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May 2009

Ezekiel 38 & 39
Thomas D. Ice
Liberty University, [email protected]

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 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part I
by Thomas Ice

The battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is one of the most debated items
in the area of biblical prophecy. Commentator Ralph Alexander said, “One of the
perennial enigmas of Biblical prophecy has been the Gog and Magog event described in
Ezekiel 38 and 39.”1 Almost every aspect of this ancient prophecy has been disputed,
including whether it was fulfilled in the past or is still a future prophecy. Who are the
peoples involved and do they relate to modern nations? How should we understand
the weapons that are described? If a future event, when does it take place on the
prophetic timeline? This is why I want to attempt an in-depth analysis of this important
passage.

REAL OR ONLY IMAGINED?

One of the first things to handle when dealing with this or any Biblical prophecy is
whether or not the God and Ezekiel intended to communicate a message that would be
fulfilled in history. Since I believe that all Biblical prophecy intends historical
fulfillment, there is nothing in this passage that would suggest differently. However,
there is a school of interpretation, primarily among liberal scholars, that does not
believe that the Ezekiel passage (or most prophetic Scripture) was meant to give a
prophecy that would be fulfilled in history. This view is often known as idealism. The
idealist does not believe either that the Bible indicates the timing of events or that we can
determine their timing in advance. Therefore, idealists see prophetic passages as a
teacher of great truths about God to be applied to our present lives. Idealists believe
that the Bible uses prophetic passages to present principles between “a message that is
universal and abiding. That message is not bound to any particular time or place even
though these terms and expressions represent scenes taken from countries surrounding
the Mediterranean Sea and other places in the Middle East.”2
One who advocates a non-historical, idealist approach to Bible prophecy is Brent
Sandy in his Plowshares & Pruning Hooks.3 Typical of those under the spell of today’s
postmodern influence, Sandy exalts the interpretative process at the expense of arriving
at a definite theology. Sandy’s doublespeak is evident in the following:

The limitations of prophecy as a source of information for the future were

demonstrated with examples from various prophetic parts of Scripture. It
became evident that the predicative element of prophecy is more translucent
than transparent. Prophecy is always accurate in what it intends to reveal,
but rarely does it reveal information so that we may know the future in
advance. Figures of speech function to describe not the details of what is
going to happen but the seriousness of what is going to happen.4

So typical of those evangelicals who want to assign to biblical prophecy some special
category or literary genre they call “apocalyptic,” Sandy says, “interpreters must
withhold judgment on many particulars of prophecy, unambiguous prophetic themes
abound throughout Scripture, centering on the second coming of Jesus the Messiah.”5
Sandy concludes, “if my conclusions about the language of prophecy and apocalyptic
are correct, all systems of eschatology are subject to reconsideration.”6 It should not be
surprising, since Sandy is beholden to a postmodern mindset that he believes that the
 -2-

correct understanding of the Bible’s eschatological message will be composed of a blend

of all the different prophetic views.7
One thing is clear about Sandy and the emerging evangelical “scholarly” view is that
prophecy should not be taken literally, as has been done by dispensationalists. And
they say we know this, primarily, because the prophetic portions of the Bible are
apocalyptic, which were not intended to be taken literally. They may not be able to tell
you what these sections of Scripture actually mean, but this one thing they know:
prophecy should not be interpreted literally (that is according to the historical,
grammatical approach) and prophecy is primarily about ideas and principles, not
future historical events. “The ‘mythical’ understanding of these nations and the
prophecy that involves them fails to convey to us,” notes Jon Ruthven, “the sense of a
concrete, literal event that seems justified by what is described in Ezekiel—especially to
chapters 38–39.”8

VARIOUS TIMING VIEWS

Prophecy expert, Mark Hitchcock notes: “By far, the most controversial issue in
Ezekiel 38–39 is the setting or timing of the invasion. The specific time of the invasion
in Ezekiel 38 is difficult to determine.”9 There is no doubt that this is the greatest
problem to overcome in our understanding of this passage. In fact, the various
positions are labeled according to one’s view concerning when these events will be
fulfilled.
Among those who believe that the Gog-led invasion is historical, some believe that it
has already occurred. For example, preterist Gary says, “The battle in Ezekiel 38 and 39
is clearly an ancient one . . .”10 When does he believe that this battle took place?
Amazingly, DeMar and only a handful of commentators insist that Ezekiel 38 and 39
was fulfilled by the events described in Esther 9, occurring in about 473 B.C. in the days
of Queen Esther of Persia.11 The other views that take this invasion as a historical event
place its occurrence in a time future to our day.
Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in their best-selling novel Left Behind,12 place this
invasion of Israel right before the rapture of the church. The strength of this position is
that it accounts for the burning of the weapons of war for seven years as mentioned in
Ezekiel 39:9. However, Tim LaHaye has told me personally that even though they
represented a pre-rapture position on Ezekiel 38 and 39 in their novel, he tends to place
it after the rapture but before the tribulation.
The next view, which is the one I hold at this time, is that it will happen after the
rapture but before the tribulation. It will be during the interval of days, weeks, months
or years between the rapture and the start of the seven-year tribulation.13 This view also
accounts for the seven years of Ezekiel 39:9. I have always thought that one of the
strengths of this view is the way in which it could set the stage for the Biblical scenario
of the tribulation. If the tribulation is closely preceded by a failed regional invasion of
Israel, in other words Russia and her Muslim allies, then this would remove much of
the Russian and Muslim influence currently in the world today and allow a Euro-centric
orientation to arise. So the tribulation is preceded by a failed regional attack on Israel
and this is why the tribulation ends with all the peoples of the world attacking Israel at
Armageddon. It could also set the stage for the rebuilding of the Temple as a result of
Islamic humiliation.
Perhaps the most widely held view put forth within dispensational literature is that
this invasion will take place around the middle of the seven-year tribulation. This view
often identifies Ezekiel 38 and 39 with an invasion of the king of the north in Daniel
 -3-

11:40. Another major argument is based upon the statement that Israel will be “living
securely, all of them” (Ezek. 38:8), which is the result of the false peace brought by the
anti-Christ in the first half of the tribulation. This view has a lot in its favor.
A significant number of Bible teachers believe that the Gog and Magog event is
synonymous with what the Book of Revelation calls the Campaign of Armageddon
(Rev. 16:16).14 Since Armageddon is a huge invasion of Israel around the time of the
second coming and the invasion of Israel described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is said to be in
“the latter years” (Ezek. 38:8) and “in the last days” (Ezek. 38:16), then they must be the
same event. A similar, but slightly different view is that the invasion occurs after the
second coming of Christ, during the interlude between the tribulation and the start of
the millennium. The main argument for this view is that Israel would be dwelling in
peace (Ezek. 38:8).
The last major view is that the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will occur at the end of the
millennium. The basis for this view is significant since Revelation 20:7–9 speaks of a
conflict at the end of the millennium when Satan is released. Verse 8 says, “(Satan) will
come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corner of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together for the war . . .” The strength of this view is obvious,
Gog and Magog are specifically mentioned in the text.
In our next installment I will begin a systematic study of Ezekiel 38 and 39 as we
examine the issue that will help us understand our Lord’s intended meaning of this
great prophecy. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Ralph H. Alexander, “A Fresh Look At Ezekiel 38 and 39,” Journal of The Evangelical Theological Society,
vol. 17 (Summer, 1974), p. 157.
2
Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, Revelation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), p. 43.
3
D. Brent Sandy, Plowshares & Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002).
4
Sandy, Plowshares, p. 197.
5
Sandy, Plowshares, p. 203.
6
Sandy, Plowshares, p. 206.
7
Sandy, Plowshares, p. 250, f.n. 14.
8
Jon Mark Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New Research on Ezekiel’s Vision of the End
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003), p. 30.
9
Mark Hitchcock, Iran The Coming Crisis: Radical Islam, Oil, And The Nuclear Threat (Sisters, OR:
Multnomah, 2006), p. 178.
10
Gary DeMar, “Ezekiel’s Magog Invasion: Future or Fulfilled?” Biblical Worldview Magazine, vol. 22
(December, 2006), p. 5.
11
Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of the Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 2001), pp. 12–15.
12
Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1995),
pp. 9–15.
13
Arnold Fruchtenbaum defends this view in The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of
Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), pp. 106–25.
14
This view is held by Dave Hunt, How Close Are We? (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992).
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part II
by Thomas Ice

And the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, set
your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh,
Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
—Ezekiel 38:1–2

“This was the final message in this series of six night oracles delivered by Ezekiel,”
notes Ralph Alexander. “A central concern throughout all these night messages had
been the possession of the land of Israel.” “This series of night oracles was given to
encourage the exiles that ultimately God would remove these invaders and restore this
land to Israel.”1 A wonderful message indeed to which those who love Israel still look
forward to today!
This prophecy is divided into two major sections. In the first section Ezekiel reveals
the invasion by Gog with his allies (38:1–16). The second section reveals to us God’s
judgment that will befall Gog and his associates (38:17—39:16). This great prophecy
begins with Ezekiel noting that it was not his idea to deal with the matter of Gog’s
invasion of Israel instead it was God who imitated and communicated this prophecy
through verbal revelation, “the word of the LORD came to me saying.”

SON OF MAN
Ezekiel is called “son of man” throughout the book. “Son of man” is used 93 times
in Ezekiel to refer to the prophet, with the first use found in 2:1. Why is Ezekiel so often
addressed by God as “son of man” when he is about to receive revelation from the
Lord? It appears that “son of man” underscores his humanity in relation to God. In
other words, God is the One who is the Revealer while Ezekiel, as a human, is the
recipient of the Divine message that he is to pass on to other human beings. Thus,
Ezekiel is passing on to us the infallible prophecy of these two chapters, which will
surly come to pass.

SET YOUR FACE TOWARD GOG

Ezekiel is told to set his face “toward” or “against” Gog. The Brown, Driver, and
Briggs (BDB) Hebrew Lexicon says, the Hebrew word translated “toward” is a
preposition that denotes “motion to or direction towards (whether physical or
mental).”2 BDB also tells us that when “the motion or direction implied appears from
the context to be of a hostile character,” then it has a negative connotation and would be
translated “against.” Ezekiel is told to turn his face in the direction of the nation Gog,
because the Lord is against him. Later in the sentence the text says for Ezekiel to
“prophesy against him,” that is Gog. The sense of this passage is that God is initiating
the attack by Gog against Israel and the Lord is against or opposed to Gog and his
allies. But just who is Gog? The identification of Gog has been a greatly debated issue.
The Hebrew proper noun “Gog” occurs 12 times in the Hebrew Old Testament.3 All
but one use occurs in Ezekiel 38 and 39 (Ezek. 8:2, 3, 14, 16, 18; 39:1 [2x], 11 [3x], 15).
The only non-Ezekiel occurrence is in 1 Chronicles 5:4 and says, “The sons of Joel were
Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son.” Other than demonstrating it was a real,
proper name, the 1 Chronicles reference contributes nothing to our study of its use in
Ezekiel and is not related to the Gog of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Whoever he is, Gog appears
 -2-

in this context to be a person, leader and ruler that God has told Ezekiel to prophesy
against. Because of the frequent use of Gog in this passage, “we conclude, therefore,
that Gog is the most important person or nation in this coalition,”4 declare Mark
Hitchcock.
The passage says that Gog is from the land of Magog. Some have said that Gog is a
reference to the Antichrist. Charles Feinberg is right when he says, “but for this there is
not a shred of biblical or nonbiblical evidence.”5 Some have suggested that Gog is a
name “arbitrarily derived from the name of the country, Magog, but this is not valid
because Gog appears in 1 Chronicles 5:4.”6 “The name Gog means ‘high, supreme, a
height, or a high mountain.’”7 The only references to the Gog of Ezekiel’s prophecy
appear in the passage itself and there is virtually no information about Gog outside the
Bible in history. However, when Gog leads his invasion of Israel he is said to come
“from the remote parts of the north” (Ezek. 38:6). Louis Bauman tells us that “L. Sale-
Harrison says in his booklet, The Coming Great Northern Confederacy: ‘It is interesting to
note that the very word ‘Caucasus’ means ‘Gog’s Fort.’ ‘Gog’ and ‘Chasan’ (Fort) are
two Oriental words from which it is derived.’”8 So there does appear to be a faint
reference to Gog in the general area of Russia that Gog is likely to be from.
Who then is Gog? Bauman says, “Without doubt, Russia will furnish the man—not
the Antichrist—who will head up that which is known to most Bible students as ‘the
great northeastern confederacy’ of nations and lead it to its doom upon the hills of
Israel’s land.”9 Hitchcock believes “the reason Gog is singled out eleven times by God
in these two chapters is because God is the general over this coalition of nations in its
great military campaign against Israel.”10 Hal Lindsey tells us, “Gog is the symbolic
name of the nation’s leader and Magog is his land. He is also the prince of the ancient
people who were called Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”11 Arnold Fruchtenbaum informs
us: “Who Gog will be can only be determined at the time of the invasion, for ‘Gog’ is
not a proper name but a title for the rule of Magog, just as the terms ‘pharaoh,’ ‘kaiser,’
and ‘czar’ were titles for rulers and not proper names.”12

THE LAND OF MAGOG

Gog the leader of the invasion of the land of Israel is said to be “of the land of
Magog.” The proper noun Magog is used four times in the Hebrew text of the Old
Testament.13 Magog is used twice in the passage we are investigating (38:2; 39:6) and
twice in genealogies (Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:5). Genesis 10:2 says, “The sons of Japheth
were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras.” 1
Chronicles 1:5 is basically a repeat of the genealogical information from Genesis 10:2.
The fact that Magog is used in the table of nations (Genesis 10)14 provides a basis for
tracing the movement of one of the earliest post-flood descendants of Noah.
It appears that Ezekiel is using the names of peoples, primarily from the table of
nations, and where they lived at the time of the giving of this prophecy in the sixth
century B.C. Therefore, if we are able to find out where these people and places were in
the sixth century B.C. then we will be able to trace figure out who would be their
modern antecedents today. I believe we will be able to accomplish this task and be able
to know who will be involved in this battle if it were to come to pass in our own day.
It is probably fair to say that most scholars and experts would trace Magog’s
descendants to the ancient people that we know as the Scythians. Chuck Missler notes
that a wide collection of ancient historians “identified Magog with the Scythians and
southern Russia in the 7th century B.C.”15 These ancients include: Hesiod, Josephus,
Philo, and Herodotus.16 Josephus lived in the first century A.D. and said, “Magog
 -3-

founded the Magogians, thus named after him but who by the Greeks are called
Scythians.”17 Bauman tells us that Magog and his descendants must have immigrated
north after the Flood and that “the Magogites were divided into two distinct races, one
Japhetic, or European, and the other Turanian, or Asiatic.”18
Who are the Scythians? Edwin Yamauchi tells us that the Scythians were divided
into two groups, a narrow and broad grouping. “In the narrow sense, the Scythians
were the tribes who lived in the area which Herodotus designated as Scythia (i.e., the
territory north of the Black Sea),” notes Yamauchi. “In the broad sense the word
Scythian can designate some of the many other tribes in the vast steppes of Russia,
stretching from the Ukraine in the west to the region of Siberia in the east.”19

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Ralph Alexander, Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1976), p. 118.
2
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
3
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 6.4.
4
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 16.
5
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 220.
6
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 220.
7
Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 17
8
Louis S. Bauman, Russian Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1942), p. 23.
9
Bauman, Russian Events, p. 26.
10
Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 17
11
Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970), p. 63.
12
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 106.
13
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 6.4.
14
The table of nations is a term used for the records of the descendants Noah and his three sons: Ham,
Shem and Japheth. Every human being on planet earth is a descendant of Noah and his three sons. If we
could trace our genealogies far enough back we would find that we all descend from Noah through either
Ham, Shem or Japheth.
15
Chuck Missler, The Magog Invasion (Palos Verdes, CA: Western Front, 1995), p. 29.
16
Missler, Magog Invasion, pp. 29–31.
17
Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, vol. 1, vi, i as cited in Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 19.
18
Bauman, Russian Events, p. 23.
19
Edwin M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1982), p. 62.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part III
by Thomas Ice

“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
—Ezekiel 38:2

We have seen that Magog is a reference to the ancient Scythians, who gave rise to
later descendants that settled along the eastern and northern areas of the Black Sea.
“The descendants of ancient Magog—the Scythians—were the original inhabitants of
the plateau of central Asia, and later some of the these people moved into the area north
of the Black Sea. The homeland of ancient Scythians is inhabited today by the former
Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and
the Ukraine.”1 But who is “the prince of Rosh”?

THE ATTACK ON ROSH

The identification of Rosh is one of the most controversial and debated issues in the
entire Gog and Magog prophecy, even though it should not be. I believe when one
looks at the evidence it is overwhelming that this is a reference to the modern Russians.
However, we need to first look at the evidence for such a conclusion.
Preterist prophecy critic, Gary DeMar contends, “In Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, the
Hebrew word rosh is translated as if it were the name of a nation. That nation is
thought to be modern Russia because rosh sounds like Russia.”2 He then quotes “Edwin
M. Yamauchi, noted Christian historian and archeologist, writes that rosh ‘can have
nothing to do with modern ‘Russia.’”3 On a Bible Answer Man radio broadcast in
October 2002, the host, Hank Hanegraaff, asked Gary DeMar what he thought about
Tim LaHaye identifying Rosh as Russia, since the two words sound so much alike.
DeMar responded, “The idea that you can take a word in Hebrew that sounds like the
word in English, and then go with that and to create an entire eschatological position
based upon that is . . . it’s nonsense.” As I will show later, identification of the Hebrew
word rosh with Russia is not based upon similarity of sound. That is a flimsy straw man
that DeMar constructs so that he can appear to provide a credible criticism of our view
on this matter. DeMar then declares: “The best translation of Ezekiel 38:2 is ‘the chief
(head) prince of Meshech and Tubal.”4
Concerning the possibility of a Russian/Islamic invasion of Israel in the end times,
Marvin Pate and Daniel Hays say categorically, “The biblical term rosh has nothing to
do with Russia.”5 And later they state dogmatically, “These positions are not biblical. . .
. a Russian-led Muslim invasion of Israel is not about to take place.”6
A central issue in whether rosh refers to Russia is whether rosh is to be understood as
a proper noun (the Russia view) or should it be taken as an adjective (the non-Russia
view) and be translated in English as “chief.” This is a watershed issue for anyone who
wants to properly understand this passage.

REASONS ROSH REFERS TO RUSSIA

Now, I want to deal with reasons why rosh should be taken as a noun instead of an
adjective and then I will deal with whether it refers to Russia. The word rosh in Hebrew
simply means “head,” “top,” or “chief.”7 It is a very common word and is used in all
 -2-

Semitic languages. It occurs approximately seven hundred and fifty times in the Old
Testament, along with its roots and derivatives.8
The problem is that the word rosh in Ezekiel can be translated as either a proper
noun or an adjective. Many translations take rosh as an adjective and translate it as the
word “chief.” The King James Version, The Revised Standard Version, and the New
International Version all adopt this translation. However, the New King James, the
Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, American Standard Version, and New American
Standard Bible all translate rosh as a proper name indicating a geographical location.
The weight of the evidence favors taking rosh as a proper name. There are five
arguments that favor this view.
First, the eminent Hebrew scholars C. F. Keil and Wilhelm Gesenius both hold that
the better translation of Rosh in Ezekiel 38:2-3 and 39:1 is as a proper noun referring to a
specific geographical location.9 Gesenius, who died in 1842 and is considered by
modern Hebrew scholars as one of the greatest scholars of the Hebrew language,
unquestionably believed that Rosh in Ezekiel was a proper noun identifying Russia. He
says that rosh in Ezekiel 38:2,3; 39:1 is a, “pr. n. of a northern nation, mentioned with
Meshech and Tubal; undoubtedly the Russians, who are mentioned by the Byzantine
writers of the tenth century, under the name the Ros, dwelling to the north of Taurus . . .
as dwelling on the river Rha (Wolga).”10
This identification by Gesenius cannot be passed off lightly, as DeMar attempts to
do. Gesenius, as far as we know, was not even a premillennialist. He had no
eschatological, end time ax to grind. Yet, objectively, he says without hesitation that
Rosh in Ezekiel 38—39 is Russia. In his original Latin version of the lexicon, Gesenius
has nearly one page of notes dealing with the word Rosh and the Rosh people
mentioned in Ezekiel 38—39. This page of notes does not appear in any of the English
translations of Gesenius’ Lexicon. Those who disagree with Gesenius have failed to
refute his sizable body of convincing evidence identifying Rosh with Russia.11 I do not
know what DeMar would saw about this evidence since he never deals with it.
Second, the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament,
translates Rosh as the proper name Ros. This is especially significant since the Septuagint
was translated only three centuries after Ezekiel was written (obviously much closer to
the original than any modern translation).12 The mistranslation of Rosh in many
modern translations as an adjective can be traced to the Latin Vulgate of Jerome, which
did not appear until around A.D. 400.13 James Price, who has a Ph.D. in Hebrew from
Dropsie, which is the leading Jewish academic University in America says, “The origin
of the translation “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” is traced to the Latin Vulgate.
The early translators of the English Bible were quite dependent on the Latin Version for
help in translating difficult passages. They evidently followed Jerome in Ezek 38:2, 3;
39:1.”14 Price further explains the reason for the erroneous translation as follows:

Evidently by the second century A.D. the knowledge of the ancient land of
Rosh had diminished. And because the Hebrew word rosh was in such
common use as “head” or “chief,” Aquila was influenced to interpret rosh as
an adjective, contrary to the LXX [Septuagint] and normal grammatical
conventions. Jerome followed the precedent set by Aquila, and so
diminished the knowledge of ancient Rosh even further by removing the
name from the Latin Bible.
By the sixteenth century A.D. ancient Rosh was completely unknown in
the West, so the early English translators of the Bible were influenced by the
 -3-

Latin Vulgate to violate normal Hebrew grammar in their translation of

Ezekiel 38–39. Once the precedent was set in English, it was perpetuated in
all subsequent English Versions until this century when some modern
versions have taken exception. This ancient erroneous precedent should not
be perpetuated.15

Clyde Billington explains why Jerome went against most of the evidence and went with
a deviant translation:

Jerome himself admits that he did not base his decision on grammatical
considerations! Jerome seems to have realized that Hebrew grammar
supported the translation of “prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” and that it
did not support his own translation of “chief prince of Moshoch and Thubal.”
However, Jerome rejected translating Rosh as a proper noun because, “we
could not find the name of this race [i.e. the Rosh people] mentioned either in
Genesis or any other place in the Scriptures, or in Josephus. It was this non-
grammatical argument that convinced Jerome to adopt Aquila’s rendering of
Rosh as an adjective [“chief’] in Ezekiel 38–39.16

Third, many Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, in their articles on Rosh, support
taking it as a proper name in Ezekiel 38. Some examples: New Bible Dictionary, Wycliffe
Bible Dictionary, and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
Fourth, Rosh is mentioned the first time in Ezekiel 38:2 and then repeated in Ezekiel
38:3 and 39:1. If Rosh were simply a title, it would probably dropped in these two
places because in Hebrew when titles are repeated they are generally abbreviated.

