I first began studying Ezekiel 38 in the 1980s and have watched with great interest as our changing world conforms more and more to Ezekiel’s words.  As the time of the end draws nearer the insights we gain from the changes around us give us a better understanding of Bible prophecy in general and Ezekiel 38 in particular.  In this update of our study we’ll apply these insights to Ezekiel’s 2600 year old prophecy.

What Time Is It?

First of all, let’s get some kind of time frame settled. Ezekiel’s prophecies are chronological.  Falling between the prophecies of Israel’s modern re-birth (Ezekiel 36-37) and the Millennium (Ezekiel 40-48),  the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 has to take place during a time of peace after 1948 but before the 2nd coming, and all agree it hasn’t happened yet. This has led some to see the passage as a description of Armageddon, but as we’ll see there are many prominent nations missing from this battle whereas Zechariah 14:2 prophecies that every nation will join the battle of Armageddon.  That being the case, the time frame narrows to sometime between 1948 and the beginning of the Great Tribulation, after which no place in the world will be at peace, especially Israel.

Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would use this battle to turn Israel back to Him and to complete the return of Jews from all over the world to Israel, not leaving any behind (Ezekiel 39:28). This leads us to believe that the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 is the event that re-starts the clock on the 490-year period of time spoken of by Daniel, the famous 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24-27. 69 of those weeks (483 years) had come when the Messiah was crucified and the Temple destroyed, stopping the clock one week (seven years) short of fulfillment. I believe the dramatic victory the Lord wins over Israel’s enemies in Ezekiel’s battle will convince them to officially re-instate their Old Covenant relationship with Him to fulfill the remaining seven years of Daniel’s prophecy.  This will require two things to happen.  First they’ll need a Temple for worship. It’s this Temple that’s later desecrated by the anti-Christ, kicking off the Great Tribulation.

And second, the Church will have to disappear. Paul wrote that Israel had been hardened in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25). That means as long as the Church is around Israel won’t be able to recognize God’s involvement in their national life.  But the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will be such a miraculous victory that it will re-awaken Israel to God’s presence. This means the Dispensation of Grace will have come to an end and the Church will be gone by the time this battle comes to an end.

With all this in mind, let’s begin a careful study of Ezekiel 38-39, to prepare us for these events should they become reality soon.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 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. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops-the many nations with you. (Ezek. 38:1-6)

In another study, I made the claim that Gog is a supernatural figure (perhaps Satan’s counterpart to the Archangel Michael) and the behind the scenes commander of this event, while Magog is listed in Genesis 10 as one of Noah’s grandsons, a son of Japeth. Over 130 historical references demonstrate that Magog is the father of today’s Russian people. (For a more detailed treatment on the modern names of all the nations mentioned in this passage, click here.)

The phrase “hooks in the jaw” comes from the equestrian world where a special bridle is used to make a rebellious horse obedient to its rider’s commands.  It symbolizes God forcing Russia to become involved in this battle to assure that His will is done. Persia is the ancient name for Iran, Cush and Put represent the North African nations, Gomer was Magog’s brother and settled along the Danube River in what would become Eastern Europe, and Togarmah, a son of Gomer’s, inhabited what’s now known as Armenia and Turkey. The characteristic all these nations have in common today is their religion. They’re all Moslem.

“Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 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. 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. (Ezek. 38:7-9)

The fact that Israel is the target in this passage is self evident, but a controversy rages around the Heberew word betach translated “in safety” in verse 8. A secondary meaning, “carelessly” could mean that they’re not really safe but just think they are and so their guard is down.   To achieve either of the conditions this word implies would require a truly miraculous change in Israel’s current situation and for many years scholars were uncertain as to how this could ever happen.

But a little known prophecy in the Psalms might have the answer.  According to Psalm 83 all of Israel’s next door neighbors will unite in an effort to wipe Israel completely off the map.  But Israel will soundly defeat them and capture their lands as well. Enemies like Hezbollah, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Hamas, etc.  will cease to exist, and the lands they now occupy will once again belong to Israel.  (Many people don’t realize that even the land of Lebanon was originally given to Israel and will belong to Israel again in the Millennium.)

