There are many scholars who believe that the Ezekiel invasion (Ezek. 38-39) happens during the Tribulation. But other scholars take the view that it will happen either before the Rapture or between the Rapture and the Tribulation. I believe, with Ron Rhrodes and Thomas Ice, that it will probably occur just after the Rapture and will set the stage for the signing of the peace covenant with Israel and the Tribulation.
As it is given to us by the prophecy of Ezekiel, God calls out Gog, who is probably a demonic inspired Russian leader; and He summons him, with all the nations under him, to invade the small country of Israel. The countries that come under his command are these:
Russia (called in Ezekiel Rosh)
Turkey (called Meshech and Tubal and Gomer and Beth-togarmah)
Iran (called Persia)
Sudan (Ethiopia)
And there will also be “many people with you” (I think this terminology suggests that non-military people will come with all the troops to join in the battle).
Scripture says that God will call them into battle at a time when Israel will be living securely ((Ezek. 38:8, 11-12, 14)—which is now. And these nations will cover the land of Israel “like a cloud” (v. 16). This suggests that they will completely cover the land; in fact, verse 15 says, many people, a great assembly and a mighty army will come. They will probably have tanks and trucks, and helicopters and planes, and some may even be on horseback. There will be millions of them that will come to do battle.
Hence, it appears that God will draw them in, in order to bring His four-fold judgement on them at this chosen time and place (Ezek. 38:19-22).
A great earthquake.Though this quake will be great, Scripture indicates that it will be local to the land of Israel. All living creatures and all men (in that region) will shake at His presence; and the mountains and every wall will be thrown down.
Infighting.Verse twenty-one tells us that God will “call for a sword against him [Gog]…Every man’s sword will be against his brother.” Hence, it appears that God will so confuse them that all communication will breakdown and no one will know who the enemy is. This strange phenomenon, as you may know, happened a few times before in Jewish history, where each time it was the Lord’s doing (Judg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:20; and 2 Chron. 20:23).
Disease. Because of all the dead bodies, and because of so many birds and animals feasting on them, this will cause on outbreak of disease.
Heavy rain, hail, fire and brimstone.This final judgment will be most devastating. The skies will pour down heavy rain and hail so hard that it will kill. And the sky will also rain down fire and burning sulfur; this may be from volcanic eruptions caused by the great earthquake.
As I mentioned above, it is likely that the invasion, along with God’s judgment on the invading nations, will occur just after the Rapture of the church. And for the following reasons, that will set that stage for the signing of the peace covenant with Israel and the beginning of the Tribulation.
1. Since almost all Muslims will be wiped out by God’s judgment, this will open the door to a more peaceful, or at least compliant, interaction with them. Since their power and influence will be limited, it will be likely that Israel will dominate the holy sites and will have no trouble building their third temple on the temple mount.
2. Since the soon-to-be-Antichrist will probably reside somewhere in the E. U. and will be one of those who will question the invasion (read Ezek. 38:13), this will put him in a good position, after the failed invasion. In fact, he may claim that he had something to do with it.
3. This Antichrist, who by this time will be a great leader, will take advantage of the situation and will make great friends with Israel; and he will make to them great promises of peace—all fake promises.
The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. (1 Samuel 2:4) Unless you have completely isolated and insulated yourself from the outside world (and I would not blame you if you have; sometimes I wish I could completely detach from the constant flow of bad news), you […]
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was very content during a trip to Turkey on Friday. He said it was productive and smiled alongside his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. He said it was a “wonderful” trip where he spoke with his “brother Cavusoglu.”
The trip signals the growing alliance that Turkey and Iran have in the region.
Zarif said: “As before, constructive engagement on bilateral and regional issues. Ultimate aim: Apply Iran and Turkey’s experience of 400 years of peace to our region. Together, anything is possible.”
In the above article on Koening’s World Watch Daily, originally from The Jerusalem Post, the picture above tells much more than most people would think. It is a sign of the coming Ezekiel 38-39 war against Israel. As the map below shows, this war will be an invasion of Israel from the three countries mentioned, Russia, Turkey and Iran, plus three other countries further south: Libya, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Many think that this war\invasion will happen just before or after the Rapture of the church—but more likely after it. Read Ezekiel 38-39 (below) to get the full impact of the dramatic event. And notice the outcome: God gets a glorious victory and Israel is not harmed.
Ezekiel 38-39
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army — your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops — the many nations with you.
7 “‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people — all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?” ‘
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
17 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I 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.’
Chapter 39
“Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.
9 “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up — the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.
11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.
12 “‘For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I am glorified will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord.
14 “‘Men will be regularly employed to cleanse the land. Some will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those that remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search. 15 As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 (Also a town called Hamonah will be there.) And so they will cleanse the land.’
17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls — all of them fattened animals from Bashan. 19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.
21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. 22 From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.
25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Recently, both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have entered into a peace agreement with Israel. Now, just a day ago, Sudan has done the same. However, I have a good reason to think that Sudan, at some point, will back out of it. The reason I am doubting their peace commitment is because of bible prophecy. In the Ezekiel war, recorded for us in Ezekiel 38 and 39, Sudan is one of the invading countries, along with Russia, Turkey, Iran, Libya, Tunisia, and parts of Algeria.
Other nations, because of what is says in Ezekiel 38:13, will be at peace with Israel. These are closer nations: mainly Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Somalia, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain. These are the nations that at the beginning of the invasion will question why the other nations are invading. They will say, “Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?”
So, they will do nothing more than question them. They will not try to stop them from invading? However, as it turns out, they won’t need to, because God will cause a great earthquake to come on them, and also torrential rain and hail, and in the great confusion they will fight against each other, and most of them will be killed. But Israel will not be harmed. God will protect them.
Anyway, I think Sudan will back out of the peace agreement. As an article in Behold Israel points out, “When the prophet speaks of Ethiopia [in Ezekiel 38: 4-6], the location being spoken of consists of what he knew as Ethiopia of his time; modern-day Ethiopia and Sudan. The Hebrew word is “Kush,” which was a territory that included what is now Sudan.”
Stephen Nielsen 