''And when these things begin to come to pass, the look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.'' (Luke 21:28)

The Gog Magog War: A Supposition

by

Jeff Booth

Editor's Note  The phrases ''ascend,'' ''go up,'' and ''come up'' in Ezekiel 38 & 39 are all translated from the same Hebrew word עלה 'alah (Strong's 5927) and its primary definition is as follows:

to go up, ascend, climb

It is also used in Genesis 13:1 where we read: ''So Abram went up  ('alah) from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.'' (NASB)

This passage talks about Abraham going up (traveling to) the North from Egypt to the Negev in Southern Canaan. It might be that in Ezekiel the word is also used in the sense of traveling North. If that is indeed the case, then Gog would not be traveling South to invade the house Judah also referred to as the modern state of Israel but the house of Israel (Ezekiel 39:12, 22) which still dwells in a land other than the promised land also referred to as the ''Appointed Place'' (II Sam. 7:10) until the house of Israel or Joseph & Ephraim is restored back to the promised land and reunited with the house of Judah as mentioned in Ezekiel 37:16-19 which shall take place when the Messiah returns as mentioned in Isaiah 11:11-13

Another point to consider is this: The English says ''And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts.'' The Hebrew does not have the phrases ''And thou shalt, from thy, and out of.''. It only contains the words ''come, north, place and parts or sides.'' It could be that Ezekiel was saying that Gog will come to the North against the house of Israel, not out of the North to the land of Israel (Canaan) where only the house of Judah or the Jews dwell today. If this is the case, the phrase could be translated ''You (Gog) [will] come [to the] place [on the] North sides . . . against my people [of the house of] Israel.'' Perhaps the reason why the translators inserted the phrases from thy and out of is because they did not see the distinction between the relocated house of Israel and the house of Judah, thus assuming that Gog would travel south instead of north.

This article is based on the premise that the Jews do not represent the twelve tribes as commonly taught and that the Northern Kingdom aka the House of Israel still does not dwell in the promised land as does the Southern kingdom aka the House of Judah aka ''Jews'' who have returned to the promised land since 1948 to fulfill the seventieth week of Daniel which was determined upon the house of Judah.

You can read Jeff's article ''How Many Tribes do the Jews of Today Represent?'' for more information on the distinction between the House of Israel and the House of Judah.

Despite the fact that there are several similarities between Gog conflict and Armageddon I don’t believe they are one and the same. Concerning the Gog Magog War one fact that stands out is that in Ezekiel 37 both Judah and Israel are mentioned. In Ezekiel 38 & 39 the house of Judah is never mentioned---only the house of Israel.

When you read Daniel 9, Matt. 24, II Thes. 2, and various prophecies in Joel, Zechariah and Isaiah concerning Armageddon it becomes abundantly clear that Judah plays a pivotal role in these end-time events while Israel is hardly mentioned. The exact opposite is true in Ezek. 38 & 39. In other words, Armageddon is an event that Judah has to deal with and the Gog Magog War is an event that Israel has to deal with.

One verse that doesn’t seem to fit the Middle East is found in Ezek. 38:11, where it says; “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,” Verse 14 says, “In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shall thou not know it?”

“At rest” and “dwell safely?” I’ve heard somewhere that since 1948 there has been 4000 separate terrorist attacks committed against the Israelis. I can’t verify these numbers but hardly a month goes by where Israel isn’t in the news experiencing a terrorist attack. Does that sound like “at rest” and “dwell safely?” Speaking for myself, while walking down Ben Yehuda St. in the center of Jerusalem back in 1979, a terrorist bomb exploded about 10 feet from where I was standing killing 3 people in front of me and I caught a piece of shrapnel in the chest. Fifty-eight people, including myself, were injured.

I remember trying to pull the shrapnel out of my chest, but couldn’t. A man, who was walking right in front of me, was killed and his wife, who was closest to the explosion, was thrown over her husband’s body and landed in the street. I remember seeing a number of people collapsing on the sidewalk and street. And I can still remember the screams---which were as loud as the explosion itself. I remember a young Israel girl running past me, screaming in horror, her face covered with blood. Another young Israeli girl walked towards me, staggering in shock and about ready to collapse, I took hold of her left arm and helped carry her to an ambulance. On another occasion I was rudely awakened at about 6 AM when a bomb exploded on a bus near my apartment.  Doesn’t sound like “rest” and “safety” to me. 

So spare me your emails accusing me of “heresy” or “contradicting the word of God.” I’m only telling you what I experienced---and that was 30 years ago---and I lived in Israel for 2 years so I know a little about what I’m saying.  A lot more has happened since then---a lot more. What has been happening in Israel since 1948 does NOT fit Ezek. 38:11, and quite frankly, never has.  There are many “walls” “gates” and “bars” found in Israel. Security has high priority over there. Any package left unattended is immediately brought to the attention of IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) or police. There may not be a Second Amendment is Israel but you wouldn’t know that by the number of Israeli citizens that carry concealed weapons.       

  

What motivates the battle of Armageddon is spiritual supremacy over the earth, “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”Rev. 19:19.

What motivates the Gog Magog conflict is greed; “To take a spoil…” “cattle and goods” “silver and gold.” (Ezek. 38:12-13.)

