Gog and Magog during the Tribulation (Ezekiel 38)

Good morning, it's good to see a nice number out again in this auditorium. And I thought we would open, as we did at Stout, my brother Scott brought some prophetic truth before us from the book of Ezekiel. So let's go again to Ezekiel.

Let's come to chapter 38. Living as we are in tremendous times, very notable times, we'll read down through this chapter. Ezekiel 38.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, I believe that's an individual, the land of Magog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince. Now that word chief in Hebrew is Rosh, and so some translations have it the prince of Rosh, of Meshach and Tubal. And prophesy against him, there's the individual, Gog.

And say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, of Meshach and Tubal. And I will turn thee back and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth and all thy army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Iran to the east, Ethiopia and Libya to the south, with them.

In terms of north, south, east and west, of course we're thinking in terms of the location of the land of Israel. All of them with shield and helmet. Gomer and all his bands, the house of Togarmah, of the north quarters and all his bands, and many people with thee.

Be thou prepared and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited. In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, Israel, back in the land, and is gathered out of many people against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste, but is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely, all of them.

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all my bands and many people with thee, thus saith the Lord God. It shall also come to pass that at that same time shall things come into thy mind and thou shalt think an evil thought, and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages and I will go to them that are at rest and dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, having neither bars nor great gates, 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. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, that would be referenced likely to Spain, at least way to the west, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, that is to Gog, 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? 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? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts.

Thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army, and 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.

Thus saith the Lord God. Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants, the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days, many years, that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. 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, 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 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. 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.

And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood, and I will rain upon him and upon his bands and upon many people that are with him an overflowing rain and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. 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 Jehovah. Now, look at the devastation.

Chapter 39, just very briefly, it continues on. It's the prophecy about Gog and Magog, the chief prince, and the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal. Verse 2, And I will turn thee back and leave but a sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come down from the north parts and bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.

And it goes on to describe that invasion further. From a different perspective, it's more the Lord's doing in chapter 39. Now, that will suffice at this point for reading.

We may turn to another portion in a moment. The invasion from the north. Prophecy has always been a favorite subject of mine, and you know that the book of Ezekiel is one of the major prophets, four major prophets, in terms of the volume of what they write.

They're called major. In Daniel, we find that Israel has lost her sovereignty, and yet, amazingly, by the time you come to the end of that book, Israel will be restored, and her sovereignty will be restored, and there will be one who will rule. Then again, in Isaiah, we know that in Isaiah, Israel has lost her purity.

You get that right up front in chapter 1. And yet, by the end of that book, those closing chapters of the book of Isaiah, the purity of Israel will be restored in a coming day. In the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah lived through the Babylonian captivity, and Israel lost her territory. They were carried away, captive to Babylon.

And yet, even in Jeremiah, that will be restored in a coming day. In the book of Ezekiel, Israel has lost the glory, and yet, amazingly, as we were reminded last week, the glory will return to that millennial temple, and the glory of the Lord will fill it. It will be restored again.

Now, in the book of Ezekiel, the theme throughout is really the sovereignty of God over his people, and God's dealings with hostile nations that will come against Israel, and that will try to destroy them. And so, there will be judgment, of course, and chastisement upon the rebellious people of Israel, and that must precede what follows in the latter part of the book when the restoration of Israel is anticipated, and the preservation of the glory of Jehovah and his great name will be brought back again, associated with his people. Chapter 1 opens with a confirming vision of God.

It's a tremendous chapter. We read in verse 1, Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, maybe a reference to Ezekiel's age, as I was among the captives by the river of Kibar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. What a tremendous statement.

He saw visions of God. Ezekiel's not like Daniel, who was in the court of the king in Babylon. Ezekiel is among the captives, and he is by the river of Kibar.

He's evidently a younger man, and here he is in a foreign land, and he's held captive. He's a nobody in terms of the rulers, so far as they're concerned. But what a tremendous thing.

He saw visions of God. Visions of God. And so far as you and I are concerned, brothers and sisters, we are nobodies in terms of this world.

Very low-key, very insignificant. And yet what a tremendous thing it would be if you and I were made very conscious of the presence of God even at this conference this weekend. You know, it changed Ezekiel.

