Ezekiel goes on to declare that when Gog chooses
to attack, the people of Israel will be experiencing a time of rest and a feeling
of security. The purpose of his attack
is to plunder the nation’s wealth, and the tiny nation possesses many things
that we know Russia covets—gas, oil, and the minerals of the Dead Sea to name a
few.
The prophet then points out that several nations question
Gog’s actions, but do not interfere in any way.
As the prophecy continues to unfold, Ezekiel
surprisingly notes that Gog’s attack is an act of God.
Ezekiel 38:14–16 “Therefore, son of
man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD….thou shalt come up
against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the
latter days, and I will bring thee
against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified
in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”
What is His purpose for bringing about such events? “That the heathen may know Me.” The word know
in the Hebrew is a reference to comprehending with understanding. It has always been God’s plan for all peoples
to acknowledge Him as Lord. Because
Israel has failed so miserably at fulfilling their chosen purpose before the
Lord, it has directly affected how the nations have viewed God. In human reasoning, it has made Him seem weak
and unable to carry out His purposes.
When He intervenes for Israel according to this prophecy and in light of
His word, the nations will have to recognize that He has been in control all
along and that His purposes will be accomplished in spite of the failings of
His people. I think it is significant to
note that this will happen at a time when all nations will be able to watch
events unfold “before their eyes.” That
is not a surprising statement in light of the technology available today.
Though the LORD is directing events, Gog’s attack on Israel
will make God furious. It is always cause
for me to stop and meditate as I see God’s hand at work bringing about a
situation and then responding in fierce judgment in response to that
situation. I don’t think I’ll ever be
able to express the thoughts correctly, but I know that these are the actions
of a righteous God. He is using man’s
choices in response to the desires of his flesh and the influence and deception
of Satan and his spiritual forces of evil to bring about His sovereign
plan. God does not approve Gog’s
actions; he has, however, chosen to use those actions for accomplishing His
will.
The prophet then declares that God is going to directly
intervene to destroy Gog’s forces.
First, He is going to cause a great earthquake in Israel that causes
mountains to fall. Could this be the earthquake
that is described in Revelation as a consequence of the 6th seal
(and possibly the rapture of the church)?
Both prophecies indicate these earthquakes will have worldwide effect
and are responses to God’s great wrath.
Revelation 6:14–17 “…and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth,
and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty
men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in
the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us,
and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb: For the great day of his
wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Ezekiel goes on to describe what else the armies
of Gog will encounter.
Ezekiel 38:22 And I will plead against him with
pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and
upon the many people that are
with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Not only will Gog’s armies
experience the great earthquake, they will experience—
- Pestilence –
The Hebrew references plague (fever and disease).
- Blood – This
speaks of loss of life.
- Overflowing
rain and hailstones – The overflowing
rain is reference to what we would describe as a torrential downpour. It is interesting to note that hail is
often associated with God’s judgment and is declared by Job as being
stored by God for that purpose.
Job
38:22–23 “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen
the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?”
- Fire and brimstone
(Many believe this to be a reference to the use of nuclear weapons.)
God declares in no uncertain terms that the
nations will recognize these actions as coming from the LORD.
Ezekiel 38:23 “Thus will I magnify
myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations,
and they shall know that I am
the LORD.”
In other words, whether by destruction through “natural”
disaster and/or through the use of today’s technology in weaponry, the people
on earth will “know that I am the LORD.”
Ezekiel expands his prophecy in the next chapter.
Ezekiel 39:1-6 “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,
and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog….I will smite thy bow out of thy left
hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the
people that is with thee: I
will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be
devoured….And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Verse 3
basically indicates that God is going to make the weapons of Gog
ineffective. The Hebrew for fall in verse 4 is a reference to
falling down dead. In other words, most,
if not all, of Gog’s armies will die on the mountains of Israel; and the birds
of prey and beasts of the field will feast on the carcasses. (yuk!)
Not only will Gog’s armies in Israel
be destroyed, the Lord will also send fire on Magog (Russia/Turkey), the land
over which Gog rules, and upon those “that dwell carelessly in the isles.” Fire
in the Hebrew means just what it says. I
guess the question becomes—What kind of fire?
Of supernatural origin, the forces of nature, the results of war, etc.? Whatever the “source,” it will be coming from
the hand of God.
I know I thought of the isles as islands or coastal lands, but the Hebrew makes reference
to anywhere people live. Carelessly seems to reference a false
sense of security. I would think that
this would be a reference to the homelands of those that had joined Gog’s
coalition, but this prophecy doesn’t clarify that. The purpose of this judgment is to make the
nations recognize God as LORD. He is not
going to allow the nations to consider Him weak or powerless any longer.
In the aftermath of Gog’s attack, Ezekiel tells us
that the people of Israel will be able to burn the recovered weapons of the
enemy to use as fuel/energy for seven years even as they gather much booty in
the process. The LORD promises that they
will be in the position to rob those that robbed them. The prophet also notes that it will take seven
months for Israel to bury all the dead; he even details that they will buried
in a specific place in Israel—the city of Hamonah (meaning “multitude”) in The
Valley of Hamongog. Jack Kelley (www.gracethrufaithcom)
makes an interesting observation regarding the description of the burial
procedures: “It will require the combined efforts of all Israeli
citizens for 7 months to bury the enemy dead. After that they'll hire
professionals, some to decontaminate the land and some to search for any bodies
the people may have missed. They won't touch any bones they find, but will set
up markers and call the professionals to come take them away. This approach
fits modern Nuclear Biological Chemical Warfare decontamination procedures to a
tee.”
The fact that Gog attacks when the
nation of Israel is experiencing a time that they feel relatively safe I think
negates the possibility that this is the same war as Armageddon. At that time Israel will be experiencing the
despotic rule of the Antichrist and certainly not feeling safe.
(to be continued…)
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