INTRODUCTION

World War II Was Not the Final Great War
In the early 1940’s, my father, who was a well-known evangelist, was preaching a very unique message across the length and breadth of this nation. He entitled this particular sermon, “World War III---When, Where, and Why.” The fascinating thing about that message was this: World War II was still raging in Europe and in the Far East. Many other evangelical preachers of his day believed that World War II was destined to be the last great war on earth---the war that would end with the battle of Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Hitler Was Not the Antichrist
One can readily see how these preachers could arrive at this conclusion. After all, Hitler seemed to fulfill many of the Biblical prophecies concerning the Antichrist, especially when Hitler’s actions were compared with the vision of the “Ten-Horned Beast” in Daniel 7:7-8. Horns in apocalyptic literature, such as the book of Daniel, represent kings or nations, while beasts represent empires.

In the visions of Daniel 7, the prophet saw a union of ten nations, all of which were once part of the Roman Empire, emerge upon the world scene. As Daniel observed this beast, it was “dreadful, terrible, and exceedingly powerful.” Suddenly, a “Little Horn” emerged from among the ten horns, and plucked up three of those horns seizing their power, and seizing control of the beast.

During World War II, Adolf Hitler, like the “Little Horn,” united the nations of Continental Europe by force of arms, creating what appeared to be the “Ten-Horned Beast” of the books of Daniel and Revelation. In addition, Hitler was making war on the Jews, as the book of Revelation indicates the Antichrist will do.

These other evangelical preachers also believed they had identified the “False Prophet” of the book of Revelation. He was Pope Pius XII, and to them the Roman Catholic Church was the false religion being promoted by that “False Prophet.”

The Nation of Israel Had to Exist for the End to Come
However, my father did not accept any of these conclusions. He was convinced that World War II was not the last war---nor would this war lead to the battle of Armageddon. He taught that another more tragic war was yet to come. He had reached this conclusion based upon the fact that the people of Israel, the Jews, had not yet been gathered from the four corners of the earth to reestablish their nation, a gathering that is prophesied, not only in Ezekiel 37, but in many other prophetic writings of the Bible. My father had foreseen the fact that the nation of Israel would not only have to exist, but it would also have to be recognized before the end of this present age could come.

Israel His Once Again Been Regathered
How right he was! World War II did end without the battle of Armageddon being fought, or the return of Christ. As my father foresaw, the present age could not conclude in 1945, because the people of Israel had not yet established their nation on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in the land that had been promised to the seed of Abraham in 2000 BC.

However, soon after World War II concluded, the nation of Israel was gathered in that land after having been dispersed for over 1900 years. The new state of Israel declared its independence on May 15, 1948, and was immediately recognized by the world community, although only by the very slimmest of margins.

Satan Hates Israel
This reappearance of the nation of Israel immediately drew a vicious response from Satan. The rebirth of this nation inflamed him. He was fully aware that the appearance of the nation of Israel on the world scene was the first link in a chain of events that would eventually lead to his being bound and cast into hell for a thousand years. Satan knew that he had to act quickly to eliminate this threat to himself, so when the nation of Israel was only a few hours old, Satan sent five heavily armed Muslim nations to do his bidding.

Within twenty-four hours, the armies of these Arab nations had attacked the one day old state, and the attack they launched was vicious. Only the intervention of Almighty God saved this fledgling nation from annihilation in that fateful summer of 1948. Even though the struggle was brutal, in the end, the five state Arab alliance was crushed and Israel survived.

Satan’s Attempts to Destroy Israel
However, Satan was not through in his attempt to destroy the state of Israel. He would direct his minions, the followers of that demonic religion known as Islam, to do war with Israel on two additional occasions, in 1967 and 1973. And each time, with the help of God, Israel prevailed. Recently, in 2006, a series of battles occurred in Lebanon between Israel and the terrorist group known as Hezbollah. This group is nothing less than another satanic threat to the integrity of this tiny nation. The final outcome of this encounter is yet to be seen.

Satan continues to provoke these wars and skirmishes, because he believes that the destruction of Israel will derail God’s prophetic time-table for another millennium or two, and prolong his days. His assessment of the situation just might be correct. This study will be an examination of Satan’s continued efforts to achieve his diabolical goals, as these attempts are spelled-out by the prophets of Israel in Holy Scripture.

Chapter One

WHO IS GOG AND MAGOG?

The Yom Kippur War a Near Miss
On several occasions, the plans of Satan to destroy the state of Israel have very nearly succeeded. That was especially true in the opening four or five days of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Satan’s Muslim armies, trained and supplied by the Russians, were within hours of crushing Israel in a two-pronged attack. In the south, the Egyptians had crossed the Suez Canal en masse and by the third day of the war, they were driving toward the Mitla pass, he doorway to the heart of Israel from the south. Once the Egyptian army had penetrated and secured that pass, the next stop was Tel Aviv.

At the same time, the Syrian army had invaded the Golan Heights from the north with 2500 sophisticated Russian tanks. For the first three days of the war, Israel was only able to mobilize 190 battle-ready tanks along the northern front. Within two days of the invasion, the Syrians were driving in force toward a strategic bridge at the foot of the Golan known as the bridge of Jacob’s Daughters. If they had managed to secure and cross this bridge over the northern Jordan River, they would have quickly cut Israel in two parts, and the war would have been over.

At one point, the Defense Minister of Israel, Moshe Dayan, who had not adequately prepared Israel’s armed forces for this invasion, considered committing suicide. At one point in an Israeli cabinet meeting, Dayan hung his head in despair and muttered, “It’s all over---the dream is over.”

Then, when all seemed lost, God acted to save the little nation, snatching it from the brink of disaster. Inexplicably, the Syrians suddenly turned and withdrew giving the IDF time to regroup on the Northern Front. Equally strange was the fact that the Egyptian military command made the decision to move their armored divisions out from under their SAM-6 missile shield. Without this air cover, their mechanized forces were pummeled by the Israeli Air Force, enabling the forces of Ariel Sharon to cross the Suez Canal and entrap the Egyptian army in the Sinai desert.

The Prophet Ezekiel Lists the Participants in a Third Great War
However, these previous wars will not even remotely compare to a war that Israel will be forced to fight sometime in the near future---World War III. Ezekiel 38 describes how this war will be initiated and who the participants will be. The Prophet writes:

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I am coming against thee, O Gog…” (Ezekiel 38:2).

Clearly, this verse identifies the leader, the nation and the dominant army that will one day invade the state of Israel---the nation is called Magog, and the leader is someone whose code name is Gog, the chief prince of a people known as Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.