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 23.
2
Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church (Powder Springs, GA: American
Vision, 1999), p. 363.
3
DeMar, Last Days Madness, p. 363. Quote from Edwin M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier:
Invading Hordes from the Russian Steppes (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1982), p. 20.
4
DeMar, Last Days Madness, p. 365.
5
C. Marvin Pate and J. Daniel Hays, Iraq—Babylon of the End Times? (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), p.
69.
6
Pate and Hays, Iraq, p. 136.
7
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
8
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 6.4.
9
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 159. Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the
Old Testament (Reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1949), p. 752.
10
Gesenius, Lexicon, p. 752.
11
Clyde E. Billington, Jr. “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy (Part One), Michigan Theological
 -4-

Journal 3:1 (Spring 1992), pp. 62-3.

12
The ancient Greek translations of Symmachus and Theodotian also translated Rosh in Ezekiel 38—39 as
a proper noun. Billington, “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy (Part One),” p. 59.
13
Clyde E. Billington, Jr., “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy (Part Two),” Michigan Theological
Journal 3:1 (Spring 1992), pp. 54-61.
14
James D. Price, “Rosh: An Ancient Land Known to Ezekiel,” Grace Theological Journal 6:1 (1985), p. 88.
15
Price, “Rosh: An Ancient Land,” p. 88.
16
Billington, “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy (Part One),” p. 60.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part IV
by Thomas Ice

“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
—Ezekiel 38:2

Fifth, the most impressive evidence in favor of taking Rosh as a proper name is
simply that this translation is the most accurate. G. A. Cooke, a Hebrew scholar,
translates Ezekiel 38:2, “the chief of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.” He calls this “the most
natural way of rendering the Hebrew.”1 Why is it the most natural way of rendering
the Hebrew? Rosh appears in construct form in the Hebrew with Meshech and Tubal
meaning that the grammar forms a list of three nouns. Some want to say that rosh is a
noun functioning as an adjective since there should be an “and” if it were intended to
be a list of three nouns. The same exact Hebrew construction appears in Ezekiel 38:5, as
well as 27:13 and these are clearly recognized as a list of three nouns by grammarians
even though “and” does not appear in either list. Normal Hebrew and Arabic grammar
supports rosh as a noun (see also 38:3 and 39:1). Actually, Hebrew grammar demands
that rosh be taken as a noun. No example of Hebrew grammar has ever been cited that
would support taking rosh as an adjective. Instead, in Hebrew grammar one cannot
break up the construct chain of the three nouns that have this kind of grammatical
arrangement.2 Hebrew scholar Randall Price says, “on linguistic and historical
grounds, the case for taking Rosh as a proper noun rather than a noun-adjective is
substantial and persuasive.”3
In light of such overwhelming evidence, it is not surprising that Hebrew scholar
James Price concludes the following:

It has been demonstrated that Rosh was a well-known place in antiquity as

evidenced by numerous and varied references in the ancient literature. It has
also been demonstrated that an adjective intervening between a construct
noun and its nomen rectum is highly improbable, there being no unambiguous
example of such in the Hebrew Bible. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated
that regarding Rosh as a name is in harmony with normal Hebrew grammar
and syntax. It is concluded that Rosh cannot be an adjective in Ezekiel 38–39,
but must be a name. Therefore, the only appropriate translation of the phrase
in Ezek 38:2, 3, and 39:1 is “prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”4

Clyde Billington says, “the features of Hebrew grammar . . . dictate that Rosh be
translated as a proper noun and not as an adjective, . . . It should, however, be noted
that the grammatical arguments for the translation of ‘Rosh’ as a proper noun in Ezekiel
38–39 are conclusive and not really open for serious debate.”5 What would Gary DeMar
say about such evidence? I do not know, since I have never seen him address these
arguments. DeMar is merely prone to making dogmatic statements to the contrary
based upon no real evidence for his position.
Therefore, having established that Rosh should be taken as a proper name of a
geographical area, the next task is to determine what geographical location is in view.
 -2-

HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SUPPORT FOR ROSH AS RUSSIA

Clyde Billington has written a series of three scholarly articles in a theological
journal presenting extensive historical, geographical and toponymic6 evidence for why
Rosh should be and is traced to the Russian people of today.7 He interacts with the
leading commentaries and authorities of the day in his research and presentation.
Billington notes, “it is also clear that Jerome, in deciding to translate Rosh as an
adjective rather than a proper noun, based his decision on a nongrammatical argument,
i.e. that a people called the Rosh are not mentioned either in the Bible or by Josephus.”8
However, there is considerable historical evidence that a place known as Rosh was very
familiar in the ancient world. While the word appears in a multitude of various
languages, which have a variety of forms and spellings, it is clear that the same people
are in view.
It is very likely that the name Rosh is actually derived from the name Tiras in
Genesis 10:2 in the Table of Nations. Billington notes the Akkadian tendency to drop or
to change an initial “t” sound in a name especially if the initial “t” was followed by an
“r” sound. If you drop the initial “T” from Tiras you are left with “ras.”9 It makes sense
for Ras or Rosh to be listed in Genesis 10 since all the other nations in Ezekiel 38:1-6 are
also listed there. This means Jerome’s claim that Rosh did not appear in the Bible or in
Josephus is erroneous. Since Tiras and his descendants apparently are the same as the
later Rosh people, then Rosh does appear in both the Table of Nations and Josephus.
Rosh (Rash) is identified as a place that existed as early as 2600 B.C. in Egyptian
inscriptions. There is a later Egyptian inscription from about 1500 B.C. that refers to a
land called Reshu that was located to the north of Egypt.10 The place name Rosh (or its
equivalent in the respective languages) is found at least twenty times in other ancient
documents. It is found three times in the Septuagint (LXX), ten times in Sargon’s
inscriptions, once in Assurbanipal’s cylinder, once in Sennacherib’s annals, and five
times in Ugaritic tablets.11 Billington traces the Rosh people from the earliest times in
recorded history up to the days of Ezekiel, as they appear multiple times throughout
this historical period.12
Clearly, Rosh or Tiras was a well-known place in Ezekiel’s day. In the sixth century
B.C., the time Ezekiel wrote his prophecy, several bands of the Rosh people lived in an
area to the north of the Black Sea. As we approach the eighth century, Billington cites a
number of historical references showing that “there is solid evidence linking one group
of Rosh People to the Caucasus Mountains.”13 From the same general period of time,
Billington notes: “There is even one cuneiform document from the reign of the Assyrian
King Sargon II (ruled 722-705 B.C.) which actually names all three peoples [Rosh,
Meshech, Tubal] mentioned by Ezekiel 38–39.”14 Billington concludes this section of his
historical studies as follows:

Therefore, there is irrefutable historical evidence for the existence of a people

named Rosh/Rashu in 9th-7th century B.C. Assyrian sources. These same
Assyrian sources also mention Meshech and Tubal whose names appear in
conjunction with the name Rosh in Ezekiel 38–39. Clearly the Assyrians
knew of the Rosh people, and so also did the prophet Ezekiel. It should be
noted that Ezekiel wrote the Book of Ezekiel only about a 100 years later than
extant Assyrian texts which mention the Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal peoples.15

DOES THE NAME RUSSIA COME FROM ROSH?

 -3-

The ancient Rosh people, who have been traced back to Tiras, a son of Japheth (Gen.
10:2), who migrated to the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia, are one of the
genetic sources of the modern Russians of today. However, does the name for Russia
come from the Biblical word Rosh as used in Ezekiel 38:2? We have seen that Marvin
Pate and Daniel Hays have said categorically, “The biblical term rosh has nothing to do
with Russia.”16 Their statement is typical of the sentiment of many critics today. But is
such a conclusion where the evidence leads? I do not think so! Here’s why.
First, we need to know that the Hebrew Old Testament was translated some time in
the third century B.C. and it is known as the Septuagint (LXX is the abbreviation). The
Septuagint translates the Hebrew word Rosh in all its uses by the Greek word “Ros” or
“Rhos.” The early church more often than not used the Septuagint as their primary Old
Testament. It is still used in the Greek speaking world today as their translation of the
Old Testament. Billington tells us: “early Greek Orthodox writers, using the LXX’s
spelling [Ros] of the name Rosh, identified the Rosh people of Ezekiel chs. 38–39 with
the northern Rus people of Russia and the Ukraine.”17 These people would be ones that
lived near, but north of the Greek speaking peoples. Such close proximity would mean
that they would have been clear in whom they were identifying and they identified
them with the Rosh people. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
G. A. Cooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, The International Critical
Commentary, ed. (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1936), pp. 408-09. John B. Taylor agrees. He says, “If a place-
name Rosh could be vouched for, RV’s prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal would be the best translation”
John B. Taylor, Ezekiel: An Introduction & Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D.
J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-varsity Press, 1969), p, 244. Therefore, this is the superior
translation. For an extensive, thorough presentation of the grammatical and philological support for
taking Rosh as a place name, see, James D. Price, “Rosh: An Ancient Land Known to Ezekiel,” Grace
Theological Journal 6:1 (1985), pp. 67-89.
2
Grammatical summary derived from Jon Mark Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New
Research on Ezekiel’s Vision of the End (Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003), pp. 21–23.
3
Randall Price, “Ezekiel” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 190.
4
Price, “Rosh: An Ancient Land,” pp. 88–89.
5
Clyde E. Billington, Jr. “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy,” (Part One), Michigan Theological
Journal 3:1 (Spring 1992), p. 56.
6
Toponymic means the study of place names.
7
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part One), pp. 55–65; Clyde E. Billington, Jr., “The Rosh People in
History and Prophecy (Part Two),” Michigan Theological Journal 3:2 (Fall 1992), pp. 144–75; Clyde E.
Billington, Jr., “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy (Part Three),” Michigan Theological Journal 4:1
(Spring 1993), pp. 36–63.
8
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part One), p. 56.
9
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Two), pp. 166-67.
10
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Two), pp. 145-46.
11
Price, “Rosh: An Ancient Land,” pp. 71-73.
12
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Two), pp. 143-59.
13
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Two), p. 170.
 -4-

14
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Two), p. 170.
15
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Two), p. 172.
16
C. Marvin Pate and J. Daniel Hays, Iraq—Babylon of the End Times? (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003),
p. 69.
17
Billington, “The Rosh People,” (Part Three), p. 39.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part V
by Thomas Ice

“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”
—Ezekiel 38:2

As we have seen previously, the Greek translation of the Old Testament Hebrew
took Rosh as a proper noun and identified them with the people of Southern Russian
and the Ukraine. Such a translation indicates that the Greek-speaking Jews in North
Africa believed that Rosh was a proper noun and referred to a known people. After
providing an impressive amount of data to support the notion that the Rosh people
refer to modern day Russians, Clyde Billington declares:

Therefore, it is almost certain that the ancient people whom the Greeks called
Tauroi/Tursenoi were identical to the people known as “Tiras” in the Bible.
These same Tiras people of Genesis 10:2 were also called in other languages
by a variety of names based upon the name Tiras. For example, note the
names: Taruisha [Hittite], Turus/Teresh [Egyptian], Tauroi/Tursenoi
[Greek], and Tauri/Etruscan [Latin].1

Second, Billington tells us, “From a variety of sources it is known that a people
named the Ros or Rus lived in the same area near the Black Sea where the Tauroi people
lived.”2 Billington also tells us that “early Byzantine Christian writers identified the
Rosh people of Ezekiel 38–39 with an early group of people of southern Russia whom
they called the “‘Ros.’”3 We further learn that “the Byzantine Greeks used the LXX
spelling [Ros] of the name because they unquestionably identified the
Ros/Rus/Russian people of southern Russia with the Rosh people mentioned in
Ezekiel 38–39.”4
Third, “it is well-known that the first Russian state was founded by a people known
as the Varangian Rus.”5 Many current scholars like Edwin Yamauchi support the
notion that the name Rus, from which the modern name for Russia is derived, is a
Finnish word and refers to Swedish invaders from the North, not from the Rosh people
in the South. He says that the name Rus did not come to the region until the Middle
Ages when it was brought by the Vikings.6 However, while Yamauchi is a respected
scholar, his dogmatic conclusion stands in direct opposition to the substantial historical
evidence presented by the Hebrew scholar Gesenius, James Price, and Clyde Billington.
Billington provides six objections to Yamauchi’s claim of a Northern origin of Rus
instead of a Southern one. First, the Byzantine use of the word Rus for those who
became the Russians pre-dates by hundreds of years the later Northern claim. Second,
Byzantine sources never speak of these people as having immigrated from the North to
the South. They “were long time inhabitants of the Black
Sea—Russia—Ukraine—Crimea area, and none of the Byzantine sources states that the
original homeland of the Ros was Scandinavia.”7 Third, since various forms of the Rosh
people are found in use all the way back to the second century B.C., it is most unlikely
that the Finns invented the name Rus. Fourth, “there is no logical reason why the Ros
people should have adopted the foreign Finnish name of “Ruotsi” after migrating to
southern Russia.”8 Fifth, “all modern scholars agree that the Varangians never called
 -2-

themselves (and they were never called by others) ‘Ros’ while they still lived in
Scandinavia near the Finns.”9 Finally, Byzantine and Western records indicate that
there were people in Southern Russia who were already calling themselves by the name
of “Rus” many years before the Northern invasion.10
It is clear when one sifts through the evidence that the Varangians who migrated
from Scandinavia into Southern Russia were called by the name of “Rus” when they
moved into that area which had already been known by that name for many years.
Billington summarizes: “As was argued above, the Varangian Rus took their name from
the native people named the Ros who had from ancient times lived in the area to the
north of the Black Sea. In other words there were two Ros peoples: the original
Sarmatian Ros people and the Varangian Rus people.”11
It should be clear by now that Rosh does indeed refer to the modern day Russian
people. Both grammatical and historical evidence have been provided. This is why I
agree with the overall conclusions of Billington, who says:

1. Ezekiel 38–39 does mention a people called the “Rosh” who will be an allies
of Meshech, Tubal, and Gog in the Last Days.
2. There were Rosh peoples who lived to the north of Israel in the Caucasus
Mountains and to the north of the Black and Caspian Seas.
3. Some of the Rosh people who lived to the north of Israel came in time to be
called “Russians.”
4. The name Russian is derived from the name Ros/Rosh which is found in
Ezekiel 38–39.
5. And, in conclusion, it is clear that Russian peoples will be involved along
with Meshech, Tubal, and Gog in an invasion of Israel in the Last Days.12

WHO IS MESHECH?
I now move on to the much easier task of identifying to whom Meshech refers.
Meshech appears 10 times in the Hebrew Old Testament,13 including its first usage in
the Table of Nations (Gen. 10:2). In Genesis 10 Meshech is listed as a son of Japheth.
The genealogical descent from Genesis 10 is repeated twice in 1 Chronicles (1:5, 17).
Other than references in Psalm 120:5 and Isaiah 66:19, the other occurrences of Meshech
are all found in Ezekiel (27:13; 32:26; 38:2, 3; 39:1). The three references in Ezekiel 38
and 39 all group “Rosh, Meshech and Tubal” together, as does Isaiah 66:19 but in a
different order. Mark Hitchcock tells us:

All we know about Meshech from the Old Testament is that Meshech and his
partners Javan and Tubal traded with the ancient city of Tyre, exporting
slaves and vessels of bronze in exchange for Tyre’s merchandise. That’s all
the Bible tells us about ancient Meshech. However, ancient history has a
great deal to say about the location and people of ancient Meshech.14

Some Bible teachers in the past have taught that Meshech is a reference to Moscow
and thus refers to Russia. This is the view of The Scofield Reference Bible, Harry Rimmer15
and Hal Lindsey.16 Rimmer says of Meshech: “his descendants came to be called
‘Mosche,’ from which derived the old term ‘Muscovites.’ While this later word is and
has been applied to all Russians who come from Moscow and its vicinity.”17 The
identification of Meshech with Moscow is merely based upon a similarity of sound.
There is not real historical basis to support such a view, therefore, it must be rejected.
 -3-

Allen Ross, based upon historical and biblical information in his dissertation on the
table of nations says:

Tubal and Mesek are always found together in the Bible. They represent
the northern military states that were exporting slaves and copper (Ezekiel
27:13, 38:2, 39:1, 32:26 and Isaiah 66:19). Herodotus placed their dwelling on
the north shore of the Black Sea (III, 94). Josephus identified them as the
Cappadocians. . . . Mesek must be located in the Moschian mountains near
Armenia. Their movement was from eastern Asia Minor north to the Black
Sea.18

The area southeast of the Black Sea is modern day Turkey. “At every point in the
history” of Meshech, notes Hitchcock “they occupied territory that is presently in the
modern nation of Turkey.”19 Such a conclusion is not a controversial one since virtually
all scholars agree with this view.

WHO IS TUBAL?
“Tubal” appears eight times in the Hebrew Bible20 (Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:5; Isa. 66:19;
Ezek. 27:13; 32:26; 38:2, 3; 39:1). Tubal is identified as the fifth son of Japheth and the
brother of Meshech in the table of nations (Gen. 10:2). As noted above by Ross, Tubal is
always grouped together with Meshech in the Bible and Ezekiel 38 is no exception.
Some prophecy teachers have taught that Tubal is the derivative that became the
modern Russian city Tobolsk. This view was popularized by The Scofield Reference Bible
and a number of other teachers. However, as was the case with Meshech, such a view is
developed from similarity of the sound of Tubal and Tobolsk. This view lacks a solid
historical basis. The historical record, as was the case with Meshech, is that Tubal and
his descendants immigrated to the area southeast of the Black Sea in what is modern
day Turkey. Meshech and Tubal clearly provide the population base for the country we
now call Turkey.
Today Turkey is considered a secular country. However, Turkey has a long history
as a Muslim dominated country that for hundreds of years headed up the Muslim
empire. Turkey is just a step away from returning to its Islamic political heritage, which
would provide a basis for aliening with the other Muslim dominated territories that will
one day invade Israel. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Clyde E. Billington, Jr., “The Rosh People in History and Prophecy (Part Three),” Michigan Theological
Journal 4:1 (Spring 1993), pp. 42–43.
2
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 44.
3
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 48.
4
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 50.
5
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 51.
6
Edwin M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1982), p. 20.
7
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 52.
 -4-

8
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 53.
9
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 53.
10
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” pp. 52–53.
11
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 57.
12
Billington, “The Rosh People (Part Three),” p. 62.
13
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 6.9.2.
14
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 56.
15
Harry Rimmer, The Coming War and the Rise of Russia (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1940), pp. 55–56.
16
Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970).
17
Rimmer, The Coming War, pp. 55–56.
18
Allen P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis” (ThD dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1976),
pp. 204–05.
19
Mark Hitchcock, Iran The Coming Crisis: Radical Islam, Oil, And The Nuclear Threat (Sisters, OR:
Multnomah, 2006), p. 184.
20
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 6.9.2.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part VI
by Thomas Ice

“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am against you, O
Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. And I will turn you
about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and
all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired,
a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding
swords;’”
—Ezekiel 38:2–4

Now that the participants have been identified in verse 2, I now will look at what the
Word of the Lord says about them. We have already seen in the first part of the verse
that Ezekiel is told to set his face toward the direction of the coalition nations. Such a
statement implies that they are a real, historical group of peoples. We learn at the end
of verse 2 that Ezekiel is to “prophecy against him.” The “him” refers back to Gog, the
leader of the invasion. The Hebrew word for “prophecy” is the usual word and in this
context carries the notion that Ezekiel will be telling future history about Gog and the
coalition that he will head. The Hebrew preposition “against” tells us that this is not a
positive prophecy benefiting to Gog and his associates. Instead, the prophecy is against
Gog because God is opposed to him, as we shall see as the passage unfolds.

GOD AGAINST GOG

The Lord God tells Ezekiel to announce that He (God) is against Gog in verse 3. The
preposition “against” in verse 3 is different than the one used in verse 2. Here in verse 3
“against” has the idea of motion, thus, the action of the prophecy by God is against
Gog. The two prepositions are very similar and it would appear that the two are used
to emphasize the obvious fact that God is against Gog. As we will learn later in the
passage, Gog may think that he is getting together the coalition to attack Israel, but it is
God who ultimately is the cause of this great event (see verses 4, 8). God’s disposition
being set against Gog in verses 2 and 3 paves the way nicely for His clear declaration in
verse 4.

HOOKS INTO YOUR JAWS

The first phrase in verse 4 says, “I will turn you about.” The Hebrew word for
“turn” is sub. Its basic meaning is “to move in an opposite direction from that toward
which one previously moved. . . . turn around, turn.”1 In theological contexts it is the
classic word in the Old Testament for “repent,” as used so often by Jeremiah. “The
verb, with over 1,050 occurrences, ranks twelfth in frequency among words in the OT.”2
The sense in which this word is used so often in the Old Testament has the notion of
repentance, as in Israel repenting and turning from their sin to the Lord. This is the
same way in which repentance is used by preachers like John the Baptist in the New
Testament. In fact, today in Orthodox Judaism when a non-observant Jew begins to
practice their religion, this is called “doing subah,” or repenting. However, in the
context of Ezekiel 38, this use of an intensive form of sub (the polel stem) in relation to
Gog does not refer to religious repentance, but rather to a change in ones plans. “Here
 -2-

and in ch. xxxix. 2,” notes C. F. Keil, “it means to lead or bring away from his previous
attitude, i.e. to mislead or seduce, in the sense of enticing to a dangerous enterprise.”3
What more dangerous enterprise could there ever be than warring against God or His
people—Israel?
Since the Lord wants to move Gog in the direction of coming down to attack Israel,
the verb natan is used to explain the means that God will employ. The Lord will
“place” or “put” hooks into the jaws of Gog. Keil tells us, “Gog is represented as an
unmanageable beast, which is compelled to follow its leader (cf. Isa. xxxvii. 29); and the
thought is thereby expressed, that Gog is compelled to obey the power of God against
his will.”4 Lawson Younger explains the meaning and use of the Hebrew word for
“hook” as follows:

While the literal meaning of hah is “thorn,” in the OT it is used

metaphorically for a hook. In the majority of occurrences, hah is employed in
military contexts for a hook put through the nose or cheek of captives: of
Sennacherib, in whose nose God will put a hook (2 Kgs 19:28; Isa. 37:29); of
Jehoahaz taken to Egypt by hook (Ezek 19:4); of Zedekiah taken to Babylon by
hook (19:9); of Pharaoh, in whose jaw God will put a hook (29:4; and of Gog,
in whose jaw God will also put hooks (28:4).5

Just as a whole host of Israel’s enemies down through history have not wanted to do
what God has asked them to do, so will Gog, like Pharaoh be made to follow His will,
even though their intentions are 180 degrees in the opposite direction, which
demonstrates the use of the hook imagery by God. “Like a ring in the nose of a captive
or a great hook in the jaws of a crocodile, God will pull Gog and his allies out for this
invasion when he is ready for them,” notes Mark Hitchcock. “God will do God’s
bidding and will act according to God’s timetable.”6 Arnold Fruchtenbaum
summarizes this section by reminding us:

It is God Who is in control; it is He who is bringing the invasion about. Thus,

while studying this passage, one should note the sovereignty of God in this
invasion. This will be the means by which God will punish Russia for her
sins. The key sin is her long history of anti-Semitism, a problem that persists
in Russia to this day.7

STAGE SETTING IN RUSSIA AND IRAN

How are some of the issues from the first few verses of Ezekiel 38 setting the stage
today for future fulfillment? While other nations in the Gog coalition have been in the
news at one time or another, right now Russia and Iran are making a lot of noise on the
geo-political scene. Also, for those who are not watching Turkey, they are on the verge
of being taken over by radical wing of Muslims in their Parliament. If they succeed,
they will return Turkey to Muslim rule, which will result in their dismissal of
democracy.
Mart Zuckerman, editor of U. S. News & World Report has said, “Russian President
Vladimir Putin, in an interview several years ago, criticized America's decision to go to
war against Iraq and told me, "The real threat is Iran." He was right. But Russia has
become part of the problem, not the solution.”8 It is no secret that Russia has played a
role of enabler to Iran, which has risen to the top of the list of rogue states that threaten
to bring great destabilization to the current world order. “And Russia has made the
 -3-

threat more real. It sold the nuclear power plant at Bushehr to Iran and contracted to
sell even more to bring cash into its nuclear industry. As one American diplomat put it,
this business is a ‘giant hook in Russia's jaw.’"9 What? Could you repeat that last
statement? The American diplomat said, “this business is a ‘giant hook in Russia's
jaw.’” That’s right, the diplomat used a phrase right out of Bible prophecy to describe
Russia’s current role with Iran.
Some detractors of our view of Bible prophecy have said that with the fall of the
Soviet Empire a Russian led invasion seems very unlikely from a geo-political
standpoint. It has always been the case that this prophecy speaks of a Russian led, not a
Soviet led, attack against Israel. Ever since the fall of the Soviet Empire Russian has
continued to maintain close relations with most of the Islamic nations, especially those
in the Middle East. It would not be surprising from a geo-political perspective to see
Russia join with Islamic states like Iran in a surprise attack against Israel.
For over fifteen years I have speculated that the “hook in the jaw” of Gog that God
could use to bring a reluctant Russia down upon the land of Israel could be some thing
like the following scenario that I articulated to Hal Lindsey on a National television
show10 in 1991 on the day the first Gulf War ended: I could see the Muslims
approaching the Russians and telling them that America has set a precedent for an
outside power coming into the Middle East to right a perceived wrong. (America has
done it again in recent years by going into Afghanistan and Iraq.) On that basis, Russia
should help her Muslim friends by leading them in an overwhelming invasion of Israel
in order to solve the Middle East Conflict in favor of the Islamic nations. Will this be
the “hook in the Jaw” of Gog? Only time will tell. But something is up in the Middle
East and Russia appears to have her fingerprints all over things. We know that the
Bible predicts just such an alignment and invasion to take place “in the latter years”
(Ezek. 38:8).

