War of Ezekiel 38-39

[James]

War of Ezekiel 38-39
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the Tanakh or Old Testament, the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel in the Book of Ezekiel chapters 38-39 speaks of a specific invasion carried out by a coalition of nations against the Land of Israel. This invasion will be led by an individual referred to as "Gog", who is said to originate from "The Land of Magog" (Ezekiel 38:1-2). Hence, the battle is often called the "War of Gog and Magog." Ezekiel states that the invading armies will lose without a battle, when God rains down fire and brimstone on their military forces (Ezekiel 38:20-22). Gog of the Land of Magog, the Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal, pillages the Land of Israel, and is destroyed by fire from heaven and for seven months, Israel buries the corpses in a valley called "Hamon-Gog."

The timing of this invasion is said to occur when the Jews are secure and prospering in their land after just coming out of a worldwide exile (Ezekiel 38:8, 10-12). This corresponds with two periods of Jewish history: the 536 BCE return after Cyrus conquered Babylon, and the end of the Second Exile which occurred on May 14, 1948 when Israel was declared an independent state. Thus, some Christian scholars attempt to fit the invasion into an event of Israel's past after the First Exile, while other scholars see the invasion as still in the future and incorporate it into Christian eschatology.

The invading countries are identified in Ezekiel by their ancient tribal names: Magog, Rosh (some Bible versions, chief), Meshech and Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia (Cush), Libya (Phut or Put), Gomer, and house of Togarmah (Beth-Togarmah). Many of these names are derived from the Table of Nations, a genealogy in Genesis 10 of the human race after Noah's Flood. Specifically, Ezekiel 38-39 mentions by name several of the grandsons and great-grandsons of Noah from Genesis 10: four or five of the seven sons of Japheth (Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and possibly Madai - later known as Pars), and two of the four sons of Ham (Cush and Phut). Togarmah (son of Gomer), Sheba and Dedan (grandsons of Cush), and Tarshish (son of Javan) are also mentioned, but these last three (Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish) are not said to participate in the attack against Israel (Ezekiel 38:13).

Correspondence with Current Events

Many Christian scholars see a correspondence between the details of Ezekiel's prophecy and current events concerning Israel and the Middle East. They consider the return of the Jews to Israel, the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict as developments which are pointing toward the soon fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39. More specifically, the anti-Israel rhetoric of the government of Iran (called "Persia" until 1935 and identified in Ezekiel 38:5 as one of the countries that will attack Israel) and the alliance forming between Russia and Iran are also considered by many scholars to match Ezekiel's prophecy.[1]

One notable scholar who views it this way is Joel C. Rosenberg (not to be confused with Joel Rosenberg science fiction writer), aide to the former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New York Times Best Seller List author of fictional Bible prophecy novels such as The Ezekiel Option. Rosenberg's most recent book Epicenter is a nonfictional book discussing current events in light of end-times Bible prophecy. See Joel Rosenberg's Homepage.

Primary source: the Book of Ezekiel

The prophecy takes up all of chapters 38 and 39 in the Book of Ezekiel (KJV).

Ezekiel (Chapter 38) :1-23, the section which contains the named references, is provided below in extenso (emphasis added) and wikified slightly:

1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3. And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4. 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 armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6. Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11. And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; 'I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12. To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
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?
14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know [it]?
15. And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16. And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17. Thus saith the Lord GOD; [Art] thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days [many] years that I would bring thee against them?
18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, [that] my fury shall come up in my face.
19. For 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;
20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that [are] upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that [are] with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

Also see Ezekiel 39 or Wikisource:Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 39

1 ¶ Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2. And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3. And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.
6. 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.
7. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken.
9 ¶ And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
10. So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
11 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the [noses] of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call [it] The valley of Hamongog.
12. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury [them]; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15. And the passengers [that] pass through the land, when [any] seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
16. And also the name of the city [shall be] Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17 ¶ And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
18. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 ¶ And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22. So the house of Israel shall know that I [am] the LORD their God from that day and forward.
23. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
24. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
25 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
26. After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made [them] afraid.
27. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
28. Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29. 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 GOD.

[Zandra]

I thought it was interesting that Israel had been giving advice and weapons to Georgia, which the Russians were very unhappy about. And now Turkey (Togarmah?) has proposed a union with Russia. It seems to be all falling into place.

[Michelle]

I think that we are rapidly moving towards the Tribulation.

[Michelle]

Which do you think will happen first - the Divinely thwarted attack on Israel or the Rapture?

[LindaR]

From Brother David Cloud's "Advanced Bible Study Series: Prophecy", pg. 174:

When Shall Gog and Magog Attack Israel? 1. It will occur in the latter days (Ezekiel 38:8). This is a term that describes the events from the days of the apostles until the Millennial kingdom. 2. It will occur when Israel is regathered (Ezekiel 39:8). This further identifies the time and points to the days in which we are now living. Since 1948, Israel has again dwelt in the land. 3. It will occur in conjunction with Israel's conversion. In Ezekiel 39 we see that God's judgment upon Gog will result in Israel realizing that He is their God. (Ezekiel 39:21). We know from other prophecies that this conversion of Israel will occur during the Great Tribulation (Zechariah 12-13) 4. It will occur at the time when Israel feels secure from danger (Ezekiel 38:11). Obviously, Israel does not feel secure today. a. The tiny nation is armed to the teeth; and, while doing an admirable job of defending itself, there certainly is no letting down of the guard for Israel today. When will this time of safety be? b. It will probably be when Antichrist makes the peace pact with Israel described in Daniel 9:27 and 8:25. Israel will be deceived into thinking the pledge of Antichrist will guarantee them safety. It is then that Russia and her cohorts will move. c. Since Daniel 9:27 says the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel in the middle of the seven years, we can be reasonably certain that the battle of Gog will occur in the first half of the Tribulation.

Any thoughts?

[LindaR]

Originally Posted by Michelle Which do you think will happen first - the Divinely thwarted attack on Israel or the Rapture?

I believe the Rapture will happen first. If the divinely thwarted attack happens first, it will remove the imminency of the Rapture.

[Michelle]

Very good point Linda. But it still would not give us the day nor the hour.