EZEKIEL 38-39 Review [5/8/11]

Ezekiel 38:1-12 {KJV} And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 {KJV} Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, In regards to “the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,” “rather, ‘prince of Rosh,’ or ‘Rhos’ [Septuagint]. The Scythian Tauri in the Crimea were so called. The Araxes also was called ‘Rhos.’ The modern Russians may have hence assumed their name, as Moscow and Tobolsk from Meshech and Tubal, though their proper ancient name was Slavi, or Wends” [JFB]. Magog: A tribe on the Volga River; [a river in Russia] Mesech: Moscow Tubal: Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Kosovo, & Turkey 3 {KJV} And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4 {KJV} 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: 5 {KJV} Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Persia: Iran (includes the land of Iraq) 6 {KJV} Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: [and] many people with thee. Gomer: Germany (including the boundaries of Poland) Togarmah: Armenia & E. Russia 8 {KJV} After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land [that is] brought back from the sword, [and is] gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. QUESTION: 12 {KJV} To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places [that are now] inhabited, and upon the people [that are] gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. QUESTION: What “spoil” will Russia and her allies invade Israel for? ANSWER: Maybe the “spoil” Russia will be after is oil. It’s possible that they will find a big oil reserve there. CNSNews.com 4-9-5 MA’ANIT, Israel (CNSNews.com) – An American oil company is relying on science and the Bible to find oil in Israel. The U.S.-based Zion Oil & Gas Corporation, led by an Evangelical Christian, says it wants to help the Jewish state become energy independent. NOTE: The Islamic allies of Russia will not need the hope of a “spoil” to attack Israel. They already want to wipe Israel off the globe. Ezekiel 38:13 {NIV} Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?” QUESTION: Who are Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish? Who are the young lions? “There can be little doubt, however, that this is the name of a Phoenician port in Spain, between the two mouths of the Guadalquivir (the name given to the river by the Arabs, and meaning “the great wady” or water-course)” [Easton’s Bible Dictionary] {Tarshish} “Columbus sailing under the authority and flag of Spain discovered America, although Columbus was Portuguese. The ancient people groups of Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish also settled England whose symbol is the lion. The USA could very well be the exact fulfillment of this prophecy since we would be known in our relationship with England as her strong lion!” [bibletrek.com]. __________________________________________________________________ Togarmah Armenia & E. Russia ________________________________________________________________________ Gomer Germany (including the boundaries of Poland) ________________________________________________________________________ Cush Ethiopia (origin of the Iraqi’s) ________________________________________________________________________ Tubal Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Kosovo, & Turkey ________________________________________________________________________ Persia Iran (includes the land of Iraq) ________________________________________________________________________ Put Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Monaco ________________________________________________________________________ King of the South Egypt ________________________________________________________________________ King of the North Russia ________________________________________________________________________ Magog A tribe on the Volga River ________________________________________________________________________ Rosh Original name of Russia ________________________________________________________________________ Mesech Moscow ________________________________________________________________________ Ezekiel 38:14 {KJV} Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know [it]? Concerning “dwelleth safely,” “Now some of the, some people say, ‘Well Israel isn’t dwelling safely, has never dwelled safely since it has become a nation. They’ve already had three wars with the surrounding nations. So how can you say they are dwelling safely?’ If you will look up the Hebrew word, ‘safely,’ in your lexicon, you will find that the word literally means, ‘confidently.’ Now they may not be safe, but they’re confident” [biblephrophecyupdate.com]! “As a noun, it primarily means security or calm assurance (Gen_34:25; Isa_32:17). As an adjective, it means assurance or confidence. It is primarily a positive term: to dwell in safety because of God’s protection” [Word Study Dictionary]. Ezekiel 38:15 {KJV} And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: QUESTION: What major military power is north of Israel? ANSWER: Russia. QUESTION: Will Russian ride horses into Israel? ANSWER: God is showing a first century A.D. man, John, a modern day event. He showed John in pictures he could understand. He knew about horses, lions, and serpents. He didn’t know about Army Stykers with grenade launchers and 50 caliber machine guns; he didn’t know about traditional tanks; he didn’t know about the M67 flamethrower tank. These vehicles would certainly produce “fire, smoke, and brimstone.” Ezekiel 38:17-18 {KJV} Thus saith the Lord GOD; [Art] thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days [many] years that I would bring thee against them? 18 {KJV} And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, [that] my fury shall come up in my face. QUESTION: What will happen when this massive army attacks Israel? ANSWER: Almighty God will erupt in anger. That’s not a good thing for this evil coalition. Ezekiel 38:21-23 {KJV} And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 22 {KJV} And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that [are] with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. QUESTION: What will happen next: ANSWER: Gog had declared war on Israel! God will declare war on Gog! QUESTION: What will happen to Gog’s army at this time? ANSWER: 1) God will confuse them, and they will begin to turn their weapons on one another. 