The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Nine End Time Wars of the Bible: Part 1

Bill Salus

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In October 2009 I was interviewed by Bill Salus, author of the popular Psalm 83-themed book Isralestine, host of the radio program “Prophecy Update,” and evangelist on the end times website Prophecy Depot. Bill and I spent much of the interview discussing my recent article The Wars of the End Times.

Bill has been kind enough to allow The Christ in Prophecy Journal to reproduce the “The Nine End Time Wars of the Bible” interview in transcript form, edited into an article series. To listen to the original radio program in mp3 format, I invite you to visit Prophecy Depot or KWBB.

In this segment, Bill and I will be discussing why we believe will be the next end times war — what I call the “War of Extermination” based on Psalm 83 — and not the Battle of Armageddon or even the Ezekiel 38-39 War of Gog-Magog.

Introductions

Bill Salus: Welcome to another addition of the Prophecy Update, whereby we attempt to authenticate the sovereignty of God through Bible prophecy by informing you as to what Bible prophecy has to say about these days. Today my good friend Dr. David Reagan will be joining me to discuss the wars of the end times.

David has published a third edition of a must read book called America the Beautiful: The United States in Bible Prophecy. This release couldn’t be timelier in the light of the genuine concerns about America’s future. Dr. Reagan is an expert on the subject. I say this not just because he has a solid prophetic background, but because he has an extensive political one as well. Isn’t that correct, David?

Dr. Reagan: Well, that is true. I was highly involved in politics for about 20 years. Plus, I was also a professor on American Politics, Constitutional Law and International Law and Politics.

Bill Salus: Many people probably didn’t realize the background you have there.

Will the next end time war be Armageddon?

Bill Salus: Now, to the topic of the wars of the end time. As you well know, David, Hezbollah has 40,000 rockets aimed at Israel. Some of those may be targeting Tel Aviv someday soon. Iran is about to produce their first nuclear weapon and North Korea is also rattling their nuclear sabers at Israel. Israel is considering a preemptive strike upon Iran. All this has people, of course, concerned that we could be heading for the end times Armageddon War. Now, what do you think this is all leading up to? Is it Armageddon, David?

Dr. Reagan: Well, it is certainly leading up to a major confrontation. But, it is not going to be Armageddon. As I said in the article that I published recently about these wars of the end times, it seems like the only war that most people are aware of is the War of Armageddon, or what is called or referred to as the “Battle of Armageddon.”

Every time a war breaks out in the Middle East, as you well know, Bill, you get a bunch of calls and messages. I do, and so does everybody else involved in Bible prophecy. People are asking, “Is this the war of Armageddon?” Even the secular world — that’s the only end time war that they know about. They are always writing about and wondering if maybe this or that is the War of Armageddon.

The War of Armageddon is just one of them, as I point out in my article. There are different ways to count them, but I have counted nine end time wars that are in Bible prophecy. Armageddon is just one of those, and it certainly is not going to be the next one.

Bill Salus: Revelation 16:16 is where the term “Armageddon” appears vividly.

What will be the next war?

Dr. Reagan: Well, that is a good question and, Bill, this is where you play a very, very major role. Most Bible prophecy experts including such well known people as Joel Rosenberg all believe that the next great prophetic war in the Middle East will be the war that is outlined in Ezekiel 38 and 39 which portrays Russia leading a coalition of Muslim nations against Israel. But, in your book Isralestine, Psalms 83 points out that couldn’t be the next prophetic war in the Middle East. I think you really plowed some new ground when you wrote that book and made that point.

There are several reasons that you gave, but two that I would mention that are very important to me is that in Ezekiel 38:8,11,14, three times it says that the Russian-led invasion of Israel will not occur until Israel is living securely in un-walled villages. Well, Bill, you know as well as I do that Israel is not living securely today and they’re certainly not in what we would call un-walled villages. In fact, the Israelis are in the process of building a 400 mile long wall right down the middle of their country to try to defend themselves against terrorist. Israel is anything but secure today. So that condition just doesn’t exist.