It’s also beginning to look like the Isaiah 17 prophecy of the destruction of Damascus could be fulfilled at the same time.  Israel has officially declared that they’ll hold Syria responsible for any attack by Hezbollah, and will retaliate accordingly.  High Israeli officials have recently said that the Syrian government will not survive such a retaliation and its infrastructure will be destroyed.  This is a direct threat against Damascus.

If the fulfillment of Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 precede the Battle Ezekiel 38, it helps explain how Israel could be taken by surprise when the Moslem coalition attacks and why none of Israel’s next door neighbors are mentioned in Ezekiel’s line up.

Next time we’ll look at the other nations that are not involved in this battle and you’ll see why it can’t be referring to Armageddon.  We’ll also see how the Lord chooses to reveal Himself to the nations. See you then.

We all love this kind of story.  And as much as we’re encouraged by the experience of an ordinary person who due to personal drive and perseverance rises from humble beginnings to become a leader of business or industry, we’re especially fond of stories where an absolute nobody is plucked from the faceless crowd and instantly propelled to the pinnacle of success.  Great Hollywood stories have been built upon this premise, and they’ve never failed to delight us. But by far the absolute best example of this comes from the Bible and is about you.

The story begins in the Old Testament Book of 1st Samuel with David and Jonathan.

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. (1 Samuel 18:3-4)

The making of covenants was serious business because people’s lives depended them. A covenant was the strongest bond known to men, and had both business and personal applications that extended even to the descendants of the two parties involved. Here’s an example.

Some time after David and Jonathan formed their covenant relationship, Jonathan was killed by the Philistines in the Battle of Beth Shan, while David went on to become King of Israel.  As I said, covenant agreements extended beyond the grave to the parties’ descendants.  One day King David asked his advisors if there was anyone left of Jonathan’s family to whom he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.

They brought in one of Saul’s former servants who told him of a crippled boy named Mephibosheth. He was Jonathan’s son, living in a place called Lo Debar, about as far from Jerusalem as he could get. When David had become King of Israel, all of former King Saul’s family (Jonathan was Saul’s son) had fled for their lives for fear that David would take revenge on them for the way Saul had treated him. In their haste to escape, a nurse had picked up the 5 year old Mephibosheth to carry him, but she tripped and they fell hard on the stone floor, breaking his legs and crippling him for life. (2 Sam. 4:4) As he grew up his family had convinced Mephibosheth that David was responsible for his condition and still wanted to kill him.

Upon learning Mephibosheth’s whereabouts, David sent his soldiers to fetch him. When they brought him into the presence of the King, Mephibosheth, fearing for his life, bowed in submission before him. David reassured him and told him of the covenant he had with Jonathan. Then David restored to him all of his grandfather Saul’s property and gave him servants to work the land so his needs would always be met. Finally David asked him to come live in Jerusalem, and eat at the King’s table just like one of the King’s own sons. (2 Sam 9)

Talk about rags to riches.  It’s a beautiful story of kindness and forgiveness that illustrates the depth of a covenant relationship like no other, and like many Old Testament stories it’s a model of what the Lord had in store for us.  Just think of David as God our Father, Jonathan as the Lord Jesus, and Mephibosheth as you and I.

The Everlasting Covenant
Long before we were born the Father and the Son entered into a covenant on our behalf. In effect, our Father said to Jesus, “Son, if you’ll die for them I’ll forgive them”

Jesus replied, “Father, if you’ll forgive them I’ll die for them.” And so the Everlasting Covenant was formed. The Bible says this happened before the foundations of Earth were laid. (1 Peter 1:20)

They had made this covenant because God knew that each time He entered into covenant with man, man would prove untrustworthy and soon break it. For example, Adam ate the forbidden fruit, Noah’s descendants refused to scatter and re-settle the Earth, the Israelites broke the commandments, and so on. The salvation of God’s children was so important to Him that no mere man could be trusted to be faithful, so God Himself had to become a man to save mankind. “You are my son,” He told Jesus, “Today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7)

In the fullness of time Jesus became a man to save mankind, and stood before our Father as our covenant head.

