(It's a long one)
Gog and Magog- Ezekiel 38/39 timing
Many of today’s prophecy scholars believe that the war of Gog/Magog written of by the prophet Ezekiel will occur before the 70th week begins. I also believed this might be true, until further study led me to believe that this war in Ezekiel 38 and 39 may begin around the midpoint of Daniel’s prophesied 70th week and end at the conclusion of the week.
Who is Gog?
Ezekiel 38:2-3
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.
Ezekiel 38:15
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;
Ezekiel 38:17
17 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them?
According to these passages Gog is from the land of Magog. Magog was a son of Japheth, a grandson of Noah, who according to verse 15- settled to the north of Israel. He is the chief prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Meshech and Tubal were brothers of Magog, (Genesis 10:2). Rosh was a son of Benjamin a grandson to Jacob (Israel) (Genesis 46:21). The tribe of Benjamin had lands within Israel just to the North of Jerusalem. There is no biblical account concerning where the descendants of Rosh may have settled. Many scholars have attempted to identify these as modern nations, using linguistics, however the implication is that these nations and in particular the nation of Gog, lie to the north of Israel.
We also see that Gog is one that was spoken of by the former prophets in Israel, who said that God would bring him against their nation. This is a huge clue that many scholars seem to overlook. What are the former days that the Lord is pointing to, and who were the prophets? Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Obadiah, Joel, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and Zephaniah are all believed to have lived before Ezekiel, the “former days” may be referring to the time before captivity which would include all of these prophets. So who exactly did these prophets warn would come against Israel?
2 Chronicles 21:13-17
2 Kings 8:10-13
Amos 3:11-15
Amos 8:2-4
Amos 9:8-15
Obadiah 8-9
Joel 3:4-8
Isaiah 1:24-26
Isaiah 7:17-25
Isaiah 10:5-14
Isaiah 10:20-27
Isaiah 14:24-26
Isaiah 39:3-7
Micah 5:1-15
Zephaniah 2:9-13
Zephaniah 3:18-20
If we look at these passages we see that Elijah warns of the Philistines and Arabs, Elisha warns of Hazael who would become king of Aram. Amos, Isaiah, Micah and Zephaniah all warn of Assyria, Zephaniah adds Moab, Ammon, and Ethiopia to those who will be plundered by Israel. Joel also speaks of the Philistines adding Tyre and Sidon, and Obadiah speaks against Edom and the house of Esau. Tyre and Sidon was part of Syria and now reside within modern Lebanon. The Philistines of Elijah’s day would encompass what is today the Gaza strip, the Arabs we are told bordered Ethiopia so would most likely have come from the Egyptian/ Ethiopian region across the red sea which today remain in the same areas that they occupied in ancient times. Aram is in present day Syria, Moab and Ammon as well as Edom are in present day Jordan, while ancient Assyria encompassed the northern territories, the remnant of ancient Assyria is present day Syria and Iraq and parts of Iran. Together all these regions are comprised of the descendants of Esau- the Arab nations which surround Israel. Ezekiel’s prophecy speaks of nations that join with Gog in his military campaign against Israel, perhaps these are the nations of which he speaks, but there is a personality involved, a prince who leads them- Gog by name.
So who then is this one prophesied by the prophets in the former days? Who is Gog? I believe he is the Antichrist to come- the Assyrian. The overwhelming consensus from the prophets points to the Assyrian, who will first be used by God to chastise and refine the nation of Israel. Then God will turn His indignation toward him and destroy him. We know that Gog comes from the northern kingdom. In the prophecies of Daniel we read about the battles between the king of the north and the south. These prophecies were fulfilled by the kingdoms of the Ptolemy’s and the Seleucid’s. The Ptolemies ruled from Egypt- the southern kingdom, and the Seleucids ruled from Assyria. Antiochus Epihanes, the Assyrian king fulfilled the prophecies of Daniel, who was a contemporary of Ezekiel. Therefore the region that Gog is from- the north, is in line with the prophecies that speak of Assyria. The other nations may be those who join with Gog in the battle.
Timing
There are parameters mentioned in Ezekiel that give us clues as to the timing of this war.
The nation of Israel will be restored from the sword, living securely; the following passage indicates that the whole nation of Israel will be living in the land.
Ezekiel 38:8
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.
It would be logical to assume that these parameters would only be possible after the Antichrist confirms the covenant that will begin the fulfillment of Daniel’s 70th week. It is likely that it is this covenant that will allow the Jews to practice the sacrificial system and to rebuild their temple. The Antichrist will be seen as their messiah, the one who has come to bring an end to war, and establish his kingdom. This coupled with the rebuilding of the temple will cause those Jews who are still scattered around the world to make aliyah en mass to Israel. There will be a time of unprecedented peace, brought about by this covenant during the first half of Daniel’s week until The Antichrist turns on them at the midpoint of the 70th week according to Daniel:
Ezekiel 38:9-14
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.”