God Will Put a Hook in the Jaw of Gog
The fascinating thing about this war is that each of these protagonists, Magog, Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal will conclude that they, themselves, have made the decision to go to war against Israel. But, according to the book of Ezekiel, that will not be the case. They, personally, will not actually decide to go to war with Israel. Twenty-five hundred years ago, God decided that one day He would go to go to war with this rebellious nation known as Magog, and at this time in history, He will do just that. In other words, God will actually initiate everything that will occur prior to this war.

Who Is Gog? Is He the Locust King?
The sudden appearance of Gog in Ezekiel’s text, coupled with the fact that he is never introduced and has no background material to identify him, has troubled Biblical scholars for 2000 years or more. The text only makes it clear that Gog is either a person or a political movement, and that he (or it) is the leader of this nation known as Magog, but nothing else is known about him Gog.

There is, however, one prophetic reference written prior to Ezekiel 38-39 that seems to apply to Gog. It is found in Amos 7:1. There the prophet declares:

“Thus has the Lord God shown and to me; and, behold, he formed the grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the King’s mowing.”

What on earth does that verse mean? As it is translated in the King James Version it sounds like sheer nonsense. It means nothing. However there is a reason for the confusion in this version.

When the King James scholars translated this verse, they were using the accepted Hebrew text of the time, often called the Massoretic text, which dates to the ninth century, AD. However, there is a far earlier Hebrew text, one that was translated into the Greek language by a group of seventy great scholars living in Alexandria, Egypt in the third century, BC. Their translation has come to be known as “the Septuagint.” In the Septuagint’s translation of Amos 7:1, we read the following:

“Thus the Lord showed me, and behold a swarm of locusts were coming; and, behold, one of the young devastating locusts was Gog, the King.”

This identification of Gog as “the king of the locusts” could have some profound implications. In Proverbs 30:27, we read:

“The locusts have no king.”

The fact that the locusts have no king tells us that the “locusts” described in Amos 7:1 are not actual insects, but represent something far more sinister. The meaning of this verse, Amos 7:1 becomes clearer when we read in Revelation 9 that a swarm of locusts will appear on the earth one day, and these locusts will have a king. These locusts of Revelation are actually identified as being demons from hell that will be unleashed upon the earth during part of the great tribulation.

This tells me that this person Gog, the “King” of Magog, is a totally demonized person. Chuck Smith, the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California has written:

“The powers of darkness work through the rulers of this world (human beings): Satan, the prince of this world, is the power behind the world’s governments and systems (as they exist) in rebellion against God: there is constant warfare in the spirit world over the control of people’s lives. Through prayer, we are able to bind the works and power of the enemy and to battle for God’s side.”

The book of Revelation indicates that Satan is the king of these locusts from hell, and he will be the driving force behind Gog, the leader of Magog.

Gog Thinks an Evil Thought
Later in Ezekiel 38, the prophet explains what will transpire in the heart of this person or movement called Gog, the leader of Magog. Ezekiel prophesies:

“Thus saith the Lord God; it shall also come to pass, that at the same time, shall things come into thy mind, and thou shall think an evil thought; and thou shall 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, to take a spoil and to take a prey…” (Ezekiel 38:10-12).

This war will be precipitated, Ezekiel declares, when Gog thinks an evil thought about the nation of Israel. He thinks what he does because he sees this nation as being defenseless. He sees it as a nation filled with villages having no walls.

The Problem with Democracies
This phrase, “unwalled villages” could be used as a catch phrase for all democratic societies, and Israel is the only true democracy in the entire Middle East today. Democracies have always appeared to be weak and unwalled to autocrats like Gog. This is the case because the leaders of democratic societies, unlike the leaders of autocracies, are responsible to the people of that state for the decisions they make. In fact, democratic leaders are dependent upon the good will of their people for any and all power they possess; therefore there is a tremendous incentive on the part of democratic leaders to meet the demands and expectations of the majority of their constituents. Those who meet these demands are usually re-elected; those who do not are ousted from office.

By nature, democracies, unlike autocracies, have always been reluctant to go to war. Democracies are often unable to fight protracted conflicts, because the majority of the electorate will begin to oppose a war if too much time passes, or if too many lives are lost. In democratic states, if there is any alternative to war at all, those persons who are most likely to die, including their families, will demand that the alternative to war be pursued by their elected leaders. The antipathy to war in free societies is often so strong that those societies are at a distinct disadvantage when confronting the threats that may reasonably require pre-emptive action.

Democracies also differ from autocracies in another important respect. Democratic systems engender a deeper respect for human life, a greater love of peace, and a higher tolerance of differences than does an autocracy. In addition, in democratic societies the opportunity exists to improve ones present standard of living, and accumulate wealth, which is usually not the case in any autocratic society---the state gets wealthy, not the individual.

The people of a democratic state understand that two things happen in wars: lives are lost and hard won private property and personal wealth is destroyed. So, free people demand that their elected leaders attempt to resolve national differences through nonviolent means, whenever possible. Autocratic leaders, like Gog, see this reluctance of democracies to fight to be a distinct weakness.

The major difference between an autocracy and a democracy, however, is this: autocrats do not depend upon their people; their people depend upon them. The reverse is true in a democracy.

Gog Will Not Consider the Cost of this War
All autocrats come to power through non-democratic means, or by the destruction of democratic ideals. They know this so they are afraid to face the approval or disapproval of their people in free elections. This will be true of Gog as well. He will be the one who decides to launch an attack on Israel, not his people.

Apparently, Gog will make this decision without any consideration whatsoever for the cost involved, especially in terms of human life. He will be willing to accept the risk, but only because he is being drawn by God to do what he is already determined to do, and the cost to his people will prove to be absolutely staggering.

Chapter Two

WHO IS THIS NATION CALLED MAGOG?

The True Axis of Evil
Since Ezekiel makes it clear that the future attack on Israel will be led by a people called “Magog,” then we must ask, “Who are these people?” The name Magog appears very early in the scriptures. Magog was the eldest son of Japheth, and Japheth was the first born son of Noah. Therefore, the family of Magog represents a very ancient tribal unit. Subsequent history proves that they were also very warlike.
Magog’s descendants will be the ones that provoke World War III, but Magog will not invade Israel alone. This nation will be supported by several other nations, and this coalition will truly represent an “alliance of the wicked,” or an “axis of evil.” These other nations that ally themselves with Magog have familiar names like Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya.
Genesis 10:2, where Magog is first mentioned, is part of a very important portion section of Holy Scripture. The so-called “Table of Nations” is found in that chapter. There are seventy nations listed in this table, and not only is Magog mentioned there, but most of his allies are all mentioned there, as well.

