Transcription
[Music] May I welcome you to this moment of reflection, and this moment of learning, and this moment of study. And may it be a very happy moment for you. This is the last of five studies related to Iran, its history, its beginnings, and its prophecy. It is one of the nations of the earth that is very strong in the prophetic word. We begin the story of Iran with the grandson of Noah, and we continue it right down into the Great Tribulation, as our study today will reveal to you.
Behind me is a very ancient map. This map was printed in 1864, and it has Palestine. It's not very many ancient maps like this around, and we're... it does not belong to us. It's a friend that permitted us to use it during these programs, showing us the Near East and showing us what it means to be part of the Bible picture of the world that we live in today. This is a modern map that's just here by me. It does show us very clearly Iran and its relationship, very close to Afghanistan, and then India. And the religion that began here in Arabia with Muhammad, it spread across into this area, and back into this area too, and clear across into India, Afghanistan, and into these places of today, and across, of course, in North Africa, and became a mighty force in the world.
This is another very ancient map that was printed a long time ago, showing the political and the physical areas of the world, and especially of this biblical world that we're talking about here. This is the shape of Africa, as you can see, and here's India, and this Asia here, and so Iran is right in here. There's the peninsula here where... and where it is so very strong there today. Of course, and we have been studying in relation to the present nation of Iran. If we don't see it from the Bible, we won't understand what's going on at all. Iran has a destiny to perform. It is performing that destiny at this very moment.
If you would just take your Bible and come with me for a moment into a quiet place here, we would discuss it together. And there are some subjects that demand quietness, and I think prophecy is one of those. And it takes the book, you know, the great book, the grand book, God's book, and in the book of Ezekiel, in chapters 38 and 39, if you'd like to open your Bible there, we will see that God has pertinent truth given by this man, Ezekiel, here. And also given through Daniel. Daniel had at least three tremendous visions related to the gentile empires, and also which is related to Iran, which is Persia. And Persia is related to the area of that part of the world, right straight back to the time of Noah. And so it makes it very exciting now. So long ago, God called it Iran, and Persia, the bear. It was also known as Elam. And so, if we were to follow these very closely, we would discover that we're right on schedule today. That the Bible has predicted these times to come, and they're here, and that we must prepare for the returning of the Lord.
You've got your Bible open now to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 38. It says, "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against them." Now, there's great discussion about who God is speaking to here. They called Gog, Russia, and Magog, other parts of the northern world up there of Russia, and Meshech and Tubal as being the great and large cities of Russia. And all we know is that the Bible specifically says they're north of Israel. But the ones that we wish to really talk to you about are identified without any hesitation. And so God says, "And say thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company."
Saith the Lord, with the bucklers and shields, and all of them handling swords. And then He names them, Persia. Now, that is Elam, or Iran of today. And on any map, it will show you that there's no discussion about it. It's Persia. And then right from there, it jumps clear across to Ethiopia. And this is where the Persian Empire extended to, and Libya, which could be part of North Africa, or there is a place in the Near East named Libya also. And with them all, them with shield and helmet. It means that they are geared for war. But with shield and helmet, they shall be gathered together. And the Lord specifically says, "Be prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days shall thou be visited in the latter years."
Now, we're living in those latter years right now. And I think that every prophetic person realizes this, knows this, and understands it. We are living in the last times, in the ultimate times of this dispensation. It says, "Thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword." Now, that's Israel. It is the only nation on the face of this earth that's been brought back from the sword, from Germany, and from the Arab countries, and from many other areas of the world, Russia, where they have been hated and told to leave, and thrown out, and their goods taken from them. They're the only nation on the face of this earth that would qualify for that. And it says that these are brought back from the sword. But says, "Now all these nations, Persia, and Ethiopia, and Gog and Magog, which we understand is the north country, along verse 6 says, with Gomer and all his bands, which is supposed to be Russia, and to Togarmah, which is supposed to be Turkey, and all of these lands of the north of Israel will come together against Israel." It's like big Russia fighting little Finland a few years ago. And it's going to be another tremendous battle.