10 ‘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?’ ” ’
14 “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?
Daniel 9:27
27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
Jesus says that when the abomination of desolation occurs, that this is the signal for those Jews living in Judea to flee. While Luke records that it is when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies- indicating that these events are simultaneous and occur in the middle of Daniel’s prophesied week. This could be a clue as to when the Gog/magog war begins
Matthew 24:15-21
15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
17 “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.
18 “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
19 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.
21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
Luke 21:20-22
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city;
22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
Verse 12 of Ezekiel 38 above also says that the Jews live at the center of the world. This may mean spiritually, in God’s eyes that Jerusalem is the center of the world, or it might mean that at the time that this event takes place it will be the literal center of the world. Jerusalem will become the political economic and religious center of a new globalized world. The Ezekiel passage would imply that Gog if he is the Antichrist will be initially headquartered in Assyria, like Antiochus whose capital was Seleucia, located near modern day Baghdad, the antichrist may come from the land that was once ancient Assyria. But his desire will be to sit in the temple of Jerusalem as God.
Another parameter given by Ezekiel is the method of war. It appears that this war will be fought by horsemen on horseback. And that there will be very many soldiers that take part- a “great company” of “many peoples” a “great assembly and a mighty army” splendidly attired and wielding swords.
Ezekiel 38:4
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;
Ezekiel 38:9
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.”
Ezekiel 38:15
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;
Many commentators suggest that this is figurative, that Ezekiel was describing what he saw in terms that he understood, and that these horses might represent modern vehicles of warfare. However horses are also spoken of in the Revelation to John. The following passages may be speaking of the same great army, that of the sixth trumpet, which are inspired by the demonic forces. This army appears on the scene around the same time as the Abomination of Desolation, when the Antichrist is indwelled with the beast from the pit, which is opened at the sounding of the fifth trumpet. Note the great number and their splendid attire.
Revelation 9:16-19
16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.
17 And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.
Literal horses do appear to be indicated later in revelation here at the time of the reaping of the earth when the wine press is trodden, the wine press represents Jerusalem (Is 5:1-7) the blood is said to come up to the horses’ bridles, indicating that horses will be present:
Revelation 14:20
20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.
Why would horses be used in a future battle, when there is so much technology available for modern tanks, planes, helicopters etc...? It may be that the initial battle against Jerusalem does involve technology and modern weapons as implied by John’s vision of the sixth trumpet horses, but something happens that causes these to become useless, perhaps the fourth bowl judgment is the cause.
Revelation 16:8-9
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.
9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
An intense magnetic storm cause by a huge solar flare could render modern equipment of warfare useless, Solar storms are known to effect power grids, radio transmissions, satellite relays and one of the magnitude of the sixth seal may indicate that a portion of the earth’s magnetic shield is missing causing intense heat which may also in turn effect the use of modern technological devices.
Ezekiel 23 also seems to point to the timing of the beginning of this battle- the midpoint of the 70th week, when the Antichrist breaks the covenant and turns against Israel. Oholibah is code for Adulterous Jerusalem (the Harlot), note again the similarities to Ezekiel’s prophecy of Gog/Magog in his description.
Ezekiel 23:22-30
22 “Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom you were alienated, and I will bring them against you from every side:
23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
24 ‘They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons, and with a company of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs.
25 ‘I will set My jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and your survivors will be consumed by the fire.
26 ‘They will also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.
27 ‘Thus I will make your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’
28 “For thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom you were alienated.
29 ‘They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries.
30 ‘These things will be done to you because you have played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.
Ezekiel 23:46-47
46 “For thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Bring up a company against them and give them over to terror and plunder.
47 ‘The company will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will slay their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire.
Here in Revelation- we see that the horns of the beast will hate the Harlot and make her desolate and naked and eat her flesh and burn her up with fire. Just like the passage above indicates, as well as Zechariah 14:2.
Revelation 17:12-17
12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
13 “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.
17 “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
Zechariah 14:2
2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
Other parameters are found in the following passage-
Ezekiel 38:18-23
18 “It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “that My fury will mount up in My anger.
19 “In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
20 “The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground.
21 “I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
22 “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone.
23 “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.” ’
In the day that Gog comes against Israel- God’s fury will mount in anger, there will be a great earthquake that causes all who are on the face of the earth to shake at His presence. This is the day of which the Lord has spoken- the day of the Lord- which begins with these events- when Gog at the final battle of this war against Jerusalem and the Israelites is destroyed, Zechariah lays out the sequence of events- Jerusalem is captured by the armies (of Gog?) who we are told are gathered there by the Lord Himself, just as Gog is draw by God with the hooks in his jaw. Half of the city goes into exile, this causes the Lord to go forth and fight against those nations, Christ will return at the end of Daniel’s 70th week, standing on the Mount of Olives creating a great valley for those still within the city to escape.