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, & Heinz-Josef Fabry, editors, Theological Dictionary of the Old
Testament, vol. XIV (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), p. 464.
2
Botterweck, Ringgren, & Fabry, TDOT, vol. XIV, p. 472.
3
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 161.
4
Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, p. 161.
5
Willem A. VanGemeren, gen. editor, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, 5
vols., (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), vol. 2, p. 44.
6
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 104.
7
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 109.
8
Mortimer B. Zuckerman, “Moscow’s Mad Gamble,” U. S. News & World Report, Internet Edition (Jan. 30,
2006), p. 1.
9
Zuckerman, “Moscow’s Mad Gamble,” p. 1.
10
On “The Praise the Lord” show on Trinity Broadcasting Network.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part VII
by Thomas Ice

“And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I
will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of
them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield,
all of them wielding swords;’”
—Ezekiel 38:4

As we look deeply at this prophecy we see that God will put hooks into the jaws of
Gog, who is the prince of Rosh, which we have seen is a reference to modern day
Russia. Thus, Gog appears to be a Russian individual who will lead the Russian nation
and her allies in an attack on regathered Israel. This is the basic situation that we see
today as we scan the geo-political landscape. The stage is already set for just such an
attack.

A ROD OF DISCIPLINE?
Some might argue that the Gog invasion has already taken place in conjunction with
God’s discipline of Israel in the sixth century B.C. Randall Price notes the following:

The role of Gog, however, is different than that of past invaders such as the
Assyrians and Babylonians who had been called the “rods of God’s wrath”
(cf. Isaiah 10:5). On the one hand Gog’s willful decision to invade (verse 11)
is based on his own passions (verses 12-13), but on the other hand he is
drawn (as with hooks in his jaw, verse 4) in order to make possible a divine
demonstration of God’s power and intervention for Israel to the nations
(verses 21, 23; 39:27) and Israel itself (39:28).1

Thus, it seems unlikely that this prophecy refers to a past disciplinary action by God
where He uses other nations to chastise Israel, as He did with Assyrian against the
Northern Kingdom (722 B.C.) and against the Southern Kingdom with the Babylonians
(586 B.C.). If such were the case then God would not intervene on behalf of Israel as He
does in this passage. When God uses a pagan nation to discipline Israel, He never
intervenes to protect Israel during such an invasion.

I WILL BRING YOU OUT

As we continue to look more closely at Ezekiel 38:4 we see that the Lord, after
having put hooks in Gog’s jaw will bring him out of his place. The Hebrew verb
translated “I [God] will bring you [Gog] out” is in a causative stem meaning that God
will use the hook in the jaw to bring Gog out of his place.2 Once again, this is not
something that Gog would have instigated had not God intervened to bring him out to
their eventual destruction.

GOG’S MILITARY RESOURCES

When Gog comes down against Israel it will be with “all your army, horses and
horsemen.” The Hebrew word for “army” (chayil) has the basic meaning of “strength or
power,”3 depending upon what is referenced in the context. It is the primary word for
army in the Old Testament but has the abstract idea of “strength,” “wealth,” or more
 -2-

concretely “military forces,”4 since it takes great wealth to field a strong military. The
word is used again to describe Gog and his allies in 38:15, this time with the adjective
“mighty.” In other words, the chayil is a term that carries the idea of military might and
the semantic range would not be limited to an ancient army. Since the word “all” is
used with army, it means that their entire army, not just part of it, will come in this
invasion of Israel.
The next textual description is that this invading army will have “horses and
horsemen.” It is obvious what horses mean, while horsemen would be those soldiers
riding horses for military purposes. Horsemen are often distinguished from those
riding chariots in the Old Testament. Charles Feinberg concludes: “The mention of
horses and horsemen is not to be taken to mean that the army would consist entirely or
primarily of cavalry.”5 Feinberg’s statement is supported by the fact that previously the
text said “all your army,” which would include all aspects of an attacker’s resources. If
this is the case, perhaps cavalry is singled out and mentioned specifically since it was
the most potent offensive force for an invader in Ezekiel’s day. Also, horses denote a
form of military conveyance, while horsemen the military personnel.
The last part of verse 4 describes how the military personnel are outfitted: “all of
them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding
swords.” This is a reference to the horsemen, all of which are splendidly attired. The
Hebrew word translated “splendidly” (miklol) is an interesting word found only here
and in Ezekiel 23:12. It is defined variously as “most gorgeously” or “all sorts of
armor.” “There is little agreement over the correct translation of this word,” since it is
only used twice. “In both cases it is used in contexts describing the splendid
appearance of military men. A literal translation would seem to be ‘clothed fully,’” or
“all fully equipped.”6 In other words, these attackers will all have the best military
equipment available in their day. They will not be ill equipped for the task they intend.
Not only will the invaders be well equipped, there will be a great number of them who
will come down to Israel.
This great company is said to have both “buckler and shield” to protect themselves.
The Hebrew word for “shield” (sinna) refers to a “large shield covering the whole
body.”7 While the Hebrew word for “buckler” (magen) refers to the smaller “shield or
buckler carried by a warrior for defense.”8 This military equipment would be examples
of the well-equipped condition of the invaders. “Besides the defensive arms, the greater
and smaller shield,” declares Keil, “they carried swords as weapons of offense.”9 The
Hebrew word “sword” (hereb) “can designate both (1) the two-edged dagger or short
sword (Jgs. 3:16, 21) and (2) the single-edged scimitar or long sword.”10 Since these
soldiers are riding on horses, it would make the most sense to think that the long sword
is pictured here, which has historically been the weapon of choice for cavalry. The short
sword would not be as practical from atop a horse. “The verse explains that Yahweh is
bringing out Gog fully armed.”11 The greater the opponent then the greater the
possibility that Israel will find herself in an impossible situation. An impossible
situation calls for Divine intervention. Thus, there will be greater glory for God when
He totally destroys the invaders.

WHAT ABOUT THE WEAPONS?

Critics of our futurist understanding of this passage point to the fact that the text
says that invaders will be horsemen riding on horses and using weapons like swords
and spears, “indicators of an ancient battle in a pre-industrial age,”12 insists preterist
Gary DeMar. Without dealing with other textual details, DeMar argues primarily on
 -3-

the basis of weapons described in the passage that it has already been fulfilled. “The
weapons are ancient because the Battle is ancient.”13 When in the past was it fulfilled?
DeMar, apparently with a straight face, insists it was fulfilled in the days of Esther.14
“These, of course, are antiquated weapons from the standpoint of modern warfare,”
acknowledges John Walvoord. “This certainly poses a problem.”15 However, without
abandoning the principles of literal interpretation, Walvoord believers that there is a
solution to this problem. He cites three suggestions that have been made as follows:

One of them is this that Ezekiel is using language with which he was
familiar—the weapons that were common in his day—to anticipate modern
weapons. What he is saying is that when this army comes, it will be fully
equipped with the weapons of war. Such an interpretation, too, has
problems. We are told in the passage that they used the wooden shafts of the
spears and the bow and arrows for kindling wood. If these are symbols, it
would be difficult to burn symbols. . . .
A second solution is that the battle is preceded by a disarmament
agreement between nations. If this were the case, it would be necessary to
resort to primitive weapons easily and secretly made if a surprise attack were
to be achieved. This would allow a literal interpretation of the passage.
A third solution has been suggested based on the premise that modern
missile warfare will have been developed in that day to the point where
missiles will seek out any considerable amount of metal. Under these
circumstances, it would be necessary to abandon the large use of metal
weapons and substitute wood such as is indicated in the primitive weapons.
Whatever the explanation, the most sensible interpretation is that the passage
refers to actual weapons pressed into use because of the peculiar
circumstances of that day.16

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), p. 42.
2
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
3
G. Johannes Botterweck, & Helmer Ringgren, editors, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. IV
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), p. 349.
4
Botterweck, & Ringgren, TDOT, vol. IV, p. 353.
5
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), pp. 220–21.
6
R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, editors, Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament, 2 vols. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), vol. I; p. 442.
7
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
8
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
9
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 162.
10
G. Johannes Botterweck, & Helmer Ringgren, editors, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. V
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), p. 155.
11
John W. Wevers, The New Century Bible Commentary: Ezekiel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), p. 202.
12
Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church (Powder Springs, GA: American
Vision, 1999), p. 367.
 -4-

13
Gary DeMar, “Ezekiel’s Magog Invasion: Future or Fulfilled?” Biblical Worldview Magazine, vol. 22
(December, 2006), p. 6.
14
DeMar, Last Days Madness, pp. 368–69; see also Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of
the Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), pp. 12–15.
15
John F. Walvoord, The Nations in Prophecy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967), p. 115.
16
Walvoord, Nations, pp. 115–16.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part VIII
by Thomas Ice

“And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I
will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of
them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield,
all of them wielding swords;’”
—Ezekiel 38:4

As we continue to look at the description of the weapons and mode of

transportation that will be used by Gog and his invading force, we must let the text tell
us what it means. “A vivid picture is given of the actual attack of the Russian forces,”
declares William Hull. “Great tanks, mechanized troop carriers, huge guns and all the
latest in war equipment move as a mighty wave across the land,” he says. Hull
concludes: “Ezekiel describes this as: All of them riding upon horses. Here again Bible
students have been lead astray by placing the emphasis upon what they are to be
mounted on, rather than the fact that they are to be mounted.”1 Randall Price notes that
some, “see these terms as ‘prophetically anachronistic’ (or phenomenological), since
Ezekiel had no frame of reference to describe the weapons of this future age.”2 This is a
view I once held, as I will note later.
Gary DeMar criticizes such an approach when he says, “If someone like Tim LaHaye
is true to his claim of literalism, then the Russian attack he and Jerry Jenkins describe in
Left Behind should be a literal representation of the actual battle events as they are
depicted in Ezekiel 38 and 39.”3 DeMar continues, “How do Hitchcock, Ice, and
LaHaye know that this is what the Holy Spirit really means when the text is clear enough
without any modern-day embellishment?”4 This may surprise some, but I think DeMar
is basically right in his criticism of us on this point, even though he is demonstrably
wrong about so many other items he addresses in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39.

LITERAL INTERPRETATION
Bernard Ramm, who would not be sympathetic to our view of Bible prophecy
quotes Webster and defines literal as “the natural or usual construction and implication
of a writing or expression; following the ordinary and apparent sense of words; not
allegorical or metaphorical.”5 Charles Ryrie formulates an extensive definition of literal
interpretation when he states the following:

This is sometimes called the principle of grammatical-historical interpretation

since the meaning of each word is determined by grammatical and historical
considerations. The principle might also be called normal interpretation since
the literal meaning of words is the normal approach to their understanding in
all languages. It might also be designated plain interpretation so that no one
receives the mistaken notion that the literal principle rules out figures of
speech. Symbols, figures of speech and types are all interpreted plainly in
this method and they are in no way contrary to literal interpretation. After
all, the very existence of any meaning for a figure of speech depends on the
reality of the literal meaning of the terms involved. Figures often make the
meaning plainer, but it is the literal, normal, or plain meaning that they
convey to the reader.6
 -2-

“The literalist (so called) is not one who denies that figurative language, that symbols, are
used in prophecy,” notes commentator E. R. Craven. “Nor does he deny that great
spiritual truths are set forth therein; his position is, simply, that the prophecies are to be
normally interpreted (i.e., according to received laws of language) as any other
utterances are interpreted—that which is manifestly figurative being so regarded.”7
David Cooper provides a classic statement of the literal hermeneutical principle in
his “Golden Rule of Interpretation,” which says: “When the plain sense of Scripture
makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary,
ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the
light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly
otherwise.”8 In other words, there must be a literary basis in the text of any statement
that a word or phrase should not be taken literally, unless one can explain that a figure
of speech or metaphor makes more sense in a given context than the plain, literal
meaning. In other words, Cooper’s dictum says that a word or phrase should be taken
literally unless there is a reason in the text of the passage to take it as a figure of speech
or a metaphor. Matthew Waymeyer provides a helpful rule of thumb when he says: “In
order to be considered symbolic, the language in question must possess (a) some degree
of absurdity when taken literally and (b) some degree of clarity when taken
symbolically.”9

THE LITERAL MEANING

Since there does not appear to be demonstrable figures of speech or symbols in this
passage for “army,” “horses and horsemen,” “buckler and shield,” and “swords,” then
consistency requires that this battle will be fought with these items. These weapons of
war cannot be similes for modern weapons since there are not textual indicators such as
“like” or “as.” There does not appear to be any figures of speech that sometimes occur
without using a “like” or “as.” For example, Jesus said, “I am the door,” “I am the
bread of life,” etc. While these are not figures of speech in and of themselves, in their
contexts it is clear that Jesus was speaking metaphorically. However, there is nothing in
the context of Ezekiel 38 which would indicate that Ezekiel is seeing modern weapons
yet using known terminology of his day.
As I have thought more critically about literal interpretation and this passage while
doing this series, I have come to disagree with a statement made by Mark Hitchcock
and I where we said: “Ezekiel spoke in language that the people of his day could
understand. If he had spoken of MIG-29s, laser-fired missiles, tanks, and assault rifles,
this text would have been nonsensical to everyone until the twentieth century.”10
Instead, I have come to agree with DeMar who says: “A lot has to be read into the Bible
in order to make Ezekiel 38 and 39 fit modern-day military realities that include jet
planes, ‘missiles,’ and ‘atomic and explosive’ weaponry.”11 Even though I think DeMar
is right on this one point, it does not mean that his conclusion is correct. He says, “The
weapons are ancient because the battle is ancient.”12 True, these were weapons that
were used in ancient times, but some are still used today. Also, DeMar either ignores
many textual facts or does not take literally timing statements like “after many days”
(Ezek. 38:8), but especially “latter years” (Ezek. 38:8) and “last days” (Ezek. 38:16),
which I will deal with later.
I think futurist Paul Lee Tan has framed the issue well as follows:
 -3-

There are some prophecies which, in describing eschatological warfares,

predict that the weapons to be used then will be bows and arrows, chariots
and horses, spears and shields. Are these to be taken literally? If we adhere
strictly to the proper view of prophetic form, we must consider these
weapons the same as that which will be used in eschatology. They must not
be equated with vastly different modern war devices, as the H-bomb or the
supersonic jet fighter. Interestingly, these prophesied military instruments
though centuries old have not been made obsolete. The horse, for instance, is
still used in warfare on certain kinds of terrain.13

Without intending to be dogmatic on this issue, the view I think that makes the most
sense is one I heard pastor Charles Clough14 teach on an audiotape in the late 60s or
early 70s. Clough was at the time a trained and experienced meteorologist who thought
the events of the tribulation could likely degrade modern weapons systems so as to
render them unusable. Later, Clough would go on to work for about 25 years as a
meteorologist for the U. S. Army where he studied the impact of weather on weapons
systems. He still holds the same view today. Price explains as follows:

However, there is no reason why these basic weapons might not be used in a
future battle, if the conditions or the stage of battle prevent the use of the
more advanced technology. Wars fought in certain rugged Middle Eastern
terrains such as the mountainous region of Afghanistan (cf. 39:2-4) have
required modern armies to use horses, and bows and arrows continue to be
employed in various combat arenas. In addition, if the battle takes place in
the Tribulation period, the conditions predicted for that time, such as seismic
activity, meteor showers, increased solar effects, and other cosmic and
terrestrial catastrophes (Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:12-14; 8:7-12; 16:8-9, 18-
21) would so disrupt the environment that present technology depending on
satellite and computer-guided systems as well as meteorological stability
would utterly fail. Under such conditions most of our modern weapons
would be useless and more basic weapons would have to be substituted. At
any rate, there is no reason to relegate the text to the past on the basis of
supposedly anachronistic language.15

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
William L. Hull, Israel: Key to Prophecy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957), pp. 35–36. (emphasis original)
2
Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), p. 42.
3
Gary DeMar, “Ezekiel’s Magog Invasion: Future or Fulfilled?” Biblical Worldview Magazine, vol. 22
(December, 2006), p. 4.
4
DeMar, “Ezekiel’s Magog Invasion,” p. 6. (italics original)
5
Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, third edition (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1970), p. 119.
6
Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism (Chicago: Moody, [1965], 1995), pp. 80–81. (italics original)
7
E. R. Craven and J. P. Lange, ed., Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Revelation (New York: Scribner,
1872), p. 98. (italics original)
8
David L. Cooper, The World 's Greatest Library Graphically Illustrated (Los Angeles: Biblical Research
 -4-

Society, [1942], 1970), p. 11.

9
Matthew Waymeyer, Revelation 20 and the Millennial Debate (The Woodlands, TX: Kress Christian
Publications, 2004), p. 50. (italics original)
10
Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice, The Truth Behind Left Behind: A Biblical View of the End Times (Sisters,
OR: Multnomah Press, 2004), p. 47.
11
DeMar, “Ezekiel’s Magog Invasion,” p. 4.
12
DeMar, “Ezekiel’s Magog Invasion,” p. 6.
13
Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy (Winona Lake, IN: Assurance Publishers, 1974), p. 223.
14
At the time, Charles A. Clough was pastor of Lubbock Bible Church in Lubbock, Texas.
15
Price, Unpublished Notes on Ezekiel, p. 42.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part IX
by Thomas Ice

Persia, Ethiopia, and Put with them, all of them with shield and
helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote
parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.
—Ezekiel 38:5–6

Verses five and six complete the allies that will attack Israel with their leader Gog.
The identity of the first ally appears to be very clear since its ancient name is widely
known down through history, even in our own day. Persia refers to the Persian people
who make up a majority of the modern country of Iran. There is consensus among
futurists that historic Persia clearly refers to modern Iran. “The name Persia, which was
written all over the pages of ancient history, was changed to Iran in foreign usage in
March 1935,”1 notes Mark Hitchcock.

IRAN AND RUSSIA

Anyone following the news headlines the last few years certainly are aware of the
warm relationship between Russia and Iran. Russia has been a supplier of many of the
elements Iran wants in order to develop a nuclear bomb. It is clear that Iran aspires to
control the entire Middle East so that they can spread their view of Islam in order to
reunite the Muslim world under a single authority, an Iranian rule. We have all heard
that their President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said on multiple occasions that he
aspires to wipe Israel off of the map. For the last fifteen years, every Israeli
administration has repeatedly said that Iran is Israel’s greatest threat. Today many
wonder if Israel will be moved to act preemptively, perhaps with the help of the United
States, to take out Iran’s nuclear capability before it is fully realized. We will certainly
know the answer before President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009, since it
is unlikely that a new President would be involved in such an adventure.
Iran very likely could be the key ally in the Russian led invasion of Israel in the last
days. Perhaps Iran will take advantage of the new bellicose posture of Russian
President Valdimir Putin is reinstalling toward the West, especially the United States.
No matter how these future events unfold there is no doubt that Russian and Iran are
developing the type of relationship that could easily lead to just such an invasion of
Israel as the prophet Ezekiel has foretold.2

ETHIOPIA
The New American Standard translation which I use translates the Hebrew word
Cush as Ethiopia. Many English translations have transliterated it from the Hebrew into
the English word “Cush.” Cush occurs 29 times in the Hebrew Bible.3 Genesis 2:13
refers to an antediluvian land named Cush. Three times in the table of nations it refers
to Cush who is a descendant of Ham. Most of the other uses occur in Isaiah and Ezekiel
(13 times) and refer to the same region mentioned in Ezekiel 28:5. One Hebrew lexicon
says that Cush refers to “the lands of the Nile in southern Egypt, meaning Nubia and
Northern Sudan, the country bordering the southern Red Sea.”4 Another tells us that
Cush “refers to the region immediately south and east of Egypt, including modern
Nubia, the Sudan, and the Ethiopia of classical writers.”5 Thus, the Bible clearly locates
Cush just south of Egypt in what is the modern nation of Sudan.
 -2-

Today Sudan is one of the most militant Islamic nations in the world. Hitchcock
notes, “that the modern nation of Sudan is one of only three Muslim nation in the world
with a militant Islamic government.”6 I was surprised to also learn that “Sudan is the
largest nation in territory on the African continent and has a population of 26 million.”
It is interesting to realize that Iran and Sudan have become the closest of allies during
the last twenty years. They have entered into trade agreements, militaries alliances, and
Iran also operates terrorist training bases in Sudan.7 Sudan also is the place that
protected Osama bin Laden from 1991 to 1996 until he went to Afghanistan.8 Based
upon current alignment of nations that we see today it is not at all surprising to think
that Sudan will be a Southern ally that descends upon the land of Israel in the last days
with Russia, Iran and others.

