I believe that it is possible that wars or a series of wars could lead up to the signing of the peace treaty. But I am sure that Gog and Magog will not be that war. Some believe that it will happen during the Tribulation, which is a possibility. I had never considered this possibility because of the setting in scriptures until a good Christian friend of mine, Tammy Stalnaker, pointed out some very obvious facts in scripture that could allow this to happen. We will bring these possibilities into focus during this teaching. I also believe that it is possible that the continual violence in the Middle East and the terrorism that is going on could possibly lead to the signing of the peace treaty. This could happen without another war before the Tribulation.

The more I considered what Tammy had to say, the more I realized the possibilities of Gog and the Antichrist being the same person. There are a number of reasons for this.
1. Both Gog and the Antichrist invade Israel for the spoil.
2. Israel is experiencing peace at the time of the invasion.
3. The nations that are with Gog and the Antichrist are the same.
4. They both are temporarily driven out of Israel by other armies.
5. God draws them back down to the mountains of Israel to destroy them.
6. God causes them to kill one another through confusion.
7. Both experience a great earthquake and hail falls on them.
8. At the time of their destruction God calls for the vultures to come and eat the dead carcasses of his enemies.
9. The place of their burial is the same.

All scripture comes to us in the form of two or more witnesses, because of this there will always be two or more accounts in scripture. For example there are four Gospels, instead of just one account we have four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. In the Old Testament the prophecies concerning Jesus was given to us in bits and pieces in many Old Testament books. There is normally a telling and then somehow a re-telling that will reveal more about the events that are to happen. There are two things that reveal the time period that Ezekiel 38-39 is talking about. The first one is that it has to occur during a time that Israel is at rest. Secondly it will be a war that will be like no other. But there is one thing that could distinguish the difference and that is that it will be God's doing. He will turn them around and bring them down against the mountains of Israel. We know this by the scriptures in Ezekiel 39:1-2.

1. Both Gog and the Antichrist invade Israel for the spoil.

Ezek:38:12: To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

Dan:11:33: And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
39: Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

It is important to realize that either one of these invasions would be to take over the land of Israel for themselves seeing as that whole part of the world believes that Israel is an intruder and has no right to the land of Israel. They believe that it belongs to the Muslim people. I believe that this invasion for the spoil Gog and the Antichrist is one and the same.

2. Israel will be at rest, a time of peace

Ezek:38:11: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Ezek:38:14: Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

There is a time that God is going to give Israel a rest. Whether or not these scriptures about Gog and Magog are speaking specifically about this time is not clear. Question? Is this during the time that God gives Israel a rest or is it speaking of another rest that man has provided? We will look at the possibilities as we go through this teaching.

I always believed in the past that this rest was connected to Israel's Spiritual rest that is prophesied through out the scriptures. These are found in Jeremiah 30:10, 31:2 and 46:27. However we can tell by the scriptures above that Israel is at peace, their land seems to be unprotected and verse 14 points out that they are dwelling safely. Gog and Magog will invade Israel at a time when there is an apparent peace. This is exactly the same thing that the Antichrist will do according to the book Daniel. Most of us realize that Israel and her enemies will sign a peace treaty at the beginning of the last seven years. This treaty will be violated at the middle of these seven years.

Israel will then be driven from their country for the last 3 and 1/2 years of the seven years. There will be no rest for Israel other than a temporary rest (the first 3 and 1/2 years of the Tribulation) until they have accepted Jesus and he has returned to reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

3. The nations of Gog and the Antichrist

One of the things we need to discuss is who or what Gog and Magog are? The name Gog means "mountain", the name Magog means "the land or people of Gog". So whoever Gog is, he will appear to be like a mountain, in other words he will become a very big problem, someone who is very fierce. The people called Magog are simply those that follow him. The locations of these people are drawn from the names of Gog, Magog, Meshech and Tubal and are not located in Russia but rather in an area south of Russia in northeastern Asia. One of the words that gets drawn into this discussion is the word "Rosh" which is speaking of the chief prince. The word Rosh means "head or chief" it does not mean Russia as some tries to teach. The word chief in Ezekiel 39:1 is the Hebrew word Rosh. All of the northern nations spoken of in Ezekiel 38&39 are south of Russia in Northeastern Asia.

Ezekiel 39:
1: Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

This is the scripture that is used to try and prove that Russia is the country from the north. However notice the context that the word "chief" is used. It is not in reference to the name of a country but is explaining that Gog is the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. So it isn't speaking about Russia. In the past I believed that Gog and Magog in Ezekiel and Revelation 20th chapter were one and the same. But considering the use of the words Gog and Magog that is simply a powerful leader with those who follow him, then they could certainly be different. Also considering that in Ezekiel Gog comes from the north and in Revelation Gog comes from the Four Corners of the earth.

Gog is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
Mesech or Meshech = "drawing out"
4. son of Japheth, grandson of Noah, and progenitor of peoples to the north of Israel
a. descendants of Mesech often mentioned in connection with Tubal, Magog, and other northern nations including the Moschi, a people on the borders of Colchis and Armenia

The question that presents itself is where are they located? Where is Meshech? Mochi was a people inhabiting the Moschian Mountains, between the Black and the Caspian Seas. The Region of Meshech is now the country of Georgia that is located in the southern tip of Russia. It is predominantly Muslim. It sets on the northwest corner of Armenia and the northeast corner of Turkey. Of course Armenia is the other part of Meshech. It is easy to look back and see why so many people believed that Russia was Gog. The scriptures said that Gog was the chief ruler of these people. Up until the time the Soviet Union disintegrated the Soviet Union controlled Georgia and parts of Armenia and Turkey. Russia would have been the chief ruler at that time by any standard, but now the Soviet Union is gone and Georgia although still protected by the Russians is an independent nation no longer ruled by Russia. This means that Russia is no longer the chief ruler of Meshech or Tubal. Someone else will eventually become the chief ruler.

