The Battle of Gog and Magog

[Arkycharlie]

The Hebrew word translated as “securely” in the text of Ezekiel is the Hebrew word transliterated “betach”. It is used a total of 41 times in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. It is used ten times in the book of Ezekiel, more than in any other Old Testament book. Proverbs and Jeremiah use the word four times and in the 13 other book where it appears, all use it less than four times. Below is a list of the ten verses in Ezekiel where the word is used.

Eze 28:26
"And they will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely, when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God."' "
Eze 30:9
"On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure Ethiopia; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for, behold, it comes!"
Eze 34:25
"And I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
Eze 34:27
"Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
Eze 34:28
"And they will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid.
Eze 38:8
"After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.
Eze 38:11
and you will say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates,
Eze 38:14
"Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord God, "On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it?
Eze 39:6
"And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord.
Eze 39:26
"And they shall forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid.

If one will carefully read the book of Ezekiel and then consider chapters 38 and 39 in the context of the rest of the book, it becomes abundantly clear that the only time that Israel will “dwell securely” is when the Lord Jesus Christ occupies His throne in Jerusalem during His millennial reign. As long as Satan roams free on this earth, Israel will not “dwell securely” ever! Look at 34:25 above, where during the Millennial Kingdom, the people in Israel will be able to “sleep in the woods”. Perhaps this gives some clue to a proper understanding of weapons of wood being burned for seven years. Revelation chapter 20 is the other clear Biblical reference to this “invasion” from the north. Weapons made of wood and horses as a serious means of transport for an army are entirely consistent with conditions that will exist during the Millennial Kingdom.

My wife and I spent three weeks in March of this year in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Having seen and experienced fortress Israel first hand, I defy anyone to convincingly explain how Israel can properly be described as “the land of unwalled villages” and a people who “ live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates” now or in the foreseeable future.


This is just the opening argument for an assertion that the Gog/Mag invasion of Ezekiel is the same invasion described in Revelation 20. I have no interest in proceeding further in this regard because I suspect that folks who are not persuaded by these assertions have their minds made up and are not seriously interested in considering any alternatives to what they have already decided is the truth of the matter.

The end of this age is very, very near. The six thousand years of man attempting to exercise dominion over planet earth are drawing to a close. The “two days” of Hosea 6:2 are also nearing their end. The little horn is alive and ruling “in his place”, and will soon put down three other horns as the curtain rises on the last act of the great drama of this age.

[JIL]

Based on talking to other believers and what I have researched I think a meteorite/asteroid will hit North America causing mass devestation. I think the world will be in terror because the nation that once lead the way is now destroyed. The rest of the world will scramble to claim the remaining resources. The loss of America will have a huge impact as far as the loss of food and resources are concerned.

[kcaskew]

Its all very mindboggling. I think only God knows whats to come. We can speculate but its part of a divine plan. Christians sticking together to the one true way to God is through Jesus.
We live in exciting & scarry times.

[UNA_Lion]

Speaking of EMP, however, I just saw this on Yahoo, and it caught my attention. It will be quite helpful in regards to saving us $$$ at the pump, but not so helpful in the case of an EMP attack...

Carmakers' Plug-in Plans
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers'-Plug-in-Plans

Plans to make cars that run entirely on electricity....

Of course, even electric cars are dependent on petroleum, which powers most electric plants, and runs the vast majority of all transportation, be it wheeled, tracked, floating, or flying.

[Legacy]

Great thread! :thumb

I wondered about Israel living in safety part, as well as the horses. Thanks to those that explained these! I wonder, too, if anyone knows of any of these countries gathering up and training these horses presently? Could be something to watch for. You can't just "hijack" a bunch of horses and expect them to willingly accept a battle zone without getting spooked. Sounds as if (and I could be completely wrong--just started studying this war) there will be millions of them. How do you hide/feed/train that many in secret?

[ZeldaCA]

My wife and I spent three weeks in March of this year in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Having seen and experienced fortress Israel first hand, I defy anyone to explain how Israel can properly be described as “the land of unwalled villages” and a people who “ live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates” now or in the foreseeable future, without sounding like a fool.


