The Gog and Magog War: Missing Nations
Why are the countries that border Israel missing from the list of Ezekiel 38-39 s invading nations? In this The Truth Will Set You Free TWave Radio episode, Pastor Vic Batista of Miami s Calvary Chapel Aventura and I will continue our ongoing study of the Gog-Magog War found in Ezekiel 38-39. Events Coming Together Vic Batista: We have been looking at Ezekiel 38-39 concerning the Gog and Magog War. Could you recap the details about this war? Nathan Jones: Ezekiel 38-39 reveals one of the most detailed end time prophetic wars in all of the Bible. It s even more detailed than the Battle of Armageddon. It talks about how Russia will lead a coalition of nations including Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, and all those Stan nations like Kazakhstan. Gog, the leader of this incredible coalition of armies, will march against the little nation of Israel for the purpose of plundering and destroying it. God then steps directly into world affairs and He destroys those armies. God annihilates them on the mountains of Israel by earthquakes, fire, hail, and turning the armies against one another. Then God sends back fire on the countries themselves that had sent those armies. So, we are talking about the end of Russia and pretty much most of the Middle Eastern Islamic nations that are in power in the world today. The end result of God s victory is that the whole world knows that there is a God and that He defends Israel. We are talking about an entire shake-up of the geopolitical structure of this world due to the outcome of this war. Vic Batista: Wow, incredible! God is getting the nation of Israel s attention. They ve turned their back on God like Gomer did in the book of the Minor Prophet Hosea. God loves His people, but they are going to go through a chastening process until they eventually recognize their Messiah, right, Nathan? Nathan Jones: Exactly. The end result of this war is that Jews across the world will give their hearts to God. They return to God and are excited to start returning
en masse back to Israel. They haven t given their hearts to Jesus Christ as Savior yet. During the time of the seven-year Tribulation that follows this war, only a third of the Jews will be left left alive after the one world ruler, the Antichrist, starts murdering them all. By the time they see Jesus Christ return from the clouds to defend them one last time, that s when they will turn their hearts to Jesus Christ. The whole Tribulation process is in part to get people saved. It s amazing to think that the whole world will know that there is a God. Think about it. There shouldn t be an Atheist left on this planet after the Gog and Magog War. Vic Batista: That s a good point. It s amazing that even today, with all the events we see going on all around us, that there are so many people who think what we are talking about is a fairytale. People take what the Bible says as a fairytale. These are events coming together right now. We are seeing the signs of the times all around us. Nathan Jones: Russia forming a coalition with Iran and Turkey and Libya and all those other nations will be a first in history. Such a coalition has never happened before. Even having Turkey as one solid country Ezekiel prophesied. Iran and Russia today have this ridiculously strange alliance between the two of them that seems to defy reason, especially as Iran builds nuclear weapons. And now with Israel finding one of the biggest gas reserves in history, they have become a direct threat to Russia s dominance in the gas trade with Europe. And so, we are seeing all these geo-political maneuverings starting to come together. Russia is supposed to be led by a character who is identified in Ezekiel 38-39 as Gog. I don t know if God is their actual name, or designation, or a title. Gog might be the name of a ruling demon. Regardless, we are seeing that Vladimir Putin s star is rising up as he s been recently declared the most powerful man on the planet. He is worth more than most countries have economically. People are drawn to a man with power. Whether Putin is Gog or not, I cannot tell you for sure, because the Bible doesn t say. But, Putin s incredible rise to power it is just unheard of, so we seeing all the players in this war coming together. The Psalm 83 Prerequisite Nathan Jones: One caveat to this war beginning is that the nations directly
surrounding Israel Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Gaza and Jordan they are not mentioned in Ezekiel s prophecy concerning this Gog and Magog War. You ve got to wonder why. And so, Bible prophecy scholars know that something else has to happen before the Gog and Magog War starts to remove these players. Many Bible prophecy scholars who run in our ministry s circles now believe that Psalm 83 answers this mystery. The conclusion is that Israel will have to subjugate the nations surrounding them beforehand. That s why Russia needs such a massive army to attack Israel, because they ve become scared of them all of a sudden. Israel will have grown in dominance and power. Israel may have even risen as a super power. Israel may have become so powerful that the idea is that they need to be destroyed. Gog needs an army so huge that it encompasses many nations in order to get rid of mighty Israel. That seems to be the cause of such a massive attack. Later we read how at the end of the Tribulation all the countries of the world, every single one of them, not just the few from the Gog and Magog War, but all the nations of the world gather to destroy Israel. How could Israel possibly stand against the world? God rescues Israel at Gog and Magog, but Jesus comes and He defends Israel from the armies of the whole world. Then the remnant of the Jews will accept Jesus as Christ. Vic Batista: We should touch on the Psalm 83 War, because that s another end times war I believe individuals need to be aware of. Nathan Jones: Exactly. A Psalm 83 War could break out at any time. The countries directly bordering Israel are always ready to attack. The littlest thing could set them off. We are always watching the Middle East waiting and expected a Psalm 83 War to erupt. Vic Batista: There are a lot of wonderful events portrayed here in the Word of God that just excites and encourages us. But, they also turn us to pray for the world in which we are living and to pray for Israel. Look at Russia. Look at what s happening with the Muslim nations. All this the Bible is talking about is being prepared for right now! In the twenty-second segment of our study of the Gog & Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39, Vic and I will marvel at the blessings God has in store for the captives of
Jacob.