PUT
Put is another transliteration from the Hebrew and occurs only seven times in the
Old Testament.9 Twice it is used in a genealogy that says that Put is a descendant of
Ham (Gen. 10:6; 1 Chron. 1:8). The other five times it is used in the Prophets to refer to
Put as a nation, usually in a military context as we have in Ezekiel 38. A Hebrew
lexicon says, “probably not the same as Put but Libya.”10 “From the ancient Babylon
Chronicle it appears that Putu was the ‘distant’ land to the west of Egypt, which would
be modern day Libya.”11 “In the invasion,” notes Randall Price, “these countries will be
joined by other nations (38:5) that represent the other three directions of the compass:
Persia (modern Iran) from the east, Cush (northern Sudan) from the south, and Put
(modern Libya) from the west.”12
Just like Iran and Sudan, Libya is a radical Islamic nation headed by strong man
Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gadhafi. Like Iran, Gadhafi has tried to develop nuclear
weapons in the past, but claims to have given up all attempts to produce them. “Ever
since the rise of Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gadhafi to power in 1969,” notes Hitchcock.
“The nation of Libya has been a constant source of trouble and terrorism for both the
West and Israel. Libya would certainly jump at the chance to join forces with the
Sudan, Iran, Turkey, and the former Muslim republics of the Soviet Union to crush the
Jewish state.”13

DRESSED TO KILL
Verse five ends with the statement: “all of them with shield and helmet.” We saw in
verse four that the Hebrew word for “shield” (sinna) refers to a “large shield covering
the whole body.”14 In verse four it said, “a great company with buckler and shield,”
however, in verse five it says, “with shield and helmet.” The Hebrew word for helmet
is (koba’) and refers to a “helmet,” usually made of bronze.15 All six uses16 of this word
in the Hebrew Old Testament refer to a metal helmet worn by a solider for military
conflict. Thus, this passage emphasizes the fact that “all” of the invaders are well
outfitted in military attire for their invasion into the land of Israel. Price says that this
passage paints a picture where, “Israel will be defenseless and ‘surrounded’ on all sides
by its enemies.”17

GOMER
The transliterated name Gomer occurs five times in the Hebrew Old Testament,18 not
counting those that refer to the wayward wife of Hosea. Every use except the one in
Ezekiel occurs in a genealogy (Gen. 10:2, 3; 1 Chron. 1:5, 6). Gomer is said to be a son of
Japheth in the table of nations (Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:5). The issue is where do the
 -3-

modern day descendants of Gomer now reside? “His descendants are usually
identified as the Cimmerians who moved onto the stage of history from the area north
of the Black Sea in the eighth century B.C.”19 Jon Ruthven has a map in which he places
Gomer and his descendants as having settled in the area north of the Black and Caspian
Seas.20 However, the descendants of Gomer were pushed out of that area and into “the
area of Cappadocia, which today is in central and north-central Turkey. Josephus
identified the people of Galatia with Gomer. He says that the people the Greeks called
the Galatians were the Gomerites.”21 Today these “Gomerites” live in the west-central
part of Turkey. Therefore, the descendants of Gomer along with some other peoples we
have yet to consider indicate that modern Turkey will be part of those who invade the
land of Israel.
The passage says, “Gomer with all its troops.” It is already clear from prior
statements in this prophecy that many nations will be coming down on Israel and the
descendants of Gomer will be with them. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 72.
2
For a couple of more recent books that focus on the current events of the Gog and Magog invasion see
Mark Hitchcock, Iran The Coming Crisis: Radical Islam, Oil, And The Nuclear Threat (Sisters, OR:
Multnomah, 2006), and Joel C. Rosenberg, Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings in The Middle East Will
Change Your Future (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006).
3
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
4
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
5
R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, editors, Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament, 2 vols. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), vol. 1, p. 435.
6
Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 79. At least that was the case in 1994.
7
Hitchcock, After The Empire, pp. 79–83.
8
Hitchcock, Iran The Coming Crisis, p. 185.
9
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
10
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
11
Hitchcock, Iran The Coming Crisis, p. 185.
12
Randall Price, “Ezekiel,” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary:
Understanding the Meaning of Every Prophetic Passage (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2006), p. 191.
13
Hitchcock, After The Empire, pp. 85–86.
14
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
15
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
16
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
17
Price, “Ezekiel,” p. 191.
18
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
19
Harris, Archer, and Waltke, Theological Wordbook, vol. 1, p. 168.
20
Jon Mark Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New Research on Ezekiel’s Vision of the End
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003), p. 81.
 -4-

21
Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 62.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part X
by Thomas Ice

Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of
the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.
—Ezekiel 38:6

There is one final entity listed as among those going down to attack Israel with Gog.
Beth-togarmah is the last nation listed.

BETH-TOGARMAH
Beth-togarmah is the English transliteration of two words from the Hebrew text.
Beth is the common Hebrew word for “house” or “place of” that is used over two
thousand times in the Hebrew Bible.1 Togarmah is a noun used four times in the
Hebrew Bible.2 Twice it is uses in a genealogy in which Togarmah is said to be a son of
Gomer (Gen. 10:3; 1 Chron. 1:6). The final two occurrences are in Ezekiel (27:14; 38:6).
The prefix “Beth” occurs only in the two uses in Ezekiel, thus rendering the compound
as “house of Togarmah.” Ezekiel 27:14 refers to their trade and says: “Those from Beth-
togarmah gave horses and war horses and mules for your wares.” In fact, “Herodotus
mentions [Togarmah] as famed for its horses and mules.”3
“Most Bible scholars and scholars of ancient history relate biblical Togarmah to the
ancient Hittite city of Tegarma,” notes Mark Hitchcock, “an important city in eastern
Cappadocia (modern Turkey).”4 Jon Mark Ruthven agrees: “elements of the ‘house of
Togarmah” may have been part of the great 2nd and 1st millennium BCE Japhetic
movements far to the north, and assimilated into modern Russia and Turkey.”5
Hitchcock traces the migration of Togarmah as follows:

Togarmah was both the name of a district and a city in the border of Tubal in
eastern Cappadocia. Togarmah was known variously in history as Tegarma,
Tagarma, and Takarama. The ancient Assyrians referred to this city as Til-
garimmu. One of the maps of the Cambridge Ancient History locates Til-
garimmu on the northeast border of Tubal in the northeast part of modern
Turkey. Gesenius, the Hebrew scholar, identified Togarmah as a northern
nation abounding in horses and mules, located in ancient Armenia. The
ancient area of Armenia is located in the modern nation of Turkey.6

“But while scholars have differed slightly on the exact location of ancient Togarmah,”
concludes Hitchcock, “it is always associated with a city or district within the
boundaries of the modern nation of Turkey.”7
It is interesting to note that none of the nations that will go down into Israel with
Russia are Arab nations. However, all of the Russian allies are Islamic nations. Iran is
not an Arab nation, but instead they are Persian.

THE REMOTE PARTS OF THE NORTH

In this passage Beth-togarmah is said to come from “the remote parts of the north.”
This Hebrew phrase is composed of two words. The word for north means what it
says, while the word for “remote parts” has the sense of the extreme, “far part,” or most
distant part of whatever is being referred to in the context.8 When these two words are
 -2-

combined in a phrase, it is used five times in the Hebrew Bible (Psa. 48:3; Isa. 14:13;
Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2). The Isaiah use is found in one of the five “I wills” uttered by Satan
in his revolt against God. “But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will
raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the
recesses of the north.” The Psalmist says of Jerusalem: “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of
the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King.” Mount Zion
was on the Northern edge of ancient Jerusalem. The other three uses are found in
Ezekiel 38 and 39. The other two references in Ezekiel 38 and 39 refer to Gog and say:
“And you will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and
many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty
army” (Ezek. 38:15). “And I shall turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the
remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel” (Ezek. 39:2).
Therefore, Beth-togarmah is said to come from the remote parts of the north as will Gog
who is Russia.
“Doesn’t this statement mean that Togarmah must come from the former Soviet
Union since Russia is the farthest geographical point north of Israel,” asks Hitchcock?
He says in his answer: “The answer to this question is no. Forcing a geographical
location upon Togarmah that is totally inconsistent with the clear witness of ancient
history would be grossly twisting the evidence. Moreover, modern Turkey fits the
description given because it is clearly to the far north parts of the Promised Land.”9

WITH ALL ITS TROOPS

The last part of verse 6 says that Beth-togarmah will come from the north parts
“with all its troops—many peoples with you.” The Hebrew word for “troops” is only
used six times in the Hebrew Old Testament and all of them are found in Ezekiel (12:14;
17:21; 38:6, 9, 22; 39:4).10 All but two uses appear in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Some scholars
say that this word is related to a “wing” or “parameter,”11 but it clearly is a reference
military troops in these contexts. Some suggest that it may connote the troops on the
flank or wings of a military unit and would be a Hebrew idem for all of one’s forces.
The point would be that if one brings his troops on the wing,12 then those would include
all the forces one could muster. The translation of troops (i.e., military) is the clear
meaning of this word.
The final phrase in verse six is clear that the sum total of the house of Togarmah will
include many peoples with him. This phrase is found two other times in the Hebrew
Bible, both of them in Ezekiel 38 (verses 9 and 15). Verse 9 refers to the entire coalition
that will attack Israel, while verse 15 the many peoples refers to the coalition members
that are led by Gog. The use of “many peoples with you” in verses 9 and 15 differ
slightly from verse 6 since their constructions are prefaced with the use of the “and”
conjunction. The use of the phrase in verse 6 does not have a conjunction, which means
that the phrase “many peoples with you” is in apposition to the preceding phrase “with
all its troops.” Thus, the text is saying that the “many peoples with you” is descriptive
of the troops that Beth-togarmah will bring with them in their attack on Israel.

TALKING TURKEY
Having now completed a study of the list of nations that will join the Russian led
attack against Israel, we see that four of those names refer to descendants that make up
the modern nation of Turkey. Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Beth-togarmah all strongly
point to modern Turkey as a member of the diabolical coalition. But, does Turkey’s
involvement seem possible given the alignment of the nations today?
 -3-

Currently Turkey is not aliened with Russia and Iran since it technically became a
secular state with a Muslim heritage after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end
of World War I. Turkey has long been a member of NATO and has desired to identify
with Europe rather than Asia, most likely for economic reasons. Turkey is a nation in
which a small part of it is in Europe while most of it is in Asia. Turkey has applied for
membership in the European Union, however, since membership in the EU would
mean that anyone within the Union are able to move freely to any other part of it. The
rest of the EU is concerned that if they admit Turkey then it will be a conduit through
which Muslims would be able to flood into the rest of Europe. Even though they are
still going through the motions of application, it is certain that the EU will eventually
reject Turkey’s admittance. Once they are rejected, Turkey will seek alignment with
Russia and their Islamic brethren.
The last few years has seen an Islamic majority emerge in Turkey’s Parliament and
an Islamic Prime Minister is now in place. The breakup of the former Soviet Union
included the independence of five Islamic republics: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizia,
Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Hitchcock notes that “Turkey has clearly been drawn to
these former Soviet republics for economic reasons, Turkey also shares strong linguistic
and ethnic ties with these nations. All of these nations speak Turkic languages with the
exception of Tajikistan, where the language is similar to Iranian Farsi.”13 Turkey sees
itself as the economic developer of the vast natural resources like gold, silver, uranium,
oil, coal, and natural gas that are found in these five new states. Once Turkey is
spurned by Europe, she will have motive enough to enter into league with Russia and
their Islamic brethren which will set the stage for the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
2,047 times according to a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
2
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
3
S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English translation with an Introduction and Commentary (London: The
Soncino Press, 1950), p. 182.
4
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 63.
5
Jon Mark Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New Research on Ezekiel’s Vision of the End
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003), p. 102.
6
Hitchcock, After The Empire, pp. 63–64.
7
Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 64.
8
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, electronic
version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
9
Hitchcock, After The Empire, pp. 64–65.
10
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
11
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon.
12
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 161.
13
Hitchcock, After The Empire, p. 66.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XI
by Thomas Ice

Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your

companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for
them. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter
years you will come into the land that is restored from the
sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many
nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a
continual waste; but its people were brought out from the
nations, and they are living securely, all of them.
—Ezekiel 38:7–8

The first six verses of Ezekiel’s prophecy in chapter 38 outlined “who” would be
involved in an invasion of Israel, while verses 7–9 tell us “where” and “when” these
events will take place. This new section (verses 7–9) begins with a taunt from God for
Gog and his coalition to make sure that they are really ready for their invasion of Israel.

GOD TAUNTS GOG

Verse 7 begins with the same verb used two times, back-to-back. The reason why
the verb “prepare” is arranged this way is to intensify their meaning. In other words,
God is telling Gog and his allies that they better make sure that they are prepared to the
utmost for their attack on Israel, because in essence it is an attack on God, which is
something that humans can never really prepare for. “With consummate and telling
irony,” notes Charles Feinberg, “Ezekiel urged Gog to be fully prepared for the
encounter, and to see to it that all was in readiness as far as his confederates were
concerned.”1
The final phrase of verse 7 says, “be a guard for them.” The Hebrew noun for
“guard” means “watch” or “lookout” and in this context has the connotation of “to
maintain vigilance, post a strong watch” and “to stand at the ready.”2 The Lord is
further taunting Gog as He challenges him, as the leader of the coalition, to make sure
that he guards or watches over this assembled company so that he may protect them
against any evil that could befall them. This is a sarcastic warning to Gog and his group
that even though their gathering is for the purpose of wiping out Israel, it is their
company that will be destroyed.

AFTER MANY DAYS

The sovereignty of God continues to be a major theme of this prophecy as Ezekiel
begins verse 8 by saying, “After many days you will be summoned.” This entire
operation is ultimately God’s idea and He will “put hooks into your jaws, and I will
bring you out,” (verse 4) against Israel. Now Ezekiel says that God is summoning Gog
and his coalition to attack Israel to accomplish the Lord’s purpose. “The mind of man
plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9).
The exact Hebrew phrase “after many days” is found only one other place in the Old
Testament. “Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to
Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years,”
(Josh. 23:1). Since context governs the length of time intended for a temporal phrase, it
is clear in Joshua that many days referred to a few years because “many days” all took
 -2-

place within the lifetime of Joshua. A similar Hebrew phrase is used four times in the
Old Testament (1 Kings 18:1; Eccl. 11:1; Isa. 24:22; Jer. 13:6). Three of these four
occurrences are similar to the Joshua 23:1 uses, however, Isaiah 24:22 is used in an
eschatological context. “So it will happen in that day, that the LORD will punish the
host of heaven, on high, and the kings of the earth, on earth. And they will be gathered
together like prisoners in the dungeon, and will be confined in prison; and after many
days they will be punished. Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for
the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be
before His elders” (Isa. 24:21–23). C. F. Keil, writing in the nineteenth century says,
“The first clause reminds so strongly of Isa. xxiv. 22, that the play upon this passage
cannot possibly be mistaken; so that Ezekiel uses the words in the same sense as
Isaiah.”3 This context is clearly referencing something that is future and has not yet
occurred. “After many days” in verse 22 is likely a reference to the thousand-year time
period revealed in Revelation 20:2–7.
The length of time indicated by the phrase “after many days” is determined by
factors in the context, which are clearly longer than the lifespan of a human. We will
soon see as I examine the other time statements in this context that “the text is emphatic
that the invasion and its consequences have been foreseen long before.”4 Keil says,
“after many days, i.e., after a long time . . . signifies merely the lapse of a lengthened
period; . . . is the end of day, the last time, not the future generally, but the final future,
the Messianic time of the completing of the kingdom of God.”5 Feinberg declares, “the
notion of time indicated that the attack of the enemy would not take place for a long
time. The events here predicted were not to be expected in the lifetime of Ezekiel or his
contemporaries.”6

IN THE LATTER YEARS

“After many days” is not the only time indicator of when this invasion will take
place. “After many days” is immediately followed in the Hebrew text by the phrase “in
the latter years.” These two phrases must refer to the same time period. Like the
previous phrase, since it is not qualified by something like the latter years of a person’s
life, etc., it is an absolute phrase referring to the span of history. An almost identical
phrase is used in verse 16 and says, “It will come about in the last day that I shall bring
you against My land.” The term “latter years” is only used in this passage in the entire
Old Testament, however, since “last days” is used in verse 16 describing the same
event, it is safe to conclude that the more frequently used phrase “last days” is
synonymous with “latter years.” Such a conclusion is supported by the fact that “after
many days” and “in the latter years” are used in tandem in verse 8. Feinberg says, “the
time element was distinctly stated as ‘in the latter years,’ which is equivalent to ‘the
latter days’ of verse 16.”7
When we search the Old Testament for the use of terminology similar to “the latter
years” of Ezekiel 38:8 we find three other phrases that are parallel.8 I have selected only
the uses of these three phrases that have a future, prophetic meaning. The first term is
“latter days” (Deut. 4:30; 31:29; Jer. 30:24; 48:47; Dan. 2:28; 10:14), the second is “last
days” (Isa. 2:2; Jer. 23:20; 49:39; Eze. 38:16; Hosea 3:5; Mic. 4:1), while the final phrase is
“the time of the end” (Dan. 8:17, 19; 11:27, 35, 40; 12:4, 9, 13). The fact that Ezekiel uses
three phrases (“after many days,” “in the latter years,” and “in the last days) provides
strong support that this battle will take place during a yet future time. Randall Price
tells us, “while the expression "latter days" may refer to the Tribulation period, it is not
a technical term for such, since its contextual settings and varieties of usages allow it to
 -3-

be employed in different ways.”9 Thus, references to the latter days phrases include the
70th week of Daniel or the tribulation period, the millennial kingdom and could also
include some events that might take place shortly before the tribulation, like the Gog
and Magog invasion. Mark Hitchcock notes, “These phrases are used a total of fifteen
times in the Old Testament. They are always used to refer to either the Tribulation
period (Deut. 4:30; 31:29) or the Millennium (Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1). While these phrases do
not specifically identify the time of the invasion, they do clearly indicate that the
general time period is future even from our day.”10

RESTORED FROM THE SWORD

The next phrase tells us, “you will come into the land that is restored from the
sword.” The land into which Gog will lead his coalition of invaders is without a doubt
the land of Israel. Interestingly the land of Israel is described as a land that has been
restored from the sword. The Hebrew word for “restored” is the common word
meaning “to turn around” or “repent.”11 Therefore, the sense in which “repent” is used
here is of a people who once were in the land of Israel, then they were removed from
the land, and now they have been brought back to the land from which they originated.
Thus, they were turned or returned to the land of Israel. The Jews are said to be the
only group of people in the known history of the world who were removed from their
homeland, dispersed among most all of the nations, and have returned to their original
homeland. This explains why my English translation (NASB) renders this Hebrew
word with a meaning of restore. In other words, the Jews are returning to their land
when this event happened. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 221.
2
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, electronic
version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
3
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 162.
4
Jon Mark Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New Research on Ezekiel’s Vision of the End
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003), p. 123.
5
Keil, Ezekiel, p. 163.
6
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 221.
7
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 221.
8
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.3.
9
Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), p. 40.
10
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), p. 126.
11
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XII
by Thomas Ice

After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years

you will come into the land that is restored from the sword,
whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations
to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual
waste; but its people were brought out from the nations,
and they are living securely, all of them.
—Ezekiel 38:8

Verse 8 is one of the longest verses in Ezekiel 38—39 and describes when this
invasion of the land of Israel will take place. There are a total of seven descriptive
phrases used in verse 8 to tell us when this event will occur. We have already examined
the first three and have seen that the invasion will take place “after many days,” “in the
latter years,” and when the land of Israel “is restored from the sword.” We must keep
in mind that this event will unfold when all seven indicators are in place at the same
time.

FULFILLED IN THE DAYS OF ESTHER?

Preterist Gary DeMar proposes a bizarre interpretation of when the invasion of Gog
would be take place. He contends that the battle described in Ezekiel 38—39 has
already been fulfilled through the events of Esther 9 in about 473 B.C. in the days of
Queen Esther of Persia.1 DeMar states that the parallels between the battles in Ezekiel
38—39 and Esther are “unmistakable.”2 There are a multitude of problems with such a
view, the least of which is not the seven phrases provided in Ezekiel 38:8. It is not the
couple of similarities that are determinative when comparing the prophecy with Esther
but the multitude of differences that render DeMar’s view as impossible. The only
possible motive for advocating such a view appears to be DeMar’s obsessive desire to
avoid any future prophecy relating to the nation of Israel. Such an obsession blinds him
to the clear meaning of the text.
Here are a few of the more apparent and problematic inconsistencies.

EZEKIEL 38—39 ESTHER 9

The land of Israel is invaded (38:16) by Jews are attacked in cities throughout the
multiple armies. The enemies fall on the Persian empire (127 provinces, 9:30) by
mountains of Israel (39:4). Gog, the leader apparent gangs of people, not armies, and
of the invasion, is buried in Israel (39:11). defend themselves (9:2). The enemies die
throughout the Persian empire.

The Jews bury the dead bodies over a No need to cleanse the land because the
period of seven months to cleanse the land dead bodies aren’t in Israel.
of Israel (39:12).

The invaders are destroyed by a massive Attackers are killed by the Jewish people
earthquake in the land of Israel, infighting, themselves, assisted by local government
plagues, and fire from heaven (38:19–22). leaders (9:3-5).
God destroys the enemies supernaturally.
 -2-

Invaders are from as far west as ancient The Persian empire did not include these
Put (modern Libya) (Ezek. 38:5) and as far areas. It only extended as far west as Cush
north as Magog, the land of the Scythians. (modern Sudan) (Esther 8:9) and a far
north as the bottom part of the Black and
Caspian Seas.

God even sends fire upon Magog and There is nothing even close to this in
those who inhabit the coastlands (39:6). Esther 9.

One important question we might ask at this point is the following: If Ezekiel 38—39
was literally fulfilled in the events of Esther 9, why did this escape the notice of
everyone in Esther’s day? Why isn’t there any mention in Esther of this great
fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy? The answer is quite clear. Esther 9 did not fulfill
Ezekiel 38—39. In fact, an important Jewish holiday developed out of the Esther event
called Purim (9:20-32). This is a joyous annual holiday to celebrate God’s deliverance
from the hand of Israel’s enemies. Purim’s celebration includes the public reading of
the book of Esther, but no tradition has developed or even been heard of in which the
Jews read Ezekiel 38—39 in connection with this observance. If Ezekiel 38—39 had been
a fulfillment of Esther, then no doubt a tradition of reading that passage would have
arisen in conjunction with the celebration.
Further, why aren’t there any Jewish scholars down through history that have
recognized this fulfillment? The consensus of Jewish commentators has always seen the
Gog prophecy as an end of days event. In fact, this battle is the focus of their view of
end-times prophecy that will be fulfilled right before the coming of Messiah.
Contemporary Rabbi Rafael Eisenberg summarizes Jewish tradition on the battle of
Ezekiel’s Gog as follows:

Our prophets and sages have foretold that prior to the arrival of the Messiah,
the Wicked Empire, Rome (which as we have already shown, is modern
Russia), will regain its former greatness. In those pre-Messianic days, Russia
will expand over and conquer the entire globe, and her ruler, “who will be as
wicked as Haman,” will arise and lead the nations of the world to Jerusalem
in order to exterminate Yisrael. . . . At that time, the overt miracles which will
bring about the great retribution against Yisrael’s enemies and the final
destruction of the Wicked Empire, will convince the world that God, alone, is
the Judge and Ruler of the Universe.3

Another simple reason we can know that this invasion is still future is because
nothing even remotely similar to the events in Ezekiel 38—39 have ever occurred in the
past. Just think about it! When has Israel ever been invaded by all these nations listed
in Ezekiel 38:1–6? Or when did God ever destroy an invading army like this with fire
and brimstone from heaven, plagues, earthquakes, and infighting among the invaders
(Ezek. 38:19–22)?
The answer? Never. That’s because Ezekiel is describing an invasion that is still
future even in our day. Now we will investigate the final four indicators of verse 8.