Magog Was the Father of the Scythians
Since the very first name mentioned in the “Table of Nations” after the sons of Noah is this man Magog, his descendants must have been very important people in antiquity. The question is, by what name is Magog known today? Who are his descendants? A wide variety of ancient sources identify Magog as being the people once known as “the Scythians.” Without question, the Scythians were the ancient ancestors of many of the people that live in Russia today. One of the most ancient references to these people is found in the writings of Hesiod, the father of didactic Greek poetry. In the sixth century BC, he identified Magog as being “the founder of the Scythian tribes.”

Later, in the fifth century BC, the great Herodotus, the father of Western history wrote voluminously about the Scythians, describing how they continually terrorized the southern Russian steppes from the tenth century BC to the third century BC. He wrote:

“No one confronting them (the Scythians) can escape on foot, and if they wish not to be discovered it is impossible to engage with them. The reason is that they do not build towns are fortresses, but all of them are mounted archers and carry their homes with them, so how can they fail to be invincible, and immune from attack.”

This Scythians are also mentioned by the great Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. He writes that the people known as Magog are “the same peoples the Greeks call the Scythians.” Josephus despised the Scythians. He could find very little good in these people other than their loyalty to one another. He wrote:

“But even the Scythians, who delight in murdering people, and are little better than wild animals, nevertheless think it their duty to uphold their national customs.”

The Jewish genius of Alexandria, Philo also identified Magog as the people of southern Russia in his copious writings. There can be no doubt that Magog founded modern Russia.

Other References to Magog
In one of the great oddities of history, the Great Wall of China was once called, “SUD YAGOG ET MAGOG,” or “the rampart of Gog and Magog.” It was built by the Chinese dynasties to keep the people of Magog from infringing on their lands.

Magog is even mention in the Koran; Mohamed refers to Gog and Magog as the VADJUDJ WA MADJUDJ.”

The aforementioned Greek historian, Herodotus, like Josephus, wrote about the cold-blooded savagery of Magog’s descendents. For example, he wrote that they would gather to drink the blood of the first enemy they would kill in any battle. They were also known to carry the severed heads of their victims to the chiefs of their people, and use the scalps of their victims for napkins. They would also cover their quivers with the skins of their enemies.

In their victory celebrations, the Scythians would drink from the skulls of those they killed in battle. Herodotus wrote that two Scythians would seal a blood brotherhood pact by drinking each other’s blood mixed with wine. When one of their kings died, the Scythians would sacrifice one of the king’s concubines and several of his servants so that these concubines and servants could accompany their king into the afterlife. Magog’s descendants were, indeed, a barbaric people.

So, the Scythians, from their days as horseback archers, until they became a nuclear superpower in the twentieth century, represented one of the most barbarous and vicious groups of people to ever walk the earth. For centuries, these people terrorized the steppes of Russia from the Ukraine to the Great Wall of China, and their barbarous ways are not behind them yet, as the book of Ezekiel clearly proves.

The Scythians Also Found in the New Testament
It is interesting that this word, “Scythian,” is also found in the book of Colossians in the New Testament. To the apostle Paul, the Scythians stood at the very base of the ladder of civilization. He declares of the growing church:

“…there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and is in all.” (Colossians 3:11).

In other words, according to the apostle Paul, people of all backgrounds, even base people like “the barbarians of Europe” and “the Scythians” can be transformed and belong to Christ.

Magog Comes From the North Parts---the Extreme North
So, to review: it should now be apparent that the people of Magog described in Ezekiel 38-39 are descendants of the Scythians, who are the descendants of Magog the son of Japheth, the son of Noah. I should also be clear that the modern-day Russians are the people known as Magog. But, if we examine Ezekiel 38:15 closely, we will not need the ancient sources to make that association. Ezekiel 38:15 declares:

“And thou (meaning Magog) shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou and many people with thee…”

In the original Hebrew, the word translated as “north parts” means “the extreme north.” Any atlas will demonstrate that the nation located north of Israel from the 37th parallel to the North Pole is Russia.

Chapter Three

MAGOG INVADES ISRAEL

Biblical Prophecy is True
So Ezekiel makes it clear that when God’s timing is right, the military machine of Magog will be directed by its leader, Gog, to attack the state of Israel. How do I know? It is because the Word of God says so, and that settles the issue for me. I have always believed the Holy Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and I believe it to be infallible in all of its prophetic declarations. If the Bible indicates that a certain thing is going to occur, I believe it will occur in God’s perfect timing.

As far as I can tell, in those areas where biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, they have been 100% accurate in what they have reported. So, then, simple logic would dictate that all unfulfilled prophecies will also be 100% accurate in reporting those events that are yet to occur. That includes Ezekiel 38-39, which describes this massive invasion of Israel by Magog and its allies.

Ezekiel describes this invasion as blitz-like attack on the state of Israel, coming from the north. He also explains in great detail why this invasion will occur, how the war will be fought, and the way in which these invaders will be defeated. The prophecy also describes the cleanup efforts once the invasion has been turned back.

Two Important Elements is Ezekiel 38-39
Two facts stand out to me in this episode as Ezekiel describes it:

1) The fact that God Himself will be the one that intervenes, and then utterly destroys these invading armies.

2) The fact that nuclear weapons will be used to conclude this conflict.

Fire Falls on Magog
The fact of a nuclear conclusion to this invasion can easily be deduced from the text. Ezekiel declares:

“And I will send a fire on Magog, and among those who dwell securely in the isles, and they shall know I am the Lord…and they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire, and shall burn the weapons…and they shall burn them with fire for seven years.” (Ezekiel 39:6; 9a,c)

These verses are not easy to interpret, but what they mean is this: this war will end when fire will fall upon the armies of Magog and upon its allies. Fire will also fall upon the “isles.” What does that mean? The Hebrew word translated as isles is the noun, IY, which literally means, “a habitable spot.” In other words, anywhere that people live will be subject to this fire. Cities all around Israel will be consumed, no doubt by nuclear devises.

Israel Goes Nuclear
At the same time these cities are being demolished, the citizen soldiers of Israel, most of whom live in “the cities” of Israel (Ezekiel 39a), will go out and they will “burn” the armies of their opponents. What that means is this: the IDF (the Israeli Defense Forces) will launch neutron bombs from their Howitzer cannons. Neutron bombs kill people without destroying objects. These neutron blasts will utterly annihilate the soldiers of the invading armies, while preserving their armaments. In fact, Ezekiel declares that this weaponry will be “hot.” These weapons will “burn,” but not with fire---no fire burns for seven years. I believe that these weapons will be radio active, and will remain that way for “seven years.”

