Yesterday George asked me why I think the Ezekiel 38-39 war (of Gog & Magog) is Armageddon. Here is my response:
Hi Endtime,
It`s me George in N.H. I love the info your post, but you just blew me away with saying that you feel ezekiel 38 is armageddon, could you please explain. I`ve always felt it was that battle that brought about the 7yr peace agreement from the a/c? Which in turn would kick off the trib period. Ilook forward to your response.God Bless Brother in Christ Jesus.George
Hi George,
First of all - thanks for visiting my blog.
I think the Gog & Magog battle in Ezekiel 38 is Armageddon because of the following verses:
1. Nations will come to recognize Jesus as Lord:
Ezekiel 38:16
you will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I display my holiness before their eyes.
Ezekiel 38:20
the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all human beings that are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence…
Ezekiel 38:23
So I will display my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
These verses tell me that all nations will experience the presence of the Lord. I believe this is the “presence” of Jesus at his second coming. How else will the world recognize Jesus as Lord than by his physical return? Put another way, without the Lord’s physical presence (38:20), unbelievers will write off Israel’s Gog & Magog victory as a complete fluke – much like the War of Independence, 6-day, and Yom Kippur wars were.
2. Israel will recognize Jesus as Lord
Ezekiel 39:7 and 8
My holy name I will make known among my people Israel; and I will not let my holy name be profaned any more.; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel 8 It has come! It has happened, says the Lord GOD. This is the day of which I have spoken..
I had to add verse 8 here, because notice it says: “…the day of which I have spoken”. What day do the prophets repeatedly warn about? Almost certainly it is The Day of the Lord, or Day of the Lord’s wrath. The day of the Lord's return.
Ezekiel 39:22
The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward.
Israel will not come to realize
the Lord until Christ returns physically to wipe out her enemies. And verse 22 says from that day forward Israel will have a restored relationship with the Lord.
3. Reference to a great earthquake
Ezekiel 38:19-20
19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
Compare this with the description of Armageddon in Revelation 16:18:
Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.
4. The battle is followed by Israel’s complete restoration and peace
Ezekiel 39:25-26, 29
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall forget their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against me,
when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid,
29 and
I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.
These verses tell me that Israel’s restoration to the Lord will be complete, and that Israel will live in complete peace after this war (vs. 26). This also means that no Anti-Christ (AC) will hereinafter "come to the world scene" and persecute them.
Incidentally, if you read my website you’ll see that I think today’s church has completely misunderstood the AC. Read Ellis Skolfield’s The False Prophet (link is on my blog) to get what I think is a more accurate interpretation of Daniel’s days prophesies, and a more reasonable explanation of the AC. The "Days Prophesies" in my opinion have also been completely misunderstood by today’s church. I don’t believe these days are going to be fulfilled in Daniel’s 70th week. Once again, see the charts on the right side of this blog, and have a look at The False Prophet book.
I had better quit for now (got to get back to my day job). I hope this answers some of your questions, George. God bless. Keep searching and you will find.