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).
