Dear brother,
 
      Forgive me for not getting back to you sooner, but I have had other things demanding my attention.
 
      You asked if I agreed that the 38th year since June 7, 1967  (starting June 8, 2005) is also [depicting] the 38th chapter of Ezekiel, and that the Jews will have two years of war, before they rebuild their Temple, as in chapter 40 of Ezekiel (the year 2007).  Then you stated, "Thus, the rapture should happen in the 39th year (2006).
 
      Brother, you have raised a lot of interesting points in your short email, some of which I realize are possible and some I just plain can't agree with.
 
      I realize that in studying the time periods of ancient Israel that are being repeated in the end of this present age, some of them are being reversed as to action and consequences.  Therefore it is entirely possible that the forty years of Israel's coming out of the land of Egypt could be reversed.  In ancient times they left Egypt,  went to Mt. Sinai, and spent two years in and around that location before moving on to Kadesh Barnea.  Then because of their disobedience they wandered in the wilderness for another 38 years.  It is certainly possible that this could now be reversed to make up a total of 40 years.  If that is the case, then obviously the Trib won't begin until 2007, as you indicated.
 
      But I certainly hope that is not the case.  And I do not find that particular scenario harmonizing with the Psalms at all.  Unless I have totally missed something in the Psalms, Psalm 105 (corresponding with 2005) clearly indicates that the Lord "remembers His covenant with Israel" this year, Psalm 105:8-12.  The entire Psalm indicates that the Lord begins to deal with Israel again this year; 2005.  And it is followed by six more Psalms which are all obviously talking about the Lord's dealings with Israel.  This takes one right into Psalm 112 (which corresponds with 2012).  The last verse of Psalm 112 corresponds marvelously with Zechariah 14:12.  Coincidence?  I think not!   In these Psalms we have a vivid description of the Lord's dealing with Israel during the seven year Tribulation.  Read them for yourself.
 
      Then in Psalm 113 (2013) we find all of God's people giving praise to the Lord because He has [past tense] "raised up the poor out of the dust," "lifted the needy out of the dunghill," and "made the barren woman to keep house, and be a joyful mother of children."  I don't know what you see in that, but I see total deliverance and salvation for those of mankind [believers] who have survived the Trib, with Israel exalted as head of the nations ["set among princes"], and once again producing fruit for God ["the barren woman keeping house and being a joyful mother"].  Praise the Lord!
 
      Brother, I do expect war momentarily in the Middle East, but not the war of Ezekiel 38.  I have repeatedly pointed out for years, giving book, chapter, and verse, that the invasion of Israel by Russia and her allies as set forth in Ezekiel 38 does not take place until the middle of the Trib or shortly thereafter.  Place it anywhere else in the end-time scheme and it is totally out of harmony with many other passages of Scripture.  Brother, if your view, my view, or anyone else's view does not harmonize with the whole of God's Word, then such a view is wrong, and ten thousand words of explanation will never make it right.
 
      I don't care how popular a teaching is, or how many "big wig" ministers are teaching it, that still doesn't make it so.  It is only when the Scriptures are harmonized perfectly that we have "rightly divided the Word of truth."  And this "popular" theory that Russia is going to invade Israel just any day, or that they are going to invade Israel right after the rapture, is a bucket that won't hold water.  It simply does not harmonize with the whole of God's Word.   Whether some like it or not, Dr. Scofield's notes were 100% right in the original Scofield Bible, when he said that Ezekiel 38 and 39 are describing events that lead up to and culminate at the "battle of Armageddon."  He was absolutely correct.  If our pompous modern "scholars" would study a whole lot more, and "theorize" a whole lot less, they might see these truths for themselves.
 
      Further, the Temple described beginning in Ezekiel 40 and the following chapters is the Millennial Temple.  It doesn't have a thing to do with the Tribulation Temple.  Indeed it will be built in a short time after the events described in Ezekiel 38-39, because those events are describing the wars that bring the Tribulation to a conclusion.
 
      Actually the Tribulation Temple will be built during the first 220 days of the Tribulation, and under the direct supervision of the "two witnesses" of Revelation 11.  Yes, I do have book, chapter, and verse to back up  these statements.
 
      Brother, I am not at all being dogmatic or arrogant in what I have laid out  for you.  It is just that when I was a young preacher fifty-one years ago, I set out to read through the Bible.  When I came to Proverbs 2:1-6, I quit "reading" the Bible and started "studying."  When I got into the New Testament I found 2 Timothy 2:15 to back up  the passage in Proverbs 2.  I have been seriously studying ever since.  I have never found a place to quit, and I have never came to the place where I thought I had it all mastered.  The more I study, the bigger the Word becomes and the more I realize how very little any of us really know about it.  But as I studied the more my faith in the Word grew.  Brother, I am not the least impressed with the various theories and opinions of men about the Word.  Their Phd's and Doctorates don't mean a thing to me.  I have an unshakeable faith in the Word itself, and I praise the Lord for graciously giving it to me.  I couldn't care less what men say and think and opine.  I want to know in every circumstance exactly what the Word itself says.  It is not, "God said it, and I believe it, and that settles it."  That is hogwash!  The truth is, "God said it, and that settles it."  Period!  Whether you ever believe it or not.  All theological arguments are settled by adherence to the Word, not by popular theories or opinions expressed by pompous parsons.
 
      Yes, I gave you a lot more than you asked for.  But brother, I love the Word and I know that people living today desperately need the Word.  God's Holy Word is the only thing that will take a person to glory, and it is the only thing that is going to shed light on the present darkness of this vile world in which we are living.
 
      Thanks for writing and may God bless you.
 
             Pastor F. M. Riley