Lesson XII
There are three major events yet to take place in the
First- there is going
to be an invasion of the land by a great northern confederacy of nations led by
a leader identified in Ezekiel as “Gog” from the
He is mentioned in Ezekiel 38:2,3,14,16,18 and Ezekiel 39: 1,11.
Second- this vast army
led by Gog and all the allies will be destroyed and buried in the
Third- Jesus Christ
will then return to the same land to which He had come 2000 years ago.
Ezekiel
chapter thirty-eight.
Ezekiel 38: 1-23
(1) And the word of
the LORD came unto me, saying,
(5) Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Ezekiel 38:1-3 Gog is identified
as coming from the land of Magog. He is
also identified as coming “out of the north parts” in verse 15. Directions in the
Bible are all from the city of
In 1918 A.C. Gaelbelien wrote:
“
We have seen
Ezekiel 38:3 Once again God
says “He is against”, this time against Gog because Gog is against
Ezekiel 38:4-7 Gog will be able
to form an alliance and unite, primarily, Islamic countries.
Some of these countries are named in verse 5.
Notice Ezekiel 38:6 “many
people”; also found in Ezekiel 38:9,
Ezekiel 38:15 and Ezekiel 38:22.
According to verse 7, this
army prepares herself for war, and in verse
16 she comes against
Ezekiel 38:8 Here is the first
reference to the time when Gog rises to power.
a.
“After many days...in the latter years”, “thou shalt
come into the land.”
b.
After Israel has been “gathered out of many people”,
a phrase repeated in verse 12.
c.
This fact alone confirms that Ezekiel’s prophecy
could not have been fulfilled by events prior to the last century, because the
people of Israel had not been gathered to their land as a nation until 1948.
d.
Gog will bring his army when the people of Israel
“dwell safely”. This word is also repeated in verses 11 and 14.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
(3) For when they shall say, Peace and
safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape.
I believe 1 Thessalonians 5:3 has reference to the same time “when they
shall say peace and safety.” There seems
to be every indication in Scripture that some sort of peace will be arranged in
the
Daniel 9:27
(27) And he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall
make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate.
I am of the opinion that the covenant spoken of in Daniel
Matthew 24:15-21
(16) Then let them
which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
(17) Let him which is
on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
(18) Neither let him
which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
(19) And woe unto
them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
(20) But pray ye that
your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
That week was referred to by Jesus as the time of Great Tribulation (Matthew
24:15-21).
Therefore we believe this invasion of Ezekiel 38 will not take place at
the present time. Gog leads his army
against the mountains of
Another consideration: This prophecy could not have been fulfilled
during the past 2500 years because there was no Nation of Israel to invade
until 1948.
Ezekiel 38:9-11 The invasion by
Gog will be “like a storm”. He will come
suddenly and swiftly to take the land.
In verse 10 God says “Gog
will think an evil thought.” What
thought?
Verse 11 I will go invade
“unwalled villages” to “those who dwell safely.” In other words invade Israel when she is not
contemplating or expecting such an invasion, i.e., when Israel is thinking, “At last we have
peace in the world.”
Ezekiel 38:12-13 States another
reason for Gog’s invasion.
He plans to come and “take a spoil.”
He will come to the re-gathered people who now have “cattle” and
“goods”.
Verse 13 “to carry away
silver, gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil.” The specific mention of “gold” is most
interesting.
Genesis 2:11-12
(11) The name of the first [is] Pison: that
[is] it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where [there is] gold;
(12) And the gold of that land [is] good: there
[is] bdellium and the onyx stone.
Genesis 2:11-12, speaking of an area near Eden says, “… the gold of
that land is good.” Could these verses together suggest that
Gog plans to take great spoil.
At the present time there is great wealth in the Dead Sea.
I quote another: “In the Dead Sea there are:
2000 million metric tons of
potassium chloride.
98,000 million metric tons
of magnesium bromide.
36,000 million tones of
magnesium chloride.
22,000 million tones of sulphur.
11,000 million tones of
sodium chloride.
6,000 million tones of
calcium chloride.”
Dead Sea mud is also good for the human skin and is being sold for such
use today.
Will Gog come for this wealth?
Ezekiel 38:12 One other consideration.
Here it speaks of the people that “dwell in the midst of the land.” We know the land is called the
It was not until 1967 that the Jews repossessed the old city of
Zechariah 12:3
(3) And in that day will I make Jerusalem a
burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be
cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against
it.
Believing that Gog and his allies will be an Islamic union, it may
be that the problem of
Ezekiel 38:13
Other Nations will send a diplomatic note to Gog, but apparently, do
not try to stop the invasion. There has
been much speculation as to the identity of these Nations, especially the
“young lions.” Some have suggested that
the Young Lions are the
We draw one conclusion. These
Nations are not part of the great Northern Confederacy which we have already
suggested will likely be basically a Moslem Confederacy.