Even though God knew we would ultimately choose Him He pursued us like an ardent lover, and at first many of us ran from Him. We’d heard the stories of His wrath and some of us had even been told that He was responsible for our infirmities and the other bad things that happened to us. They said if He ever got His hands on us He would punish us severely for our sins.  Finally one day He caught us and as we trembled at His feet in fear, He reassured us and told us of the covenant He had made with His Son to forgive us.  Then He restored the inheritance Satan had stolen from us, invited us to dwell with Him, to eat at the King’s table with His family, and to consider ourselves as His children.

The New Testament tells us how He accomplished this.  In John 1:12 we’re told that because we believe in Jesus we’ve been given the authority to become children of God. Having been born once in the flesh to our Earthly parents, He gave us the right to be born again in the Spirit so that He could become our Heavenly Father.  He did this simply because we chose to believe in His Son. (John 3:16)

 

Then Romans 8:29 says that God knew in advance that we would believe in the Son, so He predestined us to be conformed to His likeness so Jesus could be the first of many brothers in the Royal Family of God. First Jesus was made like us, and soon we’ll be made like Him. (1 John 3:2)

 

In Galatians 4:4-7 we read that since we’ve been legally adopted into God’s family we’re now sons of God.  And that means we’re also heirs, joint heirs with Jesus.  Romans 8:16-17 confirms this.

 

Hebrews 2 makes the point that Jesus was temporarily made lower than the angels, becoming a man to save mankind, and after that was elevated to His former position and crowned with glory and honor.

 

Paul gave us more detail on this.  Ephes 1:20-22  explains that when He was resurrected, Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of majesty far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every title that can be given, in the present age and the one to come.  All things were placed under His feet

 

Astonishingly Ephes 2:6-7 says God raised us up and seated us there too, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  The verbs in this passage are in the past perfect tense, meaning that in God’s view we’re already there.

 

So even though at one time we were dead in our sins, and by nature objects of God’s wrath, hopeless helpless, worthless and useless, He made us alive in Christ.  He forgave all our sins, clothed us in robes of righteousness, seated us beside His Son in the heavenly realm and made us Kings and Priests who will reign on Earth, co-heirs with Jesus of God’s estate.

 

The 24 Elders
By the way, this lends enormous credibility to our view that the 24 elders of Rev. 4 represent the Church.
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. (Rev. 4:4)

These 24 elders confuse some people, but they shouldn’t. Their appearance gives them away. They have thrones, so they’re rulers. They surround the Throne of God where Jesus is seated, so they’re reigning with Him. They’re seated, another sign of royalty. They’re dressed in white, so they’re righteous. They’re wearing the Greek “stephanos” crown, so they’re victors, over comers. They’re called Elders, a title long associated with the Church.

Some try to explain the 24 thrones by saying that they belong to an unknown group of ruling angels. But four Prophets saw the throne of God and recorded their experience. They were Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Ezekiel (Ezek. 1 & 10), Daniel (Dan. 7), and John (Rev. 4). Neither Isaiah nor Ezekiel made any mention of the 24 elders indicating that they weren’t present in Old Testament times. Daniel’s vision concerned the End Times and in Dan. 7:9 he mentioned multiple thrones but didn’t add any details as to number or type of occupants. This is consistent with the fact that the Church was hidden to Old Testament prophets even in visions of the future. Only John made mention of the 24 Elders.  And note again that these elders are wearing the crowns of over comers. The Church won’t receive our crowns until the Bema Seat judgment that takes place after the rapture.

Jesus is seated at the right hand of majesty today, Paul wrote that we’re seated there with Him, and when John was transported to the end of the Age he saw us there, after the rapture but before the End times judgments begin.

In the Book of Revelation three groups of believers come into view.  In Rev. 5:9-10 the 24 Elders are shown worshiping God and thanking Him for taking us from every tribe and language and people and nation and making us to be Kings and Priests who will reign on Earth.  In Rev. 7:9-17 we see a great multitude in white robes who will arrive shortly before the Great Tribulation begins.  They will serve God in His temple but are never called priests.  And in Rev. 20:4another group martyred for their faith is resurrected to reign with Christ for 1000 years, but they are never called kings.

Depending on their Rapture view, various scholars identify each of these groups as the Church, but only one is seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, only one is called Kings and Priests, and that’s the one represented by the 24 elders. That group is the Church, and makes our elevation from obscurity on Earth to a throne in heaven the ultimate rags to riches story.