“And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of UNWALLED VILLAGES (capitals mine); I will go to them that are AT REST (capitals mine), that DWELL SAFELY (capitals mine), all of them DWELLING WITHOUT WALLS (capitals mine), and having neither bars nor gates.”
Ezekiel 38:11
The Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament is believed to have been written between 593-571 B.C. It is a must read for anyone interested in Bible prophecy. While it was written during the period of the Jews captivity in Babylon, it gives a very clear picture of the events leading up to today. Since the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the resulting diaspora of the Jews to the four corners of the world, very, very few Jews could call Israel their home, the land which God Promised to Abraham.
Then, in Ezekiel 36 & 37, God ends His punishment of His Chosen people and brings them back to a desolate land (Ezekiel 36:24), one that Mark Twain identified in his book The Innocents Abroad written in 1869. He said “Palestine (Israel) sits in sackcloth and ashes.” The land was a mess and just as Ezekiel described it, the land was like a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-5). Right after God brought the “dry bones” back to life, He proclaimed in Ezekiel 37:13-14:
“Any ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.”
This history is critical because for almost two thousand years the idea the Jews would someday return to Israel and recreate their homeland was viewed as ridiculous and impossible. It started the lie of Replacement Theology that pervades many churches today, i.e., that God gave up His promise to the Jews and replaced that promise and instead gave it to the Church. But God does not lie!! I have a book in my collection called 40 Future Wonders of Scripture Prophecy published in August 1866. While it points to many of the accepted prophecies yet to be fulfilled, they specifically say there was no way a people scattered throughout the world, speaking numerous languages, and being part of various cultures could ever come back and recreate their God given rights to the nation of Israel. But guess what?
“Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth IN ONE DAY (capitals mine) or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”
Jeremiah 66:8
May 14, 1948, (78 years ago) the Jews in Israel proclaimed their Independence and the nation of Israel was reborn! In one day!
OK, so with much more detail than you probably wanted, I believe I have shown you how a prophecy made almost 3,000 years ago by Ezekiel has come true today. Ezekiel 36 & 37 in their entirety validates that this prophecy has been fulfilled EXACTLY as we have been told. Since most of the Book of Ezekiel was written in chronological order, that begs the next question “What happens after the Jews returned to Israel? What does Ezekiel 38 & 39 prophecy?
“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meschech and Tubal, and prophesy AGAINST (capitals mine) him,”
Ezekiel 38:2
“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 may people with thee.”
Ezekiel 38:5-6
“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all THE YOUNG LIONS (capitals mine), shall say unto thee, Art you come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”
Ezekiel 38:13
Now it is really becoming confusing! What or who is Gog, Magog, Meschech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Togarmah, Sheba, Dedan, merchants of Tarshish, Young Lions, etc. and what do they mean in the context of the above Scriptures. A quick search of the meanings/descriptions of the words above should answer your questions and show you a soon coming prophecy and its fulfillment.
- Gog – This is not a name but rather a title, similar to king, president, prime minister, etc. God is speaking to a ruler of a kingdom (Magog, Meschech & Tubal)
- Magog – The vast majority of Bible scholars today believe Magog is the ancient name of what we call today “Russia”, especially when God say in Ezekiel 38:15, “And thou shalt come out of the north parts…”. Draw a line straight north from Jerusalem to the north parts and you cross into Moscow. Amazing!
- Meshech – While there are various discussions today of the location of Meshech and Tubal, there appears to be a consensus these are the lands which today include southern Russia and Turkey
- Tubal – Four times in the Bible Meshech and Tubal are listed together implying, I believe, that they currently represent the lands referred to as southern Russia and Turkey.
- Persia – There is no question Persia of the Bible is today the country of Iran since until the late 1930’s Iran was called Persia.
- Ethiopia – Ethiopia (Cush) today is the Ethiopia of the Bible although the boundaries have shifted over the years. Today it sits on the southern side of Egypt in the African continent.
- Libya – Libya (Put) is like Ethiopia of the Bible. In ancient days it sat on the northwest side of Egypt and while its boundaries have shifted over the centuries, Libya of the Bible is the Libya of today.
