A very recent study of Ezekiel chapters 38-39 by Dr John McEwan
a friend and colleague
Brian Huggett
The
prophet Ezekiel gives us the future of the Iranian-Israeli Conflict. It is no accident that after the
announcement of the “deal” the Iranian religious leader called at a religious
rally, attended by the Iranian government leadership, for “Death to America”
and “Death to Israel”. All posted on
U-Tube for the world to see! These
people are so arrogant – and at least their satanic weakness means there is
plenty of evidence for their evils for those who wish the truth.
The
future is not peace, but war and death, but sadly it is death for the Iranian
people. The Israelis and the Arabs will
suffer greatly but the next item on the agenda of the Middle East is the “Scythian-Parthian”
led invasion of the area, and the total destruction of their army and their
cities as a result of their threat/use of nuclear weapons on the Arabs and
Israel.
The
“Scythian-Parthian” alliance is in today’s terms Russia-Ukraine and Iran and
the “Stans”.
The
lunacy of America accepting Iranian assurances while they cry “DEATH!” to any
other State is beyond belief. We are sadly becoming used to such lunacy and
the majority prefer to believe lying assurances rather than face uncomfortable
truths! The similarity to Neville Chamberlain’s
stupidity is scary unless we open our Bibles.
By the 23rd of September this year we will have Hamas put
forward as a possible “State” in the UN.
The very thought that Hamas would be recognized as a “State” by the UN
is also incredible given that their constitution calls for the total
annihilation of another UN State – Israel!
We
will certainly see crazy things in the next months – but Ezekiel tells us
bluntly how it will all work out – and it is a very sobering vision. So believer, please don’t keep watching
U-Tube prophecies, hear the Word of God and relax in the arms of Jesus – the
real “King and Lord” of all. Hear the
Word of the Lord and fall on your knees before Him and commit yourself to doing
the will of God for your path in life, and so walk safely through the economic,
natural, and military carnage that is just around the corner.
Dr
John C McEwan
Dean
EBCWA
31
August 2015
**************************************************************
EZEKIEL CHAPTER 38
VERSES 1 – 13
“1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the
land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold,
I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into
thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen,
all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with
bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of
them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer,
and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his
bands: and many people with thee. 7 Be
thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are
assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the
latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword,
and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have
been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall
dwell safely all of them. 9 Thou shalt
ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land,
thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come
to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt
think an evil thought: 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, 12 To take a
spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are
now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which
have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of
Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come
to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away
silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”
REFLECTION
1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the
land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
This appears to be an abrupt shift in
the prophetic flow, from Israel’s future destiny to suddenly mention strange
peoples who attack Israel, but it is in direct relation to the previous
chapter, as it describes one of the final assaults upon God’s people Israel,
after their restoration as an unsaved nation, before their spiritual revival,
and before the Second Advent of the Lord. Some argue this will occur at the end
of the Millennial Kingdom, others that it will occur at some point before the
Great Tribulation, and be a part of preparing the way for that time. We face
here a great attack upon God’s plan and God’s people; not the worst attack, but
one that prefigures the worst.
On mature reflection, having completed
commentaries on all the books of the Bible, and now in my sixties, having
studied ancient history for over forty years, I believe that this chapter applies
to the days just before the Great Tribulation period, when a group of nations
try to destroy the unbelieving modern state of Israel and are frustrated in so
doing. It is the aftermath of this attack, as described by Ezekiel that makes
me believe it must occur before the days of the Great Tribulation and
set the stage for the Tribulation Temple to be built alongside the Sunni
mosques. I believe the events described
in these two chapters set in place all the last pieces on the stage for the end
game of the Anti-Christ.
The nations of this penultimate great
rebellion against God’s plan are more numerous and murderous than those who
have assaulted Israel at any earlier point in her history. What is described
here has most certainly not occurred to this point in history as I write in
2015. Also, at the time of Ezekiel
around 560 BC, some of these nations would only have just heard of Israel due
to their involvement in the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, but they play a minor
part then. For the others mentioned here
it was a “far, far away” place of no real significance to them. This passage was not fulfilled in any way by
the invasions of 605, 597, 586 BC, nor have they been by anything since.
This great campaign will occur at a
time when hatred for Israel is at an all time high amongst the States/People
Groups that join this assault upon the land of Israel. It is a prophetic vision of Ezekiel that
makes the hairs on my neck stand up in 2013-2015 as I write/re-write these
words. Nebuchadnezzar was a Shemite, who
used these Japhetic (Scythian) people as part of his army to destroy Jerusalem,
but this invasion described by Ezekiel is totally Japhetic and they are
fighting the sons of Shem, and are destroyed by the time they arrive at
Jerusalem.
Let us look at the nations/people
groups that gather to fight against the people of Israel and the Lord in these
last momentous days, declaring war on the Plan of God laid down from Genesis,
and actually declaring war on the King of all kings, and the true Lord of all
lords. The first mentioned and apparent leaders of the “rebellion” (it is a war
– but more it is an active and malicious rebellion against the true plan of
God) are the ruler(s) of the southern states of the old Soviet Empire. The
official leader is called “Gog”, from the land of Magog. Genesis 10:2. This may be a Russian or Ukrainian leader,
but he works to weld together an alliance that involves all the older
Scythian-Parthian peoples in a hate filled invasion of the Middle East.
It is distracting at this distance in
time to try to be too specific in the identification of people and places here,
but the names are Scythian in origin and that gives us the major clue we need
to interpret this. The people groups
involved are descendants of the Japhetic Line (Indo-European people group) of
the Scythians, not of the Shemite line from which the Arabs and Jews
descend. It is an “end time” attack upon
the line of Shem, and an attack upon the very plan of God by evil men of Japheth,
and it will be destroyed by God. God’s
Plan calls, from the very beginning of the post-flood civilization, for the
blessing and power of Japheth to be only “in the tents of Shem”. Genesis 9:27.
The power of the Indo-European peoples is only as they worship in the
manner/revelation given to the sons of Shem (the Holy Scriptures).
These names appear to refer to the
descendants of the Scythian peoples who inhabited the lands from the Carpathian
Mountains in the West, through the Ukraine, lower Russian Steppes to the Hindu
Kush - Tien Shan Mountains of China along the borders of Iraq, Iran and
Afghanistan. The next group is made up of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. These also
appear to refer to the people of the old Scythian areas (Moschi/Muschki and
Tibareni of the Romans) who dwelt in the region of the Taurus Mountains and
north of the Black Sea. These regions are mainly Shiite Moslem today, and it
may be that what Ezekiel sees is the attempt by these Shiite States to join
together with others and gain renown/fame by attacking Israel, but as we will
see below, not only Israel.
Do an internet search of these names
but be careful of the anti-Christian/Biblical bias of Wikipedia (which will
edit out any Christian comments, including all that do not down-grade trust in
the historicity of the holy Scripture).
The Moslem clerics of this old Scythian area have many “Hadiths”
(commentaries, prophetic words, teachings) on Magog and Gog also. These dominantly Shiite commentators and
prophetic voices of Islam combine discussion of the two names with end times,
with Jesus, a beast/smoking evil figure from the West, and the end of the Hajj/worship
at the Kaba.
