News today continues to prove Bible prophecy truth. Stage-setting for fulfillment of things foretold to come moves forward.
In the realm of setting the stage for the horrific wars that are predicted at the windup of the days leading to Christ’s return, the prophet Ezekiel’s words are front and center:
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 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 saith the Lord God; 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 armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands: and many people with thee. (Ezekiel 38:1–6)
Dr. Harry A. Ironside, one of the most recognized of those who had a literal, futurist view of Bible prophecy, wrote the following early in the twentieth century:
In the last days, the final head of the Russian people will look with covetous eyes upon the great developments in the land of Palestine. They will determine that Russia must have her part of the wealth there produced. Consequently, we have the picture of a vast army, augmented by warriors from Persia, Cush, Phut, marching down toward Palestine.
Dr. Jack Van Impe, who recently went to be home with the Lord, wrote the following about Ezekiel’s prophecy:
There is no need to marshal the scholars of the past to confirm the place or purpose of this war. Ezekiel explained:“After many days thou shalt 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 people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.” (Ezek. 38:8).What a clear and up-to-date description of Israel! She is certainly the land that is brought back from the sword—gathered out of many people—a former wasteland—brought forth out of the nations. (“The Coming War with Russia,” Dr. Jack VanImpe, Perhaps Todaymagazine)
There is little question that Russia is the nation or people of Rosh, as Ezekiel terms it, which will be the lead nation in the Gog-Magog assault. Its chief prince, i.e., its leader, will be the leader of the coalition that will invade Israel. The reason, according to the prophet, will be to take “spoil.” That is, they will desire to plunder Israel’s wealth.
It is rational to ask what could induce a coalition of nations to conspire to do such a thing in these days of nuclear weaponry. Israel reportedly has one of the top nuclear arsenals in terms of number of weapons. It would be foolhardy to attack as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. This is especially a relevant question since Israel has demonstrated on many occasions that it will defend its territory. And, in modern times, it has never lost!
Ezekiel gives the reason Gog gets the evil thought. It is apparently because Israel will be dwelling in “unwalled villages.” That is, it will be without defense, as walls were for the defense of nations in so-called Bible times.
But there is the factor also of that matter of Gog’s “evil thought” including, apparently, the knowledge that there are “spoils” to be garnered by such an attack. It must be that the “spoil” is desperately needed for some reason.
Now we consider the way things are shaping in the Middle East in these times. One must concede they are strange, I think. Never has there been a world completely shut down because of something proven to be not much more than a flu bug with somewhat of an extra bite.
So, with these strange times and all other considerations we’ve discussed in these commentaries many times, it is prudent to ask whether the Gog-Magog war might be in view.
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