Gog and Magog, Part Three: God's Sovereignty in the Attack

In the previous two articles about Gog and Magog, we looked at a brief introduction to the book of Ezekiel and in the second article, we looked at the identification of Gog and Magog, those nations that will form a coalition and attack the nation of Israel at a future date to Ezekiel and to us, presently.  We also looked at the time frame, that is, when would this attack take place.  If you didn’t get a chance to read the previous two articles, they are still on this website.  

 

 

God Is In Control

One of the most amazing aspects of this prophecy regarding Gog and Magog is that it is God who is controlling the nations, even though they believe this is all their idea.  In Ezek. 38:1-6 we read, “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, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.  4 And 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; 5 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.”

 

God Himself will actually coordinate Gog’s attack on Israel. We read in verses 1-6 that the Lord said, “Iwill turn you around, [I will]put hooks in your jaws, and [I will]bring you out with your whole army—your horses … horsemen … a great horde with … shields and swords.”

Whether the horses and weapons are literal, we will address that in another article.  God will use Gog and all his allies, effectively, as pawns in His plans and purposes for Israel. Yet the idea for attacking Israel will originate with Gog.  Gog will act freely to accomplish his own evil goals.  He “will devise an evil scheme” (38:10).

 

This attack will be against the nation of Israel, whose people will be gathered from many nations and will be living in safety.  “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 And 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” (38:7–9).

Gog and his allies will attack Israel with massive strength,advancing like a storm and a cloud(38:16).

 

Gog’s purpose in the attack will be to plunder and loot the unwalled and unsuspecting nation of Israel, which, at that time, will be rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.  Israel’s importance geographically, politically, and economically will be noticed.  She will be a strategic target for any power wanting to control commerce between Asia and Africa.

“Thus says the Lord God, It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages.  I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say to you, Have you come to capture spoil?  Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?” (38:10–13).

 

Gog’s attack against the nation of Israel will come from all sides.  Gog will come from the far north. With him will come his allies from the east (Persia=Iran), the south (Cush=Sudan, southern Egypt, and northern Ethiopia), and the west (Put=Libya).  They will advance against Israel like a cloud(v. 9) that covers the land.  This awesome army will overrun all obstacles as effortlessly as a cloud moving across the sky.

 

This attack, however, will be another way of God displaying, to all the nations, His holy character and Sovereignpower.  In going against Israel, the nations will come to know God for He will show Himself to be the holy One of Israel (20:41; 28:22, 25; 36:23; 39:27).  As a result of the unsuccessful attack, Israel will be delivered and God will be glorified.

 

“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 And 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; 16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land.  It will come about in the last daysthat I shall bring you against My land, in order that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog” (38:14–16).

 

 

God’s Sovereignty throughout Scripture

One of many problems found in the Church today is that the complete and total sovereignty of God is either not taught, not understood, or not believed.  Yet the Bible speaks of God’s complete and total sovereignty repeatedly.  Here are but a few places in Scripture for your own study:  Psalm 29:10; Daniel 4: 34-37; Matthew 10:29-30; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; Revelation 19:16.

 

To really understand exactly Who the God of the Bible is, read Job chapters 38-42.  It will put everything in perspective and, if you are sincere in your wanting to know more about the God of the Bible, it will be a most humbling experience.  

 

May the Lord help you to understand who He really is as you read through His holy Word.

 

 

By His Grace,

Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.

 

(NOTE:  Some of this information has been taken from The Bible Knowledge Commentary,by Roy Zuck and John Walvoord).

Gog and Magog, Part Two: Identification and Time-frame

Throughout biblical history, because of their disobedience to their God, Israel has been conquered, enslaved and scattered by her enemies.  They are back in part of their land now but as Ezekiel tells us, in the future, they will be attacked again.  But God will clearly intervene in the future to ensure the safety of His people.  He will defend the nation of Israel and judge her enemies in distant countries (for this judgment on these countries see chaps. 25–32), and by so doing, Israel, as a nation, will return to Him.

 

 

Identification:

Who are these countries that Ezekiel has identified?  

 

The New International Version translates the word rō’š (38:2) as “chief.”  However, other translations have taken the word as a proper noun and translated it “Rosh.”  Should the Hebrew word, which means “head,” be taken as an adjective (“head prince,” i.e., “chief prince”), or as a proper noun/name (“Rosh”)?  The evidence seems to point to taking it as an adjective.  “Rosh” never appears as a nation/vcountry in any other biblical list of place names, while all the other names are well verified (Gen. 10:1–7; 1 Chron. 1:5–7; Ezek. 27:13–24; 32:26).

 

For many years, theologians have attempted to identify exactly who and where these nations are, that Ezekiel names.  For many, the geographic area of the former Soviet Union seems to be the exact location. The question for us, in the twenty-first century, is should these names be connected with the area that was former Soviet Union?  First, we must identify the areas against which Ezekiel prophesied, and then determine the countries that occupy those land those landmasses today.  

