Timing Gog-Magog: When will Ezekiel 38-39 be fulfilled? by Lamb&Lion Ministries

[ftwspursfan]

by Nathan E. Jones

The Battle

The Prophecies
A long 2,600 years ago the great Hebrew nabi Ezekiel unveiled the prophecy the Lord God had divulged to him concerning the future of the nation of Israel. Recorded in The Book of Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37, the prophet revealed that God would fulfill His promise to regather the Jewish people "from all the countries" (Ezek. 36:24) of the world where they had been dispersed and bring them back to the land promised to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 17:7; 1 Chron. 16:17-18; Ps. 105:8-11; Rom. 9:4).

Like dry bones reanimated into a living person, Israel did indeed become a nation once again on May 14, 1948, after nearly 1900 years since the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D and scattered the Jewish people across the globe. After all these centuries, this prophecy has been fulfilled in our modern generation!

God wasn't done unveiling the future of Israel to Ezekiel and the world, though, for the following two chapters portray a great trial for the newly established nation of Israel — the Gog-Magog Battle. Because of the unique characteristics and the great detail in which chapters 38 and 39 describe this battle, history shows the Gog-Magog Battle is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled.

The Details
The Gog-Magog Battle is set between a massive coalition of nations descended from Noah's sons Japheth and Ham against Israel (Gen. 10:2-7). The nations are from the territories of ancient Rosh, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Gomer and Beth-togarmah. Their leader is called "Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal" (Ezek. 38:2-3). The battlefield is on the "mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate" (Ezek. 38:8). The purpose of the invasion is to "plunder and loot" and destroy the people of Israel (Ezek. 38:12, 16).

The end result of an invasion by such a seemingly invincible army on a seemingly unprotected Israel will surprise the invaders and shock the world. The invading nations are in truth being manipulated by God, pulled out of their lands as with "hooks in [their] jaws" (Ezek. 38:4), so that those nations can feel the "hot anger... [of] the Sovereign LORD" (Ezek. 38:18). God drags these specific nations to the "mountains of Israel" to "execute judgment upon him [Gog] with plague and bloodshed... torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him" (Ezek. 38:22). God's purpose of personally interceding using the supernatural destruction of so massive an army is not just its destruction, but "so I [God] will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD" (Ezek. 38:23).

By His supernatural victory in the Gog-Magog Battle, God reintroduces Himself to the world and declares in no uncertain terms that He is personally defending Israel. Should the peoples of the world doubt they only have to look on Israel who "will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up... for seven years they will use them for fuel" (Ezek. 39:9) and "for seven months the house of Israel will be burying them" (Ezek. 39:12) in the newly named "Valley of Hamon Gog" (Ezek. 39:11) by a newly built "town called Hamonah" (Ezek. 39:16).

must read at Articles - Prophecy - Tribulation - Timing Gog-Magog

[mattfivefour]

Mike that is a very thorough and excellent examination of the pros and cons of the varying points of view. For those who do not have time to read it all at the moment, may I post David's personal view with which he concludes his lengthy piece?

He says:

Which view one holds probably rests more on what one sees is the view that provides the most logical answers to the prerequisites. To me, timing the Gog-Magog Battle just before or at the very beginning of the Tribulation can best fulfill these prerequisites and makes the most logical sense in my mind. This is how I see the timeline most likely playing out:

1. The Rapture of the Church removes the Restrainer.
2. Israel subjugates their surrounding neighbors in fulfillment of Psalm 83.
3. The Gog-Magog Battle destroys the Russian and Muslim influence in the Middle East, makes the world aware of God's presence, and restores Israel's belief in the God of the Torah.
4. The Antichrist conquers what's left of the Middle East and makes a peace covenant with Israel to complete the Revived Roman Empire.
5. Israel spends the seven years of the Tribulation burning the weapons.
6. Jesus returns at the end of the seven years to defeat His enemies at Armageddon resulting in Israel acknowledging that Jesus is God's Son.
7. Jesus gathers the people from all over the world for the Sheep/Goat Judgment, which results in only believers entering the Millennial Kingdom.

