Ezekiel 38:5-9
Our last Prophetic View article concerned Gog, Magog, Meshech, and Tubal.
This Article will consider the lands, peoples, tribes, etc. that will fall under Gog’s leadership to attack Israel in the last days.
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. 9 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.
In the days of Ezekiel (ca. 550 B.C.) Israel was no more. Nor were they a ‘divided kingdom’. Israel simply did not exist as a nation or divided kingdom. So, clearly in Ezekiel 38:7-8 Ezekiel is reiterating Ezek. 37:14 that Israel would become a nation again gathered from the nations (Ezekiel 38:8).
The lands that would attack a future Israel (i.e., in Ezekiel’s day)[1] join Gog, Meshech, Tubal, and Magog are listed in Ezekiel 38:5 as follows:
[1] Extra lands that will attack Israel: *A song of Asaph in Psalms 83 is a Canto expressing confederations of other peoples invading Israel in the last days— such nations, tribes, and tongues as: Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagarenes, Gebal, Ammon, the Philistines, Tyre and Assyria. All to say: everyone from every side of Israel will rally against Israel on “That Day”. Psalms 83:1-18
1 O God, be not silent; be not speechless;a
be not still, O God.
2 See how Your enemies rage,
how Your foes have reared their heads.
3 With cunning they scheme against Your people
and conspire against those You cherish,
4 saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation;
may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5 For with one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against You—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
of Philistia with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them,
lending strength to the sons of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as You did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor
and became like dung on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
the pastures of God.”
13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes a forest,
as a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with Your tempest,
and terrify them with Your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame,
that they may seek Your name, O LORD.
17 May they be ever ashamed and terrified;
may they perish in disgrace.
18 May they know that You alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are Most High over all the earth.
In vs. 5 we see all the nations of ‘one mind’ to attack Israel. This seems to imply a “spirit” by which the nations follow. I will for now, unless something changes my mind, state that Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, is the spirit working through all nations against Israel here. In vs.16 I read of *hope* in the final outcome of seeking God’s “SHEM” or authority, but, as we see, that all too human side of Asaph is found in vv. 17 and 18. Though, in these last two verses, I believe, Asaph is expressing his honesty in the ‘here and now’ of the Bruh ha ha of war in all of its madness.
- Persia: A large part of land going into the Caucasus range but also a portion of Iran/Iraq.
- Ethiopia: “Cush”, likely referring to Sudan and parts of modern-day Ethiopia.
- Libya: Called “Put”. Pretty much the same as the Libya of today (adjacent to the left of Egypt).
- Gomer: another son of Japeth and father of Togarmah (Genesis 10: 2-3). So, Asia Minor during Biblical times and Turkey during modern times.
- Togarmah: Armenia and Turkey.
All such armies are under Gog.
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, …
