Ezekiel 38 & 39: Gog of
Magog - Gregory Supple - gps.pleadtheblood@gmail.com
Ezekiel 38:1~3 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."
Dear Family: there's much speculation concerning the great battle of Gog of Magog, but of its outcome, as we'll see, we have no doubt! Its prince and leader is Gog, but where exactly is the land of Magog? This prophecy tells us that one day in the near future, this coalition of Gentile Nations will take their aggression out upon the tiny nation of Israel. This being said, a question immediately comes to mind. Every student of Holy Bible Prophecy has asked more than once. Namely, when does all this occur? First, Ezekiel writes that it happens in the 'latter years,' when 'Israel has ... come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people' (Ezekiel 38:8). Looking back at Ezekiel chapter 37 we find the Prophecy of dead bones coming back to life; certainly a reference to the Nazi Death-Camps which Israel was liberated from. So, the restoration of the Nation of Israel is the first step in realizing the fulfillment of Ezekiel's Magog War.
Then, who is Gog of Magog and his alliances? In iniquity lands were often named after their founder - God possibly still sees it this way? In the Table of Nations found in Genesis chapter 10 we find the grandsons of Noah listed as: Genesis 10:2 ~ "The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras." Where these offspring migrated too is beyond the scoop of this article, but we'll try and give an overview of locations? Josephus, the 1st Century Jewish historian identified the offspring of Magog as the Scythians, a name used in antiquity for peoples north of the Black Sea. According to him, the ancient Greeks called Scythia - Magogia. Ezekiel gives us another clue saying they are from the far North which lines up with Josephus' historical writings.
Ezekiel 38:14~15 "Therefore, son of man, prophecy and say to Gog: Thus says the Sovereign Lord: In that (latter) day when My people Israel dwell securely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army."
Here's where the confusion comes in? We must separate the spiritual side from the fleshly. Ezekiel 38-39 should be understood in the context of its apocalyptic literary style depicting an earthly struggle reflecting of a spiritual conflict between the forces of heaven and hell. Ever since Adam & Eve seceded the title of earth over to Satan @ the Garden ~ Satan's power has reigned on earth save for the Jewish Nation ( God's chosen people); hence, an on-going spiritual anti-Semitic influence has invaded the Gentile Nations: Every culture in the whole world before CHRIST, except for the Jews, was steeped in the worship of pantheons of false gods, which were demons who demanded worship and tribute from all who served them. This age-old battle between God's good and the devil's evil can be seen best in the temptation of Christ where Satan said: "All the kingdoms of the world have been given to me." We see evidence of this in Daniel chapter 10:12~14 "Then he (holy-angel) continued: Do-not be afraid, Daniel - Since the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the visions refer to many days yet to come." The Devil's evil influence over the Gentile Nations is undeniable - just a glimpse at our horrid history confirms that. And Satan's demonic hierarchy in the nations are giving labels like prince of Persia and: Daniel 10:20~21 "He replied: Do you know why I have come? I am here to tell you what is written in the Book of the Future. Then when I leave, I will go again to fight my way back, past the prince of Persia, and after him, the prince of Greece. Only Michael, the (holy) angel who guards your people Israel, will be there to help me."
Worldly Dictators have always been Satan's tools of the trade when defying God's purposes on earth: like the Egyptian Pharaoh trying to kill Moses or King Herod killing all infants in a failed attempt to kill Baby Jesus. But know this Jesus was killed only at the appointed time putting to death all our sins, and God raised HIM to life again - who is our resurrection. Satan and his demonic following's destiny is already determined in the Book of the Future, such is Apocalyptic Scripture intended to tell: not pleasant by any stretch, but is intended to fore-tell God's sovereign control over all human-history. Satan and his co-horts will be given just enough rope to hang themselves. As we'll see here in Ezekiel 38 & 39 about the prince Gog, no doubt an evil influence over the people in the north. The reappearance of gog of magog in Revelation 20:7~8 after the millennial reign of Christ confirms this: Revelation 20:7~8 "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four-corners of the earth ~ Gog and Magog ~ to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand of the seashore." But back to the immediate future: what face will this prince of Gog wear in Ezkieel 38 & 39? God's Word tell us: 'the prince of Rosh, Meshech, & Tubal.' We've already established that Magog migrated to the areas north of the Black sea. Historically, the nations mentioned in this passage, Magog, Meshech, & Tubal were a barbarous people known as the Scythians. These were a nomadic people who had moved from central Asia to southern Russia. Just about the same time that Ezekiel was born, the Scythians terrorized southwest Asia and the Middle East. In Genesis 10:2, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and are named as the sons of Japeth and are the founders of the northern group of nations from which the Scythians descended. In Ezekiel 27:13, Meshech and Tubal are mentioned as being sellers of slaves to Tyre; and in Ezekiel 32:26, they are spoken of as "instilling terror in the land of the living." Meshech is thought to be a people called the Moschi dwelling in the Caucasus mountain regions according to Assyrian inscriptions. Tubal is thought to be a people called the Tibareni dwelling on the southeast shores of the Black Sea. It's hard to separate these siblings from Russian descent.
But what about the term 'Rosh'? There's no mention of this name in the Table of Nations of Genesis 10? In using phonetics there's little doubt of Russia's intention with the word Rosh, and Hebrew newspapers would use the word Rosh when describing the nation. The translation of Rosh (RS) presents some difficulty. Some understand it to be a proper noun referring to Russia rather than as a simple noun or adjective, "head" or "chief" (KJV), Whichever is used, there's little doubt that the descendants of Japheth In modern terms settled in what is now areas of the former Soviet Union - with the prince gog as their evil-spiritual leader! So, can we put a face on this 'prince of Rosh, Meshech, & Tubal'? Who dwells in the far north? I suggest yes: Vladimir Putin! Who in recent years has been forcibly taken back the areas once inhabited by Magog, Meshech, & Tubal - namely the Black Sea regions? Back in 2008 Mr. Putin annexed 20% of the Nation of Georgia's sovereign land to Russia; now, in 2014 the Ukraine is feeling the sting of Putin's Russian imperial push. Losing its prized Crimea peninsula. The stage is being set for this Gog of Magog war ~ stay tuned as we continue on with
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