“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. You are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31, NIV). I saw a flock of sparrows today. They were in the middle of the road, scurrying about, each vying for a share in whatever food they had eyed. I slowed down, giving each an opportunity to fly away, before I drove my earth destroyer SUV through their dining facility. Sparrows—of their species, they are probably the most numerous—not to mention the most insignificant. “Yet,” Jesus said, “not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of [our heavenly] Father.”

I confess to you that most of the time I simply do not understand the ways of God. I have a list of questions to ask Him when I finally get to heaven. I added another question to that list this week. This week—it began with worship on Sunday morning. I preached on my favorite subject—the soon return of our Lord. Monday—it was a mountain top experience, having had the opportunity to minister to one of the airmen on base. Wednesday was pretty uneventful. But then came Thursday. I received an urgent call that no chaplain would ever want to receive. A military member’s five year old son had been critically injured in a freak accident and was being airlifted to the nearest children’s hospital. Long story short—it was not good. The doctors offered little hope. Five years old, and his little life was quickly coming to an end. The parents were in anguish and I was not faring much better. Why did this have happen? What good could God possibly bring out of this? After all, aren’t there plenty of old people God could call home? Even I would have been willing to go in his place. Why this child, who had just celebrated his fifth birthday the day before? This was certainly a faith-shaking event for everyone it affected.

On Friday, I woke up, still questioning God’s wisdom. “I can’t take this,” I thought to myself. Maybe I should just turn in my cross, go live in a monastery and wait for Jesus to return. Surely that would shield me from any further dealings with pain and suffering. Meditating on such verses as Romans 8:18, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us,” or 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For momentary, light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory,” did not seem to offer much comfort. I talked to my chaplain supervisor for over an hour. That conversation helped process some of the pain, but it did not help me make any sense out of this tragedy. The why questions continued—until I saw that flock of sparrows—“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.” This is the Word of the Lord!

We are not exempt from pain and suffering in this life. Tragedy and death knows no age. Yet, we must remember, God is sovereign. Not even the insignificant sparrow falls to the ground apart from His perfect knowledge—and somehow, life goes on. Somehow, this sovereign God begins to work these kinds of tragedies into His overall plan. Indeed, the suffering and pain of our present reality will pale when the glory of eternity is finally revealed. How can this be? Because the God we serve—Who controls even the sparrows departure—controls the events and circumstances of our lives. He knows and understands our pain. He feels our suffering. And He promises us no pain is without purpose. He is in control. Nothing catches Him by surprise. The Holy Trinity has never met in emergency session. He has it all under control. We just have trust Him, even when we cannot see our way clearly enough to make sense out of life. We must trust Him and His infinite wisdom. I saw a flock of sparrows today.

"I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23). “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Tensions continue to climb higher and higher in the Middle East. Wars and rumors of wars continue to make the headlines. Many Middle East experts are predicting another Arab-Israeli war sometime this summer. Many people are wondering just what in the world is going on.

Thankfully, for Christians, God has already given us all the information we need to make sense out of the times in which we live. In fact, a 2500 year old prophecy found in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 provide us with real-time intelligence as to what is unfolding in that area of the world. What has come to be known by many Bible scholars as the War of Gog and Magog – A Russian military alliance with Iran and other Middle Eastern and North African countries to annihilate Israel during the earth’s last days – seems to be rapidly taking shape. In this war, Ezekiel says the world will witness a supernatural judgment of Israel’s enemies and a spiritual awakening unlike any other seen in history. Many, particularly those who don’t hold to a literal interpretation of holy scripture, believe all this is mere coincidence. However, we must remember that prophecy is “sure, to which [we] do well to pay attention” (2 Pet. 1:19). God has clearly said, through the prophet Ezekiel, “I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations” (38:23).

We can be sure this prophecy will be fulfilled. Our sureness is based on the truthfulness and faithfulness of God. What He says, He does. Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37 are prime examples of this. Nearly all of the prophecies contained within these two chapters have been literally fulfilled in the 20th Century. Ezekiel 36 and 37 are famous chapters that foretell the return of the Jews to the Holy Land after centuries of exile. This began in the late 19th Century and continues to this day. It further tells of the rebirth of the Nation of Israel. This happened on May 14, 1948 – A nation in a day (see Isaiah 66:7-9). It prophecies the rebuilding of the ancient ruins of Israel and the re-blossoming of desolate desert lands to produce abundant food, fruit and foliage. It also tells of the formation of an exceedingly great army – something that Israel’s enemies began to discover shortly after Israel became a nation again in 1948. They discovered it again in 1967 and 1973. The tiny Nation of Israel has developed an exceedingly great army, probably the best in the region and perhaps the world.

