“Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4 and I will turn thee back... and all thy army... Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them... Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters... ‘in the latter years thou shalt come’... against the mountains of Israel... Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish... Art thou come to take a spoil... to take away cattle and goods?” (Ezek 38,39).
We think that the expression “in the latter years” used in Ezekiel’s prophecy requires a fulfillment in the future, not in the present era.
Because the Israelites in Ezekiel 38:8 are described as being “brought forth out of the nations”, some suppose this requires a current era fulfillment. The argument goes like this: At one time the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, later they were brought out of Babylon, but here they are brought out of the “nations” (plural). It was after 70 A.D. That they were scattered to the nations, and did not become a nation again until 1948, so this is when they were gathered out of the nations.
This is faulty reasoning, for at the time of the Babylonian captivity they were also scattered to many nations—not just Babylon. We can see this right within other chapters of Ezekiel. Their cities would be destroyed and they would be scattered “among the nations whither they shall be carried captives” (Ezek 6:9). They would be removed and “go into captivity... among the nations” (Ezek 12:11, 15).
But there was also the promise of being again gathered from the nations—not in 1948 A.D.—but following the seventy year captivity. “For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you... and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from ALL THE NATIONS... and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive” (Jer 29:10-14).
In view of such statements, the reference about a people “brought forth out of the nations” does not require a fulfillment in present times.
We will state our position quite clearly. We do not believe Ezekiel 38-39 has anything to do with Russia invading the present state of Israel. Instead, there is internal evidence that the setting of this prophecy must be either back in the Old Testament era, or in the distant future—meaning, after the Millennium (Rev. 20:7-10).
We do not know of anyone who has sacred or secular history to match the description of this battle, so we doubt it ever happened in the past. But our present era is not in view either. The reasons are as follows:
First, the invading soldiers who make up the armies of this passage would be riding on HORSES. “And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, ALL OF THEM RIDING UPON HORSES horses, a great company, and a mighty army” (Ezek 38:15).
We know that the house of Togarmah (which is included in the invasion) was in possession of horses and traded them at Tyre (Ezek 27:14). Horses were commonly used in ancient battles, numerous references to such being mentioned in the Bible and secular history. Even up until comparatively recent times, different nations maintained some small cavalry units—but no longer. The World Book Encyclopedia (article: “calvary”) says: “The expense of maintaining horses and the greater speed and mobility of motorized units made horse cavalry obsolete by the mid-1900’s”. And Wikipedia repeats six times the word “obsolete” in the page devoted to the same topic (article: “calvary”).
To those who think Ezekiel 38-39 is a prophecy for the near future, we ask: Will major armies of the world revert back to using horses in battle?
We should carefully notice also that this prophecy not only mentions soldiers on horses—as though perhaps a few soldiers might be on horses—but it says, “ALL of them riding upon horses” (Ezek 38:15). It does not say part of them would be on horses, or a few of them; it says, “ALL of them riding upon horses”. They are not flying in airplanes or helicopters. They are not traveling in jeeps. They are not in tanks. They are not in ships or submarines. These troops are not moving in buses or trains. All of them are riding on horses!
Second, the time of the invasion is described as a time when Israel should be dwelling in peace. The enemy forces are pictured as saying, “I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates” (Ezek 38:11).
There were times in the Old Testament when Israel enjoyed times of rest and safety. But the modern nation of Israel is one of the most troubled spots on earth. Repeatedly it is in the news as a place of war, trouble, and insecurity. The picture has been anything but one of rest and safety. If these conditions were to change, such changes would have to stand the test of time, over a period of years, before anyone would be saying of the State of Israel: “I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates” (Ezek 38:11).
Notice also that the enemy is pictured as saying he would go to the land of “unwalled villages”. In times of peace, apparently, the villages within the land of Israel did not have walls. In the days of Esther we read about: “the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns” (Esth 9:19).
Though cities commonly had walls, it was not uncommon for villages to be without walls (Lev. 25:29,31; Deut. 3:5). During a time of peace, and with villages without walls, we can see how the enemy could refer to this as the land of unwalled villages. But notice the implication. The time of this prophecy would be when some land and countries will have villages with protective walls (Rev. 21:12,14). It is a comparative statement.
In our day, neither cities nor villages depend on walls for protection. Walls, so commonly known and used in ancient times—such as those around Jerusalem, Jericho, Babylon, or Nineveh—would now be obsolete. Would an enemy in our time speak of going up to a land of unwalled villages—a relative term? No, for all lands are now this way. But in the millennium, the New Jerusalem will be known for its wall “great and high” (Rev. 21:12). We even are told that “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:14).
Third, notice the purpose of this invasion upon Israel. The enemy wants “to take a spoil, and to take a prey... to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil” (Ezek 38:12, 13).
Dramatic sermons have sometimes portrayed the Russians as coming against Israel to get wealth from minerals in the Dead Sea. Or the word spoil is turned into oil. But Israel is not an oil producing country. The invading forces here, come riding on horses to steal cattle, among other things. This fits the millennial reasons for invading the land of Israel, but can hardly apply to our day. Does anyone really believe this prophecy is talking about a bunch of Russian cattle rustlers?