He never was the same again. It would change us too to be conscious of His presence and get a little glimpse of the glory of God. That will certainly change a person.

That's chapter 1, a confirming vision. Chapter 2 and 3, he gets the commission from God for his ministry. Chapter 4 right through 24, you have a condemnation on Israel for their disobedience and their turning away from the Lord.

Condemnation is pronounced. Chapter 33 through 39, which encompasses our reading, 38-39, you have the thought of condemnation on Gentile nations. Judgment begins at the house of God, but it goes on to the heathen.

And then finally from chapter 40 right through to the end, as we were thinking last week, there's the consecration of that millennial temple when the glory of God will return. Now again, picking up on your knowledge, if in chapter 36 and chapter 37, just preceding where we read, we see that Israel will be restored spiritually, there'll be a new heart put into them, chapter 36. There will be new life brought again to a nation that has been regathered physically.

Chapter 37, the valley of dry bones, can these bones live? And if that is a spiritual restoration there in those chapters, when we come to these two chapters, I believe that there are geopolitical conditions that are seen prior to the full restoration of the nation in view. And God is seen as intervening on behalf of that nation. Not only has he been sanctified in relation to the heathen nations in their judgment, but also he is proving his intervention powers to his own people that they will be recovered because generally the nation at this point still is in unbelief.

So let's come then to what we have read in this chapter, chapter 38. Just a little outline of the chapter. In the first seven verses we have, so far as the invaders are concerned, we have their identity in the first seven verses.

The invasion then comes in verses 8 to 9. We have the intent of the invaders stated in verses 10 through 13. And we have the intervention of God then, verses 14 to 22. And verse 23, and I am is made known.

The I am is made known, verse 23. I want to think too a little bit, if there's time, about the interval of the timing of these tremendous events. Now let's come to their identity first of all.

There's obviously a coalition of forces that will come against Israel in a coming day. Verse 2, son of man, set thy face against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, of Meshach, and Tubal. Behold, I am against thee, says the Lord God.

Now where are these places? Well, the land of Magog is generally believed to be a way to the north of the land of Israel. Indeed, historians, secular historians, like the Greek historian Herodotus, if that's how you say that, Herodotus, and also Josephus, they identified Magog with an ancient people called the Scythians. Now, the Scythians were a nomadic people, originally of Persian stock, and from as early as the ninth century B.C., they were recognized as a tremendous power at that time.

And they migrated from Central Asia up through the Caucasus and up into the area to the north of that, to the west and to the east. So spreading themselves out in the land of Russia, Ukraine, and further east into those Stan countries, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and all the other ones that you can't pronounce, generally known as the Stans, to the east over towards India. So that area seems to be identified here.

Meshech and Tubal were known to be in the area which is now Turkey and in the Caucasus region, that's to the northeast of Turkey, that mountain shield as you would go north. Now, verse five in our chapter, notice Persia is identified, that's Iran, and Ethiopia and Libya, North Africa, with them, all of them with shield and helmet. Verse six, Gomer, and the commentators suggest that that's a reference to Germany, and all his bands, and the house of Togarmah, again from the Anatolia region.

So what do we have? We have Russia and countries of the former Soviet Republic. We're learning that they have a part to play in end times, a part to play. And in these events that we've read from, about from chapter 38 and chapter 39, where Ezekiel is predicting a movement led by the chief of likely Russia with all his hordes, and they come from the north, coming as a flood, sweeping down upon the land of Israel.

Now, interestingly, these are areas today where Islam is very strong, and I understand that even in Russia there are 16 million Muslims in Russia. So here's a coalition of forces, maybe united in more ways than one, not only politically but possibly religiously, with a hatred against Israel. Again, very interestingly, as you think of those regions and the identity of these nations, if you were to take a line directly north from the land of Israel, let's go north, you will encounter Lebanon, first of all, Syria, Turkey, keep going, cross the Black Sea, into the Donbass region of Ukraine, further north, into Russia, straight line north.

Interesting, isn't it? With Ukraine at the moment seeking western help from western powers, and yet the Donbass region is directly north of the land of Israel. I find that an interesting thing in view of what we're looking at these days and that war that's ripping that country apart. Now, let's come to this invasion further in verses 8 and 9. Israel is obviously back in the land.

