THE INVASION OF GOG AND MAGOG

THE INVASION OF GOG AND MAGOG

Ezekiel 38:1-6

"1And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

2"Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him

3and 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;

5Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;

6Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops--many peoples with you.

Source: New American Standard Bible 1995

            At first glance the translation from the ancient Greek text is inadequate. The word "prince" should had been "ruler" the word "Rosh" Ros, instead of "Mesheh" "Mosoh", and "Tubal" is Thovel. However, the first mistake is the most serious one for it slightly alters the meaning.

Generally speaking these small mistakes cause the many theories and Heresies to thrive.

Hereby I am offering the theories in an attempt to give the reader a choice.

I will also give the existing explanations on the names of the places. My source is:   http://contenderministries.org/

"Hashemite Kingdom Theory: The Islamic Nations will come against Israel either by an Iraqi-led, Jordanian led, or Turkish led coalition. The enemy from the north refers to the areas of Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. These Islamic nations make up the lands occupied by Magog, Gomer, Togarmah, Meshech and Tubal.

2. Caucus Theory: Gog and Magog are the Arab nations in an alliance with the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union. This theory leaves out most of Russia, and includes only the southern part.

3. All Europe theory: Gog and Magog are the sons of Japheth thus the originators of the European races. Gog and Magog therefore indicates all of Europe. This is not a widely held theory and I could find little support for it.

4. Russian Theory: The Hebrew word 'rosh' in verse 3 is identified with Russia, 'Tubal' with Tiblisi or Tobolsk and 'Meshech' with Moscow, therefore Gog and Magog refers to Russia. This is one of the most commonly held views and is based on a different interpretation of the Hebrew word Rosh (used as a noun rather than adjective), similarities in the pronunciation of words, and the Greek translation of Rosh referring to a tribe of people found in what is now Russia.

5. Indo-European Theory: Gog and Magog include the nations descending from Japheth: Russia, the Caucasus (Turkey), Iraq, and the Islamic republics of Central Asia. The coalition is an alliance of Arab nations, Muslim republics, Georgia, southern Russia and the Black sea area." http://www.contenderministries.org/prophecy/gogmagog.php

            From the same source I am also including a list of the nations and their places in Ezekiel time with their comments trying to prove the thesis of an Islamic coalition - invasion which in our opinion it is not going to happen the way it is described there. 

Below is a list of the nations that are listed in Ezekiel as Israel's last-days enemies:

ANCIENT NAME	MODERN NATION	EXPLANATION
Rosh	Russia or Chief	Ancient Sarmatians known as Rashu, Rasapu, Ros, and Rus. OR Translated as the adjective Chief.
Magog	Central Asia	Ancient Scythians - Islamic southern republics of the former Soviet Union with a population of 60 million Muslims. This territory could include modern Afghanistan.
Meshech	Turkey	Ancient Muschki and Musku in Cilicia and Cappadocia.
Tubal	Turkey (also southern Russia and Iran)	Ancient Tubalu in Cappadocia.
Persia	Iran	Name changed from Persia to Iran in 1935.
Ethiopia (Cush)	Sudan	Ancient Cush, south of Egypt.
Put	Libya	Ancient Put, west of Egypt.
Gomer	Turkey	Ancient Cimmerians - from the seventh century to first century B.C. in central/western Anatolia.
Beth-togarmah	Turkey	Til-garimmu - between ancient Carchemish and Haran (southern Turkey).
Many peoples with you	Other Islamic nations	Possibly Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt

http://www.contenderministries.org/prophecy/gogmagog.php

We strongly believe that Rosh which should be Ros is Russia. The Byzantines called them (Russians), Ros. The word "Prince" is used by most of American Bibles as a translation of the word Ros from Hebrew. Thus the word Ros or Rosh is omitted by many Bibles leaving the word Prince in its place. "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him "

New International Version ©1984 by Biblica

The Jewish historian Josephus associates Magog with te Scythians the present day Russians http://www.raptureready.com/abc/magog.html

However the original translation by the 70 leaves this word as it is. Therefore we should have "the ruler of Ros of Mosoh and of Thovel" instead of "the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal". Only Russia is now the ruler of such a vast area which is also an indication. The land of Mesheh and Thovel includes parts of Iran and Turkey. (http://www.contenderministries.org/prophecy/gogmagog.php)

Russia is unlikely to form a coalition with Turkey because the Turkish army is loyal to the U.S.A and Israel unlike the Turkish politicians currently in power.

However a coalition could develop later on with the Libyans which are the northern

African countries and Persia (Iran and islamic countries).

"Gomer" who is also taking part along with the Russians is the son of Japheth and according to http://bible.cc/genesis/10-1.htm they could also be Germans or Galatians

"Gomer is mentioned again, in Ezekiel Zechariah 38:6, as the ally of Gog, by which the known existence of the nation at that period is indicated. Traces of this name are perhaps found in the Κιμμέριοι Kimmerioi, (Homer, Odyssey Ezekiel 11:14; Herodotus Ezekiel 1:15; Ezekiel 4:12), who lay in the dark north, in the Krimea, the Kimbri who dwelt in north Germany, the Kymry, Cambri, and Cumbri who occupied Britain. These all belong to the race now called Keltic, the first wave of population that reached the Atlantic. Thus, the Γομαρεῖς Gomareis, of Josephus (Ant. 1:6.1) may even be identified with the Galatae. This nation seems to have lain to the north of the Euxine, and to have spread out along the southern coasts of the Baltic into France, Spain, and the British Isles."

So the coalition would be broader and include in our opinion Germany and France the whole "North"

The date of this invasion is somewhere near to our time in the immediate future because the nation of Israel will already have returned to their land and been living in safety. Ezekiel also states this war will take place in the latter days

Ezekiel 38:8-9 “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. 9“You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you"

Another sign that this happens in the latter days is that the modern cities will have no walls and gates

Ezekiel 38:11 11and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates.

In the end (chapter 9) Gog and Magog is defeated by the effects of the nuclear war caused by

Ezekiel 38:16 "and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.”

Russia had had natural resources and wealth before but never been so strong. Who would expect Russia to rise to a superpower from a country ready to collapse back in the nineties. God performed this miracle for those who can understand His plan, and He will be sanctified (here it has the meaning, glorified) by it.

In the end the Russians will be defeated not by Israel but by the hand of God with the use of a "torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone" Ezekiel 38:22 Bearing in mind the effects of the invasion the death toll and the size of the disaster and the powerful nations involved we conclude that nuclear and chemical weapons will be used in a large or small scale. These weapons (when God permits) have the power for the following:

"I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur!" Ezekiel 38:22

Also:

“The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. 21“I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. Ezekiel 38: 20-21.

The last verse (21) shows that there will be no state, no order, no winners; everyone will be for himself at least for a while.

In the following articles we will provide further proof that this is the Armageddon which is mentioned in both chapters 9 and 16 of the apocalypse.

Many American scholars of the Bible see this defeat of Gog and Magog as a triumph of Israel. The question is who would have the courage to celebrate or declare himself winner aftrer a nuclear war. We will comment on this neo-Judaic approach in other posts as well.