The accuracy of the prophecies of Ezekiel 36 and 37 having come true in our lifetime raises an intriguing question. If these prophecies have largely come true during our lifetime, isn’t it possible that Ezekiel 38 and 39 will soon come true as well? The answer is yes! It is very possible and highly probable that the events we see unfolding in the Middle East today are setting the stage for the War of Gog and Magog. Of all the countries listed as part of this Russian-Persian alliance, three are conspicuously absent from the list – Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and Iraq is now so engrossed in its own internal struggles that it would be unlikely to join such a coalition. However, the wild card here seems to be Syria. It is no secret that Syria loathes Israel and would jump at any chance to destroy her. In fact the war drums seem to be beating louder and louder for war between Israel and Syria, perhaps as early as this summer. So where is the Syrian nation in Ezekiel’s list? For the answer to that question we need only look to the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 17:1, the Bible says, “The oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin.” Nothing like this has ever happened in human history. In fact, Damascus is the oldest, continually inhabited city in the world. Could it be that something happens to take Syria out of the picture? One only need follow the evening news to figure that out. Therefore, I conclude with this question: What if the end is closer than you think?

"I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23). “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Tensions continue to climb higher and higher in the Middle East. Wars and rumors of wars continue to make the headlines. Many Middle East experts are predicting another Arab-Israeli war sometime this summer. Many people are wondering just what in the world is going on.

Thankfully, for Christians, God has already given us all the information we need to make sense out of the times in which we live. In fact, a 2500 year old prophecy found in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 provide us with real-time intelligence as to what is unfolding in that area of the world. What has come to be known by many Bible scholars as the War of Gog and Magog – A Russian military alliance with Iran and other Middle Eastern and North African countries to annihilate Israel during the earth’s last days – seems to be rapidly taking shape. In this war, Ezekiel says the world will witness a supernatural judgment of Israel’s enemies and a spiritual awakening unlike any other seen in history. Many, particularly those who don’t hold to a literal interpretation of holy scripture, believe all this is mere coincidence. However, we must remember that prophecy is “sure, to which [we] do well to pay attention” (2 Pet. 1:19). God has clearly said, through the prophet Ezekiel, “I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations” (38:23).

We can be sure this prophecy will be fulfilled. Our sureness is based on the truthfulness and faithfulness of God. What He says, He does. Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37 are prime examples of this. Nearly all of the prophecies contained within these two chapters have been literally fulfilled in the 20th Century. Ezekiel 36 and 37 are famous chapters that foretell the return of the Jews to the Holy Land after centuries of exile. This began in the late 19th Century and continues to this day. It further tells of the rebirth of the Nation of Israel. This happened on May 14, 1948 – A nation in a day (see Isaiah 66:7-9). It prophecies the rebuilding of the ancient ruins of Israel and the re-blossoming of desolate desert lands to produce abundant food, fruit and foliage. It also tells of the formation of an exceedingly great army – something that Israel’s enemies began to discover shortly after Israel became a nation again in 1948. They discovered it again in 1967 and 1973. The tiny Nation of Israel has developed an exceedingly great army, probably the best in the region and perhaps the world.

The accuracy of the prophecies of Ezekiel 36 and 37 having come true in our lifetime raises an intriguing question. If these prophecies have largely come true during our lifetime, isn’t it possible that Ezekiel 38 and 39 will soon come true as well? The answer is yes! It is very possible and highly probable that the events we see unfolding in the Middle East today are setting the stage for the War of Gog and Magog. Of all the countries listed as part of this Russian-Persian alliance, three are conspicuously absent from the list – Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and Iraq is now so engrossed in its own internal struggles that it would be unlikely to join such a coalition. However, the wild card here seems to be Syria. It is no secret that Syria loathes Israel and would jump at any chance to destroy her. In fact the war drums seem to be beating louder and louder for war between Israel and Syria, perhaps as early as this summer. So where is the Syrian nation in Ezekiel’s list? For the answer to that question we need only look to the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 17:1, the Bible says, “The oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin.” Nothing like this has ever happened in human history. In fact, Damascus is the oldest, continually inhabited city in the world. Could it be that something happens to take Syria out of the picture? One only need follow the evening news to figure that out. Therefore, I conclude with this question: What if the end is closer than you think?