That's an amazing thing, too. That's a miracle in itself. I take it that's one of the signs in view of the manifestation of Christ.

It has already taken place in terms of there's a nation there. Not a sign of the rapture, per se, but of the manifestation. So Israel back in the land.

It is described in verse 8 as a land that is brought back from the sword. On May the 14th, 1948, British control of Palestine ended, and the Jewish inhabitants of that state under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion declared independence, and a new Jewish state was formed. That was over 70 years ago.

Over 70 years ago. Brethren, at the end of the 1800s, we're anticipating there would be a state of Israel again. It has happened, and over 70 years have passed.

It's very remarkable. So seemingly, verse 11, Israel is feeling secure. Verse 11, he's addressing Gog, the invaders.

Thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go up to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates. So possibly the peace treaty that was made with the Antichrist, the leader of the Western powers that we refer to as the Antichrist, likely that peace treaty has enraged these nations so that they feel aggrieved with Israel, for sure, but also with the leader of the Western powers and his armies.

All right. So they, enraged, have this intent to come down and pillage the land of Israel, to lay it waste. That's their intent.

If you want to see what that looks like, take a look at Maripol and those areas that have been devastated by war. So what I'm thinking is this. Likely that peace treaty has been in place long enough to give Israel a false sense of security so that they are at ease.

Remember, one of the strategies of the Antichrist will be this, through peace he shall destroy many. He comes as a man of peace. So, again, another thing to note, that is hardly the condition of Israel in the second part of the tribulation, in the second half of the week.

It's hardly at people then that will be at rest and at peace. So you see what we're doing now. We're bracketing in the time frame.

So there's been a little time lag after the peace treaty and it's before, I take it, the second half of that great tribulation. Maybe come back to that in a moment. So Gog and the horde that is with him, they have the idea of coming into Israel to take the spoils and they see a prosperous nation.

They see a nation which, in verse 12, they've gotten cattle and goods. And so they come as a cloud to cover the land and it shall be, says verse 16, in the latter days. Now notice this, verse 13.

There's some international outrage at this invasion. The Western powers, Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish to the West, they say, are you serious? Are you really going to do this? Are you going to come in and cause a war and take great spoil away? Are you going to do that? And so they object, much like they object still in the United Nations today. But the West doesn't want to get involved militarily in Ukraine.

So talk is cheap, isn't it? So here's another situation similar there. Now, it seems, we'll come to this again in a moment, it seems that they will actually, these Western powers will actually be drawn into the conflict. But I'll come back to that.

So here's a people with their guard down and Gog is going to take advantage of that and he's going to come sweeping in, verse 15, thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts with many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army. And I shall come up against my people Israel and I will bring thee against my land that the heathen may know when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Notice, I will bring thee.

Isn't that tremendous? Invading heathen armies. But I will bring thee. So what we learn, the takeaway from that is this, God is sovereign still and he'll be sovereign in the future.

And what's happening in the Ukraine right now is under his control. And I would believe that the prayers of the Lord's people have been instrumental in turning back the Russian hordes from that Western part of Ukraine where the assemblies are located. So we keep on praying.

There's nothing happening today that's beyond God's sovereign control. Let's think a little more of the intervention of God. That'll bring us to verse 18 and 19.

When they come in against Israel, God says, My fury shall come up in my face. Verse 19, For 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, a tremendous earthquake seemingly.

It seems to be localized at least to the region of Israel at this point. It's not the shaking of the whole earth that will occur at the time of Armageddon, which comes at the end of the tribulation period. You read about that in Revelation 16 and verse 18.

But nevertheless, this is an earthquake that is so severe that all life shakes for fear, including the fish. And the mountains of Israel are thrown down, that central spine of high ground that runs the length of the land, thrown down. And then those armies start to fight one against another.

Verse 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, like in the days of Gideon, Midian. The same mechanism will be at work at Armageddon.

Here it is again. Here it is again. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood.

And I will reign upon him and upon his bands and upon many people that are with him, an overflowing rain and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. It is divine intervention. God will intervene in this remarkable way.

And so great is that destruction, as we noted in verse 2 of the next chapter, only a sixth part, 16%, survive. Remarkable. In chapter 39, I'm not going to go into that in detail, but we have the battle in the first seven verses, great slaughter by the intervention of God.