Ezekiel 38:14-15
Some have had problems with accepting this prophecy as being in the
future because it states that this great army will come “riding on horses.” This is also stated in Ezekiel 38:4, but a
statement in that verse covers every generation and every kind of military
equipment, for the verse states that the army will come with “all
sorts of armour.”
Not only did the coming on horses make sense to Ezekiel’s generation,
the “all sorts” can include everything used for warfare in the past or future. Perhaps there will be great changes in warfare
in days ahead. When Ezekiel is fulfilled,
the world will learn that “no weapon that is formed against
Isaiah 54:17
(17) No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou
shalt condemn. This [is] the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their
righteousness [is] of me, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 38:16-17
Gog will not realize that although he has made his plans to invade and
destroy Israel, it will be God behind the scenes bringing him and his army
against Israel.
Verse 16 says, “And thou
shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land, it
shall be in the latter days and I will bring thee against my land....”
The Scriptures abound with references to
Genesis 12:3
(3) And I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed.
Genesis 12:3 has never been rescinded. God blesses those who bless Israel and God
curses those who curse Israel.
Ezekiel 38:4 God says: “I will
put hooks into thy jaws.” The figure is
that of catching a fish. God will bring
Gog and his army to the
Ezekiel 38:18-23
Romans 2:5
(5) But after thy hardness and impenitent
heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God;
Romans 2:5 says “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest
up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God.” Gog will have been
“treasuring up” or “damming-up” God’s wrath and because of this, God will
bring Gog against Israel and then in His fury and jealousy, God will pour out
His wrath upon Gog in Israel.
Verse 19 In that day
there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel because of God’s wrath.
Verse 20 The sea and the
earth will be greatly disturbed and every wall shall fall to the ground. The disruption is that caused by a great
earthquake.
Verse 21 The armies that
have come as allies will turn and fight against each other.
Verse 22 God will pour
out floods of rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Only God can do these things!
Whenever any human being consciously tries to use human effort to help
God fulfill His Word, we can be sure the persons involved have not interpreted
the Scriptures correctly.
A
summary of Ezekiel 38.
1.
A leader identified as Gog, a prince of the
2.
The Scriptures do not allow us to be dogmatic as to
the exact time of this invasion, but they do say “after many days”, “in the
latter years” and “in the latter days.”
3.
I suggest that another great World War will begin
with Gog moving against Israel. This invasion will be the first campaign of a war
that will last for three and a half years, the last campaign of which will be
the Armageddon, the Battle of God Almighty (Revelation 16:16, Zechariah 14:1-3).
Revelation 16:16
(16) And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew
tongue Armageddon.
Zechariah 14:1-3
(1) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided
in the midst of thee.
(2) For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the
city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of
the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not
be cut off from the city.
(3) Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as
when he fought in the day of battle.
As noted, Israel will be invaded when she is “at rest” and “dwelling
safely.” (Ezekiel 38:11).
Ezekiel 38:11
(11) And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;
I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling
without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
4.
What will have brought about such a condition in
Israel?
Daniel 9:27
(27) And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in
the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even
until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Revelation 6:2
(2) And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a
bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to
conquer.
1 John 2:18
(18) Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that
antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know
that it is the last time.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
(3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape.
Daniel’s 70th
week (Daniel 9:27), is divided into two parts of three and a half years each. At the beginning of the first three and a
half years, Daniel tells us that a prince shall confirm a covenant. We believe this will be a covenant of peace. Revelation 6:2 foretells a rider on a white
horse, whom we believe will be the False Messiah or the Anti-Christ who is to
come (1 John 2:18). Riding a White Horse
speaks of peace, and he will bring a false peace to Israel. This is the peace spoken of by Paul in 1
Thessalonians 5:3. “They” not “we”, the
“world” not the “Church”, will have some reason to declare “peace and safety”,
a declaration that will be followed by “sudden destruction”, not upon “us” but
upon “them.”
5.
As I see it, every attempt at writing a peace accord
in the past and those being attempted in the present, are only fore shadows of
a peace agreement by Anti-Christ at the beginning of the 70th week
of Daniel. This agreement will bring
peace and safety to
6.
Isaiah 17:1, to my knowledge, has never been
fulfilled.
Isaiah 17:1
(1) The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being]
a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Perhaps Israel will be forced to bomb Damascus, and such an event would give
Gog ample reason to invade Israel.
7.
So I am suggesting that the invasion of Israel by
Gog will likely take place in the middle of the great Tribulation, at the
beginning of the period when God pours out His wrath. The 38th chapter certainly
concludes with God’s wrath being poured out.