Many of these Hadiths are confused, but
may record the alternative to Ezekiel’s words, and they are certainly quoted by
the ISIS group, who believe they are called to fulfil them, end the Hajj and
Kaba worship (as they as Shiite extremists see it), destroy the Sunni Moslem
states, and kill all Sunni, Jews and Christians, but then be delivered by
Jesus! This sort of evil mix of truth
and falsity is to be expected for any commentary on a prophetic word that is as
significant as Ezekiel’s words are here.
What we read in these two chapters,
occurs after the “dry bones” of the state of Israel (Ezekiel 37) is established
in unbelief and awaits the breath of the Holy Spirit to bring back spiritual
life to them. Zechariah 12:10ff,
13:1ff. The placement of this prophetic
vision by Ezekiel is of great significance and its perversion by the ISIS
people is the clue to its importance.
Liberal/unbelieving commentators argue it is a late addition, but that
simply betrays their bias. It is
significant that some of the prophetic statements of the false Hadiths relating
to Gog/Magog identify the destruction of areas of Saudi Arabia, battles from
Yemen to the Mediterranean Sea, and the climax of it all on the mountains of
Israel at the very mountains of Jerusalem, before the war ends in “fire and
smoke” with the destruction of the forces of Gog and Magog.
The Lord makes it clear here in Ezekiel
that he is personally against these people group’s plan, and all they stand for
in their rejection of his Word and his will. Those who stand against the Lord,
and that means against all the Sons of Abraham, will not stand! This prophecy
will be an important one as people face the battles (and tactical nuclear
exchanges) of the days leading up to the Great Tribulation period. This prophetic word from Ezekiel tells us
that we will see nuclear war and possibly millions killed in the Middle East as
a result of Iranian Clerical evil. All
those preaching lies and deceit today will be exposed as fools and fantasists,
but those who read, believe and apply Ezekiel, Zechariah, and the other
prophets, will demonstrate that God’s Plan is indeed being worked out in spite
of the murderous malice of evil men.
It will be a significant piece of
biblical evidence for the accuracy of biblical prophecy, and the Lord’s
intervention in the affairs of men, and all people will see that the Bible
alone provides full knowledge of the biblical truth concerning this world’s
final end! What happens during this
great attack upon Israel (and the Arab States – all the “sons of Abraham”) is
that the teaching of the biblical prophetic books receives significant evidence
of its vital importance.
4 And I will turn
thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all
thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour,
even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
These people are almost “drawn forward”
into their evil by the Lord. How can this be, and these people still be free,
and yet the Lord be just in condemning them? The answer comes when we remember
the concept of the “hardening of the heart”. Pharaoh had his heart “hardened”
by God during the days leading up to the Exodus, so that he would not let the
children of Israel go. He was “hardened”
in his deepest resolve, and had to show his full malice and be judged in it.
As a result of this, the Pharaoh opened
the door for total judgment upon the land of Egypt, and all the gods of Egypt
were judged through the plagues that occurred. What then does this phrase mean?
How can men who are “drawn by hooks”, or “hardened in their hearts” still be
free? The answer comes as we focus on the meaning here of the words involved.
Refer to the BTB studies on GOD – DIVINE INSTITUTIONS – FREE WILL, and also
HEART.
To harden a wet washing towel and
thereby squeeze all the water out of it, you twist it, or wring it out. In this
process the soft cotton towel becomes hard and all the water that is in it is
wrung out. This is the concept of “hardening the heart”; God puts enough
pressure on the person so that what is really within them is “wrung out” of
them. It is the process whereby the true
thoughts, intents, feeling and malice is forced to be disclosed by the Lord.
Pharaoh hated Israel and God, and so by
Moses and Aaron’s words he was forced to really confront his true feelings and
his desired decision making. He was not allowed by the Lord to be
hypocritically polite, and just do the right thing for appearances sake, but he
was forced to really disclose his true attitudes and intentions. This becomes
clear when he pursues after the Israelites determined to kill them all. Exodus
14. Refer to BTB study of PHARAOH – GODS POWER
The same process occurs with the hate
filled peoples of the places described and the period of time we face here. It
would be easy for them to keep “play acting” religious tolerance and diplomacy,
but the Lord does not give them that option; they must disclose themselves and
openly proclaim their true feelings and the extent of their evil malice. They
are “drawn out” to rebel against God’s Word and God’s Plan and so disclose the
true desires of their hearts.
They are free agents able to disclose
the truth of their malicious evil, just as for years they have been free to
hide their true feelings, but that freedom is now over, and they must disclose
their hearts true contents, for only those who love the Lord find any eternal
or temporal spiritual blessing. As the
days draw closer to the Great Tribulation all mankind is forced to take sides
regarding Israel, the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and the true identity of
Jesus.
5 Persia, Ethiopia,
and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of
Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for
thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a
guard unto them.
There are more nations that join the
rebels, trying to attack Israel from all directions simultaneously. Such a
concerted attack requires great planning and long incubation. This tells us
that the rebels have had to consciously decide to hate the Lord and act against
him and his people over considerable time. The nations here are a varied group.
From the North-East come the Persians, and from the west the Libyans (or from
the south-east the Yemenis – the word here may indicate Yemen rather than
Libya), and from the far south the Ethiopians/Somalis. They are all there as
part of the great unholy alliance of the peoples who have hated the people of
Israel, and all their hatred is focused in this venture.
Gomer is the Cimmerian peoples, and the
house of Togamah, the people around Armenia; these people groups live in the
north and to the north of what is now Turkey and are close by the others
mentioned above. The Lord warns them
that they had better be well prepared for what they will face. The warning is
deeply sinister, for their preparation needs to be to guard themselves, from
themselves, for they are not united, as the satanically motivated are always
self-centred and narcissistic, and so they don't form good “team work”, but
each fight for their own ends, and so are self destructive.
They are without excuse before God, for
the Lord warns them that all they purpose will implode, and they will all die
in the midst of their evils. Such a
gracious and bluntly serious warning will fall on deaf ears, for they are
determined, but have no hope of victory at all, for they are fighting against
God in fighting against Israel and the Sunni Arabs in a way that has been
prophesied so clearly. The precision of
the words below will shock and amaze, and when the battles foretold unfold as
predicted 2500 years before, all who have open hearts towards the Scriptures
will be on their knees praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through
whom came Jesus/Isa/Y’Shua as Saviour, King and Lord of all.
8 After many days
thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that
is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the
mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out
of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou
shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many
people with thee.
Verse eight reminds us that the hatred
of Gog has been a long time in the making and they have had ample opportunity
to turn away to another course and repent of their evil. They have had the
chance to worship the Lord their God, but have failed to so do. It is of note that these southern “Stans” of
the old USSR have been the recipient of extensive evangelism by evangelical
Christians since the collapse of the old USSR in the early 1990s. They will in these latter years of history
launch their attack onto the mountains of Israel, and they will try to do what
so many have done before them, and they will lay the land waste. These mountains are also always “waste land”,
very rocky, and very easy to defend as a result. This is not an “easy campaign”, even though
the Israelis may not be 100% prepared for the numbers that assault them and the
Arab nations around them.
