, the bones strangely moved, came together, and were cov ered with sinews, flesh, and skin. They were n6w a valley filled with corpses, yet without life. To Ezekiel again came the word of God, and he was told to prophesy to the four winds, that breath and life might enter into this multitude of corpses. And even 'as he obeyed, breath entered into them, and the mul titude stood upon its feet, an exceed ingly great army. All this, God told Ezekiel, was but a picture of national Israel at the time of the end, when God would take them from the cemeteries of the nations of the world, breathe new life into them, and return them again to their own land. Then they shall live again as a nation before Him. My friends, it is thrilling to be living in a day when this prophecy of the restora tion of Israel is taking place as God has spoken it! And just as surely as it has begun, so surely will it be consum mated, exactly as foretold in God’s Word! Now, in contrast, see Gog’s army, an other exceedingly great host of mil lions, lying dead upon the mountains of Israel. For this army, dead because they will have opposed the living God, burial, not resurrection, will be ordered. They are to be buried together in a vast cemetery, as a reminder to all people of what happens to the nations who defy God. This scene will make World War II look like a mere skirmish. Verse 12 goes on to state that a full seven months will be required to inter the dead. Evidently they will not be buried in huge trenches, as some have been buried after great disasters, be cause the Jews will not want to defile the land. There are certain strict rules and regulations among the orthodox Jews which require them, to bury the dead in a certain way, in order that the land may be ceremonially clean. Ac cordingly, throughout seven ghastly months, the people of Israel will move up and down the lands, placing under the sod the remains of the once proud soldiers of the northern confederacy. Some have wondered, in this connec tion, why the government of Russia will not bury her ovm dead. But we must
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