CHAPTER 38

(587 B.C.)

PROPHECY AGAINST GENTILE POWERS AT ARMAGEDDON; GOD TO BE REPULSED

¹And the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him (Gog is another name for the Antichrist),

³And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal (for many years, Bible teachers have thought that these Passages referred to Russia, but a closer investigation of the statements prove otherwise; therefore, the phrase, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, is not referring to Russia, but instead to the Antichrist):

⁴And I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your 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 (this Prophecy refers to the Battle of Armageddon, which will be the second invasion by the Antichrist of Israel, in which he will be totally destroyed. The first invasion will take place in the midst of the Great Tribulation, when the Antichrist will then show his true colors):

⁵Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

⁶Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with you. (These Passages merely reinforce the statements previously made, that the army of the Antichrist will consist of people from many countries, including Russia.)

⁷Be you prepared, and prepare for yourself, you, and all your company who are assembled unto you, and be you a guard unto them. (Be you prepared, merely refers to a taunt given by the Holy Spirit to the Antichrist. In other words, Prepare yourself to the very best of your ability, and still it will avail you nothing, as you will be totally defeated.)

GOG TO INVADE ISRAEL IN THE LAST DAYS

⁸After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall 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. (The two phrases, After many days and In the latter years, refer to this present time and the immediate future; therefore, any claims that this Chapter has already been fulfilled are spurious.

The land that is brought back from the sword, refers to the many conflicts Israel has had since becoming a nation in 1948.

And is gathered out of many people, refers to the various nations, such as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, etc., which did not desire Israel to become a nation, and which, therefore, greatly opposed her.

But it is brought forth out of the nations, pertains to the United Nations voting that Israel would become a State, with even Russia voting her approval.

And they shall dwell safely all of them, refers to the terrible horror of the Holocaust in World War II, with some 6,000,000 Jews being slaughtered by Hitler, and Israel then demanding a homeland instead of being scattered all over the world. Their feeling was that if this could be obtained, then they would be safe.)

⁹You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your bands, and many people with you. (As stated, this is the Battle of Armageddon.)

¹⁰Thus says the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into your mind, and you shall think an evil thought (the evil thought will consist of the plans of the Antichrist, inspired of Satan, to destroy Israel and the Jews. That plan is the Battle of Armageddon!):

¹¹And you shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them who are at rest, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates (the phrases, The land of unwalled villages, Dwelling without walls, and Having neither bars nor gates, refer to Israels efforts at mobilization to be rather weak, at least in the mind of the Antichrist),

¹²To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn your hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people who are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. (This is the invasion of Israel by the Antichrist, called the Battle of Armageddon, which will precipitate the Second Coming of the Lord.)

¹³Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto you, Are you come to take a spoil? have you gathered your company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (The questions asked by these particular nations are not meant to proclaim an adversarial position; in fact, they will probably throw in their lot with the Antichrist, hoping to get a part of the great spoil.)

GOGS ATTACK AGAINST GODS LAND

¹⁴Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD; In that day when My People of Israel dwell safely, shall you not know it? (The idea of this Verse is: despite the Antichrist invading Israel and defeating her at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation, thereby breaking his seven-year pact, still, due to him having pressing business elsewhere [Dan. 11:44], Israel will then filter back into the land, reoccupying it, and seemingly will dwell safely. This will no doubt infuriate the man of sin, and he will set about to handle the situation once and for all!)

¹⁵And you shall come from your place out of the north parts, you, and many people with you, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army (the north parts do not refer to Russia, as some think, but rather to Syria. In fact, the Antichrist [Gog] will come from Syria; however, the Syria of Daniels Prophecies, of which this speaks, included modern Syria, Iraq, and Iran):

¹⁶And you shall come up against My People of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against My Land, that the heathen may know Me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes. (In the latter days, refers to the last of the last days, which pertain to the present and near future. In other words, these Prophecies have already begun to come to pass, and, with each passing day, will accelerate their fulfillment.)

MANY PROPHECIES TO BE FULFILLED

¹⁷Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you he of whom I have spoken in old time by My Servants the Prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring you against them? (The Lord is actually speaking here of the Prophecies given to Ezekiel, of which this is one, as well as those of Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah, and others!)

GOG TO BE DESTROYED AT ARMAGEDDON

¹⁸And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord GOD, that My Fury shall come up in My Face. (Once again, this is the Battle of Armageddon. My Fury shall come up in My Face, corresponds to the statement of Zechariah [Zech. 14:3].)

¹⁹For in My Jealousy and in the fire of My Wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel (the great shaking in the Land of Israel can only transpire in the Battle of Armageddon, and only by the Hand of the Lord);

²⁰So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men who are upon the face of the Earth, shall shake at My Presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. (This Verse pertains to the Second Coming, which will be the most cataclysmic event in human history.)

²¹And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My Mountains, says the Lord GOD: every mans sword shall be against his brother. (This portrays the fact that the Lord has control over all things!)

²²And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people who are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. (This Verse proclaims the fact that the Lord will use the elements, over which neither the Antichrist nor any other man has any control.)

²³Thus 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. (Thus will I magnify Myself, has reference to anger held in check for a long time, and then exploding with a fury that defies description.)