And you say, what will America do? What will England do? The Bible specifically says here in verse 13, "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?" And that's all they do. And so they have the United Nations about it, discussing it, and that's all they do. The time will come when America will not go to war for Israel, no matter how many promises they make. The Bible says they won't. And you can believe they won't. But after all, Israel won't need them at that moment. They're going to turn to God, and God will do the miracle for them.
So here's a people, in verse 5, it says that they were... I mean, in verse 8, they've been gathered out of many nations. And they have... and it's to take place in the latter days. That's it. That's right now, and the end of time, and the latter days. They'll be brought back from the sword. They're the most desperately persecuted people there ever has been. And they've been brought by their patience. They should be gathered out of many people, and they should be brought into the mountains of Israel. They should be brought into the mountains of Israel. And when I first went there in 1950, just after they became a nation, the mountains of Israel had no trees on them. The Turks had taken them all off. The British had put a few trees in, but it was the Jews that planted millions, tens of millions of trees, until the whole land is becoming like a garden today. And these people have done it in the last 25 years. And look in this verse 8, it says, "And the evidence of which which have always been a waste." You see, for 2,000 years, the land has been desolate. For 2,000 years, it has been a wasteland. It's always... that's always for the last 2,000 years, it's been nothing but a trampled place. Nobody wanted that holy land, and now everybody wants it, looks like. But for 2,000 years, nobody wanted it. It was just a wasteland. And has brought forth, and it is brought forth out of the nations. You see, a little place separated among from among all nations. And here the Jews have come back to it. And now they're having terrible trouble even staying there, and that they might dwell safely.
And then it says that all these armies of the north, including Persia, which is Iran, including Ethiopia, that's already turned communist, it says, and they shall ascend and come like a storm, and they shall be like a cloud to cover the land. Isn't that something? They shall come down like a storm, and they will cover that land like a cloud. You know when a cloud covers, what it means, don't you? And that's the way they're going to come against this little land of Israel. And it says, "Many people with thee." And thus saith the Lord God, "It shall come to pass that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought." That evil thought is the extermination of the people of Israel, the complete extermination of the people of Israel. That another Haman, another Hitler, shall come and say, "Listen, we will destroy every one of them. We will forget that there ever was a Jew on the face of this earth. We're going to destroy them."
Verse 11 says, "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages." Now, neighbors, there was no such place when Ezekiel gave this prophecy 500 years before Christ. There was no place where they had villages that didn't have walls around them. I've been all through China and Tibet and Manchuria, and all of those ancient cities over there, still towns, still have walls around them. That was their protection. Walls. And God said, here 2,500 years ago, He said, "There will be a time when there will be villages without walls." And He spoke it into existence. And if you've been to Israel, there's no wall around any village. There's no wall around any town. It says, "The land of unwalled villages." And "I will go to them that are at rest." At rest? What does it mean? They've come out of great turmoil. They've come out of great hatred. They've come out of Egypt. They've come out of Iran. They have come out of Iraq. They have come from around the world. And they're still waiting to come out of Russia. They came out of all of the Arab states, and out of Arabia, and from around the world. They have come from all over Europe. And they are at rest. They have their own country, their own flag. They're not a despised people among themselves anymore. They are their own. And so they have a rest. Or they're at war, all right, but they're resting in their own land, and they think they're dwelling safely, all of them dwelling without walls, you see.
