The Double Betrayal The War of Gog and Magog (2023)

Bible prophecy teachers say that Magog in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 refers to Russia. But from my house I can't see Russia! That vision of Magog's prophecy arose from transcribing "boss” (or the Hebrew “rosh”) to refer to Russia. Transposing Hebrew words into English phonetic equivalents is not an adequate technique for interpreting Bible prophecy. That technique is not used anywhere else to interpret Bible prophecy. Rosh means first or foremost. Magog is a man who settled in the land of present-day Turkey.

Ezekiel 38:1-6And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, set your face against Gog, in the land of Magog, sovereign prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say: Thus says the Lord Jehovah; I, heresoyagainst you, O Gog, sovereign prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4 And I will turn you back, and put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring out you and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them dressed in all kinds of clothes.of armor, evena great companyconbucklers and shields, all of them wielding swords: 5 Persia, Cush, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the northern quarters, and all the bands of him:ylots of people with you We scratch our heads over this section of Bible prophecy because many of these names are unfamiliar. Note that we are talking about the land of Magog in verse two. As we will see, Magog is a man. Notice that there are three names that are very familiar. Persia, Ethiopia and Libya. They are present-day Iran, Ethiopia (including Sudan) and Libya. Whoops, we're halfway there!

Jeepers, all those weird names are listed in that short passage! Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah are people. In fact, they are relatives. Magog, Meshech, Tubal and Gomer are brothers. Togarmah is the son of Gomer. They are among the first families to relocate in the world after the devastation of Noah's flood. They all settled together in today's Turkey. See "Map of Gog" below.

Ezekiel 38:1-3And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, set your face against Gog, in the land of Magog, sovereign prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say: Thus says the Lord Jehovah; I, heresoyagainst thee, O Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal:

Verse 2 tells us that Gog is the LAND of Magog. Magog is the “chief prince” (or more prominent) of his brothers, Meshech and Tubal. So Noah had a son named Japheth who had a son named Magog who settled in Turkey. Gog is a shortened version of Magog. Gog is the LAND where Magog and his brothers settled. Now you know more than your pastor!

Ezekiel 38:4-6And I will bring you back, and put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you out and all your army, horses and horsemen, all dressed in all kinds ofof armor, evena great companyconbucklers and shields, all of them wielding swords: 5 Persia, Cush, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the northern quarters, and all the bands of him:ylots of people with you Map of Gog: The land and cities of Magog and his brothers. It can be a bit difficult to find all these names, but they are there. I found Gog, Magog, Meshech (Meshech), Thubal (Tubal), Gomer, Ashkenaz, Riphath, Togarma (Togarmah) and Thiras (or Tiras) west of Istanbul. I also found Tarsus (perhaps Tarshish) on the southeast coast. Noah's generations are also listed in1 Chronicles 1:5-6
Just as we were meeting these guys, we found out that they are going to lead an attack on Israel (Ezekiel 38:8&sixteen). God himself is going to put them in battle order. In today's terms we understand that Turkey will start a battle against Israel. This is the war of Gog and Magog.

Turkey will be joined by Iran, Ethiopia (Cus, includes Sudan) and Libya. Remember: Gomer and Togarmah are among the families that settled in Turkey. They lived in the LAND of Gog along with Magog.

Ezekiel 38:13Seba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarsis, with all their lions, will say to you: Have you come to take spoil? Have you gathered your company to take a prey? to carry silver and gold, to carry cattle and goods, to take great booty?

Sheba and Dedan are brothers descended from Noah through Ham's son Cush (Ethiopia/Sudan).

They settled in the Persian Gulf area. Sheba and Dedan refer specifically to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Prophecy aficionados widely teach that “Tarsis, with all her young lions” refers to European countries. Some students of prophecy think that the merchants of Tarshish sailed from Asia Minor (Turkey) to Spain. They may have sailed there, but I'm not so sure that Europe is represented here. Tarsus (perhaps Tarshish) can be found on the "Map of Gog". Tarsus is still a city today!

There are several Biblical references to Tarshish.

Tarshish was the nephew of Magog and his brothers (1Cr 1:7). Tarshish was a seaport far from Israel (2Chr 9:21). Tarshish is contrasted with Saudi Arabia as being opposite shipping directions (Sal 72:10-11). Tarshish is listed among other provinces of Asia Minor (Is 66:19).

If you ask me, Tarshish is the coastal region in the southeast of Türkiye. Realise "Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the youthlions(neighboring towns)of the same” are not united in battle inEzekiel 38:13. Instead, they are incessantly asking what kind of riches Magog's marauders intend to take from Israel. It may be that the invading nations are concentrating on the southeastern coast of Turkey and also in Saudi Arabia to launch their attack. Saudi Arabia is a potential pre-battle staging camp for Ethiopian and Libyan forces. Turkey's southeastern coast is a possible pre-battle camp for Turkish and Iranian forces. That's just a guess.

Ezekiel 38:19-22because in my jealousyyin the fire of my wrath I have spoken: Surely on that day there will be a great trembling in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the beasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and all the men thatsonon the face of the earth, it will tremble before my presence, and the mountains will be thrown down, and the steep ones will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 And I will call a sword against him throughout all my mountains, says the Lord GOD: each one's sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will judge against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain on him, and on his bands, and on the many peoples thatsonwith him, torrential rain, hail, fire and brimstone.

The main mountainous regions of Israel are in the northern part of the nation, also along the central northern half (Judea and Samaria), and in the Southern District in the Negev desert. God often refers to the mountains around Judea and Samaria asits mountains.

Fortunately, these armies are unsuccessful in their attack on Israel. In fact, they are systematically undone. God makes each one's sword against his brother. God uses the forces of nature against these armies; like a great earthquake, pestilence and blood, and torrential rain, hail, fire and brimstone. This battle may occur before "the Great Tribulation." It may be that the supernatural ridicule that these armies encounter provokes a “peace” agreement. The signing of a seven-year "peace" contract with Israel marks the beginning of "the seven-year "Tribulation" (y 9:27).

God "appeal” with the armies. He is trying to show them that the god of Israel is the only true God.

Perhaps, even in this dark hour, some will look up and glorify God and be saved. Part of Ezekiel 38 may pertain to the battle of Armageddon in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (lit. meaning Jehovah judged; also called the Valley of Jezreel), because it takes place in the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38:21). Blood will flow from the valley of Megiddo to the Dead Sea. However, my inclination is that the first battle of Gog and Magog will occur soon. I believe that the second battle of Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel chapter 39 is, in fact, the same as the battle of Armageddon.