Another thing that’s interesting that you pointed out in your book is that the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will have certain specified allies that come down with Russia, and none of those allies have a common border with Israel. Now, why in the world would there be a Russian invasion of Israel with Muslim allies and none of those allies be a single country with a common border with Israel? Jordan is not mentioned, Lebanon is not mentioned, Syria is not mentioned, Egypt is not mentioned, and Gaza is not mentioned.

In your book, which I consider a real important book where you talk about Psalm 83, you point out that there has to be a war before the Ezekiel 38 and 39 War, a war in which Israel will defeat all of the Muslim nations with which it has a common boundary. Your theory is that this is the war that is mentioned in Psalm 83. And, I’ll tell you what, I think you are right on target. I think the Psalm 83 War will be the next prophetic war in the Middle East. I think Israel, as you say in your book, will conquer all of those Muslim nations that have a common boundary with it. Israel will be greatly expanded in size, in power, in influence, in wealth, and then it will be living in security. Then it will be living in un-walled villages and then it will have fulfilled all the conditions for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 when Russia will come down with an outer circle of Muslim nations that do not have a common boundary with Israel.

If anyone hasn’t read Isralestine, they need to read it right away, because I think the Psalm 83 War of Extermination is probably going to be the war that is going to lead to the next fulfillment of prophecy — the destruction of Damascus.

This will most likely happen when all of Israel’s bordering nations come against Israel. Hezbollah has its 40,000 missiles and Syria has it’s very sophisticated missiles. Syria will be shooting those only 125 miles. It is not going to be shooting them a thousand miles like Saddam Hussein was doing. And, plus, they are very sophisticated missiles. I think the only hope that Israel will have is to resort to the use of nuclear weapons to defend itself. I think it will blow Damascus in Syria off the face of the map, just as it is prophesied in two places in the Old Testament (Isa. 17:1-14; Jer. 49:23-27). When that happens, I think the whole Arab world will go into a panic. I think they will turn to their natural ally Russia, and ask Russia to come to their aid.

Bill Salus: Today in Israel, actually since June, they have been preparing for a multi-front war with Iran, Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas. What we are talking about is a very high probability that the prophetic war that you are referencing in Psalm 83 and the dramatic prophetic event of Isaiah 17:1 which is the destruction of Damascus could happen in the very near future.

David, your thoughts on this are a little bit speculative, so we don’t want to spend too much time on it, but because I believe that we could be talking about the next prophetic headline in the Middle East, let’s spend just a second on it before we get into these other wars that follow.

If Israel strikes Iran preemptively because of their nuclear sites, it is likely don’t you believe, that Israel is justified in preparing for war with Hezbollah, Syria, and Hamas and Iran and that there is going to be a retaliation?

Dr. Reagan: Well, absolutely! A preemptive attack would be justified, just as it was in the War of 1967 when the Israelis finally decided, “Hey, we are about to be attacked on all fronts. If we just sit here and wait for the attack, we don’t have a hope.” And so, they launched a preemptive attack that was the key to winning the 1967 War. They are going to have to launch a preemptive attack here as they cannot simply sit by on the sidelines and wait for the missiles to start coming.

Most people don’t realize how small Israel is. We are talking about a country only 75 miles wide and about 300 miles long. They just can’t sit there and wait for these things to come. For example, they cannot wait for Iran to get a nuclear weapon. The Iranians have made it very clear the moment they get one they are going to use it. All they need is one. They just drop it on Tel Aviv and that is going to take care of the whole country. They don’t have to hit it with multiple nuclear weapons.

Bill Salus: As far back as August 2008, the Kuwaiti Daily reported that chemical components had made their way from North Korea through Iran, through Syria, and into Hezbollah’s hands. We have said they already have 40,000 rockets.

Carrie Hart, a friend of mine in Israel who is the Jerusalem correspondent for Jewish Voice Television, just emailed me the other day and said that Israel in January 2010 is going to be preparing a massive nationwide chemical and biological defense drill for their whole society because they are very concerned about this happening.

Will diplomacy make a difference?

Bill Salus: Do you believe there is the potential that this whole international thrust to try to trade land for peace and create this two state solution that something is going to blast out in the Middle East? Also, Ahmadinejad just said recently he is ready to start talking with Obama, however, he doesn’t want to talk about the nuclear programs. He says there are plenty of other things to talk about. Do you think that that there could be a temporary (it would of course have to be temporary because we know Psalm 83 is coming) peace that could be crafted through these diplomatic efforts?