GATHERED FROM MANY NATIONS

 -3-

The fourth phrase says, “whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations
to the mountains of Israel.” The phrase “whose inhabitants have been gathered” is a
rendering of the single Hebrew verb for “gather.” This verb is the common word for
collecting something like agricultural products at harvest time. “Gather” is used in this
passage as a pual4 participle, which implies by ellipsis in this context that the ones
gathered are the “inhabitants” of the mountains of Israel. The implication of the pual
participle in this context is that God is the One who has gathered the inhabitants back to
the land of Israel. From where has He gathered them?
God has gathered them from many nations. The word translated “nations” is
simply the common Hebrew word am that is used almost 3,000 times5 in the Old
Testament and simply means “people, peoples, nation, or nations.”6 This gathering is
not from just a few nations, but said to be from “many” nations. “This cannot refer to
the Babylonian captivity but to worldwide dispersion,”7 notes Charles Feinberg. C. F.
Keil agrees and says, “gathered out of many peoples, points also beyond the Babylonian
captivity to the dispersion of Israel in all the world, which did not take place till the
second destruction of Jerusalem.”8 These returnees will come “to the mountains of
Israel.” Jerusalem is a city set within the mountains of Israel. Thus, since 1967 the
modern state of Israel has been in control of the old city known as Jerusalem.

A CONTINUAL WASTE
The fifth phrase says, “which had been a continual waste.” What had been a
continual waste? This phrase speaks of the land of Israel which had been a continual
waste.” The Hebrew noun for “waste” is used 50 times in the Old Testament,9 primarily
in the prophets to speak of the ruins of Jerusalem, Israel and sometimes Egypt as a
result of God’s judgment. The adverbial participle “continual” modifies the noun
“waste,” and speaks “of going on without interruption, continuously.”10 Rabbi Fisch
says that “continual” “here signifies ‘for a long time,’ meaning the period of the exile.”11
But which exile? Does it refer to the 70 year Babylonian exile or the almost 2,000 year
global exile that much of modern Jewry is still experiencing? Feinberg says, “This had
in view a period of time longer than that of the seventy year in Babylon.”12 Keil also
notes that “continual” in this text “denotes a much long devastation of the land than the
Chaldean devastation was.”13

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of The Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 2001), pp. 12-15.
2
DeMar, End Times Fiction, p. 13.
3
Rafael Eisenberg, A Matter of Return: A Penetrating Analysis of Yisrael’s Afflictions and Their Alternatives
(Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1980), p. 155, as cited in Randall Price, The Temple and Bible Prophecy: A
Definitive Look at Its Past, Present, and Future (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2005), p. 459. For an overview
of Jewish beliefs about the Gog’s invasion of Israel in Ezekiel 38—39 see Price, The Temple and Bible
Prophecy, pp. 458–61.
4
The pual verb stem in Hebrew denotes an intensive passive form of a verb.
5
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
 -4-

6
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
7
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 222.
8
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 164.
9
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
10
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
11
Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English Translation With An Introduction and Commentary
(London: The Soncino Press, 1950), p. 254.
12
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
13
Keil, Ezekiel, p. 164.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XIII
by Thomas Ice

After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years

you will come into the land that is restored from the sword,
whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations
to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual
waste; but its people were brought out from the nations,
and they are living securely, all of them. And you will go
up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud
covering the land, you and all your troops, and many
peoples with you.
—Ezekiel 38:8–9

The final two of seven descriptive phrases in verse 8 will now be examined. These
phrases provide a framework for determining when this invasion will take place.

GATHERED FROM THE NATIONS

The sixth descriptive phrase of verse 8 says, “but its people were brought out from
the nations.” The disjunctive waw at the beginning of this construction indicates that
this phrase stands in contrast and is related to the previous phrase: “whose inhabitants
have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a
continual waste.” The subject “it” “is feminine in the Hebrew, can only refer to the
land.”1 The sense is as follows: the land of Israel’s people (i.e., the Jews). Such a sense
provides a strong polemic that the people God believes belong in the land of Israel are
the Jews.
The Hebrew verb yasah is used over a thousand times in the Old Testament and
means to “come out” or “go forth.”2 However, in this instance it is in the hophal stem,
which gives it a causative passive sense and means that the Jewish people “were
brought out” from the nations by someone other than themselves. Who would that
“someone” reference? The implication can only refer to God as the One who will cause
the Jews to be brought back to the land of Israel. The verb “brought out” in this
instance serves to support the overall notion of God’s sovereign control over all
nations—Israel and the Gentiles. The Gentiles were noted at the beginning of verse 8 as
they are “summoned” to invade Israel. Israel is emphasized in this phrase since it is
God who is in reality bringing them back to their Promised Land.
There are only three Hebrew words in this phrase and it literally says, “but it is
brought forth out of the peoples.”3 Reading this in context, as should always be done
with any passage, the “it” refers to the last half of the preceding phrase “the mountains
of Israel which had been a continual waste.” Thus, how can the land of Israel be
brought back from the peoples or nations? This can only occur if the people are
brought back to the land, which explains why most translators add “people” in an effort
to clarify the sense of the Hebrew.

LIVING SECURELY
The final construct says, “and they are living securely, all of them.” This phrase is
also composed of three Hebrew words and completes this long sentence. The verb jasab
is used over a thousand times in the Old Testament and has the general meaning of “sit,
 -2-

remain, or dwell.”4 Therefore, it is translated “living” in many English translations

since that is the nuance of what one does when they stay for a period of time on a
certain piece of land, as opposed to one who is just visiting.
The next Hebrew word is the noun betah that is translated “securely.” There has
been a lot of discussion about just what this word means in this context. The Hebrew
lexicons tell us that the general meaning is “security” or “confidence” and is similar to
our English word “trust” in range of meaning.5 It is often used in construct form with
the verb “to dwell,” as is the case here and occurs 160 times in the Hebrew Bible.6 It is
used in Leviticus and Deuteronomy as a promise from the Lord that He will cause the
nation to dwell securely in the Land if they obey his law (Lev. 25:18, 19; 26:5; Deut.
12:10). This term is used throughout the historical and prophetic Old Testament books
as a comment whether or not Israel is dwelling securely in the land. In fact, this phrase
is used in Jeremiah 49:31 in a similar invasion context as we see in Ezekiel 38. It says:
“’Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, which lives securely,’ declares the LORD.
‘It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone.’” This is how it is used in Ezekiel 38:8.
“However, quite often this general meaning has a negative ring . . . to indicate a false
security.”7 The context supports the false security connotation in this instance, because
of the impending invasion. On the other hand, since God miraculously delivers the
nation, maybe it is not misplaced after all.
Some have tried to equate the notion of “living securely” with the “living
peacefully.” It is said that what is described in this passage is a situation where Israel is
at peace with all their neighbors and no one is a treat to them. This is not supported by
the word betah or the context. “Nowhere in the entire text does it speak of Israel as
living in peace. Rather, Israel is merely living in security, which means ‘confidence,’
regardless of whether it is during a state of war or peace,” notes Arnold Fruchtenbaum.
“There is nothing in the various descriptions of Israel given in this passage that is not
true of Israel today.”8
The final Hebrew word is translated by the English phrase “all of them.” To whom
does this refer? It can only refer to all of those living securely in the land of Israel. All
of those who have returned to the mountains of Israel are dwelling in security. Charles
Feinberg concludes, “Finally, they were viewed as living securely, all of them, without
fear of invasion or deportation.”9 This sets the stage for the comments in the next verse
where God again addresses God and his invading force.

GOG GOES UP
We see that the action of verse 9 will take place when the conditions of verse 8 are all
in place. “Just when least expected and without the slightest warning, the enemy will
swoop down on the returned exiles, as an unheralded storm.”10 The Hebrew verb “go
up” is very common and becomes idiomatic when used in a military context where one
goes up to battle or in reference to the land of Israel, one goes up, regardless of the
direction of one’s movement.

A CLOUDY STORM
A couple of similes are used to describe how Gog’s invasion will take place. The
first one “will come like a storm.” One Hebrew lexicon said that the use of “storm” in
this passage “really means ‘a storm that breaks out violently and suddenly.’”11 Thus,
the Gog invasion of Israel will be suddenly and unexpected like a thunderstorm that
gathers quickly and then unleashes its fury with an outburst that catches many
unprepared.
 -3-

The second simile describes the extent and vastness of the size of the invading army.
The Hebrew verb kassot is only used eleven times in the Hebrew Bible and has the
connotation of not just “to cover,” but to cover some thing for the purpose of concealing
it.12 So we see that the Gog invading forces will be so massive in number that their
troops will cover the land so completely that one will not be able to see the land upon
which they move.
The final phrase of the verse says, “you and all your troops, and many peoples with
you.” “You” is a reference to Gog himself. Gog will be coming with all of his troops as
described earlier in the chapter. Gog will not be alone, he will with him the many
different people groups as mentioned above as their alliance invades God’s land of
Israel. Rabbi Fisch notes that the same description is used in Jeremiah 4:13, which says,
“Behold, he goes up like clouds, and his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are
swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!” Fisch concludes that the Ezekiel
passage is “a figure for the strength and terrifying appearance of Gog’s approaching
armies.”13 “The land will be covered and smothered by the vast multitude of Gog’s
followers, just as a cloud blankets a land below it,” says Feinberg. “Gog will see to it
that he has plenty of allies and enough mercenaries to carry through his satanic
scheme.”14 Israel may be caught off guard but not the Lord God of Israel Who never
sleeps nor slumbers. He is standing guard and will fight for Israel when this great
northern invasion suddenly breaks forth in history. After all, the Lord God of Israel is
the one who initiates these yet future events. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
(italics original) Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English Translation With An Introduction and
Commentary (London: The Soncino Press, 1950), pp. 254–55.
2
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
3
Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 254.
4
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
5
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition; and Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew
Lexicon, electronic version.
6
From a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
7
G. Johannes Botterweck, & Helmer Ringgren, editors, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. II
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), p. 89.
8
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 117.
9
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 222.
10
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
11
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
12
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition; and Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew
Lexicon, electronic version.
13
Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 255.
14
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XIV
by Thomas Ice

Thus says the Lord GOD, “It will come about on that day, that
thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil
plan, and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled
villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely,
all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates, to
capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the
waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who
are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods,
who live at the center of the world.’”
—Ezekiel 38:10–12

Verses 10 through 13 records the intentions of the invaders. It is no problem for the
God of the Bible to know the thoughts and intentions of one’s mind and heart (Heb.
4:12–13) and thus reveal to us what one’s motives are. Even though the Lord “put
hooks in their jaws” (38:4) in order to bring the invaders down, the human thought
process is revealed in this section.

BAD INTENTIONS
“The Lord God” is a term that denotes “the sovereign Lord of the nations,”1 which is
certainly on display in this passage. “On that day” is a reference to the preceding
section when Israel is again settled in the land and the time when the invasion will take
place. It is on that day that “thoughts will come into your mind.” The Hebrew word
translated “thoughts” is a common noun dabar, which is usually translated “word,”
“speech” or “thing”2 depending on the context. In this context, the best rendering is
“not words, but things which come into his mind. What things these are, we learn from
verses 11 and 12.”3 The Hebrew language does not have a word for “mind,” even
though it is used in the New American Standard translation from which I have quoted
throughout this series. That is surely the sense of the word, but it is translated “mind”
and is the Hebrew labeb that has the basic meaning of “inner man” or “heart.”4 Thus,
inner activity like thinking was assigned to the “heart.” In this context, the passage
speaks of the things that will take place in the inner man, which would be “thoughts.”
Verse 10 concludes with the line, “you will devise an evil plan.” This phrase is
made up of three Hebrew words. “You will devise” is the Hebrew verb hasabat, which
has the idea of “to weave,” and in relation to the heart or mind it would convey the idea
of weaving, scheming or devising a plan.5 The noun is from the same exact root as the
verb. Thus, a literal translation would convey the idea of thinking thoughts. But since
the third word is an adjective meaning “evil,”6 it is clear that the sense of this passage
refers to an evil plan against God’s chosen people, Israel. Therefore, this verse appears
to be telling us that even though the general idea to attack Israel is the result of God’s
sovereign plan (38:4), the details are conceived and developed within the mind of Rosh
and his band will invaders. Because it is characterized as a manmade scheme or plan,
Rosh and his fellow attackers are held responsible.

THE PLAN REVEALED

 -2-

The evil scheme is disclosed in verse eleven. The evil thoughts are those of Rosh
and say, “I will go up against the land of unwalled villages.” Verse 11 describes Rosh’s
perception of a regathered Israel at this time in history. There is no reason to think that
Rosh’s description is inaccurate. The verb “go up” is a very common Hebrew
expression that means “to ascend, go up.” It is commonly used of anyone going to the
land of Israel or Jerusalem from outside the country. There is no military overtone in
this verb.7 The land of Israel is described in this passage in the following four ways: 1)
the land of unwalled villages; 2) those who are at rest; 3) that live securely; and 4) all of
them living without walls, and having no bars or gates.
The first characterization of Israel as a land of unwalled villages means that they will
not build walls around their villages for protection as in ancient times. Randall Price
notes: “only the Old City of Jerusalem has a wall and the modern city since the late
1800’s has existed outside these walls.”8 This probably means that the nation will lack
protection from invasion since that was the purpose of building walls in ancient times.
Rabbi Fisch says, “Israel will have made no preparations against attack by building
walls around his cities.”9
The second phrase tells of a people who are at rest. The Hebrew participle saqat
describes a people who are “quiet, undisturbed, and at rest.”10 This verb is used
frequently in Joshua and Judges to note the quiet or rest that resulted from Israel’s
military victories over the Canaanites as they conquered the Land under Joshua.11 This
term refers to quiet or rest from military conflict. The third term is betah and was used
in verse 8. We saw that it refers to Israel living in security, which means confidence.12
The fourth characterization is all of them living without walls, and having no bars or
gates. We have seen earlier that living without walls would literally mean that none of
their cities or towns will have walls that the ancients had in order to hold off an
invading army. This picture is reinforced by the note that they will not have bars or
gates, presumably in walls that they do not have. Bars and gates were important points
of defense in ancient city walls.
What does this mean in relation to the invasion? First, this passage is the
perspective of Gog, who thinks that Israel is not properly defended and thus vulnerable
to a surprise attack. Second, Price points out that, “Israel’s security is based on the
strength of its military, which is acknowledged as one of the best in the world and
which has defended the country against overwhelming odds in numerous past
invasions.”13 Third, these conditions were never true at any time in Israel’s past, thus it
must refer to a future time as already noted by the phrases “after many days” and “in
the latter years” (38:8). Keil says, “This description of Israel’s mode of life also points
beyond the times succeeding the Babylonian captivity.”14

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Two reasons are revealed by God in verse 12 as Gog’s motive for the future invasion
of Israel. These reasons are indicated by a pair of infinitival phrases and are first, “to
capture spoil” and second, “to seize plunder.” In both instances the Hebrew text uses
the same word twice, a verb as an infinitive followed by the noun in construct to the
verb to describe Gog’s motive for the invasion.
The first phrase, “to capture spoil,” comes from the Hebrew root word shalal and
means “to congregate, assemble together in order to rob.”15 Thus, since both the verb
and the noun are from the same Hebrew root, it would mean something like “to spoil
spoil.” However, that is not good English. The Hebrew idem is better rendered “to
 -3-

capture spoil,” even though the fact that both words are from the same root is lost in
translation.
The second idem, “to size plunder” comes from the Hebrew root baz and means “to
plunder, spoil, take booty, rob.”16 Thus, it would have the sense in Hebrew of “spoiling
spoil.” This word carries with it the idea of dividing up the spoil or bounty captured in
a raid or military conquest. Thus, the clear motive for invasion is to gain material
wealth. Charles Feinberg notes, “The enemy, greedy of Israel’s wealth, will embark on
a campaign of conquest for gain.”17
The rest of verse 12 reinforces the two opening declarations concerning Gog’s
motive for invasion. A third infinitive declares that Gog desires “to turn your hand
against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are
gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods.” The notion of
“turning one’s hand against” pictures one doing a 180 degree turn around from the
direction they were headed in order to attack another. This is described in verse 10 as
Gog devising an evil plan, but must be seen as the human means to an overall process
originally initiated by God Himself (38:2–4). To make matters worse concerning Gog’s
evil thoughts is the picture painted by the last part of verse 12, which speaks of Israel
returning to her land which had become a waste place in her absence, then turning it
into a wealth producing land, that Gog and his attackers now want to invade in order to
take this wealth for themselves. Israel has survived over 2,000 years of dispersion
among the nations and God brings them back to her land in which they become highly
productive and wealthy, only to have Gog and his allies attack them to take away her
newly gained wealth. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Commentary on The Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, [1981]
2002), p. 1578.
2
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
3
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 164.
4
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
5
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
6
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
7
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
8
Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), p. 40.
9
S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English translation with an Introduction and Commentary (London: The
Soncino Press, 1950), p. 255.
10
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
11
See Joshua 11:23; 14:15; Judges 3:11, 30; 5:31; 8:28.
12
See Thomas Ice, “Ezekiel 38 and 39, Part XIII,” Pre-Trib Perspectives (Feb. 2008), pp. 6–7.
13
Price, Ezekiel, pp. 40–41.
14
Keil, Ezekiel, p. 165.
 -4-

15
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
16
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition.
17
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 222.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XV
by Thomas Ice

“’to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against
the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people
who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and
goods, who live at the center of the world.’ Sheba, and Dedan, and
the merchants of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say to you,
‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your
company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take
away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’”’
—Ezekiel 38:12–13

Twice Israel and Jerusalem are said in Ezekiel to dwell at the center of the earth.
“Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations,
with lands around her’” (Ezek. 5:5). Rabbi Fisch says, “Following Ezekiel, Dante places
Jerusalem at the centre of the world, with the Ganges as the extreme east and the pillars
of Hercules as the extreme west.”1 Israel and its chief city Jerusalem was created by
God and placed in the center of the earth so that she could be a light to the nations as
the Lord desired to use her to spread His message across the globe. Rabbi Fisch notes,
“Jerusalem intended to be the radiating centre of the knowledge of God for all
peoples.”2 It is within such a context that Ezekiel 38:12 notes that the nation of Israel is
“at the center of the world.”

ISRAEL: CENTER OF THE WORLD

The Hebrew word translated “world” in the New American Standard translation
that I use is really the Hebrew term for “earth.” Ha’aretz is used over 2,500 times in the
Hebrew Old Testament3 and is used in five basic ways: 1) ground, earth; 2) a specific
piece of ground; 3) a territory or country; 4) the whole of the land, the earth; 5) depths
of the earth or the underworld.4 In this context it clearly is a reference to the entire
earth. It is important to note that “earth” instead of “world” is used in the original,
since world could denote the people and not the land. The emphasis here is upon being
in the center of the earth’s land—the geographical naval. The Hebrew word for
“center” is literally “the naval,”5 “as the naval is in the centre of the body.”6
Why is Israel’s location mentioned at this point in the passage? I agree with Rabbi
Fisch’s opinion: “This is mentioned to stress the viciousness of Gog’s plan. He dwelt in
the far north, a great distance from the Land of Israel; so the people of the latter could
have hand no aggressive designs upon him.”7 C. F. Keil echoes Rabbi Fisch’s view and
describes it as one of their two motives for invasion in the following:

This figurative expression is to be explained from ch. v. 5; “Jerusalem in the

midst of the nations.” The navel is not a figure denoting the high land, but
signifies the land situated in the middle of the earth, and therefore the land
most glorious and most richly blessed; so that they who dwell there occupy
the most exalted position among the nations. A covetous desire for the
possessions of the people of god, and envy at his exalted position in the
centre of the world, are therefore the motives by which Gog is impelled to
 -2-

enter upon his predatory expedition against the people living in the depth of
peace.8

Belief in Israel’s special status and global location explains the famous rabbinical
statement derived from these two passages in Ezekiel:

As the navel is set in the centre of the human body, so is the land of Israel
the navel of the world . . . situated in the centre of the world, and Jerusalem in
the centre of the land of Israel, and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary, and the ark in the centre of
the holy place, and the foundation stone before the holy place, because from
it the world was founded.9

Many commentators on this passage only stress the economic gain as the single
motive for Gog’s invasion from the human perspective. However, this final phrase in
verse 12 makes it clear that they also invade out of envy of Israel’s special status with
God and her resulting geographic location.

SHEBA AND DEDAN

Who are Sheba and Dedan? “Sheba and Dedan are not difficult to identify. They
are located in the modern country of Saudi Arabia.”10 “Sheba and Dedan are counties in
northern Arabia,” notes Arnold Fruchtenbaum.11 As indicated in the context, they were
known for their commercial trading, thus, their interest in the Gog invasion of nearby
Israel in order to take spoil. Randall Price locates Sheba as modern Yemen in the
southern part of the Arabian peninsula and Dedan as Saudi Arabia.12 Regardless of
their precise location on the Arabian peninsula, there appears to be no doubt that it is a
reference to Saudi Arabia and perhaps some of the other Arab nations currently
occupying that peninsula.