Ezekiel
chapter thirty-nine.
Ezekiel 39:1-29
(5) Thou shalt fall
upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.
(8) Behold, it is
come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day whereof I have
spoken.
(12) And seven months
shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
(16) And also the
name of the city [shall be] Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
(22) So the house of
Israel shall know that I [am] the LORD their God from that day and forward.
Ezekiel 39:1 Here again we
find the words “I am against.” This time
against Gog the chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal. Says Gaebelien, these places have been
“reproduced in modern Moscow and Tobosk.”
Ezekiel 39:2 Again God says “I
will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.”
And when He does, He will “leave but the sixth part” of this great army
(so says the KJV).
Revelation 20:7-9
(7) And when the
thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Some try to equate Ezekiel 39 with Revelation 20:7-9, when again Gog
and Magog come against the beloved city, even after the 1000 years. But then, the whole army is devoured by
fire from Heaven and none remain. So we
believe these are different events.
Exodus 14:25
(25) And took off their chariot wheels,
that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the
face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
God took off the wheels of Pharaoh’s chariots when he pursed Israel
(Exodus 14:25) and He will do likewise when this mighty army comes against
Israel.
Ezekiel 39:4-5 The army will
fall in Israel and ravenous birds and beasts of the field will devour human
bodies. It sounds very much like
Revelation 19:17-18.
Revelation 19:17-18
(17) And I saw an angel standing in the
sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the
midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the
great God;
(18) That ye may eat the flesh of kings,
and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of
horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and
bond, both small and great.
Ezekiel 39:6-8 Not only will
there be destruction of Gog’s army in Israel, “God will send a fire on the land
of Magog.” He will do this so that
Zephaniah 3:19-20
(19) Behold, at that time I will undo all
that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was
driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have
been put to shame.
(20) At that time will I bring you [again],
even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise
among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your
eyes, saith the LORD.
Zephaniah 3:19-20 “Behold, at that time I will undo all that
afflict thee; and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven
out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put
to shame. At that time will I bring you
again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a
praise among all people of the earth, when I take back your captivity before
your eyes, saith the LORD.”
Read also Isaiah 61:1-9.
Isaiah 61:1-9
Ezekiel 39:9 This burning of
weapons for seven years has also created problems. How can that be? Iron tanks and
airplanes? Some years ago I found an
article that had to do with material called “Lignostone. For use where wood is insufficient and steel
inefficient.” For fuel it is better than
coal or wood. Of the material the
article states: “The result is something that will not float, as wood would do,
and which need a hacksaw to cut it as would steel. It is tremendously strong, and very free of
any friction, so that little lubrication is required.” Whether this material will be used in war
machinery we do not know. But something
other than steel and iron will be included in the war material. There will be so much, that it will supply
Ezekiel 39:10 One of the
reasons for this is given in this verse.
When Gog invades the land he will bring vast amounts of supplies into
Israel so that she need not harvest any of her planted trees!
This is another verse that proves this chapter was not fulfilled during
the past 1900 years because during that period there were few trees and no
forests in
Ezekiel 39:11 What a
slaughter! And what a smell! The bodies of these haters of Israel will
become fertilizer for the land, as a multitude will die there and become as
dung on the ground!
Ezekiel 39:12 Even after birds
and beasts have had their feast of human flesh, it will take seven months to
bury the dead! Never has such ever been
the like before. This is prophecy.
Ezekiel 39:13-16 These verses seem
to indicate that all the people of Israel will be involved in burying the dead
to cleanse the land. Then after seven
months, men will be given full-time employment going through the land to bury
the bones of the dead. And during that
period, anyone who finds a human bone will put up a sign beside it so that the
bone can be buried in the valley that will then be called “Hamon-gog.”
Ezekiel 39:21-24 Then God will set
“my glory” among the heathen. As stated
before, we believe this is Jesus Christ.
When He returns all will know that it was the Lord that sent
Ezekiel 39:25-29 is an outline of
God’s final dealings with Israel. He
will bring again the captivity of Jacob, and the whole house of
This will be after they have borne their
shame. When He shall have
brought them and gathered them. Then,
shall they know what God has done and when He has finished gathering them to
their own land, He will have left none in any other land.
In other words, the day is coming when the only place on earth one can
find a Jew will be in the
Romans 11:26
(26) And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob:
Romans 11:26 And so all
Israel shall be saved as it is written, in the Old Testament.
To interpret the New Testament by ignoring the Old Testament can only
lead to false conclusions. Jesus said in
Matthew 22:29, “Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures”, and when He said that He
was making reference to the Old Testament because the New had not yet been
written.
From here on, in Ezekiel, our eyes will be turned away from the enemies of Israel to the land of Israel and what God has in store for that land and His earthly people the Jews.