This is just the opening argument for an assertion that the Gog/Mag invasion of Ezekiel is the same invasion described in Revelation 20. I have no interest in proceeding further in this regard because I suspect that folks who are not persuaded by these assertions have their minds made up and are not seriously interested in considering any alternatives to what they have already decided is the truth of the matter.

The end of this age is very, very near. The six thousand years of man attempting to exercise dominion over planet earth are drawing to a close. The “two days” of Hosea 6:2 are also nearing their end. The little horn is alive and ruling “in his place”, and will soon put down three other horns as the curtain rises on the last act of the great drama of this age.

What you are saying does make sense. In the current world today, I don't see how there could EVER be a time when Israel is "dwelling securely," and of course walls and gates are one of the ways Israel protects herself right now. I think the next time Israel will believe itself to be "secure" will be when the Antichrist establishes his peace treaty between them and their neighbors.

I had been thinking Gog-Magog seemed to be right around the corner, but perhaps not.

[Metania1]

With all this talk about Israel and Iran possibly going to war with us having Isarael's back (hopefully) I have a question.

It appears that Israel is alone in this war. If any support is given it won't be needed. God takes care of business on the mountains of Israel.


Could this be the Gog-Magog war or is that different?

Ezekiel gives a list of core nations that are involved in this war. Many of these nations have been identified.


And doesn't God intervene on the attack on Israel and destroy the invading army?

God does intervene in a super-natural manner. While some will view this intervention as "coincidental" or a purely "natural" cataclysmic event, many others will view it in terms of divine intervention.

[Arkycharlie]

Zelda wrote:

What you are saying does make sense. In the current world today, I don't see how there could EVER be a time when Israel is "dwelling securely," and of course walls and gates are one of the ways Israel protects herself right now. I think the next time Israel will believe itself to be "secure" will be when the Antichrist establishes his peace treaty between them and their neighbors.

I had been thinking Gog-Magog seemed to be right around the corner, but perhaps not.Zelda, you made my day! It makes sense because it is true to the Biblical text, and that is the only measure of "what makes sense". The problem that so many folks have is that they will read a book or listen to a preacher to form their opinions without actually studying the text for themselves. The Hebrew text speaks for itself, says what it means, and means what it says. It is its very own best interpreter. Thanks again for the nice comment!!

[Chris]

http://www.gracethrufaith.com/selah/prophecy/ezekiel-38-heads-up-5


Ezekiel 38:8. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.

And the other is Ezekiel 38:11. You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.

The Hebrew word translated as "safety" in 38:8 is betach (bee tawsh'). So is the word the NIV translates as "unsuspecting" in 38:11. Though safety is its primary meaning, betach can also imply a sense of carelessness and comes from a root meaning trusting or confident. This nuance lends credence to the NIV's choice of "unsuspecting" in 38:11, as if the Israelis would be saying, "We thought this wasn't supposed to happen."

Scholars speculate that some treaty or offer of third party protection will have come into play prior to this invasion that causes Israel to be caught off guard. And since the attack comes from the North, that means they'd come through Lebanon and/or Syria. The idea that outside parties would guarantee Israel's safety in exchange for relinquishing the Golan isn't new and has been rejected before. (Having control of the high ground enables Israel to electronically "see" into Lebanon and Syria, giving them advance warning on any possible attacks. Losing the Golan deprives them of some of this capability.) But a seriously weakened Syria and a peaceful Lebanon, divested of their terrorist training camps and forces, could make the trade-off more attractive this time.

Some have noted that if tempers flare in the region and Isaiah 17 and/or Psalm 83 is fulfilled, this could also bring about a peace that allows Gog/Magog (Ezekiel 38-39) to occur. I think it is a pre-trib event. :)

[acceptedintheBeloved]

It is my understanding that Ezekiel is written describing things in chronological order, so Ezekiel 37 is describing Israel's physical re-establishment, then Ezekiel 38-39 are describing Israel's spiritual awakening (due to the Gog-Magog War and God's supernatural intervention), and then Ezekiel 40-48 are describing the Millennial Temple which, of course, would follow. :hat