Now, this was a tremendous prophecy and an unheard-of thing in that time. And neither shall they have bars or gates. Now, verse 12 says, "They should come to take a spoil and to make and to take a prey." That's what they're coming for. Israel, no doubt, in the next short time, will come upon some scientific discoveries that's going to baffle the world. That's going to baffle the world. It might be an energy source that they discover, that they can take care of all energy that's needed on the face of this earth. They may be able to collect some beams from outer space, like the laser beam that can go right straight through metal or anything, and be able to do things that cannot be done. And it'll so frighten Russia, you shall say, "I've got to have it. I'm going to come and get it." And we'll invade the land in order to take it over. She stole all the German wisdom, you know. She captured Germans by the thousands and took them into Siberia, and the Russians put them in their plants, and that's the way she was able to make the atomic bomb and many other sciences, because she took the Germans, captured them at the end of World War II, and took them in there. And so she'll come down to Israel to capture this one and that, and think it will be an easy job.
It says, "I'll come to take a spoil and a prey, and to turn my hand upon the desolate places." Did you know that almost every village in Israel is built upon a desolate place, a place where there used to be a civilization? Almost every town and city in Israel today has been built on a desolate place, a place that there used to be little children in the streets, and there used to be wives cooking bread, and there used to be men in the fields, and they've been covered over with civilization after civilization. They have built on them again. And so it says here, "Those that lay a hand upon the desert places that are now inhabited." Isn't that something? Isn't that amazing? All those towns in the Old Testament are being revived again in Israel today. And God says that these people from the north, including the Iranians, are going to come down against them. Upon the people. And look closely, this is verse 12, "and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations." It specifically says that it's against these people that were gathered out of the nations.
Now, when the Lord says a thing like this, wouldn't we be very wise to say, "Listen, Lord, I'm listening"? Don't you want to listen to what God says? This makes you understand the present. This makes you understand what's happening in the world that we're living in today. And this nation that we have traced back right from the time of the flood with the grandson of Noah, right up until this present moment when Iran has risen up again and thrown out its leader, the Shah, and now they're in a state of disintegration, and will join up with Russia. They will join up with Russia. The Bible says so. And if the Bible says so, there's nothing you can do about it. They're not enough Americans living on the face of the earth to do anything about it. And if you understand prophecy, gird yourself for it. God is going to protect America, especially if America will serve God. If America would love God, she would be protected. But God is going to especially protect Israel because of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And now we've come down to the ultimate situation in Israel, and all these bands have come down against these people of Israel.
And verse 9 says, "They shall ascend like a storm and a cloud to cover the land." All thy bands and much people are coming along with thee. And it says, these are people that are gathered from all the nations who have gotten cattle. And Israel is getting full of cattle today, and goods, and they've got all kinds of goods. And they dwell in the midst of the land. They are right in the midst of the land with a hundred million Arabs around them. That is where they dwell. And so it tells about all these people that are coming against those people of Israel. And God says when they come down, that He will destroy them.
In verse 19, He says, "In my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel." And He tells exactly what is going to happen there when He comes against that land of Israel. He says, "I will turn thee back and leave but the sixth part of thee." Of all these that had come down, the Russians, and the people of Turkey, and the people of Iran, and Iraq, and Syria, and all these lands, there'll only be one-sixth of them that'll ever get back home. One-sixth of them will ever get back home. And "I'll cause thee to come up from the north parts, and we'll bring thee upon the mountains of Israel, and we'll smite thee." You see.
And you say, Brother Sumrall, what can we do about it? How you can get right with God. He says, verse 6, "I will send a fire on these people, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles, and they shall know that I am the Lord." And then it says here that when He gets through with all of His indignation and fury, that it will take seven months even to bury those people that died there. And it says, "All the people of the land shall bury them." The whole nation gets busy. There'll be maybe a hundred million people that will die, and the greatest battle the world has ever known. And it says all the people will be burying them. And there shall be a renown in that day, saith the Lord. And then He says, "And they shall sever out men of continual employment." That means there'll be people that all they do is bury the dead, continued employment. All they should do is... And then it says, "And the passers-through the land, and that the visitors and the travelers shall get a permanent job to bury the dead." And they will be seven months, it says, you in verse 12, seven months just burying the dead.
