Page 130 - Eschatology - Masters revised

Chapter 13: Ezekiel 38-39: Israel is attacked by Gog and Magog

Connect…

When reading the prophetic book of Ezekiel, you will come to chapters 38 and 39 that describe a great
attack of six nations against the little nation of Israel. The details and description of the invasion of
these countries were obviously prophetic and have never occurred in history, so the invasion must be a
future event. The prophecy in Ezekiel tells how these six countries come against Israel to destroy the
nation, but God shows up to protect His special people. The passage tells us that God so utterly
extinguishes the armies of these countries that it takes seven months to bury the dead. A person
traveling from south to north in Israel after this defeat almost passes out from the smell of rotting
bodies all over the land.

After reading this prophecy, we must ask a few questions. When will this take place since it is a future
event? Who are these modern countries that are described in the passage? Why are they united in
destroying Israel and taking a spoil? Is an attack like this possible in today’s political and ideological
world? Let’s see if we can answer these questions…

Objectives…

1. The student should be able to list the six invading countries mentioned in Ezekiel 38

2. The student should be able to describe the motives behind the invasion of Israel by the six nations.

3. The student should be able to demonstrate that the sovereignty of God remains in spite of the
desires of nations.

The Lesson ...

What is Gog and Magogxlvi

Ezekiel 38 and 39 foretells of a massive future invasion of Israel by the armed forces of six nations. Five
of those nations are identified in chapter 38:5-6 with the names they bore in Ezekiel at the time of his
writing. The sixth nation, we can figure out understanding ancient geography.

The first nation, Persia (light green on map next page) is now the modern state of Iran. It is currently
ruled by an Islamic fundamentalist government that is building significant military power, including the
development of nuclear weapons. It has openly declared its commitment to the annihilation of the
Jewish State of Israel.

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