At this time the Jewish people are
living in apparent peace, after many years of warfare they have found some
level of rest in the land, and Gog tries to disturb this peace. It is the peace
of God and so Gog is in for a shock (although they will read these words and
feel smug and secure in their lies and self deceit, just as all rebels against
God have felt through the centuries). They will come up like a storm, with
speed that is as fast as a violent storm approaching the land. They will be a
vast host, for in numbers they deceive themselves into believing they will be
victorious. They think that by sheer
weight of numbers they will overwhelm what the mechanized Arab armies have
failed to do in every war since 1948.
10 Thus saith the
Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come
into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 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,
At least two thousand six hundred years
in advance, the Lord tells the evil armies of this still future day, that they
will think an evil thought at this time, and their thought will be to kill all
those who live in apparent peace and security in the unwalled, and apparently
undefended villages of the land of Israel.
After many years of relative safety, the people dwell in a security that
is untroubled by thoughts of such extreme violence, but also the words here
indicate the defences of the land of Israel are there. Most people are peaceful and do not think
that anyone will do what these nations try to do.
The evil men think in terms of genocidal
malice towards Israelis, but their hatred is misplaced and their intentions
known well in advance, and the Lord has already thwarted their plans. Most will be surprised at the sheer malicious
power of this attack, but the defences of Israeli are not in walls and gates,
but in secret strategies and hidden defences, and they will hold. The enemy don’t think the Israelis are
prepared, but they are, and the hidden and deep defences are strong, and the
tactical nuclear plans are well laid and executed in the end to defend the
Jewish people and the surrounding Arabs, who also are on the receiving end of
this assault.
12 To take a spoil,
and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now
inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have
gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of
Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come
to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away
silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
What foolishness and what evil; to
think that these Shiite forces can invade the lands or the Sunni and the land
of Israel and seize their goods and make their people slaves and actually get
away with it. Man’s self centred evil is the heart of rebellion against the
plan of God, and satanic over-estimation has always been a hallmark of evil
plans since the beginning of time. Prosperity is not a cause of holiness, nor
is peace and security the cause of goodness. Many today argue that if the world
was a financially better place then the world would be a peaceful place. They
argue that if there was peace and prosperity for all then there would be no
crime and evil.
Even in today’s world we can see that
such a statement is a terrible and devious lie. In my own country a week does
not go by when I do not read in my newspaper of a millionaire being charged
with theft or immorality, or violent crime.
Most criminals are not poor people, but wealthy, and with their satanic
self centred malice desire more and more.
Wealthy men persecute the poor, and rob from their own business
partners, and fraudulently steal from their government and their own families.
Proverbs 6:16-22, James 2:1-7, 4:1-4, 5:1-6.
Sadly all the nations listed by Ezekiel
here are nations that are poor due to their religious and politically corrupt
systems. They are locked in the past,
living in a primitive manner in the midst of the modern world, and their
satanic sense of “entitlement” means they act as if they can invade other
nations as their ancestors did several hundred years ago. While the attackers are all backward looking
Shiite Moslem nations, many more modern Moslem countries do not join the evil invaders, and we will note that below, for they
will actually support and fight with Israel in that day.
Nothing changes in the Old Sin Nature
of man, and all the wealth and prosperity that is possible to receive, does not
change it. When the past American president, Bill Clinton, was asked why he had
sex with an intern on his staff, he initially lied, but when he finally was
honest, he gave good insight into why the wealthy and most powerful man in the
world would do such a foolish and evil thing. He said, “I did it because I
could!” This is what the evil men of this day do and what they have always
done. Evil is defined as “I” trouble –
it is narcissistic self centeredness. Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:2-19.
This is the heart of us all, and the
filling of the Holy Spirit alone keeps us from such self centred evil and sin.
We are to be wary of temptations, and never feel superior to them, but walk
humbly and quietly before our God. 1 Corinthians 10:12, 1 Timothy 3:6-7, James 5:12. In this evil day, as the evil men, the rebels
against God’s Plan, determine to advance and commit evil, the other people
groups from the Japhetic lines stand up and oppose them.
The Bible believing merchants from the
western nations who all trade with Israel, even from far away nations, will all
challenge them, and will ask them why they do such an evil thing, to believe
that they can get away with this? It is
so preposterous a plan that it will catch some by surprise, for none want to
believe such an enterprise could happen in “modern days”. These Shiite invaders of the Sunni Middle
East are foolishly arrogant and do not see the whirlwind they reap until too
late for their armies.
Notice the nations that do not join in
with the invaders, who argue with them, and then fight against them. Sheba,
Dedan, and the “merchants of Tarshish”, all oppose the invasion, and their
“young lions” (soldiers) oppose them actively. The “merchants” may be the
Nato/European Union trading bloc that actively opposes them, and applies a
trade ban on the invaders. Tarshish was
a way of describing Western Europe in Ezekiel’s day, as the nations of the far
west before arriving at the Atlantic Ocean.
The indication is that they do far more than just institute a trade ban,
but send armies.
Sheba and Dedan are names that
incorporate all the nations/tribes of the Northern Arabian Peninsula. This is
intriguing, as they side with Israel against these other predominantly Shiite
Moslem States. This includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other
Gulf States, Jordan, and possibly may include Syria, although may not include
the Yemeni States and Aden, as these appear to be listed with the Somalis as
part of the enemy forces. The battle
lines are Shiite versus Sunni/Israeli in nature.
PASTORAL APPLICATION
1. ECONOMIC POVERTY OR PROSPERITY DOES
NOT MAKE PERFECT CHARACTER. People are not changed for good/bad by their
finances or environment, but by their righteous relationship with the Lord God
alone, and their obedience to the Holy Spirit alone. The “fruit” of their lives
proves the source of their inner power.
Galatians 5:13-26. Obedience to
the commands of Jesus is required of all the servants of the Lord, and if we
resent the Lord’s righteous demands we will pay a terrible price for our
foolishness.
2. THE TEST OF TIME IS VOLITION; WHAT
WILL MAN DO IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS CREATOR AND SAVIOUR? The Lord seeks
for our response to his character and work, and right until the end of time he
asks us to confront our sin, bring it before him, and to serve him in the
beauty of holiness. Our choices determine our outcomes in this life and the
next; temptations are to be faced and beaten until the end.
3. THE PRESENT MOSLEM WORLD WILL SPLIT
INTO TWO WARRING CAMPS, AND THE ARABS WILL SUPPORT THEIR BRETHREN IN ABRAHAM,
ISRAEL, IN THE END. Do not be caught as
a pastor of God’s Word preaching against the Arab sons of Abraham, for they
will stand with Israel at this great time of testing and carnage. Preach the truths of the Word to the Arab
world, for we have God’s Word on it, the Arab nations will support Israel and
come to faith. Remember that God’s Word
is more real than today’s newspaper, and is to be believed against presently
seen evidence. Ezekiel gives a glimpse
of things to come, and so as teachers of the Word, let us rejoice in this
truth, and be part of the path of history that leads to victory in Jesus as
Saviour and Lord of all.
EZEKIEL 38:14 – 23
“14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt
thou not know it? 15 And thou shalt come
from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of
them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16 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, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be
sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom
I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which
prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same
time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that
my fury shall come up in my face. 19 For
in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day
there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls
of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep
upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall
shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep
places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him
throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be
against his brother. 22 And I will plead
against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon
his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and
great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23
Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in
the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
REFLECTION
14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt
thou not know it? 15 And thou shalt come
from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of
them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Having seen the full extent of the evil
of the Gog led invasion, the prophet is given the message to announce to them.
