The "hook in the jaw" of Gog

We know from Ezekiel 38 that the biblical "Gog" will lead the coalition of nations into battle on the mountains of Israel. It is in the early stages of this epic battle that God makes His presence known and supernaturally ends this great battle by destroying these invading forces led by Gog who is ruling over the land of MaGog. We believe this to be represented by modern-day Russia.

There are two scriptural clues as to why this battle takes place.

The word of the Lord speaking directly, and referring to Gog:

"I will put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army..." (Ezekiel 38:4)

and in the same passage, in verse 12-14 we receive further information, in terms of the motivation of Gog:

"I will plunder and loot", and "To gather...to loot...to seize much plunder..."

Prophecy watchers have long considered possibilities that would exist in the last days giving Russia a "hook" in its jaws, and reasons to loot and plunder Israel. Oil and gas has also been discussed for years as a possibility.

Now, at least over the last couple of years, we have observed huge Israeli discoveries of gas and oil, and recently we even have another one.

The book "Epicenter" by Joel Rosenberg, does an excellent job describing Russia's intent for the Middle East and Europe, and much of their long term plans include oil and gas domination in the region, and they have already had major success in that effort. If Israel threatens those long term plans, who knows what their response could be.

Since Joel Rosenberg has been on this story a long time, I'll let him take over:

Biblical Prophecy Update: Israel Discovers Another 16 Trillion Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas

Two years ago, Ratio Oil Exploration LP, an energy firm here, employed five people and was worth about half a million dollars. Today it sits at the center of a gas bonanza that has investors, international oil companies, Israeli politicians and even Hezbollah, Israel’s sworn enemy, clamoring for a piece of the action. Ratio’s market capitalization now approaches $1 billion. The rally at Ratio is thanks to the company’s 15% stake in a giant offshore gas field called Leviathan, operated by Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. On Wednesday, the frenzy got fresh fuel: Noble confirmed its earlier estimates that the field contains 16 trillion cubic feet of gas—making it the world’s biggest deepwater gas find in a decade, with enough reserves to supply Israel’s gas needs for 100 years….”

It’s a story that just keeps getting more and more interesting over the past few years, because larger and larger fields of petroleum keep getting discovered.

And this is where it gets very interesting. Most of you are probably familiar with the story, but if not, you should be fascinated by the following:

In my first non-fiction book, Epicenter, published in 2006 (and the updated and expanded Epicenter 2.0 edition that was published in 2008) , I included a chapter entitled, “Future Headline: Israel Discovers Massive Reserves of Oil, Gas.” The chapter described a trail of prophetic clues found in the Hebrew Scriptures that some believe (myself included) indicate that in the “last days” the nation of Israel will be blessed by discovering huge reserves of petroleum that will make Israel quite wealthy.

Those clues suggest Israel will be able to “dip his foot in oil” and draw “oil from the flinty rock.” The Jewish people will find ”hidden treasures in the sand” and an “abundance of the seas.” This newfound wealth in the last days will certainly be a blessing for Israel, but it will also draw enemies and may very well help trigger the ”War of Gog and Magog” when the nations ask the leaders of the Russian-Iranian alliance that comes against the Jewish state, “Have you come to capture spoil [from Israel]? Have you assembled your [military forces] to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold….to capture a great spoil?”


The trail of clues can be found in the following Bible verses:

Genesis 49:1
Genesis 49:25
Deuteronomy 33:13
Deuteronomy 33:19
Deuteronomy 33:24
Deuteronomy 32:12-13
Isaiah 45:3
Ezekiel 38:8-13

Are such prophecies now coming to pass? Are such headlines further evidence that we are living in the “last days” before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ? It’s a story worth keeping an eye on, to be sure.

I agree. This is definitely worth keeping an eye on.