2) Severe rainstorms with enormous hailstones will beat against them. 3) God will rain fire and burning sulfur on the troops of this evil coalition. Ezekiel 39:2 {KJV} And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: Regarding “the sixth part,” “The margin has, strike thee with six plagues; or, draw thee back with a hook of six teeth” [Clarke]. “Or, and lead thee along (Septuagint and Vulgate)” [Barnes]. “I. A verb meaning to drive; to drag along. It means to urge someone, to provide impetus for moving on. It is used figuratively of God’s moving Gog toward Israel and destruction (Eze_39:2). II. A verb indicating to leave a sixth part. It means to take or leave behind only one-sixth of something (Eze_39:2, KJV)” [Word Study Dictionary]. “ A primitive root; apparently to annihilate. (Translated by confusion with H8341.): – leave but the sixth part [by confusion with H8341]. o sixth or divide into sixths: – give the sixth part” [Strong]. NOTE: You won’t find many modern translations rendering this “the sixth part.” 7 {KJV} So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. NOTE: Some commentaries believe this to be an ancient battle. QUESTION: If this refers to an ancient battle, has this promise from God been fulfilled? ANSWER: No! Israel has been a land polluted with false religions throughout ancient, and modern history. Even today there are false religions in Israel. The Islam Dome of the Rock is the 3rd holiest site of Islam. Only the Mosque of the Haram, and the mosque of the Prophet, both is Saudi Arabia, are considered to be holier than the Dome of the Rock. ALLAH IS NOT JEHOVAH! He is a false God, and a temple built in his honor sits on the mount where the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt. The prophecy of verse 7 has not yet been fulfilled. NOTE: I believe this fact proves that the battle described in Ezekiel 38-39 has not yet happened. Ezekiel 39:8-10 {KJV} Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken. 9 {KJV} And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 10 {KJV} So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. QUESTION: How do you burn modern day weapons? ANSWER: Consider the following quote: Ezekiel 39:9 begins the description of the aftermath. It is gruesome but also amazing in its detail when looked at in comparison to today. “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up – the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.” This statement is remarkable for two reasons. First is the nature of the weapons. In the time that Ezekiel wrote this, burning weapons made perfect sense because they were made of wood. What of today’s weapons however? How do you burn warplanes and other metals? Amazingly, Russia has been using Lignostone in the production of its weapons. Lignostone “is a special kind of wood used for ‘coke breakers.’ It is stronger than steel, is very elastic… and it burns better than coal.” (90 LaHaye Are We Living in the End Times?) In regards to “lignostone, “The Lignostone® material is commonly used as structural insulation in electrical apparatus such as transformer applications. The basic material is european rotary cut beech veneer. The veneers will be stacked to put the greatest strength where it is needed. Finally the veneers will be joined together with thermosetting synthetic resins under high pressure into sheet material with a density from 0,82 gr/cm3 upto 1,38 gr/cm3. Lignostone® material has excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties and uses the combination of dielectric properties and stability of thermosetting resins with the strength and toughness of wood fibers. Sametime it can reduce full sections in transformer applications and improve the oil circulation” [lignostone.com]. 12 {KJV} And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. NOTE: Think of it, they bury the dead for 7 months after the slaughter of the coalition of Russia and many of the Arab nations. I’m assuming that the rapture of the church will take place shortly after the events of Ezekiel’s prophecy in chapters 38-39. Consequently, by the time this “clean-up” is well under way many of the Jews will have been converted. HERE’S WHY I SAY THIS: Romans 11:15, 25-27) [GW] If Israel’s rejection means that the world has been brought back to God, what does Israel’s acceptance mean? It means that Israel has come back to life. 25) [GW] Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery so that you won’t become arrogant. The minds of some Israelites have become closed until all of God’s non-Jewish people are included. 26) [GW] In this way Israel as a whole will be saved, as Scripture says, “The Savior will come from Zion. He will remove godlessness from Jacob. 27) [GW] My promise to them will be fulfilled when I take away their sins.” NOTE: Revelation 7:1-14 tells us about 144,000 Jewish evangelists who I believe will spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are left behind after the rapture, for the first 31/2 years of the Tribulation Period. Ezekiel 39:17 {KJV} And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. QUESTION: Who will feast on the dead? ANSWER: The birds of prey and wild beasts will eat from the carcasses of the fallen. NOTE: This will also happen after the Battle of Armageddon. 22 {KJV} So the house of Israel shall know that I [am] the LORD their God from that day and forward. QUESTION: Who will be saved as a result of this resounding victory over this evil coalition? ANSWER: The men of women of Israel will put their faith in God, and Jesus, the Son of God. 27 {KJV} When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28 {KJV} Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29 {KJV} Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. QUESTION: What is God up to at this time? ANSWER: He is restoring Israel to a relationship with Him, and promising them that He will never hide His face from them again.