Now pause a moment and reflect; this possibly is only a few years away as I
revise these things in 2013-2015, for it occurs before the Great Tribulation
and Millennium, yet Ezekiel, 2600 years at least before it, is given the
message to address to the attackers.
God’s grace is seen in this, and the certainty of his plan being
victorious. God is grace seeks for these
people to be saved, even though most will die in their evil. Remember that the evangelism of these Shiite
areas has been extensive in recent years, and this evil invasion is clearly
going to lead to the salvation of many, for the Lord’s “Word does not return to
Him void”. Isaiah 55:11.
This is the Lord’s reminder that his
eternal plan is the correct one, and he alone determines who will win and who
will lose, and it is all in relationship with the volition of individuals
towards God. These people think they are numerous and powerful, yet the prophet
of 2600 years before condemns them! Do
you see the power of this? This is a
reflection of the Holy Character and Plan of God, both his sovereignty, but
also his mercy and love, for to warn such people for so long indicates just how
many barriers of love and truth they must break to rebel against his Word and
reject his Plan in such a way as they do.
They will all stand without excuse before the throne of God. Revelation 20:11-15.
16 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, that the heathen may
know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
They will actually launch their attack
upon the people of Israel and upon the land of the Lord God, and the time is
referred to as “the latter days” – the days just before the Great Tribulation
period, possibly only a few years before. They will come as a vast multitude
against the Arab lands and Israel, murdering all those they resent as they
advance. These people hate Israel, but
they also hate the wealthy, successful, and modern Arabs also; it is sheer
satanic malice that drives them. Their
satanic malice brings together the sons of Abraham in unity for the first time
since his days.
The Arab peoples targeted on the way to
Jerusalem are also the sons of Abraham and so they also come under God’s care
through Abraham, and so when the Arabian nations support Israel they enter the
covering of the Lord’s protection. The
Abraham promise of protection and blessing applies to the Arabs and the Jews,
for all of them (Ishmael, Isaac, and the sons of Keturah) are all “in the Loins
of Abraham” when the initial promises are made.
Genesis 12:2-3, 12:7-9, 13:14-17, 15:1-7.
The Lord gives the attackers no option
but to express their hatred of him and his people in open war. They are denied
their use of hypocrisy and double talk any longer, they must launch their
attack, and instead of repentance, they sweep towards and over the ancient
borders of the land of Israel.
They try to destroy the Jewish people,
who they resent, and the wealthy and modern Arabs who they also hate, but the
Lord God will be sanctified through their evil!
They will see the Lord’s glory and the entire world of non-Jewish/Arab
people will see that God is Lord, and the “heathen” rebels will surely know the
judgment of God upon them. The evil men look around and see their mighty army,
and know others are gathering to resist them, but they believe they have enough
of a “head start”, and so having little time before the arrival of the western
forces, they move in malicious and murderous haste.
The evil men see their vast numbers and
trust their malice and power, but they do not look up and remember that they
fight against the Creator of the Universe and author of the Plan from eternity
past. The Lord will use this invasion to glorify his holy name. He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the
End, and He will make an end of their plans and schemes and all mankind will
draw breath and see that God is indeed powerful. This is the last great demonstration of
God’s power and plan openly before the Anti-Christ reveals himself to deceive
the evil remnant of mankind later.
17 Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the
prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would
bring thee against them? 18 And it shall
come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel,
saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
The Lord will at that time refer back
to these days of Ezekiel and remind Gog and his host that he had moved the
prophet 2600 years before to proclaim their fate. All Moslems honour Ezekiel
and so to assault the land in this invasion is to despise the prophet and
God! He assures them that their fate is
sealed in their invasion, as is the fate of all who rebel against the will of
the Lord their God and assault his people.
As the Arab world says, “It is written”
– there is no hope for these evil men for the Plan of God has been revealed by
Ezekiel and they will lose! There is no
hiding and no escape from the judgment of God, from the one who made the
universe and all that there is in it.
All the prophets record the Lord’s judgment, but this invasion will reap
a terrible judgment for those who attack, but will also be used to set all the
pieces in order for the final act of man’s evil, the Great Tribulation
itself! Gog is but another pale
imitation of the Anti-Christ to come, and both will be crushed by God.
19 For in my jealousy
and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a
great shaking in the land of Israel; 20
So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the
beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all
the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and
the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every
wall shall fall to the ground.
The start of the judgment of the armies
of Gog is that every wall in the entire land of Israel is shaken down by God.
There would appear to be a vastly powerful earthquake. This may also involve the collapse of the
great mosques and 16th century walls of Jerusalem. The entire land has its walls and buildings
flattened even before the enemy army enters it. The earthquake is centred in
Israel, but may be felt around the entire Middle East, and it may even go wider
– as these events here appear to be a prelude to the events of the Great
Tribulation – a true tectonic “beginning of sorrows” for man without God. In every part of the land, the foundations of
all buildings are shaken and many fall.
The saved people are safe in this, but
they are confronting the fact that they are entering the last stage of the
history of man upon this earth in this present universe. This earthquake in
Israel is a sign to the unsaved Jewish people, and a reminder to all the saved
of the earth that this world is to be shaken and finally imploded, and a new
one created, with the saved of all the ages alone entering the new one. 2 Peter
3:9-18. The earthquake however will make
defence easier, as rubble makes good cover.
It makes the attacker’s job harder and the defender’s job easier. The earthquake seriously slows the enemy’s
advance, with roads blocked and passes through the mountains covered in
rubble. The time it buys means the
western powers are able to arrive in time in force to later play a decisive
role.
21 And I will call
for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every
man's sword shall be against his brother. 22
And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will
rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him,
an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify
myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know
that I am the LORD
There is total war declared upon the
attackers, with the entire population taking up arms in the lands attacked to
fight against all who have opposed the Lord their God, even to traitorous
members of their own family/neighbours. The Lord also rains fire and hailstones
of lava (numbers of artillery delivered tactical nuclear weapons I suspect from
their description) upon the enemy forces, and the entire army of the
satanically inspired invaders are wiped out with few survivors (next chapter).
The end of man’s time upon the earth
even before the Lord’s return is soaked in blood because of the rebelliousness
of unsaved man. This “prelude type” war is a bloody one, with the entire
invading army nearly all destroyed. The
“beginning of sorrows” is but the start of the judgments that find their end in
the Great Tribulation period. Matthew
24:4-8. The start of all this is the
carnage of the two World Wars, leading to the deaths of up to 100 million
people from the warfare and the resultant diseases that flowed from each. This great Middle Eastern War is the
continuation of these world wars.
The devastation of this war is such that
many of the people of the earth may turn to their Bibles and read the words of
Ezekiel and see them fulfilled, and then read Revelation and shudder. Let us hope and pray that they do more than
shudder, but actually worship the Lord.
James 2:19, Acts 4:8-12, John 3:16.
This great war is the greatest encouragement to mankind to read the
Bible ever received by men world wide.
In the midst of the judgment here there is the last great grace
encouragement for man to see that God has a plan and that it has been revealed
in ages past!