Ezekiel 39:8
8 “Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord GOD. “That is the day of which I have spoken.
Zechariah 14:1-8
1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
6 In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle.
7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
We see from the following passages that this day of the Lord is when the Lord comes in fury and anger, and in His wrath He punishes the wicked for their iniquity
Isaiah 13:9-11
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud
And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.
Isaiah 66:15-16
15 For behold, the LORD will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the LORD will be many.
Ezekiel 38:19 also says there will be a great earthquake that causes all to shake at the Lord’s presence. This earthquake sounds very similar to the one mentioned in Revelation. Which also speaks about the entering into judgment when God rains on them hailstones, fire and brimstone. Note how the city is split just like in the passage of Zechariah above.
Revelation 16:18-23
18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
Ezekiel 38:21 also talks about the sword that will be brought against Gog, while it states that men will turn against each other, it specifically says that God will call for a sword to come against Gog and his armies.
What is this sword? Isaiah mentions it in the passage above, as well as in chapter 11, this is Jesus Christ- who when he returns will slay the wicked with the sword of truth-the word of God mentioned also in 2 Thessalonians and Revelation:
Isaiah 66:16
16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the LORD will be many.
Isaiah 11:4
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Isaiah 31:8-9
8 And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of man will devour him.
So he will not escape the sword,
And his young men will become forced laborers.
9 “His rock will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the standard,”
Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
2 Thessalonians 2:8
8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;
Revelation 19:15
15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Revelation 19:20-21
20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Ezekiel 39: 2-7 support that it is God that strikes Gog, note also how the Lord says that He will make His name known in the midst of His people Israel and He will not allow His name to be profaned any longer, and that the nations will all know that He is the Lord. This could only happen at the end of the 70th week not at it’s beginning, because His name will not be known among all of Israel yet, and it will be profaned during the 70th week, and all nations will not know that He is Lord until He visibly returns to set up the Millennial kingdom.
Ezekiel 39:3-7
3 “I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand.
4 “You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field.
5 “You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken,” declares the Lord GOD.
6 “And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.
7 “My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
The sacrifice mentioned in Ezekiel 39:17-20 is similar to that mentioned in Revelation
Ezekiel 39:17-20
17 “As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may 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 though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 “So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 “You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,” declares the Lord GOD.
Revelation 19:17-18
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God,
18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”
Also mentioned here:
Isaiah 18:5-6
5 For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms
And the flower becomes a ripening grape,
Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives
And remove and cut away the spreading branches.
6 They will be left together for mountain birds of prey,
And for the beasts of the earth;
And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.
Isaiah 34:6-7
6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will also fall with them
And young bulls with strong ones;
Thus their land will be soaked with blood,
And their dust become greasy with fat.
Zephaniah 1:7-8
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For the day of the LORD is near,For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests.
8 “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice
That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons
And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.
Many site the burning of the weapons as the reason for this battle to occur before the 70th week because it lasts for seven years, but I see no reason why this could not happen into the Millennium as fuel will still be needed for cooking and heat during that time.
Ezekiel 39:9-15
9 “Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.
10 “They will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, for they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoil of those who despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” declares the Lord GOD.
11 “On that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block off those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the valley of Hamon-gog.
12 “For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.
13 “Even all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I glorify Myself,” declares the Lord GOD.
14 “They will set apart men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, even those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.
15 “As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a man’s bone, then he will set up a marker by it until the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
The nation of Israel buries the dead for 7months, they burn the weapons for seven years- this implies that there are a lot of weapons left by a great horde of warriors. The Israelites could only gather this fuel for fire during a time of peace, it says that they will take the spoils of war and plunder from those who plundered them. For this to occur over a seven year time frame it cannot involve the whole 70th week, because we know that the Jews will flee Jerusalem at the midpoint they will live as exiles scattered again to the nations around the world, all they leave behind will be plundered by their enemies. They will not be burning weapons of war, when the war against them is still going on. The passage also says that when they bury the dead is also when the Lord God glorifies Himself, again this is an indication that the millennial kingdom begins at the same time.
Ezekiel 39:21-24
21 “And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.
22 “And the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God from that day onward.
23 “The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword.
24 “According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.” ’ ”
Ezekiel says in verse 38:15 that the nations will know the Lord, when He is sanctified through Gog:
Ezekiel 38:15-16
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;
16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.”
This is exactly like what was said about Pharaoh at the exodus:
Exodus 14:17-18
17 “As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.
18 “Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”
The Jews also believed in the Lord through these events
Exodus 14:30-31
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31 When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.