- Gomer – Possibly a tribe who settled in what is now part of Denmark but on the border of Russia. I believe we can accurately proclaim this as another ally of Russia.
- Togarmah – Again, various views of what country today is Togarmah of the Bible but from Noah’s descendants who settled there, according to the Bible, it today represents the vast parts of Turkey, as well as the Armenians, Georgians, and groups in Caucasus. These are all part of or on the near borders of Turkey.
- Sheba – Much archaeological and historical evidence points to Yemen as the current country of Sheba.
- Dedan – Based on Biblical descendants of Noah, Dedan appears to be today’s Saudi Arabia.
- merchants of Tarshish – Tarshish is probably the most disputed of all the names above. Some refer it to as Spain; others to Sicily; a few to Italy, but because it refers to a land BY SEA very, very far away and because of the reference to its “young lions” I believe it could very well refer to Great Britain who had a robust tin trade with Israel at the time.
- young lions – Assuming Tarshish is in fact Great Britain and its young lions, or those who came out of their culture, I believe the “young lions” could very well describe the United States and other western countries (like Australia, Canada, et.al.).
OK, hopefully we have gotten the confusing part out of the way. If I may, let me take today’s definitions/explanations and write what was told to us by Ezekiel almost 3,000 in today’s understanding.
“And the leader of Russia will say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages in Israel; I will go to the Israeli’s that are living in peace, who now live safely, all of them living without walls, having neither bars nor gates. You will know this will happen when the Lord has opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your grave, And I shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in Israel, the land I Promised to Abraham: then you will know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, said the Lord.
Who has heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can the earth be made to bring forth in one day or can a nation be born all at once? for as soon as Israel was established, her children returned.
Ezekiel, set your face against the leader of Russia, and his land, the ruler of Russia and Turkey, and prophecy against him,
Iran, Ethiopia, and Libya with Russia and Turkey; all of them with shield and helmet: northern Russia, and all their bands; the northern parts of Turkey, and all their bands: and many people with you.
Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, and Great Britain (maybe the EU), along with the United States, Canada, Australia, et.al. (?), will say to you, why are you invading Israel? Are you doing this to take their wealth? have you gathered your allies to take them captive? to steal their silver and gold, to take away their cattle and goods, to take all that belongs to them?”
In other words, hopefully succinctly, Russia and several other countries will according to Ezekiel 38 & 39 invade Israel in the Last Days and countries liked Saudi Arabia, the United States, maybe Europe, and others will be questioning why the leader of this group is invading. What is their purpose? Notice two things…
- Nowhere does it say these countries who question what is going on will come to the assistance of Israel. They will sit back and simply ask why Gog (the leader of the invaders) is doing this.
- I am amazed at something I recently discovered! While this war is often referred to as the war of Gog and Magog, historically many have said, myself included, that Russia, Turkey AND Iran, along with a few others will invade Israel. If you go back and look at the Scriptures, it actually says Russia and Turkey, along with others, will invade Israel. What happened to Iran?
This is where it gets very interesting. With the recent war in Iran and the decimation of their military force, it appears they will not be a major player in this war. Yes, they will join Russia and Turkey to the best of their ability but with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, et.al. who rely heavily on money and weapons from Iran, and their leaders also being decimated, their strength in this invasion is negligible. I believe it took the Israeli and US governments to help fulfill this prophecy and until the recent attack on Iran, Iran was most likely to be one of the main players to instigate or perpetuate this attack on Israel.
There are conversations going on for a peace deal between Iran, Israel and the US. If that happens and the other Arab neighbors finally recognizing Israel (Abraham Accords), along with the destruction of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, I believe Israel will then be living in peace and safety and without walls! A perfect scenario for Gog to make his move!
With the recognition of the separation of the prophecies in Ezekiel 38 & 39 AND what Israel and the US have done to Iran, the future invasion by Gog and his cronies make much more sense. It took Operation Epic Fury to go back, read the prophecies and better understand the timeline its soon fulfillment. While war is horrible for all, seeing one of God’s prophecies become viable through current event brings me such comfort. Hopefully it will do the same to you as we watch all that is happening. If you agree, please do what Jersus Himself told us to do and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” Not my words. His WORDS!
May God Bless you as we continue to see all He has told us will happen.