Dr. Reagan: I don’t think so. It could happen, but I don’t think that is a high probability, because I think that Israel is going to have to attack Iran. Any other nation in the world would do that. If any nation in the world, like Canada for instance, was saying as soon as they had developed an atomic weapon they we’re going to drop it on Washington, D.C., would we sit there and twiddle out thumbs and talk about it? I don’t think so! I think we would take immediate action to make sure that did not happen.

The whole world is so hypocritical when it comes to Israel. The world will condemn Israel for doing exactly what every other nation in the world would do. If we had somebody shooting rockets across the Rio Grande River into Texas, how long do you think we would put up with that before we invaded Mexico and put an end to it? And, yet, we say to Israel, “Oh, you must not go into Lebanon and you must not go into Gaza. You must be patient and you must negotiate.” It is absolute nonsense!

Bill Salus: I couldn’t agree more, David. I also don’t think they will grab for the temporary peace. I think that it has gotten too far and too serious for that now.

Dr. Reagan: One thing, Bill, that I don’t understand is how people can ignore your thesis. I mean, take a person like Joel Rosenberg who is an outstanding thinker about the Middle East, and yet I was at a conference recently where he was asked specifically about Psalm 83 and he just dismissed it and said he didn’t think it was all that important. He went on to say that he felt like Israel was relatively living at peace. How can people ignore the fact that Israel is not living in peace and not living in un-walled cities? I just don’t see how they can ignore this.

Bill Salus: Well, that is why I am grateful that the Lord used me to bring this contribution into the arena. So many, many people are reading the book now and starting to do their own studies and form their own thesis about it. The war does seem extremely near and people need to be paying attention to it.

Dr. Reagan: How else do you explain the absence from the Ezekiel 38-39 nations of any Muslim allies that have a common border with Israel? You think they are just going to sit there and be calm and do nothing at all while Russia invades with all these other Muslim nations? It doesn’t make any sense!

Bill Salus: You are right. It’s not like Russia is not getting into the mix even with these inner circle of nations. They recently received a huge contract for exporting military technologies to Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Reagan: That’s right.

Bill Salus: Saudi Arabia would be under the banner of the Ishmaelites in Psalm 83:6-8. What is also interesting to me is that these contracts that Russia is developing with Saudi Arabia are also recently being made with Syria. When Israel defeats those nations, that is going to upset Russia quite a bit because who knows where they will be in the midst of collecting monies from those contracts. Instead, Israel is likely going to confiscate those weapons.

Dr. Reagan: The other thing that is very interesting, too, is the way in which Egypt and Saudi Arabia and nations like that — moderate Muslim nations to some extent that at least don’t have the kind of government like Iran does — are evidently scared to death of Iran at this point and are giving tacit approval to Israel to launch an attack by giving them fly over rights and letting them send nuclear subs through the Suez Canal. It is pretty obvious that they are saying loud and clear to Iran that they are going to cooperate with the Israelis in this attack because they are as scared of Iran as the Israelis are.

Bill Salus: Right! It goes back to the defeat of Saddam Hussein. Iran has for a long time had their eye on the Islamic crescent being under their dominion.

Dr. Reagan: That’s right.

Bill Salus: The Fertile Crescent Arab nations are concerned that Iran’s nuclear aspirations are more far reaching then just taking out Israel and wiping it off the map.

Should the Church still be here during Psalm 83’s fulfillment, we would become an excellent witnessing tool to the world.

In the next segment, Bill and I will be discussing the timing of the Rapture and the United States’ role in relation to the first end times war.

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Dr. David Reagan

Dr. David Reagan is the Founder and Evangelist Emeritus of Lamb & Lion Ministries. He is a life-long Bible student, teacher, and preacher and he led over 45 pilgrimages to Israel. Dr. Reagan was the host of the radio then television program Christ in Prophecy for nearly 40 years.

