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Gog and Magog during Israel's
Rest I suppose that most people believe that the battle of Gog
and Magog will occur sometime before Daniel's seventieth week commonly
called the Tribulation period. Some teach that it will occur before the
Tribulation which will cause a vacuum in the Middle East leading up to the
signing of the peace treaty and the eventual rise of the Antichrist to
power. The only thing that apparently contradicts this happening before
the Tribulation is the Bible itself. 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. 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. 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, 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: 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. 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 There are other nations revealed to us in Ezekiel that we will also
find are in step with the nations of the Antichrist. In Daniel the 11th chapter we find that Ethiopia and Libya are nations
with the Antichrist. 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. 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?
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. 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: 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. 7. Both experience a great earthquake
and hail falls on them. As a punishment against the enemies of God, God sends an
earthquake. 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. Both Gog and the Antichrist experience great hail falling on
them from God. 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. 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. I hope that this is a benefit for you in your search of truth
concerning Bible prophecy for our time. Yours in Christ, |