 

Ezekiel’s Hebrew word rō’š does not point to “Russia” simply because the words sound similar.  Neither should one identify “Meshech” with “Moscow” or “Tubal” with “Tobolsk.”  Ezekiel had historicalplaces in mind (not modern-day names) and these areas must first be identified in Ezekiel’s time period.  However, while one must avoid being dogmatic, three reasons suggest connecting the area of the former Soviet Union with Ezekiel’s prophecy:  (1) Some of the countries named by Ezekiel were located in what is now modern day Russia; (2) The armies are said to come “from the far north” (Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2).  This probably includes the land bridge between the Black and Caspian Seas, which is now part of Russia; (3) Ezekiel describes a coalition of several nations, many of who are today aligned with, or at least under the influence of, modern day Russia.  These include:  Iran (“Persia”), Sudan and northern Ethiopia (“Cush”), Libya (“Put”), and Turkey (“Meshech,” “Tubal,” “Gomer,” and “Beth Togarmah”).  All these nations, perhaps led by Russia, will unite to attack Israel in the future.

 

 

Time Frame

When will this prophecy be fulfilled?  There is no past historical event to match this prophecy, so it must be a future fulfillment.  Some think this attack on Israel should be identified with the attack of Gog and Magog at the end of Christ’s millennial reign (Rev. 20:7–9), but this idea has several flaws: (1) The results of Ezekiel’s battle do not coincide with the events that follow the battle in Revelation 20.  Why bury the dead for seven months after the battle (Ezek. 39:12–13) when the next prophetic event is the resurrection of the unsaved dead (Rev. 20:11–13)?  Why would the people remain on earth after the battle to burn the weapons of war for seven years (Ezek. 39:9–10) instead of entering, immediately, into eternity (Rev. 21:1–4)?  The events after each battle are so different that two separate battles must be assumed; (2) The effect on the people is different.  In Ezekiel, the battle is the incentive God will use to draw Israel to Himself (Ezek. 39:7, 22–29) and to end her captivity.  But the battle in Revelation 20 will occur after Israel has been faithful to her God and has enjoyed His blessings for 1,000 years.

 

If the battle of Ezekiel 38–39 is not at the end of the Millennium, could it be at the beginning of the Millennium?  This also seems extremely doubtful.  Everyone who enters the Millennium will be a believer (John 3:3), and will have demonstrated his faith by protecting God’s chosen people, Israel (Matt. 25:31–46).  At the beginning of the Millennium, all weapons of war will be destroyed (Micah 4:1–4).  Therefore, it seems difficult to see a war occurring when the unsaved warriors have been eliminated and their weapons have been destroyed.

 

It seems best to place Ezekiel’s battle of Gog and Magog in the Great Tribulation period.  Other markers indicate that it should be placed in the first three and one-half years of the seven-year period.  The attack will come when Israel is at peace (Ezek. 38:8, 11).  When Israel’s covenant with the Antichrist is in effect, at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week (Dan. 9:27a), Israel will be at peace.  But after the covenant is broken, at the middle of the seven-year period, the nation will suffer tremendous persecution (Dan. 9:27b; Matt. 24:15–22).  This will provide the time needed to bury the dead (Ezek. 39:12–13) and to burn the weapons of war (39:9–10).  So, the battle described by Ezekiel may take place sometime during the first three and one-half years of the seven-year period before Christ’s second coming.  Possibly the battle will occur just before the midpoint of the seven-year period.

 

Ezekiel was describing a battle that will involve Israel’s remotest neighbors.  They will sense their opportunity to attack when Israel feels secure under the false protection of her covenant with the Antichrist, sometime at the beginning of the seven-year period.  The nations involved in the attack will include the former Soviet Union, Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Libya. Ezekiel first pictured the invasion by Gog and his allies (38:1–16), and then he described the judgment of Gog and his allies (38:17–39:29).  

 

While some of this may seem farfetched to those how are not believers, we know that God’s Word is true. He has said it will happen, therefore, it will.  Though our finite minds cannot see what the future holds, God’s Word has described it for us very clearly.  

 

Never lose sight of the fact that nation of Israel is, without question, God’s chosen people. The Church in no way has, or ever will, take the place of Israel.  “Replacement theology” is wrong.  Those to preach it are false teachers and do not understanding the clear differences between Israel and the Church.

 

The Church is the Bride of Christ  

The Church was a “mystery” prior to Paul explaining it in the New Testament.  The Church is made up of believers of every tongue, tribe and nation, Jews and Gentiles from around the world.  Becoming part of the Church is solely a matter of God’s grace alone, through a person’s faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.  

 

Next time we’ll take a look at how God actually draws these nations into the battle then uses  His defeating them to draw Israel back to Himself.

 

May the Lord bless you as you continue to faithfully study His Word.

 

 

By His Grace,

Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.

 

(NOTE:  Some of this information has been taken from The Bible Knowledge Commentary,by Roy Zuck and John Walvoord).