Prelude to “Gog and Magog”

(Some of you may have already seen some of this in our study on the war in the Middle East, but it’s still worth reviewing.)

Typically when we think about the Gog and Magog incident we picture a great Russia hoard in coalition with various Arab nations coming together to do battle against Israel, but is this correct, is this truly what is going to take place or have we simply jumped to this conclusion without first thoroughly examining all the facts.

Ezekiel 38 and Psalms 83 are they one in the same or two entirely different events?

“It has been noted by many that the Ezekiel context portrays an alliance of seven or eight nations that will come against Israel “from the north parts.” While the modern identities of these nations are problematic, one thing seems clear-none of them are of Semitic origin. Thus, they do not represent Arab powers, nearly all of whom are Semitic.

In marked contrast, Psalms 83 describes a coalition of some ten to eleven nations who come against Israel with a common purpose, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation” In this coalition ALL of the names, except one, are Semitic and ancestors of present-day sworn enemies of Israel. The lone exception is the Philistines, a Hamitic people who are considered by many to be the ancestors of present day Palestinians.

These two sets of Scriptures then DO NOT appear to refer to the same event. One describes an invasion of Arab peoples; the other an invasion of non-Arab countries.

Which comes first?

Inasmuch as the “peace and safety” precondition for the Ezekiel battle is not laid down in the Psalms reference, the natural assumption is that the Psalms prophecy is fulfilled first.”

Let us take another look at the Ezekiel’s account for a moment and note closely a few of these preconditions which must be met before the great battle of Gog and Magog can take place.

“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.

“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”

‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan:  You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’—  to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘thus says the Lord God: “ON THAT DAY when my people Israel DWELL SAFELY, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?” (Ezek 38:1-17)

“The texts above indicate that at the time of this battle Israel would be a land:

* Brought back from the sword

* Dwelling safely

* of unwalled villages

* Having neither bars nor gates.

Any observer of world conditions during the past 70+ years finds these conditions difficult to imagine. From the time that Israel became a nation in 1948 until the present day they have been living constantly either under attack or in fear of imminent attack. Surrounded by enemies without, and disrupted by foes within, it is little wonder that Israel has armed itself to the teeth.

With one of the most modern armies in the world and rumored to have nuclear weaponry, they are confident of taking on all opponents. Strong lobbies in the United States and other world capitals seek to insure agreements (alliances) to add to their defensive capabilities. As a result, this threatened nation has moved from an importer of arms to one of the chief exporters of military technology.

The above is hardly descriptive of “a nation brought back from war” “living with neither bars nor gates” What scenario will bring about this dramatic change of condition?

Rather than being a country “brought back from the sword,” Israel today is a land dwelling “UNDER THE SWORD.”

Excerpts were taken from, “Israel, Iraq and the Gulf Crisis, A Land Brought Back from the Sword”, by Carl Hagensick

We continue with our next post.