CFBC Wed Study | 11-29-23 | Israel, Prophecy and the Middle East | Session 5
Dr. Chuck Herring | Ezekiel 38:1-9
Without a doubt, this is the time to study Ezekiel 36-39. Tonight, Jewish families are still dealing with the brutal and evil attack that took place on October 7th. Many are mourning the deaths of loved ones. Others are nursing physical and emotional wounds that have left them devastated. The IDF has moved into Gaza searching for Hamas terrorists while at the same time giving innocent Palestinians multiple warnings and opportunities to move their families to safety. Even now, Israel has agreed to a cease fire and Palestinian prisoners are being swapped for innocent captives.
Without a doubt, this is the time to study Ezekiel 36-39. Tonight, Jewish families are still dealing with the brutal and evil attack that took place on October 7th. Many are mourning the deaths of loved ones. Others are nursing physical and emotional wounds that have left them devastated. The IDF has moved into Gaza searching for Hamas terrorists while at the same time giving innocent Palestinians multiple warnings and opportunities to move their families to safety. Even now, Israel has agreed to a cease fire and Palestinian prisoners are being swapped for innocent captives.
Russia, Iran, and Turkey seem to be forming a new axis of evil. All three of them literally hate Israel. In fact, a new wave of antisemitism is sweeping through America, Europe, and the world. Israel has a target on its back and the Middle East appears to be a ticking time bomb that could detonate at any moment.
John F. Walvoord commented…
If Ezekiel 38-39 is studied carefully, it reveals a future invasion of the land of Israel by the armies of Russia (and its allies). Though sometimes confused with the battle of Armageddon, which will be a world conflict before the second coming, this war will be distinct in its objectives, its character, and its outcome. According to Scripture, the invaders will be completely destroyed. Undoubtedly this will have an effect on the world power struggle in which Russia is now a major factor. As this prophecy was written over 2500 years ago, the question remains whether this has ever been fulfilled in the past. A search of history finds no such battle or outcome….Though it may leave some questions unanswered, the study of these two chapters supplies an important segment of prophecy as it relates to the end-time period leading up to the second coming of Christ.[1]
What did God reveal to Ezekiel about Israel and the nations in the last days? Here are a few prophecies that we’ve already discovered and discussed.
§ God’s plan for the nation of Israel in the last days
§ The restoration of the nation of Israel (May 14, 1948)
§ God will make His name known to Israel and the nations in the last days
§ The Gog and Magog war with Israel that is sure to come
This war will occur at some point between Israel becoming a nation again and the second coming of Jesus. As we shall see, the nations involved in this war are seriously moving into postion right now. Okay, let’s get into the text itself…
Ezekiel 38:1–2… And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
These first six verses lay out the players in this end-time prophetic drama. Let’s examine these unusual names and see if we can identify exactly who these players are in today’s terms…
Gog
In all likelihood, this is not a personal name. It is more likely a title, like czar or prince. In the future, we should not expect a man named Gog to suddenly rise to prominence as a world leader. Whoever is leading Magog at the time of the invasion will be this 'Gog'. He is addressed several times in Ezekiel 38-39 such as 38:2, 38:14, 39:1.
Magog
First, let’s look at the Geographical Evidence. What does the Scripture reveal about the location of this “land?”
Ezekiel 38:14–15… “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? 15 “You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army…”
A quick check of a world map shows that there are only 5 countries that are due north of Israel. These include Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia. The one farthest north is Russia. This is the geographical evidence for assuming that the major player in this last days war will probably be Russia and the leader of Russia will be one spoken of here as Gog.
Now, let’s take a close look at the Historical Evidence. Let’s go back to the time of Noah and his descendants.
Genesis 10:1–2… Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras.
You can see from verse 2 that Magog, mentioned in Ezekiel, was the second son of Japheth, the son of Noah. So, he was the grandson of Noah. You see Tubal and Meshech mentioned, they are the fifth and the sixth sons of Japheth.
§ Josephus, the first century AD historian and scholar, assures us that the descendants of Magog migrated to an area north of Palestine. Even before Josephus wrote those words, the famous Greek historian spoke about this matter…
§ Herodotus in the fifth century BC, wrote that Meshech's descendants settled north of Palestine.
§ Jerome, who was an early Church Father, a prominent leader from AD 345 to AD 420, declared that Magog was located north of the Caucasus Mountains—that's the Caucasian Mountains that we know are in Russia.
In my research, I discovered that Voltaire (an avowed atheist) was intrigued with solving this mystery of Gog and Magog. Through his own research he became convinced that Magog was Russia, and this was 150 years before Russia rose to the level of being a major world power. In The Philosophical Dictionary, he wrote…
There is a genealogical tree of events of the world….It is incontestable that the inhabitants of Gaul and Spain are descended from Gomer, and the Russians from Magog, his younger brother. Voltaire, The Portable Voltaire (paperback), ed. Ben Ray Redman (New York: Viking Penguin, 1977), 101.