And it says in verse 23, "And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity." See, that's what the nations don't know yet. Israel was cast into all the lands of the world because of their sins against God. Because they trespassed against Me, therefore I hid My face from them. If any Jew asks you why Hitler destroyed them, read verse 23 to them. It says, "God hid My face from them and gave them unto their enemies." God gave them to their enemies, so fell they by the sword. You see.
Verse 25 says, "Therefore, says the Lord, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and I will be very zealous for My holy name. Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God." Israel is yet to have a mighty revival, a mighty revival, which caused them to be led into captivity among the nations. They should know then that they don't know until this day what caused Hitler to hurt them. They don't know until this day. They have the feast of Purim, remembered Haman, who was another Hitler that tried to destroy them in the land of Iran. And they had that feast every year in the month of February. But they're going to come to know why they've had all their problems and sorrows. But I have gathered them into their own land. That's the people of Israel. And they've left none of them anymore there. There are many states in the world today where there are no more Jews. And many of those Arab states, there are no more Jews left. They cast them all out. They threw them all out. And it says, "They are no more."
"Neither will I hide My face any more from them, for I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord." Now, these are the ultimate days of world history, and these are days that we're entering into right now. And if you, as a person that knows God and loves God, don't set your eyes upon the things of this world, it's no time to build a material empire. It's no time just to get houses and to get land and to get machinery and to get all these time things. It's time right now to be exceedingly evangelistic. I'll have to ask you laymen to do it, because many ministers and pastors are not evangelistic anymore. They've lost the vision of getting the world saved. The Lord Jesus said, "Go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature." Now, that's our job right now, to go into all our total generation and preach the gospel to every one of them. "They that believe shall be saved; they that believe not shall be damned."
Now, this is what we're supposed to do. I'm only showing you that what's taking place today in Iran is prophetic, and they're in a state of movement now as to what they're going to be, and they will be taken over by Russia. Oh, they may not be... the Russian army is there, just that they will march with Russia. They will... Russia will supply their arms, and America will not supply their arms anymore. And when Russia marches against Israel, they're going to march with them. Haven't you seen in the papers lately where they've already sent people over to fight Israel? They've already sent... right now, don't you feel sorry for those few hundred men? They won't last long, will they? They'll be mowed down by machine gun fire. They won't ever see home again. Those bright young men that left Persia or Iran to come over into Lebanon to fight the Jews will very likely never see home again. They'll be part of the desolation that comes in these last days.
The major thing that we wish to bring to you is this, that you're not to be cast down. You see, if you're part of the problem, you're no advantage to God. If you're going to go around with a long face, "Oh, what's going to happen? What's going to happen?" You're no good to the... you make a poor soldier. You're no good to the kingdom. A soldier must understand his guidebook, you see. And this is a Christian's guidebook, the Christian soldier's guidebook, and know what's happening in the world today. The greatest miracle, I suppose, in our generation is that Israel was brought from 100 nations and planted in there and became one. When I first went to Israel, they couldn't even talk together. How could a fellow from Yemen talk to a man from Germany? He couldn't. They couldn't. But they wanted to cuss each other. They had to cuss each other in English because neither one of them understood the language of the other. The army stepped in, sent everybody to the army, and they learned one language while they were there. So when they came out of there, everybody spoke their Hebrew language, and it consolidated them and made them into a nation. Now, God did that. And now there has been the risings up of those that are against them.