The similarities between the exodus from Egypt and the exodus from Babylon- which I believe to be Jerusalem- which by the way we are told is mystically called Egypt (Rev 10:8) are remarkable. The plagues of Moses are very similar to the plagues brought on by the trumpets and bowls- water turned to blood, boils, hail, locusts, darkness. These are all signs to the Jews to remind them how God redeemed them from Egypt, in fact it seems that the exodus from the Harlot Jerusalem may come at Passover according to the song of Moses which has yet to be fulfilled:
Exodus 15:12-18
12 “You stretched out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
13 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
14 “The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 “Terror and dread fall upon them;
By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone;
Until Your people pass over, O LORD,
Until the people pass over whom You have purchased.
17 “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
The place, O LORD, which You have made for Your dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 “The LORD shall reign forever and ever.”
The future exodus from mystical Egypt, like the first exodus from the actual Egypt, will see God go before Israel and behind them, in His glory He will lead them out in safety, and He will be their rear guard, just like the pillar of fire by day and smoke by night, that went before Israel to lead them out of Egypt.
Isaiah 52:9-12
9 Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the LORD.
12 But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the LORD will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:8
8 “Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
The context of Ezekiel 38 and 39 is the coming Kingdom age, Judgment on the nations that go against Israel and the restoration of Israel that follows the war. Ezekiel’s temple (chapter 40) may very well be the temple that is rebuilt during the tribulation, but it will be overrun by gentiles and desecrated by the Antichrist, much like Antiochus desecrated the temple during the Maccabean revolt, they had to restore the Temple afterwards and the city which had been Hellenized also had to be restored.
It seems to me that in this context that this battle will begin with the Armies that surround Jerusalem at the midpoint who desire to plunder the Jews and take their wealth, The Antichrist who may himself be Gog the prince turns on the Jews- breaking the covenant, however his forces will eventually be defeated by The Sword of the Lord upon His return. This war will continue throughout the last half of the 70th week- God will use the Antichrist and his armies to refine Israel and bring them to repentance just as He did Pharaoh, and He will deliver some, protecting those who initially flee to the wilderness, and then later He will deliver forever when He strikes down the Antichrist and the false prophet and their armies with the sword of His mouth.
The Lord will restore the fortunes of Israel, re-gathering them again to the land of their inheritance, where they will live securely, the Lord will be sanctified through them before many nations, and He will pour His Spirit on the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:25-29
25 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.
26 “They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid.
27 “When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations.
28 “Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer.
29 “I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD.
In conclusion: Taking all these things into account it appears to me that the Gog/Magog war begins sometime around the middle of Daniel’s 70th week and continues throughout the second half of the week, God will bring these forces against Israel initially for her refinement, and when it is accomplished he will destroy the destroyer at His second coming.
Isaiah 33:1
1 Woe to you, O destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.
Isaiah 10:12
12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.”
Isaiah 10:25
25 “For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.”
Isaiah 51:22-23
22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God
Who contends for His people,
“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling,
The chalice of My anger;
You will never drink it again.
23 “I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
Who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’
You have even made your back like the ground
And like the street for those who walk over it.”
Gog, the one spoken of by the prophets of the former days, is the Assyrian- the rod used to bring about the discipline of God upon Israel- the future Antichrist. Jesus Himself points to Antiochus Epihanes when He points to the abomination of desolation in the book of Daniel, Antiochus partially fulfilled this prophecy long before Christ ever lived, but in a dual fulfillment, a future Assyrian much like Antiochus will desecrate the future temple in Jerusalem, and he will come to his end when Christ returns and slays the lawless one with the sword of His breath.
With all this said, I do believe that there will be some kind of conflict, that will occur before the 70th week begins that many will believe is the Gog/Magog war, causing them to falsely believe that it is the end of the 70th week. The earthquake of the sixth seal, which I believe happens just before the beginning of the “week” will also lend to this deception. Into this arena will step the false prophet and the Antichrist to proclaim a new era of peace and global cooperation. The Antichrist will enter into the covenant and Israel will resume their sacrifices and rebuild their temple. During this first half of Daniel’s 70th week a time of seeming security and safety will ensue. Jews from around the world will flock to Israel, right where the Antichrist wants them- within his reach. For a time they will believe that it is God’s kingdom being set up, until the Antichrist surrounds them with armies and desecrates the temple claiming to be God Himself. (see 2 Thessalonians 2) Then those who understand the signs will flee Judea to be protected by God, while many more will flee to other parts of the globe, scattered again among the nations until the Lord returns and destroys both the Antichrist and false prophet and all the armies gathered to destroy Israel and their God. He will set His glory in Jerusalem and re-gather those who were exiled to Jerusalem and the Millennial Kingdom.
RT
I did misunderstand you. Thanks for clearing it up. They way explained does make sense to me.