Let me make it clear that the ancient prophets of Israel had no way to describe the things they saw when their visions were outside their own experiences---events that would not occur until many centuries, even millennia later. For example, an ancient seer could not adequately describe nuclear warfare. What they would see was something like a great fire falling up on the earth.

Nuclear Clean-up
Once again, it is not as if Israel actually burns these weapons for seven years to reduce them to ashes and be rid of them. As we have seen, it means that these weapons will continue to be hot with radio activity for seven years. Ezekiel even describes the fact that professionals will have to come to clear and decontaminate the battlefield. The prophet states:

“…and they (the Israelis) shall set apart men for the continual task of passing through the land to bury… those that remain upon the face of the land to cleanse it…” (Ezekiel 39:14).

These men will be forced to wait for seven months before they will be allowed to enter into the war zone. The ground will be saturated with radio activity. However, once they are there, these recovery teams will bury all the bodies they find somewhere east of the Dead Sea, far away from all populated areas. Ezekiel 39:11 states:

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog, a place there of graves in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers on the east side of the sea… there they shall bury Gog…and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-gog.”

However, the prophet has more to add. He states that if a traveler passes through the war zone and finds something that the professional cleanup teams have missed, that person is not to touch it, but is to mark the location so that the cleanup teams can come and deal with it, probably because it is still radioactive, thus lethal (Ezekiel 39:15).

Can there be any doubt that the prophet is describing the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, one in which 1/6 of the invaders of Israel will die?

Chapter Four

THE ALLIANCE

The Allies of Magog
In Ezekiel 38:3-6, the allies of Magog are also listed. The prophet declares:

“… Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 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 armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them; all of them with shields and helmets. Gomer and all his band; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands, and many people with thee.”

This translation from the Scofield Edition of the King James Version is mistaken when it suggests the reading, “…O Gog, the chief (ROSH in Hebrew) prince of Meshech and Tubal…” Other more accurate editions read, “…O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” The word ROSH in Hebrew means “head,” or “chief,” which led the Scofield scholars to see Gog as “the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,” not the prince of ROSH. But the Hebrew Massoretic text and the Septuagint translate ROSH as a geographical location, not a title. The interesting thing is that the word ROSH is linguistically related to the words RHOS, RUS, and ROS, all names associated with Russia at one time.

When I studied Hebrew in Graduate Seminary, our standard referral text was The Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, authored by Wilhelm Gesenius, a nineteenth century German lexicographer. In this classic work, Gesenius concludes that the ROSH to which Ezekiel refers is “undoubtedly the Russians, who are mentioned by the Byzantines of the tenth century under the name ROS, dwelling to the north of the Taurus.”

Each of the allies who a company Magog in their attack upon Israel, the peoples known as Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer and Togarmah are important to Ezekiel’s prophecy, so each of these nations will be examined individually.

Iran Shows Its Colors
PERSIA: the main ally of Russia in its invasion of the land of Israel is called Persia by Ezekiel. The Persians were the descendents of Elam, the first son of the Old Testament patriarch Shem, who was the son of Noah. The first historical mention of Persia is found in the Assyrian texts written in the ninth century BC, where Persia is spelled “PERSUA.” This country continued to be known as Persia until its name was changed to Iran in 1935.

One important fact that most people living in the west do not know is this: the Iranians are not now, nor have they ever been Arabs; they are Aryans. In fact, the word Iran comes from the word, “Aryan.”

Until recently, Persia/Iran had been a hopelessly backward nation, its great days of international acclaim lost in the dust of its past historical prowess. Then, in the 1950’s oil was discovered in Iran, and this nation has rapidly surged to prominence on the world stage. Today, this nation is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power, and represents the primary military force in today’s Middle East.

Iran is no ordinary nation state. It presents a clear and present danger to the world simply because of the peculiarities of the religion it practices. Almost the entire population of Iran belongs to sect of Islam known as Shi’a. Shi’ite Islam has always been radically fundamentalist by nature and continues to be so.

When the Ayatollah Khomeini, a Shi’ite cleric, led the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970’s, he established the first modern Islamic Republic. The first thing Khomeini did was declare war on the United States of America. He did this by ordering an ordering an attack against the United States on our own soil. What I mean is that is this: the Ayatollah commissioned his radical followers to attack our embassy in Tehran and take hostages. Attacking our embassy represents an attack on United States of America since an embassy belongs to the nation that occupies it. That was radical Islam’s first shot across the bow of the United States, but has not been the last.

Saddam Hussein Sees the Dangers of Iran
One man who clearly saw the danger of Iran and radical Islam was the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Sixty per cent of the population of his nation, the state of Iraq, belongs to the Shi’ite Muslim sect, while Hussein and his government in Baghdad belonged to the Sunni sect. Therefore, Saddam was well aware that if “push came to shove,” the Shi’ites of southern Iraq, representing the majority population group in that nation would stand with their Shi’ite Iranian brethren and not with the Iraqi Sunni Muslims. Knowing that fact, the Shi’ite Mullahs of Iran looked longingly to add Iraq and its huge oil reserves to their Islamic republic. In the early 1980’s, Saddam could see the danger Iran posed to his nation, so he launched a bitter war with that nation. When that war ended without a resolution, Saddam began to conduct periodic purges to keep the Iraqi Shi’ites under restraint. Saddam understood the danger they posed, but the governments of the West, for the most part, did not.

George H.W. Bush Preserves Saddam’s Regime
One of the men in the West, who did understand the danger posed by the Shi’ites of Iran and Iraq was George Herbert Walker Bush, the president of United States. He understood that removing Saddam Hussein from power would embolden the Shi’ites. If Saddam fell, the Shi’ite majority in Iraq would quickly be armed by the Iranians. Then, by sheer force of numbers, the Shi’ites of Iraq would attempt to seize control of that oil-rich nation. With that, radical Islam would then control a majority of the remaining oil reserves of the world and possess the potential to destroy the economies of the petroleum dependent Western nations.

So George H. W. Bush did not choose to topple Saddam. When the armies of Saddam Hussein were obliterated in the Desert Storm operation, and the highway to Baghdad was undefended, George H.W. Bush would not allow Norman Schwarzkopf to charge into Baghdad, much to the consternation of many religiously/politically uninformed Americans.

Bush was followed to the presidency by William Jefferson Clinton. That administration was so inept in its policies toward the Middle East that it does not even deserve to be mentioned. The Clinton administration never realized the gravity of the issues involved in the Middle East.