Also, the Gog Magog War is fought in the mountains of Israel; Armageddon is fought in a valley (Megiddo).

In the article, “The Coming War of Gog and Magog, an Islamic Invasion? by Jennifer Rast, she wrote: “The first reason God gives for the invasion in Ezekiel 38 is a desire by the coalition to cover the Jewish land and wipe them off the face of the earth.  Urged on by a hatred of the Jewish people they will seek to destroy them and the nation of Israel.”

Where in Ezekiel 38 & 39 does it say this? Where in these chapters does it mention Jews, Jewish people, Jewish land, or house of Judah? Answer: Complete silence. Nowhere is genocide implied. Ms. Rath fails to differentiate between the house of Israel and the house of Judah in these chapters. Judah is never mentioned in Ezekiel 38 & 39 and, therefore, has nothing to do with the Gog Magog War. In other words “It’s not their fight.” Or, to put it in modern-day American colloquialism: “Judah doesn’t have a dog in this fight.”

The Gog Magog War isn’t about killing Jews, that’s not in their agenda. They’re in it for the money, the spoil.

I believe the Gog Magog War and Armageddon are two totally different events taking place in two totally different geographical locations involving two totally different groups of people. Other key words that are never mentioned in Ezekiel 38 & 39 are, Jerusalem, temple, man of sin, Valley of Jezreel, Megiddo, Judah, house of David and a host of other words.  Yet these words are oft-repeated when referring to Armageddon and the Middle East in other books in the Bible. 

I realize there’re a lot of difficulties presented in this scenario, the “mountains of Israel” are mentioned four times in these chapters which seems to point to the land of Canaan but the term “dwelleth safely” also appears four times which seems to point to a different direction because the state of Israel hasn’t dwelt safely since 1948. The Israelis have fought one war after another for their existence and they have had to deal with terrorism on a daily basis for the past 60 years.  Wealth and prosperity are also mentioned in these chapters which the current State of Israel does not have.  They rely heavily on US aid every year to keep their economy afloat. Something doesn’t fit here, something’s missing. If Ezekiel 38 & 39 is speaking of the Jews then all other prophecies should harmonize, but they don’t. They’re disjointed, incomplete, distorted.  Simply put, they don’t add up.  Why? 

Another point to consider: The forces of Gog, which are located north (Ezek. 38:15) of Israel, “ascend” (Ezek. 38:9) If taken literally, if you “ascend” you’re traveling further north---the opposite direction of Israel---which is south of Gog. If Gog is invading Judah they would “descend.” It’s always “up north” and “down south” and Gog is traveling “north.” They’re “ascending.” Again, to add credence to this scenario, Judah is never mentioned in the Gog Magog War.

“Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm…” Ezek. 38:9.

“And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; v. 11.

“ And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel…” v. 16.

“And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel”: Wzek 39:2

How can the term “mountains of Israel” be explained in these two chapters if it’s not speaking of the land of Canaan? The only scenario I can think of is that they’re called the mountains of Israel, not geographically, but by inheritance.

What I mean is this; the name “Israel” belongs to Ephraim and Manasseh. That name was given to them by Jacob before he died in Egypt (Gen. 48:16.) What ever land they currently possess carries their name.  If there’re mountains in that land can they be referred to as the “mountains of Israel?” Legally and technically speaking: Yes.

They can be called the mountains of Israel via the name inherited by Ephraim and Manasseh.  Israel is not only the name of a territory in the Middle East it’s also the name carried by two tribes. When Ezekiel speaks of the mountains of Israel in chapters 38 & 39 is he speaking of a geographical location in the Middle East or is he speaking of a tribal inheritance which carries that name? To put it another way, Alaska and Hawaii could not be called “America” until they became US possessions and later states.

By the same token, the “Appointed Place,” (II Sam. 7:10) where Ephraim and Manasseh would be relocated, could not be called “Israel” until they took possession of it---just like the United States took possession of Alaska and Hawaii.  Consider the fact that Alaska was once owned by Russia. Now Alaska is American and called America. Can the same not be said of the “Appointed Place” for Ephraim and Manasseh? If not, why not? Alaska and Hawaii is “America” today just as the “Appointed Place” is Israel today.     

When a nation takes possession of a territory they have a tendency to stamp their name on it: US Virgin Islands, Belgian Congo, French Indochina, Dutch West Indies, American Samoa, etc.  Is this principal being used in Ezekiel’s “mountains of Israel” prophecy? Only time will tell. Could this principal be used? Absolutely! Why didn’t Ephraim and Manasseh rename the “Appointed Place” Israel? Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. Hos. 2:6. They don’t know who they are.  

There‘re four contradictions that appear in these chapters that point away from Judah and the Middle East:

(1) Wealth.

(2) Peace and safety.

(3) No mention of the house of Judah in this conflict, only the house of Israel.

(4) The direction Gog travels.

Is there a possibility that the Gog Magog War may not take place in the Middle East but in the “Appointed Place” or “Wilderness” that was given to Ephraim and Manasseh?  The possibility is very real. This may explain why various descriptions found in Ezekiel 38 & 39 do not fit the current conditions in the Middle East and the House of Judah.

Send your comments to Jeff at JBINVT912@aol.com