Ezekiel 38:1

The Bible says in Ezekiel 38:1-8, “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,[3] And say, 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 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:[5] Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:[6] Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.[7] Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.[8] 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.” All these nations will be coming against Israel. They will be gathered into Israel for a great battle. God will gather them. That is the prophesy. And it will not end well for the nations who are gathered against Israel. Verse 8 says, “in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought.” The phrase “in the latter years” is referring to what will happen in the last. A great battle will take place. Armies will gather in Israel, and then the Lord will destroy those armies. This same battle is described in Revelation 16:13-16, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.[14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.[15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.[16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 38:9-16, “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.[10] Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:[11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,[12] To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.[13] Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?[14] Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?[15] And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:[16] And thou shalt 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 thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” The Lord God spends a lot of time talking about the Battle of Armageddon. Perhaps God does this because that great battle is one of the last things that happens just before Jesus establishes His one thousand year reign on earth. Also, the great battle will show the greatness of God. God’s name will be honored when so many get destroyed who oppose Him. The judgment is coming, and that battle will be a great judgment against human armies that come together to oppose God. Speaking of how great the carnage will be, it says in Revelation 14:14-20, “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.[15] And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.[16] And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.[17] And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.[18] And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.[19] And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.[20] And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” And it says in Revelation 16:13-16, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.[14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.[15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.[16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

Many countries are listed in Ezekiel chapter 38. Countries from Africa, North Africa, the middle East, and even Europe. Revelation mentions the kings of the East. Gog and Magog have been identified by some students of history as Russia, and Gomer as Germany. Of course, there is no mention of North America or South America, but the countries in these continents can easily be identified with Europe and are often involved in alliances that band them all together. The United Nations bands them all together. Eventually, and maybe soon depending on if the rapture is soon, the antichrist will get them all to come against Israel and against Christ. That event is Ezekiel chapter 38.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 38:17-23, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou 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 thee against them?[18] And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.[19] For 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;[20] So 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 that 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.[21] And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.[22] And 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 that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.[23] Thus 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.” In these verses the Lord is still talking about the last days. Right now we live in the age of grace when God’s blessings are showered down upon the earth. Through Jesus we learn about the love of God and the mercy of God. But God is also holy and He will be true to His holiness. Therefore, the judgment is coming. Part of that judgment, the Bible calls the “last days,” or the “latter years,” or the “end times.” One of the great events of the last times that these verses have been talking about is when the armies of the world will be gathered against God, and Jesus will destroy them all at the Battle of Armageddon. Of course, there will be many other things that God will bring upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. Verse 19 talks about a great earthquake. It says, “Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.” His earthquake is all mentioned in the book of Revelation. It says in Revelation 16:18-20, “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.[19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.[20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”

Ezekiel 38:21 talks about an increase in violence in the earth in the last days. It says, “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.” We already have a lot of violence, and if it increases significantly, it will really be bad. Revelation 6:4 also speaks of the increase in violence in the last days. It says, “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”

Ezekiel 38:22 mentions pestilence, hail stones, fire, and brimstone. These also are mentioned in the book of Revelation as some of the great judgments that will fall upon the earth. These judgments come from God because of His wrath against sin. It will be the worse time that the earth has ever seen. There will be more violence and destruction and death that the world has ever seen. Jesus spoke of that time, and Jesus said, “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” If people will not wake up in the age of grace in which we live now, then maybe they will wake up when the age of grace turns into the age of tribulation. Maybe at that time, they will turn to Jesus. And maybe not. The heart of man can be desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.

The all-powerful God wants all of His creatures to know who He is, and what He is really like. He makes Himself known at different times to different people, but eventually everyone will know the truth. One of the reasons for the judgement in the end-times is to bring everyone in the world to a realization of who He is. That is why God said in Ezekiel 38:23, “Thus 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.” It is better to come to know the Lord willingly by turning to Jesus, than coming to know who God is through His judgment. If you do not know God, you can call on the name of Jesus for forgiveness and be saved.

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