George W. Bush Takes a New Approach
When George W. Bush ascended to the presidency, his approach would be far different from that of his father. He had been highly influenced by the writings of the Jewish genius, Natan Sharansky, especially by his classic work, The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror. In this book, Sharansky explains clearly and cogently the link that exists between freedom and peace, and between tyranny and terror. Democracies, he points out, have never gone to war with one another, so if the world wants peace it wants more democracies and fewer autocracies.

George W. Bush Believes in the Power of Democracy over Tyranny
In his book, Sharansky demonstrates the need for the free nations, countries like the United States and Great Britain, to encourage the victory of democracies in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, because authoritarian governments are inherently unreliable when it comes to a commitment to peace. Dictators have no qualms about sending the sons of other people to die. Democratic leaders do! Since democratic leaders are responsible to the voters, and since the voters do not want their sons and grandsons to die, the leaders of democratic societies are reluctant to send these sons into battle.

George W. Bush believes in Sharansky’s ideas so strongly (as do I), that he chose to reject the “real politiks” of his CIA-trained father to follow the thinking of Natan Sharansky. George W. Bush believed, and rightly so, that Saddam was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. Saddam not only had them, but in the past he had used them against his own people. Because of the existence of these lethal weapons, President Bush saw Saddam Hussein as a threat to the peace of the world, one that could be and should be removed.

All the while, George W. Bush saw Iran as the real threat to world peace, but Iran had committed no overt actions to justify a military attack. So Bush chose another approach to deal with the Iranian threat. He called for the invasion of Iraq. His goal was/is to topple Saddam and install a democratic form of government both there, and in the nation of Afghanistan, thus surrounding Iran with progressive democratic states. The Iranian people, seeing the prosperous Afghani and Iraqi people living in freedom all around them would then rise-up and throw out the radical Mullahs of Iran

Was George W. Bush Mistaken?
History has now proven that George W. Bush and I may have been mistaken about the ability of democracy to work in todays “all or nothing” Middle East. The problem is not with the people, it is with their faith, Islam. Those people in the West who are truly objective are rapidly finding that there is no real difference in “moderate Islam” and “radical Islam.” Both types of Islam pose the same threat. At heart, both forms seek to bring an end to Western civilization as we have known it, and I believe that the latter, “radical Islam,” must be destroyed before democracy can possibly take root and be implemented in the Middle East.

The Dangers of Leaving Iraq and Afghanistan
In spite of the obvious consequences of toleration toward Islam, many liberal politicians and political action groups in United States are calling for the United States to pull out of the Middle East, and especially out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I am sad to say that these groups may succeed. This issue could sweep the Democrats into office in some future election, and if it does, the liberals will quickly remove our troops from Iraq and from Afghanistan. Such a withdrawal would be a disaster for the Middle East and for the security of the entire world.

In both of those nations, Afghanistan and Iraq, it would create a political vacuum that the fundamentalists in Iran would quickly fill. A confederation of Islamic fundamentalists in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan would be formed that would quickly dominate the entire Middle East. Suddenly, the world would awaken to find a new Shi’ite empire, a new Muslim Caliphate, extending from the Indian frontier to the Mediterranean Sea.

With Afghanistan and Iraq securely allied with them, the Mullahs of Iran would only have to take control of two other Middle Eastern nations, Syria and Lebanon, to be able to realize their ultimate goals. They would not only control enormous oil reserves, but they would also possess at least three major ports on the Mediterranean coast, radically cutting the costs for transporting their crude.

Where Is Syria and Lebanon?
Oddly enough, Syria and Lebanon are never mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Since Syria and Lebanon are the two most ardently anti-Jewish nations in the world, the question arises, “Why would these two nations, Syria and Lebanon, refrain from joining Russia in attacking their ‘Zionist’ foes?” The answer appears to be that the Iranians will have already subdued Syria and Lebanon before their ally Russian invades the land of Israel. Even today, Lebanon virtually belongs to Iran through their terrorist puppets, the Hezbollah.

Once Syria and Lebanon have fallen, the emirate of Jordan will then collapse like a house of cards. The new Persian Caliphate composed of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Lebanon will then own much of the tangible wealth of the Middle East. In an alliance with Russia, the new Caliphate would be a force with which to reckon. Another super power would be born.

Russia’s Continuing Support of Iran
At this point in history, Russia has now become Iran’s major ally in United Nations, and is providing the Iranians with a host of engineers and electronic weapons experts. The Iranians need these experts to help build them into the major power broker in the entire Middle East. But their ever-growing military machine and their nuclear dreams are helpless without the Russians. The Russians, on the other hand, believe that this alliance is vital, because it will enable them to once again be a player on the global scene.

What about Russia’s other allies?

Who is Cush?
CUSH: The founder of the nation was the oldest son of Ham, the second son of Noah. He was the father of the infamous rebel, Nimrod, who erected the tower of Babel. The Cushites originated in the land of Mesopotamia, but at some point began to migrate toward Africa. In the days of Ezekiel, the Cushites had located themselves south of Egypt in the land once known as Nubia. Today, Cush is divided into two nations, Ethiopia and Sudan. The Sudan is now an Islamic republic and Ethiopia is in the process of becoming an Islamic republic. They are already allied with Iran.

Libya Appears
PUT: The founder of the nation of Put (Phut) was the third son of Ham. The Jewish historian, Josephus, identifies Put as the founder of the nation of Libya which was a huge area in Biblical days covering all of North Africa. His descendents include the Berbers and all the other nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes that now make-up modern North Africa. So in reality, Libya, in the prophetic sense includes Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania. All of these nations are predominantly Muslim today.

The Equestrian Warriors
GOMER: This person, Gomer, was the eldest son of Japheth, who was third son of Noah and the father of Ashkenazi, Riphath, and Togarmah. Gomer’s descendents are identified in Greek history as being the KIMMEROI or Cimmerians. In the earliest days, the men of Gomer were feared equestrian nomadic warriors. Herodotus indicates that in his day, the people of Gomer inhabited the region north of the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea in the present state of Georgia. One group of the KIMMEROI (Gomer) must have established themselves in that region, while others, the majority, migrated eastward.

According to the Assyrians, those KIMMEROI who moved toward the east settled in the region known as Azerbaijan today. This modern nation, the descendants of the KIMMEROI, shares a long border with Iran, and what is fascinating is the fact that they, like the Iranians, are also Shi’ite Muslims. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the Internet Encyclopedia, their language, even in ancient times, was Iranian and from the time of their national origin as a people they had an Iranian ruling class.

We should also be aware that in ancient times it would not be strange for nomadic peoples such as the KIMMEROI (the Gomerites) to establish themselves in diverse places. One thing is certain about the descendents of Gomer: these people will accompany the Russians when they invade the land of Israel.

