An article published 16 June 2024 written by staff at The Jerusalem Post asks the question, “Is the Israel-Hamas war the war of Gog and Magog?”, a prophecy written in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39 (ref. 1). The article makes the point that many religious leaders, both Jewish rabbis in Israel as well as Christian pastors and commentators in America, have been discussing and debating this question since October 7.
Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, for one, a scholar of Jewish law and eschatology, believes it is. He makes the point that there is something to the month of October and the fact this conflict escalated around Sukkot.
Rabbi Eliyahu Amar, for another, a lecturer on Jewish eschatology, seems to agree with the October thing.
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, for yet another, a writer on the subject of Jewish messianic prophecies, also suggests that the attack of Hamas could be a sign of the Gog and Magog prophecy, a time when many would have to choose between good and evil.
Among American pastors, John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, someone who has previously linked Middle Eastern conflicts to the prophecy of Gog and Magog, seems to lean more on Armageddon, this time – or at least this is the impression I get from the Jerusalem Post article.
Joel Rosenberg, an author, the founder of The Joshua Fund, and the editor of All Israel News, speculates that this might be the early stages of Gog and Magog.
And Laurie Cardoza Moore, the founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, suggests that these events could be linked to the prophecy of Ezekiel.
While it is interesting to see a high profile newspaper in Israel such as The Jerusalem Post going biblical and prophetic, I must point out that the commentary and conclusions are wrong.
The truth is, this unfolding war has nothing to do with the prophecy of Gog and Magog, written in Ezekiel 38 and 39, and also in Revelation 20.
Gog and Magog will be a different kind of war, and it will occur after the 1000 year reign of the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ – ie. “when the thousand years are expired”.
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.
Revelation 20:7-8
Furthermore, Ezekiel 38:11 prophesies that at the time of the war of Gog and Magog, Israel is to be a land “without walls”, a place where people have been dwelling safely for some time.
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: 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
Ezekiel 38:10-11
This is obviously not the nation of Israel today. Today, Israel is a land with fences and barb wire, and even towering concrete walls – a land that has not been at peace for any length of time where people can rest unarmed and dwell safely. This is because of Islam.
By the time of Gog and Magog, Islam will be no more.
First of all, the Islam of ISIS will be eradicated in these last days.
Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
Nahum 3:18-19
Then, during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, all the religions of the world that were set up rebellious angels pretending to be gods throughout the ages will be “famished”. This includes every version of Islam.
The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.
Zephaniah 2:11
Next, in Ezekiel 38, it is explained that the human army of Gog will use “horses”, “armour”, “bucklers and shields”, and even “swords”.
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:
Ezekiel 38:4
The same point is made in Ezekiel 39, but there it is also said that the weapons will be made largely from wood, or least they will contain a lot of material that will burn like firewood.
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: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 39:9-10
Today in 2024 AD, soldiers use guns made from metals and plastics, rather than spears, arrows and shields made from wood.
Over a thousand years from now, long after this world has forgotten how to do war with guns and bombs, humans will resort to swords and shields. After all, the kitchen knife will probably always exist.
This is because, during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, the nations of the world will stop fighting wars, and they will not even learn how to do war any more. This is the prophecy of Isaiah 2.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 2:3-4
Next, at the time of Gog and Magog, Israel will not be defended by a human army such as the IDF but rather by the saints of God – a saint being a new kind of angel, a fiery soldier of Christ.
After the day of the LORD, which begins the kingdom of God and the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, no human in Israel will have to shed blood any more. This is prophesied in Isaiah 65.
… They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 65:25
So, for the kingdom of God, if there is to be any fighting with other nations, it will be done entirely by the saints.
Now, earlier I said that Gog and Magog will be a different kind of war. What I meant was, Gog and Magog will be essentially a civil war between the saints, the result of a second rebellion against God involving an army of heaven.
Some number of the saints, quite possibly up to 72000, if the parable of the five foolish virgins is relevant here (ref. Matthew 25:1-12), will be deceived by Satan (ref. Revelation 20:8), and they will turn against God and against his kingdom here on earth.
Gog himself must be a rebellious saint. This explains his title of “prince”.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Ezekiel 38:1-3
Furthermore, all of the 144000 are technically brethren: every saint has ancestry to the line of Jacob and so every saint is in a way “Israel”. This fact explains the statement in Ezekiel 38 that “every man’s sword shall be against his brother”.
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.
Ezekiel 38:21
As for the part that says God will call for a sword against Gog throughout all his “mountains”, a “mountain” is an epithet of a saint of Israel, just as a “tree” is an epithet of a priest of Judah.
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12
All this means, at the time of Gog and Magog, every saint still loyal to God will fight to defend Zion from those that have chosen the side of Gog and Satan.
Ezekiel prophesies that Gog will be killed during the battle, and so will many of the rebels, and certainly all of his human army.
Thou [Gog] shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 38:4-5
But because of their numbers, some of the rebellious saints, at least the cowardly ones, might flee to outer space when it occurs to them that they cannot win. This is the stars wandering in outer darkness thing (ref. Jude 1:13) that I previously brought up.
He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Psalms 107:40
This rebellion of some portion of the army of the 144000 of Israel, when it occurs, will be an affront to the holy name of God. Although Jesus Christ will not be here as the Son of man during the war of Gog and Magog, he will still be here on earth in spirit, as explained by the expression “the Holy One in Israel”, “in” rather than of.
So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Ezekiel 38:7
When the Bible reads instead “the Holy One of Israel”, with “of” rather than in, generally it means Jesus Christ in the form of the Son of man, visible and fiery.
For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isaiah 54:5
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Revelation 1:14-16
Of course, today, Israel is not yet holy, and so “the Holy One” has not yet arrived. Indeed, this is yet another reason why the prophecy of Gog and Magog speaks to a time in the future.
Today, at this time of Jacob’s trouble, there is not to be a civil war or anything like that among the soldiers of Israel.
For that matter, any suggestion that the IDF can relax because the opposing side will somehow start to kill themselves is also Satanic misdirection.
Instead, for this war that Hamas started on October 7, a war that the Assyrian of ISIS – the Antichrist himself – will eventually join, and a war that will culminated literally at Armageddon on the day of the LORD, the day of the arrival of the Messiah of Israel, the Bible instructs Israel, and the IDF in particular, to fortify its power mightily.
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.
Nahum 2:1
The IDF must fight back and withstand the coming onslaught because a number of the people of the nation of Israel – to be clear, Jews – are to survive everything that is about to unfold.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Matthew 24:22
References:
1. Jerusalem Post Staff (16 June 2024), “Is the Israel-Hamas war the war of Gog and Magog?”, jpost.com