All will know that the Lord is truly
God of all, as this act of man’s evil history upon this earth is played out. In
some way, not revealed to us, or known at the time by the prophet, this
invasion prepares the way for, both tremendous evangelism in the Great
Tribulation, and for the acceptance of the one world ruler, the
Antichrist. It is a watershed event;
dividing people into two opinions about God and the needs of mankind. It may
also lead over time to the salvation of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will
witness during the Great Tribulation. Clearly the events within Israel change
that land permanently and they believe they need the Treaties that the
Antichrist is later going to negotiate.
These events also lead to the rebuilding
of the Temple and peace between especially Sunni Arab and Jew (although there
may be a sort of peace before). There is a lot more in this vision than we see
at our point before events unfold, but at the time it unfolds, the Lord’s godly
prophets and preachers will see, and preach, and many will have their eyes
opened then and later through it.
Ephesians 2:4-13. God will bring
glory from disaster. Romans 8:28.
PASTORAL APPLICATION
1. GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE IS SEEN IN THIS
PROPHECY. At least 2600 years before it occurs, the fate of Gog and Magog and
their allies is foretold in full. God’s grace is such that none in their
armies, and the armies of the Arabs and Jews are left without excuse for any
rebellion they raise against his Plan, and all who assault God’s people Israel
are judged. This rebellion against God’s clear Plan and purposes is a full and
final warning not to mess around with Israel! It is evidence for unsaved men to
see during the Great Tribulation, that attacking Israel is a wrongful thing. It
may be the piece of evidence that leads to the salvation of many in that even
more terrible time of Great Tribulation. God truly will turn the awfulness of
this time into glory; cursing will become blessing to those who accept the Lord
as a result of seeing these things.
2. THE END OF MAN’S TIME UPON THE EARTH
BEFORE THE LORD’S RETURN IS A TIME OF REBELLION AND DESTRUCTION, BUT ALSO
OPPORTUNITY/EVANGELISM. This earth is not eternal, and nor are the unsaved and
evil rebels, for they all perish with the earth in the end. Satan and all his
followers are tied into the present universe, and their power and influence
ends at the end of space and time. In
the new universe dwells righteousness alone. Those who hated God and His people
exist only within the “Lake of Fire” in whatever form it takes within the New
Creation. Revelation 21:4, 8, 27.
The end of man’s present time upon the
earth is a time of great carnage and sadness, and finally all of saved mankind
will be ready to say “goodbye” to this old tired and sin filled earth, with all
it’s memories of evil and the Fall. We still love this earth now, but the
events of the years leading up to the Great Tribulation and then its evils,
eliminates all that in the end from all the saved of mankind. By the end of the Millennial Kingdom all are
ready for this universe to perish and be replaced by the next and greatest
creation.
EZEKIEL
CHAPTER 39
EZEKIEL 39:1- 10
“1. Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2 And I
will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee
to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of
Israel: 3 And I will smite thy bow out
of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel,
thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee
unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be
devoured. 5 Thou shalt fall upon the
open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among
them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the
LORD. 7 So will I make my holy name
known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy
name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in
Israel. 8 Behold, it is come, and it is
done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel
shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields
and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears,
and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 10 So that they shall take no wood out of the
field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons
with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that
robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.”
REFLECTION
1. Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2 And I
will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee
to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
Verses 1-20 contain more judgments upon
Gog. Why would the prophet apparently “waste his powder” on such repetition?
Surely what we have read in the chapter before is enough; what he has said only
needs to be said once, does it not? This is a challenge to us all to repeat
vital messages in slightly different ways to reinforce the truth. By deliberate
repetition we do not insult people; rather, we honour them, taking their plight
seriously and giving them several opportunities to come to the truth and be
delivered. God is gracious and his Word is always open to lead to salvation
until the day of death. The vital
importance of this prophetic word is also underlined by this repetition here.
The exact figures of survivors from the
evil armies are given here. The Lord will bring the enemy forces right through
to the mountains of Israel, and there they will be defeated, and 1/6th
of the invading army alone survives. Now this passage that records the 1/6th
survival, is a question filled passage, and it may be that none of the evil
army that murders and pillages survive at all.
Who are these survivors? Are these the believers amongst them, forced to
accompany the army, are they the baggage train servants only, or are they the
ones who repent and withdraw?
We do not know, but the justice of God
is such that these are the most likely options if there are any survivors. Two
Psalms used by the people of Israel through this time are Psalms 40:14-17,
68:1-4. Also refer to Isaiah 37:27-29. In some powerful way these events form the
pre-evangelism of Israel that will lead during the Great Tribulation to the
salvation of the people. Zechariah 12:10ff.
Another thing to reflect upon is the identity of the “Mountains of
Israel”. Look at your Bible Maps, not
your modern ones, and reflect that under the kingdom of David and Solomon the
“mountains of Israel” incorporate much of the mountains of Jordan, Lebanon, and
Syria.
3 And I will smite
thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy
right hand. 4 Thou shalt fall upon the
mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee:
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of
the field to be devoured.
Their weapons will be blasted out of
their hands, and they will fall to the ground like ripe fruit. Their bodies
will fall upon the mountains by the judgment of God and the birds of Africa and
Arabia will gather to devour them. The Jewish people and their Arab supporters
at this time are clearly looked after through this terrible period of invasion
and carnage. The Lord removes most of his people from harms away, so that the
cleared mountains become the fields of death for the invaders only. Psalms
46:6-11, 76:1-12, Isaiah 34:1-8.
This judgment is a “Day of the Lord”,
and he will judge the people of Gog, but not stop there, for he will judge all
who sought to bring comfort to those who rebelled. The Lord is going to judge
these people and through that judgment He is going to give evidence to that
last generation of his power, majesty, and just plan. This is not the final
judgment, which will occur at the end of the Great Tribulation, but it
prefigures it in many ways. The events described in these two chapters of
Ezekiel sets the stage for the last great judgment before the return of the
Lord.
The Great Tribulation is in many ways
prepared for by this great invasion and man is polarized as to attitude to
Israel and the Word/Plan of God.
Refer to the BTB for studies of the
three greatest judgments upon the earth. COVENANTS – NOAHIC, JUDGMENT – BAPTISM
OF FIRE, DAY OF WRATH, and also JUDGMENT:
GREAT WHITE THRONE and CHRIST:
RETURN OF OUR LORD.
5 Thou shalt fall
upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them
that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in
the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any
more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
The Lord has spoken the judgment and it
will happen because of this, for the Lord’s words express truth and certainty.
The judgment will fall upon the land of Gog; and even upon the land and cities
of Magog itself. Fire will fall upon them and they will know that the Lord is
their God, but they will see the truth too late to save themselves from the
judgments that will fall upon them.
These nations are severely damaged by the wrath unleashed upon them. Is
this a nuclear exchange or severe earthquakes? It is clearly so violent and
sudden that it opens the door later to more acceptance by most nations of a one
world leader in the Great Tribulation period, and so it is clearly a severe
interchange of weapons with possibly hundreds of thousands, or even millions
dead!
The judgment also falls upon the
“islands of the seas”. In these far off islands, the people have become
careless of morality and casual about holiness, and so they have sinned in the
same way the people of Isaiah and Ezekiel’s days have sinned. They have become
immoral and disobedient in their worship to the Lord. Their slackness in
following the truth has led them into the path of lies, sin and death.