The Armenians Take Their Places
TOGARMAH: As indicated earlier, Togarmah is another of the sons of Gomer who settled near the Caspian Sea. We know their nation today as Armenia. The ancient Assyrians referred to these people as the TIL-GARIMMU, a nation that resided in the land bordered by Azerbaijan on the east, Iran on the south, and Turkey on the west. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Armenians still refer to themselves as being the “House of Togarmah.”

The Men from Moscow
ROSH, MESHECH AND TUBAL: As we have seen, Rosh is Russia. Meshech was the sixth son of Japheth. The identity of his descendants has been hotly debated. They are identified as the Mushki by the Assyrians and as the Muschoi by the Greeks. The Assyrian inscriptions indicate that they were located in the region of Phrygia in modern Turkey. Herodotus agreed with the Assyrians. Josephus also places these people in the region of Turkey.

However, Wilhelm Gesenius wrote that “Meshech was the founder of the Moschi, a barbarous people, inhabiting the Moschian Mountains.” Gesenius concluded that it was the Moschi who established the city of Moscow.

Tubal was the fifth son of Japheth and the brother of Meshech. The identity of his descendents is also in question. Some say they also inhabited the region of modern Turkey, while others say that Tubal settled in Siberia, and established the city of Tobolsk on the Tobol River. Tobol, Gesenius argues, is a derivative of the word Tubal.

If Gesenius is right, that would exclude Turkey from the army accompanying Magog, and I do tend to believe that Gesenius was right. Turkey is far from being an Islamic republic. It is, in fact, the most secularized of the Islamic nations. I do not see them in this conflict.

Clearly, then, this tremendous military force, composed of the armies of the Russian republic, the former Soviet republics of the Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, the various “stans of Middle Asia,” and the new Shi’ite caliphate, including Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and possibly Lebanon will all invade this one tiny nation known as Israel, which is no larger than the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Why the World Does Not Respond to This Aggression
Perhaps the strangest aspect of the prophecy found in Ezekiel 38-39 is that this invasion will not be aggressively challenged by the other nations of the world. In fact, it appears that Israel’s fate will simply be observed by these other nations. They will all refuse to assist the Jewish state. As Ezekiel 38:13 states:

“Sheba and Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee (Magog and its allies), art thou come to take a spoil? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey; to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle in goods, to take a great spoil?”

Here, and this verse, Ezekiel is making it clear that a coalition is formed to contest the invasion, but they are passive. Among those nations is “Sheba and Dedan,” “the merchants of Tarshish,” and the “young lions.”

One thing is clear! The armies associated with Magog are not impressed by the existence of this coalition. They will even mock it. Apparently, the members of this coalition will not act because they feel that they are incapable of stopping the aggression of Magog and its allies. So who are these coalition nations?

The Saudis on the Sideline
Sheba and Dedan are easy to identify. Even in Biblical days, Sheba and Dedan were cities located on the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia). So Sheba and Dedan represent Saudi Arabia. The fact that the Saudis belong to this coalition is startling. In light of their historical hatred of “the Zionists,” one would assume that the Saudi’s would choose to be a part of the invasion forces of Magog.

There may be a very good reason why the Saudis are not a part of Magog’s alliance. Evidently, at this time, the Saudis, who are Sunnis, will fear the new Shi’ite caliphate more than they despise Israel. They will join the coalition opposing Magog, but all they will do is what all the other opposition nations do---watch and talk.

Who Are the Merchants of Tarshish?
What about “the merchants of Tarshish,” who are also a part of this coalition resisting Gog and Magog? Who are they? Tarshish is first mentioned in the Bible in I Kings. At that time, the people known as the Phoenicians, headquartered in the city of Tyre, were the leading merchant sailors in the world. They operated great fleets of ships throughout antiquity, and Tarshish is believed to have been one of their ports.

The problem is, no one knows exactly where Tarshish was located. Some say it was located on the coast of India since “the ships of Tarshish” sailed from the port of Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqaba. Since the Suez Canal did not exist at the time, the ships sailing from that place would have to have sailed to Africa or India (see I Kings 9:26; 22:48; I Chronicles 9:21).

Other scholars have indicated that Tarshish was a name for the North African city of Carthage. However, this argument is rather weak.

The preponderance of the evidence indicates that Tarshish was a Phoenician port city, located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Tarshish was, indeed, founded by a Carthaginian, but was soon taken by the Phoenicians as their westernmost Harbor. The Phoenician sailors would regularly transport goods from their home base of Type to all points in the Mediterranean, eventually resupplying their ships in Tarshish for their long journey home.

Where Does the United States Fit into the Picture?
So, without question, the port city of Tarshish was located in modern Spain. I find it interesting that Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas while sailing under a Spanish flag. Could the Americas, particularly the United States, be one of the “young lions” associated with Tarshish? I think so.

It is my belief that the United States, Great Britain, Spain and a few other nations will put together a coalition to counter the aggression of Magog and its allies. However, I believe that the growing anti-Israeli movement in America and Britain will make our two nations, indeed, the entire coalition, unwilling to resist the axis of evil. These nations will not have the moral courage to act, they will only sit and talk. The cry will be, “Give diplomacy a chance.”

Chapter Five

What Will Initiate World War III?

The Ultimate Fate of Damascus
Ezekiel has no explanation of the cause for this massive Russian/Shi’ite invasion other than the fact that God puts a hook in their jaw and brings them to the mountains and valleys of Israel. Nor does the prophet explain the willingness of the world community to turn their heads to this travesty. However, a few clues can be found, not in what Ezekiel includes in the text, but in what he excludes. For example, Syria, the most aggressively anti-Israeli nation in the Middle East is never mentioned in the text, as we have previously seen. Could this suggest that this nation no longer exists? The prophets of Israel say yes! They describe just such an event. For example, in Isaiah 17:1 and 17:14, the prophet declares:

“Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap… and behold at evening tide trouble, and before morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.”

In Jeremiah 40:24-25, the prophet declares:

“Damascus is waxed feeble, and turns herself to flee, and fear had seized on her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy?”

Damascus, the capital city of Syria, reported by some to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, is suddenly demolished. This cannot be the result of something that happened in the past, because in all of its long history, Damascus has never been “taken away from being a city”---not like Babylon has.

Syria Invades the Golan
Isaiah gives us a hint of what will occur when he speaks of the Syrians attempting to spoil and rob Israel. I believe the Syrians will attempt to retake the Golan Heights, which they claim to be theirs, and is not. The Golan is part of the land that God promised to Israel. The Golan belongs to the inheritance of the tribe of Manasseh, but it was given to Syria when the nation was created following World War I. When the Syrians do attempt to reclaim the Golan, disaster will strike. Isaiah calls what will occur, “the burden of Damascus.” This burden is their continued irrational hatred of “the Zionist state,” as they call it. This hatred will lead them to utter destruction as a nation.

