Ezekiel 38:1-23
Q.1. When will this prophesied battle be waged? From where does the army come? – (Ezk.38:1-9)
The Abomination of Desolation was partially fulfilled in 167 BC, under the Syrian leader Antiochus Epiphanes, then later by the Roman General Titus in 70 AD, when they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem (Dan.9:27; 11:31 c.f. Lk.21:15-16). However, there will be a further fulfilment involving the Antichrist (Mt.24:15-16; 2 Thes.2:4; Rev.13:14). Similarly, there are features of the battle of Gog and Magog that will be fulfilled early in the Tribulation and also at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ (Ezk.39:1; Rev.20:7-9). The leader of the coalition against Israel was described as – Gog of the land of Magog, the Prince of Rosh (Ezk.38:2 c.f. Gen.10:2-14). “Magog is the land of the ‘stans such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and possibly Afghanistan — all challenging to pronounce. Ezekiel lists Persia which is the ancient name for Iran. Cush is made up of the Sudan and possibly Ethiopia. Put’s modern counterparts are Libya, Algeria and possibly Tunisia. Meshech along with Tubal, Gomer and Beth-togarmah are Turkey, possibly including Azerbaijan and Armenia. In fact, the peoples in the little country of Armenia next to Turkey still call themselves Togarmah today” [Christ in Prophecy Journal]. Here Ezekiel described a war that will involve nations – 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 (Ezk.38:8). This graphically describes the regathering of Israel to a desolate land in 1948, and the modern nation that is now prosperous and at peace (2020). Note that Ezekiel told us that Israel will be living securely in their land after being regathered out of the nations.
Q.2. What will happen to these nations who will come against Israel? What motivates God to destroy these enemies? – (Ezk.38:10-23)
God predicted that the nations under Gog and Magog’s influence – will devise an evil plan (Ezk.38:10) to destroy His people. What is behind this plan? The sovereign God will summon this coalition to – 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 (Ezk.38:16 c.f. Ezk.38:8). In His zeal, God will punish His enemies with catastrophic force (Ezk.38:19-22). The reason? – I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord (Ezk.38:23).