In some way the “isles” are disciplined
by the Lord directly; possibly by earthquake/tsunami. The earthquake that
flattens many of the walls in Israel at this time may be repeated world wide
and such quakes set off tsunami, just as we have seen in 2001, 2005, 2009 and
2011. A major quake in Israel could set
off tsunami in the Mediterranean at least, hitting Cyprus and Crete (the
original “Isles of the Sea”). The “far
isles” (New Zealand) in the South Pacific have violated God’s Laws by approving
Same Sex Marriage, and may yet approve euthanasia and even vote for Hamas
against Israel in the UN! We are ripe
for judgment after such great evils and it may be that great judgments unfold
upon us at this time.
The Israelites world wide are also
judged in this process, and as for the non-Jewish people upon the earth, just
so for the Jewish people. All are judged
by the Lord for their evil ways. The Lord will not allow any to pollute his
holy name much longer. This invasion and
its earthquake precursor is a “wake up call” to the wavering people of the
nations, to either get their hearts right with the Lord, or later throw their
lot in with the dictator of the world who will become the Antichrist.
The events of Ezekiel 38-39 mean that
the people of the earth cannot sit on the spiritual fence any longer; they are
either for the Lord or for the enemy.
Thus the stage is set for the Great Tribulation. We need to be more vigilant over the details
of our own life every day, and let prophetic study purify our daily lives. The fruit of prophetic study is that we do
not let the Lord’s name be taken in vain by ourselves; either in the words of
our lips, or by our sinful actions. Isaiah 43:1-7, 55:1-9.
8 Behold, it is come,
and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel
shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields
and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the spears,
and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
The prophet speaks now from the
perspective of the completed work of God upon these evil people. In a vision he
sees the Lord’s judgment completed. We must remember that the prophet sees all
these things, and the shock and the horror of the deaths of hundreds of
thousands would have stayed with him, and so he is urgent, even 2600+ years
before the events, to record every detail that will help these people resist
the temptation to join this doomed rebellion against the Holy One of
Israel. Remember the Persian peoples
join this evil expedition and the prophet sees that and desires to warn them
all, that they might avoid joining the armies.
Many will heed the prophet’s warning in Iran and the “Stans” and be
saved as a result. Though dead for 2600
years the prophet Ezekiel still speaks words of salvation.
He also has a glimpse of events after
this time, and is even more urgent that the people return to righteousness, so
that they are ready to play their part in facing this great satanic assault
upon Israel, for this is not the last one, the Great Tribulation is the last
one! Remember, great revival can be
followed quickly by great apostasy, as the days of Josiah were followed quickly
by the days of Zedekiah! The events described
here are momentous and will produce revival, but it may last no longer than
Josiah’s did.
The amount of weaponry involved is
extensive, with seven years fuel in the weapons that are gathered by the
Israelis after the battle. It is this comment regarding the time for the
burning of the weaponry that sways me from the view I held previously that this
was a rebellion at the end of the Millennial Kingdom to that this prepares the
way for the events of the Great Tribulation.
If the Gog-Magog Rebellion/invasion
occurs at the end of the Millennium, then my previous comments from the first
edition of this commentary apply. “From this comment it would appear that (if)
this war occurs at the end of the Millennium, there is a clean up and settling
period after it, perhaps while the Great White Throne judgment occurs for all
the unbelievers of history. The Great White Throne Judgment is described in
Revelation 20:11 and it may involve a seven year period, or more, to ensure
every unbeliever of history is dealt with personally by the Lord.”
While this is logical I no longer
believe this to be the case, as the “plain sense” of these chapters indicates
that this great invasion occurs in such a way to set the scene for a greater
event to follow, and that event is not the Great White Throne Judgment, but the
Great Tribulation. As we have seen, the events here will prepare mankind to
make their final choice regarding the true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the ultimate prelude to the events described in the book of Revelation.
10 So that they shall
take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for
they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled
them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD
The weapons that are gathered provide
the fuel for fires, and the food and money that the army carry provides the
living expenses of the Lord’s people of the land for the next seven years.
Those who came to spoil the land are themselves spoiled and destroyed. The
wealth of their army provides the means for the Israelis to rebuild their land
and buildings, so that they are ready for the events of the Great Tribulation.
Those who have read their bibles as a result of this invasion now know what is
to come, and will ensure the rebuild of the land includes good defensive
positions for the last great attack upon the land at the end of the Great
Tribulation period.
PASTORAL APPLICATION
1. THE LORD’S PLAN IS A PERFECT PLAN
AND ENDS WITH A FINAL JUDGMENT. All who do not do the will of the Lord will
face him, from the least to the greatest.
Revelation 20:11-15. The great
revival of these days after the invasion of Israel does not last, but those who
repent and read their Bibles are prepared for the even more momentous days that
quickly follow thereafter. The Word
protects, when it is read, believed, and applied into daily life. In the Great Tribulation period one third+ of
the nation Israel are going to be saved. Zechariah 12:10ff.
EZEKIEL 39:11- 20
“11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give
unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the
east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall
they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of
Hamongog. 12 And seven months shall the
house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury
them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith
the Lord GOD. 14 And they shall sever
out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the
passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after
the end of seven months shall they search. 15
And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's
bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the
valley of Hamongog. 16 And also the name
of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord
GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field come;
gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you,
even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and
drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh
of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of
lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and
drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for
you. 20 Thus ye shall be filled at my
table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith
the Lord GOD.”
REFLECTION
11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give
unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the
east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall
they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of
Hamongog. 12 And seven months shall the
house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
The stink will rise up from the land
for many months, from the remains of the bodies of the fallen, and they will
all be buried in the land of Israel. Their remains will be granted decent
burial there, in the land they came to destroy they will lie in their graves,
and there await their turn to be called to the Great White Throne before being
sent to the Lake of Fire. All who travel
through the land to the feasts in the last years of peace before the Great
Tribulation begins will have to block their noses, the smell of death will be
so heavy in the air.
It will take seven months to bury all
the obvious bodies of the dead, there will be so many of them, but the terrible
job is to be done, and the land is cleansed of the blood that has polluted it.
If tactical nuclear weapons are used, as it would appear from the text, then
the time frame is understandable, as a thorough search needs to be made for
body parts, and some will pop up for years to come. It will be a time of holy actions by the
believing Jewish people, as they bury the dead, and then, after seven long
months undertake a solemn seven day purification of the land and people from
the blood shed. Numbers 19:16-22, Deuteronomy 21. This marks a turning point in
the religious life of the land itself, with a priesthood now possibly operating
as a result of these events.
My suspicion is that the nature and
carnage of this invasion and its clear fulfilment of these two chapters move
the Israeli people to return fully to the Law of Moses and apply its rituals,
even to the rebuilding of the Temple on the Temple Mount. The support of the
Arabian nations at the outset of and all through the invasion may also point to
this. If the Saudis support them, and they are “guardians of the holy places of
Islam”, then a treaty may be envisaged that would allow the new temple to go up
alongside the Mosques, with peace between surviving Jew and surviving Arab, for
all have been through this invasion together.
It appears that the Sunni Moslem Arabs share the battles and their lands
experience the carnage of this invasion.
There are many world changing things behind these verses that will only
be clear when they occur! The great
earthquake that starts the battles may even flatten the ancient mosques and the
whole site may be a rebuilding site for the two great religions.
