Hi all,
We left off last week detailing the recent news of a series of economic and military agreements between several Arab nations and Israel which fulfill prophecy. Here is some detail of Ezekiel’s prophecy.
Gog in (of) the land of Magog
Ezekiel 38 opens with God saying He is against Gog, ruler of the land of Magog. The classic understanding of the land of Magog is the area north of Turkey, modern Russia and Central Asia, former USSR nations.
It should be noted that God does not say He is against the people of Magog (Russia), but just against the ruler of Magog, whom He calls ‘Gog’. Magog was originally Noah’s grandson through Japheth. The name means ‘rooftop’, alluding to Magog moving north after the flood to the area now known as Russia.
In verses 4-7, speaking to that ruler, God says He will ‘put hooks into your jaws, you and your army’ and they will be drawn into the Middle East. This indicates Russia will be drawn into a Middle Eastern conflict but not wanting to do so, at least not at the first. Thus the hook.
Prophetically speaking, Christians and Jews have been looking to see what the ‘hook’ is that first draws them into the Middle East. If we look at current headlines, it would be their involvement with Syria and Turkey. Verses 10-12 tells us Gog, the ruler of Russia, while in the Middle East with all those forces, has an evil thought: Take Israel.
In fact the verses specifically state at that time Israel will be at peace within their borders. I have long suggested for this to happen there must be a local or regional alliance to give Israel peace locally, while on a larger level Gog and his allies plan their demise – and these peace accords would seem to play a part in that local peace.
Ezekiel 38: 7 tells Russia to ‘be a guard to them’, meaning the nations which are named. Those nations include Togarmah, which is ancient Turkey. Persia, which is ancient Iran. Some of ancient Persia included modern Iraq, so there could be possible development between those 2 nations.
Also Libya which is the same today, and ‘Ethiopia’, which in Ezekiel’s time was largely northern Sudan, now a Muslim nation. It also mentions ‘Gomer’, which are the people north of the Black Sea, in southern Russia in our day.
Ezekiel 38 speaks of an alliance between these nations with Russia as the ‘guard’ uniting them, and that they will be be drawn into a Middle East by a hook, and then once there, have an evil though to invade Israel.
On the other side we have this alliance…
When the alliance gathers its forces and comes ‘as a cloud to cover the land’ (Air assault?), verse 13 says these nations will take exception to the attack:
“Sheba and Dedan, and the Merchants of Tarshish, and all the young lions thereof, will say to you (Gog): “Do you think you can come and take a spoil? Have you gathered your army to make them a prey? Do you think you will carry away a spoil of silver and gold and cattle and goods in a great spoil?”
The classic understanding of these nations is that there would be an alliance between Sheba and Dedan, which is understood to include the modern areas of Saudi Arabia and the (moderate) Persian Gulf nations.
Tarshish is Spain, so the merchants of Tarshish would be those nations settled by the merchants of Spain – which is the Americas. The phrase ‘and all the young lions thereof’ in classic understanding, is Great Britain and their symbol of the lion. Therefore the nations which are ‘offspring’ in the blood line of Britain.
Understand the 2 points made by Ezekiel: Besides the Arab alliance, the other nations which support Israel were founded for economic motives from Spain, and blood line from Britain. That is why the US has always long been believed to lead the alliance with Israel against the invading forces.
Prophecy watchers have been waiting for an Arab alliance that would side with the west and Israel when this war comes to pass. That is what these agreements in the news mean that have taken place since November 2017 through his summer of 2020.
How the war starts – what to look for in the headlines
Where is the US, what causes Gog to think he can take Israel, what the war will look like and how it ends. That’s for next week, until then,
Blessings,
John Fenn