25 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • well, a couple of things about this, hopefully in the next post bill will give his opinion as to whether this takes place before or after the rapture. personally i believe it either takes place VERY shortly before or VERY shortly after. if it took place very shortly before the rapture not only would isreal be in peace but the rest of the world would breath a sigh of relief cuz the threat of terrorism would be minimized and people would be "eating and drinking and giving in marriage…" the situation at the time of the rapture

  • also, if it took place before the rapture what a witnessing tool. since it seems probable Gog/magog takes place AFTER the rapture and this war precedes Gog/magog by i`m guessing 5-12months it would signal the rapture is VERY,VERY near. then again this battle could take place AFTER the rapture tho my money is on right before (sorry nathan, i disagree slightly with you on this)

  • i place Gog/magog right AFTER the rapture cuz 1)america is no longer a superpower 2)God is once again dealing with isreal 3)God says the whole earth "will quake" 4)God is dealing with the nations in judgement. i`m expecting to see psalm 83 prolly within the next 1-3years.

  • I'm thrilled to see some articles about Israel on here again. I admit that I got a little tired of the creation vs. evolution debate. I know it's important and very valuable information, and I appreciate all the hard work Nathan and others put into it. However, since I love to keep up with Israel, I was having a bit of "Israel withdrawal," if you know what I mean.

    Thanks for posting these transcripts. I'd much rather read an interview than listen to it.

    I can't wait to hear what Dr. Reagan has to say about America's near future. Should be very interesting.

  • I have to admit, even though I know my fate and the outcome of the end times, even as a Christian with a decent knowledge of Revelation, the coming days are a bit scary.

    The ONLY thing that eases my fears is the Rapture. When I think of the Rapture and being able to escape these dreaded events, then I calm down and get hopeful again.

    That is why I have hope that the Rapture will come before most of the judgement and Israel focused end times events occur.

  • yo billy, i`m ALMOST in total agreement with 1 exeption: i`d like to see psalm 83 happen 1st so obamanothing and europe and alot of other idiots will have to eat crow when they`re forced to buy oil from isreal. that will give me some satisfaction.

  • I have read the abouth the psalm 83war and according and it seems to be before the tribulation. After I will be the war of gog and magog. the war of gog and magog in ezequiel will be after the rapture it seems. The only thing that I don't like about the war of psalm 83 is that has to be first then the rapture and in addition it will take some times that Israel to ocupy the the middle east and the notion of the Bible that rapture of Christ is eminent and become less eminent becuase it will take more time may be 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 or 57 years.

  • anon, i`m not sure i agree with you, psalm 83 could very well be after the rapture, and furthermore tho i somewhat jokingly mentioned people eating crow cause they have to buy oil from isreal i think thatll be one of the motives for Gog/magog (they wont like the taste of crow) so i thing psalm 83, Gog/magog, the tribulation and the rapture all happen within a year or so from each other so the rapture is by no means any less eminent

  • dawg,

    I actually agree with you that we may witness the Psalm 83…note what I said with emphasis added:

    …I have hope that the Rapture will come before MOST of the judgement and Israel focused end times events occur.

    I think we'll escape most of it but maybe not all of it. Though I admit I'd rather miss it all.

  • Billy
    i donno bout psalm 83, i`m like 51% sure itll happen before the rapture and my position changes as often as seattles weather. i dont disagree about the timing. i only somewhat disagree about WANTING to miss psalm 83. think about it billy:wouldnt you like to see obama and the united nations(united nothing) and europe forced to buy their oil from isreal? i sure would.

  • You guys really don't want to be around when all of this is going on? Wow, I do! I think it would be so amazing to see God working and to see prophesies fulfilled… Ah… I can see it now…

  • Psalm 83 may be worth living through, but not Gog-Magog. Ezekiel 38-39 brings the worst global earthquake so far in history (Ezek. 38:20) "…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."

  • Veni,
    I'd rather be in heaven at the feast! I'm sure someone up there will give us the updates we need.

    🙂 Buggg

  • nathan
    i totally agree with you ont that. the verse you used is yet another reason i place Gog/magog after the rapture. the whole earth will be shaken and i imagine gas being rationed and 6.00-8.00 a gallon. (only speculation)

  • Personally, I think Psalm 83 takes place before Gog-Magog based on the same reasoning Mr. Salus gives: it's logical.

    And here is something to consider: Israel gets 90% of their oil from mother Russia. Think about that. When Israel defeats her enemies in the Psalm 83 war, they will obtain the Arab oil fields. No more need for Russia.