For those who may not agree with his view, he ends with the following words: "Time will tell when the Gog-Magog Battle will truly take place. But, the players are already in place and the scene is just about all set for this epic battle to be waged in the not-too-distant future." I think all of us here can agree with that.

Mike, thanks for posting this and prompting what could be a very interesting discussion here.

[Robert]

Yeah, and with he find of natural gas and oil just off the coast of Israel, you can bet that it will only help to precipitate the battles of psalm 83 and ezekiel 38

[GlennO]

A great presentation, and excellent synopsis!!

Thanks for the post Mike!

[ftwspursfan]

Thanks, guys! Nathan Jones wrote this back in March and I'm surprised it slipped past all of us. I read Lamb&Lion quite a bit and I missed this one.

I think most of us here believe Gog/Magog is a Pre-Trib event. I still think there is a strong argument that it will occur at least 3.5 yrs ahead of the covenant with the AC. The 3.5 yrs of the Great Trib after the AoD will be too terrifying for any Israeli to be concerned with using left over weapons for fuel. That being said, I wonder how much time Israel will have to prep Petra for an influx of people? Will the 144000 and/or the 2 witnesses help Israel prepare through their dire warnings?

[ngraham]

Thanks, guys! Nathan Jones wrote this back in March and I'm surprised it slipped past all of us. I read Lamb&Lion quite a bit and I missed this one.

I think most of us here believe Gog/Magog is a Pre-Trib event. I still think there is a strong argument that it will occur at least 3.5 yrs ahead of the covenant with the AC. The 3.5 yrs of the Great Trib after the AoD will be too terrifying for any Israeli to be concerned with using left over weapons for fuel. That being said, I wonder how much time Israel will have to prep Petra for an influx of people? Will the 144000 and/or the 2 witnesses help Israel prepare through their dire warnings?

That's what I was thinking too. If Ezk. 38-39, leaves Israel enough weapons to burn for fuel for 7 years, wouldn't the Gog-Magog war almost have to be 3.5 years before the start of the tribulation? I sure don't see them using weapons for fuel in the final 3.5 years because they will be fleeing to Petra. Unless of course, they have maybe stored some of the left over weaponry at Petra?

[Robert]

Now, why do I keep getting an image in my mind of two Israeli soldiers out on maneuvers, sitting in front of a campfire with a pile of Russian missiles next to them?

Soldier: " Wow, it's cold tonight!! Throw another missile on the fire, huh?"

[ftwspursfan]

Now, why do I keep getting an image in my mind of two Israeli soldiers out on maneuvers, sitting in front of a campfire with a pile of Russian missiles next to them?

Soldier: " Wow, it's cold tonight!! Throw another missile on the fire, huh?"

Yeah, I kinda think of high-speed travel via missile power. Them Israelis are not gonna need DeLoreans, Flux Capacitors or 1.21 gigawatts to get to Haifa or Tel Aviv in 2 seconds.

[mikhen7]

That's what I was thinking too. If Ezk. 38-39, leaves Israel enough weapons to burn for fuel for 7 years, wouldn't the Gog-Magog war almost have to be 3.5 years before the start of the tribulation? I sure don't see them using weapons for fuel in the final 3.5 years because they will be fleeing to Petra. Unless of course, they have maybe stored some of the left over weaponry at Petra?

Does anyone else see two flights into the wilderness for Israel? One after the Abomination of Desolation is setup in the temple 1/2 way through the tribulation (Mt. 24:15-16) and one at the end of the tribulation when Christ's feet land on the Mt. of Olives prior to the battle of Armegeddon
Zech. 14:3-5 says:

3 Then the LORD will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

vs 5 may be subject to translation because the LXX translates it as:
5 And the valley of my mountains shall be closed up, and the valley of the mountains shall be joined on to Jasod, and shall be blocked up as it was blocked up in the days of the earthquake, in the days of Ozias king of Juda;