Then you have the burning, verses 8 through 10, seven years of fuel for Israel from all the military munitions, likely including oil and the fuel for rockets and the wood of the Kalashnikovs. And did you notice those pictures from Ukraine, how many wooden boxes contain military hardware? So seven years of burning. And then the burial, verses 11 through 16, for seven months there will be crews permanently employed gathering up the dead bodies.

And there will be birds and beasts that are feeding on the flesh of the mighty, verses 17 to 20. And what's the point of it all? The I am made known, verse 23 of our chapter. God's intervention has that intent before it.

I will be magnified and made known to a nation, to the nation, otherwise an unbelief. But God is speaking to the nation by His action, by His intervention to preserve them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah, their God from that day forward, from that day forward.

Then there's the bringing back in chapter 39, verse 25. Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel? That's got to be referring to their full restoration. God is moving toward that by these events.

So ultimately she's brought back into the land, and at the end of chapter 29, He will pour out His Spirit upon them, and I will be sanctified in them. He's anticipating the full restoration of Israel, not only geographically brought back, but also spiritually brought back to God. Now come over quickly to the book of Daniel just for a moment.

Daniel chapter 11. We'll try and tie this in just very briefly. This is also a very interesting chapter, and most of the chapter has already been fulfilled in history.

It was prophecy when Daniel wrote it, but it has already been fulfilled in history, like verse 21, a vile person referring to Antiochus Epiphanes who defiled the temple between the Old and the New Testament. All right, so there were prophecies that had a near fulfillment, but then when you come to verse 36, verse 36, at this point, most conservative commentators are agreed here that this is projecting into the future, and the king that's mentioned here would be that man that we call the Antichrist. And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the god of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.

For that which is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, but he shall magnify himself above all, but in his estate shall he honor the god of forces. The god of forces.

So here's a person who magnifies himself against all gods. You remember 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God? And I take it that takes place in the middle of the week. All right.

So he honors the god of forces. Like Elon Musk said in an interview earlier this year, he said, I believe in the god of Spinoza. What? Spinoza.

Who was Spinoza? He was a philosopher in the 1600s of Jewish descent, and Einstein referred to him as well. He believed in the god of Spinoza. Spinoza propagated this philosophy that God is the sum of the material universe.

The universe is made up of energy. The god of forces. My point is, that thinking is already in the world.

That man I mentioned earlier, David Ben-Gurion, was also a great admirer of Spinoza. The founder of the modern state of Israel had that philosophy too. It's already in Israel, that kind of thinking.

So they will embrace that man when he appears. And notice verse 40 now of Daniel 11. Just very quickly I'll read through this.

And at that time, at the time of the end, the king of the south shall push at him, Antichrist, and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind. So here's a horde from the south, here's a horde from the north. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? And they're coming against him.

Where's he at? Verse 41. He shall also enter into the glorious land. Here's a hostile action against Israel.

And many countries shall be overthrown, but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon. And he shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

So here's the leader of the western powers. And now he's acting in a hostile way against Israel at a time when there's a horde comes from the north and a horde comes from the south. See? So not only is that northern invasion from Ezekiel 38 against Israel, that's the context there in 38, but Daniel 11 is showing also there's more involved those western powers with whom Israel had made a treaty.

They are now in place. And again, about the middle of the week, that's when he turns against Israel, in the middle of the tribulation. And here's a hostile action against Israel right here.

Now, I'm about done. So notice this, Daniel 12 now. At the end of that, Daniel 12.1, notice this expression, and at that time, see that? At that time shall Michael stand up, who stands for Israel.

What for? To preserve the remnant during that great tribulation, a time of unprecedented indignation and wrath. And at that point, Michael will stand. So again, there's the middle of the week.

So what's the takeaway from all of this? Just this. The heathen, Russia and its allies, will in that day, about the middle of the tribulation, I take it, somewhere in that time frame, they will meet their end on the mountains of Israel. And the sovereign God of heaven, our God and Father, will see to that.

It is upsetting to look at Ukraine today, see what's going on, but God is still on the throne, and he is our God. And with the Hebrew writer, we can say in our little experience, the Lord is my helper. What shall I fear what man shall do unto me? So may the Lord bless this word to our hearts.