13 Yea, all the
people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day
that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 14 And they shall sever out men of continual
employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that
remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months
shall they search.
All the people of the land will be
involved in this task, under their political and religious leadership. It is
vital that all take part, horrible though it is, for it underlines the evil and
nasty consequences of sin. Every person will have their stomach turn by this
work, and so there are special “decontamination teams” set up for the task of
burying the dead. This would be expected especially if the dead are
contaminated by nuclear fallout and special training and processes are needed.
There is enough time during this clean
up period for all the survivors in the land to fully understand God’s holiness
and his reasons for this judgment, for they have seen the consequences of their
own sin upon their land. There is a special group of body buriers who travel
the land even after the seven months is up to search out for any piles of bones
left behind after the initial seven months, to ensure all are buried. They will
purify the land of the bodies of the fallen and the land will have material
prosperity again for the last years of this Age, underlining the grace and
mercy and provision of the Lord, in his ability to restore all things to peace.
15 And the passengers
that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a
sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. 16 And also the name of the city shall be
Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
The bones of the dead are to be
identified and all buried away by the special burial teams. Even though the
peace upon the earth may last only a few more years before the Great Tribulation
begins, the purity of the land is to be maintained. In these little things we
see the care the Lord wants us to take of all things in our own lives, to root
out thoughts of evil and so keep ourselves pure before him. It is like the
cleansing of the temple by the Lord before his ministry and just before it ends
to ensure that the message of the temple sacrifices gets clearly out to all.
The cleansing of the land at this time is a preparation for the Israelis for
the days soon to come for them in the tribulation period.
All travellers through the land will be
briefed on what they are to do, and every fragment of bone seen is to be marked
and the teams of buriers will search and find them and bury them immediately.
They will cleanse the land, and live in the city named in verse 16 as Hamonah
(the place of the multitude), in the Valley of burial, until the work is
done. These people do a dirty and
defiling job, but they do it as unto the Lord and they are blessed by their
obedience. The city of Hamonah becomes a memorial, as does the valley of
burial; a reminder to all of the terrible consequences of fighting against
God.
This is a vital piece of evidence for
the people entering the Great Tribulation, so that they have a physical witness
to the Lord’s power to judge, so that anyone who seeks the Lord may
remember. They can know that He will
indeed be victorious, as He was against Gog-Magog, and they can be assured that
Antichrist is a liar and will also fall just as Gog did in his evil plans!
One commentator has worked out if a
million able bodied men are in the land, and each one buries one corpse per day
over seven months, then with Sabbath days off work the total could be over
180,000,000 contaminated corpses of men and animals! The valley described is
filled to the top with the dead of the rebellious nations! The vastness of this
carnage and its aftermath is staggering, beyond words, but the figures given by
the commentator are vastly overstated for after nuclear weapon use it is parts
of bodies that are being identified and buried but the numbers of people killed
is clearly excessive.
17 And, thou son of
man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every
beast of the field come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I
do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that
ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18 Ye
shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
The birds of the lands close by the
nation Israel are gathered to eat the flesh of the fallen and they feast
themselves for the seven months of the burial process. The Lord offers the
birds this sacrifice as a gift to them for these last years of the final Age of
rebellious man upon the degenerate earth. They not only eat the flesh of men,
but also of all the animals of the land. The battles and the use of fire-based
(Nuclear) weapons indiscriminately kill all living things over the mountains
that are not hidden by the Lord. The blotting out of all life upon the hills of
Israel is total, with hundreds of thousands of men and animals slaughtered in a
day, and buried over the seven months.
19 And ye shall eat
fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which
I have sacrificed for you. 20 Thus ye
shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with
all men of war, saith the Lord your God.
The table for the feast of the birds is
groaning under the weight of the corpses of the fallen. There is a total end of
all invasion forces here, and as we have already seen, with only 1/6th
of the men who came against the land of God alive at the end, if that. It may
be that all the evil invaders are killed by the weapons used against them and
only their support units well back from the front escape. Only at the time will the figure of 1/6th
be seen and understood, and form more evidence that the words of the Bible hold
true, and so the book of Revelation is to be fulfilled literally, just as
Ezekiel has been!
PASTORAL APPLICATION
1. TO REBEL AGAINST GOD IS A FOOLISH
AND FATAL THING. All who rebel against the PLAN OF GOD are cast down, and all
who hate God must face their maker and realise their hatred was an evil thing
for which they are rightly judged. The
end of this invasion is the last great prophetic trumpet call to mankind before
the Rapture/Great Tribulation.
2. SOME JOBS ARE DIRTY AND HARD, BUT
THEY ARE TO BE DONE. The burial parties are doing a job that hinders their
eating, their sleep, and their worship, but the job is to be done “as unto the
Lord”, and these people do it cheerfully before the Lord, and make their
prayers to the Lord as they go. The Lord may call us to dirty work, and if so,
we are to relax, and freely serve the Lord in joy and peace.
EZEKIEL 39:21 - 29
“21. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the
heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid
upon them. 22 So the house of Israel
shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. 23 And the heathen shall know that the house of
Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against
me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their
enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24
According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions
have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I
bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of
Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26 After that they have borne their shame, and
all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt
safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them again from the
people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in
them in the sight of many nations; 28
Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to
be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their
own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29 Neither will I hide my face any more from
them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord
GOD.”
REFLECTION
21. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the
heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have
laid upon them. 22 So the house of
Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
The Lord acts to ensure all know the
truth about who rules and who is God. The fallen proclaim his power in their
deaths and the living praise him for their life and deliverance from/through
such carnage. Psalms 76:1-12, Haggai 2:21-22. Those nations and people who
remain “heathen” will know before their judgment that they are judged by the
God they have ignored, and that their judgment is righteous, and the saved of
Israel will praise the Lord, and for the rest of time will affirm the truth
about the character and acts of Almighty God.
The writer here records these things as
if even the people of God have forgotten the truth. After 2000 years of
wandering the earth for Israel it is possible to forget the Lord’s character,
as the daily grind of life distracts from holiness, and people fall into a
formalistic religious observance rather than a living faith. This great
invasion is a wake up call to Israel and appears to prepare them for the last
great challenge they face before they welcome their Messiah. Zechariah
12:10ff. The terrible Holocaust of
1942-1945 saw the establishment of Israel as a nation again, but as a secular
State, in “dry bones” unbelief in accordance with Ezekiel 37. The events described in Ezekiel 38-39 appear
to move the nation towards the revival that breaks out in the Great Tribulation
period, and prepares them, by their return to the Law of Moses, for the return
of the one Moses spoke of.
Today, Israel, like most other nations
is narcissistic in its life and religions.
A sense of “entitlement” to good things is one of the diagnostic
pointers to the problem of Narcissism. In the Bible such an attitude is simply
referred to as “pride” and arrogance. It is the root of the Devil’s problem and
is the destroyer of blessing, and the bringer of judgment upon those who have
become so self centred. This great invasion of Gog-Magog is the end of
narcissism for many in Israel, and the start of a revival of interest in
spiritual things that leads to their salvation as a nation in the Great
Tribulation period. Zechariah 12:10ff.