Now, we're not pleading for the innocence of the people of Israel. They're not even saved yet, and they're sharp dealers, and they'll deal with you any way they can to their advantage. And so we're not trying to say one's good and one is bad. And in fact, we're not entering into the moral issue at all. We are only saying that prophetically, these are the last days. Russia, that hates God, and hates the Bible, and hates Christians, is gathering around here all of the armies that will march together with her into the battle of Armageddon there, and they will be destroyed on the plains of Megiddo in northern Israel. And it will take seven months just to bury the dead when God gets through with them. The army of Israel will not have to fight against them. God will send a fire among them. My scripture said that I just read to you. What is a fire? Well, that's atomic action, of course. You saw how there's cities in Japan that were obliterated in a moment of time like that. God will send a fire among them, and it's what the Bible says, which is atomic energy. And when He does, He will destroy them. Maybe there may be several hundred million people coming into that area, and there will only be one out of six that will ever get back to their homelands to tell the story of what happened there. And God says that that day He will even the score with Russia, where there comes atheism, and from Germany, where modernism came out of, and has been against God and against the Bible for so long, and these nations that have turned from Christianity and other religions, then He will mark the scorecard for the final time on the face of this earth.
These are prophetic moments. And I want to tell you something, you that don't know the Lord in this land, and there's only one hell for everybody, whether his name is Hitler or Mussolini or Stalin, there's only one hell. And if you're not right with God, that's where you're going. I urge you right now to give your heart to God. May I bless you now? Lord Jesus, these lessons are just the beginning of the truth. These are just stirring up messages to show people that these are prophetic moments. They read in the newspapers, their magazines, and now they must know that these are not incidental, that these are the moments of destiny that God has already spoken of concerning the human race. I ask You to help each one of us now to be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. Right now, if you don't know the Lord as your Savior, invite Him into your heart this moment. Ask for forgiveness. Go to a good church close by next Sunday. Do that now. You can't go to heaven without going to church, you know. You can't live without going to a table. You got to go to the table to eat, or your body dies. You must go to church to get food for your spirit, your soul. Television is good, it's not enough. It's the hors d'oeuvres. You've got to go to the church for the main course. And God wants you to find a good one that teaches the Bible. Stick with it. Be baptized, and start winning souls for the Lord Jesus. We want these days right now to be the greatest soul-saving days in the history of the world. We'd like for you to join with me to help me to win a million souls to Jesus. Why don't you write me and say, Brother Sumrall, I'm going to help you. Join my Win a Million Club. Only 50 cents a day to join our 1 Million Club, $15 a month, and we reach out through Christian television, through literature, through radio, to reach the millions of people with the gospel. Won't you help me? Won't you do it right now? I urge you to. You can receive these beautiful cassettes that we have here in your home to study them. This is the fifth one. You can receive the total of the five lessons for only $12. And they're two on each cassette, except in the third cassette, which has one lesson on it. And so we would urge you to write for them right now. You can receive today's lesson, which is our fifth lesson, you can receive it for $4 if you wish to have it separately. If you wish to have all five lessons on Iran, then you will send $12 immediately. Lester Sumrall, Box 12, South Bend, Indiana, zip code 46624. And learn about what God is doing today, and understand what's in the newspapers and what's in the magazines from the word of God, from the revealed word of God. It's exciting. People are going to turn to God in unprecedented means in the near future. Millions of people in America, I am believing, the next few months to be tremendous months of people turning to God. They're going to see the Bible said these things. The word of God is true, and that we must all adhere to the word of God. How beautiful it is, how wonderful it is. We urge you to be part of it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Write and tell me if you've come to know the Lord. Won't you just write me to Box 12, South Bend, and let me hear from you and say, "Brother Sumrall, I got turned around to God too." And order these tapes. Play them again and again. Play them for others. Play them in prayer meetings. Play them in teaching classes. And let us get the word of God out to understand the times in which we live. It's a great moment for understanding the times, and to look up to God. Jesus Christ is going to come right now. He's going to come, and when He comes, you and I are going to go and live with Him forever. Would that be a beautiful climax for this dispensation? And then He shall rule, the Bible says, and reign on the face of this earth for 1,000 years, and you and I can reign with Him. Part of joy divine. Thank you for being with me. Thank you for helping me with all these lessons. We appreciate it very much. We'll be back with you with other lessons very shortly. And until that time, just keep loving Jesus and be ready for His soon return. Thank you. God love you and bless you.