TARSHISH
Sheba and Dedan are said to be in alignment with “the merchants of Tarshish, with
all its villages.” What does the phrase “the merchants of Tarshish” mean? Like those in
Sheba and Dedan, they are said to be merchants or traders. But where is Tarshish
located?
Tarshish appears to be a wealthy trading community on the extremity of the
Mediterranean world. “Tarshish is ancient Tartessus in the present-day nation of
Spain.”13 This view is supported by standard Hebrew language reference books.14 For
example, Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner in their Hebrew Lexicon say, “these
point to Spain with its rich mineral resources. [Tarshish] could be a town the territory
of which is in the region of the mouth of the Guadalquivir. With some variation this is
probably the most widely accepted view today”15 “We read often in the OT of ‘ships of
Tarshish’ which were large, oceangoing vessels (Ezk 27:25) that carried all sorts of
precious cargo, especially metals such as silver and gold (I Kgs 10:22; 22:48; II Chr 9:21;
Isa 60:9; Jer 10:9; Ezk 38:13) as well as iron, tin, and lead (Ezk 27:12).”16
Harvard Professor, Barry Fell, has done extensive study on these matters and their
relation to activities in pre-Columbus America. Dr. Barry Fell says:

From the Bible we learn that the ships of Tarshish were the largest
seagoing vessels known to the Semitic world, and the name was eventually
 -3-

applied to any large ocean-going vessel. . . . the ships of Tarshish became

proverbial as an expression of sea power. . . .
it is not unlikely that the merchants of Tarshish may have been associated
with the trans-Atlantic migration of the Celts who came to America. Indeed
James Whittall, with whom I have discussed the decipherment of Tartessian
inscriptions here in America, thinks that the American Celts were deliberately
brought here by Phoenicians, who wanted mining communities to exploit
American natural resources, and with whom they could then trade. If this
hypothesis is correct, then Tartessian vessels would surely have played a
major role in the Celtic migration to New England.17

There does appear to be a significant basis to support the notion that the merchants
of Tarshish are connected with the seafaring Phoenicians of 3,000 years ago. These
merchants naturally established trading posts scattered along their various routes. Dr.
Stuart McBirnie may well be right when he concludes:

Only in the past half-dozen years has much light been thrown on the historic
location of ancient Tarshish. Books and articles in learned archaeological
journals written before that time now seem to have rather limited value. In
some instances, they are more confusing than helpful, despite the prestige of
their authors. The reasons for certainty of identification are found in recent
archaeological discoveries which confirm that ancient authorities were right
all along in their identification of Tarshish as a Western European colonizing
power based in Spain.18

Thus, the merchants of Tarshish appear to refer to the Phoenician maritime and
trading community located in Spain during the general time of King Solomon, 3,000
years ago. The merchants of Tarshish, during the last 500 years, developed into the
modern mercantile nations of Western Europe like Spain, Holland, and Britain.
Hitchcock concludes: “Tarshish, or modern Spain, could be used by Ezekiel to represent
all of the western nations which Saudi Arabia will join with in denouncing this
invasion. . . . It is highly probable that Ezekiel used the far western colony of Tarshish
to represent the end-time empire of the Antichrist.”19 Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English translation with an Introduction and Commentary (London: The
Soncino Press, 1950), p. 25.
2
Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 25.
3
From a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
4
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
5
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
6
Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 25.
7
Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 25.
 -4-

8
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 166.
9
Midrash Tanchuma, Qedoshim.
10
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers 1994), p. 100.
11
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 111.
12
Randall Price, “Ezekiel” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 191.
13
Hitchcock, After the Empire, pp. 100–101.
14
See Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, eds., The New Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew—Lexicon of
the Old Testament, (New York: Oxford University Press, rev. ed, 1977) p. 1076-77;Wilhelm Gesenius,
Gesenius’ Hebrew & Chaldee Lexicon (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1949), p. 875.
15
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
16
R. Laird Harris, Gleason J. Archer, Jr., Bruce K. Waltke, eds., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2
Vols., (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), II:981.
17
Barry Fell, America B. C., (New York: Pocket Books, 1976, [1989]), pp. 93-94.
18
W. S. McBirnie, Antichrist (Dallas: Acclaimed Books, 1978), p. 62.
19
Hitchcock, After the Empire, p. 101.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XVI
by Thomas Ice

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its
villages, will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have
you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver
and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’
Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the
Lord GOD, “On that day when My people Israel are living
securely, will you not know it? And you will come from your
place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples
with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a
mighty army; and you will come up against My people Israel like a
cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days that I
shall bring you against My land, in order that the nations may
know Me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes,
O Gog.”’
—Ezekiel 38:13–16

It appears that Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish are clearly a
trading community that is not involved in the invasion and from the sidelines ask the
motives of the invaders. “Have you come to capture spoil?” “Have you assembled
your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and
goods, to capture great spoil?” Even though these are questions, they also clearly reveal
in them the intent of the invaders, which were also stated in verse 12.

PURPOSE OF THE INVADERS

Since most of the terminology of the invaders is stated in verse 12, it is clear that the
human motive of the invaders is to steal the wealth of Israel. Many expositors have
speculated over the years what it is about Israel that the invaders have their eye on.
Some have said that it is the mineral wealth of the Dead Sea, which is the richest on
earth. However, as Arnold Fruchtenbaum notes, “Russia could also obtain the Dead
Sea by invading Jordan.”1 Whatever the specifics, the cumulative description of verses
12 and 13 make it clear that Israel has wealth and they invade her in order to gain that
wealth.
There is no doubt that Israel is by far the richest country in the region. Today she
has developed a productive economy via research and development in the area of
technology. Also, she is perhaps the most productive country per capita in the world
agriculturally. Israel has long controlled the diamond business and is the world leader
in generic pharmaceuticals. Wikipedia says, “Israel is considered one of the most
advanced countries in the Southwest Asia in economic and industrial
development. . . . It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the
world (after the United States) and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed
companies outside North America.”2 Regardless of the specific enticements, this
passage is clear that Israel is invaded for the purpose of stealing her wealth.

PROPHECY AGAINST GOG

 -2-

A new section begins with verses 14–16. “Son of man” is a common term used 93
times by God in this book to refer to Ezekiel.3 As C. F. Keil says, it “denotes man
according to his natural condition . . . denoting the weakness and fragility of man in
opposition to God.”4 The rest of this verse is a repeat of phrases already analyzed,
except the last one: “will you not know it?” This phrase in the English translates two
Hebrew words. The word for “not” appears at the beginning of the phrase “On that
day when My people . . .” Even though “not” appears in the middle of the passage, it
relates grammatically to and negates the final word in the verse, which is the Hebrew
verb “to know.” Keil rightly explains: “thou wilt know, or perceive, sc. that Israel
dwells securely, not expecting any hostile invasion.”5 Rabbi Fisch echoes Keil and says,
“the state of Israel’s peace and confidence which has led to his unpreparedness, so that
thou wilt choose him for thy victim.”6 Charles Feinberg notes Israel’s “imagined
security” and says, “The question is doubtless a rhetorical one. The Lord knew full well
that Gog will have already acquainted himself with the fact of Israel’s political
condition in order to be sure of his attack.”7
The Lord continues to speak to Gog and says, “you will come from your place.”
Where is Gog’s place? Gog’s place is said, as in verse 6, to be “the remote parts of the
north.” This phrase was dealt with in verse 6 and is the exact same Hebrew expression
in both places, except verse 15 has the prepositional stem “from,” while it is implied in
verse 6. This phrase will also be used again in 39:2. So three times the text emphasizes
that Gog will come from the remotest parts of the North. “It is intriguing that a tribe of
‘Mescherians,’ whose territory included the area of the modern city of Moscow,”
observes Jon Ruthven, “the capital of the traditional ‘Rus’,’ lies due north of Israel.”8 If
one draws a line from Jerusalem north to the North Pole, it will come very close to
modern Moscow. In fact, the only possible country that is to the extreme north of Israel
is Russia. The country of Russia begins north of the Black Sea in Southern Russia and is
the only country north of the Black Sea. Since we do not have many choices, one out of
one, it is clear that Gog is Russia, which fits the other information gleaned thus far from
Ezekiel 38.
The rest of verse 15 speaks of the fact that Gog will come with a huge army,
including many allies with her. I have dealt with this terminology already in earlier
verses in the passage.

WHY ME LORD?
Verse 16 concludes the section in which God explains “why” He will sovereignly
work in history to bring about Gog’s invasion of Israel. This verse makes it clear that
the Lord God of Israel sees the Gog lead invasion as a direct attack upon Him. Gog will
“come up against My people Israel;” “I shall bring you against My land;” and “that the
nations may know Me” (italics added). Gog will descend upon God’s real estate “like a
cloud to cover the land.” Charles Dyer suggests, “This awesome army will overrun all
obstacles as effortlessly as a cloud sailing across the sky.”9 This is true, until God
decides to intervene on behalf of His people and land.
Regardless of what the world thinks and the news media will say about Israel in that
day, the Lord God says that that the people who will be invaded are “My people
Israel.” As Paul says of Israel in the New Testament, “God has not rejected His people
whom He foreknew” (Rom. 11:2). On what basis can Paul say this? He can say it
because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:28). Yet, too many in
our day suffer under the false illusion of replacement theology that God has replace
“My people Israel” with the church. It is true that the church made up of elect Jews and
 -3-

Gentiles during the current age are also the people of God. However, God is not
finished with national or ethnic Israel and will focus upon them after the rapture.
The Lord also calls the land of Israel “My land.” In other words, His people Israel
are living in His land, which is also called Israel, in the last days when Gog and his
hordes come down to attack them. Thus, this passage makes it very clear that an attack
on God’s people and land is an attack upon God Himself. This is why, even though
Israel is not ready for this attack God will step in to defend her. Why will He defend
His people and land? He will defend them “in order that the nations may know Me
when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog” (38:16).
This section concludes with God’s purpose, which is the ultimate and overriding
purpose, for bringing Gog against His people "in the last days" (38:14). Gog’s purpose
from the human perspective was noted earlier (38:10–13), but the utmost purpose is to
teach the nations to acknowledge the Lord. They would do this when God used Gog to
demonstrate His holiness before them as the whole world watches. God will mobilize
Gog as He had raised up Pharaoh at the Exodus to demonstrate His power and holiness
when He subsequently puts him down. “Though the purpose of Gog’s campaign is
said to be lust for destruction and spoil,” declares Fisch, “it is an act designed in God’s
wisdom to bring mankind to the realization that He is King of the universe.”10 Thus,
God’s intent through all of this is to demonstrate who He is and what He values in this
world. He is a holy God who has given Israel her land and He knows how to protect
His people. O, that we would all learn this lesson. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 111.
2
Wikipedia, accessed May 13, 2008.
3
From a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
4
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 47.
5
Keil, Ezekiel, p. 167.
6
S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English translation with an Introduction and Commentary (London: The
Soncino Press, 1950), p. 256.
7
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 224.
8
Jon Mark Ruthven, The Prophecy That Is Shaping History: New Research on Ezekiel’s Vision of the End
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2003), p. 39.
9
Charles H. Dyer, “Ezekiel,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and
Roy B. Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor Books, 1985), p. 1301.
10
Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 257.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XVII
by Thomas Ice

Thus says the Lord GOD, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in
former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who
prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you
against them? And it will come about on that day, when Gog
comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “that My
fury will mount up in My anger. And in My zeal and in My
blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great
earthquake in the land of Israel.”
—Ezekiel 38:17–19

As we move into a new section in the prophecy, the Lord once again speaks to
Ezekiel about God’s future victory over Gog and his allies (38:17–23). For the fifth and
final time in chapter 38, the prophecy is said to be the word of the Lord. “Seven times
in Ezekiel 38—39 we read the same words, ‘Thus says the Lord God’ (38:2, 10, 14, 17;
39:1, 17, 25),” notes Mark Hitchcock. “Another eight times the refrain, ‘declares the
Lord God,’ appears. Obviously, God doesn’t want us to miss the point—this is His
Word.”1 This prophecy begins with the Lord asking a question to Gog. This question
stems from the previous verse (38:16) and is about how God will sanctify Himself in the
eyes of Gog and the nations.

WHAT’S THE QUESTION?

It is as if God is taunting Gog with this question that reveals God’s absolute
confidence in the outcome of this encounter. In this section (38:17–23), God answers the
questions of “what” and “how.” First, the question “what” is answered in verses 17
and 18, while the question of “how” in verses 19 through 23. The question that God
confronts Gog with is as follows: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days
through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many
years that I would bring you against them?” The Hebrew grammar causes the reader to
expect an affirmative answer.2 So where are the other Old Testament prophecies that
the Lord is referring to in this passage? Randall Price answers that question as follows:

The opening statement of this defeat (verse 17) seems to imply a there has
been prior prediction in other prophets of Gog’s invasion. However, the
ambiguity in the expression “are you the one” (even though Gog is
understood from verse 16) spoken of by God in the distant past reveals that
the reference is open to representative “Gogs” whose actions against Israel
have invited a divine demonstration. Gog’s army will be a multi-national
force and some of these nations have had prophecies specifically directed
against them by former Israelite prophets: Cush/Ethiopia (Isaiah 18:1-7),
Arabia (Isaiah 21:13-17). However, no direct reference to Gog in any of the
former prophets is necessary, since all previous invaders have been types
leading to Gog and his allies as the antitype.3

The Lord continues the “what” in verse 18 in relation to Gog’s invasion of the land
of Israel, by noting that His “fury will mount up in My anger.” The Lord uses three
 -2-

Hebrew words to describe His reaction to Gog’s invasion of the land of Israel. In the
order in which they appear in the Hebrew text, the first word is the common verb ‘alah,
which occurs over 1,200 times in the Hebrew Old Testament4 and means to “go up,
ascend, or climb,”5 is translated “will mount up.”
Second, the Hebrew noun chemah, which means “heat, poison or venom (of animals),
rage, wrath,”6 is translated “fury” in this passage. This word is used 120 times in the
Hebrew Bible and most of the usage relates to human or Divine wrath (110 times).7 The
use of chemah to refer to human wrath only occurs 25 times, while it is used 85 times to
reference Divine wrath with the most occurrences found in Ezekiel (31 times).8 Thus,
we see the righteous anger of the Lord that builds up and is released as His wrath in
history.
Third, the final Hebrew word is the noun ‘af, which means “nose, anger, nostrils”9 is
used 155 times in the Hebrew Old Testament10 and is translated in the passage as “My
anger.” Hebrew nouns not only occur in the singular and plural modes, but also have a
dual use. “When the reference is to the nose, the singular form is used, while the dual
form is used for either the face or nostrils.”11 Here the Lord’s anger is expressed with in
the dual mode, thus, emphasizing the nostrils, which is seen in some animals when they
get upset they start breathing through the nostrils like a snorting anger. Then chemah
and ‘af are grouped together in reference to God, as occurs here, the expression denotes
the strongest kind of anger by God that leads to action. Keil describes this as an
“anthropopathetic expression, ‘my wrath ascends in my nose,’ . . . The outburst of
wrath shows itself in the vehement breath which the wrathful man inhales and exhales
through his nose.”12 The clear message of the passage is that God has reached the limit
of His patience and He will now spring forth in wrathful action against Gog and his
allies.

HOW IT WILL HAPPEN?

The final section in chapter 38 (verses 19–23) begins with the Lord revealing His
attitude with which He will defend His people Israel. The first part of verse 19 says,
“And in My zeal and in My blazing wrath . . .” Once again, this phrase contains three
important Hebrew words demonstrating that the lexicon was not exhausted in the
previous verse when it comes to describing God’s great anger toward Gog and the other
invaders. First, the noun translated “zeal” is qinah, which occurs 17 times in the
Hebrew Old Testament and it is found the most times in Ezekiel (7 times).13 The basic
meaning is that of “zeal” for something (in this case God’s zeal for His prized earthly
possession Israel) and the “jealousy” and “wrath” that is exhibited when another
attempts to move in and take away that possession.14 We gain insight into the Lord’s
attitude toward His people and His land—the land of Israel—two chapters earlier in
Ezekiel that reads as follows:

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, “Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have
spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who
appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy
and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey.” Therefore, prophesy
concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the
ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I have spoken
in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have endured the insults of the
nations.’” (Ezek. 36:5–6, italics added)
 -3-

The same jealousy that God expressed in chapter 36 is carried into 38:19 concerning
the wife of Jehovah—Israel. “God’s patience would be exhausted with the repeated
attempts of Israel’s enemies to annihilate her,” declares Charles Feinberg. “The Lord
Himself will undertake the destruction of Israel’s enemies, choosing to use no
secondary agent, for this is to be a final and irrecoverable judgment.”15
The second noun we find in this passage is the Hebrew word ‘esh, which means
“fire” and in this verse is translated as “blazing.”16 The third word in the Hebrew text is
‘evra, which is translated “wrath”17 in verse 19 and in construct relationship to blazing.
Taken together they produce the strongest possible statement about the wrath of God—
it is blazing, it is on fire. “These words express the intensity of God’s display of
vengeance against the invaders of His Land (‘My mountains,’ 38:21).”18
So what does the burning zeal of the Lord cause Him to declare? God will “declare
that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.” “That
day” refers to the day in which Gog and his gang will invade the land of Israel. Then
God will counterstrike the outsiders by inflicting a great earthquake upon the land of
Israel. Price tells us:

According to verses 19b-21 a divinely appointed earthquake will be so severe

as to disorient Gog’s multi-national forces and cause them in the confusion to
fight each other. The earthquake will apparently set off volcanic deposits in
the region, bringing down on Gog’s army a hail of molten rock and burning
sulfur (volcanic ash) with the result that the enemy troops are utterly
destroyed before they can strike a blow against Israel (verse 22).19

Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Mark Hitchcock, After The Empire: Bible Prophecy in Light of the Fall of the Soviet Union (Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers 1994), p. 174.
2
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 168.
3
Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), p. 42.
4
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
5
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
6
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
7
G. Johannes Botterweck, & Helmer Ringgren, editors, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. IV
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), p. 462.
8
Botterweck & Ringgren, Theological Dictionary, vol. IV, p. 464.
9
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
10
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
11
Willem A. VanGemeren, gen. editor, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, 5
vols., (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), vol. 1, p. 463.
 -4-

12
Keil, Ezekiel, p. 169.
13
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
14
Definition derived from Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
15
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 225.
16
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
17
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
18
Randall Price, “Ezekiel” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 193.
19
Price, Unpublished Notes on Ezekiel, p. 42.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XVIII
by Thomas Ice

“And the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts
of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth,
and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake
at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down,
the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to
the ground. And I shall call for a sword against him on all
My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s
sword will be against his brother. And with pestilence and
with blood I shall enter into judgment with him; and I shall
rain on him, and on his troops, and on the many peoples
who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire,
and brimstone. And I shall magnify Myself, sanctify
Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many
nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.”
—Ezekiel 38:20–23

As a result of the earthquake within the land of Israel in verse 19, verse 20 reflects
the corresponding realization of the Lord’s greatness throughout heaven and earth. In
all three spheres—land, sea and air—creatures within God’s creation will reverence the
Lord’s display of His power on behalf of His elect nation Israel.

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL

The normal order of things within the sea, land and heavens will be greatly
disturbed by the tremendous display within Israel by the Lord. The text characterizes
human reaction to God’s display in Israel when it says, “all the men who are on the face
of the earth will shake at My presence.” “The order will be, first, earthquake, then
anarchy, pestilence and natural disasters,” notes Charles Feinberg. “God’s violent
shaking of the earth will affect every area of nature, both animate and inanimate.”1 Gog
attacks Israel armed to the hilt but God merely shakes the earth a little and they are
totally wiped out. It is clear from this passage that Israel and their excellent, modern
military (including nuclear weapons) have nothing to do with the destruction of Gog
and his allies.
The last three phrases in verse 20 describe in more detail the “earthquake in the land
of Israel.” As a result of that quake, “the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep
pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.” Earlier Gog’s invasion
is noted as taking place on “the mountains of Israel” (verse 8). A passage way or path is
needed for an army to make it past the mountains of Israel in order to gain entrance into
the heartland. In the modern state of Israel’s wars, this has been a stumbling stone for
the Syrians and other Arab armies in their attacks on Israel. They have had great
difficulty getting through those mountains. However, in this invasion, it is God, not the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that will completely destroy the enemy, as the Lord’s
earthquake will literally pull the rug out from under the invaders. This will no doubt
destroy a great portion of the invaders.

FRIENDLY FIRE
 -2-

In modern warfare when someone accidentally kills someone on your own side it is
called “friendly fire.” I recently read that on the modern battlefield of today, because of
the great firepower of modern armies, that about 20% of deaths are due to friendly fire.
Verse 21 clearly says that the only killing to be done by Gog’s invaders of Israel will be
that of massacring their fellow troops. “’And I shall call for a sword against him on all
My mountains,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘Every man’s sword will be against his
brother.’” Apparently in the confusion generated by the Lord’s earthquake and great
shaking of the mountains of Israel, Gog’s armies will experience a whole lot of friendly
fire as the Lord confuses them and they turn upon one another.
Imagine the great embarrassment and humiliation that Gog’s constituents back
home experience when they learn that the IDF did not even engage this great army,
they did not have to since many of them killed each other. Upon further examination
Gog’s allies will learn that it was really the God of Israel that they went up against.
They did not have a chance! But that is not the only means the Lord will use to defeat
the invaders.

GOD BUGS GOG

This year (2008) the father of so-called “Jesus Rock” or “Contemporary Christian
Music,” Larry Norman died. I used to listen to him in the early 1970s and one of my
favorite songs that he did was one simply called “Moses.” The song is about Moses
leading the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. There is a verse
in that song that goes as follows:

Moses knew that God was taking to him,

so he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim,
and Moses bugged the Pharaoh—he bugged him,
and he bugged him,
till he got his people free.
He used real bugs!2

Just as God used real bugs to bug the Pharaoh at the Exodus, once again, He will use
real bugs and pestilence to bug Gog and his armies, but this time to keep His people
free from invasion. In addition to the earthquake and friendly fire, the Lord will use
other means of defeating Israel enemy as indicated in verse 22. “And with pestilence
and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him; and I shall rain on him, and on his
troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones,
fire, and brimstone.”
The Hebrew noun for “pestilence” is used of a plague, like the bubonic plague
which can be caused by something like an insect sting.3 However, in this case, it is not
bugs causing the sickness but it is God who bugs them. Used in conjunction with
pestilence is the Hebrew noun for “blood,” which in this context refers to “blood shed
violently,”4 as the judgment of God. The main verb governing all of the actions of verse
22 is the Hebrew word for “judgment.” Thus, all of the pestilence, torrential rain,
hailstones, fire, and brimstone are said to be the judgment of God upon Gog and his
company of invaders. The first half of the verse tells us that the Lord will enter into
judgment with the invaders by using the means of pestilence that will cause the
bloodshed or death of Gog’s army. The second half of the verse appears to be the
different types of pestilence that will cause death to the enemies of God and Israel. As
in the Exodus, the Lord miraculously sends down the torrential rain, hailstones, fire,
 -3-

and brimstone upon the invaders as they attack Israel. Likely the hailstones will target
specific individuals of the enemy as in Revelation 16:21. Also, not just brimstone, but
fire also will fall from heaven and target individuals. Fire and brimstone was said to be
the only items used to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24), but here we have fire
mixed with torrential rain. This will be an amazing combination of pestilence that
causes the death of Israel invaders. I wonder if there will be a vote in the United
Nations or a similar body to condemn God because of this event?