Christ centeredness is the only remedy
for self centeredness; for if the Lord is our centre, then we have true
stability, and a true assessment of our worth and place in the world. This
issue of self centeredness remains the great challenge to all mankind,
throughout all the ages of history. We
are challenged to daily turn from preoccupation with self, and lean upon,
worship, and depend upon, the person and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalms
9:9-10, 15-20, 32:1-11, Jeremiah 31:34-35, John 17:1-5, 1 John 5:20. This great invasion, the major earthquake,
and the carnage filled conventional and nuclear war at this time is the last
“wake up call” for man before the Anti-Christ makes his move.
23 And the heathen
shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity:
because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave
them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24 According
to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto
them, and hid my face from them.
Having spoken of things yet 2600+ years
away, the prophet now turns things back to the Exiles of his own day. None
there know that these events are so far away, and so without the reference
point we now have from the writings of John the Apostle, they can apply the
prophecy directly to themselves. This is all right to do. All prophetic truth is to be applied directly
into the present day, with it’s lessons of power and encouragement applied into
the daily life of the people of God. All
scripture is for us, even if its primary application is not “to us”.
The people in the Exile need to see
that their slavery is a means to bring glory to God; that their apparent curse,
is indeed a blessing in the Lord. In the plan of God, the Lord brings good out
of apparent evil, when his people turn their lives and ways over to him. They
have suffered exactly what the Lord through Moses said they would; they have no
complaint against the Lord, for he warned them thoroughly. Leviticus 26,
Deuteronomy 31:17-18, 32:19-30. This
later invasion described by Ezekiel is the start of the breakthrough of the
Holy Spirit’s ministry of conviction upon Israel and the nations that will lead
to the salvation of multitudes during the Great Tribulation period. As the Exiles looked back to the words of
Moses, so the people of a yet future day will look back to Ezekiel and bow
before the Lord as God indeed.
The unbelieving nations of Ezekiel’s
day will see that the Israelites have gone into captivity due to their sins,
and they will learn from this fact. The
question remains, will Israel learn from these terrible coming events also? They rejected God, opposed his will, and
disobeyed his commands, and so they perished at the hand of their enemies. They
have been punished in direct relationship to their evils. Sin separates us from
blessing. Psalms 66:18, Isaiah 1:15, Jeremiah 2:9-19, 5:25, Habakkuk 1:13.
There is hope for Israel as the Holy Spirit begins his work upon them as a
direct result of this great invasion. It will bear full fruit in the midst and
at the end of the Great Tribulation.
Zechariah 12:10ff.
The way is open for restoration of
blessing, and it remains the same throughout history; it is the way of
repentance and forgiveness. Isaiah 1:16-20, 3:10-11, 59:16-19. In Ezekiel’s day they had all these words of
Isaiah and could have turned to them at any time and changed their viewpoint.
After the news of the fall of the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC they will indeed
return to the Lord through the ministries of Jeremiah’s words, and Ezekiel and
Daniel, and blessing will flow again to them and then to their grandchildren,
as they return to the land in 535 BC. The revival that Ezekiel leads is just a
foretaste of the great revival that will flow directly from the Gog-Magog
invasion.
25 Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have
mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
26 After that they have borne their
shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when
they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
The promise of return is again given.
Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, as we have seen so many times, remind the people
that they are not totally cut off, and that they will return to the Lord their
God. The Lord will bring them all back to the land and rebuild the nation from
this remnant, and he will remain “jealous for his holy name”. The standards of
God will not change throughout history; they will remain the same, and all men
and women must come to terms with God in truth, not expect God to change to
make it easier for them! It is this pride, when man thinks God should change
for him, that leads to disaster.
That viewpoint leads people to join
satanic plots and plans, and finally they join Satan in the Lake of Fire, for
that was his sin. Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28.
Satan expected God to change the rules for him, and to lift him up and
share his glory with him, but God will not share his glory with any who demand
it. The great good news of the Bible is that God gives us of his glory in and
through our relationship with Christ Jesus. We receive glory in Christ by
grace, but we are to receive his glory in humility and truth. The truth is we remain his creation, and do
not lift ourselves up above our place in the order of created beings. He lifts us up; we do not lift up ourselves!
1 Peter 5:6-7.
The people Ezekiel speaks to will be
blessed in the day when they return from Babylonian Exile, and when they return
again after the Lord’s Second Advent, and when they return to their hills after
the defeat of Gog and his army. Three times will they return to the mountains
of Israel, and three times they will be blessed by the Lord and will dwell in
safety again. Each time will be after great pressures have been applied to them
and they have faced their sin and dealt with all that has separated them from
fellowship with their maker and their Saviour. Psalms 99:1-9, Jeremiah 3:22-24.
Just as Moses had recorded the Lord’s Word regarding restoration, so they will
be restored; but after their repentance! Leviticus 26:3-6, 40-45, Deuteronomy
30:1-10. This occurs in 535 BC and will occur again after the Great Tribulation
ends with the return of the Lord. Zechariah 12-14.
27 When I have
brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies'
lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their
God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have
gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29 Neither will I hide my face any more
from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the
Lord GOD.
The restoration of the nation will be
full and final in the end, with no Israelites left in any other land then
Israel after the Lord’s return. From this passage it may be that the invasion
of Gog leads to the capture of many Israelites, and if that is so, then there
is a promise of full restoration of them all. In each earlier time of invasion
there was a dispersion of the Israelites, and the Lord promises a full restoration
of them all.
In the return of the 6th
Century BC, 535 BC, the majority of the Jewish people stayed behind in Babylon,
and the colony of Jews there remained strong until the Medieval period. There
were more Jews in Alexandria in Egypt than in Jerusalem when the last great
revolt began in 67 AD, and the numbers of the diaspora exceeded the number of
Jews in Israel until 2015. The Jews
world wide today are roughly equal to the number their fellows in the land in
2015.
The return in the days of the Lord’s
Second Advent is full, final and complete. They will then have a thousand final
years of blessing in their land before this old world and its tired universe is
wound up. There will be a full and final last pouring of the Holy Spirit upon
all the surviving believers in the end of the ages of mankind upon this present
earth. The ages of fallen man end in blood in the Tribulation, but are finished
in the fire of the Spirit before the last day of the winding up of all things
associated with this present creation and it’s replacement by another eternal
one.
PASTORAL APPLICATION
1. EVIL IS FINALLY TO BE REPLACED BY
WORSHIP in ETERNITY. The end of this phase of the history of fallen mankind is
God’s judgment. The Lord wipes all tears away, and the world finally completes
it’s life with the blessing of the creator upon it and it’s surviving people,
and he brings them through into a new universe, where the limits of space and
time no longer apply, and where Satan and all his angels and human servants are
no more remembered.
2. PRE-OCCUPATION WITH SELF HIDES MAN
FROM FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. We must challenge all people to step outside their
own self centeredness and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. The Devil
always tries to get people to be preoccupied with their own things, and all our
efforts are to be directed at this challenge; to lift the eyes up and see God
for who He is.
3. THE PLAN OF GOD IS CERTAIN. From
2600+ years in the past, the words of Ezekiel will burn into the hearts and
minds of the people of the closing days of the world before the Lord’s Second
Advent, and they will all know that this is truly the work of God. There will
be plenty of evidence of God’s work to counter the satanic deception of those
days.
