The Truth About Ezekiel 38

Excerpt from the book, by Michael F.

Gog and Magog
Much has been written about Ezekiel 38, both for and against the identification of Gog and Magog as Russia. So much emphasis has been placed on identification that more important points are being overlooked. Ezekiel 38 must be looked at in the context of the whole book of Ezekiel and the surrounding chapters. Ezekiel prophesied during the time when Judah was a vassal of Babylon and many Jews were captives in Babylon. Ezekiel actually proclaims the destruction of Jerusalem (as did Jeremiah).

But Ezekiel also prophesied to the northern Israelites. He prophesied between 593 and 571 B.C., that was long after the northern nation of Israel had been taken captive by Assyria. The Assyrian city of Nineveh fell to Babylon in 612, freeing the Israelites, but they did not return to the land of Israel. The Israelites eventually lost their identity after many hundreds of years.

Even though the Israelites were not living in the land of Israel, God still called them the "house of Israel" and Ezekiel made many prophecies concerning their future and the future of Judah (Jews), who were the southern tribes. In Ezekiel 37 God says he will take the Israelites from the nations where they have been in exile and join the two houses of Israel together to form one nation again;

"I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms." (Ezek. 37:22)

This did not happen with the formation of modern Israel because modern Israel is only the southern tribes, the Jews. Only when the lost Israelites join with them, and they live in peace, will the prophecy be fulfilled. God said "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant" (37:26). Are the Israelites at peace? No, this will happen during the Millennial rule of Christ on Earth. Then we go into Ezekiel 38 and 39 which describes an invasion of the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 38 actually describes two different invasions. One will occur just before the return of Christ, the other will occur after the Millennium as stated in Rev. 20:8. God causes one invasion when; in the other, an evil thought enters their minds to invade a nation at peace. Ezekiel 38:

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops--the many nations with you. (Ezekiel 38:1-6)

1 "Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. (Ezekiel 39:1-2)

First, who is it that is going to bring Gog down into Israel? The text says that God is the one that will bring Gog down into Israel, but "many nations" will invade-- because this is World War III and those other nations will be the Islamic nations of the beast. Notice that Gog will be dragged into Israel by hooks in its jaws.

In fact, Russia, or whoever Gog is, will either want to invade some other country or area, like Eastern Europe, but God says he will "turn" Gog "around." The hooks in the jaws of an animal would steer it easily, even when it stubbornly wanted to go a different direction. The only way Gog will invade the Middle East is for God to "drag" it down into Israel. Circumstances will force them to invade.

The following passage of Ezekiel 38:18-23 not only describes the destruction of Gog, but of the armies of all the Middle East nations. Notice what happens during the time of the invasion: "great earthquake . . . the mountains will be overturned . . . pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur . . . every wall will fall to the ground." These events will affect everyone, "all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence." These events will happen during the wrath of God and the battle of Armageddon as described above. Ezekiel 38 continues:

"This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.

21 "I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 38:18-23)

Notice how similar the above passage is to Rev. 16:

. . . flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. . . . 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men.

Unwalled
Another part of Ezekiel 38 seems to contradict verses 1-6 as to the motive for invading. This is because it refers to a totally different invasion:

8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

10 "`This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people--all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." 13. . . "Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" (Ezekiel 38:8, 10-13)

In this invasion Gog devises an evil scheme. This clearly shows a well thought-out plan that originates with Gog. Thoughts of an evil scheme is a contradiction to the verse that says God is going to forcibly "drag" Gog and Magog into Israel (the situation that is now developing). So it cannot be the same invasion. It cannot be both voluntary and forced at the same time.

The above verses do not refer to the nation of Israel today. The Jews in Israel do NOT "live in safety, . . . without walls and without gates and bars." Quite the opposite is true. Some Jews actually live in armed camps and have to carry guns just to enter or leave their houses because they face the prospect of terrorist attacks. And no matter how many peace treaties are signed in the Middle-East, no matter if all the Palestinians promise to live in peace with the Jews, Israel will never be so stupid as to be "unsuspecting."

For thousands of years, walls were the main form of defense. To be unwalled was to be unprotected. For Israel to be unprotected today it would have to be unarmed, which would be incredibly stupid-- except during the thousand-year Millennial reign of Christ:

'"Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD, `and I will be its glory within.'" (Zechariah 2:4-5)

This tells us that during the Millennium, Jerusalem will not have any form of military protection, because God himself will be a wall of fire around the city. Which explains why Gog and Magog are destroyed by fire from heaven when they invade again after the Millennium (Rev. 20:7-9). So this passage in Ezekiel 38 probably refers to the final invasion after the Millennial rule of Christ.