Fourth, the weapons used by this army are primitive weapons. All of the soldiers ride on horses, “all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords... all of them with shield and helmet” (Ezek. 38:4,5), using bows and arrows, and handstaves, and spears” (Ezek. 39:9).
These soldiers fight with bows and arrows. They handle swords. They wear armor. They have shields to protect them against arrows shot from bows. Such a detailed description can hardly fit contemporary warfare. The accompanying illustrations show the type of weapons that were used in the Old Testament era—an era to which the world living in the millennium will revert to live.
Fifth, these primitive weapons—bow, arrows, shields, and spears—will be made out of materials which could be used as firewood. It is said that, “they shall burn them with fire seven years... they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them” (Ezek. 39:9,10). Contemporary weapons are not made of wood.
The time of this battle will be when people will revert to the use of wood as fuel. “And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire” (Ezek. 39:9,10).
This is not a picture of the contemporary era. How many people today depend on wood for heating and cooking? But the trend in the millennium will be a return to cutting down trees for fuel. The inhabitants of the millennium will be living in the same conditions as people lived in the Old Testament times.
The Bible teaches that after the return of Christ, He will set up an earthly kingdom of 1000 years in duration. The constituents of this earthly kingdom will include both saved and glorified individuals as well as saved and non-glorified individuals. The saved and glorified individuals will consist of all the saved of all the ages from Adam to the last beheaded martyr. The saved and non-glorified group will consist of a remnant of Israel and some Gentile believers who survive to the Day of the Lord.
Following the battle of Armageddon, Christ will sit in judgment of those remaining alive on the earth in what has been called the Sheep and Goat Judgment (Matt. 25:31-46). Those Gentile believers, who evidenced their faith by how they treated the Jews during the Great Tribulation, will enter the Millennial kingdom along with the saved Jewish remnant.
There are many Scriptures which give us insight into the conditions on earth during the Millennial reign of Christ. These include Isaiah 35, 60-62, 65; Ezek. 40-48; Micah 4; and Rev. 20-22.
From these passages we understand that the Millennial kingdom will be an earthly kingdom, with Christ ruling from the New Jerusalem, which will descend from heaven and reside above Mt. Zion. Christ will rule in righteousness over the inhabitants of earth. During this time the earth will have been restored to conditions similar to before the Fall of Adam: wild animals will be tame, there will be no war, trees will give abundant fruit, sin will be punished. Ezekiel 47 points out the fact that fishermen will fish in the waters of the rivers and will catch “very many” fish. So the activities of life continue in a normal but bucolic fashion, only with righteous government, peace and perfect conditions.
The saved but non-glorified group of individuals will enter the Millennial kingdom in natural, human bodies and so will be subject to death and disease. Revelation 22 and Ezekiel 47 tell us that the leaves of the trees that grow along the river of life are for the healing of the nations. Isaiah 65 tells us that people on earth at that time will live long lives, and if someone dies at 100 he will be considered accursed. Evidently, similar to those days prior to the flood, people will live hundreds of years.
During these 1000 years, Israel will be the chief nation of the world and will be restored to the full dimensions of her land which God promised. Mt. Zion will be raised up as the chief mountain in the world and it is from here that Christ will reign from the New Jerusalem (Ps. 68:16; 132:13-14; Micah 4:1-8). King David will be resurrected and will be the chief prince over the nation of Israel (Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 37:24-25). All other nations will honor Israel and will worship God in Jerusalem. Zechariah 14 tells us that those nations who do not come up to Jerusalem every year to worship God will be punished with no rain.
While all the saved, but non-glorified individuals who initially enter the Millennial kingdom will be believers, we know that during the millennium there will be many people born. Some of these will choose to not follow the leadership of Christ and will be rebellious in their hearts. Those born during this time are born with the same sin nature that humans now are cursed with. Thus, when Satan is released at the conclusion of the 1000 years, he is able to amass a great army to come against the “beloved City”, Jerusalem (Rev. 20:7-10).
This is, according to our understanding, the right context of of Ezekiel prophecy.
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:7-10).
The prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 has been called “the most difficult prophecy in the Old Testament”. But this is only true if we are not willing to accept that the same is described—though succinctly—in Revelation 20:7-10.
But despite the details that are not mentioned, the interpretation which will place it as a literal battle in “when the thousand years are expired” (Rev. 20:7) seems, to us, the most likely. Our reasons for this we will sum up as follows:
The prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 will take place when huge armies of the world will have to go back to a dependence on horses. Every soldier will ride a horse.
Israel will have to be at rest, dwelling safely. the New Jerusalem, hovering over the Mount Zion will be protected by a huge wall, so that the land of Israel, in comparison, can be called the land of “unwalled villages”.
The rebellious nations that will go up “on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city” (Rev. 20:9) will go back to the use of primitive weapons made of wood such as arrows, bows, and spears.
In view of this evidence, Ezekiel is describing a literal battle which setting is “when the thousand years are expired” (Rev. 20:7).
We realize that there are good Christian people who may hold a different view. They are at perfect liberty to do so. We would never think of making the interpretation of a prophecy such as this a basis of fellowship. We have presented what we believe is the best explanation, but the reader can make his own decision and be fully persuaded in his own mind.
