With the Arab Spring, especially evident in Egypt, leading to increasing agressivity towards Israel, could the following prophecy be imminent: “therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.” (Ezekiel 29:10-11). This fits the modern scene perfectly since the tower of Seveneh is at the Aswan High Dam. Experts have stated that this dam is so massive that conventional weapons would not be able to breach it. If one or more atomic weapons were detonated below the water just behind the dam this would cause a gigantic flood, since the lake is deep and covers 2030 square miles. Virtually all of inhabited Egypt is along the riverbanks of the Nile, so would all be destroyed, and the radioactive contamination would not dissipate to a safe level for 40 years. There would also be damage upriver as far as the border with Ethiopia.
With the current conflicts in Syria, it appears the following prophecy could also be imminent: “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer (Should be translated “The cities thereof”) are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” (Isaiah 17:1-2). Atomic destruction is indicated, since 1) animals do not understand the dangers of radioactivity, 2) the nations that gather “… shall flee far off” (Isaiah 17:13), and 3) the destruction is overnight: “At eventide, behold, terror; and before the morning they are not.” (Isaiah 17:14). Not so long ago in World War II, it took many days of conventional bombing to destroy a city.
Since both horrible events clearly seem to involve atomic weapons, and since all recent wars against Israel have involved the surrounding Arab nations attacking in unison, how likely would it be for either Egypt or Syria to attack Israel later after one of them had been severely defeated in an atomic war? It seems very unlikely, so both events should happen in the same war, probably almost simultaneously.
Isaiah 17 also predicts severe damage to Israel: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing grain, … Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, …” (Isaiah 17:4). So, there would be left just a few small areas in Israel not seriously damaged by the tens of thousands of missiles now in the hands of the surrounding Arabs. But we know Israel will not be destroyed and thrown out of their land as the Arabs have sworn to do: “And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God.” (Amos 9:14-15).
So, it looks like Israel will be at the point of defeat, and in desperation would use atomic weapons to defeat the Syrians and Egyptians, and might well destroy the invading Arab armies with neutron bombs. ((Neutron bombs kill living flesh but do not destroy buildings, machinery, etc., and after a few hours the areas are safe to re-enter.)) As a result of such a massive defeat, the Arabs would cease all hostilities, as would any conquered foe. ((Defeat of the Arabs should make it easier for the prophesied one-world government to take control later.)) This explains how all the Israelis could then live in peace and safety for a time. Can anyone say all the Israelis live securely now? Clearly not, so something must change for Ezekiel 38-39 (see below) to be fulfilled, and this scenario explains how it could happen quickly.
A while after the destruction of Egypt and Damascus, the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ would take place, destabilizing the world situation all over again. Imagine the turmoil in the United States where all the Christians suddenly disappear, and in particular many in high places. On the other hand, I doubt that Russia has many Christians in high places, so their authority structure would not be disrupted. I can then imagine the leaders in the Kremlin watching CNN or equivalent trying to understand what happened, quickly realizing “now is our chance to defeat the #$%^ Israelis who destroyed Egypt and Damascus, and expel the *&^#@ Americans who have invaded our sphere of influence.” I would expect the order to mobilize and attack would go out within hours.
An important side issue is that it appears that Iran will not be attacked by the United States or Israel, or at least will sustain only slight damage to their military structure, as Iran (Persia) is a major player as an ally of the Russians in Ezekiel 38:5: “Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;” Very importantly, note also that Egypt and Syria are not mentioned, because by this scenario they will have been destroyed as a military powers.
Speaking of the King of the North (Russia): “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them.” (Ezekiel 38:8) Israelis dwelling securely is reiterated in 38:11 and 38:14. I believe this attack by the King of the North will take place immediately after the Rapture and before the Tribulation “officially” starts. So if the Rapture is soon, I wondered for a long time how it could possibly happen that the Israelis could quickly “dwell securely, all of them”.
After the attack, Ezekiel 38:13 says: “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” In typical fashion, the West will initially only protest diplomatically. But later we read: “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.” (Ezekiel 39:6) I take “them that dwell carelessly in the isles” to be the United States ((An opinion of the late Zola Levitt, expressed on his TV program, circa 1990.)), and according to the sequence, the United States would be first to launch missiles against Russia, and then the Russians would retaliate in kind.
A resulting limited nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia would then destroy the United States as a world power, leaving only the European Union to lead during the Tribulation, as so clearly prophesied by the Bible. This nuclear exchange would so terrify the peoples of the world that they would eagerly surrender their national sovereignties to the emerging one-world government in an attempt to prevent war. Quickly following would come the horrors of the Tribulation.
Many have searched for the United States in end-time Bible prophecy, and have found scant evidence. How could the most powerful nation approaching that time not play a major role in the Tribulation? Because, by this scenario it would be destroyed as a world power right after the rapture and before the Tribulation starts ((From different logic, the same conlusion is in: Isaiah 18 — Is it the USA?)). Not so many years ago, a scenario this detailed could have only been a wild guess, but with the events more imminent, details seem to be coming into focus.
All this is generally very bad news, but there can be good news for you personally: “And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).