Tubal = "thou shall be brought" n pr m
5. son of Japheth and grandson of Noah n pr terr
6. a region in east Asia Minor
a. perhaps nearly equal to Cappadocia
Tubal was in Modern Day Western Turkey also within the same location as the Thracian region in Turkey. This absolutely verifies this area as being a part of the same nations as the Antichrist. This is one of the four nations of the Antichrist. Thrace was one of the four nations of Alexander represented by the leopards body on the beast in Revelations 13th Chapter. Since Russia never ruled over the region known as Tubal and because Tubal is ruled by Turkey it causes us to think a little different by these things. The chief ruler of Tubal at this time is the government of Turkey.

There are other nations revealed to us in Ezekiel that we will also find are in step with the nations of the Antichrist.
Ezekiel 38: 5: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

In Daniel the 11th chapter we find that Ethiopia and Libya are nations with the Antichrist.
Daniel 11: 43: But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. We also know that Persia will be one of the nations of the Antichrist because Persia is modern day Iran and is the bears feet on the beast in Revelation 13th chapter according to Daniel.

Ezekiel 38: 6: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
Gomer = "complete" the eldest son of Japheth and grandson of Noah, the progenitor of the early Cimmerians and other branches of the Celtic family. The Cimmerians are believed to be the ancestors of Thracians. Also many believe that they are ancestors to the Germanic and Welsh. Once again I believe that we should look more closely at the region of Thrace.
According to Armeninia legend Togarmah was the son of Gomer, the grandson of Noah. Armenia comes from Togarmah
Out of all of these nations that we see with Gog the only two that doesn't stand out is Iraq and Syria, but I can't help but believe that they will be there. To think that they would not support Iran in this event would be a little bit absurd.

4. They both are temporarily driven out of Israel by other armies.

Ezekiel 38:13: Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

This is showing the people who live in Southern Arabia and others from around Spain inquiring as to why Gog is invading Israel. Some believe that the young lions are the offspring of Tarshish thinking that Tarshish is England. They picture that the United States, Canada and Australia are the young lions. I myself haven't got a clue as to whether this is true or not.
However there is an indication that Gog has been to Israel before. This is taken from the thought that God turns them back. Wouldn't they have had to be there before if he turns them back? (Ezekiel 38:4, 39:2 KJV) The Hebrew word "Shuwb" a word that means "to return" or "to turn back" is used in these two verses.
It is more than just an assumption that the Antichrist will be driven out of Israel after a short stay. I say this because a short time before Armageddon the Antichrist is found at the River Euphrates close to Baghdad getting re-enforcement to re-invade Israel.

Micah 5: 4: And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5: And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 6: And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
I really believe that there is a very close similarity between Gog and the Antichrist in these scriptures.

5. God draws them back down to the mountains of Israel to destroy them.

The scriptures tell us that God draws him down to Israel so that God can destroy him and his armies there (Zechariah 14:2). God turns Gog around and brings him down to the mountains of Israel to destroy him. God will also bring the Antichrist down against Israel to destroy him. In Ezekiel God says this:
39:2: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4: Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Compare this with Zechariah 14:2-3:
2: For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3: Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
In both cases God brings them down to Israel to destroy them.

6.God causes them to kill one another through confusion.

Ezekiel 38: 21: And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.

Zechariah 14: 13: And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

It is more than a coincidence for these to be the same, as we go deeper into these scriptures we begin to see the truth that is in this. These two events are one and the same.

7. Both experience a great earthquake and hail falls on them.

As a punishment against the enemies of God, God sends an earthquake.
Ezekiel 38:19: For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20: So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down,, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

Revelation 6:14: And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Revelation 11:13: And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Revelation 16:18: And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19: And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20: And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
All three of these earthquakes in the book of Revelation are the same earthquake and could very easily be the same one spoken off in Ezekiel 38.

Both Gog and the Antichrist experience great hail falling on them from God.
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.
Revelation 16:21: And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Notice the similarity of this, don't you think that there might be something to this?

8. At the time of their destruction God calls for the vultures.

I find this to be very interesting to notice that God calls for the vultures to eat the dead bodies of his enemies. Compare this with Armageddon.
Ezekiel 39:
4: Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5: Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Revelation 17:
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18: That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

9. The place of their burial is the same.

Ezekiel 39:11: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.

Daniel 11:45: And he shall plant the tabernacles (Pitch his tents) of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
This burial place and the place that the Antichrist pitches his tents are one and the same.
Many believe that the valley of Megiddo is the place that Hamon-gog will be. This is based on the valley of the passengers. This is believed to be an easy route for travel from the Mediterranean Sea to Jerusalem through the valley of Megiddo, or the place that Armageddon will be fought. Two important routes passed through Megiddo: one between Phoenicia in the north to Jerusalem in the south, and a second linked Egypt with Damascus.

This is certainly a match because we know that God is going to destroy the Antichrist in the valley of Megiddo. This battle is the final battle and is called Armageddon. God will bury Gog and the people will bury Magog his people. The scriptures tell us that God is going to cast the Antichrist alive into the Lake of Fire. It might run across your mind that he isn't being buried, but he is being buried all right. Just as Korah and his followers were cast alive into hell, the ground opened up and swallowed them alive. To be buried is to be underground. The Lake of Fire is underground. You couldn't be buried any deeper than this. I believe it to be the Earth's Core.

I hope that this is a benefit for you in your search of truth concerning Bible prophecy for our time.

Your brother in Christ
Tommie Spurgeon