The Islamic Attack

In this passage, God describes in detail how a coalition of nations equipped and led by Russia will seek to destroy the newly regathered nation in the latter days. Each coalition nation involved in the attack is listed by ancestral name -- most of which are Islamic nations today, who have long sought Israel's destruction. The side-lined, observing nations that protest the attack are also mentioned, and some of the Middle East politics present at that time. God also describes how He will protect the nation of Israel against this onslaught and utterly wipe out these invading forces.

While reading through the passage, consider how long it would take for Russia and the Islamic nations to gather their all forces and move them down into the lands surrounding Israel. The passage makes it clear that this invasion is NOT a surprise attack, since the surrounding nations ask the invaders why they have gathered around Israel.

An interesting scenario espoused by Joel Rosenberg in "The Ezekiel Option" is that Iran may try to strike a deal such that they will voluntarily give up their nuclear weapons ONLY IF Israel does. The amount of world pressure upon Israel to comply would be astounding, especially when Iran has nuclear weapons and is threatening to use them. Iran may end up using the world's demands for peace and disarmament as a smoke-screen to initiate the final destruction of Israel.

Israel's constant threat of using nuclear weapons against any invaders is one of the major reasons why the other nations around her are afraid to invade the way they did in 1948 and 1967. When Israel refuses to give up her weapons because of all her enemies, then Russia, Iran, and the other Islamic nations would move into the Middle East to enforce the UN resolution to make Israel comply, much the way that the United States of America invaded Iraq to enforce the UN resolutions that Iraq/Saddam Hussein was disregarding.