Ezekiel, chapters 37-39 are pivotal in understanding the stages of society that must be endured if the Messiah is to come. There has been much said about these verses but there is also much misunderstanding concerning them as well. However, once the countries are brought into light as to where they are and who they currently are, then a clearer picture is painted into what must happen.
Ezekiel 37 is the first piece of the puzzle. This is the chapter of the vision of the valley of dry bones. God is clear that this passage refers to Israel and this chapter is widely accepted to point to the gathering of Israel back into the land to become a nation once again. This occurred in 1948 and was solidified in 1967 after the six-day war. There is much to be said here but the consideration must simply be that before anything else can happen prophetically, Israel must become a nation again. It has.
Turning to Ezekiel 38, a war looms on the horizon. Identifying the participants is key to understanding the events that take place. For convenience sake, I have added the current locations of these places in order to make the interpretation easier.
1 And the word of the Lord came to me saying,
2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog (Iraq), the prince of Rosh (The prince of Rosh is chief prince -- see below), Meshech and Tubal (Turkey), and prophesy against him
3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.
4 “I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords;
5 Persia (Iran), Ethiopia (Sudan) and Put (Libya) with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
6 Gomer (Turkey) with all its troops; Beth-togarmah (Turkey) from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.
There has been much speculation as to the meaning of the prince of Rosh. Some have suggested that this is Russia and Meshech is Moscow. This is a flimsy speculation in that overlaying an English word over a Hebrew phrase is not evidence enough to support that claim. The Hebrew word Rosh means chief, head or beginning. Similarly, Rosh Hashanah or “New Year” is the head of the year. No one would suggest that Rosh Hashanah is “Russia” year simply because Rosh looks like Russia.
In light of this, Gog is a person who is the chief prince. There suddenly seems to be an alliance against Israel here. The alliance is Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Sudan and Libya. When taken together there arises one common denominator -- Islam. A coalition of Islamic states striking Israel is not something that is unfathomable. Many of the states mentioned above have openly desired to wipe Israel from the face of the map.
The fact that God is going to put hooks in their jaws and bring them against Israel reveals that this is the overall plan of God to bring about His kingdom. So, at this point there are some factors that must be considered.
First of all, why do these nations suddenly feel as though they can attack Israel? This says a great deal about the situation in America. America is Israel’s strongest ally and if America was either, unable or unwilling to defend Israel, then the temptation to attack Israel would be too great for this coalition of nations to resist. Given the current climate in America, it could go either way. But, when examining the first part of this passage (as well as most of it) there is a fact that must not be overlooked. Ezekiel saw horsemen, shields, bucklers, chariots, etc.
Many scholars have explained this away by simply stating that Ezekiel could not describe tanks, jets and other modern war machines. But there is no need to stretch the Scripture this far. Ezekiel saw what he saw and he knew perfectly well what the war machine looked like. Instead of bending the Scripture into a modern way of thinking, the opposite needs to be investigated.
If Ezekiel did indeed see horses, swords, archers and so on then there has to be some cataclysmic event or events that will propel society back to a pre 1900’s way of life. This is a more intriguing and accurate view of the text. By not bending the text there is more accuracy in its interpretation.
This also solves the problem of America’s position in preventing an open attack on Israel. With the current economic and political situation in America, it is not a stretch of the imagination to see the collapse of the U.S. There could be more natural disasters such as earthquakes that could greatly speed up the process. It cannot be overstated enough that the bible is accurate in all things. There are many symbols in Scripture but when the plain sense makes sense then interpretation should follow the plain sense.
In light of this, a working theory takes place. America will not recover from the economic situation that she is in. A nation who has killed more than 53,000,000 babies in the womb will never have the blessing of God upon it. God cannot bless a nation with that much innocent blood on its hands.
There may be spikes of improvement but there will not be any lasting improvement. Many Christians believe that the rapture will occur before anything “bad” happens. However, the war of Gog and Magog must occur before the tribulation and thus must preclude the rapture. Even so, the collapse of the global economy that propels all humanity into more primitive lifestyles must occur before the war of Gog and Magog takes place.
The warning cannot be clearer. Christians need to be prepared for what is to come. Times are going to be even more difficult and God’s Word is explicitly warning His people of what is to come.
To keep this teaching in manageable sections, I plan on presenting it in parts. Please feel free to join my blog to get the updates or simply check back in. Thank you for your interest in this blog and I pray that you will be ready for what is to come.
Much shalom,
Lonnie
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