ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES--THE WAR OF GOG AND MAGOG

Part One—The War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39)

 

Romans 11:25-26 prophesies of the future salvation of Israel:  “²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.²⁶ And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…” at the return of Jesus Christ (Zechariah 12-13).  The referenced salvation will not take place, according to this passage, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”  What this means is that God’s dealing with the Gentiles will come to a close and the scales will be removed from the eyes of the Jews, causing them to recognize that Jesus of Nazareth is their long awaited Messiah.  But, before the national conversion of the Jews takes place they will suffer what Jeremiah called the time of Jacob’s trouble:  Jer. 30:7, “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”  This time of Jacob’s trouble we believe will begin when the “prince that shall come” (the Antichrist) (Daniel 9:26) breaks a covenant of peace with Israel in the middle of the 70^th week of Daniel (a period of seven years):  verse 27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”  

I believe that the Rapture of the Church will take place before the commencement of the final seven years of this age.  Referring to the vision of seventy weeks that Daniel described in Daniel 9:24-27, the prophet wrote that there will be three divisions of the seventy weeks:  7 weeks (49 years) from the command to restore and to rebuild the city of Jerusalem until its completion, 62 weeks from the restoration of Jerusalem until the Messiah is cut off (crucified), and one week for the consummation of the ages (the tribulation period).  We know that the end of the final seven years will be marked by the Second Coming.  What is not mentioned is what initiates its beginning.  Consistency with the first two divisions demands that the final division be clearly marked as to its beginning.  I believe the beginning will be marked either by the War of Gog and Magog (Ezk. 38-39), or the Rapture.  Ezekiel’s prophecy seems to imply that no nation will come to the aid of Israel when she is attacked by the nations mentioned in this prophecy.  Because both Paul and John prophesied that the church is not appointed to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9), and will be kept from the hour of temptation that shall try all that dwell upon the earth (Re. 3:10), it is probable that the Rapture will take place just before the war.  So, you see, there are still a great many things to take place in regards to Israel before the end.  For the next three studies we will examine:  (1)  The War of Gog and Magog, (2)  The Third Temple, and (3) The War of Armageddon.

 

Nations from six regions of the earth will invade Israel before the Great Tribulation:  Gog (the leader of a Russian led invasion-Meshech and Tubal), Persia (Middle East), Libya (North Africa), Ethiopia (Sudan), Gomer (Eastern Europe), and Togarmah (Turkey).  Considering the present geo-political makeup of modern national alliances it is interesting that these regions are currently in league; either by mutual defense treaties, by trade, or by mutual interest.  In regards to Israel all of them have in the past been involved in aggression against Israel and have been repulsed or defeated by Israel.  

Up to the very present Russia has been a key supplier of arms and expertise to Israel’s foes.  Russia is the most offensive persecutor of Jews in modern times; with the exception of Nazi Germany).  During purges by Stalin it has been estimated that upwards of a million Jews were slaughtered by the Communists.  Russia continues to interfere in the Middle East siding against Israel by supplying her neighbors with arms and supplies for use against her.  Having a large Islamic presence in her southern region Russia unsurprisingly will be involved in this invasion of Israel.  Another possibility is that due to Russian treaties with both Syria and Iran, an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel, or a major strike by Israel upon Syria could initiate Russia’s mutual defense treaties with either of these nations.

To the east of Israel, Iran has been progressing with its nuclear program, having boasted publicly that their goal is the annihilation of Israel.  Israel has stated that a nuclear Iran is not an option.  A preemptive strike against Iran is long overdue, and is a strong contender as the spark that will initiate an invasion of Israel as described in Ezekiel 38.

Long a moderate Islamic state, Turkey, since the election of its current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has began a swift shift from moderation to radical Islam.  Now a vocal opponent of Israel, Turkey’s government for the first time in modern history is ideally positioned to join a confederation of invaders into Israel.

Of the other nations from the Middle East, North Africa and Sudan; all are Islamic in population and governments.  All are hostile to Israel, and oppose the presence of an Israeli state in the Middle East.  For the first time, these nations are bound by treaties, and possess the same agenda concerning Israel.  The conditions for the invasion spoken of by Ezekiel need no further refinement.  We could be on the brink of this event that many believe will initiate the beginning of the end (the Rapture, the rise of Antichrist, and Armageddon).

Since this is a commentary of Israel’s future, let’s consider the possible climate in the nation leading up to this war.  Ezekiel said in 38:8 that the Jews will be dwelling peacefully at this time.  It may be that the covenant of peace spoken of by Daniel 9:27 will have been ratified.  Perhaps the result of a successful military operation of Israel against Iran will cause the United Nations to ratchet up the peace process; drafting a treaty calling for a moratorium on hostilities to last seven years. It may also be that the conditions of said peace accord will provoke these nations to make their assault.  Perhaps even an allowing for of the construction of a new temple on the Temple Mount (?)  The Israelis have proven to be too powerful militarily for her neighbors in the past six decades, so this may be their final thrust to push Israel out of the Middle East.

What we know from Ezekiel’s prophecy is that when they begin their move toward Israel other nations will inquire of their intent:  verse 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?”  The nations making this inquiry are Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish.  Some modern experts link Sheba and Dedan to Saudia Arabia; while others think that Tarshish is a reference to Great Britain.  The young lions thereof, they believe refer to her colonies; of which the United States would be one.  If this view is correct, it seems that these nations will not intervene.  Perhaps their inquiry will be manifested in a U.N. condemnation. 

God, Himself, therefore, will intervene for Israel.  Chapter 39 describes the outcome of the invasion.  God will destroy five sixths of the army that shall invade Israel.  The might of Russia will be destroyed at that time.  Verse 9 says that Israel will spoil the enemy, using their weapons as a source of energy for the next seven years.  What is significant about seven years at this time in history?  The final period of time after the Rapture of the Church will be the seven year period known commonly as the Great Tribulation!  This is further cause to think that the War of Gog and Magog may be the starting point of Daniel’s seventieth week.

Next week:  Part Two—The Temple Rebuilt