Thanksgiving, the holiday, is just past, and thanks-giving is yet in the future when all the things Jesus and the prophets forewarned will play out on the timeline of human history leading to our Lord’s return. Turkey is at the center of that thanks-giving future, and the nation by that name is hastily dressing—militarily—for its part in a key prophecy, according to the prophet Ezekiel, as we have looked at numerous times.
To reiterate our overview, I revisit what I’ve written before in this regard.
A major leg of the Ezekiel 38-39 Gog-Magog coalition is coming into view. The Turkey leg is now on the end-times table of Bible prophecy.
We are given the nations that will make up that attacking force by the prophet Ezekiel:
“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; 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” (Ezekiel 38:2-6).
Modern-day Turkey covers most of the territory that made up ancient Togarmah. Ezekiel was told to prophesy that the house of Togarmah will be among the horde from the north of Jerusalem that will assault Israel near the time of Christ’s return.
Many things have been written that analyze developments to Israel’s north. It is as if those with spiritually attuned eyes and ears are being given a play-by-play unfolding of this coalition.
Russia is pared down from its configuration as the nucleus of the former Soviet Union. It more or less once again covers territory that it encompassed when Ezekiel gave the Gog-Magog prophecy. Meshech and Tubal comprised that territory. The “Gog” demonic spirit will, according to this prophecy, inhabit the chief prince, or leader of Russia. This leader is also destined to be the leader of the entire coalition.
Developments toward these prophecies have been nothing short of phenomenal lately.
Russia, after falling apart as the USSR, is again a powerful force. It has inserted its influence, including a considerable military presence, into the region directly north of Israel.
Iran, which is the centermost territory today that once was called Persia, has joined Russia as a close ally—again, just to Israel’s north. Russia and Iran’s military assets co-mingle in the region to influence Syria, another end-times player.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, as we’ve said many times, looks to be the prototype for the leader who will be Gog of the Gog-Magog force prophetically scheduled to invade toward Israel to the south.
The prophet Ezekiel was told to foretell that God, Himself, will put hooks into the Gog-leader’s jaws and jerk him southward like a fisherman would set hooks into a big fish’s mouth and reel him in.
Now Togarmah (Turkey) is hastily in the process of militarily dressing for its end-times fulfillment as part of the Gog-Magog assault on God’s chosen nation.
[Turkish] President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey’s air operations against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria were only the beginning and it would launch a land operation there when convenient after an escalation in retaliatory strikes.
He said Turkey was more determined than ever to secure its southern border with a “security corridor” while ensuring the territorial integrity of both Syria and Iraq, where it has also been conducting operations against Kurdish militants.
“We are continuing the air operation and will come down hard on the terrorists from land at the most convenient time for us,” Erdogan told his AK Party’s lawmakers in a speech in parliament.
“We have formed part of this corridor (and) will take care of it, starting with places such as Tel Rifat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab (Kobani), which are the sources of trouble,” he added.
Russia has asked Turkey to refrain from a full-scale ground offensive in Syria, senior Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev said on Wednesday after a fresh round of talks about Syria with Turkish and Iranian delegations in Kazakhstan. (“Turkey plans to take action on Syria when it would be in its best interest to move forward,” Reuters, 11/23/22)
Syria, of course, is another key player in end-times prophecy. Damascus, as we have looked at many times, is prophetically scheduled for destruction. All Gog-Magog players in the Ezekiel 38–39 drama have their attention on Syria. This is the area to watch of great prophetic interest.
“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).