Ezekiel 38-39 Part III

Well! It has been a good while since I made another post. I haven't forgotten, but haven't had the time, either, and it has been bugging me that this has taken even this long. Last time I was only able to cover the condition of Israel at the time of the attack, and I showed that the requirements have been fulfilled. In fact, nearly EVERY requirement for the prophecy to be fulfilled has fallen into place, the latest being Turkey's new pro-Islamic stance and its increased rhetoric against Israel, when in modern times, Turkey has been Israel's closest Islamic friend.

The purpose of this prophecy is made clear several times in chapters 38 and 39. At least eight separate times, the text states that God will make Himself "known to many nations", and that He "shall be glorified". (38:16, :23, 39:6, :7, :13, :21, :22, :28) This leads me to believe that this event will precede the rapture, or the "Blessed Hope" as it is called in Scripture. (Titus 2:13) It would just seem characteristic of a loving God to use one final event to show that He is sill in complete control, and that His Word is true.

I am getting a bit ahead of myself, aren't I? It would help to examine the attack and the results to better understand what I meant in the past paragraph. Ezekiel 39 details the attack. Today I'm using my beloved old King James Bible.

1) Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Me-shech, and Tu-bal:

2) 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:

3) And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

4) Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give the unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

5) Thou shalt fall upon the open field, for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

6) And I will send a fire on Ma-gog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

7) 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

8) Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

Well, THAT says a lot! The latter part of Ezekiel 38 makes it clear that no one will come to Israel's aid. That means literally no nation...not the EU, the UN...not even the United States. Not to stray of subject, but I believe this is why the US is not mentioned anywhere in prophecy. In Genesis 12:3, God states that He will "bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee". In spite of the evil that America has had in the last hundred years or so, this nation has still been blessed, and I believe it is because of our stance on Israel. However, even in the recent Obama-Netanyahu meeting, our relationship with Israel has severely soured, and I believe this prophecy will bring about the end of blessing for the United States.

Another major point is that this event will bring upon the end of radical Islam as we know it. Not completely, but as we know it currently, because God says He will send a firestorm on Magog (39:6) and "great hailstones, fire, and brimstone" (38:22) on Magog and her allies. A great earthquake will also occur in Israel (38:20) so that "all the men that are upon the face of the earth shall shake at My presence."

It seems clear that this event will spark a massive revival worldwide. Christians will become more convicted, and even among Israel, many will turn to Christ. Even more will turn back to the Old Testament ways, and Muslims will turn to Christ as they see the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fulfill His Word and protect His people.

This leads to a very small part of 39:2 that is only translated in the King James Version: "And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee". It seems insignificant enough that all other English translations have left that part out, even the New King James Version, but I believe it is very important. It basically states that about 16.7% of the attackers will be left either at home or unharmed. I think the reasoning is fairly simple...one cannot have a revival in a nation if all the people are dead.

With that said, the bloodshed by this coalition will be great. 38:21 states that God will "call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother." In 39:9-16, details are given to the extent of the carnage. Even with the beasts of the fields and the birds scavenging, Israel's workers will take a full seven months just to bury the bodies. (39:12)

The end of the prophecy appears to bring about the New Covenant, as it says, "(39:28) 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 left none of them any more there. (:29) 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." But...that is a discussion for another day.

If you have any questions that I haven't addressed, please comment, and I will try to answer.

Until next time,

Timothy