    Couple that with all the money Russia would be losing from these unfulfilled contracts with Arab nations Mr. Salus mentioned.

    That sets the Gog-Magog offensive up perfectly. Russia would have no choice but to get her cronies together and go after "spoil" as Ezekiel calls it.

  • The most amazing part of all this to me is that without God in charge of this I would say "No way, that could NEVER happen."

    I mean, who would believe Russia wouldn't IMMEDIATELY invade/retaliate against Israel after the Psalm 83 event, yet it appears God will hold them back and allow a time of peace and security.

  • billy
    i personally think the reason the response isnt immidiate is 1)for an element of surprise 2)to allow i`m guessing5-12 months to rally the whole middle east 3)removal of the restrainer i.e rapture. the time of peace is therefore very short-lived. just my opinion

  • I have read other articles on this site about the Psalm 83 war, and while I don't have a clue as to whether it happens before or after the rapture, I have to admit that placing it before the Gog-Magog war makes perfect sense. This guy has made a very good case. I'm curious tho- how many other Psalms are prophetic? I can think of one off hand that refers to the suffering and crucifiction of Christ (although I can't remember which Psalm that one is…) but are there others? When I think of prophetic books in the Bible, Psalms isn't really one that I think of.
    On another subject- imagine if this war DID happen before the rapture. You could take this article, the newspaper, and your Bible to show unbelievers. That SHOULD rock some people! It "should" but you know how we (people) are….

  • crollo
    the crucifixion psalm is psalm 22. psalm 2 is also prophetic referring to armeggedon….yes, i for one know EXACTLY how people are. they`ll just explain it away. Gog/Magog will be different. dr reagan and nathan jones can prolly give you a good answer on which psalms are prophetic.

  • Hey Buggg,
    I guess your right… but I can't help but think of all of those people that won't know Jesus and that need people to tell them… I know there will be more Christians after us, including the 144,000 witnesses (I think I got the number right…) but still, I guess I don't like to think of people burning in hell… especially people I know that wouldn't go up in the rapture if it were to happen now.

  • Veni,
    I struggle with that thought also….people I know and love would not be raptured if it were to occur this very minute. And that distresses me a great deal. I pray for them, I talk to them and try to show them all the evidence. That's all that I can do. But, like so many people in regards to this subject….they don't want to think about it, therefore it isn't real or going to happen. How sad. 🙁

    Buggg

  • Yeah, Billy, you'd think the Russian response would be immediate, but look at how long it took the USA to respond to 9/11; several months.

    We had to forge alliances as well gather intel. Russia will do the same thing. And, as hartdawg said, it takes time to muster an army.

  • Having written a book named Revelations back in 2003, I concur with Bill and david, that th ePsalm 83 war comes first. The rapture should occur next as after a nuclear strike on Damascus (if not other areas) by Israel will totally shake and frighten the worlds governments and a PEACE TREATY will be screamingly demanded immediately. That provides a luanching pad for the 7 yr treaty with the anti-christ ( who I now conisder most likely to be Sarkozy) for reasons too numerous to go into here. The rapture will occure before that treaty is 'confirmed, then the world crying PEACE< PEACE will happen but THEN the END comes wquickly as Jesus said. Thats when the Ezek. 38-39 war will commence.

  • I for one can't wait to see the prophets proved correct in my time. I know we Will all have a good seat in the stands of heaven to watch what happens on the earth… But wouldn't it be awesome to take part in such events? To fight for god in the armies of Christ.. I think we're there Iran has made threats, Israel MUST make a move! The major powers including America are against this (preemptive) move. Lebanon Will be part of it too they have been poking with mortar and rockets for to long not to be a target. Syria is in turmoil people (united nations) have no clue how to end the oppression so why not Make them a target too, and end it while you're kickin so much butt anyway? I'm not sure how Jordan comes in yet other than they support terrorist groups that are against Israel anyway.. So again, why not? It's clear to me that Israel "can't stands no more" (haha popeye) every man (nation) Will break and fight back when pushed! Not sure if it fits but we already know Israel Will strike this spring even though mog/Magog and the Eagle stand against them.

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