The Principle of Reoccurrence Must Be Applied
Damascus has always been a significant city, at least from a Biblical perspective. This city is mentioned 60 times in 55 verses in the Old and New Testaments. Its first mention is in Genesis 14:15, but the primarily references are found in the prophetic books.

When interpreting prophecy, it is important to realize that there is a principal that applies to all prophetic writings, a principle I call, “the principle of reoccurrence.” Often, in the prophetic writings, there is an immediate, if only partial fulfillment of a prophecy that foreshadows a future, more complete fulfillment of that same prophecy. In other words, in some prophecies, the events being described were being fulfilled at the very time when the prophecy was uttered. But then, at a later date, a broader, more complete fulfillment occurs. The book of Job describes this “principle of reoccurrence” when it declares:

“For God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not.” (Job 30 3:14)

The book of Daniel offers some of the clearest examples of this “principle of recurrence” to be found anywhere in the Bible. Daniel could speak of world events that were occurring all around him, but we can now see the very same events unfolding in our world today.

It seems to me that God originated “the principle of recurrence” so that His true prophetic voices could be validated by having their prophecies come to pass in their own lifetimes, while those prophecies were not yet ultimately fulfilled. Credence is given to this idea by a passage of Scripture found in Deuteronomy 18:21-22. It states:

“And if you should say in your heart, how shall we know the word that the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken, but the prophet had spoken it presumptuously; thou shall not be afraid of him.”

The Principle of Reoccurrence Found in Isaiah 17
“The principle of reoccurrence” is relevant to Isaiah 17, because some commentaries indicate that Isaiah 17 was fulfilled in II Kings 16:9 and it was fulfilled at that time, at least in part. There, Tiglath-Pileiser of Assyria, “… went up against Damascus.” He destroyed the city, but he did not carry away all the people as Isaiah prophesied. So, the events of II Kings 16 cannot be the fulfillment of this prophecy, because Damascus did not cease to exist as a city, nor has it ever ceased to exist, so its utter destruction is yet to occur.

The Fourth Arab/Israeli War Erupts
I believe that in the near future, the state of Syria, along with Egypt, will attack the state of Israel for a fourth time. The recent successes of Hezbollah will encourage and embolden them. This attack will be a colossal mistake. The outcome will resemble that of the Six-Day War.

As we have seen, only one of the Arab/Israeli wars, the Sinai battle of 1956, was not precipitated by the Arabs. The Sinai conflict was initiated when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. Great Britain and France, in an effort to retake the canal, pressured Israel to invade the Sinai, believing that the Egyptians would quickly rout the Israelis, and they would come to the rescue of the Israelis, reclaiming the canal in the process. To the shock and dismay of the French and British, Israel quickly crushed Egypt, routing their army. The world quickly saw through the rouse, and brought international wrath upon France and Great Britain.

However, on three occasions, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt launched massive attacks against Israel:

1) The war of Independence---1948
2). The Six-Day war---1967
3). The Yom Kippur war---1973

It is important to remember the words of the Prophet Amos regarding Syria (i.e., Damascus). He stated:

“For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof…”

Syria and Egypt Decimated
The Bible indicates that at some time in the near future Syria and Egypt will attempt to annihilate Israel for a fourth time, and as we previously suggested, the result will be a disaster for these nations; in fact, it appears that these nations will be utterly destroyed. Syria will be utterly demolished. At that time, Israel will utterly destroy Damascus.

Syria, of course, has been engaged in state terrorism against Israel since 1986, when they attempted to plant a bomb on an El Al commercial flight. Since that time, the Syrians have allowed their territory to be used as a sanctuary for groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFN). For several years, Iran has supplied Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon with arms, especially Ketusha rockets, through the nation of Syria.

February, 2001---the Prelude to the Coming Arab/Israeli War
In February, 2001, I read a report that caused me to believe that Isaiah 17 was going to be fulfilled before my very eyes. For several years, I have been subscribing to the Debka Intelligence Report, which provides inside information on the Middle East to interested readers.

On February 16, Debka reported that a United States/British air raid had been launched against an Iraqi command/control center north of Baghdad, involving 42 aircraft based in Turkey. Some 35 JSOW missiles were fired by the United States at the command/control center, but a software glitch caused all of the missiles to miss their marks.

The Iraqis thought that the missiles had missed their target because they, the Iraqis, had been able to jam the electronics of the American missiles with new jamming devises they had purchased from China. So an emboldened Saddam Hussein, now unafraid of U.S./British air power chose to respond.

Several days later, satellite images alerted the allied military commanders that six Iraqi divisions had begun to move westward toward the border with Southern Syria and Northern Jordan with the possible intention of invading northern Israel. The Iraqis were fully equipped with both missiles and missile launchers, and would be ready to strike Israel by February 22, 2001. The Israeli military went on immediate alert.

To enable the Iraqis to assemble without being decimated by United States/British airpower, Syrian President Bassar al-Assad gave the Iraqi forces permission to move into Syrian territory. If they were attacked by the United States and Britain, Syria would claim that these soldiers belonged to the Syrian army, and had been attacked without provocation by the Western war-mongers. At the same time, Hezbollah was instructed to unleash their rockets against the cities of northern Israel, and Yasser Arafat was also instructed to launch coordinated attacks from the West Bank against Israel on the same day, February 22, 2001.

The Israeli military reluctantly prepared to launch a massive retaliation. They sent word to Tony Blair, the British prime minister, detailing their exact plans. It was a terrifying dispatch. Blair quickly relayed the message to Saddam Hussein. Saddam and al-Assad were both warned that within two days, Israel would launch a devastating preemptive strike, called the Jericho Sanction. It would be directed against both Syria and Iraq.

The Israelis indicated that they would drop neutron bombs on the six Iraqi divisions, even if these divisions were bivouacked inside Syria. But these neutron devises would only be the beginning. Israel indicated that they would also drop nuclear bombs on both Damascus and Baghdad. The attack would be launched at 7:30 PM, Israeli time. Saddam realized that this was no bluff, and hastily withdrew his six divisions. The Syrians and the Palestinians both stood down. This story can be verified at WorldNetDaily.com/news/article, or at debkafile.com for February 22, 2001.

Isaiah 17 to Be Fulfilled Soon
As I kept myself informed of these breaking events, I would turn again and again to Isaiah 17. But this prophecy was not to be fulfilled in 2001. However, I believe that it will be fulfilled very soon. When it is fulfilled, Syria and Egypt will virtually cease to exist, at least as military entities, and for a brief time Israel will experience a period of unprecedented peace.

