IMPORTANT NOTE: On Sunday Mornings from December 1 through December 22, Walk of Grace Chapel will be moving our Sunday Morning Service to 9:00 AM. The service will conclude by 10:30 AM. We are hoping to share our Christmas worship and Christmas messages with people who might already attend other churches, but would like to include more Christmas activities into their holiday season! We hope to see you there

EZEKIEL 38

<Vs. 14-16>

[4/3/11]

Review:

Ezekiel 38:2 {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

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

On To This Week’s Lesson:

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]?

Ezekiel 38:8-9, 11 {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.

9 {KJV} Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

11 {KJV} And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

NOTE: It would appear that Gog is a ruler in Russia. It could be the Russian premier, the Russian president, or perhaps, the Russian general who will oversee this invasion.

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: Who would the “many people with thee” be?

ANSWER: Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Germany, & Armenia. 

QUESTION: Will this massive army attack Israel on horseback?

ANSWER: I have heard teachers give modern day reasons why they believe this army will be on horseback, but I don’t believe so.

Revelation 9:14-19 {KJV} Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15 {KJV} And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

16 {KJV} And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

17 {KJV} And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses [were] as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

18 {KJV} By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

19 {KJV} For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails [were] like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

NOTE: I agree with most prophetic teachers who believe this army of 200,000,000 to be Chinese. China will revolt against the Anti-Christ 13 months plus 25 hours prior to the end of the Tribulation Period.

ANOTHER NOTE: The horses in this vision had heads like lions, tails like serpents with heads, and the horses could spew forth fire, smoke, and brimstone from their mouths.

QUESTION: Will these horses really look like the picture presented in this prophecy?

ANSWER: Of course not! 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.”

 

M67 Flamethrower Tank                              Traditional Tank

Army Stykers

 

 

NOTE: The army styker is a vehicle used to get soldiers in and out of combat areas. They carry 8 soldiers plus their leader, in addition to the driver and the gunner. If you shoot a tire it will only go down about 4 inches because the rest is an almost indestructible hard rubber.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: The reason I bring all this out is because Bible prophecy often utilizes word pictures to reveal a truth. The 200,000,000-man army of China is not a army wearing first century breastplates and riding on these unusual horses. The army of Ezekiel 38 is most probably a word picture of a modern day army, but shown to Ezekiel in terms he understood. The armies of Ezekiel’s day, and the armies of John’s day rode horses. The armies of our day seldom do.

 

Ezekiel 38:16 {KJV} And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Ezekiel 38:9 {KJV} Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.