Here’s what’s fascinating. Voltaire studied Noah’s genealogy. He then compared it to the histories of these different continents to determine where each of Noah’s descendants finally settled. Joel C. Rosenberg, Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle Eat Will Change Your Future. p. 84
Finally, let’s consider The Linguistic Evidence. William Gesenius, the father of modern Hebrew lexicography, concluded that the Rosh to which Ezekiel refers is a proper name. He also concluded that Rosh is “undoubtedly the Russians, who are mentioned by the Byzantine writers of the tenth century, under the name Ros, dwelling to the north of Taurus [in Turkey].” William Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament (Boston, [n.d.]), quoted in Tim LaHaye, The Coming Peace in the Middle East (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 123.
Joel Rosenberg concluded…
Based on the textual, linguistic, and historical evidence, we can, therefore, conclude with a high degree of confidence that Ezekiel is speaking of Russia and the former Soviet Union in chapters 38 and 39. We can also be confident that the figure known as Gog will be a powerful political leader who commands a vast amount of territory, people, natural resources, and armies. This leader will use his time in office to get his military forces and alliances prepared for the coming war with Israel. [2]
Looking at the current conditions, one must ask themselves this question—Could Vladimir Putin be Gog? Rosenberg acknowledged the possibility when he wrote the following summary…
Putin is certainly perceived as a rising czar. He speaks fondly of Russia’s historic monarchy. He is centralizing political power and control to himself. He is rebuilding Russia’s military for offensive purposes. He speaks of the collapse of the Soviet Evil Empire as a catastrophe and talks of restoring the historical glory of Mother Russia. He is operating in a social and political climate that increasingly desires a leader along the lines of Joseph Stalin. What’s more, he is steadily building political, economic, and military ties with the very countries Ezekiel described in his vision of the future…. [3]
He could very well be Gog, but at this point no one can say for sure that he is.
Ezekiel 38:3… ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.”
It’s a scary thing when God says He is against you (Jer 51:25; Ezek 26:3; 28:22; 29:3; 35:3; 39:1; Nah 2:13; 3:5).
The timeless truth of Rom 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” appears in opposite form here. If God is against us, who can be for us? The obvious point of v. 3 was that God held no hope for the success of Gog.[4]
Ezekiel 38:4… “I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords…
God Himself would ultimately draw Gog and his massive army into this conflict with Israel. Ezekiel described the army with the terms that made sense to him and were relevant to most of human history. This was a large, fast, well-equipped army, ready for conquest. So, who will join Russia in this invasion of Israel in the last days?
Ezekiel 38:5-6… Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.
Persia
Persia is well known in the Bible and history. It was renamed Iran in 1935 and it is ruled by Islamic fundamentalists. Even now it is building a significant military power, which includes the development of nuclear weapons. Please don't forget that it has openly declared its commitment to the annihilation of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Ethiopia
The ancient historian Josephus traced the Cushites to the land of Ethiopia. But the land once known as ancient Ethiopia included far more territory than the Ethiopia we know today. Many believe Sudan will possibly join this unholy alliance led by Russia. At this very moment, Sudan in Africa is dominated by an Islamic fundamentalist government that is using brutal means to try and establish a pure Islamic state.
Put
This is Libya and possibly Algeria and Tunisia. Libya is also an Islamic country today. It is strongly anti-Western and anti-Israel.
Gomer
This could be the central part of Turkey or even Germany.
Beth-togarmah
Josephus identified it as the Phrygians who settled in Cappadocia, which is now Eastern Turkey. Certainly, Turkey will be involved in one way or another. As we speak, the present government of Turkey is threatened by Islamic fundamentalists who are wanting to make Turkey into a nation like Iran. If this comes about, it means that every single nation that we have listed in this passage will be led by Islamic fundamentalists that hate Israel to the core!
Rosenberg wrote…
Bible scholars generally believe that Beth-togarmah refers to the people of Turkey and Armenia and the Turkic-speaking peoples who spread out over time across central Asia, including those in modern-day countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.[5]
Ezekiel 38:7–9… “Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. 9 “You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”
38:7— Since Gog would come with great armies against Israel, they must prepare and be ready, because they are drawn by God (Ezekiel 38:4) and would serve His purpose.
38:8— Use of phrases such as “after many days” and “in the latter years,” were used nowhere else in Ezekiel and clearly mark this passage as an eschatological reference to end-time events. The future is suggested again in the expression in v. 16, “in the last days.” [6] Ezekiel envisioned a future time when Israel will have recovered, regathered in the land, and will be dwelling in security (v. 8; cf. 36:33–36). They will be unprepared for this massive attack.
38:9— The armies of Gog would advance like a “storm” and a “cloud” covering the land (v. 9). Gog at that time would come against the “mountains” of Israel (cf. 36:1).[7] This is what it might look like…
[1] Walvoord, Every Prophecy of the Bible, p. 185
[2] Joel C. Rosenberg, Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle Eat Will Change Your Future. p. 84
[3] Ibid, p. 102
[4] Lamar Eugene Cooper, Ezekiel, vol. 17, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 333.
[5] Joel C. Rosenberg, Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle Eat Will Change Your Future. p. 130.
[6] Lamar Eugene Cooper, Ezekiel, vol. 17, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 334–335.
[7] Lamar Eugene Cooper, Ezekiel, vol. 17, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 335.