GOD’S GLORY
Gog will arrogantly attack Israel with visions of his own glory. However, it will be
God who will obtain great notoriety from the event. Verse 23 says, “And I shall
magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations;
and they will know that I am the LORD.”
There will be three specific things accomplished by the Lord as a result of His defeat
of this company of armies attacking His land Israel. The three lessons are taught by the
use of three Hebrew verbs. First, God shall “magnify” Himself through these events, as
express by the hithpael or reflexive-intensive use of gadel. The root word gadel means,
“to become great.” In the hithpael stem it has the sense of “to make oneself great” or
“to prove to be great.”5 This is exactly what the Lord God of Israel will do when He
will defeat, all by Himself, this vast army descending upon Israel. He will add this
proof to a long list of other items from the past (for example, creation, the flood, the
exodus, etc.) in which He has proven Himself great in time-space history.
Second, qadosh, another hithpael stem verb is used. The root word qadosh is believed
to mean, “to cut” and thus carries the basic meaning of “to set apart” for special use.
The term “holy” is associated with qadosh and conveys the idea of setting apart
something from common use in order to use it on special occasions. The hithpael stem
as used in this passage would mean, “to show or demonstrate One as holy.”6 In the
context of this passage it is saying that the Lord God has demonstrated to the world that
He is Holy, separated from everyone else in a special way, and that He is the unique
and only God since no one else can do what He just did to Israel’s enemies.
Third, yadah is a widely used Hebrew verb that means “to know” or “to come to
know,” usually through experience or interaction with someone or something. In this
instance, yadah occurs in the niphal stem, which is the simple passive or reflexive sense.7
Therefore, in this context it conveys the sense that God wants the world to come to
know or realize that He is the Lord God of Israel as a result of these events. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), pp. 225–26.
2
Larry Norman, “Moses,” Upon This Rock (New York: Capitol Records, 1969).
3
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
4
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
5
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
6
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
 -4-

7
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XIX
by Thomas Ice

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say,

‘Thus says the Lord GOD,” Behold, I am against you, O
Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I shall turn
you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest
parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of
Israel. And I shall strike your bow from your left hand,
and dash down your arrows from your right hand.”
—Ezekiel 39:1–3

As I write this installment of the future campaign of Gog against Israel, we have just
seen Russia attack Georgia in order to gain control of South Ossetia, a province within
Georgia. Russia has also bombed a number of important cities throughout Georgia and
sent her mechanized infantry in to occupy certain territories within Georgia. This is the
first invasion of another country by Russia since the Soviet Union went into
Afghanistan in the 1970s. Why did they do it now? Stratfor Intelligence Report provides
the following analysis:

The war in Georgia, therefore, is Russia’s public return to great power status.
This is not something that just happened—it has been unfolding ever since
Putin took power, and with growing intensity in the past five years. Part of it
has to do with the increase of Russian power, but a great deal of it has to do
with the fact that the Middle Eastern wars have left the United States off-
balance and short on resources. As we have written, this conflict created a
window of opportunity. The Russian goal is to use that window to assert a
new reality throughout the region while the Americans are tied down
elsewhere and dependent on the Russians. The war was far from a surprise;
it has been building for months. But the geopolitical foundations of the war
have been building since 1992. Russia has been an empire for centuries. The
last 15 years or so were not the new reality, but simply an aberration that
would be rectified. And now it is being rectified.1

I am not saying that this recent event fits directly into the Gog invasion of Israel, but
it does appear to be an important event indicating that the Russian bear is back on the
prowl. When you couple this invasion with the fact that Russia has resumed flying her
Bear bombers along our border near Alaska2 and the fact that Putin has threatened to
put missiles in Cuba again,3 it makes one realize that Russia is much more aggressive
and anti-Western than she has been the last fifteen years. This could signal that Russia
is interested in military aggression after a period of dormancy.
Critics of a future fulfillment of the Gog and Magog prophecy often mocked the
possibility of this because of the collapse of the Soviet Union. (I never saw the
connection between Russia having to head up the Soviet Union for this prophecy to be
possible. The fact that Russia continued to exist is all the prophecy requires.) Gary
North said, “Russia was a prime candidate. But, after 1991, this has become difficult to
defend, for obvious reasons. The collapse of the Soviet Union has created a major
problem for dispensationalism’s theologians and its popular authors.”4 Clearly,
 -2-

Russia’s current attempt at hegemony over Georgia does not mean that Putin is trying
to recreate the old Soviet Empire. It does signal that Russia, who has gained a lot of oil
wealth in the last few years, is trying to rearm itself so that she can be the greatest
power in the region. Friedman explains:

Putin did not want to re-establish the Soviet Union, but he did want to re-
establish the Russian sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union region.
To accomplish that, he had to do two things. First, he had to re-establish the
credibility of the Russian army as a fighting force, at least in the context of its
region. Second, he had to establish that Western guarantees, including
NATO membership, meant nothing in the face of Russian power. He did not
want to confront NATO directly, but he did want to confront and defeat a
power that was closely aligned with the United States, had U.S. support, aid
and advisers and was widely seen as being under American protection.
Georgia was the perfect choice.

EZEKIEL 39
Having completed our commentary on Ezekiel 38, we now turn the page to chapter
39 of this great prophecy. Arnold Fruchtenbaum notes that the interpretative principle
he calls The Law of Recurrence occurs in chapter 39.5 He describes it as follows:

This law describes the fact that in some passages of Scripture there exists the
recording of an event followed by a second recording of the same event
giving more details to the first. Hence, it often involves two blocks of
Scripture. The first block presents a description of an event as it transpires in
chronological sequence. This is followed by a second block of Scripture
dealing with the same event and the same period of time, but giving further
details as to what transpires in the course of the event.6

Fruchtenbaum says that Ezekiel 39 “repeats some of the account given in the first
block and gives some added details regarding the destruction of the invading army.”7
Perhaps the reason the Lord repeats some prophesies is in order to really drive home
the importance of what He is saying. Thus, this would make the Gog prophecy doubly
important because of this emphasis. The second giving of the Gog invasion prophecy is
concluded in 39:16. Ezekiel 39:1–6 is the first section in this chapter that reiterates the
place of destruction.

SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST

Ezekiel, who is called “son of man” in verse one is told to “prophesy against Gog,
and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ”Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh,
Meshech, and Tubal.” This passage is an exact repeat of what was spoken in 38:3,
which I have already commented on in that section. Why is it repeated? I think the first
verse is exactly the same as that which is found in chapter 38 in order to show that it is a
prophecy about the same entities and events already prophesied in the preceding
section. That is why, having established their linkage to the previous chapter in 39:1,
the Lord then begins to expand upon this event in 39:3–6.
Verse two says, “I shall turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the
remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.” This verse
appears to be a summary statement of 38:4, 6, 8, and 15, which I have already
 -3-

commented on. “The principle contents of ch. xxxviii. 4–15,” notes C. F. Keil, “are then
briefly summed up in verse 2.”8 Charles Feinberg says, “The statement concerning
turning Gog about (v. 2) carries with it the idea of compulsion.”9 However, the phrase
“drive you on” is not used in the previous chapter. In fact, Ezekiel 39:2 is the only place
in the entire Hebrew Old Testament that this verb is used.10 It has the basic idea of “to
walk along,”11 as one would walk along side an animal, like leading a dog on leash.
This verb is in the piel stem, which indicates the intensive active form of the word. So
the picture being painted is that of the Lord leading Gog and his allies down to the
mountains of Israel like one would lead an animal on a leash. The clear point being
made in this verse is that the ultimate cause for this invasion, regardless of human
action, is the sovereign will of God.

DISARMING GOG
Verse three says, “And I shall strike your bow from your left hand, and dash down
your arrows from your right hand.” Both of these phrases are Hebrew idioms that
picture the Lord, not Israel, disarming Gog by knocking out of his hand his bow, which
refers to Gog’s weapons or weapons systems (whatever the case may be). The Lord will
also take away the ammunition used by Gog during this future invasion, when He will
“dash down your arrows from your right hand.” Put simply, the Lord will disarm Gog
on behalf of the nation of Israel. Keil explains, “In the land of Israel, God will strike his
weapons out of his hands, i.e. make him incapable of fighting, . . . and give him up with
all his army as a prey to death.”12 Thus, chapter 39 begins with a shorter overview and
summary of many things that were already revealed in the previous chapter. The Lord
drives home the point of His intense oversight of this future battle in which He will
protect His people. Further, we could be witnessing today some of the positioning of
the players who will participate in this great invasion as Russia and Iran manifest their
belligerence. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
George Friedman, “The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power,” Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence
Report (Aug. 12, 2008), www.stratfor.com.
2
“Russia’s Bear bomber returns” (Sept. 10, 2007) www. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6984320.stm.
3
“Putin eyes renewed Russian ties with Cuba,” (Aug. 4, 2008)
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/04/russia.cuba.ap/.
4
Gary North, “The Unannounced Reason Behind American Fundamentalism's [& Virtually All
Evangelicalism] Support for the State of Israel” (July 19, 2000), www.tks.org/GaryNorth.htm.
5
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 6.
6
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 6. Fruchtenbaum classifies the following passages as examples of The Law
of Recurrence: Genesis 1 & 2; Isaiah 30 & 31; Ezekiel 38 & 39; Revelation 17 & 18.
7
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 6.
8
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 171.
9
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 228.
 -4-

10
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, 7.4.2.
11
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
12
Keil, Ezekiel, p. 171.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XX
by Thomas Ice

“You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops,
and the peoples who are with you; I shall give you as food to every
kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. You will fall on the
open field; for it is I who have spoken,” declares the Lord GOD.
And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the
coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.”
—Ezekiel 39:4–6

Ezekiel 38:8 says Gog and his invaders “will come into the land that is restored from
the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of
Israel which had been a continual waste.” Instead, in 39:4 God will cause Gog to “fall on
the mountains of Israel.” Gog intends one thing, but God causes a totally different
outcome in His defense of His people Israel.

FALLEN PREY
The Hebrew verb for “fall” is a common word that in this context means to fall in
battle. Since it is used corporately of the entire invading force, i.e., “you and all your
troops, and the peoples who are with you,” it speaks of their defeat.1 “Troops” and
“peoples” were used earlier in 38:6. It is clear from the previous context that this fall is
the result of God’s miraculous intervention on behalf of Israel. Arnold Fruchtenbaum
describes the mountains of Israel as follows:

They extend the length of the center of the country, beginning at the southern
point of the Valley of Jezreel at the town of Jenin in Galilee (biblical Ein
Ganim), and continuing south until they peter out at a point north of
Beersheha in the Negev. These mountains contain the famous biblical cities
of Dothan, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Bethel, Ai, Ramah, Bethlehem, Hebron,
Debir, and most importantly, Jerusalem, which seems to be the goal of the
invading army.
Here is another example where the Six Day War has set the stage for the
fulfillment of prophecy. Up to the Six Day War in 1967 all of the mountains
of Israel, except for a small corridor of West Jerusalem, were entirely in the
hands of the Jordanian Arabs. Only since 1967 have the mountains of Israel
been in Israel, thus setting the stage for the fulfillment of this prophecy.2

Since God is the one who will bring down the invading force, He will also use this
occasion to feed His creation with their flesh. “I shall give you as food to every kind of
predatory bird and beast of the field.” The verb “give” is used here in the sense of to
“set, lay, or place” before one.3 Here we have “the prophetic perfect” tense of the verb,4
which means that even though the text speaks of a future event, it is best translated as
having already taken place, i.e., “I have given you.” The reason for the prophetic
perfect is because when the Lord prophesizes something, it is so certain to take place
that it is spoken of as having already taken place, though still in the future. Thus, the
Lord will provide Israel’s enemies as a meal for the animals and birds as a waiter would
set a feast upon a table to one to eat. The references to birds and beast describe those
 -2-

who will eat dead meat. The phrase “every kind” modifies specifically the reference to
birds.5 Charles Feinberg notes:

Because of the amount of carnage, burial will not be the order of the day. The
Lord has determined that the carcasses will fall to the ravenous birds and
beasts. Such absence of burial was especially abhorrent in the Near East.
This picture in verse 4 anticipates what is stated at greater length in verses
17–20.6

Verse 5 expands upon verse 4 and employs a play-on-words with the use of “field.”
It is the field where the beasts are said to roam and that is where the Lord God destroys
Gog’s armies—in the open field. The invaders never make into the population centers
in which to mount an attack, instead, they die literally “on the face of the field.” This is
a Hebrew idiom for the “open” field. They fall on the open field simply because the
Lord God of Israel says they will. As in creation, God speaks a word and whatever He
commands occurs. So it is with the Lord God’s word of judgment.

FIRE UPON THE COASTLANDS

Verse 6 says, “And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the
coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.” The Hebrew word for
“fire” is the most common noun for “fire,” used 376 times in the Old Testament.7 The
verb “send” is in the piel stem, noting intensive action by God. The word “fire” is used
in a near context along with “torrential rain, with hailstones, . . . and brimstone” (38:22).
Since “fire and brimstone” are used in a similar description in 38:22, it follows that the
Lord will use fire and brimstone as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24).
Some interpreters see a nuclear exchange occurring as a means to the fulfillment of
this prophecy. For example, Bible teacher Chuck Missler commenting on this verse
says, “Some analysts see an intercontinental nuclear exchange possible suggested. With
the proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout the world today, such a prospect is
disturbingly likely.”8 The problem I have with seeing a nuclear exchange in this
passage is that the biblical text clearly emphasizes that it is God Himself that is bringing
the fire from heaven. The passage says, “I shall send fire upon Magog and those who
inhabit the coastlands in safety.” The passage before us clearly presents God Himself as
the one sending down fire upon judged invaders. Nowhere does the passage indicate
that the Lord will use segregates as agents to carry out His judgments. Instead, God has
demonstrated throughout history that He is quite capable of implementing this
prophecy by Himself.
I believe that when the Bible says that God or an angel is the one implementing a
judgment, then it must be taken as an indication that indeed God is the one directly
performing the feat. I think that such statements in the Bible would not allow for us to
interpret them as possible reference to human activity like a nuclear war, which would
be man vs. man. The first five seal judgments in Revelation 6 would be an example of
God using human agents to carry out a judgment. However, all of the rest of the seal,
trumpet and bowl judgments are said by the biblical text to be implemented directly by
God, often using angels to carry out these supernatural events. This is an important
biblical point: that God is the one doing these things since God is clearly using
supernatural means to achieve these ends, just as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah, at
the Exodus, and will do many times during the tribulation (Rev. 4—19). The passage
says, “I [God] shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in
 -3-

safety.” Therefore, the text clearly says that God is doing this directly and it does not
mention human agents. Notice the overall emphasis in the passage as a whole that the
Lord is the one acting against Gog and on behalf of Israel (Ezek. 39:1–7). Verse one:
“Behold, I am against you, O Gog.” Verse two: “I shall turn you around.” Verse three:
“I shall strike your bow from your left hand.” Verse four: “I shall give you as food.”
Verse five: “’for it is I who have spoken,’ declares the Lord GOD.’” Verse six: “I shall
send fire upon Magog” and “they will know that I am the LORD.” Verse seven: “ My
holy name I shall make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I shall not let My
holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the
Holy One in Israel.” In other words, God performs it so that God will get the notoriety
and glory.
The fire of judgment that the Lord will send upon the coastlands most likely refers
to the destruction of Gog's homeland, Magog, and the remote homelands of his allies
(the coastlands, cf. 26:15, 18; 27:3, 6-7, 15, 35), who dwell in safety in these places. The
overall lesson will be to teach them that He is God. Some think that this refers to a
destruction of all of the coastlands or all nations in the world that dwell in safety. This is
unlikely since the entire focus of the passage is upon Gog and his confederacy of
invaders. The logic of the Lord in this instance is that Gog and his allies attack Israel
who is “living securely” (38:8), so the Lord responds with an attack on the invaders
homeland where they are said to be dwelling “in safety,” (39:6) or so they thought in
their arrogance. Fruchtenbaum says, that the defeat of Gog “will cause Russia to cease
being a political force in world affairs.”9 Thus, Israel appeared destined for destruction
in the eyes of the world as a result of a powerful coalition, but the Lord stepped in and
defended Israel and turned the table on the invaders by destroying their homelands,
which they thought to be secure. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
2
(italics original) Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events
(Tustin, CA: Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 114.
3
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
4
Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English Translation With An Introduction and Commentary
(London: The Soncino Press, 1950), p. 259.
5
C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Reprint; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 171.
6
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 229.
7
Based upon a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, 7.4.2.
8
Chuck Missler, The Magog Invasion (Palos Verdes, CA: Western Front, 1995), p. 179.
9
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 115.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XXI
by Thomas Ice

And My holy name I shall make known in the midst of My people

Israel; and I shall not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And
the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord GOD.
“That is the day of which I have spoken. Then those who inhabit
the cities of Israel will go out, and make fires with the weapons and
burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs
and spears and for seven years they will make fires of them. And
they will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the
forests, for they will make fires with the weapons; and they will
take the spoil of those who despoiled them, and seize the plunder of
those who plundered them,” declares the Lord GOD.
—Ezekiel 39:7–10

Why is the Lord God of Israel going to bring Gog and his overwhelming army down
to attack Israel at this point in history? The broadest purpose statement for this entire
passage is given in verses seven and eight. “My holy name I shall make known in the
midst of My people Israel,” with the result that “I shall not let My holy name be
profaned anymore” (39:7). That God is holy is important to God Himself, even though
it is greatly undervalued today, even in Christian circles. Most likely, there is a
relationship between national Israel’s change of behavior and the restoration and
conversion of the nation as described earlier in chapter 37. “These verses restate the
divine initiative in the invasion and elaborate upon the fall of Gog and God’s
purposes.”1
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
Three times in verse seven the Hebrew word for “holy” is used (qadosh). Twice “My
holy name” and once “the Holy One of Israel.” This word means, “set apart for special
use; treated with respect, removed from common usage.”2 It appears that the Gog and
Magog event will take place at that time in history when the Lord is going to intervene
in history in order to sanctify His reputation and that of Israel as well among the
nations of this world. E. W. Hengstenburg has noted:

The holy name of God (ver. 7) is His character, arising from His former
historical manifestations, as God in the full sense, the absolute, the
transcendently glorious, unconditionally separate from all untruth and
impotence. God makes known His name among His people when He verifies
His historical character anew, when He gives His people the victory over the
heathen world that rages against them. He would profane His name if He
were to abandon His people continually to the heathen world, as He had
done in the time of the prophet on account of their apostasy.3

It is through the Lord’s obvious, miraculous intervention on behalf of His people

that God restores the strained relationship with Israel. The Lord says, “I shall not let
My holy name be profaned anymore” (39:7). The Hebrew verb ‘ahel is translated
“profaned” in this passage and has the basic meaning of “to pollute, defile, or profane.”4
 -2-

In this context, the verb appears in the hiphil stem, which denotes causative action.
Thus, it means to “allow to be profaned” or defiled.5 God is no longer going to allow
His holy name or reputation to be profaned, either by His own people or the nations
throughout the world. Charles Feinberg explains:

His true character will appear in its proper light as both righteous and
mighty. Such emphasis is made of this thought throughout the book of
Ezekiel because this is the design of God in all history, and there is no more
important concept in all the universe. That which gives stability and worth to
life on earth is the determining truth that a God of holiness, wisdom, love and
truth is working out His blessed will throughout the universe and among
created intelligences.6

If there was any doubt in anyone’s mind about the certainty of these events coming
to pass, verse 8 reiterates the inevitability that God will see this through. “’Behold, it is
coming and it shall be done,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘That is the day of which I have
spoken.’” In fact, there is probably not another passage in the entire Bible that
emphasizes the certitude of a prophetic event as we find here in Ezekiel 38—39. “There
may, indeed, be some who think that matters may be altered or fashioned to their
liking,” declares Feinberg. “To them the word comes that there is no escape from what
has been predicted, for it is as good as done. When God predicts, He makes it manifest
that He can also perform that which is foretold.”7 Men may think of themselves as the
primary actors in history, but when the truth is told, it is God who is seen to be the
Prime Mover.
What is the impact of God’s glorification upon the nation of Israel? It is clear that “a
revival occurs in Israel, causing many Jews to turn to the Lord.”8

SEVEN-YEAR BURNING
What is the point being emphasized in verses 9 and 10 about burning the spoils of
war in this passage? “Rather than simply destroy the weapons, they will be used for
fuel and thereby benefit the Israelis.” 9 Why would they burn the weapons instead of
just disposing of them? Randall Price suggests the following: “This ironic disposition of
weapons designed to kill the people will be considered a “plunder of those who
[intended to] plunder them” (verse 10b).”10 Verse 10 indicates that during this seven-
year period, Israelis will not have to use natural resources from the land for fires.
“’And they will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, for
they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoil of those who
despoiled them, and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,’ declares the Lord
GOD” (39:10).
The fact that these weapons will be burnt for seven years provides a time indicator
that could help us discern when this battle will take place on God’s prophetic timeline.
“These seven months of burying seven years of burning are crucial in determining when
this invasion occurs,” declares Fruchtenbaum. “For any view to be correct, it must
satisfy the requirements of these seven months and seven years.”11
I believe that the invasion of Gog will likely take place after the rapture of the
church, but before the start of the tribulation. One of the primary factors is the seven-
year period that is mentioned in this section of the passage. It seems unlikely that the
seven-year burning could lapse into the thousand-year kingdom period after our Lord’s
second coming. Dr. Price expounds upon these issues as follows:
 -3-

If this battle takes place after the Rapture but before the seventieth week
begins, there would be ample time and the freedom of movement even
through the first half of the Tribulation (the time of pseudo-peace for Israel
under the Antichrist’s covenant) to accomplish this job. Moreover, the
statement about not needing to gather firewood from the forests (verse 10)
would make more sense than after the first trumpet judgment when one-third
of the trees were burned up (Revelation 8:7). If this battle were to take place
at any point in the Tribulation the people would run out of time to complete
this task, before the intensified persecution of the final 42 months (Matthew
24:16-22) that drives the Jewish Remnant into the wilderness to escape the
Satanic onslaught (Revelation 12:6). While there is no reason why the
burning of weapons for firewood could not continue into the Millennial
Kingdom, since during this time other weapons will be converted to peaceful
and productive uses (Isaiah 2:4), the renewal of nature and increased
productivity of this age (Isaiah 27:6; Zechariah 8:12; Micah 4:4) could argue
against this necessity.12

When contemplating the timing of the fulfillment of this battle, we must notice four
key observations.13 First, Israel must be back in her land and a nation again, which is
the situation today. Second, within the land of Israel itself, the places that were laid
waste must be inhabited, which is the exact situation today in Israel. Third, “Israel is
dwelling in unwalled villages, a good description of present-day kibbutzim.”14 Fourth,
Israel will be dwelling securely. Fruchtenbaum says, “nowhere in the entire text does it
speak of Israel as living in peace. Rather, Israel is merely living in security, which
means ‘confidence,’ regardless of whether it is during a state of war or peace.”15
It appears that even though I believe that this battle will take place after the rapture
but before the start of the tribulation, nevertheless, the stage is already set in our own
day for these events to take place. Russia is on the prowl again and one of her closest
allies is Persia (Iran). The world is moving closer each day to this impending
showdown. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Lamar Eugene Cooper, Sr., The New American Commentary, Ezekiel (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman
Pubs., 1994), p. 341.
2
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
3
E. W. Hengstenburg, The Prophecies of The Prophet Ezekiel Elucidated (Minneapolis: James Publications
[1869] 1976), p. 341.
4
Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London:
Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
5
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
6
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 229.
7
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 229.
 -4-

8
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA:
Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 115.
9
Randall Price, “Ezekiel” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 194.
10
Randall Price, “Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel,” (2007), p. 43.
11
(Italics original) Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 117.
12
Price, “Unpublished Notes,” p. 43.
13
These observations are made by Fruchtenbaum in Footsteps, p. 117.
14
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 117.
15
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 117.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XXII
by Thomas Ice

“And it will come about on that day that I shall give Gog a burial
ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the
sea, and it will block off the passers-by. So they will bury Gog
there with all his multitude, and they will call it the valley of
Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying
them in order to cleanse the land. Even all the people of the land
will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I
glorify Myself,” declares the Lord GOD.
—Ezekiel 39:11–13

The slaughter by the Lord as He defends Israel against Gog and his hoards will be so
great and significant that the biblical text spends ten verses talking about the clean up
and burial process following the battle (Ezek. 39:11–20). What was meant to result in
the physical death of the nation of Israel by Gog is turned around by God in such a way
that it will provide an opportunity for spiritual life for Israel (Ezek. 39:25–39).

