There are at least 2500 prophecies in the Bible, 2000 of which have already been fulfilled. Many of those related to the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the last 2000 years, since His ascension, believers have been watching and waiting for the fulfillment of the rest of the prophecies, most of which have to do with the Second Coming of Christ back to this earth. I have written about some of those, but recently, while rereading a Joel C.Rosenberg novel, The Ezekiel Option, just for the pleasure of reading a good story, I again read the explanations of the prophecies referenced in the title.
I think the most remarkable part of Chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezekiel is the fact that 2500 years ago Ezekiel described a list of nations that are now aligning themselves with the united goal of destroying the nation of Israel. Israel, which only became a modern nation in May of 1948, has had to fight several wars since then in order to survive. The country has won those wars and is currently fighting the Israel-Hamas War, which began with the massacre the country suffered in 2023. We are now approaching an event that will be different.
Ezekiel 38 describes the War of Gog and Magog, about which much has been written through the centuries, by authors such as Voltaire, an enemy of Christianity who was just fascinated with the God/Magog prophecy; Josephus, the Roman historian; Dr. Dwight Pentecost, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary; Dr. Harry Rimmer, a prophecy scholar, author of a book in 1940 called The Coming War and the Rise of Russia; Dr. Louis Bauman, one of the founders of Grace Theological Seminary, author in 1942 of Russian Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy; and Arno Gaebelein, author of The Prophet Ezekiel, written in 1918, and one of the editors of the Scofield Reference Bible. I found one thing especially fascinating, concerning President Reagan. I just had not realized why he had so adamantly called out the President of Russia to tear down the Iron Curtain, having called the country an “Evil Empire.” He knew much about the God/Magog War and had shared with several people that he believed we were not far away from the war actually occurring.
I also discovered in Rosenberg’s book that the Dead Sea Scrolls contain many references to Ezekiel’s prophecy and the coming salvation of Israel, as well as ancient Arab texts that call the Great Wall of China the “wall of Gog and Magog” built to keep the Russians from invading China. Marco Polo even wrote of the land of Gog and Magog. As for modern references to the war, some may remember the “Left Behind” series of books about the last days, etc., that sold over 60 million copies. The author, Tim LaHaye, said, “The first chapter of Left Behind refers to the Gog and Magog prophecy as having already taken place before the Rapture. Why? Because LaHaye believed Ezekiel 38-39 might very well take place before Christ comes back for his church.” Also, Hal Lindsey’s book The Late Great Planet Earth, “about a coming Russian-Islamic attack on Israel and the coming of Christ, sold over 15 million copies. The New York Times called it ‘the number one nonfiction best seller of the decade.’” Both LaHaye and Lindsey believed the Gog/Magog War was coming soon.
There were more references in literature, such as Gog and Magog: A Novel by Martin Buber; Dead Souls by the great Russian novelist Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol; Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan by Pulitzer Prize winner Edmund Morris; United States: Essays 1952-1992 by National Book Award winner Gore Vidal; Souls on Fire, All Rivers Run to the Sea, and Elie Wiesel: Conversations, by Elie Wiesel, survivor of Auschwitz and winner of the 1985 Congressional Gold Medal and the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize.
The reason to think we are on the brink of this war is that at no other time has there been such a unique lineup of countries for this purpose until now. Ezekiel lists Russia, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and possibly Germany. The wrath of God will fall on these armies before they can do Israel much damage, in the form of “a great earthquake...pestilence and blood. A torrential rain, with hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” In other words, God Himself will supernaturally destroy the enemies of Israel in the latter days, after which many Bible scholars believe may come the Rapture of the Church, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the rise and fall of the Anti-Christ!
People get ready! Jesus is coming soon!
You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