But it could have another meaning; it almost describes the United States. Russia is very poor and America is very rich; it could very easily invade America to take our silver and gold and cattle. Israel is not currently rich in silver, gold, or cattle. And after the asteroid impact in the Ukraine, western Russia and Eastern Europe will be uninhabitable, so they may invade America to literally dispossess us; they will throw Americans out of their homes or kill them and just move into American towns; or so they may think.

But they may not wait until the asteroid impact; they have severe economic problems and may decide to take what they cannot get except by many years of struggle and poverty. They may not be willing to wait that long. Plus, though they are not officially communist today, they were all raised on communism which teaches survival of the fittest. They may see it as a matter of survival, "us or them." Self-preservation is a powerful motivator.

Flesh-Eating Birds
Another important similarity between the battles of Ezekiel 38 and 39, and those of World War III and Armageddon, is the description of hordes of birds that will eat the corpses of those slain by God. Ezekiel 39:17-18 says:

17 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: `Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls--all of them fattened animals from Bashan. (Ezekiel 39:17-18)

Now compare that with Rev. 19:17-18:

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." (Rev. 19:17-18)

So it should be evident that though Gog will attack Israel, it will be right along with many other nations because it is World War III, and is probably the battle of Armageddon because of the great number of dead soldiers. When Gog attacks a peaceful unsuspecting people, it will be after the Millennium. Therefore, focusing on Gog and Magog as the evil empire is too narrow a focus since it includes the Islamic nations and even China and India because it is World War III. Jesus did not say to watch Gog and Magog, for signs of the end.

Ezekiel 38 says Gog is the chief prince of the land of Meshech and Tubal; most Bible commentaries says that Meshech and Tubal are located in what is now Turkey. This sounds reasonable since Turkey hates Christians and Jews and will probably be part of the Revived Islamic Empire.

Notice what nations are with Gog; Persia, Cush, Put, and Gomer. Persia is Iran, Cush is the upper Nile region, Put is Libya. Beth Togarmah is said to be from the far north, but how far north? When Assyria and Babylon invaded Israel they traveled east then south into Israel, so the prophets prophesied that destruction was coming from the north. The far north could be Turkey because if you drew a straight line north from Israel it would go through the middle of Turkey.

Gomer is supposed to be north of the Black Sea, which is mainly the Ukraine but also Russia. The Ukraine is not likely to be allied with the Islamic empire. Perhaps it refers to the few Muslims that still live in the regions that were once ruled by Turkey, such as Bulgaria, and Bosnia.

Gideon's Army
The story of Gideon's victory over the Midianites could very well foreshadow what will happen during the coming GT, nuclear war, and time of final wrath. When Gideon was about to attack the Midianites (Judges 7) God told him that he had too many men. If they won the battle they would think they had done it by their own strength, so God told Gideon to let all the men leave who were afraid, twenty-two thousand men left. God said there were still too many, so he hand picked the soldiers in Gideon's army, "If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go" (Judges 7:4).

Only three hundred men were left to defeat the Midianites. It might represent selection of the 144,000 at the start of the GT. These three hundred took over all the provisions and trumpets of the other men; this might represent supernatural multiplication of food for the 144,000 or an increase in spiritual power for them at the start of the tribulation. Or this passage might be saying that the 144,000 will be totally prepared and equipped, lacking no physical or spiritual weapons.

The Midianites and Amalekites were in the valley "thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore" (Judges 7:12). This could represent the large population of unsaved people on Earth today or a horde of Muslims.

Each of Gideon's men had a trumpet and a jar with a burning torch concealed inside. The men were not told when to break the jars and shout, they were told to watch Gideon: "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do" (Judges 7:17). This may represent the fact that we will not know the day or the hour that nuclear war will happen, so we must "watch" the world events and heavenly events to tell us.

When the jars were smashed, a loud noise echoed throughout the valley, at the same instant burning torches suddenly appeared which frightened the enemy. This was followed by the blowing of the trumpets, followed by a shout "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" (7:20). The loud noise followed by the sudden appearance of torches could represent nuclear explosions! The trumpet blasts may represent the seventh and last trumpet which will announce the kingdom of God and the final wrath of God (Rev. 11:15).

The result for Gideon was the enemy became confused in the darkness and began fighting each other. Both Ezekiel 38 and Zechariah 14 refer to people and soldiers fighting each other, not from confusion but because of civil war type situations.