GOG’S GRAVE
Our family lived for five years in Fredericksburg, Virginia in the mid-90s. One of
the first things one notices as one becomes familiar with the town is the hill that has
almost 10,000 Union soldiers buried there as a memorial to their efforts in the Battle of
Fredericksburg during the Civil War. At first I wondered why those Northern soldiers
were buried in the South. I eventually learned that the reason for their burial down
South is because the carnage was so great in that battle there was no way to reasonably
transfer them to their various homes up North. A similar fate awaits those invaders of
Israel during the future Gog invasion.
Just as those invading Northern soldiers were buried where they had fallen in the
Battle of Fredericksburg, so will Gog and his hordes. “And it will come about on that
day that I shall give Gog a burial ground there in Israel” (Ezek. 39:11a). Remember the
context of the overall Gog and Magog event: It is the Lord who puts hooks into the jaw
of Gog and his allies that brings them down to the land of Israel in the first place (38:4).
At the human level, Gog’s motive was to take plunder from Israel (38:12), but the
Divine purpose is to glorify God and sanctify the Lord’s name (38:23). Therefore, God’s
purpose is fulfilled while Gog’s intent is foiled and they end up being spoiled to the
glory of God. Just as the burial site in Fredericksburg is a memorial to the fallen Union
soldiers, so also will Gog’s grave be a testimony to what God will have done.
The location of this memorial is said to be “the valley of those who pass by east of
the sea.” “So vast were to be the masses that nothing but a deep valley would suffice
for their corpses.”1 Where in Israel is this valley located? “The burial place will be in
one of the valleys east of the Mediterranean Sea,” according to Arnold Fruchtenbaum,
“which would put it in the Jordan Valley above the Dead Sea, and will be renamed
accordingly.”2 Charles Dyer adds the following:

The valley where Gog’s army will be buried is “on the east side of” the Dead
Sea in what is today Jordan. The phrase “those who travel east” could be
taken as a proper name. It might refer to the “mountains of Abarim” east of
 -2-

the Dead Sea that Israel traversed on her way to the Promised Land (cf. Num.
33:48). If so, Gog’s burial will be in the Valley of Abarim just across the Dead
Sea from Israel proper in the land of Moab. Yet the burial will be in Israel
because Israel controlled that area during some periods of her history (cf. 2
Sam. 8:2; Ps. 60:8).3

After this battle and burial the passage says, “and it will block off the passers-by.”
This means that the passage way will be blocked off with so many bodies of the dead
soldiers clogging the way that it will be difficult for travelers to make it past the scene.4
Randall Price says, “The slaughter will have been so great that the dead bodies of Gog’s
army will fill an entire valley blocking passage for travelers through this area.”5 The
location of this burial site indicates that the invaders route will likely come down from
the north, continue south down the Jordan valley with intent to move west to Jerusalem
when they reach the northern edge of the Dead Sea. The Lord will strike down the
invaders as they begin to move west toward His city, Jerusalem.
“So they will bury Gog there with all his multitude, and they will call it the valley of
Hamon-gog.” Since the multitude of invaders will meet their end in a valley that will
likely enable the burying teams to simply cover them over with dirt in a mass burial
graveyard. The word “Hamon” in Hebrew means “multitude” or “crowd.”6 Thus,
“overlooking the cemetery a new city will be built”7 by the name of “Multitude of Gog”
to commemorate this event in history.

SEVEN-MONTH BURIAL
“For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the
land.” The “house of Israel” refers to the Jewish people who have returned to their
homeland (38:8) and now live in the Promised Land. The Jewish people will need to
bury the corpses “in order to cleanse the land.” What is the Jewish requirement that
necessitates such a cleansing? Price points out contemporary practices in Israel relating
to this passage as follows:

On the basis of this verse the rabbis inferred the legal ruling (halakha) that all
graves must be marked. In the modern State of Israel a group of non-
governmental Orthodox Jews known as ZAKA (Hebrew acronym for
“Identification of Disaster Victims”) is appointed to carefully remove all
human remains after suicide bombings in order to restore order and prevent
ritual impurity in the Land. The reason, according to Jewish law (halakha) is
that the dead must be buried immediately because exposed corpses (or even
single bones) are a source of ritual contamination to the Land (cf. Num. 19:11-
22; Deut. 21:1-9). Ezekiel 36:17-21 has already connected ritual purity and
divine holiness, and the text here mentions the need to “cleanse the Land”
three times (verses 12, 14, 16).8

The text says that this burial process will take seven months. Why will it take so
long to accomplish this task? First, the vast number of invaders who are killed will
simply make for a daunting burial task in itself. Second, Fruchtenbaum is no doubt
correct when he says, “Since the armies are destroyed in the mountains of Israel, many
of the bodies will fall in crevices where they will not be easily found, and so special
details will be employed by the government for the seven months to search out these
bodies for burial in the special valley.”9
 -3-

BURIAL PARTY
“Even all the people of the land will bury them.” This statement supports the fact
that the slaughter of the invading force is so large that it takes all the people of the land
to bury the dead. Apparently the general population of Israel will have to leave their
normal jobs in order to accomplish this task (see 39:14–16). Perhaps the general
population will be involved in the initial cleanup before specialists take over to
complete the task.10 Since the cleanup is such a huge task, it could account for why a
town will be developed overlooking the valley. Just as when an oil boom or a gold rush
occurs in the United States and boomtowns spring up nearby, so it could be that the
initial motivation for Hamon-gog is the need for a base camp for the burial workers.
The burial project for all the people of Israel is said to be “’to their renown on the
day that I glorify Myself,’ declares the Lord GOD.” The Hebrew phrase “to their
renown” is in construct form linking “to them” to “renown.” The word for “renown” is
a common one11 that is usually translated in English by “name.” But in this context, the
meaning clearly carries the notion of “making a name” or “becoming famous.”12 This is
why “renown” is an excellent translation of the word “name” in this context. Thus, the
burial party conducted by the people of Israel will become famous in that day as a
result of this burial process. Even further than that, the passage says that it is because of
His people’s fame or renown that the Lord GOD will be glorified through these events.
Why will this be seen from God’s viewpoint as a glorious event honoring Him? It will
be seen as glorious because through this event God will demonstrate to Israel and all
the nations of the world that He, the Lord GOD of Israel is able to keep His promises to
His covenant people Israel. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and
New Testaments (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), Eze 39:11.
2
Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, Rev. ed.
(Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), p. 116.
3
(emphasis original) Charles H. Dyer, “Ezekiel” in John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, editors, The Bible
Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-
c1985), p. 1302.
4
Dyer, “Ezekiel,” p. 1302.
5
Randall Price, “Ezekiel” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 194.
6
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament,
electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
7
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 117.
8
Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), p. 44.
9
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps, p. 116.
10
Dyer, “Ezekiel,” p. 1302.
11
864 times according to a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
12
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XXIII
by Thomas Ice

And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, “Speak
to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, assemble
and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am
going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the
mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood.
You shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and drink the blood of
the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs,
goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. So you will
eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are
drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
And you will be glutted at My table with horses and
charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,”
declares the Lord GOD.
—Ezekiel 39:17–20

This passage spends an inordinate amount of verbiage on the clean up aspects

following the battle where God wipes out Gog (Ezek. 39:9–20). “The first instructions
deal with the disposal of the weapons (verses 9–10), which are to be burned. . . . The
next instructions (Ezekiel 39:11–20) deal with the proper disposal of the slain soldiers of
the Gog army.”1

MY SACRIFICE
Dr. Randall Price notes that, “it may be that two phases of disposal are in view. The
first phase of disposal is that performed by the wild animals assembled o reduce the
corpses to skeletons (verses 18–20).” This would be the section that is now under
consideration. “Then the bones of the enemy will be properly buried by ‘all of the
people of the land’ (verse 13).”2
In verse 17 the Lord God tells the prophet Ezekiel to speak to every kind of bird and
beast of the field to gather themselves from all directions to partake of “My sacrifice
which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel.”
Thus, it is the Lord, through the word of the prophet that rounds up this great herd of
animals for them to feast upon. There appears to be a polemical purpose intended by
the Lord in this passage. The irony is that earlier Gog and his armies attacked Israel for
the stated purpose “to capture spoil and to size plunder” (38:12). Yet, because of the
Lord’s intervention, they become spoil for the wild animals and birds to feast upon.
“With the gathering of the weapons for burning there is associated the plundering of
the fallen foe (v. 10b),” notes Keil, “by which the Israelites do to the enemy what he
intended to do to them (Ezek. 38:12), and the people of God obtain possession of the
wealth of their foes (cf. Jer. 30:16).”3
The Lord calls the massacre of the invaders “My sacrifice” to the animals and birds.
The Lord says He will sacrifice this meal and then calls it a great sacrifice on the
mountains of Israel. So the Hebrew word for “sacrifice” is used three times in verse 17.
Jewish rabbi Fisch indicates that the Jewish translation is “feast,” but that it literally
means “sacrifice.” “The two ideas are interconnected, since one was usually the
 -2-

occasion of the other. To an Israelite, the sacrifice here described is a grim parody of the
true sacrifice, since the ‘guests’ drink the blood, a rite absolutely forbidden in Israel.”4

THE MENU
The Lord enumerates the menu that will be on hand for scavenger animals and birds
attending this feast. Those whom the Lord describes includes “mighty men” and “the
princes of the earth” (39:18). The Hebrew term “mighty men” is the plural of the word
for mighty and means “mighty, powerful, i.e., pertaining to being strong, i.e., pertaining
to having political or military force.”5 Therefore, these would be top of the line military
soldiers like the ones in our special forces units. The other Hebrew term denoting a
human leader means “leader, ruler, chief, prince, i.e., one who governs or rules a group
either selected by ability or blood relation.”6 Not only were the top fighting men
destroyed, but also their leadership. The Hebrew text could have just spoken of the
princes and it would have been understood that they were from the earth. However,
“of the earth” is included to likely indicate that the best from the earth were destroyed
by the ruler of heaven and earth—the Lord Himself.
Since the Lord is describing the slaughter of His enemies using the language of a
sacrificial feast, He equates the human carnage in terms of sacrificial animals often used
in Israel’s temple worship. This time the actual sacrifice are the enemies of Israel who
are served to animals and birds. “Usually people slaughtered and ate sacrificed
animals. Here, however, the men of Gog’s armies will be sacrifices; they will be eaten by
animals.”7 “The animals mentioned are figurative of the different ranks of the slain
men.”8 “To give due prominence to this thought, the birds and beasts of prey are
summoned by God to gather together to the meal prepared for them. The picture given
of it as a sacrificial meal is based upon Isa. 34:6 and Jer. 46:10. In harmony with this
picture the slaughtered foes are designated as fattened sacrificial beasts, rams, lambs,
he-goats, bullocks; on which Grotius has correctly remarked, that “these names of
animals, which were generally employed in the sacrifices, are to be understood as
signifying different orders of men, chiefs, generals, soldiers, as the Chaldee also
observes.”9
The phrase “all of them fatlings of Bashan,” refers first to a “fattened animal, i.e., a
relatively young mammal (usually of the bovine species), weaned animal choice for
consumption.”10 Secondly, Bashan refers to “the fertile country bounded by the Jabbok
River on the south, the Sea of Galilee on the west, a line from Mount Hermon eastward
on the north and the Hauran range on the east.11 As Charles Feinberg notes, “Bashan
was famous for its fine pastures and well-fed cattle.”12 If you go to the Golan Heights in
Israel today you will see that it is the primary area where cattle graze in pastures and
livestock is raised.
Once again verse 19 is a polemic which notes that Gog and his hoards came down to
Israel for the purpose of plundering the land, instead, she was the one plundered. In
this instance, Gog and his armies will provide the fat and blood by which the animals
and birds will be glutted and drunk. In order for them to be glutted and drunk, there
would have to be an excess to eat and drink. Such will be the case in this instance of
Gog’s defeat upon the hills of Israel.
Verse 20 says, “And you will be glutted at My table.” “The sacrificial feast
mentioned in verse 19 is referred to as ‘my table’ (v. 20) because it is the Lord who will
hold the feast,” notes Feinberg. “It is a vivid figure to bring out the idea of vast carnage,
deserved judgment and irrevocable doom.”13 Thus, verse 20 restates literally: “you will
be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of
 -3-

war,” what was said in verse 18 symbolically: “You shall eat the flesh of mighty men,
and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats,
and bulls.” Once again, the clear focus of this passage is upon the fact that our
Sovereign Lord is the One who is in control of history and is the One superintending
this entire event, even though Gog and his allies had their reasons for the invasion.
This entire message is said to be a declaration from the Lord GOD, who reigns over
heaven and earth.

CONCLUSION
Even though Ezekiel 39 still has nine verses until it ends, the prophecy of the battle
of Gog and Magog ends with verse 20. Dr. Price explains as follows:

Allusions to the Gog War cease with verse 22 and the focus turns exclusively
to God’s past deliverance of His people and their devotion to Him at the time
of their future restoration. Verses 21-22 are transitional verses that restate the
divine purpose of Gog’s defeat—to bring revelatory information concerning
God to the nations (verse 21) and to Israel (verse 22).14

In coming installments, this writer will take the information gleaned from the prior
installments in order to apply to the contemporary or a future world various
possibilities that flow inductively from the text. Some of the issue that will need to be
addressed are as follows: when, where, why and want will happen in order for a future
occurrence of this prophecy to be fulfilled in history. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
Randall Price, “Ezekiel” in Tim LaHaye & Ed Hindson, editors, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 194.
2
Price, “Ezekiel,” p. 194.
3
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson,
2002), Vol. 9, p. 338.
4
Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text & English Translation With An Introduction and Commentary
(London: The Soncino Press, 1950), p. 262.
5
James. Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament),
electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), DBLH 1475, #1.
6
Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages, DBLH 5954, #1.
7
John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), Vol. 1, p. 1302.
8
Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 231.
9
Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 339.
10
Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages, DBLH 5309.
11
R. Laird Harris, Robert Laird. Harris, Gleason Leonard Archer and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament, electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999, c1980), p. 137.
12
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 231.
13
Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 231.
 -4-

14
Price, “Ezekiel,” p. 194.
 EZEKIEL 38 AND 39
Part XXIV
by Thomas Ice

Having completed an examination and overview of Ezekiel 38—39:20, I now turn to

the issue of when this event will or has taken place in history. What are the various
views relating to the timing of when this campaign takes place? There are at least seven
different views concerning the time of the fulfillment of the battle of Gog and Magog.

VARIOUS VIEWS
The seven views do not even take into account additional possibilities that arise
within the historicist and idealist interpretative approach. I will not consider these
perspectives since the historicist system is largely dead, except for advocacy by some
cults, while the idealist method is by definition opposed to examining the timing of
prophetic events. This leaves the student of the Bible with two broad options—a past or
future fulfillment.
Those who believe that this prophecy has been fulfilled in the past are the preterists
and they advocate two views. First, Gary DeMar and only a couple of other preterists
believe that this battle was fulfilled in events of Esther 9.1 Thus, he believes it was
fulfilled in the fifth century B.C. during the reign of the Persian King Xerxes I (486–465).
While there are other sub-views within preterism, the second view is that “most
preterists have understood this vision as a prophecy which was fulfilled in the 2nd
century B.C. at the defeat of the Assyrian invaders of Palestine by Judas Maccabeus.”2
The other major group are those who believe these prophecies will be fulfilled in the
future. The first view believes that the Gog prophecy will take place before the
tribulation (could occur before the rapture, but not likely).3 A second view sees it taking
place in the first half, towards the middle of the tribulation.4 The third view equates
Armageddon and the Gog invasion as the same event in conjunction with the second
coming.5 Fourth, is the view that these things will occur at the beginning of the
millennium.6 The final view believes that the invasion takes place at the end of the
millennium.7

PAST FULFILLMENT?
As I examine the two past fulfillment views, I must confess that the least likely of all
seven views is DeMar’s contention that the Gog invasion was fulfilled in the days of
Esther 9. DeMar says that Ezekiel 38—39 was “literally” fulfilled by the events
described in Esther 9 that occurred in about 473 B.C. in the days of Queen Esther of
Persia. DeMar declares that the parallels between the battles in Ezekiel 38—39 and
Esther are “unmistakable.”8 However, in his “literal” interpretation DeMar fails to
account for a number of clear differences between Ezekiel 38—39 and Esther 9. A
simple reading of the two passages reveals that they cannot be describing the same
event.
Here are a few of the more apparent and problematic inconsistencies in the
following comparisons that render DeMar’s view as an impossibility.

EZEKIEL 38—39 ESTHER 9

The land of Israel is invaded (38:16). The Jews are attacked in cities throughout the
enemies fall on the mountains of Israel Persian empire (127 provinces, 9:30) and
(39:4). Gog, the leader of the invasion, is defend themselves (9:2) The enemies die
 -2-

buried in Israel (39:11). throughout the Persian empire.

The Jews bury the dead bodies over a No need to cleanse the land because the
period of seven months to cleanse the land dead bodies are not in Israel.
of Israel (39:12).

The invaders are destroyed by an Attackers are killed by the Jewish people
earthquake in the land of Israel, infighting, themselves assisted by local government
plagues, and fire from heaven (38:19-22). leaders (9:3-5).
God destroys the enemies supernaturally.

Invaders are from as far west as ancient The Persian empire did not include these
Put (modern Libya) (Ezekiel 38:5) and as areas. It only extended as far west as Cush
far north as Magog, the land of the (modern Sudan) (Esther 8:9) and as far
Scythians. north as the bottom part of the Black and
Caspian Seas.

God even sends fire upon Magog and There is nothing even close to this in
those who inhabit the coastlands (39:6). Esther 9.

Clearly Ezekiel describes a surprise invasion involving only the land of Israel, while
Esther 9 speaks of the Jews scattered throughout 127 provinces of the Persian Empire
(Esther 9:30) who knew the exact day (Adir 13 according to Esther 9:1) when the kings
edict would be executed. No one in Ezekiel’s prophecy was killed by hanging on a
gallows, as were Haman and his ten sons (Esther 9:13). Why is the land of Israel not
even mentioned in Esther 9 while the Persian capital of Susa and many other place
names in the empire are referenced? In Ezekiel Persia is one of the invaders that is
wiped out by the Lord, while in Esther 9 the Persian king and many Persians aid the
Jews in defeating the anti-Semites while this all takes place in Persia. Further, the Jews
living in Persia in Esther 9 could not be said to have been regathered from the nations
and living at ease in the land of Israel as Ezekiel describes, instead, the Jews in Esther
were embroiled in the struggle involving the bravery of Queen Esther. Clearly, these
differences are like day and night.
One important question we might ask at this point is this: If Ezekiel 38—39 was
literally fulfilled in the events of Esther 9, why did this escape the notice of everyone in
Esther’s day? Why isn’t there any mention in Esther of this great fulfillment of Ezekiel’s
prophecy? And why aren’t there any Jewish scholars in that day (or subsequently) who
recognized this fulfillment?
The answer is quite clear. Esther 9 did not fulfill Ezekiel 38—39. In fact, an
important Jewish holiday called Purim developed out of the Esther event (9:20-32). This
is a joyous annual holiday to celebrate God’s deliverance from the hand of Israel’s
enemies. Purim’s celebration includes the public reading of the book of Esther, but no
tradition has developed or even been heard of in which the Jews read Ezekiel 38—39 in
connection with this observance. If Ezekiel 38—39 had been a fulfillment of Esther, then
no doubt a tradition of reading that passage would have arisen in conjunction with the
celebration.
Fortunately, Ezekiel actually tells us when this invasion will occur. In Ezekiel 38:8,
he says specifically that this invasion will occur in the “latter years.” This is the only
occurrence of this exact phrase in the Old Testament.
 -3-

Another similar phrase occurs later in this chapter in verse 16: “It will come about in
the last days that I shall bring you against My land” (italics added). This phrase is used
in the Old Testament in reference to Israel’s final time of distress or to Israel’s final
restoration to the messianic kingdom (see Isa. 2:2; Jer. 23:20; 30:24; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:1).
Likewise, in Ezekiel 38:16, the phrase “in the last days” is a technical term that refers to
the end of times, according to Hebrew scholar Horst Seebass. He says it refers to “how
history will culminate, thus its outcome.”9 Therefore, Ezekiel is telling us that this
invasion will occur in the final time of history in preparation for the establishment of
the messianic kingdom of Christ.
Another very simple reason we can know that this invasion is still future is that
northing even remotely similar to the events in Ezekiel 38–39 has ever occurred in the
past. Just think about it. When has Israel ever been invaded by all these nations listed
in Ezekiel 38:1–6? Or when did God ever destroy an invading army like this with fire
and brimstone from heaven, plagues, earthquakes, and infighting among the invaders
(38:19–22)?
The answer? Never. That’s because Ezekiel is describing an invasion that is still
future even in our day. The only possible motive for relating Esther 9 with Ezekiel 38—
39 is because DeMar and other preterists desperately want to avoid the possibility that
this is a future prophecy since it would undermine their past fulfillment views.

CONCLUSION
The view of a massive invasion of Israel in the end times has not yet occurred in
history in spite of claims to the contrary. No event in Israel’s past history since the time
of Ezekiel’s prophecy even comes close to fitting the details of Ezekiel 38—39 (especially
Esther 9). Therefore, since the prophecy must be literally fulfilled, it must still be future
even in our day. Ezekiel 38—39 describes a future end-time invasion of Israel by
Russia, Iran and many allies (all of whom are Islamic nations today that despise Israel).
Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

ENDNOTES

1
See Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of the Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 2001), pp. 12–15; also DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church (Powder Springs,
GA: American Vision, 1999), pp. 368–69. DeMar follows fellow preterist James Jordan and his view in
Esther: In the Midst of Covenant History (Niceville, FL: Biblical Horizons, 1995).
2
Jay Rogers, “Does the Bible predict a Russian invasion of Israel?” an article published April 1997 on the
internet at www.forerunner.com/predvestnik/X0058_Russia__Israel.html, accessed March 12, 2009.
3
See Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, Rev.
ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), pp. 117–125. See also, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins as depicted
in Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1995).
4
See Mark Hitchcock, Iran The Coming Crisis: Radical Islam, Oil, and The Nuclear Threat (Sisters, OR:
Multnomah, 2006), pp. 17789.
5
See Louis S. Bauman, Russian Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy (New York: Fleming H. Revell
Company, 1942), pp. 174–75.
6
See Arno C. Gaebelein, The Prophet Ezekiel (New York: Our Hope, 1918), pp. 252–55.
7
See Ralph Alexander, Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1976), pp. 127–29.
 -4-

8
DeMar, End Times Fiction, p. 13
9
Horst Seebass, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer
Ringgren, translator John T. Willis (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1977), vol. I, pp. 211–12.