Meanwhile, Russia and Iran will plot to even the score with Israel for having demolished their old allies. They will strike suddenly and without warning. But the one who will even the score will not be Magog. The one who evens the score will be Israel’s God. Russia and the new Caliphate will be utterly demolished. Remember this: Ezekiel says that these nations will not come to the hills of Israel by their own volitions, even though they think they will. God will put “a hook in their jaws” and drag them to the hills of Judeah, Samaria, and Galilee to die.

Chapter Six

WHEN WILL THE INVASION OCCUR?

The War Described in Ezekiel 38-39 Yet to Be Fought
One thing is certain. This war has not yet taken place. Israel has never been invaded by the Russians---not in all of its history. In addition, the prophet indicates that this invasion will not occur until “the latter years” (Ezekiel 38:8), after the nation of Israel is gathered into the land promised by God to the seed of Abraham in Genesis 15.

Signs---Israel Will Be Gathered
This regathering of the dispersed nation that we witnessed throughout the entire 20th century is described in detail in Ezekiel 37 in his famous vision of “Valley of the Dry Bones.” That prophecy, which focuses upon the regathering of the dispersed Jews, is immediately followed by the prophecy of the invasion of the land of Israel by Magog. Ezekiel 38:8-12, declares:

“After many days, thou shall 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 peoples, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste; but is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely, all of them. Thou shalt descend and come like a storm; thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy hordes, and many peoples with thee. Thus saith the Lord God: it shall also come to pass that at the same times shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought; and thou shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 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, who have gotten cattle and goods who dwell in the midst of the land.”

Signs---Israel Will Be Dwelling Safely in the Land
Naturally, none of these things can occur until Israel is first dwelling “safely” in the land of promise. This word “safely” is crucial to a proper understanding of this chapter. This adverb translates the Hebrew verb BETACH, which can also be translated as, “a false sense of confidence,” and not necessarily as a state of physical security.

Ezekiel speaks of “unwalled villages,” something that the prophet had not seen very often in his lifetime. The prophet Zechariah picks up on this same theme when He declares:

“… and said unto him, run, speak to the young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited like towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle in it: for I, saith the Lord, will be unto it a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of it.” (Zechariah 2:4-5).

In the days of Ezekiel, villages would only be left unwalled if the people of that village believed they were safe and protected. A day is coming when the villages and cities of Israel will be perfectly protected, divinely protected. We call this era, the millennial reign of Christ, and it is described in great detail by the prophet Zechariah. For 1000 years Israel will finally dwell safely in their land.

The Battle Described in Ezekiel 38-39 Not Armageddon
One thing must be clarified at this point. The war described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will not be the battle of Armageddon. Ezekiel’s war will occur previous to the rapture of the church. Here are some of the differences between the two battles.

According to Daniel 11 and Revelation 16:13-21, one of the two armies involved in the battle of Armageddon, the mortal army, will be led by the Antichrist. The battle that is described in Ezekiel 38-39 will be led by a person or movement called Gog, and this person or movement is not the Antichrist.

Perhaps, the most important distinction between these two wars, as we have previously shown, is the fact that Israel is said to be dwelling “safely” in their land. Armageddon, on the other hand, follows the time known as the Great Tribulation, or “the time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble.” For the 42 months prior to the battle of Armageddon, Israel will be experiencing hell on earth. Every nation in the world will turn its back on this tiny nation, and its torment will only cease when Christ unexpectedly returns to the Mount of Olives. He will rescue Israel from “all” of these hostile nations. Consider these Scriptures:

“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled and the women ravaged; and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” (Zechariah 14:2-4).

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the peoples round about, when they shall be in the siege, both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all that burden themselves with, it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

“For they are the spirits of demons, working miracles, they go forth into the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to do battle on that great day of God Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14)

The battle described in Ezekiel 38-39 does not involve the whole world, just select nations, mainly Russia, the Shi’ite Moslems of the Middle East, and Israel.

The War Described in Ezekiel 38-39 Will Occur Prior to the Rapture
As I interpret the Word of God, it appears to me that the attack of Magog upon Israel will occur several years prior to the rapture of the church, perhaps as many as twelve years prior.

The point is, there will be two more wars preceding the rapture of the Church: the first war will be the fourth all-out Arab/Israeli war, involving Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, in which the Arab nations will be crushed. Israel’s victory in this fourth war will bring this nation a brief time of safety and security. Shortly thereafter, Russia and her Shi’ite allies will launch their surprise attack in retaliation for the fourth great Muslim humiliation at the hands of Israel.

The Earthquake That Shakes the Planet
The fascinating thing about the Russian attack is that it contains some very good news for every believer. It will look to the whole world as if Israel is fighting this war, but according to the word of God it will not be Israel that actually does the fighting. The fire from Israel’s weapons will be supernatural in origin, as Ezekiel 39:8 declares. In addition, there will be a great earthquake in Israel that will shake the entire planet. God says:

“Surely, in that day, there shall be great shaking in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the seas, and the fowls of the heavens, and the beasts of the fields, and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him in all my mountains, saith the Lord God; every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will enter into judgment against him with pestilence and with blood; and I shall rain upon him and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, and overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 38:19-23)

I believe that the great shaking is not a natural earthquake, even though Israel sits astride the planet’s greatest fault line, the Great Rift. This shaking will come from nuclear weapons that will rain down upon the cities of the Russian/Iranian alliance, producing what appears to be “hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” Radiation sickness will appear to be some kind of pestilence. Mountains will actually disappear as the bombs explode. These events will “shake the entire earth.”

It Does Not Pay to Worship a Moon God
The Muslim leaders, in particular, will see that by buying into radical Islam and by following the Mullahs of Iran, they have brought destruction upon themselves, and they will begin to fight against each other, and against the soldiers of Magog. They will suddenly realize that they have been worshipping an ancient moon deity rather than the one true God. This realization, and their repentance, will “sanctify the name of God,” because Muslims have been saying that their god, Allah, is the God of Abraham. Such a claim desecrates the true name of God. It is “I AM,” not Allah.

All the while, God will supernaturally protect Israel from the nuclear holocaust that will come primarily upon the Muslim world, and perhaps upon Russia and its other allies.

This, then, is World War III. We have discovered when: it will erupt just prior to the rapture of the church; we have discovered where: it will be fought in the land of Abraham’s inheritance, Israel; and we have discovered why: it is a satanic plot to eliminate the state of Israel and set back the prophetic clock.